Captain's Blog
Ahoy, Critterfolk!
New entry May 03
Critter Notices
New Book from a Critter Member
Awesome new book,
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS,
from a Critter member whose unearthed a shard of The Secret
to becoming a pro writer. Really good piece of work.
"...if you're at all concerned about story openings, you'd be nuts not to read what Qualkinbush has to say." —Wil McCarthy, author of BLOOM and THE COLLAPSIUM
Stayin' Alive
If you want to make a career of SF writing, STAYING ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad, published by your Critter Captain's ReAnimus Press, is an indispensable guide to the SF publishing industry by an expert.How to Write SF
Hot off the presses from ReAnimus Press! The Craft of Writing Science Fiction that Sells by Ben Bova, best-selling author and six-time Hugo Award winner for Best Editor. (This is one of the books your ol' Critter Captain learned from himself, and I highly recommend it.)
Book Recommendation
It's like discovering a new Heinlein book:
POINT ULTIMATE
by Star Trek writer Jerry Sohl.
Announcing ReAnimus Press
If you need help making ebooks from manuscripts or print copies—or finding great stuff to read—look no further! An ebook publisher started by your very own Critter Captain. (And with a 12% Affiliate program.) [More]
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FEATURED BOOK
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Book Recommendation
I wanted to point you to a humor book I think you'd like. I'm not
recommending it because I published it — I published it because I enjoy
what he writes so much that I hunted him down and pummeled him with a nerf
bat until he relented and let me publish it. (Or I should say republish
it; it was published before but went out of print.) So now there's an
ebook edition, and we're working on a print edition. (And hyperbole
aside, yes, I did actually track him down and was persistent in trying
to get him to republish it, because I really did want to see it available.)
I've read Biff America's column — nom de plume of Jeffrey Bergeron — for years in the local paper. In fact his column is the one thing I look most forward to each week. He's a cross between Andy Rooney and Garrison Keillor / Lake Wobegon. He's a successful standup comedian and a poignant, funny writer. He takes honest looks at the human condition, his own faults, he's a bit ribald, and always makes you think. His subjects range widely and most are really about the people and what it means to be human. (Similar in that regard to science fiction, so perhaps that's why I like it.) I think he's one of the best columnists out there and definitely not widely enough known (but as he says, he'd rather play than work; to quote the book, "no one ever looked up from their death bed and said, 'Damn, I wish I spent more time working.'"). :)
So, I want to highly recommend BIFF AMERICA: STEEP, DEEP, AND DYSLEXIC.
As John Nichols, author of the Milagro Beanfield War, writes in the introduction, "I found myself repeatedly moved, and moved deeply, by these poignant and funny stories." It's received great reviews from the likes of NBC, Saturday Night Live cast member Rachel Dratch, and some guy named Brad Pitt.
It's available from ReAnimus Press at http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1135 , Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006H9HU5Q , or you can read more about/from Biff/Jeffrey at www.BiffAmerica.net.
I really like Biff's work. It's cool that I get to publish it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
