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I absolutely love the B-52’s, but I had thought they were part of history, and in my mind they were starting to fade.

Imagine my surprise to find out that, not only did they come out with a new album, but they came out with it back in March!

And I just now found out!

You can believe I immediately zipped over to iTunes and snagged a copy.

Nobody can get me bouncing around like the B-52’s can!

My friend Bill and I started up an online SF publication several years ago, called Dark Energy, mainly because we wanted to learn the editing side of the business.

Speaking for myself, the education has been extremely valuable.  I’ve been able to apply it directly to my professional life, as editing is pretty much what I do for a living now — albeit in a corporate environment.

But as we all learn, we grow, and sadly I came to the conclusion that I’ve moved past our dear old SF publication.  I don’t have the time to devote to it, and neither does Bill.  Our attempt to use a junior editor didn’t really help.  And so this morning I pulled the plug on the website.

I’d thought briefly about selling it, or passing it on to others to continue running, but finally decided I am very proud to have built what we built and would hate to see someone else wrecking it.  For a small publication with a non-existent budget, we upheld extremely high standards and chose only the best of the best that landed in our slush pile.  There was no publishing friends because they were our friends, and there was no publishing of our own works.  Though at least a few of those who we did publish became our friends, and one even joined our writer’s group.  (Denny, we miss you.)

One of the stories we published, Jesus Christ Lord of Hosts Meets L.A. County by Holly Day, remains one of my favorite all time stories anywhere.

I went ahead and paid for the domain name for another year, and so the stories we published will remain there for everyone to read until June 2009.

I’m focusing my energies back toward writing, and also toward podcasting which — thanks to Melanie Fletcher — is my current creative obsession:  Don’t Quit Your Day Job: The Podcast

Bill still edits another publication we started, Quantum Kiss, which specializes in Romantic Speculative Fiction.

A waiter walked up to the table
Wearing a suit jacket that was far too small—
There was no way he could button it, and the
Sleeves came halfway up to his elbows
He sported a overlarge red bow tie
Black curly hair with oil in it, and
A large, obviously fake mustache
Which curled in waxed spirals at the ends.

“May I take your order, please?” he asked.

Before we could answer
A nude woman holding a pomegranate, with a
Bayoneted rifle slung over her shoulder
And flanked by two huge yellow and black tigers
Complained that she had been stung by a bee
And wanted her money back.

We sat for eleven minutes waiting
Then realized that ants were eating the silverware.

This is an excerpt from the show “Don’t Quit Your Day Job”

“After a prolific and esteemed career, Sir Arthur has passed away in Sri Lanka.”

Clarke’s books were the first real SF I read.  It was Tom Swift > James Bond > Arthur Clarke.

This is a sad day for our genre, but who knows … if there an “other side” to this existence, he is now on his most adventurous odyssey.

- Jerry 

I stumbled upon this and thought it was a new form of vanity press.  Well, it is, and it isn’t.

This is a rather gray area market which is seeking previously published works of fiction (up to 50,000 words).  Your work has to be accepted, and when it is, it goes into the digital equivalent of a big pile at the center of the website.

Readers then comb through the stories, figure out which ones look interesting, and add them to their custom built anthology.  When their anthology is full, the reader picks a pretty picture for the cover, ads a title, forks over $14.95 and a freshly minted copy of the book is POD’ed and sent directly to them through the mail.

If they choose one of your stories (or one of your covers, for you artists out there) your account gets credited a set royalty for the sale.

I have my doubts about the ultimate viability of this business model, but you never know.  It could be the next big thing.

Did I submit any of my previously published stories to AnthologyBuilder.com?  No, I did not.  Legit or not it still smells of vanity press to me.

Back in March of last year, I had signed on to my dream job, or at least what I thought was my dream job:  Full Time Writer

But now I have my uber-dream job:  Digital Marketing Specialist.

Now it’s back to most of my writing being for my own projects.  What I’m doing professionally, now, is being a sort of hands-on project manager for several large important corporate websites.

I love creating websites, as you can no doubt tell from my large collection of them.

And now I won’t be burning up all my writing fuel cells at work, which means more writing on these blogs again, and more time spent on my novel.

I am honored to be one of the guest writers / publishers at ConDFW 2008 this weekend.  Anyone showing up can find me on the following panels:

Saturday 10 am    Panel Room 2 (Rose/Magnolia)
Does Fantasy Mean Paranormal?
Hosted by Jerry J. Davis, Lillian Stewart Carl, Lee Killough and Nina Romberg.

Industry Pros discuss the difference between the genres of fantasy and paranormal fiction.  Are these just synonyms or are there real differences?    How does understanding the difference help you to get published?

Saturday 11 am    Panel Room 4 (Pecan)
Starting Your Own Publishing Company
Hosted by Jerry Davis, Glenn Yeffeth, and Thomas W. Knowles.

Sure … sure … everybody wants to be the writer.   But writers never get anything in print without the unsung hero of the industry – the publisher.    Industry pros discuss the career of publishing, what it takes to enter this field and what it takes to succeed.

Saturday 12 pm    Reading Room (Live Oak)
The author will be reading.

Saturday 1 pm        Panel Room 2 (Rose/Magnolia)
The Haunted City:  Urban Fantasy Today
Hosted by Rachel Caine, Jerry J. Davis, Carole Nelson Douglas, Brad Sinor, and Lee Killough

Industry pros discuss the urban fantasy genre.   What makes this style essential, vital, beautiful and what needs to be paved over?    And is there any room left in this haunted city?

Sunday 12 pm        Panel Room 2 (Rose/Magnolia)    
Published in the Periodicals: The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Magazine Market
Hosted by Lou Antonelli, Jerry J. Davis, Linda Donahue, Rhonda Eudaly and J.M. McDermott

Industry pros discuss the getting published in magazines.    Who is really looking?   What are the really exciting markets?   And what can you do to maximize your chances of escaping from the slush pile?

Short stories are harder to write than novels.  It’s a completely different mindset and style, and if you’ve been writing novel scenes and then suddenly try to write a short story … your short story will be 30,000 words before you realize it.

If you ever do want to tackle it, think of it like this.  Try to write a story within the structure of poem (a cinquain or a string of two or three haiku).  Then use that as your outline for the short story.  Shoot for 4000 words or less.

It can be very Zen, and after a while the challenge will be like doing a really fun puzzle.  "How can I fit the story into this little box?"  By paring it down to only the very essential parts.  Nothing more.

- Quoting myself from a comment I left to a writer
friend on her blog, which I thought I’d share
with everyone else

You know those hilarious "Demotivator" posters put out by Despair, Inc.?  Here’s a publisher called Knock Knock Books who put out hilarious anti-self-help books in the same vein.  I already showcased their guide to procrastinating on GroovyMojo, but here I wanted to honor the one I think is the most brilliant.

The Complete Manual of THINGS THAT MIGHT KILL YOU.

From their website:  "Hypochondriacs have long had to satisfy their needs for self-diagnosis with medical reference materials written for the masses, but this revolutionary book is dedicated entirely to the hypochondriac’s unique perspective on health. The world’s worst maladies, conveniently organized by symptom (real or imagined), will ignite even the mildest hypochondriac’s fantasy life. We’re all going to die of something—why not choose an ailment that’s rare and hard to pronounce?"

It features: 

• Profiles of over 300 deadly diseases
• Organized by symptom for ease of self-diagnosis
• At-a-glance ratings system of contagion, pain, suffering, and death
• Fascinating spotlights on terrifying medical phenomena

Society is not doomed so long as humor survives.  This book just might save your life.