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Bascomb James
Author | Scientist | Science Fiction Fan

First Call - Far Orbit Perigee

6/18/2016

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This entry is for planning purposes only.
Please submit ONLY during specified dates.

Far Orbit: Perigee
[Closed] Submission window opens January 1, 2017]
Anthologist: Bascomb James

Our journey continues… The Far Orbit anthology series has a new home here at Pushpin Books. We are once again looking for modern space adventures crafted in the pulp fiction style popular in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. No, we’re not looking for slavish imitations of past classics. Rather, we want to receive stories that establish a new tradition in this much maligned SF adventure genera — smart, modern stories built around the classic traditions.

We are looking for adventure stories that are creative, readable, and memorable. We are also looking for midnight indulgences; exciting stories that transport you from the everyday grind and leave you wondrously satisfied. All adventure-based sci-fi genera are welcome but stay away from fantasy elements unless they are genetically engineered or cybernetic. Stories can begin on Earth but the major action should happen out there, beyond the edges of our blue marble. Dystopia (Mad Max) and fantasy-like adventures (John Carter of Mars) have to be very special to be included in this anthology. Please, no fan fiction.
 
Because adventure stories often take more space to develop, Pushpin Books is accepting stories up to 12,000 words in length.  Yes, we like longer stories.

Previously published stories are acceptable but we will not publish stories that have been previously anthologized.

Want to know more about my preferences? Check out the link at the bottom of this post or pick up a copy of the previous Far Orbit volumes, Far Orbit: Speculative Space Adventures and Far Orbit Apogee.  

Rights and compensation: Payment: $0.01/word. All contributors will receive a paperback copy of the anthology. For previously unpublished works: seeking first world rights in English and exclusive rights to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date after which, the publisher retains nonexclusive rights to continue to publish your story in the anthology.  For reprints: seeking non-exclusive right to publish in print and electronic formats. 
 
Unpublished stories preferred; reprints will be considered. No previously anthologized stories.

Open submission period: January 1 – March 15, 2017.

Length: Under 12,000 words

Submission Information can be found on the Pushpin Books website.

Simultaneous submissions = OK. Multiple submissions = No. 
 
Hints for authors.
  1. I prefer upbeat, fun-to-read stories with a positive message. Check out my intro to the first Far Orbit volume for more information.  
  2. I’m not a fan of the “everyone dies horribly” ending unless you can really move me.
  3. I’m looking for subject diversity in the anthology.  If you’ve written something different in this genre, I want to read it.
  4. I love escapist adventures, mind candy, and thoughtful integration of technologies and aliens.
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Last Outpost Story/Author List

6/15/2016

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The Last Outpost military SF anthology is moving forward again and I thought I would share a list of story titles and authors.   The anthology will be published tin October, 2016.  

Stay tuned for more information. 

“Conscripts” by Gary Hurtubise
“Corners and Curves” by Wendy Sparrow
“Deathbeast” by H.E. Roulo
“Hashtag Whitebitch” by Shauna O’Meara
“My Letters” by George Allen Miller
“Names” by Todd C. Wilson
“Ripplers” by John Moralee
“Risk Assessment” by David Tallerman
“Swimming Stars” by Andrew Wilson
“The Copper Queen’s Bazaar” by J.B. Rockwell
“The Quarry” by Marc Ferris
“The Thorne Legacy” by J.D. Brink


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Hyperpowers – Summer Anthology from Third Flatiron Publications

4/23/2016

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The literary lineup is complete for Hyperpowers, the sixteenth (sweet 16) volume of speculative short fiction from Third Flatiron Publications.  The theme of this anthology is Military Science Fiction and Space Opera.  Please join me in congratulating the following authors:

William Huggins, Grid Drop
Jonathan Shipley, Between Two Heartbeats
Dan Koboldt, Dirt Moon
John M. Campbell, The Silicates
Mark Rookyard, Dreaming Empire
Sam Bellotto Jr., Symphony in First Contact, Hostile
Erik B. Scott, Duck and Cover
E. J. Shumak, Outer Patrol
Brandon L. Summers, Child of Soss
Neil James Hudson, The Mytilenian Delay
Robert Walton, Kill the Coffee Boilers!
K. S. Dearsley, Alien Dreams
Noel Ayers, Yesterday's Weapon
Elliotte Rusty Harold, Claim Jumpers
Martin Clark, Pre-emptive Survivors
Art Lasky, I've Got the Horse Right Here. . . (Grins and Gurgles)
 
The anthology is now available for pre-order via Smashwords and Amazon. The ebook will be available May 15!  Third Flatiron  will be podcasting some of the stories as well (free).
 
And by the way, I was the guest editor for the volume. *two thumbs up*
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A New Gig - Pushpin Books

4/9/2016

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As some of you may know, I’ve started a new venture--Pushpin Books, a small press dedicated to publishing short speculative fiction. In a world dominated by novels and novelists, short speculative fiction stories sometimes appear to be the unloved stepchildren trying to find a place in the world. This is especially true for longer stories, stories in the 5,000 to 12,000 word range. I personally like this story length because it allows the author to create more nuanced worlds and characters while embracing the short form. These are the stories I want to publish.

I know I’m swimming against the current on this one. The voice of experience tells me that anthologies aren't big sellers and the oxymoronically-labeled long short story is arguably one of the most unloved forms in the publishing family. While these observations may be true for traditional publishers, I’m not a traditionalist and I plan to experiment with business models and marketing approaches to create platforms that work for my publishing niche--short stories.
 
My initial goals are modest--publish one Far Orbit science fiction anthology per year. Along the way, I’ll be experimenting with single-story publishing and creating themed short story collections. To help me move forward more quickly, I hired publishing consultant Eileen Wiedbrauk to handle book building and cover designs. She also created our logo and custom web page.  Eileen was the editor-in-chief of Worldweaver Press for four years.

Well, that’s the big news for now. I'm still available for guest editor gigs and other freelance publishing activities, but Pushpin Books is my new WIP.  You can follow the the travails of the little pushpin that could on our website, and twitter feeds.  It's gonna be fun!
 
Twitter: @pushpinbooks 
Website: http://www.pushpinbooks.com

Eileen's Contact Information
Twitter: @eileenwiedbrauk
Webpage:  eileenwiedbrauk.com/publishing-consultant.html
Email: eileen.designs.books@gmail.com  

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Follow @pushpinbooks
Tweets by @pushpinbooks
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Hyperpowers Anthology is Complete

3/29/2016

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Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an anthology! 

I’m happy to report that the Hyperpowers anthology from Third Flatiron Publications is complete and it’s been transferred to Colorado where the Third Flatiron folks will convert our artfully arranged electrons into an actual book.   

Launch day is May 15, 2016 for the ebook.
The print version will appear shortly thereafter.  Whoo Hoo!

​I want to extend my personal thanks to everyone who sent in stories. It was a pleasure reading them.

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Writing When You Don’t Have Time to Write

3/12/2016

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Let’s face it, we all want to write the next best-selling novel but most of us have jobs, families, and other commitments that eat into our writing time.  For many aspiring writers, the solid blocks of time we need to plan, plot, and write a novel either don’t exist or they’re too infrequent to provide continuity between writing sessions. 

Yes, I’ve read the writing advice that tells us to make a writing appointment each day and just do it, get your butt in the chair and WRITE!  All I can say is, “Get real!”  That advice was written by professional writers whose main job is writing and writing-related activities.   The rest of us need to fit writing activities into our daily routine, at least until we make it big and writing is our job.

Before someone goes all huffy on me, let me explain that the professional writing advice is well-intentioned, sage and meaningful.  We need to practice writing, editing, and the myriad skills that go into crafting a story.  There are no secret passages or magic carpets that will shorten our journey.  My point is that we don’t have to perfect all these things at the same time.   When we are time-challenged, we can break our writing activities into manageable bits that don’t require large time commitments.  Sure, it takes longer to get to our final goal, but practicing when we can allows us to write more effectively when we have larger blocks of time. 

Let’s explore how this might work.  Let’s say we’re waiting for our turn in the dental chair.  We can pull out our pad and write a short meaningful conversation, a description, or a character’s inner thoughts.  Put the pad away and edit it during the next small window.  Once we have the vignette polished, we give it a meaningful name (e.g., “Mother and Active Child in the Dentist’s Office” or “Smells from the Dentist’s Office”) and share it with our readers.  Can they relate to the description?  Is it meaningful?

At this point, you might be asking, “How does this get my novel written?” To address this question, I’m going to refer to advice given to aspiring photographers by the photography greats.  Like writing, photography has technical (f/stop, shutter speed, depth of field) and artistic components that must come together to create an outstanding image.  Professional photographers tell us to practice with our camera until we don’t have to think about the technical aspects. When we automatically know how to isolate two people from a busy background, we can concentrate on the artistry of two lovers meeting in a park.   Pros rarely look at the back of the camera to see if they have the technical aspects dialed in.  Well, they may do one quick check, but after that their eye is glued to the viewfinder, working the artistic side of the equation. 

Writing descriptions, conversations, and scenes are akin to learning the camera.  Once we know how to do these things effectively, we can concentrate on the story and its artistry.  Besides, our collection of polished vignettes can be re-purposed in future works or they may become story inspirations. 

I’ve included a few supplemental writing prompts to get us started. 

Descriptions That Introduce a Character
  Saying without saying - Describe someone who is ______ without saying the word(s).
  • Angry
  • Romantically interested in someone
  • Obsessive and controlling
  • 40-60 years old
  • Unliked by your POV character
  • Convinced they are unjustly accused
  • Repentant for a recent deed
  • Noticed for their attractiveness rather than their ability
  • Habitually unnoticed by others
  • Depressed
  • Mourning the death of a spouse/child/dog/gerbil
  • Emotionally absent
  • A jock
  
  Physical Descriptions – Describe someone focusing on:
  • A distracting mannerism
  • How they smell (breath, body, hair, etc.)
  • Their eating habits
  • Their shoes
  • The clothes they are wearing
  • Facial hair
  • Voice and/or speaking style
  • Posture
  • One body part (hands, face, eyes, feet, fingers, arms, etc.)
  • The tech they have/display (phone, tablet, watch, glasses, Bluetooth, etc.)
  • How they resemble their pet
  • Glass/prosthetic/cybernetically-enhanced eye
  • Characteristic facial expression

Positive and Negative – Describe a scene positively and negatively
  • Sunset
  • Urban street scene
  • Punk with blue Mohawk, leather, piercing/branding, in the front row of a small town church.
  • The POV character opening the front door of their house.
  • Policeman talking with a teenager
  • Rocket launch
  • Four men with hard hats staring into a hole in front of a house
  • A line of people waiting to buy a movie ticket
  • Coffee shop at 8 PM
  • Produce/meat/deli section of a grocery store
  • Airport waiting area on Christmas eve
  • Family driving to the in-law’s house for dinner
  • A horse farm next to a subdivision/apartment complex
  • The bus stop in the morning

The bottom line here is twofold; (1) we don’t have to abandon our writing aspirations when we don’t have large blocks of time and (2) moving forward in small steps is better than not moving at all.

Well folks, what do you think?  Do you have time management techniques you’d like to share with busy writers? Do you have some intriguing prompts that might make the exercise more interesting?

I’d love to hear from you.  
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Building Tension in Short Adventure Stories

2/6/2016

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Short stories have been an increasingly important part of my science fiction reading for the past few years. One reason for this change is research—I’ve been reacquainting myself with stories and themes published during the “Golden Age of Science Fiction.” Another reason involves my job as editor and anthologist for Far Orbit Speculative Space Adventures, Far Orbit Apogee, and Far Orbit: Last Outpost.

As I read through these stories, I’ve found that the most effective short adventure stories have a common structure that ratchets up the tension through repeated try/fail cycles until the conflict is finally resolved in the climatic action scene.  The stakes increase with each try/fail cycle and the pressure builds to the climax.  The wrap up sequence (i.e., falling action or denouement) lowers the intensity somewhat, but it never returns to the base levels.
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My mental image of this process is that of a trebuchet or ballista where the crew works together to create tension on the ropes. Cogs click and clank, preserving their progress. The crew pauses a moment then struggles anew.  They crank until the machine groans from the strain, teetering between action and destruction. With a stroke, the tension released and the projectile is hurled into the distance. That’s my kind of story.
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This action cycle is works well in every speculative fiction genre and in traditional action-adventure stories.  Try/fail cycles certainly aren’t an absolute recipe for success.  You still need story craft, a hook at the beginning, meaningful characters, compelling story, and a killer ending but the tension needs to build, one try/fail cycle at a time. ​
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Guest Editor at Third Flatiron Anthologies

1/29/2016

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I am pleased and honored to be a guest editor for the upcoming Hyperpowers anthology published by Third Flatiron Anthologies.  Juliana Rew at TF publishes four themed anthologies each year. In addition to theme-specific stories, each anthology includes one or two humorous flash fiction pieces (Grins and Gurgles). Some of the published stories are featured as podcasts.

The theme for the Summer 2016 anthology is “Hyperpowers,” featuring space opera and military science fiction stories. Space operas are dramatic, large-scale science fiction adventures focusing on character and plot action. We’re looking for page-turners, adventure stories that keep us on the edge of our seats. Mindless mayhem just doesn’t cut it. We want compelling science fiction tales that wake our emotions and stimulate our imagination.
    
With all of space and time to choose from, this is your chance to show off your world-building and storytelling chops. Show us the tech, the people, and the politics; weave them into rebellions, invasions, hostage rescues, fleet actions, cyber wars, and special ops. It’s all good. Please stay away from fantasy elements (wizards, magic, gods, etc.). Fan fiction is a definite no-no. 

Third Flatiron is seeking original unpublished stories for this anthology.  Base compensation is $0.03/word but you could receive more. See the submissions page for complete information on remuneration and rights sought.

Open submission period:  January 15 – March 15, 2016. 

Length:  1,500 to 3,000 words for theme stories; flash humor pieces should be around 600 words.

Submission method:  See the submissions page for detailed submission instructions.

Simultaneous submissions = No.  Multiple submissions = No.
 

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Last Outpost Update - January 2016

1/13/2016

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I tuned in to the President’s State of the Union speech last night and I have to admit my mind was wandering during most of it.  The local impact of his speech included the realization that I needed to post this State of the Book update.   In case you’ve forgotten, Last Outpost, the third volume in the Far Orbit space adventure series was open for submissions from September 15 through December 15, 2015.  During that time, we had an open call for military space adventure stories.  A gratifying number of you responded to the call and I am thankful for your submissions.    
 
Submissions
The submission period is closed and everyone who submitted during the open window should have heard from me.  Let me know if you have not received a response yet.  During this submission cycle, the average response time was <7 days. 
 
Intermission
Once the initial parsing was completed, I took a break to reset and clear my head.  My last acts during the intermission were (a) purchasing a Lottery ticket for the $1.5 billion drawing and (b) a two hour self-directed fantasy where I was Trumpianly rich and able to piss people off in wholesale lots.  The cost for the whole experience was less than a movie ticket.  The infernal villainy - priceless.  
 
Short List Parsing
At this writing, I’m back in editor mode; re-reading shortlisted stories and making lists, revision notes, and first-pass line edits.  This is the exciting and frustrating part of the book creation process.  In order to create a work that appeals to a broad range of readers, I sometimes have to say, “No thanks” to very good stories.
 
And Finally…
The State of the Book is strong and we hope to start making notifications in mid-February.
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December Writing Prompt

12/6/2015

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​Cameras as historians and time machines.

What if we could take the PC card from a camera and insert it into a time machine? What if the machine could take us back to that moment?
  • Would we be observers or participants in the moment?
  • Could it be used to investigate crimes?
  • Would there be a market for visiting historic events? Sex videos? Lost family members?

Do cameras capture your soul? Are the eyes the windows to the soul?
  • If you look into a camera lens, are you vulnerable to soul snatching?
  • Is the soul one thing or is it divisible?  Would picture-taking be akin to stealing the loose change from your pocket; small unnoticed thefts that compound over time?
  • How would this affect the “ghost” industry that attempts to photograph ghosts, apparitions, and other spiritually-derived entities? Would the spirit live in the camera?
  • What would this mean for our “Selfie” generation or our surveillance culture? Is our population spiraling toward soullessness one click or traffic cam image at a time?
  • Could a nefarious adept reprocess cell phones and cameras, collecting the stolen bits of soul and re-purpose them to animate golems? AI constructs? The recently dead? His/her home automation system? Ghosts? A lost lover?

About this Photo
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The photo that inspired the December prompt is a Canon AT-1 camera with a manual focus 50mm FD Macro lens. This camera spent much of its working life in the morgue at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor taking photos of ... parts, people parts.  Cameras are the ultimate historian, capturing slices of time with every click.  This particular camera did more so than most; it was the intimate historian for thousands of individuals, documenting their illness, disease progression, and ultimately, their demise. The stories it could tell… 

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