Tee Morris

Writer, podcaster. and streamer

Writing

Capclave: A Celebration of Short Stories, Anthologies, and the Business of Books

photo by P.J. Schnyder

Are you in the Washington D.C. are this weekend? Because if you are, Pip and I are going to be out and about at Capclave, on Friday and Saturday at the Hilton of 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20877.

Capclave, if you have never attended, is not a bustling event like Balticon or RavenCon; but a more intimate affair that focuses more on the art of short fiction.

And yes, short fiction is an art.  You might not think it with my releases this year, but short stories have always been a challenge for me. It’s only been recently I’ve felt comfortable writing short stories, and Capclave is a rare event indeed as short stories take center stage. Discussions range between  the challenges of the market to the big question “Is there still a market for short stories?”

Oh yeah, and did I mention George R R Martin is the Guest of Honor this year?

Now for anyone who thinks I’m going to corner him, take him down with a Hapkido throw, jam my boot in his throat, and demand that he gets me an audience with Peter Dinklage, I’m just going to say for the record that I’m not going to corner him.

So, yeah, that.

But if you are looking to corner me at Capclave, you’ll get your chance here… [Read more…] about Capclave: A Celebration of Short Stories, Anthologies, and the Business of Books

MINISTRY PROTOCOL: The Cover Reveal (and other stuff that I’ve been up to…)

IMG_0450So yeah…I do this on-the-edge post about OSC, get the traffic, get the comments, and then…I disappear.

All right, let me explain…

No, is too much. Lemme sum up…

Shortly after that post, the Kickstarter for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences’ anthology and role playing game launched. Pretty much, that was my life. It was a new world of stress, of statistics, and of sensational results, the sum of it all that we made 152% of our goal. We did it! Yay us!

Oh crap, we did it — better get cracking on that anthology.

So I hunkered down with new steampunk from Delilah S. Dawson, Leanna Renee Hieber, Alex White, Jared Axelrod, Tiffany Trent, Peter Woodworth, Jack Mangan, JR Blackwell, Dan Rabarts, Lauren Harris, Karina Cooper, and Glenn Freund from The League of S.T.E.A.M.

How’s that for a line-up?

Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences promises to take readers across the Empire and around the world, introducing new agents and delving deeper into the organization’s history. I’m not only thrilled with this collection, but I’m excited to present it to everyone.

So hold on, it’s coming. Soon.

Until then, allow me to tease you with its cover from the far-too-talented-for-his-own-good renaissance man, Alex White… [Read more…] about MINISTRY PROTOCOL: The Cover Reveal (and other stuff that I’ve been up to…)

The Other Moral Dilemma of Ender’s Game

Orson Scott Card.

What can you say about celebrated New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card?

Well, there’s this…

“Orson Scott Card is a homophobic piece of shit.”

And then there’s this…

“That P.O.S. gets none of my dollars.”

And from the same thread…

“He’s not getting a dime from me.”

Members of the Science Fiction community have been of late truly repulsed by some of the things OSC has expressed both online and in the world of op-ed pieces, and—let’s be honest—OSC as an author is so mainstream that his recent spirited opinions inspired articles like this:

http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2013/02/21/1619481/an-ethical-guide-to-consuming-content-created-by-awful-people-like-orson-scott-card/

http://www.salon.com/2013/03/07/end_game_for_orson_scott_card_partner/

Here’s where it gets tricky though…

[Read more…] about The Other Moral Dilemma of Ender’s Game

Why I Hope You Don’t Pirate My Book

Chuck Wendig, author

Today — February 6th — was dubbed by Chuck Wendig (or I like to call him, TMB or That Magnificent Bastard) as International Please Don’t Pirate My Book Day. He has put out a call for creatives of all types to head to their blogs, their podcasts, and their various social media networks to share their thoughts about piracy. This, as inspired by that TMB, is my own entry. If you join in, give Chuck a shout.

 

tee-mixer-waveformStep in your wayback machines to 2005. A short eternity in Interweb years, but barely eight years ago a young whelp of an author launched a rather daunting project: a podcast novel. Following in the footsteps of people like John Scalzi, Cory Doctorow, and others, I stepped up with my epic fantasy MOREVI: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana to give it away as a podcast. Throughout the journey I was an advocate for this new model of promotion and marketing. Interviews with me at that time were reminiscent of a Red Hot Chili Peppers diddy…

No, not “Catholic School Girls Rule.” This one. [Read more…] about Why I Hope You Don’t Pirate My Book

STEAMPUNK GOES MAINSTREAM…and other things for geeks to panic about. Again.

First off, I’m sorry everybody. It has been far too long. Where in the name of clocks, gears, and cogs have I been?

Let me drop a few quick teasers as to what has been going on in my life:

  • Got a new job. Social Media Coordinator. And the best part, it’s very close to home with telecommuting thrown in as a bonus.
  • After a month, got a promotion at the new job.
  • Then, conducted interviews for the job that I was originally hired to do. (Being on the other end of the interview table? Woah…)
  • Got a new car. I’m driving a Nissan LEAF right now. LOVE IT!
  • Jumped back on to the Medifast train. My weight was out of control again.
  • Christmas.

Some of these things I intend to talk about later on this blog. (Stop laughing. Seriously. I am!) I also have to keep in mind, though, I have a novel to finish. I’m still on board with a steampunk reboot of MOREVI, so Rafe Rafton will be returning to the oceans this year.

It is this very subject — something that, I’ll admit, people are coming to me more and more about for an opinion which feels pretty good — from where this rant finds its core. So let’s turn back the clock to January 15, Tuesday, 10 a.m. At my new day job, a friend sends me a link to AdAge about IBM’s fascination with steampunk. I ran the article on my Facebook page as this truly was the convergence between my day job and my writing career. IBM is tracking “steampunk” in order to find patterns between trends and fads. I also posted it on the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Facebook page and between the two, I got a whopping 6 shares. So maybe it wasn’t as cool as I thought.

[Read more…] about STEAMPUNK GOES MAINSTREAM…and other things for geeks to panic about. Again.

Lightning Strikes Twice: THE JANUS AFFAIR on Goodreads’ 2012 Choice Awards

As you have probably caught on Twitter, Facebook, and the official website of the Ministry, our repeat appearance in the book readers’ social network, Goodreads, has been the subject of conversation. The first round was comprised of selections from title activity and reviews, and the second round included write-in nominations with the original nominees. This is not new territory for Pip and me as Phoenix Rising landed the eighth top slot for Best Science Fiction of 2011, but still…

We asked for your votes.

We watched the deadlines come and go.

And this week, you all made it official — The Janus Affair is a Finalist for Best Science Fiction of 2012.

Goodreads and its community of readers have spoken and here is (by author, in alphabetical order) their Top Ten Best Science Fiction of 2012: [Read more…] about Lightning Strikes Twice: THE JANUS AFFAIR on Goodreads’ 2012 Choice Awards