...that this year would be a very good year to apply to the Viable Paradise Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop on Martha's Vineyard.

The deadline for applications is 15 June, but the instructors are reading MSS right now as they come in. (Notifications of acceptances all go out in a bunch at the end, but the selection process goes a lot more smoothly if we don't have to read the whole stack in 48 hours or so after the gates are closed.)

Good things about Viable Paradise (aside from lighthouses and weather-permitting jellyfish viewing and early morning walks along the beach): you'll have eight instructors, all in the same week, for 24 students; it's a one-week workshop (because while a month or six weeks can be prohibitively hard for a lot of people to get free, even folks with day jobs can usually hack and slash at their schedules enough to cut loose a single week); and the folks at VP don't just work with short story submissions -- we like working with novels, too.

A short break from matters book and writing related:

If you're reading this and live in Brooklyn (or Manhattan, or the greater NYC area), and know anything about helping/rescuing stray and injured cats, then you need to go here and read this.

Short version: pnh and tnh have an injured cat on their back steps with an apparent broken leg. They're feeding it and sheltering it in place (they can't take it inside because of severe cat allergies, plus a hamster-in-residence) while trying to find someone, or some organization, with a vehicle and a cat-carrier who can come pick it up and take it to proper care (and not to someplace which will merely euthanize the poor thing.)

Hell, if I lived near enough -- as opposed to six hours and two tanks of gas away -- I'd take the cat. But the best I can do right now is a signal boost.

ETA: pnh reports that the situation has been successfully resolved.

Three space opera ebooks are available this month for $2.99/each from Tor.

One of them (The Price of the Stars) is one of our good children, still earning money for us after all this time.

(Our apologies to readers overseas who -- due to restrictions on the publishing end over which we have no control -- aren't able to legally purchase these ebooks.)

Dr. Doyle's Editorial and Critique Service now has a Facebook page.

Now available from Smashwords--three Doyle and Macdonald short story bundles at $2.99 each.

Vampires and Shapeshifters: five stories of horror and the fantastic, dealing with . . . well, what it says on the tin.

Looking for Futures: five science-fiction short stories, including the never before published "Dies Irae".

Ghosts and Legends: a quintet of tales dealing with hauntings, marvels, and the supernatural.

Doyle's Arisia Schedule

Language && Linguistics in SF/F
Sat 11:30 AM

From Tolkien's Elvish, to "Det. Sykes" meaning "Det. S--t-Head" to the Newcomers and the Tamarians' use of metaphor in ST:TNG episode "Darmok"; language, its use and misuse, and barriers to its understanding have provided an interesting and often illustrative backdrop to the exploration of cultures not the narrator's and/or protagonist's own. How are language and linguistics used to enrich a SF/F universe, and what can we learn from this?

Reading: Sat 2:30 PM

Autographing: Sat 4:00 PM

Use Your Words: Dialogue, Prose, and Tone
Sun 2:30 PM

It's been said that the purpose of dialogue is to move the plot forward. How do you do that effectively? How does choice of prose change the reader's take on the setting and the story? If you have a specific tone in mind--light and humorous or dark and full of angst--how can that be conveyed effectively through your dialogue and prose? Our panelists discuss the methods and mechanics for constructing effective dialogue and prose to help set the tone of your story.

Macdonald's Arisia Schedule

Reading: Sat 4:00 PM

Autographing: Sat 5:30 PM

Disaster Preparedness for Fans
Sun 10:00 AM

In this Arisia favorite, we'll discuss ways to protect what's important to you from random acts of disaster, including yourself. How do I protect my books from flooding? What should I put in a disaster kit? Is renters insurance worth buying? Come learn how to prepare yourself for when the alien, cyborg zombies invade!


Jack Arnold at 100
Sun 1:00 PM

This October will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jack Arnold, one of the best directors of SF films in the 1950s. Among his credits are "It Came from Outer Space," "Tarantula," "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and "The Incredible Shrinking Man." Let's examine the career of this director whose work include stints on TV series ranging from "Gilligan's Island" to "Buck Rogers in the 25h Century." Why did his films stand out in a decade that was glutted with SF movies?

The Viable Paradise Writer's Workshop is open for submissions.

Instructors this year are Elizabeth Bear, Steve Brust, Steve Gould, Debra Doyle & James D. Macdonald, Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden, and Sherwood Smith.

The workshop is on the island of Martha's Vineyard, home of excellent seafood, amazing vernacular architecture, and (when local conditions permit) bioluminescent jellyfish.

Starpilot's Grave, the middle book in the original Mageworlds Trilogy, is now up as an e-book for both the Kindle and the Nook.

You know what would make an excellent Christmas present for the writer in your life?

A gift of Dr. Doyle's Editorial Services, that's what!