Guest Post: “Superhero Ethics” by Myke Cole
I grew up on comic books. By this, I don’t mean that I grew up standing on piles of them (although, now that I think about it, I probably did that a few times); I mean that I grew up reading them. I thrilled to Superman reversing the earth’s rotation in an effort to turn back time to stave off disaster. I loved it when Batman crashed through a window to save a sleeping couple from a would-be marauder. The X-Men kept us safe from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The Avengers did that when Hydra and AIM came calling. The Justice League? Always on watch. From space. Seeing all. I was a kid. I never asked why. They did it because they were “good guys” (and by “guys,” I mean some of them weren’t). They were genetically driven to do what was right, which always happened to coincide with my desire to sleep safe and comfy in my bed at night. As I grew up, I began to understand that human interests are sometimes at odds with each other. Two different people can both want the same thing, a
Guest Post: “Tackling Other Cultures in Fiction” by Stina Leicht
All fantasy authors write about foreign cultures and countries they’ve never visited. When an author makes up an imaginary place, that is what they’re doing. Elizabeth Moon told me that back when I first started writing Of Blood and Honey. She was right, of course, but that didn’t remove the anxiety I (rightfully) felt when tackling Northern Ireland as a setting. There were many reasons why. Shortly after the start of my research, I attended a literary discussion about fantasy and foreign myth appropriation. It was the first time I’d heard the word ‘colonialism’ associated with genre fiction. One of the panelists was an author who worked with an American Indian tribe. She said that everything else had been taken from Native Americans and that disrespectfully stealing their myths made everything worse. She said she felt that fantasy writers had a responsibility to the cultures they borrow from — a responsibility to do thorough, thoughtful research and to be careful and respectful with the borrowed myths. One audience member loudly disagreed. He said that everyone has been perfectly fine with doing whatever they wanted with Irish myth for decades. No one complained. However, that story-mine was now tapped. It was time fantasy writers moved on to other cultures, and they had
Lit Bits: Adam Christopher Signs Two Book Deal w/ Angry Robot
Here’s the press release: Following the hugely successful launch of his debut novel Empire State earlier this year, Angry Robot has signed Adam Christopher for another two titles. Christopher revisits the world of the Empire State in a sequel, The Age Atomic, to be published in May 2013, with Hang Wire – a tale of ancient gods and serial killers – to follow within a year. The deal included world English rights in physical and electronic formats and was negotiated by Angry Robot editor Lee Harris and Christopher’s agent Stacia Decker of the Donald Maass Agency. New Zealand-born Christopher, who now lives in the UK, said: “I’m delighted to be back for another visit to the Empire State! Rad Bradley is a character close to my heart, and as soon as he reappeared on the page and started throwing punches, I felt like an old friend had returned… albeit one I’m obliged to put through the wringer again! Angry Robot continue to impress with a kick-ass roster of authors and titles, and I’m thrilled that The Age Atomic and Hang Wire will be part of it.” Editor Lee Harris said: “I couldn’t be happier to have more of Adam’s books on our list. Adam joins a very exclusive club – he is now one of only three authors to have placed four books with Angry Robot. We’re thinking of getting them membership cards.” Empire State was launched in January to widespread acclaim. Adam’s second novel – Seven Wonders – will be published worldwide in September 2012. This is incredible news indeed! I haven’t had the opportunity to read Empire State, but it is on my list of “must reads for 2012.” If anyone would like to leave a quick opinion about the book, feel free to do so in the comments. I should also say how lovely it is to receive emails from Angry Robot that are almost always positive. Every time they send me something, it is either about new books, new deals with authors, or new imprints. That tells me that they’re doing something right over in their UK offices. Congrats to Adam and everyone else involved at Angry Robot. Here’s to 10,000 more books from them all (yes, I mean that; you hear me, Adam Christopher? 10,000 books. Start writing…). Go Kiwis!
Flick Bits: Game of Thrones DVD Sales Slash Record
Reuters reports through Yahoo AU that the DVD sales of Game of Thrones have crushed a previous sales record for HBO. From the article in question: Season one DVD sales reached about 350,000 units in the first seven days following its March 6 release, the network said on Thursday. That pace ranks ahead of other popular HBO series including “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City” and “True Blood.” Cue a geek celebration of enormous magnitude. There is something deeply satisfying about this news. As a fan of the TV series (and, now, the books), I worry about things like ratings and sales. There is so much story left to tell. With so many TV shows coming and going, I’m always afraid that HBO will pull the plug after the second season, or the third, or, dare I think it, the season right before the final moments of George R. R. Martin’s enormous story! That would be awful. But we’ve got good news. Huge DVD sales. Good job, geeks! Now we just have to wait until April for Season Two…
Lit Bits: A. E. Rought Gets Two-Book Deal w/ Strange Chemistry
From Strange Chemistry: Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of another wonderful author. A. E. Rought has been signed to Strange Chemistry in a two book deal with worldwide English rights negotiated between Amanda Rutter and Gina Panettieri, of the Talcott Notch Literary Agency. The first of these two books will be called Broken and will be published by Strange Chemistry in early 2013. About Broken Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all. A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog. When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she’s intrigued despite herself. He’s an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely… familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel’s. The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there’s something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks’ estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows. About A. E. Rought Self-proclaimed nerd A.E. Rought spent most of her early life in libraries and bookstores. It’s no surprise that she turned to writing shortly after creative arts college. She has novels of varying genres, and different pennames, published since 2006. You can visit her at http://www.aerought.com and http://aerought.blogspot.com and follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AERought [@AERought]. Rought says: “When my agent told me Strange Chemistry was interested, I think I squealed out loud. Angry Robot has an amazing reputation, and to be welcomed into their YA imprint? Bliss. Nerdvana. I’m absolutely thrilled to be with Strange Chemistry and working with Amanda.” Amanda Rutter says: “As soon as I received the email from Gina detailing the premise of Broken, I knew that I had to read this book. I was thrilled to discover that the writing was just as good as promised and I have no doubt Broken will prove to be a massive hit!” That’s pretty awesome news, no? Congrats to A. E. Rought!
? of the Week: What is the right price for an ebook — to you? (Poll)
The ebook wars have been raging for a few years now, and the result has been a bit muddled. Books have gone from floating around $9.99 to running anywhere from $14.99 to Free. Things likely won’t stabilize anytime soon. That’s why we want to know what price for ebooks is right to you. First, we should set some parameters: For the purposes of this poll, we are only considering *new* ebooks. For the purposes of this poll, we are only concerned with novels. Short stories, novelettes, and novellas can wait for another day. Now for the poll: Feel free to leave a comment if you want to provide a specific price point, or a range that is not available above.
