Author name: shaunduke

Dr. Shaun Duke is an instructor at DMACC and the Director of the Portolan Project at the Speculative Literature Foundation. He received his M.A. and Ph.D in English from the University of Florida and a B.A. in Modern Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He studies science fiction, digital fan cultures, Caribbean literature, literary canons, postcolonialism, and digital rhetoric. In addition to his academic work, he wears many hats. He is a writer of genre fiction and a freelance editor at The Duke of Editing. His fiction has appeared in Curiouser Magazine, Stupefying Stories, and elsewhere. He also hosts and produces The Skiffy and Fanty Show, a four-time Hugo Award finalist podcast dedicated to examining the literary, cinematic, and cultural world of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His podcast work has sent him around the world to participate in conventions, conduct interviews, and more. When he's not podcasting, he can be found on his Twitch channel, AlphabetStreams, or Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, and other social media places.

Blog Posts

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!

Question of the Week

? 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.

Question of the Week

? of the Week: SF/F Books That Made You Cry

This week, we really want to know about the SF/F books you’ve read that made you cry.  What about those books put tears in your eyes? The last book to make me cry was the 6th Harry Potter book, in part because I had fallen in love with Richard Harris’ portrayal of Dumbledore.  I cried from the moment of Dumbledore’s death until the end (a good 40 pages worth of crying) and my sister had to console me. What about you? (To be fair, this feature has never been a weekly thing.  So be it.)

Blog Posts

Flick Bits: Darkover to Hollywood! (Marion Zimmer Bradley)

From CominSoon.net: Producers Ilene Kahn Power and Elizabeth Stanley have secured the rights to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s renowned “Darkover” novels and are currently developing a multi-platform television series around the saga, the pair announced today. A gifted and prolific science-fiction and fantasy writer, Bradley, who garnered the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2000, was the author of over 66 books and 105 short stories. More good news, right?  Of course, this news is far from the real news we want to see:  Darkover to the screen!  But it’s a big jump in the right direction!  Marion Zimmer Bradley is one of the most important authors in SF/F and one who well deserves a debut on our television screens.  Let’s hope this comes true! And Darkover does seem to be in good hands:  Ilene Kahn Power is perhaps best known for producing TV Movies and miniseries, such as Traffic, Gia, Buffalo Soldiers, and Roswell.  Elizabeth Stanley produced The Dark Path Chronicles and Trailers From Hell.  We wish them all the success in the world for bringing this to the small screen! ComingSoon.net has some quotes from Power and Stanley, which might be of interest to you all, in part because they demonstrate a certain love for the books on the part of the now-producers.  I think it takes a bit of love to make something like this work, don’t you?

Blog Posts

Flick Bits: Terry Brooks’ Magic Kingdom For Sale Optioned!

From the man himself: Warner Brothers has optioned Terry Brooks’ best-selling MAGIC KINGDOM OF LANDOVER series of books for Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road Pictures and Andy Cohen’s Grade A Entertainment. Goldsman and Cohen will produce with Weed Road’s Kerry Foster and Alex Block overseeing for Weed Road. Warner Brothers’ Matt Cherniss brought the book series into the studio and will run point. Brooks was represented by Anne Sibbald of Janklow & Nesbit Associates. Weed Road is in preproduction on A WINTER’S TALE written and to be directed by Goldsman. Recent credits include PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 and FAIR GAME. Cohen last produced UNTRACEABLE starring Diane Lane. He’s currently working on the stage show, HEATHERS – THE MUSICAL and the indie film, IN SIGHT. I’ve said it before:  this kind of news always makes me grin.  Brooks is a widely read author.  While I haven’t read any of his novels, I did read his book about writing, which I found incredibly fascinating (more autobiography than writing text).  If you’re of the writing persuasion, I’d recommend it. And since I haven’t read Brooks’ novels, I have to ask: Have any of you read them?  If so, what did you think?  Do you think Magic Kingdom For Sale will make a good movie? The comments are open to all of you!

Viking Amoeba

A New Viking Amoeba Recruit from Myke Cole

We just interviewed him (episode goes live tomorrow), but nothing tides you over like a little bit of art and geek humor! Here you go: The Taephus Commando — Dictavian Scoidius Strength 7; Intelligence 5 Special Ability:  Reinforcements (If Dictavian is outnumbered in combat, you may draw enough Viking Amoebas from your Consumed pile to even the odds, starting from the top) (Shadow Ops:  Control Point by Myke Cole)

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