Sometimes, Googling your own name yields pleasant surprises. For instance, I had hoped that when my story got published in Nature Magazine, they would select it as a podcast. Well, it turns out that they did, and the production values are amazing. It sounds exactly the way I'd imagined it, which is amazing. I already added it to my fiction page, but you can also find it here....
I'll be speaking on panels on September 25th at the SFWA tent. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity, and will be speaking about short fiction in Science Fiction and Fantasy as well as what to read while waiting for the next season of Game of Thrones. My schedule will be as follows: 1:00 PM - Short Stories: The Heart of SFF A discussion of why short stories are the heart of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and where these gems can be found. 3:00 PM - Near Future/Far Future Science fiction has been touted as being predictive of what happens next, but what's the difference between what's around the corner, and far beyond our imaginations? 4:00 PM - Beyond Game of Thrones Yes, everyone's waiting for either the next season of Game of Thrones, or the next book. What can you read until then? We will discuss other books (and series!) where intrigue and politics are the norm. This will...
I came to the U.S. from Puerto Rico because of the economy, a slo-mo apocalypse that many people I know here can't begin to understand. I have family and friends who still live there, and I've been following how it's been reported in the U.S. as a result. $72 billion is an astounding number, and is a debt the island will likely never be able to repay in full. However, the U.S. government appointed a group to preside over Puerto Rico's economy. The Junta wasn't voted for, yet they will have the power to override the democratically elected government of Puerto Rico whenever payments to service the debt are endangered. This could mean pension plans and other welfare could be slashed to ensure the debt is serviced. It also means that young people (up to 25 years of age) can be subject to a minimum wage of $4.25. I've seen many articles which...
One of the first science fiction books I read which seemed to make my synapses fire off all at once in a cognitive supernova was William Gibson's Neuromancer. In it, Gibson presents both AIs Wintermute and Neuromancer as complementary halves of one family's mega-corporation. In essence, by unifying both the AIs the corporation started by the Tessier-Ashpools, their corporation--and by extension, their family influence--would become immortal. Sort of like the literalization of a corporation's "going concern." As can be expected, the AIs here are vast demi-godlike entities, alien and threatening by turns. Re-reading Naomi Kritzer's "Cat Pictures Please" the AI there is more interested in finding ways to please or help different people who post cat pictures online. It's a cute and very positive story. It also offers a clever explanation for why cat pictures are one of the currencies of current internet culture. The story is told from the point of view of the AI...
While I enjoyed reading Chuck Tingle's posts, I must admit that I'm not at a point in my writing career where I followed all of the ups and downs. I also realized that the one thing I read was Naomi Kritzer's award-winning story, "Cat Pictures Please." What I'm getting at is that I'm woefully behind on my reading. ...