Guest Post: On sniping, women, and SF by Brenda Cooper
There’s a lot of sniping going on across genders in our field. Vitriolic sniping. Shame on us. Yes, science fiction is largely male dominated. So are a lot of fields. I know. My day job is in technology, where I’m a c-level exec. It wasn’t necessarily easy to get here even though I live in the liberal bubble of the West Coast where it’s easier than it is in a lot of places. I’ve been living this conversation my whole life across multiple fields of endeavor. Yes, it sucks. Yes, it needs to stop. But sniping isn’t the answer. Mind you, I’d be fine with sniping if it worked. It’s kind of fun. But as far as I can tell, it’s not effective. Yes, there are truly evil men out there in the midst of the current social fights, like whoever issued the death threats to women writing about feminism in the game world. This is not an article about how to deal with them. Jail time would be a great start.
My Superpower: Carrie Patel (The Buried Life)
My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome Carrie Patel to talk about how the power of making lists relates to The Buried Life. Once upon a time, I had the uncanny ability to down lots of mimosas without suffering any ill effects afterwards. I’d tell you my record, but my mother will probably read this. However, as I creep closer to thirty, I’ve traded in some of my youthful superpowers (infinite mimosas, staying up for two days in a row) for more grown-up abilities.
Around the Podosphere #7: Podcasts of Note for 3/2/2015
What nifty things dropped into our laps last week? This week’s edition of Around the Podosphere has the answer. Here’s what we’ve been listening to! On Literature: The fine folks at The Coode Street Podcast welcome Liza Trombi from Locus to talk about upcoming books, including a few we probably should read soon. In a prior episode, they brought on Alisa Krasnostein, Sean Wright, and Tehani Wessely to discuss the Aurealis Awards. Doing justice to everyone’s childhood, The Book was Better crew discuss the novelization of the classic 80s movie, The Goonies. Excuse me while I put that movie in my DVD player… Rocket Talk welcomes James L. Sutter and Mordicai Knode to discuss Paizo Publishing’s new relationship with Tor Books (hooray for positive changes!). More recently, Ferrett Steinmetz and Monica Byrne discussed the Clarion Writer’s Workshop and the problem with genre classifications for authors. On Movies: Compelled by ghosts, the folks at We Hate Movies discuss the horror dud, White Noise. On Leonard Nimoy: The Incomparable crew offer some very fine words about Nimoy, his career, his influence, and his legacy. A great man who will be sorely missed.
256. Myke Cole (a.k.a. Sergeant Tibbs): Gemini Cell (An Interview)
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode256MykeCole/SandF%20–%20Episode%20256%20–%20Myke%20Cole.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSZombie soldiers, evil spirits, and body farms, oh my! Myke Cole returns to the show to talk about his fourth novel, Gemini Cell. We talk to him about some of his writing “firsts” (standalone novels, sex scenes from different POVs, etc.), the inner conflicts of his new characters, military life, and so much more. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 256 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:. Myke’s Website Myke’s Twitter Gemini Cell (Ace Books)(BUY IT!) We have also interviewed Myke about his previous novels: On Control Point On Fortress Frontier On Breach Zone Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
My Superpower: N.P. Griffiths (Isabella’s Heiress)
My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome N.P. Griffiths to talk about how the power of patience relates to Isabella’s Heiress. What is my superpower? Hmmm…this is a difficult one. I’m pretty sure everybody can write, and most people have an imagination which they use for anything from choosing an exotic location for a holiday to picturing their team winning a title or holding up a trophy. Admittedly, that last one requires a more active imagination for some than others (tragically, this includes me, as being a West Ham United and Houston Texan’s fan is a painful combination if ever there was one), so it’s not either of these. I suppose I could say that it is a clear vision of what it is I want to bring to the page, but that isn’t true either as I am never too sure what’s coming next when I write. That is constantly informed by the character’s actions before I reach that stage.
251. Karen Lord (a.k.a. Captain Civilization) — The Galaxy Game (An Interview)
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode251KarenLord/SandF%20–%20Episode%20251%20–%20Karen%20Lord.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSScifi parkour, social strife, and psychic powers, oh my! Karen Lord returns to the Skiffy and Fanty underground compound to discuss her newest novel, The Galaxy Game, the standalone sequel to The Best of All Possible Worlds. We discuss writing the personal and the political, Karen’s worlds, bringing academic training to the book world, and the wicked cool game Lord created for her novel — and much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 251 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:. Karen’s Website and Books Karen’s Twitter The Galaxy Game (BUY IT!) Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
