Tag Archives: Fan

20 Years

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This was originally published in the February 2020 issue of Watch The Skies.

This year is the 20th anniversary for a number of things, but what prompted this writing is the 20th anniversary of the Dresden Files. I am a fan of Jim Butcher’s work in general and particularly the stories revolving around wizard Harry Dresden. If you happen to be unfamiliar with this particular story, Harry Dresden is Chicago’s first (and only) wizard private investigator. The book series follows Harry’s life and work, along with all of the people he meets along the way.

I routinely recommend this series to people who are not familiar with it. The author really doesn’t need me promoting him at this point. The book series is headed into book 16, there is a role playing game based in this world, there are graphic novels of the story, there are numerous short stories AND it has been turned into a television show. It’s gone big. Mr. Butcher would likely be just fine without my support ~ but that brings me to my point.

There was a time when he was new at this. He was working conventions and writing and doing whatever he needed to keep this series alive. There weren’t other books of his on the market, there weren’t any television show plans, there was just an author and his work. An author that needed to get the word out there and create some interest in his stories.

From my library ~

As fans it is our responsibility to find these authors and back them. When they’re getting creative and making key chains or bookmarks or fridge magnets to keep their work in your mind is when they need fans. They need you to connect with them on social media, review their work on book review platforms and give them word of mouth. Most importantly they need people to buy their books! It’s not easy to cut through all the noise out there and get somebody’s attention. There are literally hundreds of works that vie for our attention every week. Dig in. Look for a new and exciting author. Find the kind of story you really love and push for that author to succeed. It takes time. Sometimes you’ll read a clunker, sometimes you’ll read something amazing and the author will just fade away. It’s a rare and wonderful thing to have massive success ~ but it all starts with you finding a story that amazes and astounds you.

Be a fan. Get out there and find that next big sensation. Jump on board before there’s a band wagon ~ and be sure to write to us here and tell us all about it! We love to hear a good story.

Fan Art

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I’ve had a couple of posts recently about being a fan and artwork. Turns out those things can come together. Fan Art.

I don’t usually work in other people’s worlds when it comes to writing or art. I’d rather not deal with all the mess that comes along with trying to get permission or paying for rights for use or any of that mess. If I’m making it up, it’s mine.

This time it’s different. There was a call put forward for a fan art contest for the Dresden Files. I’ve always created pictures in my mind when reading so this one was something that struck me as particularly “doable”. I had a concept that popped into my head, but no sketch book or anything else really handy (clearly an error in judgement on my part). I reached for whatever I could find and just made myself a note so I could recall what I had thought later.

Not what I would call art...
Original Note

It’s not amazing art – it’s note taking. It’s getting the essence of what I was trying to remember so I could go back and get after it again later. It did what it needed to do.

I’ll share the entries I created after the contest is done. I don’t want to mess up whatever chance I might have by publishing something before it has had a chance to get into the judging.

I’d say ‘fingers crossed’ but it’s really hard to type that way!

Random Sports Stuff

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I am a fan of sports in general. I was an athlete once upon a time. I have a vague sense of what it takes for folks to achieve things at a high level and what kind physical effort it really takes to be great. I am not one of those people that somehow believes “if not for that one thing…” I would have been there. Getting to the top of any game is a massive, life consuming effort. Even the low level of athleticism I managed to achieve takes its toll on a body. I can’t imagine how I would feel now if I had been pushing my body further, faster, stronger or more than I did.

It’s still fun to watch sports, mostly. I’ve drifted away from the major sports. The No Fun League has really fallen in my view. They excuse unethical, dangerous and violent behavior as part of doing business. They’ve been so big for so long that they’ve become a machine that doesn’t feel like it will be stopped.

Prediction zone – KC will win the game today. It will be tight. The Patriots will regret trading Jimmy G to the 49ers ~ win or lose today he’ll be back in the playoffs a bunch.

Speaking of the Pats ~ it’s going to be a long time before they see the super bowl again. Tom Brady is playing the media like no other athlete before. He will sign back with the Pats (one year deal ~ big money). They’ll make the playoffs next year (again) and get knocked out before the AFC title game (again). That will be it for them. It will be another 20 or 30 years before they’re good again. I was watching when they went to the super bowl the first time, I’ll probably be watching when they go again. It’s been a nice run.

I plan on watching “the big game” today (calling it that is an entirely different argument that I’m not interested in right now [it’s stupid]). I will continue to casually track my favorite team and watch games when I can. I won’t spend any more money on them. I think there are a lot of problems with that league and all they stand for (with their actions more than their words).

I do believe that sports can and should have an important place in the lives of people. I am in no way trying to say that football or any other organized sport should somehow be stopped or removed. Sports give us a lot ~ and a lot more than entertainment. Life lessons, amazing stories, opportunities for real change… all of those things are part of sports. Physical health is part of sports. Mental health and emotional well being should be part of it too. I’m not saying we need to have ‘participation trophies’ or stop keeping score. Winning and losing are part of understanding how life works. Losing is a particularly important part of learning. IF you never get knocked down you won’t learn how to get up, dust yourself off and keep going. That matters.

I hope to see sports continue to grow and change. I love seeing how far and how hard people can push themselves. What are the limits of unaided human physicality? How far can sports go without becoming something beyond human?

I’m working on a collection of stories that I hope will delve into the distant, and maybe not to distant future of sports and what people can achieve in that realm.

Nerd Pub and Robots

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Last week I had the opportunity to sit and chat with fellow fans on a YouTube show called Nerd Pub. Being on the show was a very interesting experience. I don’t think I’m cut out for video. As slow as I am with writing, I still think it’s a better place for me to express opinions. If you have some time on your hands you should head over to their channel and subscribe (click here).

Let’s drop fuel into a vat of acid and chat…

One of the things we chatted about was the Netflix show “Love Death + Robots”. This is a series of animated stories based around that theme. I recommend this, there are some good stories and amazing artwork. I was blown away by the art of these shows. There was more than one time while watching that I forgot I was watching animation. It’s that good. Be prepared – these are violent, sexual and graphic. They do not shy away from any of it.

The stories you say? Sort of an ‘oh by the way…’ moment on that one. One of my favorite stories was ‘Lucky 13’ by Marko Kloos. It’s edge of your seat military science fiction action combined with love and superstition. Great stuff.

I’ve read may of the other authors work as well. You’ll find Ken Liu, Joe Landsale, John Scalzi, Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and others. For anyone that hasn’t read their longer fiction – you should. Go find them. A number of these short stories are also available on line for free.

We talked some on the video about this being the next ‘Heavy Metal’. I understand why people would want to give this new series that title, but this is an anthology. There is no Loc-nar to follow through each story. There is no connective tissue between the stories. It is easily on the same graphic / sexual level but it’s just not quite the same. I’m willing to call it ‘inspired by’ or ‘in the tradition of’, but I am not ready to give it the crown yet. Give it longer than a month before we declare it the next coming.

While we’re giving things, let’s hope that Netflix digs up another set of stories and gives us another series of animated stories like this. I’d watch every single one.

Captain Marvel

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I wrote a review last year about Black Panther and said that it wasn’t for me. I didn’t mean that I didn’t like it, I meant that the representation of the film and the story was not aimed at me. I was not the demographic that film was intended to hit. Some people didn’t understand what I was saying and thought I didn’t like the movie. I do like it.

Why did I put all this about Black Panther up front?

WOW!


Once again I am NOT the target demographic of a super hero film. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that my daughter IS the target and that we got to go and see this movie together. I think this kind of hero is exactly what my daughter should be looking for in a film. If you’ve seen the trailers, you see the part where this woman gets knocked down but keeps getting back up. That alone makes it worth while to me. A good story and crazy good special effects AND tying in to the MCU? Bonus.

I have read / heard about some people attempting to bring this movie down because it was featuring / lead by a woman. That is one of the single worst statements on Fandom today. I’ve written about it here before so I won’t digress into all that. You know what? I LOVE that this movie is not aimed at me. It was super. It was fun. It was heroic ~ and exactly the sort of thing that would have fired my imagination for a long, long time as a kid. I am considering taking my daughter to see this movie again. We will own it and likely shelve it right next to Wonder Woman. I hope we rewatch it many times.

If you get the chance, see this film.

Epistolary… I had to look it up too.

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Griffin and Sabine (Griffin & Sabine #1)

Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I am working my way through the “Read Harder” list for this year and one of the tasks is “A epistolary novel or collection of letters”. I hadn’t given it much thought when I happened to remember seeing this book many years ago. I immediately went back searched down a copy. I remembered being very into the book, but did not remember much more about it.

Now that I have had the chance to read this again I remember all the bits that made it memorable. This is a one sitting book. Partially because it is not long. Partially because you’ll just keep wanting to find out more.

It is very art heavy ~ that is part of what made it so memorable to me. I could picture it in my mind’s eye even when I couldn’t remember anything else about it.

Worth reading. IF you’re going out there to find a used one, be sure (if you can) that the letters folded up inside (and part of the story) are still there.

Now I need to decide if I want to read the others. There was no ‘series’ when I first found this book. I’m uncertain if I want more or if I want it to stay just as it is…



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Backstage and a long title

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Backstage: A Novel of Secret Agendas, Slow Burn Romance, and Imaginary Cats

Backstage: A Novel of Secret Agendas, Slow Burn Romance, and Imaginary Cats by Joan Wendland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Disclaimer land again: I have a bias. Know this up front. I didn’t get the book for free or anything like that, but there is a personal connection here. The author herself and I had a chat at a convention and she pointed me at this one. Go, buy it. Check it out and see what you think, but most importantly, make sure the author gets paid.

On to the work itself. I actively struggled with the title. After having attempted to just search it up under “backstage” I understand why there’s a need for differentiation. Personally I would have cut it down to Backstage: Imaginary Cats or some significantly shorter name.

Then I started reading. This book put me very much in the mindset of ‘The Adjustment Bureau’. The main difference is the main character is working for the bureau rather than against it. IF you enjoyed the idea of people toying with the way the world functions you’ll probably get into this one.

The invisible cat thing is actually a great call back in the story. I hope that part carries on.

Go, check out this author’s work!



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Armored Saint

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The Armored Saint (The Sacred Throne, #1)

The Armored Saint by Myke Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Disclaimer land: I have a bias. Know this up front. I didn’t get the book for free or anything like that, but there is a personal connection here. Go and buy Myke’s works. All of them. Even the ones I told you I don’t like. Don’t believe me, what the hell do I know? – go see for yourself. Make sure the author gets paid.

Armored Saint is by far my favorite of Myke’s work. I don’t know what made him desire to write this character from this point of view but it is really well done. I absolutely believe the people in this book. The characters grow and interact and have reactions that I understand. Heloise is real and fantastic.

The world building is evident without being over the top. The things people do and how they act, including religion, are based in a coherent place. This is actually important to the story and brought about an event that I really didn’t expect. It was refreshing to be able to say “didn’t see that coming” and really mean it.

The one thing that bothered me about the entire book was the end. It just seemed so abrupt. I was ready for the story to start… and then we were done. I did the only sensible thing and went out and bought the next one and that’s rare for me.

The author was also kind enough to answer my question about that ending. Check out his interview over at Watch The Skies.

When you’re done with the interview – go read his book!


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The Kid Who Made No Money

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I took the family to see a movie. There are lots of movies coming out – and a lot of really good stuff to see. We went to see “The Kid Who Would Be King”. Yes, it’s a retelling of the Arthurian legend BUT it was new, it had at least one amazing actor and had enough of a budget to have really good special effects.

Guess what?

It bombed at the box office. It makes me more than a little sad to think that once again, just like Mortal Engines a movie that was not tied to a massive franchise, wasn’t a sequel and wasn’t a direct remake of something we’ve seen in our time dismally failed at the box office. I still hear people complain about movies and the lack of enjoyable new stuff that Hollyweird produces and yet once again there was a complete failure to show movie types that’s what anyone actually wants (by going to see a good film!).

IF you have a kiddo around the 10 – 14 year old range OR you just love movies aimed right at that age group you should definitely check this film out. It was a fun retelling of the King Arthur legend and had the bonus of giving some total ‘gross out’ information that turns out to be quite real (Merlin’s diet info is REAL)!

On Fandom

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This was originally published in Watch The Skies for the January 2019 issue.

Fandom is a wide ranging place. There are folks from across the spectrum of humanity and all around the globe… or at least that’s how it’s supposed to be. Somehow that’s not how it’s working out.

There have been a number of actresses that have recently departed from social media after being harassed to the point that they felt interacting with fans was not worth the effort anymore, or worse it was actively dangerous to them. An actress, long out as gay, was the target of huge amounts of harassment for being picked to play a gay character. Let that sink in for a moment.

A gay actor is not right to play the part of a gay character. Cue Rage Spew and foulness from the dim glow of a screen in a basement.

It almost sounds like this is something new. Social media has been around for more than a decade now, but it has become ubiquitous. Say Facebook and everyone knows what you mean (and likely has an opinion on it). There are other platforms and many methods to be more connected to the people that help to create the things we all know an love.

This harassment is not new and that is what makes it more shameful to me. I listened to an actor talk about how he almost killed himself because of how he was treated after the role he played was deemed unworthy of the franchise he was part of. This was twenty years ago. Yes, twenty (20). This young man thought that his life was done, was not worth moving forward with because of the extraordinary backlash to his role. People hated what he had been part of creating and it almost killed him.

Link Jar Jar

My opening statement means you. Yes you. Fandom is not yours. It is communal property and you do not have a right to harass, threaten, demean or otherwise be shitty to the people that create it. The people creating this art are more open and accessible than any other time in history, and people that can’t behave any better than a four year old that missed snacks and nap time are driving them away. This is NOT acceptable. As a fan I love being able to connect with the folks that make some of the most amazing things. The more people are terrible to these creators (actors are not alone here) the more the creators pull away and become less available to us. All of us.

Fans love to disagree and then expand those discussions over far and wide ranging topics. Arguing about the latest film, book, play or adaptation to whatever form is right down at the core of fandom. Fans should discuss things. Fans absolutely have every right to dislike any media they consume. Fans do not have the right to abuse the people that helped to create it. Fans don’t own the things they love, the can only love or hate them from a distance. Our biggest responsibility as a community is to act with the future in mind. We must create a sense that all are welcome. More than welcoming, we must create an atmosphere and place where the children who see our actions will come to love and understand the same things. The best and only thing we can hope for is that our children see examples of the wonderful creations in fandom and the fantastic people involved and choose to continue making amazing things far into the future. We must show others how to have a good time so that good time will continue.

Fandom is not yours. It belongs to the future. Make that future the best it can be.