Here is my last, stray post from ArmadilloCon 2008. On "Stump the Panel" the panelists are supposed to come up with mundane and science-fictional uses for objects supplied by the audience. Indeed, in Rhonda Eudaly 's, S. Andrew Swann 's, and Lou Antonelli 's imagination things like a pen , a nail file , a little red thing that evaded detection, and a box of Tictacs become something completely...
...even the local cops fear him. The only person he was scared of was Joe's mother. After Haldeman and Lansdale spun their yarn, there was a moment of silence, until Bill Crider said: "I once stepped on a gum." He and Scott Cupp seemed a little embarrassed they did not have anything to top Haldeman's and Lansdale's tall tales. Pictures from ArmadilloCon 2008 are available in my photo gallery .
...of creativity, such as finding ingenious ways to talk back to grownups. David Lee Anderson 's wife said their son never put his name on his homework, even though that was required in school. When asked why he didn't do that, he said: mom, you sign a painting when it's finished. "He never finished his homework," David Lee added. Pictures from ArmadilloCon 2008 are available in my photo gallery .
"The Year is Half Over: What I Should Have Read" is a traditional panel at ArmadilloCon, where a bunch of avid and discriminating readers recommend recent must-read books in the science fiction / fantasy genre. The panelists are an assortment of writers, editors and booksellers. Without further ado -- Rick Klaw recommends "Somnambulist" by Jonathan Barnes . It's a late Victorian era / Edwardian...
John Scalzi's interview took a different format than the usual Guest of Honor interview. There was no interviewer; Scalzi paced back and forth, shooting the breeze with the audience. He probably didn't... could not afford to be as polemical in "Old Man's War" as Heinlein was in "Starship Troopers". Finally, he revealed an unexpected fact about himself . The whole article is available on my website
On "Getting the Biology Right in SF" the panelists skewered writers for common biology-related blunders we see in books and movies. The aspects of biology covered in this panel ranged from human anatomy...oxygen can form long chains, but only under certain conditions. If you are writing about an alien silicon-based life form, the temperatures on the planet where it evolved would have to be very different
...Press has a lot of great titles, so you can't go wrong, but if you're stuck then might I suggest pre-ordering the new Ken Scholes collection coming soon? I had a chance to read it early and can confirm that it's gonna be major. And while you're there, scroll down and see Patrick's photo's from Armadillocon, including one of my lovely wife and I having dinner with other folks you'll recognize.
...out how to fix them. Any kind of feedback is valuable, even if it's contradictory. I have nothing but thanks to the people in my group. But... I still feel the universe is laughing at me. ;-) The ArmadilloCon aftermath wasn't all bleak. While it's not a direct consequence of the writers' workshop, I got some metaideas on how to salvage my earlier story ideas. Some fairly good ideas from my earlier...
Armadillocon was great as usual -- I sold some books, bought some books, gave a decent reading, and got to hang out with a whole bunch of people I don't get to spend much time with. I won't make the laundry list of names for fear of leaving someone out, but some of the highlights include: - Book store haunting w/ Lon. - Forming the game plan w/ Sam to finish our book by the end of the year. - The...
