Untitled Writers' Group

Steven the Master--Steven Harper Piziks

Next month I get my Master's degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University. This has got to be the biggest scam in all of academia! I write books and get a degree for it.

Of course, I chose this program because it would allow me to continue my education (as required for teachers by the State of Michigan) without adding much to my already formidable workload. It just feels like a scam.

For my thesis, I had to write a novel in two and a half years. I told my advisor, "I don't know if I can write that slow, but I'll try." Trickster, my thesis novel, was finished eight months later! I love it.

--Steven

Blogging for the Publisher's Eye — by Lisa

Holy nematodes! According to this New Yorker article, some publishing houses are reading blogs to prospect for new book authors. Six blog authors, and counting, will have their first books debut in the next few years.

Fun science story fodder by Catherine Shaffer

I thought this story about genetic markers in dog breeds was fun and interesting. Looks like Pharoah hounds don't have quite the pedigree we thought...

DNA and dog breeds

I'm hoping that link comes out okay...

VOYA Best Genre Fiction List by Sarah

The following titles made the VOYA "Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror" list for 2003

THE USURPER'S CROWN Sarah Zettel
MISTRESS OF DRAGONS Margaret Weis
THE WHITE DRAGON Laura Resnick
NEW SKIES Patrick Nielsen Hayden
MEMORY Linda Nagata
DARKNESSES L.E. Modesitt
FLIP David Lubar
THE OUTSTRETCHED SHADOW Mercedes Lackey
THE ALCHEMIST'S DOOR Lisa Goldstein
THE WRECK OF THE RIVER STARS Michael Flynn
THE CRYSTAL CITY Orson Scott Card
FIRST MEETINGS Orson Scott Card
SPIRITS IN THE WIRES Charles De Lint
Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror

• VOYA is the only publication that deals exclusively with YA and teenage books and book reviews. The publication boasts a circulation of 15,000.

• This list includes only titles that are "highly rated" by VOYA reviewers. All books chosen for VOYA Book lists are chosen based on a code system grading books for Quality, Popularity and Grade Level Interest.

• The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror List is published annually in the April issue.

• VOYA practices youth advocacy and youth participation, facilitating and enabling youth to make their own reading choices and decisions.

· This list significantly influences library and school purchases and recommendation within the educational community.

*For the complete list see the April VOYA*

Needless to say, I'm really, really happy to have a title on this list.

Not in Kansas Anymore — Or, Green Skies Over Ann Arbor by Lisa

A photo tour of the storm that blew through Ann Arbor on Friday, May 21, 2004. Click on photos for a larger image.

Storm approaching...

Almost on top of us...

Um, is that green I'm seeing?

Yes, it is green! It is green!

That blurriness isn't my camera moving...

More green sky and wind...

Light at the end of the storm. Or is that the center of the storm?

Bragging Rights by Sarah

The Firebird's Vengeance is going to be a featured alternate selection for the SF book club in September. Whee!

This means I get a nice write up and ad in their monthly flyer and yet more flattering words from complimentary people. Cha-ching!

Inspiration by Sarah

When you write, people ask where you get your ideas from, a lot. Less frequently, they ask what inspires you.

It is my beliefe that inspiration, like "talent" is a much smaller part of the process than most people think. What makes inspiration great is the way you feel when it actually does strike. There is that moment during all the hard, frustrating, tooth-grinding work when it all becomes clear. You see it, you know it, you've GOT it.

And yes, I'm writing this because that just happened to me. The ending of the latest Arthurian Thing was languishing, until I got on the phone to talk with Karen Everson about some much needed symbolism. I got off the phone, I started working in said symbolism...and I GOT it. It all came together in a set of flashes, and I had one of those heady moments when your fingers can't keep up with your brain, but it doesn't really matter, because I GOT IT, and when you've really got it, it doesn't go away.

I'm not done yet by a long chalk, but it's like two weeks worth of work got crammed into a single hour. Part of me feels like it wants to lean back and have a cigarette.

Part of me just wants to go light a candle to whatever gods keep toddlers napping for just that little bit of extra time while their writing mothers get their inspiration into the word processor.

Personal Correspondance by Catherine Shaffer

So the mail came yesterday and I eagerly reached in to see what goodies were there for me. There was some junk mail and a brown envelope with those clear plastic windows on it. It was addressed to me, but the return addres said (I'm not kidding) "Personal Correspondance from Gordon Van Gelder PO Box XXXX" etc.

My heart skipped a beat. Rationally, I knew this couldn't be a story acceptance or a check for a couple of very good reasons. 1) I didn't have an oustanding submission with F&SF. 2) If I did, they would send me my response in a SASE, not this window thingie. With those things firmly in mind, I nonetheless set loose my fancy to roam upon the edges of insanity. What if they're changing their mind on a submission they already rejected? What if I sent something and forgot? What if they're accepting something I haven't sent yet? The possibilities are limitless.

So I rip open my "personal correspondance" and what is it? Yes, you guessed it. A @#$ing subscription solicitation.

A Fine Review--Steven Harper Piziks

In the May issue of SF CHRONICLE, we have a review of PATH OF THE JUST, the superhero antho in which Steven Harper has a story. The review says, in part:

" . . . [E]very story has its strengths, while some stand head and shoulders above the rest. My personal favorites had to be Steven Grant's 'Citizens' . . . and 'Ion Shells' by Steven Harper, which looks at an unusual relationship blossoming between a superhuman thief and the hero who keeps running afoul of him."

He also mentions "Covalent Bonds," by fellow Untitled Writers Grouper Erica Schippers in a positive light.

We'll take it.