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Ahoy, Critterfolk!
New entry Nov 01
Critter Notices
Critters is 21!
Yes, 21 years ago Critters was born. Wow! Thanks so much to all of you, who've made it such a resounding success!
Books from Critters!
Check out Books by Critters for books by your fellow Critterfolk, as well as my list of recommended books for writers.
How to Write SF
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.)
(Also via Amazon)
New Book from a Critter Member
**NOW IN
PRINT EDITION
TOO!** 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
P&E Seeks New Caretaker
Unfortunately, much of the data on the P&E site has become stale and outdated, and needs a new caretaker with the time required to update the site. The listings are being removed until they can be updated by a new caretaker.
Note that the P&E/Critters Annual Readers Poll will run as usual in January.
If you are interested in taking the reins of P&E, and possess what's needed — at least 20hrs/week to volunteer, excellent investigative skills, in-depth knowledge of the publishing industry, ability to detect scams from not-scams, thick skin, good web site skills, good writing ability — please get in touch. Thanks for your interest!
Interviewed!
I'm being interviewed live on public radio for Critters 20th birthday. For those who want to listen, it's on the 10am (Mountain time) show on Thursday, 11/19/16, on Colorado Public Radio - www.cpr.org has streaming on the site or it's 90.1 FM in the Denver area. [Interview is done, you can listen on the site]
Free Web Sites
Free web sites for authors (and others) are available at www.nyx.net.
ReAnimus Acquires Advent!
ReAnimus Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of the legendary Advent Publishers! Advent is now a subsidiary of ReAnimus Press, and we will continue to publish Advent's titles under the Advent name. Advent was founded in 1956 by Earl Kemp and others, and has published the likes of James Blish, Hal Clement, Robert Heinlein, Damon Knight, E.E. "Doc" Smith, and many others. Advent's high quality titles have won and been finalists for several Hugo Awards, such as The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy and Heinlein's Children. Watch this space for ebook and print editions of all of Advent's current titles!
Network speeding up
I'm switching the connection over to a new, shiny 10X faster network because of all the load. There might be bits of downtime as your boxes learn new addresses and things. Should be brief. Let me know of any prolonged outages you see.
Preditors & Editors Changeover
With the very sad passing of Dave Kuzminski, who ran P&E, I've taken over the P&E duties. Lots of what I hope are improvements; check it out at pred-ed.com.
Critters Server is Dying has been Replaced
See important details here in my blog. Let me know if you find anything that isn't working right. (Manuscripts are now available for this week, FYI.)
Book Recommendation
THE SIGIL TRILOGY:
The universe is dying from within...
"Great stuff... Really enjoyed it." — SFWA Grandmaster Michael Moorcock
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]
~~~
FEATURED BOOK
~~~
Weekly Notes
Notes for 21-Jun-2017...
Benefitting the Critters Fund drive this week is...
MEMORY BLANK by John E. Stith - $4.99
ReAnimus Press Store: www.ReAnimus.com/1543
Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5D2B4V/?tag=critters3a-20
(available in both ebook and paperback)
Cal Donley regains consciousness on the orbital colony
Daedalus. It's a beautiful place, home for more than a million
people, but Cal doesn't remember leaving Earth. In fact, he
can't remember his name or most of the past dozen years.
He's had his memory blanked at a Forget-Me-Now memory erasure shop --
Why? And why is he covered in dried blood that isn't his?
"Gave me the most realistic description of living in an O'Neill
colony of anything I've read, and colony descriptions are
interwoven through this fast-paced and intriguing story."--L5 News
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Thanks for the donations, folks! Thanks especially to
Bill Leonard
Terrance Crow
Vincent Henry
for their recent donations to help keep Critters going. Much appreciated!
[See http://www.critters.org/donate.php for more information.]
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Woohoo! Congratulations to...
- Richard Zwicker, whose (Critter'd) book, "The Reopened
Cask and Other Stories" is now out in the current issue of
Createspace. {This is my second book: fifteen sold short stories,
most of which were originally critiqued in Critters, available
on Amazon as an ebook or paperback. Thanks to the many people
who gave me input and inspiration.}
Please report your Woohoo!s via the www.critters.org/telldaworld.ht web page.
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This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 6 critiques (at time
of judging), averaging over 600 words each, goes to...
John Rodrigues
To redeem an MPC, visit: www.critters.org/usempc.ht
Congratulations! To everyone else -- Crit early and often!
(For an explanation of the MPC award, see the www.critters.org/award.ht page.)
-+-
Recommended Reading...
One of the best writing books - Secrets from the 6-time Best Editor
Hugo Award Master, Ben Bova: THE CRAFT OF WRITING SCIENCE FICTION THAT SELLS
http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
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Critters Workshop
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This week we have... [get from http://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
Title Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Week of 21-Jun-2017 (Crits due 28-Jun-2017):
F Crisis on Finite Earths, Indra Joel E. Roosa -#26856
SF Bellerofonte Michael Andre-Driussi -#26857
F Ryuu Darla Jackson -#26858
SF Rise of the Cryptbringer Chapter 45 - 46 Keir Puplett -#26859
SF The Wizards of Llandwellyn, Chapters 14 Eric Wilson -#26860
F The Sailor's Salt, the Gaoler's Rust Lee P. Melling -#26861
SF Heat Death Nathan Kolibaba -#26862
H You Were Human Daria Lebedyeva -#26863
SF The Khyber Chronicils Chp 1 BRIAN KISER -#26864
F Spoils of War chapters 1 & 2 Trevor L. B. Porter -#26865
SF Wings chapters 4 & 5 Robert Plowman -#26866
F A Good Year For Frogs, Chaps 18-21 April Weeks -#26867
SF Within the Fences of San Dante Renan Bernardo -#26868
SF back to black peter sides -#26869
SF The Last Quest, Chapter 1 Brian Palermo -#26870
F Dissipation Christopher Blake -#26871
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Recommended books on writing:
THE CRAFT OF WRITING AND SELLING SCIENCE FICTION by Ben Bova
ReAnimus Press Store: http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
Amazon: http://Amazon.com/dp/B006MAZPEI
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS By (Critter member) Robert Qualkinbush
http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1184 | http://Amazon.com/dp/B007O272ZI
STAYIN' ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad
How things really work in the art and commerce of publishing
http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1179 | http://Amazon.com/dp/B007SIC4I8
EXPERIMENT PERILOUS: THE 'BUG JACK BARRON' PAPERS by Norman Spinrad
(A 99cent essay on SF and writing)
http://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1180 | http://Amazon.com/dp/B007MF3MS8
Because you might enjoy it... AGGRESSOR SIX by WIL MCCARTHY
'One part STARSHIP TROOPERS, one part OUTER LIMITS' - F and SF Magazine
http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1146
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Pieces up for critique in other workshops...
In the lit workshop - http://critique.org/lit :
L Holland Confrontation Rosemary Prawdzik -#26782
In the mystery workshop - http://critique.org/mystery :
M The Clive Monroe Mysteries; The Markos Case Donya Ture -#26656
In the nonfiction workshop - http://critique.org/nonfiction :
NT The Significance of the Fronting of the Prepositional Phrase in the Text of Genesis 01 01 Rebecca Miller -#26818
In the script workshop - http://critique.org/script :
SC Charmaine and the Man from the Long Before Jerry Sexton -#26691
In the kids workshop - http://critique.org/kids :
YP Little Mockingbird is Sick Diana Aleksandrova -#26855
In the comics workshop - http://critique.org/comics :
CG Metropolise, Chapter 1 Carina Mchardy -#26473
In the western workshop - http://critique.org/western :
W A Message to Santa Fe, Chap 1-3 Frank Coombs -#25375
In the romance workshop - http://critique.org/romance :
R Beauty and the Werebeast Charmaine Seifts -#26692
In the video workshop - http://critique.org/video :
VS The Gallery of Henri Beauchamp Jay DeTalente -#21424
In the music workshop - http://critique.org/music :
MP The Shade Riders and Nocturnal Ned song Beth Zurkowski -#21675
In the photo workshop - http://critique.org/photo :
PH Dry Mud and Cinder Cone Bill Wight -#19627
In the art workshop - http://critique.org/art :
AI The Dark Jester in an Archway Joy Landa -#25620
In the website workshop - http://critique.org/website :
WW Powerscript Website Ronald Hurst -#22230
In the critters workshop - http://critique.org/critters :
F Crisis on Finite Earths, Indra Joel E. Roosa -#26856
SF Bellerofonte Michael Andre-Driussi -#26857
F Ryuu Darla Jackson -#26858
SF Rise of the Cryptbringer Chapter 45 - 46 Keir Puplett -#26859
SF The Wizards of Llandwellyn, Chapters 14 Eric Wilson -#26860
F The Sailor's Salt, the Gaoler's Rust Lee P. Melling -#26861
SF Heat Death Nathan Kolibaba -#26862
H You Were Human Daria Lebedyeva -#26863
SF The Khyber Chronicils Chp 1 BRIAN KISER -#26864
F Spoils of War chapters 1 & 2 Trevor L. B. Porter -#26865
SF Wings chapters 4 & 5 Robert Plowman -#26866
F A Good Year For Frogs, Chaps 18-21 April Weeks -#26867
SF Within the Fences of San Dante Renan Bernardo -#26868
SF back to black peter sides -#26869
SF The Last Quest, Chapter 1 Brian Palermo -#26870
F Dissipation Christopher Blake -#26871
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You might also like... TEST OF FIRE by BEN BOVA
A small group of survivors fight to rebuild civilization after the Earth is devastated by a huge solar flare.
http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1220
Standard notes:
HELP:
If you need help with anything, see http://www.critters.org/help -- there
are FAQs and a form to ask questions.
HELPING CRITTERS:
Critters is donation funded & volunteer run, so if you'd like to
help out with our current fund drive or otherwise, please visit
http://www.critters.org/donate.php -- Thanks!!
HOW TO SEND CRITIQUES:
Remember to send the critiques directly to me, critters@critique.org, so
I can forward them to the authors _and_ give you credit for your effort.
Please send only one critique per mail message (makes it easier to
archive). Please make sure the "#" symbol and manuscript number are in
the email Subject: line, like Subject: #1234. (Conversely, if you want
ol' Aburt to personally read the message, i.e., it's _not_ a critique,
don't put a "#" in the subject or I won't see it. Also -- put my current
anti-spam code word in there: see http://www.critters.org/antispam.ht .)
You may also send your critiques via http://www.critters.org/webcrit.ht .
Note that all critiques will be available to everyone to read the next Saturday.
DIPLOMACY:
Remember, authors and critiquers, we're all friends here. Be polite. Be
considerate. Be tactful. You can say you thought a story was drivel in a
courteous way. Try to point out the good and the bad; offer alternatives
if you can. Never, ever, attack the author -- only the story. Authors:
Remember that some reviewers may lack tact. Try to be understanding,
but if you get any that you feel are just plain mean-spirited, too short
to be of any use, or too "feel good," let me know and I'll withhold the
reviewer's "credit" for that story and/or cajole them into something
more insightful. See http://www.critters.org/diplomacy.ht for more...
CRITIQUE LENGTH:
If you want to send a short critique that you know is too short for
credit (200 words or less of your own meaningful content) please put
"NC#" in the Subject (NC=No Credit, like Subject: NC#1234) -and- say
something like "not for credit" inside your critique. (Remember also that
for MPC purposes, a critique must be 300 words or more.)
CHATTING:
Comments -other- than critiques (such as discussion of the critiques,
or Woohoo! announcements, or chit chat) should be posted to one of the
official Critters discussion forums (See the http://www.critters.org/newsgroups.ht
web page for full info, guidelines, etc.) Don't post stories or critiques
(mail those to critters@critique.org).
QUOTING:
Please pare the ms. down if critiquing in-line (don't quote the whole ms.!).
Other format rules are at http://www.critters.org/format.ht .
EVERYTHING'S ON THE WEB:
Past reviews are on the web page. The current week's manuscripts are
also there, as are prior mss. and even some rewrites. There's a Master
Page Index (site map) with tons of links to common items.
AUTHORS:
Authors for this week -- if you aren't getting email'd critiques from
me (as they come in) within a couple days -- ask me and we can verify
I'm sending them to the correct address. (Send me a phone# in case I
can't get email to you.) Check the format of your story ASAP to make sure
it's all there and readable.
EMAIL ISSUES:
If you want to change your email address or preferences (# mss. emailed,
SF/F/H type, or whether you get the huge critique batches at week's end),
point your browser to http://www.critters.org/admin.ht . Please don't
ask me to do this by hand, it's quite a chore! (E.g., if you're going
on vacation and want to suspend mail from me -- do this before/after
your trip.)
BACKUP SITE:
If you're unable to reach www.critters.org to get manuscripts, I've set up
an emergency backup site at http://backup.critters.org where you can get the
week's manuscripts (but not much of anything else :-). Speaking of backups --
don't forget to back up your own manuscripts so you don't lose them!
QUITTING:
If you want to quit or go inactive, drop by http://www.critters.org/admin.ht .
DONATIONS:
Critters is funded by donations, so visit http://www.critters.org/donate.php
if you'd like to help out.
Because you might enjoy it... GHOSTS OF ENGINES PAST by SEAN MCMULLEN
Award winning Steampunk from a master!
http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1353
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