V - Victims

War doesn’t exist without victims. A whole lot of victims. Victims you don’t even necessarily think of. We all know that soldiers are going to die. But how about the victims like the forest? Cutting down trees for supplies. Or the homes that get ransacked by soldiers that need some place to stay.

In war, nobody and nothing can go unaffected. If you’ve heard about a war, it’s going to affect you, Maybe not in any serious way, but that war is going to affect you. And so often, writers forget about that. The emotional, spiritual, financial implications of a war.

Just food for thought.

Voss

U - Seek the Unexpected

Name me a science fiction musical. And…go!

Have an answer? My bet is that most everyone came up with Either The Rocky Horror Picture Show (or The Rocky Horror Show) or Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Now, how many people would actually think of science fiction and a musical together, in one beast? Not a lot of people. It’s a great idea, but it’s…well, it’s not the kind of thing that you expect, to be honest.

Well, I make it a point to track down sci-fi musicals. Why? Because I love Rocky Horror and Repo. I love sci-fi. I love musicals. And do you know why they work? It’s because they are just a little to the left. They work because they are not the norm. I mean, if everyone did sci-fi musicals, I don’t honestly think that Repo would be nearly as big as it is. It would still be a good movie, but it wouldn’t have the same following, I don’t think, if there were two dozen other sci-fi musicals out there with full, huge, Hollywood style budgets. It would be just a low quality movie, I’m afraid. Maybe *gasp* the same fate would befall Rocky Horror, too. Not as likely.

So, when you can, if you’re looking for something new, look for something unexpected, something without many other examples. They tend to have something going for them, a certain exuberance that mainstream cinema has a nasty tendency to edit out.

In my search, I now turn to you: any sci-fi musicals I absolutely must see?

Voss

T - Tartaros: The Cast

So many interviews and questionnaires and such ask the same thing: who would you cast in your book. I’ve always avoided it, because I don’t like doing that. It annoys me, because I know that they won’t be perfect. But, just for you, I’m going to give it a try. I’m going to cast Tartaros the way I would if I had complete, absolute control. Just the main characters, though.

Daniel Tartaros: Logan Lerman. He’s about half a foot too short, but I think he could at least attempt to bring the character to life the way I would like.

Yolanda/Lilith: Keira Knightley. I feel like she would be intense enough (This is all assuming I have things exactly the way I want, folks. Just let me have my delusions for a while.).

Isaiah Masterson: Josh Hutcherson. It seems like everyone I pick is the same height. It’s getting a little ridiculous. But, aside from that, he could be Isaiah, I think. I don’t know why.

Archer: Mitch Hewer. He looks a little bit too cute and innocent, but I have faith in him, I really do.

John Smith: Paul Sorvino. A little off, but he looks like he has a past. And John has a past.

Irene Smith: Imelda Staunton. With hair dye or something, it wouldn’t be hard at all to make her into an old woman. Hair dye and makeup and a cigar. That could work.

Shauna Bronson: Milla Jovovich. She’s experienced enough in combat, and we already know she can pull off being a redhead.

Rosalita Sanchez: Michelle Rodriguez. She’d need to be age up, but I like the way she would work, and I love her as an actress anyway.

And that’s my last word on the matter. The one and only time I’ll ever touch on the subject, unless I actually get the chance to cast this movie. Then, in reality, I’ll probably try and get mostly unknowns.

Want to read the book and judge my choices? Pick it up on Amazon.

Voss

S - Series

Why is it that you’re so much more likely to find series in genre fiction? I’ve never really thought about this before, so bear with me.

I think it goes back. A ways back. Back when genre fiction came out with new stuff weekly, and when fans read anything with a spaceship or a sorcerer on the cover. Back then, there was just too much. So our obsession with the series came about, because we knew that we liked this book, that book, or the other book. So, when someone said ‘this is what comes after that book that you love,’ we listen. We go to it.

But that’s not all. The next book was reliable. If they hadn’t been reliable, I think we wouldn’t have the same jumble of trilogies, duologies, and endless armies (i.e. Dragonlance). But the next book worked. And then the one after that still worked for the fans.

And today, it’s still useful. People have ‘their authors.’ That’s who they read, because they know they can get quality from those authors. So, series, I think, are a natural extension of fandom. But there isn’t really mainstream fandom. I mean, how can you be a fan of something with nothing to bind it together other than being appealing to a lot of people. That’s why we get all the series and they get a lot of single books that get lost in anonymity.

That’s my theory, anyway.

Voss

R - Top Ten Rainy Day Reads

So, I am mentally exhausted, but I’m still throwing up this post. It’s not going to be quite so in-depth. I’ll make it up to you later. But here they are: my top ten Rainy Day Reads. What makes a Rainy Day Read (complete with capitals)? It needs to be fast and it can’t deal with anything super-heavy. That simple.

10: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

9: My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland (I’ll be discussing the book more later in the month)

8: The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

7: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (It would rate higher, but you really have to read up to at least the third book of the Twilight Saga to understand it)

6: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

5: Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez

4: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

3: You are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay

2: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott

1: Lamb by Christopher Moore

What do you like to read on rainy days? Maybe I can build up my list.

Voss

Q - Quark's...and a Question

When I went to RadCon his year, I had a memorable experience…or fifty. But we’re only here to talk about one: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Drinks. It was a late-night panel on the first day. Now the description was pretty vague, but everyone thought they were going to give us drink recipes. That’s the only explanation I can come to for why, when I showed up, it was standing room only.

Here’s the memorable part. In walks the one lone panelist. He gets up to the front and says, ‘I have a Ph.D.’ And half the room stood up and walked out. But I stayed. It was fascinating. He talked about how wines and brandies and ales were made, and then applied that to blood wine and dwarven ale. It made me happy.

And it reignited my passion to write about liquor. So, here comes the question part: what liquors do you feel are under-represented in fiction? Who knows—it could make it into a future project.

Voss

P - Top Ten Presents for Readers

Ever have a hard time shopping for the readers in your life? Try out some of these. They have my stamp of approval.

10: Books: It would be number one, but it’s the obvious answer, isn’t it? It’s still a good fallback for any reader. But put some thought into it. Get something that’s at least in a genre they read. Or, if you don’t know what genre(s) they read in, go for something that’s immensely popular. That’s normally a safe bet. Now, if there’s a book that you know they like, try searching online for books that other people recommend based on that book. Goodreads has that feature built in.

9: Anything other than a bookmark: Seriously. A pile of fancy rocks would be better. Readers have bookmarks. I myself must have at least twenty, and that’s after purging the ones I was willing to get rid of. But readers will pick up bookmarks anywhere and everywhere, so that’s really not what they need.

8: A new copy of a book: Find the most tattered and destroyed book your reader has on the shelf and buy a new copy for them. You won’t believe how happy it will make them, and it shows that you know them on a personal level. Win-win.

7: An old copy of a book: That’s not falling apart, of course. But, if you can find an old hardback copy, or even an old paperback copy, of a book that your reader loves…wow. Major brownie points for at least a year.

6: Ear plugs: For the thriftier among us (like moi), ear plugs are the way to go. Go to the dollar store and get a couple packs, especially if you have an easily distractible reader in your life.

5: A gift card: You must feed the reading addiction, folks. A gift card to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Hastings, or just a local book shop. Whatever it takes. And, if you were planning on buying them a new book but couldn’t decide, just go this route. I guarantee that your reader will have at least ten books that they want to read but can’t afford.

4: A signed book: Best bet here is to go for a book they already have. Extra points for you if you can snag their copy and go get it signed. But, if you have the money, a signed copy of a beloved book is absolutely wonderful. And it normally makes the author of the book feel pretty good, too, if you end up having them sign it in person.

3: Bookshelves: Any shelves, really. Anything they can put books in, really. More room is the name of the game, because more room means more books, and more books are good. Even if you’re just offering to come in with some L-brackets and put up a couple planks of wood on the wall, it will be appreciated.

2: An e-reader: This is really only for those gift-givers that are rather financially solvent, mind you. But, in the long run, it will save your reader some money. E-Books are cheaper. And this way you won’t have to see your reader friend out on the street, surrounded by stacks of books.

1: A reading day: The number one complaint I hear from readers is that they just don’t have time. Well, make them some time. Find a day when they’re off work and get rid of their significant other, take their kids for the day (or even the weekend, if you’re an extra-special friend), and tell them to read. That’s their one job is to read. Whether they do it or not is up to them, but give them the opportunity.

Any important suggestions I forgot?

Voss