When You Wish Upon a Star

Impressions of the 2010 RWA National Conference

During the RWA Golden Heart ceremony at the end of the RWA National Conference in Orlando, a very magical song from this very magical place began to play--and although the music was instrumental, I could clearly hear the lyrics in my head.

When you wish upon a star

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires

Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream

No request is too extreme

When you wish upon a star

As dreamers do

Like a bolt out of the blue

Fate steps in and sees you through

When you wish upon a star

Your dreams come true

Those words resonated with me in so many ways. 

 

It spoke of the many hopeful Golden Heart finalists, including our own co-blogger Sharon Lynn Fisher--finalling for the second year in a row (woot, Sharon!)--striving for and achieving the recognition that their manuscripts have made the cut in the toughest of all writing competitions for unpublished authors.

 

It spoke of the RITA finalists, published authors who have poured all their skill, talent, creativity and experience into their novels and now have the chance to be given the nod as the best novel of their category for 2010. 

 

It spoke of the many attendees still pursuing their dream--on their own time and at their own expense--because they believe they will someday have the chance to introduce the world to their stories and the characters who, for now, exist only in their minds. 

 

It spoke of the amazing work done by the RWA staff when the original site--The Opryland Hotel in Nashville--was flooded earlier this spring and it appeared that cancelling the 2010 conference might be one possible outcome.  But these are writers.  They're programmed to problem solve and overcome obstacles.  Instead they got to work on drafting a new ending to this story, relocating the 2010 conference to the Disney World Magic Kingdom in Orlando at last minute and not only carrying off a wonderful conference--but a SOLD OUT conference!  Amazing.

 

Yes, this was a conference to remember.

 

Orlando was my second RWA National and it was every bit as head-spinning as my first, held last year in Washington DC.  This time around, I had a better grasp of what to expect, and the excitement of meeting many of my peers from the SFR Brigade--as well as the chance to see and chat and scheme with my friends and co-bloggers here at Spacefreighters Lounge--Sharon and Donna--face-to-face.  Like Sharon said at our first get-together in the BlooZoo Lounge, it felt like we'd just seen each other yesterday, not over a year ago.

 

How did it go?  It was mahvahlous--and the hotel and grounds were gorgeous--but it all went so fast the days and events are a virtual blur. 

 

Sharon and Laurie

 

 

On the first morning, I had breakfast scheduled with NY Times bestselling author Sharon Sala and RITA finalist Colleen Thompson.  This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came about via my winning bid in the Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes Research earlier this spring. Yes, I was nervous, but got over my case of jitters almost immediately. The wisdom these two warm and witty veterans shared was priceless for a still-struggling-to-break-in writer and an experience I'll never forget.  They also gifted me with signed copies of their novels as a super-duper deluxe added bonus!  (My one regret?  No pictures!  What was I thinkin'?)

 

Then it was off to a three-day whirlwind of workshops including an excellent workshop by Colleen Thompson (more details to follow), an invitation to the Golden Network event by Sharon where other Golden Heart finalists and several of my LERA local chapter members were in attendance, a long chat over drinks with Sharon and Donna at the Cabana Poolside Bar, amazing talks by keynote speakers Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz, more workshops, the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter "The Gathering" Steampunk Costume Ball where Brigaders swept the costume contest, a search for kareoke (still in costume) and more drinks at the BlooZoo, more workshops including Donna and I witnessing the last ever presentation of Linda Howard's Twelve Steps of Intimacy (she announced she was retiring from public speaking at the conclusion!)...Donna is pictured with Linda Howard above...

 

 

Steampunk Costume   Donna at our table at The Gathering

Contest Winners                                                    

 

...exciting news and meetings swapped with peers in the lobby and corridors, and finally the Golden Heart/RITA Ceremony at the conclusion and witnessing fellow SFR Brigader Kylie Griffin win the Golden Heart.

 

SFR Brigaders at the Golden Heart (left to right): 

Erica Hays, Kylie Griffin (winner of the GH for Paranormal),

Sharon Lynn Fisher (GH finalist and co-blogger),

and Laurie Green (that would be me).

And then it was over.  Time to pack up the clothes, experiences, memories and head home to digest the calvacade of information, tips, advice, industry news and brainstorming sessions...and start planning what I want to achieve and where I want to go with my career in the coming year.

So long, Orlando.  It was a blast.   

(You can see the full collection of pictures in the SFR Brigade web site photo album.)

 

WE LOVE OUR "BAD" SCIENCE, PART TWO

The discussion that followed my first post about “bad” science made me think about all the many scientific and technical ideas that debuted to less-than-universal acclaim. I hesitate to say that most of the best ideas were received with derision rather than acceptance, but it’s certainly not hard to find examples of scientists who suffered for years, if not centuries, before their ideas were proven correct. The name Galileo ring a bell?

We SF and SFR writers tend to make scientists the heroes, but the scientific community historically has had its own conservative bias with regard to new ideas. Lister was laughed out of the surgery when he suggested maternal deaths in hospitals could be prevented if attending physicians would simply wash their filthy hands between childbirths. What? Disease is caused by tiny creatures you can’t even see? Pasteur is an idiot! Rocks emit invisible energy? Why Madame Curie, I believe you must be mad! Radio? Rockets to the moon? Totally the province of those with overactive imaginations and no strict scientific boundaries to their thinking.

Lest you think this kind of scientific conservatism is a thing of the past, let me remind you that only a few years ago reputable scientists were still arguing that the discovery of Earth-like planets in the galaxy would be extremely unlikely; that, in fact, planets of any kind would be rare. Our solar system was not necessarily typical and evidence simply did not exist for any other planets in the galaxy.

Well, surprise. We’re not alone after all. Better astronomical technologies and theoretical constructs have allowed us to detect hundreds of planets out there, some of them of roughly the same size and distance from their suns as Earth. Carl Sagan must be doing the happy dance up in heaven.

So, yes. Distant planets: yesterday’s “bad” science, today’s real science. Rockets to the moon: yesterday’s “bad” science, today’s real science. Rockets to distant planets: today’s “bad” science, tomorrow’s real science. Because as someone once said, if we can dream it, we can live it. If we can envision it, surely we can make it real.

As writers we’re in the envisioning business, and, Lord knows, for us there are no limits. We can only hope there are working scientists, inventors and technicians for whom our dreams (and theirs) provide the catalyst for the future.

Cheers, Donna

Expanding Universe Contest for Free E-Novels

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are the author team behind the classic and ever-popular Liaden Universe®. This series of “adventurous romantic space opera” holds cross-over appeal for both romance and science fiction readers.

To celebrate the release of MOUSE AND DRAGON, Lee and Miller’s thirteenth Liaden novel, the authors are hosting a contest. It’s open to anyone and everyone who has yet to sample a Liaden Universe® novel. Thirty-six electronic copies of The Dragon Variation will be given away as prizes.

The Dragon Variation is an omnibus edition of three Liaden Universe® novels — Conflict of Honors, one of the first modern SFRomances; Local Custom, second place winner of the Prism Award for best Futuristic of 2002; and Scout’s Progress, the first place winner of the Prism Award for best Futuristic of 2002, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice for Best SF Novel of its year, and the prequel to Mouse and Dragon.

And if you’re a blogger who wants to help spread the word about it, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $36.00 gift card from Barnes and Noble just by linking to your post!

If you’re a blogger new to the Liaden novels, you can enter BOTH tiers of the contest.

Check the contest out here.

No prior knowledge of the Liaden Universe® required. This omnibus is electronic and can be read on your Kindle, your phone, your iPad, your desktop, or other ereader.

To enter the contest, click the link above and follow the instructions you see there (it’s easy). Contest ends at midnight Eastern Daylight Time on July 16, 2010. Winners will be announced on Saturday, July 17, 2010.

WE LOVE OUR BAD SCIENCE

Science is a tough sell in the here good ole USA.

Yes, folks, we’re not much for science here in the nation that was first to the moon, that ushered in the age of electricity and mass production, that invented television, the atom bomb, the cure for polio. Here, the average man or woman on the street is just not a huge fan of the real life equivalent of Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Our national science budgets lag behind those of other developed nations. Our national space program is all but defunct. Our science education in elementary and secondary schools produces results that can only be described as a disgrace when compared internationally.

Part of that can be explained by our national distrust of intelligence expressed as “book smarts”. We much prefer “street smarts” or “leadership skills” or even “people skills”, and we reward those forms of emotional intelligence in all sorts of ways from the time a child first starts to interact with her parents. Oh, yes, “A’s” are awarded for understanding your lessons, but popularity, friendship, social status and all the perks that are attached to those things are awarded for understanding your peers. Is it possible to understand and work for both things? Absolutely. Do most kids in school realize the subtleties of this distinction? Doubtful.

And, let’s face it, science and math are hard work, intellectually. Not that philosophy and history, aren’t, mind you, but the former you can avoid until college and the latter you can get through with a little hard studying. You have to get math and science. Something has to click in the old brain. If the old brain just isn’t up to it, well . . . I think I’ll just go watch TV.

Lest you think I’m an elitist snob who reads Scientific American over breakfast and long ago found no challenge in the Discover brain teasers, I am a proud liberal arts graduate of a small Midwestern college. Because Beloit grouped its degree requirements in broad “intellectual areas”, I managed to swap out philosophy courses for any math requirements, but I still had to take two science courses (astronomy and organic chemistry). I only got through astronomy with the help of a study group; through chemistry with a boyfriend/tutor. It was the math that was the killer in both cases. I loved the concepts. (And still do—that’s why I’m a science fiction writer.) And, not to brag, but I graduated Phi Beta Kappa. That stuff is just hard!

So I don’t blame my fellow citizens for being wary of something they find largely incomprehensible, at least in the details. Because here’s the interesting subtext: they love "bad" science. Warp drive, killer bees, UFO’s, supersoldiers, bioengineered nano-viruses, time travel (in any form), experiments gone wrong (in any form), virtual reality—you name it, they’ll buy it, usually on the screen (small or large), but also in book form. And the further removed from “real” science, it seems, the larger the audience. Because they’re not interested in a treatise on physics, complete with diagrams and formulas. They’re interested in a good story.

Now, of course, there is a core audience for science fiction, particularly literary-style, hard SF, that insists on a foundation of good science. Please forgive me, all of you. I hope you are capable of enjoying, from time to time, a jump through the hyperspace of imagination without your critical calculator, because it can be fun just to enjoy the story, or the characters, or—dare I say it—the special effects! Many real scientists were fans of the original STAR TREK, cheesy effects, impossible science and all. And today, some of the kids who watched the show are grown up and crazy enough to try and make transporters, warp drive and, of course, communicators, happen in this lifetime.

The audience for “bad” science, and, by extension, for the more accessible forms of science fiction, including science fiction romance, is much broader than we tend to think. Screen writers like J.J. Abrams and others have tapped into that audience with LOST and FRINGE, V and EUREKA and CAPRICA. And, of course, nearly every science fiction movie that hits the big screen can be put in the “bad science” category; SPLICE and INCEPTION are only the latest.

The challenge for those of us writing science fiction romance is hooking that audience—the one watching EUREKA because it’s funny and smart or FRINGE because of the relationships between the characters or CAPRICA because it’s fascinating to see how the accidental stranding of a teenager’s avatar in a cyborg body could lead to the development of artificial intelligence for a whole race. They're not watching for the details of tech design or AI theory. It’s not such a leap to think that audience would be willing to follow the story of two lovers caught in the crossfire of intergalactic war or on the run from hunters from another planet or struggling to find each other across space and time.

That audience will forgive you for a little bad science just as long as you give them what they're looking for: a good story.


Cheers, Donna