August 2024 in Review

Hello Funny People,

After the excitement of last month, I was honestly not sure much if note would occur at the beginning of, what I call, "Bradbury Season." Yet, as usual, I was quickly disabused of such notions. Let me explain.

Two Cents Logo by Devora Johnson

A Brief Recapitulation

The month began as it does every year: visiting my relatives in mid-Missouri during their local church's parish picnic. And to quote Robin Williams' character from Good Morning Vietnam, "It's hot! Damn hot! Real hot! Hottest thing's my shorts! I could cook things in it! Little crotchpot cooking. Fool, it's hot, I told you, again! Were you born on the sun? It's damn hot!" 

That said, the fried chicken, garden fresh veggies, and mashed potatoes were as delicious as ever, the cheese burgers were juicy, the Gin Rickeys refreshing, and the quilt auction was successful. Two quilts went for over $2000 (one for $2100, the other for $2700). I always love this event each year, especially because the quilt auction has an actual chanting auctioneer there overseeing it. I don't know how the hell they train to do that—maybe he does three shots of espresso before they start?—but it's always impressive to see and hear.

As we passed through the town, I noticed a larger and larger number of new houses. They're easy to spot. Beyond the obviously fresher paint, utter lack of any farm animals or structures (barns, chicken coops, hog pens, stables, etc.), you can always tell a new house these days by their roofs. I don't know when these became fashionable, but in recent years, a lot of country folks have opted to have roofs made of brightly colored tin instead of either shingles or tile. Nothing wrong with them; they certainly hold up much better against both the worsening hail and thunderstorms we get here in the Midwest, and they're not so easily warped or damaged by tornados or other strong winds. But they definitely look odd. Slowly, the small town my mom grew up in is changing from an actual small town to that thing I hold more irrational hatred for than anything else: a fucking suburb.

Two weekends after that, I got to go to a birthday party for the first time in years. Granted it was one for an adult, so it was basically dinner and drinks. Still, it was a joy being around all those jovial people.

Things quieted down quite a but until nearer the end when, taking advantage of my brother's schedule, we went to visit him in Ohio to see how he's been adjusting to life as a full time OBGYN resident. Answer: barely. Ever since he moved up to Akron, he's been working night shifts. My brother is many things, but a Night Owl is not one of them. This is a man who, since childhood, has been able to go to bed at 1AM and get up with consumate ease at 7AM. So, learning how to live my preferred lifestyle has been, for him, to say the least, tough. But he has gotten to know the town a little in his occasional moments of downtime. He even showed us a few of the places he's picked as favorite haunts.

I took the opportunity of seeing him to also dump a bunch of books on him that I want him to read. This includes:

Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry

He'd never read ANY of them, so I was going to make sure he did so I actually had someone to talk to about these books.  I also happened to find a copy of the Penguin Marvel Comics compendium of early X-Men. My brother has loved the X-Men since the first film came out in 2000 (we're early 90s kids), with Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, and Anna Paquin. Even if they were radically different to the original comics or the X-Men cartoon TV series.

Dispatch from the Query Trenches

Querying the fantasy novel has slowed up a bit, I must admit. Granted, I'm probably putting too much hope into the full-request I got a month ago. But I did mange to send out 10 new queries nonetheless.

I also finally sent a nudge email to the agent who requested my space opera novel back in February. I'd been on the ropes about doing so because the agency's guidelines said that if a querying author hadn't heard back from them, we should assume they weren't interested. Given I'm still naive about how these things work I waited six months before sending it anyway. And the agent got back to me the same day, saying they hadn't read the manuscript yet due to life things.

So hope still survives (for now), on both fronts. In the meantime, I plan to continue querying other agents. I'm hoping to reach 100 queries before the end of the year. I'm about ¾ of the way there, and once I make these sorts of quotas for myself, I usually stick to them.

Report in the Short Fiction Front

Todd Sanders recently released the full TOC of the Inter Librarian Loan anthology on social media.

Inter Librarian Loan cover mock-up 

And I have a feeling this project will easily stand alongside the ones that came before it. 36 authors from the original two anthology have returned, each of us having done a remix of about 22 of the original stories.

The full roster 

On top of that, have a look at this cover.

For the third (and for now, final), time, my characters Wizard Boltstone, will appear in a story in Cloaked Press's Fall Into Fantasy anthology series. That anthology will debut later in September, on the 21st when it goes live on all ebook platforms.

Finally, on this front, I have to admit that the first week of Aigusr was quite eventful with regards to my few story submissions for this year. On the 7th and 8th consecutively, I received two back-to-back hold notices from two different magazines. One semi-pro, with whom I've worked before, and one—wait for it—pro-rate. Of course, I'm still waiting to hear back from them both, so whether or not one or both pan out into something positive is still up in the air. Of the three hold notices I've gotten in the paat, thus far, only one has ever led to a publication. As my late-colleague, Ray Daley, used to say, most hold notices don't go anywhere.

So, while I'm naturally holding out hope that, for once, Ray (RIP, mate 🫡) will be wrong, I'm not holding my breath.

#AmDrafting: The Novel Arena

Present First Draft Word Count: 52,000 words.

After a spotty run of progress last month on the novel in progress, I'm proud to say that I've completed the first draft of Part Three, bringing me to the exact midpoint of the novel, as I see it structured in my mind. From here out, things are bound to get scary.

However, I must admit that part of the reason for my slow progress has been my regression to focusing too much on word counts. I need to get back to that mindset that made me so productive the last two years: it's not about number of words; it's about getting something done and making progress, no matter how small. One new word is a victory ✌️ 

Miscellaneous

Watching wise, I've been rewatching season one of My Adventures with Superman so I have a smooth lead-in to the now fully released season two. Once I finish that, I plan to binge through Batman Caped Crusader on Prime. Having two high-quality shows brings Mr back to the days when the original DC Animated Universe was still alive and well. As different as these two shows are though. There's a certain consistent ineffable quality to the DC Universe in cartoon form, something that isn't present in any ofnthe live-action films. 

Between those, I've been reqatching Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom. For a show that's nearing its 20-,year anniversary, it's shocking how still relevant some of the material covered remains relevant. Also. Sorkin's writing remains as brilliant as ever. Then again, good writing ages like quality wine.

Touching on the on going political situation, I watched most of the four days of the DNC. The natural highlights, for me, of course, were some of the speeches. Biden's tearful farewell on night one; the Obamas' double banger on night two; Walz's acceptance speech for VP; Harris' final speech on night four; all were great in their own regard. 

Two of the earlier speeches were quite impressive as well. AOC taking her stand on the first night and ripping TFG a new one is something I look forward to seeing more of in future. Elizabeth Warren getting such a loud, sustained ovation when she stepped out on stage (when that woman retires from the Senate, the US will be one truly great advocate poorer). But my absolute favorite has to be Amanda Gorman's incredible poem. She wrote a most incredible piece of public poetry for the occasion, and her reading of it made her seem like, as Dr. Maya Angelou, fellow presidential poet, once wrote, a "phenomenal woman."

The home-stretch of this campaign is here. Let's hope, for all our sakes, Harris/Walz stick the landing.

Now then, let's talk some books.

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie 

The second of Abercrombie's triumvirate of standalone returns us to the north. The Heroes details the events of a single battle over three days, as the Union Army and the Northern Forces of Black Dow clash to claim a single stretch of land: a hill with a circle of standing stones atop it referred to as, The Heroes. Old faces return. New faces are introduced. And warfare displays itself for the bloody gorefest it truly is, not the crucible in which Heroes are forged for their gallantry and courage.

Now, I must admit, of all if Abercrombie's books I've thus far read, this one is the one I've liked least. No shade to the writing. Abercrombie never disappoints on that score. No shade to the storytelling. I wouldn't have finished the book if I hadn't found it compulsively readable. No shade either to the characterization. That's Abercrombie's core strength. My biggest issue with this book was—and I can only assume this was intentional to make a point about its theme of warfare—was the chaotic nature of the narrative. Reading this book's was like watching a found-footage movie in a fantasy world. And I've found most of those types of stories discombobulating experiences. Maybe I'll reread it in future and get a better sense of it then.

Dead Thinga by Stephen Blackmoore

The first of Blackmoore's urban fantasy series about PI, Hitman, and Necromancer Eric Carter definitely lives up to its hype. Brian McClellan once described it as "The Dresden Files if Harry Dresden had real problems," and I can't think of a better way to encapsulate this story.

After 15 years away, Carter returns to his home in Los Angeles to investigate the sudden death of his long-estranged sister. The moment he gets there though, he discovers that many of the old ghosts that drove him away are still very much in residence around his old haunts. And many of them are baying for blood.

Why TF this series hasn't gotten a TV show adaptation yet, i haven't a clue. To do it justice, it would need to be on AMC, Netflix, or HBO, if only for the necessary special effects, language, and level of violence. Maybe it will in future. This is definitely a series I plan to continue reading going forward. 

(On a special note, if if I ever get my Soace Opera novel published, I want Rudy Sanda, the audiobook narrator of this series, to narrate it. His performance on this book was a revelation. Now, I just need to get out of the fucking query trenches before he dies.)

Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton

I'd seen the book floating around on the web for a while, and when people began favorably comparing it to someone the books of Andy Weir, I knew I had to read it.

If Heinlein's Orphans of the Sky and Weir's Project Hail Mary had a love child, it would be Mickey 7. Ashton weaves the post-Generation Ship terraforming scenario with a really messed up exploration of what has to be the suckiest form of immortality I've ever seen that makes the concept at the heart of Total Recall look like a fun experience.

That said, the book is wonderful. Heartwarming. Funny in parts. And very insightful regarding the SF conceit at it's core (a human version of the Ship of Theseus). After this, I became an Edward Ashton fan and plan to read more of his books going forward.

Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Clare Dederer

I first heard about this book from an interview Ann Patchett did for MPR's Talking Volumss. When she started describing it, I knew I had to read it. I wasn't disappointed.

Part memoir, part long-form artistic critical ssay, part social commentary, Monsters explores the central question the United States (and the rest of the world), has been asking since 2016's election of TFG and the rise of the Time's Up/MeToo movement:

What do we do about the art created by people whose actions have caused us to view them as monsters?

Like the best nonfiction, Dederer's book begs more questions than it provides answers. In addition, it isn't prescriptive, so Dederer doesn't tell you what you should think about this. She also makes her own bias towards certain works by certain artists abundantly clear, especially as she reaches the dounle-crescendo of her thoughts.

The first is this: you won't solve the problems of monstrous artists by refusing to financially support their work, and thinking you will is a dead-end. 

The second is this: every person is and always will possess the duel-capacity to be both a saint and a monster, and the sooner we reconcile ourselves to the natural ability to be hypocrites, the better our lives will be.

(I may end up doing a more in-depth post about Monsters in future. It's definitely worth a read if you've been considering the above question all these years, as I have.)

While we were in Akron, one of the things we did was go see a movie in a local single screen theater that was showing new movies. The movie we saw: Alien: Romulus.

Poster for Alien Romulus

Now, I will be the first to admit, I am not the biggest fan of the Alien franchise. Horror has never been my go-to genre of visual entertainment (because I'm a wuss, who hates jump scares). However, I'm not one to pass up a chance to see a new film on a big screen for $5. (Yes, $5. I thought those sorts of theaters were extinct too. Thank you, Akronites, for keeping that place going during the worst of the pandemic lockdown.) 

Romulus on the whole was quite a good film. Even as I watched it, my writer brain was trying to play red team for its story. And I couldn't find any holes in its plot. It works as a standalone in the franchise, while both reprising some of the same beats from the original film, and acting as a good boarding point for newcomers who've never seen any of the preceeding films. It had excellent foreshadowing, made great use of its SF setting, had pitch-perfext social commentary underpinning its first ten minutes, and it's effects were spectacular. Also, it's last 15 minutes are the scariest parts of the movie for multiple reasons. Watch the film and you'll see why.

If I have one big critique of the film, it's regarding a creative choice surrounding one character (no spoilers). I'm sure the filmmakers thought that, by doing what they did, they were more firmly tying this feature to the rest of the franchise, but really, the choice was both creepy and a missed opportunity to let the movie be its own thing. Watch the film and make your own decisions, but to me, it was a misstep in a film with nearly no missteps.

As an endnote, can I just say I am absolutely locking forward to the arrival of Autumn? I'm so unbelievably sick of all this heat, and I'm ready for the return of hoodie weather.

—IMC 🙃