SciFi (superpowers) – Page 11 – Erin Penn's Second Base

Other Cool Blogs: Black Nerd Problems 6/25/2018

June 27, 2019November 13, 2019 Erin Penn

Meme by Erin Penn

I love superheroes – and when you can book nerd AND comic nerd at the same time, life is amazing.

Tara Betts wrote two articles for the Black Nerd Problems about the literature shown in Luke Cage – Season One and Season Two. If you have been looking for some good things to read along these lines, check them out.

Comics have long had a history of activism and culture. They follow the growth of a hero story, the myths of the Greek, and question prejudice and the cost of being different. All buried in entertainment, but the kids get it.

Reading and storytelling is about growing your world. Visit Black Nerd Problems, it can help.

Again the links are as follows –

Black Nerd Problems website: https://blacknerdproblems.com/

The Luke Cage Syllabus: A Breakdown of All the Black Literature Featured in Netflix’s Luke Cage (published 10/4/2016): https://blacknerdproblems.com/the-luke-cage-syllabus-a-breakdown-of-all-the-black-literature-featured-in-netflixs-luke-cage/

The Luke Cage Syllabus: A Breakdown of All the Black Literature Featured in Season Two of the Netflix Hit (published 6/25/2018): https://blacknerdproblems.com/the-luke-cage-syllabus-volume-two/

Book Review: When the Villain Comes Home

June 4, 2019June 10, 2019 Erin Penn

Book Cover from Amazon

When the Villain Comes Home edited by Gabrielle Harbowy and Ed Greenwood. Published by Dragon Moon Press.

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

Heroes can save the world, but villains can CHANGE it.

We’ve assembled a great mix of science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction. Come with us while we explore villains of all stripes — sons and daughters, lovers and fighters, minions and masterminds, in this giant volume of thirty great stories by award winners, rising stars, and bold new voices. With masterful tales by: Camille Alexa, Erik Scott de Bie, Chaz Brenchley, Eugie Foster, David Sakmyster, Marie Bilodeau, Richard Lee Byers, K.D. McEntire, Peadar Ó Guilín, Jim C. Hines, Ari Marmell, Karin Lowachee, Jay Lake, Julie Czerneda, J.M. Frey, Clint Talbert, Rachel Swirsky, Tony Pi, Leah Petersen, J.P. Moore, Ryan McFadden, Todd McCaffrey, Erik Buchanan, Gregory A. Wilson, Rosemary Jones, Gabrielle Harbowy, Ed Greenwood, Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon, Chris A. Jackson, Steve Bornstein

MY REVIEW

An anthology of 31 stories.

As always, an anthology is an un-even collection of skills set and stories. This one is about villains returning to an origin point they somehow thought of as “home”.

The concept presented in The Sunshine Baron by Peadar O Guilin is still freaking me out; as often happens in fantasy, the land lives and dies by the Hero-King, such as Arthur. Can you imagine the suffering under the Ruler of the Land when he is a selfish, gutless, self-serving Crown instead? I need to imagine no more; Peadar O’Guilin provided the perfect example when this villain is returned home.

Villianelle by Chaz Brenchley shows that villains can return to their roots to start growing again, though the base plant never changes.

Anyway, whether they are bad guys, worse guys, monsters, killers or just thieves, each of these villains must return home again. For some that home was heaven and others hell; most glimpses of home helps give the reader understanding why the character became a villain. Those at home were monsters (Oranges, Lemons, and Thou beside me), or maybe needed protecting from monsters (Hunger of the Blood Reever).

A fun read, mixing fantasy and sci-fi, a little heavy on the superpowered at the beginning.

Trigger Alert – two of the stories have rape. Not unexpected in a Villain anthology.

Author Spotlight: David Alan Jones

May 21, 2019May 25, 2020 Erin Penn

Amazon Cover

I love me some superhero stories, and when my publisher sent me Drawn: A Rose Carver Novel an urban fantasy with heavy superhero trappings, I fell immediately in love with David Alan Jones’ manuscript. It’s hard not to with the Rose Carver, waitress turn promotion-gimmick for a war she doesn’t want to fight – but she intends to win.

We had some trials getting it through production, starting this book way back in January 2017. One of them being as soon as I was able to turn around the first round of edits, another one of his books had been picked up as a solicited submission for a full read by a Major Publisher – and that manuscript needed a brush-up before sending in.

He approached us and asked if he could delay his contracted work. Very professional of him. Even with everything happening in his business and private life, the man always remains the pinnacle of professional. He didn’t consider the contract he signed with a Small Press to be any less important than an opportunity with a Major Publisher.

My boss approved the delay, and Mr. Jones got back to us as soon as he was able.

If you like supporting good people who produce great work, pick up something Mr. Jones has done. Other genres he has worked in include: science fiction military/mech (Scholarship: Death before Default) and science fiction cyberpunk (Flesh Blood Steel).

Author Spotlight: Patrick Dugan

February 19, 2019October 15, 2022 Erin Penn

Cover from Amazon

The wonderful thing about editing is getting to know authors on levels not normally found in a professional relationship. Perfecting a story in someone’s voice means knowing that voice, the values in the voice; not necessarily where the values came from, but what the author treasures and wants to share with the world. An editor helps an author hone that and all other aspects of the voice.

Patrick Dugan, whom I edited Storm Forged and the forthcoming Unbreakable Storm for, has been a joy to get to know during the editing process. His voice is uplifting. The process to get that voice on paper, not always as spiritual. Sometimes we banged heads, and sometimes the banging of the heads had stuff fall out which amazed us both. But most times we were just passing secret notes back and forth, him asking “what do you think?” and me going “write it out, now!”

He has a story to tell, several in fact, both entertaining and enlightening. The superhero series is not only about being a superhero and all the wonder using powers entails, but a coming-of-age story for the main character and a social commentary on institutionalized racism. And family, central to the series is a sense of family.

Family is also central to Mr. Dugan. I got to attend the book release party at his house for Storm Forged where his family and friends gathered to congratulate him on moving from a writer to a published author. The party was for them, those that took the journey with him over the years to get to the point he had words within a book. A thank you. I was along for the last few steps of his trip and was honored he asked me to join the celebration.

Mr. Dugan is good about that. Thank yous. He realizes the journey, whichever one you take – programming (his day job), raising children, or writing a book – is not a solitary one.

Look up the Dark Storm series. It’s about heroes, and family; about never going it alone, and growing up; about the horrors the world can create, and how they should be fought.

Patrick Dugan can be found at his Secret Lair website here: http://www.patrickdugan.net/

Dark Storm can be bought through Square direct from the publisher in paperback format (giving the author maximum profits): Paperback

And here is the link is to Amazon for the eBook and Audio book.

Writing Exercise: 50-Word Prompts 2018

December 25, 2018August 16, 2026 Erin Penn

WRITING EXERCISE

I participated in a 50-word prompt day in 2013. A visual and a text prompt alternated every hour for twelve hours. Creatively, it was great fun. I published the results in 2017 on 2/19/17, 2/26/17, 3/19/17, and 3/26/17.

For Christmas, I thought I would keep the Writing Exercise short and sweet. Write two 50-word flashes – aim for 50 words, give or take five extra words. Write them directly in comments below so you don’t think about them too much.

TEXT PROMPT FOR 50-WORD FLASH: Performance

VISUAL PROMPT FOR 50-WORD FLASH

Photo by Charles Gaudreault on Unsplash

My attempts

TEXT PROMPT: Performance

Responding to the standing ovation, I look left down the line of actors as we stand linked hand-and-hand. We bow in unison, and the clapping grows louder. The marquee steps in front, and the house shakes, a physical force as the shouts hit us. Next time, I’ll be center stage. (first published 3/21/2022; words 50)

VISUAL PROMPT

The rest of the volunteers stopped arguing about the treatment when Devil Dog showed his abs. Four days ago Dutch had been one of them, now he stood alongside their “advisors”. While the others focused on his abs, Elisa studied the scars barely visible along the edges of the clothing. (first published 3/21/2022; words 50)

Series: 50-word Prompts