Tag Archives: Doctor Who

I’m a “Real” Fan of Star Trek…and That’s Not a Good Thing.

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I ranted on Chuck’s Facebook thread (sorry, Chuck…) concerning yet another dust-up over Star Wars. Thing is, this brouhaha brought up a few memories worth sharing. These are memories about me being a hardcore fan of Star Wars and Star Trek, and about hardcore fans of Doctor Who…

…and how that can sometimes be a problem.

See, what’s happening within the Star Wars fandom—in the wake of other “real fan” movements—is nothing new. It’s just more public. “Real” fans who draw lines in the sand, piss all over a movie poster or toy collection (mint-in-box, of course), and claim to be the Keepers of the Sanctity of Insert-Your-Favorite-Science-Fiction-Sacred-Cow-Here, thanks to social media and the Internet, are making their voices heard; and are exhorting to extreme measures to protect their Precious.

To understand just how dangerous a mentality this is, you can take a look at my own experiences. Experiences where I was on both the receiving and the giving end of this kind of “real” fandom.

Let me take you back to the 1990’s. I’m thinking the summer of 1996. Yeah, that sounds about right… Continue reading →

RavenCon 2014: A Homecoming in April (Hail, Hydra…)

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This week has been one temptation after another to rant a bit on topics ranging between Game of Thrones to pretentious nitwits in steampunk, but I have chosen a different direction for my weeks blogpost:

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That’s right — RavenCon! Finally, after years of trying to make my hometown event happen, I am finally coming back to the weekend in April that I helped kick off seven years ago alongside Con Chair Michael Pederson. I, for one, am looking forward to the weekend!

It’s been a little frustrating not being able to make it, mainly on account of things like the lack of a day job; but after balancing the books and making sure the numbers weren’t misleading me, I can finally come back to my hometown (the second time within the month!) and enjoy some good old-fashioned geekery alongside such terrific people like Bill Blume, Gail Z. Martin, Michael A. Ventrella, the Geek Radio Daily crew, and Guest of Honor (and all around great lady!) Elizabeth Bear!

Want to know where I will be this weekend? Continue reading →

Glyn Jones: A Man for All Seasons

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glyn_jonesThis is Glyn Jones. There’s a chance, unless you were at theatre student at James Madison University between 1988 and 1989, or active in theatre circles of England, you don’t know who he is…

…but if you’re reading this blog, you all have met him.

My first meeting with Glyn was in my Freshman Year at JMU. I was acting opposite of him in Molliere’s The Imaginary Invalid. I made a memorable impression by tripping over his chair, and practically falling on top of him. This was the beginning of a friendship where, much to my loss, I fell out of touch, even though we reconnected on Facebook. (Not really the “reconnection” I hoped for, but it was good to see those updates.) I failed in emails and phone calls, but Glyn’s name came up often in my conversations, especially when I talk about my days in the theatre. Continue reading →

Endless Possibilities Blog Tour 2014: Tamela J. Ritter Asks What She Should Be Reading

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Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to the Endless Possibilities Blog Tour. Two weeks remain, and today I’m so happy to welcome to my corner of the Interwebz Tamela J. Ritter. Tamela came to me and asked what I’d like to feature on my blog, and of course I mentioned Science Fiction and Fantasy. Turns out that Tamela is on the lookout for something new to read, and is asking you for some suggestions with an emphasis on characters and character development.

You know, Tamela—I can recommend a pair of secret agents set in a steampunk world…


Hi, my name is Tamela J. Ritter and I am a sci-fi/fantasy n00b. 

Lavery_Maiss_Auras--What I Imagine I look like readingI was supposed to come here and talk about writing, about creating and producing fiction. Instead, if Tee doesn’t mind, I’d like to use this space to talk about reading and consuming fiction. And also, hopefully gather some recommendations from you all. Continue reading →

Feeling the Love from across the pond!

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In this picture are two people that I hold very dear in my life. One of them is my daughter. I will let you try and figure which one of them is her…

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The other “bloke” is Martyn Casserly, a journalist, an accomplished musician, and now he is an award-nominated podcaster with his one-minute Movie Mantras podcast. (Martyn is also a dad and a good mate to boot…although his opinions concerning the new Craig-Bond films and recent Doctor Who are completely wrong, but I digress…) With the many endeavors he had going, Martyn approached me this Spring to talk about an article he was penning on podcast authors. He was optimistic that Wired Magazine (UK) would pick up the column. So I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

This morning, I checked my Twitter stream and found this waiting for me:

My article about Podcast Authors is up on Wired ! @scottsigler, @sethharwood, @jchutchins, @teemonster all appear. http://bit.ly/Pv53w

Now live on the site, Wired Magagine (UK) picked up  “Novels by Podcast” where Martyn discusses how we authors are giving away our hard work in audio format for free. He also goes into the genesis of the podcast novel and why we do what we do.

“Giving away your stories isn’t a risk… it’s a competitive advantage,” explains Scott Sigler. “If a reader who’s never heard of me has $25 to spend and they’re looking at my book next to a Stephen King book, who are they going to choose? They take King. He’s a proven storyteller. But if King is $25 and my story is free they may try me out first. Why not? It’s no risk to them. If they like me, they buy me. If they don’t they buy King. Whatever happens the customer gets what the customer wants.”

It is a tight article covering successes and milestones; and while many who follow us on Twitter, on blogs, and through podcasts, may consider what we do “old hat” after four years, podcasting — and more importantly, podcasting fiction — is still a brand-spanking new concept to the mainstream market. Articles like Martyn’s and venues like Wired are getting the word out about what we are doing. That’s what is important here: getting people to listen.

Show Martyn appreciation by blogging about this article (and yep, I got it covered from the business perspective over at Imagine That!), syndicating his link in your feeds, dropping him comments on the article’s page, and talking it up on your podcasts. Let Wired know we’re paying attention and appreciate their support, and let Martyn know both on Twitter and on Wired that his words ring true.

Thanks, Martyn. Well done!