Just The Caffeine Talking

The First CYBER WorldCon!

This year's World Science Fiction Convention was to have taken place in New Zealand, but since that country is entirely sealed off from the outside world, the convention has gone entirely on-line. It's a CYBER WorldCon! See the link here.

Despite obstacles the show will go on! I'm participating in several events, without leaving my house in Massachusetts. Here's my schedule (all times are in US Eastern Daylight Time):

Wednesday, July 29, 5:00 p.m.: Kaffeeklatsch

An hour-long informal hangout with me and nine other fans. Grab a drink and join us! (I probably will be having something stronger than coffee.)

Wednesday, July 29, 7:00 p.m.: Staying Closer to Home: Science Fiction in the Solar System

A panel featuring Daniel Abraham, Jeffrey Carver, myself, G. David Nordley, and Ian McDonald; focusing on the future of science fiction set within the Solar System rather than among the stars, and how our rapidly changing understanding of the Sun's other planets is affecting that.

Thursday, July 30, 5:00 p.m.: COVID-19: A Great Filter?

A panel featuring Valentin Ivanov, Vylar Kaftan, Ion Newcombe, and myself. We'll discuss whether pandemics like the current Coronavirus outbreak might explain why we don't see any sign of technological civilizations elsewhere in the Galaxy.

Thursday, July 30, 6:00 p.m.: Reading

I'll be doing a 20-minute reading of "Calando," a new short story of mine from the original anthology Retellings of the Inland Seas.

Friday, July 31, 6:00 p.m.: The Ascent of Wonder: What Makes Hard SF

Panel starring Kenn Bates, myself, Mark English, Harun Siljak, and Deborah Munro. We'll focus on how important it is to get the science right, what rules can we break, and who does it well?

Friday, July 31, 11:00 p.m.: RPG Design (And What to Do Next)

Join Michael Sands, Morgan Davie, Brandon O'Brien, myself, and Stephen Dedman for a discussion of how to design role-playing games and how to get them published.

Another Cup of Tea

The complete "Teatime Readings" series is now available for viewing on YouTube. You can see them here. Or you can skip right to my reading from The Initiate.

There's a lot of good stuff and some interesting comments and conversation. Check it out.

Inland Seas Reviews

The first reviews of Retellings of the Inland Seas are out, and it looks as though this collection is getting a good reception. 

Nerds of a Feather reviews it here.

Treehouse Writers blog reviews it here.

It's always interesting to see how different reviewers look at the same book. I like to see varying takes. When everyone focuses on the same things I'm always suspicious they're just reading the press release.

 

The Glorious Fourth of July

Two hundred and forty-four years ago a group of men signed a remarkable document: a Declaration of Independence. They wrote out their reasons for defying their King, and signed their names to it, then published the whole thing. They even sent a copy to the King they were challenging, even though they all knew this would bring down the full force of what was, at the time, the mightiest military power in the world. 

The signers of the Declaration were not desperate men. Most were well-off, and some were quite rich. They had a lot to lose, and of course the penalty for what they were doing was death. But they made their choice because they — and many of their fellow citizens — believed that they were no longer Englishmen. They were Americans. They chose to be Americans and fight to be Americans even if being American would get them hanged or shot.

Today we should remember that choice, and live up to it. Be Americans.