We just got word last night that Rue Morgue published a completely kick-ass review of Sins of the Sirens. The review was written by Justine Warwick. John scanned the magazine page and sent it to us. There are so many beautiful quotes in here, I can't pick just one. It was certainly a great pick-me-up after a very tiring day of meetings at the corporate bat cave.
May 31, 11am-12pm HWA Booth #5753 Writer's Row Area
We're right on the corner.
I should have checked with editor John Everson, as I believe he's sending copies of Sins of the Sirens. Since Christa Faust is signing just a couple hours later at a different booth, maybe you can get two Sirens to sign, eh?
Editor Vince Liaguno just announced on his website that yours truly is one of the authors whose work is to appear in the anthology, Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet from Dark Scribe Press. My story "In Her Mirrors, Dimly" makes its debut therein.
I am in absolutely excellent company, as you can see so far. But it gets much, much better. You'll see as they reveal a new author in the Table of Contents each day. Stay tuned!
My pal Eric Wallace is the WGA Strike Captain over at Universal. Since I can't go join him or any of my manyotherfriends* on the strike lines, I want to do my part to spread awareness about why they're striking.
The average Guild writer isn't rich by any means, and at any given time only half of the writers are employed. In fact, I make about an average of $20-30K more per year than they do, plus I have health insurance. The WGA writers took a pay cut back in the late 80s in order to help encourage the fledgling video market. It worked in spades. But now we've got DVDs and digital downloads, and they're not getting compensated for those sales -- especially not Internet downloads because the execs are claiming those are "promotional" and they're reluctant to state whether or not they're "profitable." These residuals they're asking for are critical to making a living.
If you don't believe me, listen to Joss Whedon.
So please watch the videos I've linked here and spread the news. Don't be an ignint jackass. Educate yourself and others!
Thanks!
*Please don't let a lack of credits fool you into thinking these people are not working screenwriters. They are. They just don't get an IMDB credit until the piece is either in post-production or is finished. And they don't always get a credit for what they write. Abbie, for example, wrote the first draft of The Mummy, as well as the initial drafts of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie.
In the November 16th issue of Entertainment Weekly, show creator Tim Kring fesses* up to the problems with Heroes that have made Season 2 abysmal. He seems to have turned around a bit from when he was interviewed at the end of October, if one can believe journalism at all.
The problem is that, in EW, he sometimes fingers the wrong reasons for the show's problems. He cites the romances as dragging down the story, but fails to note the numerous plot holes that crater each episode like a lunarscape. The romances are not bad: in fact, those of us who love Hiro get squishy inside thinking of our Favorite Co-Dependent Time Shifter getting a girl. The time Hiro spends in Japan is worth every moment -- unlike the time we spend with the dopey Tar-Eyed Twins. (This week's episode has a case in point: How could any reasonable human being assume they're responsible for the sudden death of an entire wedding party? So many things about those characters just don't add up at all.) I'm even a fan of Claire's teen romance, despite its Electra Complex overtones and highly suspect beginnings, because it gets into the idea of whether or not the future is changeable. I love that Claire's father is trying to avoid the future shown in Isaac's paintings while everyone around him is trying to change it for entirely different reasons. How many Heroes does it take to change the future of a light bulb? I'd like to get more into the physics and philosophy.
(My love of X-Men is peeking under my hem, eh?)
So, if I had his ear, I'd say, Tim, please fix the goddamn plot holes. Your Pulp Fiction approach didn't pan out as you noted. We spent weeks of WTF? waiting for what should have been the beginning of the season. And introducing Adam to Peter before the trip back to medieval Japan would have been infinitely more powerful. This week's episode (which was also riddled with plot holes) proved that it's so much stronger to build the story line linearly for this show.
And there you have it. A rant.
*Just thought I'd mention that "fesses" in French means spankings. And they are deserved here!
That was the subject line for the following email from a total stranger:
Hey,
I'm trying to find an agent for my memoir, //Title Deleted to Protect the Stupid and Rude//. Below are the particulars. I would appreciate any and all leads. Thanks!
~//Name Deleted//
And she follows this with a six-paragraph description of said memoir, and an alleged publishing credit.
Dear Stupid and Rude Author:
Here is how "a sister" gets published. She learns to write. And once she's learned how to write, she learns how to write a decent fucking query letter to agents and publishers, one that grabs them enough to want to read said memoir. This is HARD, I know. Tough shit. You'll probably also have to write a gripping summary. This, too, is HARD. Tough shit. She then takes the time to research who is looking for what and then only contacts those who seem like a good market for her work. "A sister" does not spam, hound or otherwise inappropriately contact strangers via email who have better things to do than pimp her lame ass when they should be doing their own writing. I hope you realize, "sister," that my respect for you is now somewhere fifty leagues deep in the annals of the Los Angeles sewer for this kind of contact. Even if I thought your email was clever and worthy -- which it isn't -- I'd delete your ass or, better yet, put it in the spam folder.
Now, "sister," get lost and go learn how to behave appropriately in the writing market. Have the decency and discipline to develop contacts who might actually pass on your work.
Sincerely,
Maria "Name's Not 'Hey' and I'm Not Your Sister" Alexander
