MythCon July 20-23 in Atlanta!

Come on out to Mythcon July 20-23 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlanta! I'll be there speaking on a panel and selling books. Would love to see you there!
Panel time TBD...stay tuned for more information!

Meanwhile, you can visit http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-49.htm to learn more.

Come out to WHOlanta May 4-6!

I'll be at WHOlanta, Atlanta's Dr. Who and all things fun convention, this weekend, May 4-6, at the Hilton Atlanta Airport! If you'll be there, come visit me in the vendor room and chat with me on some fun panels:

Saturday, May 5
10 a.m.: Libraries and Librarians in Fantasy
11 a.m.: Alien But Not too Alien
2 p.m.: Has the YA Bubble Burst?
4 p.m.: Judging a Book by its Cover

Sunday, May 6
12 p.m.: Worldbuilding 101

See the full weekend schedule and all the amazing guests at https://wholanta.com/

Totally stunned..."Psycho Babbles" is an Official Top Five Finalist!

I honestly didn't expect it. After many, many months of doubt this past year and at the start of this year...me thinking that "maybe my writing is just a joke...no one seems to care at all..."

Screencraft just announced that "Psycho Babbles" is a Top Five finalist in the 2017 Cinematic Short Story Contest!

As announced on Screencraft's website:

Syringe-Fed Ferrets by Samuel Martin has been selected as the Grand Prize Winner of the 2017 ScreenCraft Short Story Contest.

Missives From The Green Campaign by David Armstrong has been named the runner-up.

Both Martin and Armstrong will have their stories published for a limited time on ScreenCraft and submitted to our network of literary magazines, agents, managers, publishers and studio executives, as will the following three finalists linked below:

• Jack Mulcahy, ‘Ware The Power
• Alison Reeger Cook, Psycho Babbles
• Jordan Hill, Marching Toward Golgotha

All the winning stories should be posted soon, so stay tuned to Screencraft (and check out all the cool articles about screenwriting and working in the entertainment industry. Very important stuff).

"Psycho Babbles" is a Quarter-Finalist in the Cinematic Short Story Competition!

A few years ago, my short story "Psycho Babbles" was a runner-up in the Writer's Digest Sci-fi story contest. I had planned to do more with it, but it has remained dormant, until now...

Announced today, it is an:



Check out all the quarter-finalists here, and good luck to everyone on the next round!

Celebrating the Season with a Brand New Book!

Happy Publication Day for "Chronicles of Mirstone"! 

Six talented authors lend their voices to a tale of destruction, mistrust and ... hope.

Two hundred years ago, the dwarven clans and the elvish houses of Mirstone were at peace. The king of the dwarves, in a selfish and greedy move, used his wizards to expand their mountain empire, raising new peaks from the forest floors of their elven neighbors. War and hatred ensue.

Grab your copy now!


Also, upcoming events where you can meet me!

DAHLONEGA LITERARY FESTIVAL
March 24-25, 2018
Lumpkin County Community House
N Park St.
Dahlonega, GA 30533
 

JORDANCON
April 20-22, 2018
Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia
4355 Ashford Dunwoody Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30346

WHOLANTA
May 4-6, 2018
Hilton Atlanta Airport
1031 Virginia Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia 30345

AND FINALLY...

What's the best gift you can give to an author this season? A book review on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, on your blog or favorite social media site of your choice.

Seriously, authors love this more than anything else. Reviews don't cost a cent, just a minute of your time. And it means the world to us. It doesn't even have to be long; "I loved it!" or "Great read!" is enough.

Have a safe and happy holiday season, wherever you may be, as long as it is with loved ones.

Updates, Events, and a New Anthology Coming Up!

It's been a while since I posted, so here's some news...

First of all, a BIG thank you to everyone who came out to Brenau LitFest last weekend! It was the first literature and arts festival hosted by Brenau University, and everyone had a great time! A special thank you to children's book author Carmen Agra Deedy, who was our keynote speaker! She's fantastic!

We hope to do this event again next year, so be sure to stay tuned for future plans!



Second, my next author event will be CONjuration, Nov. 3-5, at the Marriott Century Center in
Atlanta. For you Harry Potter fans - or you general fantasy and sci-fi fans - this is the event for you! It's always a ton of fun and I look forward to it every year!

To learn more, go to www.conjurationcon.com.



Finally, to be officially released this December 1:

 "Chronicles of Mirstone" is an anthology of stories from the magical world of Mirstone. Six talented authors bring to life twelve tales from this shared world, each more incredible than the last.

Two hundred years ago, the dwarven clans and the elvish houses of Mirstone were at peace. The king of the dwarves, in a selfish and greedy move, used his wizards to expand their mountain empire, raising new peaks from the forest floors of their elven neighbors. War and hatred ensue.

The tales within offer a glimpse into the minds of the elves and dwarves who live in the aftermath. Come, journey into the world of Mirstone.

But why wait? Pre-order now on Amazon!

Why Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is Really Steven Universe

I saw Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets this past weekend, and my overall impression of it was…meh. And apparently, the majority of movie-going audiences agreed with me, as VCTP had one of the worst opening weekends for an independent film ever, only grossing $17 million of its $209 million production budget, making it the most expensive independent film ever made.

But you know what could have helped this movie grab a bigger audience? Maybe a little rebranding…I mean, folks aren’t that familiar with the Valerian and Laureline comic books, but what if you attached something people love to this project, say…Cartoon Network’s animated hit Steven Universe?

Why do I say this? Because there are some uncanny similarities between VCTP and SU, which at first may look coincidentally superficial, but the deeper you delve, the more you see (or can’t unsee).…

Here are the eight ways VCTP is actually SU (if SU fused with the visuals of The Fifth Element).

WARNING: Some Spoilers Ahead!

1. Gem-based alien race – This is what got me thinking about the comparison. In VCTP, we have the Pearls from the planet Mül, a race of people whose entire existence relies on cultivating and mass-producing pearls which supply massive amounts of energy. It’s a fairly “female-looking” race of aliens, where even the Pearl emperor has a feminine look and voice (given that he’s voiced and portrayed by two French actresses). In SU, the Gems are a race of female aliens who are all derived from various types of gemstones – including pearls, of course – and their gemstones are the center of their energy and powers. Coincidence? Yeah, pretty sure it is, but it only gets weirder...

     

2. Pearl design – So this ties into my first point, but what really stuck with me was how the design for the Pearl race in VCTP looks so much like the character design for Pearl in SU. Pale skin, insanely thin, blue eyes, an oblong-shaped head (although SU Pearl’s head looks oblong because of her hairstyle) and pearls on the forehead (at least VCTP Pearl royalty has them, and the pearls are for decoration, not an embedded facial feature). Even Princess Loihi’s dress design is similar to that of Blue Pearl, with the blue gauzy material.

    

 3. Male protagonist has a female alien entity “inside” him – Steven Universe’s mother, Rose Quartz, gave up her physical form when Steven was born, and now her gemstone is embedded on his stomach, which somehow means he’s also Rose Quartz but not really…not totally sure how that works. When Princess Loihi dies in VCTP, she sends her spirit out into the universe to find a benevolent, good-hearted host to inhabit…and picks Valerian. Out of literally billions upon billions of available hosts. But I mean, Steven and Valerian are so similar…except Steven is likeable, while Valerian is a womanizing, self-serving douche (wait…Lars?).

    

 4. Shapeshifting sidekick – So apparently all Gems from SU have the power to shapeshift, but only one character does it on a regular basis: Amethyst. She’s sassy, opinionated, and feels a bit like a outsider because of her history. She uses shapeshifting both to protect herself as well as for the enjoyment of being other people/things, and she will go out of her way to protect the male hero, even at risking herself. VCTP’s Bubble (yes, that’s really her name) matches this description to a tee, although her blue, watery visage also reminds me of Lapis Lazuli. Also, both have a tentacle / whip weapon motif (minds out of the gutter, please).

  

                   

        5. Villain is okay with committing genocide on an entire race that doesn’t even have anything to do with the war he/she is fighting – Man, apparently a villain doesn’t even need to know you to want to wipe you out of existence. The Diamonds of SU, particularly the cold and ruthless Yellow Diamond, have been at war with the Crystal Gem rebels for centuries, and since the Crystal Gems are guarding Earth, the Diamonds want to form a geo-weapon by growing a massive Cluster Gem buried in the Earth’s core. Since the Cluster would form as an entity larger than the Earth itself, it would literally burst apart the whole planet, killing all human life. But at least the human race stands a chance in SU – not so with VCTP’s planet Mül, which had the unfortunate luck of being in the same vicinity as where humans and an unknown alien race were having a galactic battle. Desperate for victory, the humans unleash a nuclear missile to take out their adversaries, and at the same time blow up all of Mül. Yikes.

       6. There’s a thing in the middle of the world that we know pretty much nothing about except that it’s going to kill everyone - VCTP’s city of Alpha has a mysterious “dark force” dead smack in the center that no inspection team has ever come back from alive, and it’s growing bigger. SU has a giant Cluster Gem in the Earth’s core, and it’s growing bigger. Discworld never had these problems, you know why? No spherical center.

      7. Popular R&B singer plays a kick-ass (both literally and figuratively) character – We all love a strong female character who not only can whoop the baddies, but can do it while belting out a killer tune. So VCTP cast Grammy-winning Rihanna as shapeshifting alien Bubble, and SU’s power-gloved Garnet is voiced by British soul singer Estelle.  They’re both even one-name artists (who needs a last name anyway?).

       

 

        8. There’s some fusion stuff – Okay, this one is a stretch, since the Gem fusions in SU are when two characters literally fuse together to make a whole new person with completely different abilities and personalities. But VCTP has some “fusing” moments, like when Valerian and Bubble combine to disguise themselves as a primitive cannibal alien, or when Laureline “fuses” with a telepathic jellyfish to locate Valerian’s whereabouts.

Any similarities I may have left out? Share in the comments your thoughts!