The Stars are Going Dark

As you can probably tell from my blog title, this isn't going to be an upbeat post. Sometimes the news is not good, but I think it's important to get the word out. There are two pretty important things happening.

It seems another bright spot of the SFR universe is going to be extinguished.

So many sites and projects that once supported SFR are no more. In the past few years we've lost The Galaxy Express Blog, Smart Girls Love Sci-Fi, and The SFR Quarterly, to name only a few.

In fact, this blog is probably one of a handful of survivors from the mid-to-late 2000s. If even that many are still around.

And now the SFR Station will be the next to go dark. Corinne Kilgore has just announced she will be shutting down the site--which is a curated, go-to site where readers can find SFR books. She recently posted a notice to the SFR Brigade that the site will go dark as of January 2019 when the domain expires.

It's understandable that priorities change for those who invest dollars, time and effort into maintaining and managing these sites, and that they can't continue forever. But the alarming part of losing such resources is that no new resources seem to be created to replace them.

I'd just like to offer my heartfelt thanks to SFR Station and Corinne Kilgore for the many years of supporting the genre. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

UPDATE: Since writing this blog last week, good news happened. Brigader Steph Pajonas has worked with Corinne Kilgore to take over the SFR Station site! This is fantastic news for the science fiction romance community, and now that we came close to losing this valuable resource, maybe there will be more focus from authors on contacting the site with their new SFR books.

At any rate...it's a YAY!


Stay Golden, RWA

Recently, RWA announced they are considering ending the Golden Heart Awards. While I haven't been eligible to enter for a number of years, this award holds more fond memories and gave my writing career more of a boost than any other single factor, so I'm very much opposed to seeing it trashed.

The Golden Heart Awards are unique in that it's for unpublished authors who have completed a manuscript. That's a key word, because most contests judge only the first few chapters, so writers can enter and win without actually having written an entire book.

Although the Golden Heart is only judged on the opening of the story, the entire manuscript must be submitted and verified to be an actual, complete book for the entry to be eligible.

Recently, the Rubies (the 2009 Golden Heart Finalist class, aka The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood) published a blog with a discussion among several of the 2018 GH finalists--Elisa Beatty, D. Murphy Ryan and Eileen Emerson--talking about why this award is and has been so very important to the careers of so many.

The blog resulted in a large volume of comments, a few of which I'll paraphrase here:

• Other genres have almost zero opportunities to hone their craft and build toward publishing. The Golden Heart Awards is astounding and oh-so-needed by writers!

• The peerships made through the Golden Heart Awards are invaluable and often last for decades.

• This isn't just a contest. There are enormous behind-the-scenes perks of becoming a finalist. 

• I would have been lost without the Golden Heart and the friends and peers I made because of it.

• If the Golden Heart goes away, what will be the cascading effect to the contests of local chapters, many of which prepare writers for the GH?

• Many writers aspire to enter the GH, and it keeps them going when the writing gets tough.

• In the many years I've been a member, there's been no other event that gives unpublished authors this kind of opportunity.

• The Golden Heart is an incredibly special contest. RWA needs to recognize the value.

• It's not just a benefit to the 46 finalists. This contest is vital for unpublished romance authors.

• RWA is unique among writer organizations in its support of unpublished authors. The Golden Heart is a big part of that.

• It's daunting to submit your manuscript, but so is publishing. The GH is great experience for everything else in a writer's career. 
• 
  
• It's the light at the end of the tunnel...the door that opens up a whole round of possibilities.

• I love the Golden Heart! I know it got me my agent.

• I got my agent because I was a finalist, and that got  me a publishing contract.

• It gave me an amazing, close-knit group that support me in so many ways, both online and in person.

• The first time I entered, I didn't final. I spent a lot of time improving my craft and my manuscript. Later, I did final. The contest helps you improve your writing.

• There is a certain cache to being a finalist in a national contest. That benefits all unpublished romance authors who enter and final. Stay Golden, RWA.

• The GH was an incredible step up the career ladder, and although it's just one ceremony, what matters is the way the class gets together and supports each other for years afterward.

• I am where I am today because of the GH. It would break my heart to see it end. (This from a major, traditionally published author.)

• The GH was a turning point for me. I finaled in March, signed with my agent in April, won in July, and in December, I got a two-book contract (with a large, traditional publisher). 

• The contest is near and dear to my heart. I hope the board takes a long look at this post.

There was also a lot of discussion on how to better manage, promote and grow the contest, and the value of the contest vs. the costs involved.

A commenter also suggested all the comments be compiled into a document and submitted to RWA. I certainly hope that happens! Or that maybe some of the board members of RWA were paying attention to the overwhelming support from a large group of writers and authors.

Either way, it seems a clear message has been sent. The question is: Will it be heard? Will the needs of the membership outweigh the bureaucracy of the organization as a whole? Time will tell.

The Golden Heart really has been a very bright star in my writing universe, and now faces the prospect of being snuffed out. Hopefully the collective voice generated from this blog will put a positive spin on its future.

UPDATE: Yes, this portion of my blog has new information too, but unlike the upbeat report about the continuation of the SFR Station, this is a definite downer. In spite of the outpouring of support for the Golden Heart Awards and all the things it has meant and continues to mean for the romance writing community, RWA posted this updated from their board meeting highlights at the national conference in Denver last week:

"The Board voted on a timeline for phasing out the Golden Heart contest: the last contest will be the 2019 contest."

Sadly, it seems all the support being voiced for the continuation of the Golden Heart Awards made no impact on the board's decision whatsoever. It was as if they had already made up their minds and input from the members was of no consequence. While I realize the board works very hard on behalf of the membership, they don't seem to be listening to what the membership is saying, nor acknowledging the many arguments against their outline why the Golden Heart Awards was not cost effective.

From my perspective, this seems to be a disturbing trend in the last six or seven years. It's disheartening when an organization loses touch with the membership it's supposed to serve.

I hope to be back next Monday with a much more cheerful blog.

Have a great week.

LOTR'S JACKSON TAKES ON STEAMPUNK

I can remember years ago when I first saw the preview of the lead film of Peter Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. The New Zealand director’s vision of my favorite fantasy world seemed to match my own exactly, and I sat in the theater absolutely gob-smacked by what I was seeing on the screen. I was so filled with excitement and anticipation I was like a kid waiting for Christmas; the months until The Fellowship of the Ring debuted stretched out ahead like an endless desert of time.

One of the nomadic cities in Mortal Engines takes to the air.

 Well, Jackson has done it again, this time offering up a visual delight that is even more jaw-dropping given that it is unexpected. At least, I had no idea this film was coming until I saw the preview in the theater as I waited for the much more mundane Duane Johnson action pic SKYSCRAPER a few days ago. The LOTR director is adapting (but not directing—that job is going to his longtime storyboarder, Christian Rivers) the British young-adult SF novel Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve, a post-apocalyptic/steampunk mash-up about huge, nomadic, predatory cities. Jackson’s co-writers from LOTR, Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh, are sharing screenwriting duties with him, and word is that the romance elements of the story have been accentuated, with the protagonists aged appropriately for the beefier story.

And you would not believe the beautiful decayed-glory-remade-into-scary-tech eye candy of this film! I was immediately reminded of Meljean Brook’s Iron Duke series, also set in an alternate-universe London, or Zoe Archer’s The Ether Chronicles, which features balletic air battles between zeppelins. We’ll see all of this onscreen in Mortal Engines. Let me tell you, I cannot wait!

The only problem is that, once again, a young-adult novel had to serve as the basis of this wonderful science fiction film. The SFR series I mentioned above are only two of many that have been around for a long time that would have served just as well—and they wouldn’t have required massive rewriting to have two grown-ups carrying the weight of a serious plot. With a romantic element.

Just wondering when the film industry will get the message that science fiction is NOT just for teenagers.

Cheers, Donna

Get Them Out

It has been a busy week in the real world. There was the soccer world cup, Wimbeldon tennis, the tour de France – and in Australia, rugby league state of origin. But I'll bet I wasn't the only person with my interest focussed on the rescue of twelve Thai kids and their twenty-five-year-old soccer coach from a flooded cave.

When the kids were found after ten days I really didn't expect them all to get out alive and I know I wasn't the only one. Everything seemed to work against a rescue. They were deep inside the cave system, separated from the entrance by four kilometres of flooded, dark, narrow passages. They hadn't eaten from the time they entered the cave system. Many couldn't swim, let alone scuba dive. And the rains were coming.

You know what it reminded me of? The Martian.

That cave system was every bit as daunting as Mars. I can't imagine what it must have been like, fleeing from rising waters to end up sitting on a mudflat deep inside a notoriously dangerous cave system for ten days without food. Even if they had torches, surely they would have failed by then. Darkness underground compared to night is like comparing treacle with dirty water. The only sounds would have been their own voices and the rush of water. Just to be discovered, to see the lights, hear the voices of the British divers after all those days must have been such a relief.

But that was only the beginning. Now they had to get out. The water was cold, dark, with currents so strong they could tear of a face mask. In the labyrinthine caves it was easy to become disorientated. If the kids had any hope of survival, they were going to need help.

Just as in The Martian, experts gathered from around the world. Locals brought their cooking stoves to prepare meals for the hundreds of volunteers. Others brought their largest pumps to drop the water level.  Experienced cave divers arrived. Much as the Thai SEALS were tough divers, cave diving is a specialised skill and they had to learn quickly. Perhaps that was one reason why one man (an ex-SEAL) died. Here in Australia the news has showcased the efforts of an Australian doctor and his buddy, a retired vet. Dr. Richard Harris, a very experienced cave diver, was specifically asked for by the British team leading the rescue efforts. Before they were taken out he assessed each boy and administered a sedative so he wouldn't panic, endangering himself and his rescuers. Dr Harris was last out of the cave and received high praise for his work. But the fact is people came from everywhere. It took hundreds to pump out the water, set up lights and guide ropes, and come up with a strategy for getting the kids out of there. In places the cave system was like an S bend in a toilet and each kid had to be maneuvered around it on a stretcher.

All the while the world watched, sharing the cheers as each kid emerged, daring to hope another one might make it out soon. Who needs the world cup? This was gripping and dangerous and it mattered. 

Just like in The Martian.

When they stop their petty bickering and get on with it, Humans can achieve great things. There will be a movie and the writers won't have to add anything to the real story to make it more compelling.

This article gives a graphic description of the events in the Thai cave.

OH, UNTIMELY DEATH! THANKS, MARVEL!

Hope all of you caught at least one of my Facebook posts from the Shore Leave Science Fiction Convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland last weekend. The con was a lot of fun, as always, with the cosplayers showing all their creativity and Captain Kirk himself making an appearance.

One of my traditions post-Shore Leave is to check out a new film in the theaters on Sunday night before I head for home. This year’s multiplex offering was Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp, starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly (with Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer and Lawrence Fishbourne along for the ride).

The main body of this sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man is just as much slapstick fun, with all the smart-alecky banter and size-jokes you might expect from the franchise. Michael Pena on truth serum is a hoot, Michael Douglas can roll his eyes with the best of them, and I love Walton Goggins (who played bad guy Sonny Burch) in just about anything.

So, [GREAT BIG SPOILER ALERT] why didn’t the filmmakers (director Peyton Reed, writers Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, et al) quit while they were ahead? The answer is, apparently, that the folks at Marvel have lost their minds and gone on a homicidal (or maybe suicidal) rampage. The victims in this case were the inventor of the “shrinking” technology, Dr. Hank Pym, his lovely-and-just-recovered wife Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp), and the new Wasp, their daughter, Hope Van Dyne. All were reduced to ash by an unseen something in a “bonus” scene that unfurled as the credits rolled. Thanks, Marvel!

[MORE SPOILERS, IN CASE YOU’VE BEEN LIVING ON A SPACE STATION SOMEWHERE.] It all started with last spring’s Avengers: Infinity War, in which half the Marvel Universe’s superheroes died in a bloody battle against the mega-villain Thanos. Yes, poor, pitiful little Peter Parker/Spiderman dies weeping in Ironman’s arms. Marvel’s newest and coolest creation, Black Panther, goes down swinging. If you liked a Marvel hero, chances are pretty good he or she bit the dust in the last brutal half-hour of that film. Oh, a handful survived, I suppose so they could feel guilty and mope uselessly through the first half of the next film. Can you tell that I hated that film?

For the same reason (or ONE of them) I hated the ending of Batman vs. Superman. I don’t appreciate having my emotions man-handled for no other motivation than corporate profit. [YOU GUESSED IT, MORE SPOILERS.] We all know there is no such thing as true death in the superhero world. You can’t kill Superman. And, as all you grieving Marvel fans out there will soon discover, you can’t kill Spidey, or Black Panther or any of the others who died such glorious and (sob) touching deaths in Avengers: Infinity War.

Why? Because, for one thing, these characters are too valuable to their corporate owners. For God’s sake, Black Panther just set attendance records all over the world; do you honestly think Marvel is going to permanently kill off its most profitable Golden Goose before Panther has even had a chance to film a single sequel? No.

So, the deaths in Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and The Wasp and Batman vs. Superman are blatant and irrelevant manipulation of the audience’s emotions merely to get folks back into the theater for the next go-round. Are the filmmakers really so unsure of their abilities to come up with a good story line for the next film? I suppose it’s either that or recycle yet another oldie but goodie from the Hollywood vault, since original stories seem to be so hard to come by these days.

Cheers, Donna