For awhile now, I've been waiting to post that title and now it's coming!

Eirelander Publishing has just acquired my follow up novel to Cimmerian City entitled A Feast of Shadows. The series followed Raven Blackheart against a worldwide corporation bent on destroying Earth after experimenting with pharmaceuticals that have changed some of the population into a blood deficient, vampire-like species. A Feast of Shadows is set for a March 2010 release and I'm so jazzed to finally bring this to readers. I'll be updating the Cimmerian City myspace page as new info comes and I'll keep you guys up-to-date on any goodies I have to share.

Woo hoo!

I forget where I had first heard of this show somewhere they mentioned the creators of Xena Warrior Princess had a new show. I'm a huge Xena fan and was so jazzed to see Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert returning to their fantasy roots.

I taped the show here and there but kept missing episodes in between. From what I saw it was pretty good but I can tell it was a show to see one right after the other. After I finally caught all episodes, I was hooked and I can say I flippin' LOVE this show!!! The first season plays like a long epic fantasy movie with a great satisfying ending. I'm not a big fan of shows that leave you with a teeth grinding cliffhanger at the end of the season (exception is Being Human cause I'm itching to see the rest of that show) so I was so glad when there was a conclusion here. I'm going to be watching and rewatching this series for years to come.

A few weeks ago I talk about the lack of strong females in movies but the growth of them on the small screen. Legend of the Seeker is no exception.

The story is one of good and evil. Evil ruler Darken Rahl wishes to enslave the midlands but every time there is a threat, a seeker arises to stop the threat of evil. Said hero is one Richard Cypher, a small farm boy who evaded the massacre of all first born infants based on the seeker prophecy.

Now I know there's a ton of Star Wars and Bible references running through your head, but the show makes good use of the hero's journey. I thought of Star Wars a bit while watching this in the beginning but the show cements it's own lore. On Richard's journey is a wizard with secret ties to him and a young woman named Kahlen Amnell, a confessor who wields her own power (and kicks some major butt!) to assist Richard on his quest.

For fantasy buffs, this show is a smorgasboard of goodies in the genre. Tons of magic, a gorgeous production value that looks like a movie in each episode, some humor and fantastic performers along with a budding star crossed romance make this one of my new favorite shows. Each story ties into the other while showcasing mini stories in each episode. The show is loosely based on Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth fantasy series and I'm definitely going to pick them up lean the origins of the show.

I mentioned a strong heroine and Kahlen fits the role to a tee. She's a mixture of strength, sensitivity and smarts. The kind of heroine that's been making appearances on a good amount of shows in this day and age and finally we have one in the speculative genre. Bridget Regan is gorgeous and great as Kahlen and I love seeing her kick butt with her two daggers and especially when she "confesses" her enemies, putting them under her control. She joins my favorite she-ros of Princess Leia, Xena, Storm, Rogue and a few other classics. Not to mention I love her outfits.

Craig Horner as Richard plays him as noble, a young go-getter and a good rising hero. I remembered Bruce Spence who played wizard Zed from the Matrix (he played the Train Man in Revolutions). When I saw villain Darken Rahl, I noticed he looked a lot like Haldir, the blond elf who met up with the fellowship at Galadriel's home and lo and behold, it was him with dark hair this time. If I had to vote for a best tv series villain this year, I would so vote Craig Parker as Rahl. Manipulative, evil, heartless, maniacal and cruel, Rahl is one those villains that you love to hate or maybe just hate to hate. ;-)

The writing on the show is awesome as it creates a great world with it's own rules of magic and it's shortcomings, humanity and it's delicate line between right and wrong, characters with threads of history and fighting for what's good in the world. While not quite a fantasy romance, there is a romance in the backdrop between Kahlen and Richard and the chemistry the two share is addictive. If I had dove head first into fandom, I would surely be a Kahlen/Richard shipper, portmanteau not included.

Joseph LoDuca is the same composer as for Xena and the soundtrack/score has a very epic fantasy feel to it. I love the theme and am sad it isn't played enough in the beginning but the longer version is during the end credits. I think I heard there will be a soundtrack released in the coming months and I'll be on board to buy myself a copy.

It may seem a bit too cut and dry to people, maybe a little bit predictable but with all the "hard and gritty" shows that try to be cheeky and complex out there, 'Seeker' is a good antidote for those looking for something that harkens back to the classics of the fight against good and evil against a gorgeous setting.

Legend of the Seeker has gone into syndication due to it's popularity and is to return for a second season this October.

I'm so excited to see the Indie/DIY industry blooming. Not only is it rising with the advent of indie authors in publishing but the long standing tradition of film is on the rise as well. Filmmakers are making works outside of the system as they explore different avenues of storytelling in the new media. The awesome thing is how open the internet is for this communication. Much of it wouldn't have been available years ago but now bloggers, fans, readers, filmgoers and entertainment lovers can follow a film through it's production, learn about new films that Hollywood wouldn't bother to push and also help revive their favorite old series (Starhunter come back!)

I thought I'd make this post is for all you SF fans looking for something a little different, a little original and a little out of the ordinary. This is also for me to keep up because my sticky is running out of room for all the movies I want to catch. I'm really excited about this because I've loved the magic of movies since I was a little girl. And I have to admit, the magic sorta died out with all the humdrum films coming out in recent times. If it isn't a knock off sequel, it's a low grade high budget remake that seems to forget who it's audience is while they grasp for a new audience. All the while, high budgets, high budget marketing and hype sacrifice for the fun and entertaining movie experience. It seems like studios are scared to risk a movie rising or falling on its own merits. Part of it is due to a struggling industry (even DVD sales are down) but most of it is the loss of many creative types that kept Hollywood going in its prime.

Lately I've been more than tired of all the remakes and if it wasn't for the Io9.com blog site, I'd never know about half these little productions coming out either this year or next.

Some are online web series and others are films. All look pretty good and I'd be interested to check em out.

Here's a little heads up post to all you folks out there looking for some good upcoming good old fashioned Sci-Fi:



What's it about?

What's the charm? It's a visual trip even Philip K. Dick can love. The premise is enticing and has the edge of SF cyberpunk noir that I love so much. Although the trailer moves kinda schizo demo reel-like, I'm enticed to see and know more. Perhaps this is to get investors interested and the trailer to sell the film will take it's time allowing us to enjoy the visuals and the potential story that unravels. I'm looking forward to this one!

When's it coming out? Currently in pre-production as the creators raise interest and money for the film. More info is at Io9.com's

Travel Inside The Horrifying Mind Of A Cyborg Killer, In "Offline"

What's it about? From the director of the INVINCIBLE IRON MAN TV SHOW, comes this new breathtaking project called CAPTAIN FUTURE, inspired by the SCI-FI Classic created by Edmund Hamilton and the Japanese Anime from the 70's.

Captain Future is Curtis Newton, a brilliant scientist and adventurer who roams the solar system solving problems, righting wrongs, and vanquishing futuristic supervillains.

What's the charm? This looks to be a low budget web series with a pretty cool story. Something I'd like to keep an eye on.

When's it coming out? December 2009 (tentative)









What's it about? Edward Borman, a lowly government office drone, finds himself trapped, when the deadly Mercury Men seize his office building as a staging ground for their nefarious plot. Aided by a daring aerospace engineer from a mysterious organization known as “The League,” Edward must stop the invaders and their doomsday device, the Gravity Engine.

What's the charm? Old SF serials like Flash Gordon & Buck Rogers. Another cool looking web series I'm dying to check out.

When's it coming out? Not sure yet but will keep you guys posted!



..



Great post on TMM Blog about the gap lessening between the creator and the audience.



Title: In-World War

What's it about? In-World War, a smart and quirky indie sci-fi feature, tells the futuristic story of a debt-ridden and depressed beta tester trapped in a buggy virtual reality simulation of the "war on terror".

What's the charm? The creator is chronicling this DIY film from the ground up as he writes the screenplay, searches for music gigs, casts and crew. Makes me wish I was still in the Bay Area! Erin Grey of Silver Spoons and Buck Rogers fame just joined the cast. The story sounds pretty wild and I'm always a sucker for futuristic dystopia and commentary on humanity via speculative means. I'm so there!

When's it coming out? TBA


Website: http://www.inworldwar.com
SF09 Newspaper Spotlight: "Brant Smith's Real, Not Virutal, Directorial Debut"

IO9.com's Spotlight on In-World War "Indie Science Fiction Film Tackles Virtual Reality And The War On Terror"






What's it about? Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.

What's the charm? With a look that reminds me of Kubrick/Clarke's 2001 combined with a mysterious trailer and the amazing Sam Rockwell, whom I've loved since his stint in Galaxy Quest (one of my faves), this debut from David Bowie's son Duncan Jones looks to be a good one. Plus Kevin Spacey plays a Hal-like robot. ;-)

When's it coming out? June 12th in select theaters. Release dates for more locations is available on the website. Word on the street is director Duncan Jones has plans for a Blade Runner mood type of movie. Oh, to dream. :-)




What's it about? An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.

What's the charm? Again I'm thanking Io9.com for this one because I had never heard of it until I saw the first trailer there. The interrogation scene was chilling and I thought it'd be an alien invasion movie with some freaky looking aliens filmed in a documentary style. It was a clever trailer which looks like it's real time about immigrants being treated unfairly. Until we get to the final flash card that reveals these are aliens not humans. Soon the second version of the trailer was revealed and a whole new twist was thrown into the mix that made this movie even more interesting. I can't wait until this is released.

When's it coming out? August 14th 2009













What's it about? Set in 1957, ALIEN TRESPASS chronicles a fiery object from space that crashes into a mountaintop in the California desert, bringing the threat of disaster to Earth. Out of the flying saucer escapes a murderous creature - the Ghota, which is bent on destroying all life forms on the planet. A benevolent alien from the spaceship, Urp, inhabits the body of Ted Lewis - a local astronomer - and with the help of Tammy, a waitress from the local diner, sets out to save mankind.

What's the charm? A parody throwback to 1950s sci-fi is always a plus in my book! Plus, Erick McCormack bringing on the scientist goodness is a can't be missed!

When's it coming out? Technically it's already out. According to the IMDB release page, January and April were the only dates this was made available via a film festival and a limited release, respectively. I'm really hoping this makes it to DVD because it looks like great fun.

I know I rave about this show all the time but it is awesome.

Now YT has put up the entire Starhunter 2300 series for your viewing pleasure. Episodes 1-22 with some of the most diverse, amazing and fun characters in a futuristic setting. Not to mention a burgeoning romance which I love in my sci-fi. This was a continuing series from Starhunter both dealing with the same universe of colonies, bounty hunters, raiders, divinity clusters and government conspiracies. This is an awesome show if you're looking for some new sci-fi to sink your teeth into. Everything you need to know about the Starhunter universe is here. A new awesome site that chronicles the conne

2 years ago I posted an "All you ever wanted to know about the Starhunter series" over at my Livejournal which told about the series along with some pics. Here's a little behind the scenes goodies to catch up on the show.


Originally posted at Sci-Fi Rae's World 12/8/06:

It's a little known sci-fi tv show that aired a few years ago. Some say it was bad, some enjoyed the refreshing storylines, extensive universe and twists, awesome musical score and low budget look of this canadian series. I personally, and recently, fell in love with the second season. I have yet to see the first season, but I will someday just to get the back story. But without my yummy bounty hunting captain Travis Montana and his butt kicking, weapons specialist lady Callista (Callie) Larkadia by his side, among others, I'm gonna be a bit saddened. :-(

Download the 2300 theme 'Darker Star' by Peter Gabriel here
Download the 'Darker Star Reprise' here

Backstory time!

Courtesy of a Bureau 42 post I came across & Starhuntertv.com:





The year is 2275. Earth has more or less successfully colonized the entire solar system, but our reach has surpassed our grasp. Any semblance to law is spotty and unreliable. Things are dangerous and final out on the frontiers of space. As the colonies continuously push further and further out from Earth, lawlessness and crime expand right along. With the vast distances between Earth and its colonies, policing has become a very real problem. The use of private forces like bounty hunters, known as 'Starhunters', has become common practice. Their job is to bring to justice the epidemic of criminals terrorizing the colonies. Their rewards are usually monetary.

Farmer Dante Montana (yes, they named a character Montana, get over it.) [<-- tee hee. -R] is away from the farm when Raiders attack, take his son, kill his wife, and his niece's parents, leaving his niece Percy in his custody. In an attempt to get his son back, he becomes a bounty hunter for Rudolpho. The ship he does his work in is managed by an AI named Carvaggio. Along the way he picks up a security officer named Lucritia (Luke for short) who's dad, Darius, heads up an undergound organization called the Orchard.



The ship was at one time a luxury liner that was converted to a troop ship when whatever passes for an earth gov went to war against the Raiders who at the time had taken over Mars. The Raiders were driven back, and earth colonization continued out to the jovian sattelites. (Where Dante was raising a family.)

Raiders are unable to reproduce, so to continue their existence they take children in raids. See notes above.

The Orchard is following a set of discoveries about a sequence of some 4 cromasomes that are discovered in the human genome that have no precidence for anything else on earth. These cromasomes apparently add several psi abilities, that can be accessed with some training. Based upon what I have seen in the series, some of the powers include giving the possesor super speed, abilities to read minds, cause explosions (generally killing the possor of the ability as well) and others.

Along the way it appears that the entire human race is going to be affected by a "conversion" in the "near future", as a result of these genes.

Dante and Percey are not concerned with the same things that the Orchard is concerned about except in as far as the people already affected become targets for their bounty hunting job, or as they discover they are related to Raiders they encounter while looking for Dante's son.









Starhunter Season 2 picks up where the first season left off. In the series debut, bounty hunter Dante Montana and his cohorts pursued evil outlaws through the solar system, while he simultaneously searched for his lost son, Travis. In this season's Starhunter, we find the tables turned and the son, Travis, is now searching for his missing father.






Travis Montana (Clive Robertson) is a reformed ruffian with extraordinary powers as a result of his exposure to the Divinity Cluster, a sequence of subhuman genes that are activated by hi-tech equipment. His gifts are great but impossible to harness, so often the wild side of Travis rears up.

He and his band of misfit bounty hunters are in constant and relentless pursuit of the 24th Century's most ruthless criminals, traversing the dangerous landscapes that make up the patchwork of the New World; hundreds of outposts with hostile topography, competing political agendas and socio-economic systems, wildly ineffectual governments and rampant lawlessness.

Starhunter takes place against the backdrop of this new urban jungle. Human beings have abandoned Earth in droves. Wave after wave of immigrants fled as Her resources became overburdened and finally dried up.


The air became unbreathable and all arable land turned to dessert. Pollution and overpopulation, great floods and unspeakable plagues drove human beings into the relative safety and habitability of a new world in outer space.

In time though, the new world began looking much like the old. Nationalism grew and intolerance flourished along with it. New refugees from Earth were turned back. Different special interest groups sprang up and vied for the same finite resources. Fractiousness reigned and the potential for a cultural and political renaissance was shattered.


Out of this anarchy, a golden age of outlaws and renegades emerged. The Raiders, a nomadic sect of bloodthirsty warriors, rule supreme. They have learned to exploit the chaos that has befallen humanity and abuse the technology of the future to prey on the weak. Travis and his crew must often operate outside the bounds of convention in their hunt for these marauders and employ less than savory tactics to secure their capture.

With the vast distances between Earth and its colonies, basic policing systems have been bankrupted. It is now up to the bounty hunters, private forces known as ‘Starhunters’ to, by any means necessary and for a tidy sum, bring the renegades to justice.

In Season Two, Travis steps into his father’s shoes, assumes the mantle of prime bounty hunter and takes control of the Tulip, a vast, rusty and largely derelict former luxury liner now retrofitted for starhunter duty. His crew consists of his cousin Percy Montana (Tanya Allen), a bright and willful woman conflicted by her need to break away from the crew and a determination to find the uncle she lost, at any cost. Callista ‘Callie’ Larkadia (Dawn Stern) is a weapons expert with a history of uncompromising moral rectitude that has sometimes led her down the wrong road. Marcus Fagen (Paul Fox) is the ship’s technical guru with a penchant for exaggeration that sometimes drives the other crew members to distraction. The gruff and irascible Rudolpho deLuna (Stephen Marcus) rounds out the rest of the crew.

In each episode, the crew of the Tulip pursues a different villain, each more dangerous and cunning than the last. Both Travis and Percy are also on the constant lookout for clues about Dante. As the season progresses, the two are increasingly at odds over how to find their missing relative. The conflict between these two characters, the constant stress of being hunted and being on the hunt, and the inimitable personalities (and mysterious backgrounds) of the rest of the characters, drives the tension of the series.

The entire series is now available on Youtube and I HIGHLY recommend you check this out if you love Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi romance and futuristic goodies. It's well worth it!

X-Posted at A Writer's Dream 5/25/09

This blog post was going to be split into two reviews for Star Trek and Terminator Salvation but I saw a link in both movies that would serve as a better theme for this blog.

Someone on a board I frequent mentioned that the new Salvation must have forgotten the strong complex female character of Sarah Connor in T2, the female Terminator kickin' booty in T3 and the leading women of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the title character herself and android Cameron. After seeing the new Star Trek film I was disappointed (in more ways than one but I digress) that my fave character Uhura was relegated to the girlfriend/comforter role. What has happened to female in movies today especially in the sci-fi films and tv franchises that I loved growing up?

A long time ago I did a piece on the strong female characters and gave a whole list of movies featuring females in leading roles. The 80s were not only the golden age of SF tv and film but also started the trend of showing women as strong leaders, fighters, lovers and adventurers themselves. The 80s gave us Ellen Ripley who was the only survivor on a scout mission to a derelict space ship. After which she was hired to advise a team of marines (including the awesomely kick butt Vasquez) and ended up being one of three survivors with a heck of a character arc that culminated in a one on one female match against an alien queen.

Fast forwarding a little, we got Mace in Strange Days. A protective mother, former waitress turned limo driver who harbors a love for her misguided friend and ends up saving his butt more times than he can count (and she can do it with one hand tied behind her back as well). Maybe I'm just on a James Cameron kick because all of these females were written by the master himself. But we also got Princess Leia who was no damsel in distress and could take a gun and shoot with the best of them. We also got Geena Davis doing a one two hit as an amnesiac assassin in The Long Kiss Goodnight and as the underrated (yes, I said underrated) Captain Morgan of a pirate ship in Cutthroat Island. Recently Ms. Davis played the Commander in Chief in a show of the same name but apparently we're to forget such a thing considering how quickly it was yanked off the air. The Matrix movies were stellar in showcasing strong females in the midst of war with Trinity, Zee, and my favorite captain, Niobe. I love my copy of Enter the Matrix because it's a Niobe/Ghost showcase (can we get more of these two please?).

In The original series of Star Trek, Uhura may have been remembered by pop culture as just a hot chick with a wireless bluetooth in her ear, but enthusiasts and people who grew up watching the show knew that she was a trailblazer that showed not only women in space but women of color in space doing their job with grace, professionalism and dignity even when she's being a mirror image of herself. The 80s films gave us more of her character. In Search for Spock especially when she helps Kirk smuggle Bones out of the 'federation funny farm' and grab the Enterprise, Uhura was the one to tell a young lieutenant (Mr. Adventure) just where to go with his ideas about a woman "who's career was winding down".

What happened to women in film today? It looks like they're either disappearing altogether, or becoming random hot chicks to score with (in the countless gross out comedies), fodder for gruesome killing (in the countless horror movies) or eye candy trophies (in blockbusters like Transformers). The three main female roles in Terminator Salvation were not much than pregnant wife role (Kate Connor, after having more to do with the story in T3), Freedom fighter turned damsel in distress turned potential girlfriend (Blair Williams) or potential mother figure before being yanked out of the building.

Grant it, these roles were stuffed into a film that was already overstuffed with larger leading characters. And movies can't provide the depth that a novel can, but since studying the intricacies of screenwriting for a few years before I dove into narrative, I notice it's just a way of presenting characterization even in the littlest of forms. While novels allow you inside the character's head to see what their thinking and experience what they're feeling, movies can show you this with dialogue a flashback or two and through other visual cues. Screenwriters of the past took time to make sure the story was told to the fullest in the best way possible. Modern screenwriters (in mainstream Hollywood) rely on fast paced flash with characters and story just hanging along for the ride. Sci-fi films are becoming more wallpaper sci-fi (action movies in space with) and the futuristic roles for women are dwindling.

In tv, we had a great surge in female leading roles. The aforementioned Sarah Connor Chronicles' standouts wasn't Thomas Dekker's John Connor. While holding his own, Brian Austin Green's Derek Reese worked with show standouts Lena Headey and Summer Glau (with Shirley Manson and Stephanie Jacobsen coming in later). In the last couple of years Blood Ties gave us headstrong yet feminine Vicky Nelson, a private investigator, Patricia Mackenzie's misplaced otherworlder Rena in Charlie Jade, butt kicking Rachel Luttrell as Teyla in Stargate Atlantis, Freema Ageyman's Martha Jones in Doctor Who, Gina Torres' Zoe Washburn & Summer Glau's River Tam in Firefly and Serenity and Sally Richardson's Allison Blake in Eureka. All of which are in sci-fi (speculative) shows that's no longer on the air with us anymore (except for Eureka which is on its way back this summer).

Some would also argue Battlestar Galactica was pretty female driven but I'm not sure I'd hold much of the characters on the show up to a candle, especially the off and on Starbuck character. I would say the original was more progressive especially from the shining 'Lost Planet of the Gods ' episode that featured an all female viper squad lead by a woman of color. I did admire Dee's character who royally got the shaft in terms of characterization advancement but actress Kandyse McClure brought an amazing strength to each of her scenes that actually would have been cool to see as an alternate Uhura. It would've been great to see her as a new version Deitra. But I digress.

The science fiction genre has always been one about ideas. Whether a look into an alternative past or a dark dystopian or utopian satirical future, it has been one to ask and answer the question 'What if'. Although there has been some missteps in analyzing this future (for instance, most works focusing on the mainstream rather than including people of color or women) the genre has been open for more exploration especially since we've achieved some advancements in certain technology that has only been dreamed up decades and even centuries ago. On the contrary film has been a boys' game where often aspiring female directors were discouraged from pursuing careers in film "that belonged to men". I did a study on this during my speech course in college and found so little numbers that continued to dwindle as the years went on. The results are probably the same for female screenwriters who are usually relegated to romantic comedies and "chick flicks".

Perhaps the golden age of sci-fi and strong heroines finished in the 80s as far as film goes but with the rise of female driven paranormal romance and urban fantasy especially, books and stories are leading the way. After all, romance accounts for 55% of books sold in the industry and as more independent presses focus on this genre and good storytelling, perhaps the future will open up a range of possibilities for more and more chances at telling stories featuring women of the future.

Xposted @ A Writer's Dream

As you all may know I've been without a computer since my comp died last week. Let me tell you it's been insanity! Thankfully I upgraded phones and now I can keep in the know from my mobile. One of the things about not having the comp is you get to do a lot of reading both news and for pleasure.

While surfing, I noticed there is a lot happening in the industry today. Many divisions are closing down and folding into other larger ones. For instance, Heather over at The Galaxy Press reported the closing of the Shomi sci-fi romance line under Dorchester.

I also noticed there are many websites available for regular surfing and converted for mobile phones. Goodreads has a mobile site as well as Amazon (which just released the new App for Blackberry smartphones) and other news sites like NPR. Many of which have downloadable applications for easy access on phones. This is a fabulous time for authors looking to step out and carve a niche of readers on their own. Since many publishers are cutting back on so much in house promotions, saving it for their big names instead of their upcomers, the bulk of
the marketing lies on reader's shoulders. Places like Smashwords and Scribd
are making it easy to release free works and others for payment which can even be left in the reader's hands. This is good for low charge promotions for author's shorter works or reader chosen charges. All of which can help build an author's name.

Strange as it seems, the social networking site Twitter has become a wealth of news in the publishing industry. Almost everyone is on there from NY Times, Publishers Weekly, bookstores and publishers. It's great if you want to keep up with snippets of news that link offsite ot the full articles. First Issue Blog has A Directory of Book Trade People on Twitter. Be prepared to spend a day adding everyone!

As for free read alerts:  Author Sara Reinke of the Brethren Series is offering a bunch of her backlist as free reads. Genres range from Historical romance to sci-fi and paranormal thrillers as well as historical fiction. She'll be offering a sci-fi thriller coming this summer which looks really good. Downloads
in PDF are available on her blog.

Finally, if you're in Second Life this weekend, I'll be having a double event this weekend. First on Saturday, I'll be starting the first of my novel writing class Plotters, Pantsers and Proofers: Writing the Novel. It'll be aimed at writers who haven't written a novel but would like to start. More info is available at TLE (The Learning Experience) aimed at offering free virtual education. Contact my name in-world Rae Larkham for more info and a tp to the class. Class begins at 3 PM SLT (or Pacific Time).

On Sunday, I'll be doing a live reading at West of Ireland where I'll be reading a selection from A Kiss of Ashen Twilight. That will be held at the WOI Sim at 1:30pm – 2:30pm SLT (Pac).

So mark your calendars and hope to see you guys there!

In other news, print on demand and romance novels are leading the pack in overall book sales. Not really news as it has always been seen as a recession proof genre with Harlequin leading the pack in digital reads as well as romance sales, but the Today show did do a little blurb on it recently.

This whole post is probably going to show my age, but that's okay because I'm feeling kinda "when I was your age" about now.

Recently SciFiwire announced the change of the SF channel to SyFy. I remember last year they were throwing around The Imagination channel
and
other things and the change seems a bit redundant if not...skirty. It's Sci-Fi! But no! We're different cause were *cue dramatic music* SyFy. Dave Howe, President of the channel (it's just easier to call it SF Channel now) responded to the announcement which garnered more than 1,000 comments that pretty much reflected what I was thinking. Howe was the dude who said "We had to broaden the channel to change the misconceptions of the genre... that it was for geeky young men."

Erm, maybe in your world, brother, but there's a ton of fangirls who'll say otherwise. Present company included.

So to change these perceptions of "It’s not just aliens, spaceships and the future... It’s about asking that simple question, 'What if?'" SyFy was finally put in place.

I couldn't help remembering circa early 90s when the Sci-Fi Channel first came around. I thought I was dreaming. A whole network devoted to Sci-Fi?! Old shows that I grew up watching and loving? It was awesome.

When it came around there was indeed the old shows I loved to watch. Buck Rogers, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, old monster movies from the 50s. I was just jazzed with all the goodies including the original shows like Bob's Basement where collector Bob Burns showed all the movie memorablia he collected over the years, Sci-Fi Buzz which kept us in the loop of current SF conventions, happenings and products to run out and buy, Trailer Park with new movies and even an auction for original movie goodies. And, of course, Harlan Ellison doing a rant on the insanity of the entertainment industry be it books and publishing or movies. It was the best. And coupled with the FX Channel of the time which featured the old Batman series with Adam West, Wonder Woman, The Green Hornet, I was just in a haven of SF&F.

The channel soon evolved with more shows and specials like themed weeks that
featured marathons of shows that fit into a particular theme and full October months of monster specials where one week was Dracula movies, another was werewolf and so on. I remember every time there was a Friday the 13th, the series was broadcasted and I caught up on a lot of my favorites.

The Sci-Fi Channel also brought on a bunch of new broadcasted faves like The Chronicle, The Invisible Man, Lexx (coming in from Showtime as Tales from a Parallel Universe which became one of my favorite SF shows), First Wave, and tons of other shows I probably should have taped while they were being shown. Now, slowly these shows and their type started to disappear as Ghost Hunters, ECW and tenth rate straight-to-TV Saturday night horror movies took classic SF's spot.

I'll miss that big ticking clock, that little half Saturn moon with Sci-Fi Channel in the middle of the planet. I'll even miss Pluto BEING a planet.

But hey, at least there's always the memories. :-)

Read an ebook week has begun and I'm sure I'm one of many hunters seeking some great free reads. For the list of participating publishers and authors, visit the partner page at the event site.

My illustrated romantic science fantasy novella is available now at my website via the wonderful Scribd. You can also go direct to Scribd to read and or download it in PDF format here. I've also made it available at ManyBooks.net
where it's available in multiple formats. The illustrations aren't available with this one so if you want both versions, feel free to go for the grab. :-)

I highly suggest checking out some of the other titles there at ManyBooks.net. I grabbed a few reads that were available from some new authors and they sounded wonderful. Stay tuned for any recommendations I may post here.

Also, some great news! A Kiss of Ashen Twilight got a fabulous 4 cup review from Coffee Time Romance. Check it out!

"Loaded with action this fabulous tale enthralls you from the beginning. Fascinating characters from Vampires to Shifter Elves are cleverly set up with a plot that is full of twists and turns...An exceptional read."

For the full review, check out the Coffee Time Romance website!

X-Posted from A Writer's Dream

Passing on the goods:

Orbit is offering $1 ebooks each month so if you're a speculative fiction fan you may wanna grab those. Linkie's here: http://www.onedollarorbit.com 

Also, starting January 29th Harlequin is celebrating their 60 years by giving away 16 free ebooks! You can sign up to receive notice right now at their site: http://www.harlequincelebrates.com
 
And lastly, if you're a historical romance fan, author Kate Rothwell is offering her novella The Rat Catcher as a free download: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK1Q77Y3AWWFBLF 

Enjoy everyone!