The 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special Trailer Is HERE!!

I don't know about you, but for me, Christmas can't come fast enough! I can't wait for that mysterious visitor's annual visit...

No, I'm not talking about Santa...I'm talking about Doctor Who! The trailer just dropped for this year's Christmas special, an episode most Whovians are waiting anxiously for.

Peter Capaldi, David Bradley, Pearl Mackey, and....Mark Gatiss!! Now, if only we had a Time Lord handy to take us to Christmas NOW!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

'Stranger Things 2' Trailer Has Just Dropped!

They had me at Dragon's Lair!

Set to the backdrop music of "Thriller," this trailer holds thrills, chills, and clues to the season to come! Poor Will, we might have guessed that life wouldn't return to normal upon his return at the end of last season... But he has his friends by his side! There's just enough time to binge watch season 1 again before Stranger Things 2 premieres on Netflix on October 27.

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Are You Ready? 'Ready Player One' Trailer Revealed, and It Doesn't Disappoint!

Nerds everywhere rejoiced as we got our first peek at the movie adaptation of Ernest Cline's novel Ready Player One, featured at San Diego Comic-Con 2017! And it is, indeed, a "holy grail of pop culture." This is it. The "oasis" for geeks everywhere. A movie that gets us. A movie that is everything we get.

Music, visuals, pop culture references....Children of the Eighties, rejoice! This is a movie for us!

Directed by Stephen Spielberg, this movie features nods to video games, movies, novels, and more. Everything geeks loved about the book seems to be represented in the film, at least as far as can be told by the trailer. But we'll have to wait until March 2018 to know for sure!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

John Barrowman Delights as Always at SDCC2017!

We're used to seeing John Barrowman's (Doctor Who, Torchwood, Arrow) antics--yet we never tire of them. Fans were delighted at San Diego Comic-Con yesterday when Barrowman pirouetted onto stage wearing a short sparkling TARDIS dress complete with yellow petticoat and matching Converse All-Stars. He treated the audience to singing and dancing, funny stories, and some honest discussion. He then answered questions from the audience. 

There's no one like @JohnBarrowman. #sdcc pic.twitter.com/Uau1kx9IAk

— 4YE @ SDCC (@4_Y_E) July 20, 2017

Of course the topic of the new Doctor came up, and he didn't shy from addressing some of the hateful reactions seen around the internet, but his ultimate message was one of hope.

“If we buy into it, we commit to it, we go where the TARDIS takes us…we get on the TARDIS, or in the TARDIS, for the journey, for the stories.”

I'm on board if you are, Captain Jack...

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Pacific Rim: Uprising Teaser, Straight from SDCC!

The wait for a peek at Pacific Rim: Uprising is over! The trailer just dropped at San Diego Comic Con, and it looks sleek, shiny, and inspiring. It embraces everything I love about mech--innovation, human endeavor, and the strength of mind plus matter. 

What do you think?

Fans can also go to gojaeger.com to see some more awesome goodness about the movie and to join the Jaeger uprising!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder from Radio Flyer! For Kids...Only?

Parents everywhere are squealing. Those with older children vow to conceive younger ones. People who vowed off kids are reconsidering. What's got everyone so wound up?

Radio Flyer's new Landspeeder, of course!

Modeled after Luke Skywalker's X-34 landspeeder from Star Wars: A New Hope, this is a drivable vehicle that includes an interactive dashboard with lights and realistic sounds, just like Luke's. There's room for two riders, and the speeder can go up to 5 mph forward and 2 mph in reverse. It has a 12V rechargeable battery, with the charger included. 

The fine print says the speeder can hold up to 130 lbs. So...it could totally hold me, right? If only I were shorter...

Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder from Radio Flyer will only be available starting 9/5/2017 at Toys R Us, and has a price tag of $499.99. That's a little above most kids' allowances, so maybe time to borrow a little from Jabba? What could go wrong?

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

What Makes Author and Editor Karen Bovenmyer Geek Out?

Karen Bovenmyer is the author of Swift for the Sun, a romantic adventure set in the 1820s Caribbean, complete with pirates, adventure, and love. She is also the nonfiction assistant editor of Mothership Zeta magazine AND teaches at Iowa State University. But most importantly for our purposes, she is a fantastic nerd, who loves gaming, sci fi, and fantasy, and whose geeky dress making skills rival my own. I asked Karen what made her geek out while she was writing her debut novel, and she said, "The Oxford Historical Thesaurus!" I had to hear more, so here she is, telling us what got her so excited!

Let’s say you want to write a pirate novel. You’ve boned up by reading pirate books across the last three centuries and watched a huge pile of nautical movies. You’ve got all five Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks on a repeat playlist. You sit down and start pounding out sword fights with cannonballs whizzing by…but how do you capture the feel of the time? The linguistic zeitgeist?

No sweat. The Oxford Historical Thesaurus is there for you, friend.

This subscription-only service has already been paid for by many libraries and can be accessed by logging in to your local library’s website, so don’t let that daunt (bash, dastardize, dishearten, intimidate, quail, subdue, unnerve, or vanquish) you.

In need of a malediction or curse? The OHT has nearly four hundred interjections from the ancient roots of Old English (“Lo!” meaning “Oh!”), to the creative medievals (“By the mouse-foot!” 1532), past our beloved pirates (“Shiver my timbers!” 1834), and through modern times (“By the hokey fiddle!” 1922).

Need period-specific terms for body parts? There are ninety-one for buttock, from flitch (700) to tush (1962). Warning—reading the list aloud may cause excessive giggling. Some of my favorites include bahookie (1939), bumfiddle (1675), catastrophe (1600), paddock (1475), and bewscher (1400).

English-speakers are not only good at maledictions and body parts, we’ve historically been excellent insulters also. There are eighty-three options under “good-for-nothing.” Vagabond and ragamuffin come easily to mind—but other delightful options include shackerell (1420), ragabash (1609), shabaroon (1699), and flabergudgion or slubberdegullion (1611).

It’s quite entertaining to wander the OHT using it like any other thesaurus, but its most vital use for me was fact-checking my vocabulary in my historical pirate novel SWIFT FOR THE SUN, which debuted last spring. My editor was excellent at pointing out words that she suspected were anachronistic, and the OHT was essential in finding alternate words from the correct period. Reading texts from the 1820s was an essential tool for me, and going back to the OHT to look up phrases I didn’t fully understand helped me consider if I wanted to use them or not. Take this random passage from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson for example:

I had made my mind up in a moment, and by way of answer told him the whole story of our voyage and the predicament in which we found ourselves. He heard me with the keenest interest, and when I had done he patted me on the head.

"You're a good lad, Jim," he said; "and you're all in a clove hitch, ain't you? Well, you just put your trust in Ben Gunn—Ben Gunn's the man to do it. Would you think it likely, now, that your squire would prove a liberal-minded one in case of help—him being in a clove hitch, as you remark?"

What does Ben Gunn mean by “clove hitch” and would your readers understand what you meant? The OED’s definition is “A ‘hitch’ or mode of simply fastening a rope round a spar, etc., formed by passing the rope twice round in such a way that both ends pass under the centre part of the loop in front; it thus appears united into one loop in front and ‘cloven’ into two parallel lines at the back.” The first use was recorded in 1769. “Clove hitch” is listed in the Thesaurus under society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable >  [noun] > knot used by sailors > specific.

You may find it useful to use an earlier word your readers might understand more readily. Listed with clove hitch are bowline-knot, clinch, sheepshank, or wall knot, all from 1627. Visiting the definition of the word in the OED allows you to see the logged uses of it from primary texts. In this case, all these knots were listed in John Smith’s A Sea Grammar. From there, you can visit this title in the World Catalog, and, in this case, read a scanned copy of the original text for even more ideas. Instead of clove hitch, you might choose the word “clinch” to communicate clearly to modern reader that you mean your character is “in a bind,” which itself is an anachronistic phrase that wasn’t in common use until 1851.

It’s easy to see that the OHT is fun for us word nerds, and we can spend many happy hours combing through it for interesting discoveries, but, at least in my case, reading the entries, the source materials, and the synonyms lead to new, richer writing ideas for my world-building. You might, however, set a timer to bring you back to your fiction.

Thanks so much for joining us, Karen. And readers, be sure to check out Karen's work at her website!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Star Wars: Behind the Scenes Look at 'The Last Jedi'

Have you seen the behind the scenes reel of The Lest Jedi? Disney and Lucasfilm released it at DIsney's D23 expo, a show celebrating film and fans, and it certainly has people talking and speculating!

Set against a gripping score, this different sort of a trailer gives fans a behind the scenes look at the actors and crew members of the movie, so we can get to hear their take on things. The trailer features snippets from folks like Daisey Ridley, Mark Hamill, Gwendolyn Christie, and even Carrie Fisher. We see characters Kylo Ren, Hux, Poe Damoren, Finn, and more, as well as some new characters. There are explosions and emotional scenes, space ships and new scenery. We get a glimpse at costumes and props in progress, as well as some new creatures that will be made possible via puppetry and CGI. 

It sounds like audiences will be in for quite a trip come December 15, with cast and crew alike saying that the film is surprising, shocking at times, and keeps Star Wars fresh. At the same time, from what we can see from the reel, we can also take comfort in knowing that there will be plenty of the Star Wars we know and love in there as well.

Until then...May the Force be with you!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

The Thirteenth Doctor: A Personal Reaction

When BBC said that they were going to announce the thirteenth Doctor today, I, like most fans, started speculating. There were a lot of false reports and of course, most of them were saying some white guy or another was going to be in the role. And to be honest, I didn’t really blink (Of COURSE I didn’t blink…). The Doctor’s always been a guy, and while I hope someday to see a female Doctor, I was pretty sure BBC wasn’t that bold yet. There were too many trolls, too many nay-sayers, and they were too loud.

After the men’s final of Wimbledon today (congrats, Federer!), I expected to see that guy from Love, Actually, or maybe…I don’t know. Maybe a ginger dude. I freely admitted I wanted to see Sue Perkins there, but knew the chances of that were slim, and I REALLY didn’t believe we would see a female Doctor.

Then the announcement video came… And I saw this image:

As soon as I saw the Doctor's hand I started getting teary. Seriously, I wasn't committed to totally wanting a woman as Doctor. As long as whoever played the Doctor was suitable for the role and kicked ass, I would have been happy. But the feeling I got when I saw Jodie Whittaker’s hand…

The Doctor will always hold such a special place in my life. Doctor Who is my go-to happy place, where I go when things are rough. The Doctor is such a trusted friend, mentor, ally, and for that person now to be a woman... it transcends a barrier I didn't even know was there until this moment. I didn't know how much I didn't believe I would ever see a female Doctor until I actually saw that we were getting one. Then it hit me so hard.

The Doctor is like me. 

And women don’t always have to be content with just being the Companion, the follower, the devotee. We can guide, we can be strong, and we can provide the comfort people need, the support and help, the leadership. We can be the strength the human race needs. 

Thank you so much, BBC and crew of Doctor Who, for making this first step toward the future.

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

And the 13th Doctor is....

Meet the Thirteenth Doctor #DoctorWho #Doctor13 pic.twitter.com/txHGz9tJEe

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) July 16, 2017

I think I can get behind that...

Jodie Whittaker from the series Broadchurch has been announced by BBC as playing the 13th Doctor on Doctor Who!! It will be an interesting and refreshing take on the Doctor, to be sure, and I for one am very excited to welcome the first female Doctor!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Disney Releases 'A Wrinkle In Time' Trailer!

Those of us who were childhood--even lifelong--fans of Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet, starting with the novel A Wrinkle in Time, may have had mixed reactions when we first heard the news about Disney producing a new film adaptation. It's always kind of a risk for a company to take something that's been around for so long, and that's been so beloved, and try to portray it on film. Especially a story as fantastic as L'Engle's. 

Disney's possibly one of the only companies that *I* think could pull this movie off, and after seeing the release of the first trailer for the film this weekend, I admit I'm cautiously optimistic. OK FINE, I'll go out on a limb and say that, frankly, I think it looks AWESOME, and really can't wait to see if the whole film lives up to the promise of this trailer! 

A Wrinkle in Time is expected in theaters on March 9, 2018! Just enough time to read the books to your little nerdlings, if you have any, or read them yourself!

As a PS to Disney themselves, I laud the fact that recent movies have had casts and themes that are representative of real people today, instead of just a small portion of society. Magic is for everyone, and EVERYONE'S dreams can come true. Please keep it up!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

BBC to Announce Capaldi's Doctor Who Replacement This Sunday!

That's right! BBC has announced that anxious fans will finally learn who will be replacing Peter Capaldi in his role as the Doctor. There has been tons of speculation and false reports. Who will it be? Will we see our first female Doctor? Will the Doctor be GINGER? We'll all have to wait until Sunday to find out!

Exclusive News: It’s Almost Time. #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/rB4t1RH8Dx

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) July 14, 2017

The big announcement will come after the men's final match at Wimbledon on Sunday, July 16th, starting a 2PM on BBC1. 

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Lucy Liu Tapped to Direct Luke Cage Season 2 Episode

Netflix and Marvel have been pretty fearless with their commitment to diversity for the most part in their new comics-based shows, including Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and hopefully in the upcoming Defenders as well. They've included stories with a mix of genders, sexualities, races, and backgrounds. And now, we can see that commitment goes beyond the stories to the people behind the camera as well.

Lucy Liu, who is currently starring as Dr. Joan Watson on CBS's Elemental, is going to direct the first episode of Luke Cage, Season Two. She's also directed four episodes of Elemental since the show premiered in 2014.

“When you’re dealing with a bulletproof man, it helps if you have a bulletproof director,” says executive producer Jeph Loeb. “Lucy brings a keen eye, a superb sense of story, and an obvious love of actors. She is rocking Luke Cage 2.”

And what does Lucy herself think?

“What a thrill to collaborate with Marvel and Netflix, two industry titans, who paint our world with inspiring stories and beguiling characters. It is such an honor to work with such a passionate and fearless team.”

Luke Cage 2 is expected to premiere in 2018 on Netflix. 

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Iceberg the Size of Delaware Breaks from Antarctica

Scientists knew it was going to happen. In fact, the event too longer than they thought it would, with the last few kilometers of ice hanging on to its parent ice sheet. But a section of the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica that is about 2300 square miles in size has just broken off. This makes it one of the largest ice sheet break aways in human history.

The Larsen Ice Shelf has been breaking apart for several years now. In 1995 the Larsen A ice shelf broke away, and then in 2002, Larsen B joined it in its new voyage in the ocean. Scientists have been watching the crack in Larsen C grow for a few years now, since 2010 or so. While climate change is a possible cause for the ice break ups, there are other factors at play as well. Scientists call it a "geological" event versus a climate change event, though they are fairly certain that climate has had an impact on how quickly the crack has grown.

Progress of the Larsen C crack growth. The final cleave happened between July 10-12, 2017.

Scientists say it is hard to predict what the giant iceberg will do now. More than likely, it will break apart into smaller pieces, with some traveling north to warmer waters and eventually melting. Other parts might stay in the Antarctic for decades yet. 

As more and more ice shelves break off and eventually melt, it will be interesting to see which science fiction becomes science fact. We live in exciting and somewhat terrifying times, indeed. Whether these events are caused by human action or purely nature, the results could be devastating for humans who live in coastal areas. I wonder what a solution to flooding coasts will be?

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Game of Thrones Returns! What Does This Season Hold?

HBO's series Game of Thrones returns on July 16th! The series, now quite past the point where the novels by George R.R. Martin have left off, has viewers speculating, with some theories plausible, and others seemingly far-fetched. What do we REALLY know about the upcoming season?

SPOILERS: This article will mention cover events that have happened on the show thus far.

By the end of the sixth season, on Snow has been named King in the North, Cersei Lannister is sitting on the Iron Throne in King's Landing, and Daenerys Targaryen is on her way to Westeros with three dragons, Tyrion Lannister, and the Greyjoy siblings at her side. We've seen some heavy hints about Jon Snow's parentage, and we've seen old alliances fall apart as new ones are forged and vice versa. The possibilities seem endless, yet at the same time, several mysteries are at the cusp of being solved. And let's not forget the biggest threat of all: the White Walkers, who could possibly throw everyone's schemes awry.

According to HBO's latest press release, we know that the upcoming season is going to include characters Tyrion, Jaime, and Cersei Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Petyr Baelish, Jon Snow, Sansa, Arya, and Bran Stark, Olenna Tyrell, Theon Greyjoy, Samwell Tarly, Brienne of Tarth, Davos Seaworth, Missandei, Bronn, Jorah Mormont, Varys, Tormund Giantsbane, Gilly, Melisandre, Ellaria Sand, Euron Greyjoy, Sandor “The Hound” Clegane, and Beric Dondarrion. But there are also new, unnamed characters being introduced this season, who will be played by actors Jim Broadbent, Tom Hopper, Megan Parkinson and Ed Sheeran.

Three new episodes will air in July, entitled "Dragonstone," "Stormborn," and "The Queen's Justice." There will be revolts, betrayals, schemes, mistakes, conquests, and unexpected visitors. Who will win, and who will die? You'll have to tune in to HBO to find out!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Lucasfilm Announces Ron Howard as Director for Star Wars Han Solo Film

Lucasfilm has just announced that famed director Ron Howard will be taking the director's chair for the upcoming and as yet untitled Han Solo film in the Star Wars film franchise.

“At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began forty years ago,” says president of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy. “With that in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that Ron Howard will step in to direct the untitled Han Solo film. We have a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew, and the absolute commitment to make a great movie. Filming will resume the 10th of July.”

This announcement comes after the film's former directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, left the movie mid-production. It had been reported that for months, the two directors, known for their work on The Lego Movie and others, struggled with creative differences between themselves and the production crew. 

“Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true. We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew,” Phil Lord and Christopher Miller said in their statement a couple days ago.

The Han Solo film should be in good hands, however, with Ron Howard at the helm. Howard has directed such blockbusters as Willow, A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code, as well as producing and narrating the series Arrested Development. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see what he has in store for the Star Wars franchise!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Interview with Author Michael Johnston about SOLERI from Tor Books, Writing, and More!

Soleri, a new fantasy novel by Michael Johnston and published by Tor Books, features a kingdom torn apart by war, complex characters who are ambitious, ruthless, and rebellious, and mysteries upon mysteries. Every time the reader thinks he has an answer, he is drawn deeper into a multi-faceted and twisting version of the truth. The book traces its roots to Johnston's fascination with art history, ancient rites and mythology, and a bit of King Lear, yet is unique and original. Author Lev Grossman calls it, "bloody and utterly epic. A huge saga in a rich and deeply original world." Readers will truly be swept away into the Soleri Empire.

I had the opportunity to interview author Michael Johnston, to talk about the fascinating world he's created. Please welcome him to the blog!

Melanie R. Meadors: New York Time Bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima has commented that your new book Soleri is built around “an immersive world with elements of Egyptian and Roman history, myth, and religion.” Did you find it difficult to separate fact from fiction, meaning, did you ever find it hard to keep the world and story your own, rather than relying too heavily on history? How did you keep a good balance between history and fantasy?

Michael Johnston: Many of the ideas in Soleri sprouted from history. It was the seed. But such things are tender and easy to mold. I let history inspire me, but as soon as I start typing I completely let go of the history books. Remember, I don’t write historical fiction. This is a unique fantasy world that takes many of its cues from our own world but I’m not bound by the history I study. I read and research so I can produce an accurate world, one that resonates with the reader and feels real. But Soleri also has a bit of magic in it. I wanted the work to be infused with the inexplicable or some sense of the unknown. I love a strong sense of mystery, so I tried to make a world that was packed with mysteries, with secrets, and ancients of unknowable origin.  

MRM: What are some books or authors that inspired you while growing up, and do these books still resonate with you today? Do you find that you write books that are similar to those you enjoy reading?

MJ: Dune was the first book I loved and re-read. And there is a lot of it in Soleri. They are both stories about family, about a father who is offered great power only to have it turned against him. For me, Dune feels like epic fantasy. There is a sense of magic, or at least the inexplicable, in the book (the spice), but its treated in a very realistic fashion. I tried a bit of that in Soleri. The magic is subtle, realistic, and always elusive. 

MRM: What was something that really inspired you while your were writing Soleri, either something from your research, or some element of your story that perhaps gave you a “Eureka!” moment?

MJ: I’ve written about this in a couple different essays so I wont linger on the topic. My idea, the big one that really made Soleri unique, arrived in an art history lecture I attended as an undergraduate. The speaker was talking about Egypt and its history and they described a civilization that was so ancient that it could not conceive of its demise. Egypt had always existed and it always would exist. They were wrong ultimately, but they had a good run. Three thousand years in nothing to shrug at. The idea fascinated me. It stuck with me. The eternal civilization. In Soleri we meet that civilization, the one that has forgotten its origins, the one that is so old that its people can’t conceive of their own demise. 

MRM: You used to be an architect. What made you switch over to writing, especially writing full time? Was it a scary decision for you? What has your family’s reaction to your career change been like?

MJ: Well, my wife is also and author so she was very encouraging and helped me throughout the process. It took a long time for me to transform myself from author to architect. For almost a decade I worked on novels (unpublished) while I was still an architect. It was a slow transition, and it times it was pretty painful. Switching careers is no small task and in retrospect it was a lot more work than I’d initially guessed. 

MRM: What is the best writing advice you’ve ever been given?

MJ: Read and do it as often as possible and when you are not reading write as often as possible. Both are practice. Reading trains the ear and writing let’s us hone our craft. 

On a completely separate note, I really believe in the “tip of the iceberg” theory of world building. We build vast worlds for our readers, but we only reveal knowledge selectively, as needed and where needed. The rest, even though we’ve labored hours to create it, is left to the imagination. They only glimpse at the depths we’ve created.

MRM: You use a lot of wonderful imagery in your work. “His intestines slithered out like a nest of snakes…” “…anger that congealed like sour milk in her stomach…” and even what would be mundane descriptions come to life in the reader’s imagination with the words you use. Things are very active in this book. Does this come naturally to you, or is it something you’ve honed with practice? 

MJ: Writing is a skill a learned through practice, that I am still learning, and perhaps will always be learning. I wish the work came easily to me, but I work hard at it. I’m the guy who stays up until midnight on the keyboard.

MRM: What do you find to be the most difficult part of creating a story? What do you find to be the most rewarding?

MJ: The job is both the challenge and the reward. And depending on the quality of my work that day it can be either. It’s a joy to sit down write each day. I love it, but when the work isn’t coming together, when I know there is something wrong with the story but I can’t quite identify it, the work becomes a burden, a challenge, and possibly a source of outright frustration. 

MRM: What do you do when you are not writing?

MJ: I am trained as an architect. And I still like to make things. I have a cnc mill and a 3d printer so I am always designing and digitally fabricating all sorts of interesting things. I read a lot and I love audio books. I never drive unless a book is playing on my car stereo. I also collect art and occasionally watch television. The Last Kingdom was amazing and I hope Netflix makes a third season. 

MRM: Thanks again, congratulations on your new release, and best of luck to you!

 Michael Johnston was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is a life-long avid reader of science fiction and fantasy. He studied architecture and ancient history at Lehigh University and earned a master’s degree in architecture from Columbia University. After working as an architect in New York City, he switched to writing full-time.  He lives in Los Angeles, with his wife and daughter. Visit http://michaeljohnstonauthor.com/ or follow him on Twitter: @mjohnstonauthor

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Are You Ready to Be a Weekend Warrior? Interview with Zan Campbell from Fell & Fair

I first learned about Weekend Warrior on Facebook. People were suddenly talking about backing this thing where they could go live as medieval adventurers for a weekend. I knew I had to check it out to learn more. I caught up with Zan Campbell, the head of Fell and Fair who is arranging this awesome endeavor, and asked him all about it. 

Hi there, welcome to the Once and Future Podcast Blog! Could you tell us a little about your campaign on Kickstarter for Weekend Warrior? What is this, exactly?

Zan Campbell: Our goal with Weekend Warrior is to create an immersive experience where you can go and loose yourself in a fantasy world for a few days. Leave the problems of daily life behind and take on the mantle of a medieval warrior and fight or feast to your heart's delight. We aim to achieve this by bringing together amazing craftsmen, medieval fighting experts and professional storytellers to put on an event that sets a new standard for entertainment. We launched the Kickstarter in order to pre-sell tickets to the first event, and provide the capital to make sure it was really excellent.

For those who aren’t familiar with this, is this the same thing as LARPing (Live Action Role Playing)?

ZC: It is somewhat different from LARP, especially as it is practiced in America. We are going to be treating the costuming and set design like a film in order to build the most believable fantasy world possible. There are also not as many extensive rules of play as often exist in American LARPs. It is closer to a real-life open world video game. You have whatever gear, skills and knowledge that you can bring to the fight and are not limited to any sort of level progression and you will be able to choose your own level of immersion without compromising anyone else's. While we fully support LARP in the US, our aim is to foster a level of quality that it creates a whole new genre.

I see you have a map on the Kickstarter page of The World of Adrasil, the fantasy world where the adventure will take place. What sort of research did you do to learn about the venue and how hard was it to find a place that worked?

ZC: Another cool aspect of Weekend Warrior is that it falls within an existing cinematic universe. So we already have an idea of the sort of terrain we were looking for. We wanted forested hills and streams along with, stone and wood structures. So we searched all over the East Coast to find a place that would give us the space to "get lost" in the world, while still allowing access to local airports, lodging and utilities. We settled on Mountain Run Winery in rural Culpeper, VA as the perfect location for out first event.

Mountain Run Winery

If someone has never done anything like this before, is Weekend Warrior something to try? Is this something only “geeks” can get into, or would anyone have fun?

ZC: Our goal is to make this an event that everyone, from the girl who has seen Game of Thrones and wants to use a sword, to the experienced LARPer or HEMA swordsman can enjoy. The rules are simple and no matter your skill level, there are ways for you to impact the game and enjoy yourself too.

Zan, you used to be a naval officer, but you’ve always been interested in medieval weaponry. Can you tell us a bit about what inspired you to start Fell and Fair, the force behind Weekend Warrior?

ZC: From my early days going to archery camp to the seven years I spent in uniform, I have loved adventure, chivalry, weapons and warfare. I especially loved the art of depicting those things, through painting, storytelling, film-making and actually crafting the arms and armor. Through Instagram I began meeting more people who loved the same things. Soon we had a community, but we wanted to expand. So this is our next step, share our skills, knowledge and love of fantasy adventure with the culture at-large in one epic event.  

Tell us a little about the movie/cinematic aspect of Weekend Warrior. What is the hope for this?

ZC: First, Weekend Warrior is based on a cinematic universe developed by The Forge Studios. We at Fell & Fair had the chance to jump in to that universe with our miniseries The Rangers: Sons of Throi which will be released in the coming weeks. So attendees will have the chance to get to know the world before they enter it. Second, we are having a hidden film crew actually record the whole event! So after attending, participants will (within a few months) be able to show all their friends a film they actually took part in, and perhaps even change the course of the story!

What’s the best way folks can support this endeavor, and where can people find out more info?

ZC: No matter if you plan on attending or if you just want to support us, you can get to our Kickstarter by going to: www.WeekendWarrior.World There you can find all the details on the event as well as sign up and support us. You can also follow Fell & Fair on Instagram and Facebook to see updates and learn more about what we do on a regular basis. 

Thanks so much for answering my questions, Zan, and best of luck to you and the entire Weekend Warrior Team!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.

Got Writer's Block? No, You Don't

I hate authors who use the term THE MUSE.  Despise.  Them.

Maybe it’s my soon to be twenty years working at one of the Big Five.  Maybe it’s having written four books in the Simon Canderous paranormal detective series or the three in the gargoyle-tastic Spellmason Chronicles.  

What I really think is that perhaps working and writing at the intersection where Business meets Art might have made me jaded, but it has left me with one thing that rings true for myself as a writer:  I haven’t got time to wait for THE MUSE to show the hell up.

I really don’t. When I'm mid-series, I am usually contractually obligated to turn in one book per year. Frankly, I have not the time to allow this mystical inspirational force to visit me.  Deadlines be calling! 

When I mention my publication schedule to fledgling writers at conventions AND that I’m doing it around a day job (and also now with four year old twins), one of their most asked questions is always about writer’s block.  Aren’t I worried about getting stuck?

Well… no.  Thing is, I don’t believein writer’s block.  I don’t have time to believe in it.

I do believe people sit down to write and then don’t, calling it writer’s block.  To me, that’s just ridiculous.  

Why?

Because no matter what I’m doing in a manuscript, if I get stuck, there is always something else waiting to be done in the book.  You can always be productive.

When someone says they have writer’s block, that to me is your brain simply saying it just doesn’t feel like it wants to write. To this I say: nonsense.  I tend to think of the brain like any other muscle.  If you don’t train it and exercise it, it won’t work for you. You need to whip that wrinkled grey ball into shape!

As writers, there’s a lot of ways to either train your brain or simply help yourself get out of your own way. You need to push through your writing blocks… you know them, the ones I don’t believe in…?

Ass in Chair.  Ever sit down to write but find yourself checking twitter, Facebook, e-mail, watching an ALF marathon…anything but writing?  I thought so.  First thing you need to do is get your brain to commit to the idea that no matter what you will be sitting in that writing chair for at least X amount of time.  If you don’t write at first, that’s fine, but don’t give in to your brain’s distractions.  You need to give it a chance to get that Pavlovian setting of ass in chair to begin telling your brain just who is boss around here.  Eventually, it will get on board.

Who Are You?  Start paying attention to what does and doesn’t working when you do find yourself writing.  Do you work better in a public space where you feel accountable for your time in front of others?  Do you need silence with zero distractions?  Does music help?  Do certain tracks help more than others? (I write fight scenes to "Trip Like I Do" by the Crystal Method because it pumps me up and puts me in the zone).  Pay attention to these triggers that make writing more conducive for you and jot them down.  You’re trying to create the best environment for you to create in.  Work the system, people.

My Precious. Not writing because you haven’t found the exact right word or constructed your paragraph to perfection is no excuse for not writing.  Don’t be so precious, Hemingway.  It is a first draft.  You can worry about the polish of it all later for the fourth or fifth one… your words needs to exist on the page before you can mold them closer to exactly what you want. I can fix things that exist, I can’t fix blank.

I’m stuck.  I hear you, but I’m going to call shenanigans.  If you don’t know what scene comes next, jump somewhere else in your outline and write a different and unconnected scene you have an idea for.  There’s no rule you have to be linear when you’re trying to form a book.  Sometimes I choose to write a suite of scenes.  For instance, I know I have several run-ins with cops in my series.  I write all of those scenes back to back so the characters stay fresh with me.  Later I place then where they should go all over the book.  Also, if you feel like you can’t finish a scene?  Then don’t.  Some will say to try and push through, than genius comes from panic or something, but I say move along. Go read a finished part of the book out loud instead.  You’ll catch a lot of what to fix just by hearing it.  Maybe there’s just one cool image in your head for something much further along in the book.  Grab that image and start with it.  Or ignore writing the narration in a scene and just write all the dialogue instead.  Or skip to the end and write that.  Jumping around to all these various tasks, you’ll find yourself slowly weaving the bits and pieces together, and chances are what you do get down on the page will help flavor the parts you were stuck on when you come back to them.

At the heart of it, there’s always something you can be doing in your book.  The tasks are many, but don’t get stuck on as foolish an idea as writer’s block.  Go with the parts that excite you the most, jump around, have fun, and teach your brain who is boss.  

And if you see THE MUSE, give her a swift kick from me, won’t you?

Find this helpful? Check out the rest of The Once and Future Podcast's Unf*ck Your Manuscript series! 

When not plotting against his mortal enemy Patrick Rothfuss, Anton Strout is the author of the Simon Canderous urban fantasy series for Ace Books including Dead To Me, Deader Still, Dead Matter, and Dead Waters, and the author of the Spellmason Chronicles, including Alchemystic, Stonecast, and Incarnate.
 

He is the host and curator of content of The Once & Future Podcast, a weekly show that focuses on discussions with other working writers.

Anton currently lives outside New York City in the haunted corn maze that is New Jersey (where nothing paranormal ever really happens, he assures you). In his scant spare time, he is an always writer, sometimes actor, sometimes musician, occasional RPGer, and the world’s most casual and controller-smashing video gamer. He also works in the exciting world of publishing, and yes, it is as glamorous as it sounds. 

He can be found lurking the darkened hallways of www.antonstrout.com.

How Reading Outside Your Comfort Zone Can Help Your Writing

We've all heard that you need to be well read in the genre in which you write. It helps to know the traditions and tropes, the things that have been overdone and the things you want to see more of.  But what about reading outside your genre?

I mean, let's face it. No one has time to read everything they want to anymore. I know when I think about all the new books coming out, JUST in my genre of fantasy, it kind of freaks me out. And now I'm telling you that you need to read outside your genre, too?

Well, yeah, kind of. I mean, any advice I give always comes with that grain of "what works for me might not work for you," but hear me out.

If you listened to The Once and Future Podcast this week, you heard host Anton Strout and guest Martha Wells talking about this a bit. Yes, it's important to read your genre and be familiar with it. But if you ONLY read in your genre, what happens? I mean, if I only read epic fantasy, I'd see magic, and elves, and long journeys. Sacred items, battles, dragons. I love all that stuff, so what's the problem?

The problem is, if you don't expand your horizons, you get stuck in the same world. You end up writing the same thing as everyone else, because you don't even know there are other things out there. You're mind may be open to possibilities, but if it can't fathom what those possibilities are, then it doesn't accomplish much. And yes, you can totally solve part of this problem by going out and experiencing a lot of things first hand, but not everyone has an adventuring budget that can support this.

One of the awesome things about science fiction and fantasy is that they are the best of all worlds. In order for something to be science fiction, the story has to center around some aspect of science. If you take that science element away, the story falls apart. Fantasy is a bit looser as far as definition goes, but basically involved something that...well, isn't quite real, beyond just a situation. Different races of people, a made up world, some magic. And the storyline of good fantasy should weave into this speculative element so that the two are inseparable. But beyond the basic definitions, the plots of speculative fiction often dip toes into other genres as well, most notably mystery and romance.

Think about it. Juliet Marillier's "Blackthorn and Grim" novels are fantasy. They take place in an alternate Ireland, long ago, and have magic, fey, and other things. Because it's a fantasy series, there is time in the beginning getting the world established and introducing the two main characters. But at its core? The series is a duo solving mysteries. The same is true for the Simon Canderous series by O&FP's host Anton Strout. Simon is a paranormal detective solving mysteries in Manhattan. The difference between these books and the books shelved in the mystery section? They have monsters and other paranormal things in them. The same is true for countless science fiction novels, as well. Robert Sawyer's Red Planet Blues is a prime example, as are Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, and Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. 

On the romance end of the spectrum, what could be more basic? Two people meet and fall in love while having adventures. There's a huge range of how much of the romance you include in the story. Some series, like Elizabeth Vaughan's Chronicles of Warlands books, focus on the romance front and center, and while the characters definitely have problems to solve, some of which are no less than saving the world, they also have problems of the heart that play a very prominent role in the story. Usually a romance would have a happy ending, at least as far as the love story goes. Mercedes Lackey, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Melanie Rawn have stronger romances in their books, but Tad Williams, Terry Brooks, and Brad Beaulieu also have romantic subplots in their books as well. Robert Heinlein, Joe Haldeman, Simon Morden, and Christopher Wooding all are examples of authors who have romantic subplots in the science fiction. There are countless others. 

By reading other types of novels, novels outside the genre in which you write, you can learn how to use the elements of your subplots in better ways. You can learn different ways of seeding in clues, or misleading readers, or rewarding readers with a bittersweet ending. You can learn more about relationships between characters, and how to pace things so a romance can have the best impact. 

Reading literary novels can help you become culturally literate so you know how to best utilize events and turns of phrases, and you'll know what's come before, which books have become a part of our core dialogue as a society. Maybe you can find some clues as far as what makes a really good book that sticks with people over generations. You can find some themes to turn on their heads to create something new. Or you can run with a new take on an old trope.

It's not just reading different types of fiction that can help you with your books, either. Nonfiction can provide you with huge piles of raw material for your imagination to work with. Reading history can help you with world building. How did people really behave in the past? How did certain events come together to make a huge event happen? Is it really possible for one man to shape history? How long does societal change take? Reading science, of course, can help you with your science fiction, but I've actually found that my science background is even more helpful with my fantasy. How would certain species of creatures behave and develop? How would the geology of the world affect my characters? How can I portray the climate of my fantasy world in a believable way? How can I make my magic believable?

Reading outside our comfort zones isn't just utilitarian, however. It can be a lot of fun as well. It can inspire ideas you never would have come up with otherwise. You know that "We want the same, but different," thing that agents and editors always seem to say? Reading outside your genre is a great way to develop that edge of seeing the world in a different way than your colleagues.

So the next time you're in the book store, skip the SF&F section and boldly go to a section you've never gone to before. It will be worth your while! 

Want to learn more ways to Unf*ck Your Manuscript? Check out our other writing articles!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of fantasy where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She has edited two upcoming genre anthologies, MECH: Age of Steel and HATH NO FURY, and is the science and pop culture blogger at The Once and Future Podcast. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.