Charlaine Harris on True Blood and Vampires That Sparkle
Source; Andrew Shaffer at Huffingtonpost.com
Before Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels that True Blood is based on, began signing books, she answered some frequently asked questions for the 100 assembled fans at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa on June 17th.
“Yes, I’m happy with Alan Ball’s production of my novels,” Harris said. “Also, if you ask me where I get my inspiration, I will spit on you,” she joked.
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State of the Science Fiction And Romance Union: 2010
Source: thegalaxypress.net
Welcome, dear passengers, to the third annual State of the Science Fiction and Romance Union here at The Galaxy Express!
Since the 2009 State of the Science Fiction And Romance Union, I’ve had even more fun blogging about science fiction romance. In the process, I learned more about a variety of subjects ranging from the digital revolution, the history of both SFR and romance in general, the nature of covers, the importance of social networking, and of course how not to do a science fiction romance film. Overall, this past year has been a time of defining our vision for science fiction romance, and figuring out how we can take it to the next level.
Specifically, here are some highlights of what I saw develop in SFR:
With the rise of digital and other alternate publishing business models over the past year—and a newfound respect for such endeavors—science fiction romance gained a fighting chance to break out of its niche subgenre roots. New digital-first publishers like Carina Press and Decadent Publishing have made it their business to actively seek out SFR. Various companies are racing to develop high quality yet affordable reading devices so readers can connect with a whole new realm of stories.
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Graphic Novel Friday: The DC Comics Art of Adam Hughes
Source: omnivoracious
If there is a way to flip through Cover Run: The DC Comics Art of Adam Hughes without a sheepish grin, then I salute you. Artist Adam Hughes’ Eisner Award-winning ability to draw impossibly sexy superheroines and villainesses is unparalleled in a genre full of improbably proportioned and outfitted women. Hughes is unabashed in his appreciation of the female form, no matter how curvaceously distorted that form can sometimes appear (see his Power Girl covers). It’s pinup art with the occasional dash of Art Nouveau, and this DC-centric collection gives fans a flushed look at his early work all the way through his latest cover for a Blackest Night tie-in and Wonder Woman #600, which releases next week.
The book is organized in chronological order with full pages devoted to the covers where Hughes provides the most commentary opposite pages where he lays bare preliminary sketches, failed attempts, and alternate takes. Thumbnails of more covers are also included where the runs maybe weren’t of particular note (Valor?) or were too great in number to allow full pages. Looking back at his covers for Justice League America and Legionnaires, I’m reminded of what a capable comics artist Hughes is when he is using more traditional methods. It has a very playful, goofy, expressive vibe to it (with a touch of Kevin Maguire, especially on those JLA covers). I only wish there were also a collection of all his interiors and in this style.
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The Essential Posthuman Science Fiction Reading List
Source: io9.com
Science fiction has always asked what comes after Homo sapiens. A superhuman version of our species, or a dying planet devoid of intelligent life? This list of 35 essential posthuman novels will get you started answering the big questions too.
I’ve arranged these stories and novels in roughly chronological order.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Sometimes called the first science fiction novel, this classic early-nineteenth century story is told from the point of view of Frankenstein’s monster. Who is the first synthetic human. Cobbled together out of body parts from dead people, he’s a composite creature built by science. And like the many cyborgs, synthetics, and robots who come after him, the monster is both really smart and really pissed off.
The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
Wells’ often-retold 1895 tale is less about time travel than human evolution. When our protagonist arrives in a far-future Earth, he discovers Homo sapiens has evolved into two separate species: The peaceful but aimless Eloi, and the industrious, subterranean Morlocks. This is a dark vision of posthumanity, with our progeny locked into species warfare that appears to have grown out of class divisions.
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Book bloggers catch on with publishers
Source: latimes.com
The vibrant online community is attractive to imprints that want to get attention for releases, some of which might not be written about elsewhere.
When Trish Collins gets done with her job working as an administrative assistant for Santa Rosa County, she might have dinner with her husband or take her poodle for a walk — but most other times she’ll have her nose in a book. A soft-spoken redhead with a sweet smile, the 31-year-old Collins’ love of reading led her to start blogging about books. And online, Collins has quietly emerged as one of the de facto leaders of the book blogging community, a community publishers are beginning to see as vital.
“As ‘traditional’ venues for book promotion shrink and online avenues open up, it’s important for publishers to take all possible places that books can be reviewed seriously,” says Miriam Parker, marketing director for Mulholland Books, a new imprint of Little, Brown. “They are a community of true readers and book lovers who maintain their sites for the sheer love of it. So if they get behind a particular author or title, readers, Googlers, other bloggers will feel the genuine enthusiasm.”
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Don’t judge a book by its trailer
Source: theage.com.au
GONE are the days of judging a book by its cover, its polished prose or even its gripping narrative. When it comes to book sales the question is: does it have a good video?
Book trailers, in the same style as those for blockbuster movies, are becoming a crucial marketing tool for publishers, with videos of varying quality and budgets popping up on YouTube.
The rise of video-sharing sites has meant literary trailers can reach big audiences, at a fraction of the cost of newspaper or magazine ads, airtime on television or the flights and expenses of author tours.
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Octavia Butler, Roger Zelazny, and Richard Matheson inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame
Source: io9.com
Today, Octavia Butler, Roger Zelazny, Richard Matheson, and special effects maestro Douglas Trumbull (2001, Blade Runner) were inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame at Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum.
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2010 Locus awards announced
Source: tor.com
The 2010 Locus awards, voted on by the readers of Locus, the magazine of the professional science fiction and fantasy field, were announced today in Seattle, Washington. Congratulations to the winners!
BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
Winner: Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (Tor)
Also nominated:
The Empress of Mars, Kage Baker (Subterranean; Tor)
Steal Across the Sky, Nancy Kress (Tor)
Galileo’s Dream, Kim Stanley Robinson (HarperVoyager; Ballantine Spectra)
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, Robert Charles Wilson (Tor)
BEST FANTASY NOVEL
Winner: The City & The City, China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan UK)
Also nominated:
Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett (Harper; Doubleday UK)
Drood, Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)
Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente (Bantam Spectra)
Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland)
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