Saturday, December 06, 2008

Chat with the Authors of Carpathian Shadows Volume II




The Writer's Chatroom

Chat with the authors of "Carpathian Shadows: Volume Two"

Carol Cole is a pediatric physical therapist and has worked for the past twenty-five years in a Virginia school system. Always a voracious reader, Carol began writing six years ago. Her stories have been published in over thirty-five online and print magazines. She has storied in two other anthologies, "By the Chimney With Care" and "Aleatory's Junction" She lives with her husband and twenty-one year old son, in Vienna, Virginia.

Christina Barber is an award-winning author of speculative fiction works noted for their dark tones. Christina's published books include Seely's Pond (Dark Urban Fantasy, March 2008), Ghosts of Southern Crescent, Georgia (Non-Fiction, Summer 2008) and Greystone (2006 Speculative Romance). She has short stories appearing in magazines and anthologies across the writing spectrum.

Donna Amato is a nurse who works with transplant patients. Her stories have been published in a variety of online and print magazines and two anthologies. She lives with three of her children in Shreveport, Louisiana and is currently working on her first novel.

Kevin Tipple: In addition to having been the editor or assistant editor of several different zines, his book reviews appear extensively online and he is the book reviewer for the Texas edition of the newspaper "Senior News." His short fiction has appeared in magazines such as "Lynx Eye," "Starblade," "Show and Tell," and "The Writer's Post Journal" among others and online at such places as "Mouth Full Of Bullets," "Crime And Suspense," "Mysterical-e" and others.

Kristin Johnson is an award-winning short story writer and poet, a produced screenwriter (PIRATES OF GHOST ISLAND) and an animation writer for Dotcomers.tv. She is a book reviewer, journalist, novelist and (no pun intended) a ghostwriter. Her story "Quicksand" appeared in the MuseItUpClub anthology Aleatory's Junction.

Lea Schizas is an award-winning author and editor and founder of The Muse Online Writers Conference and The MuseItUp Club, both Writer's Digest top 101 Writing Sites.

Rob Preece is editor and publisher of BooksForABuck.com. Under three names, he's published in mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and romance with multiple publishers. Prior to opening BooksForABuck.com, he worked in the high technology field, for the US Government, and as a college instructor. When he's not writing, editing, or reading, Rob practices martial arts (he's a black belt in Tae Kwon Do), and plays and teaches bridge. Rob lives in an eclectic neighborhood in south Dallas where he sets many of his stories. His most recent novel, MIDLIFE MURDER (writing as Amy Eastlake) was Fictionwise's highest rated mystery for a number of weeks when it first came out.

Seana Graham's short stories have appeared in a variety of magazines and literary journals, the most recent ones being Ping Pong and Salamander. Her story "The Pirate's True Love" was recently anthologized in The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, and " Marina " was granted the seventh annual Zone 3 fiction award . She has also co-authored a trivia book on Southern California with Lisa Wojna for Blue Bike Press.


WHEN?

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Eastern USA Time.....7 PM

Not sure what time that is wherever in the world you are? http://www.worldtimeserver.com

WHERE?

The Writers Chatroom at: http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm

Scroll down to the Java box. It may take a moment to load. Type in the name you wish to be known by, and click Login. No password needed.

Odetta Passes



Music legend Odetta passed away this week. We've lost one of the greats, and she'll be sorely missed.

The Secret Invasion Chat




AVENGERS FOREVER PRESENTS
The SECRET INVASION CHAT

http://www.avengersforever.org/chat

Secret Invasion #8 is out, the smoke has cleared, and the summer's most talked-about comics event has come to a close. What did you think of the story, the art, the ending, the death, the set-up for Dark Reign, and the return of Bobbi? Should Bendis be applauded as a genius or run out of town with torches and pitchforks? Was it all worth it? Come and talk about it with us!

WHERE:

The Avengers Forever Chatroom at: http://www.avengersforever.org/chat

Type in a username and click on "login" to join the fun!


WHEN:

Monday evening, December 8, 2008

US Eastern Standard Time: 9:00 PM

US Central Standard Time: 8:00 PM

US Mountain Standard Time: 7:00 PM

US Pacific Standard Time: 6:00 PM


Hope to see you all Monday night!

http://www.avengersforever.org/chat

Friday, December 05, 2008

Rest in Peace, Forry



Barely a week after his 92nd birthday, the great Forrest J. Ackerman passed away yesterday from heart attack.

He was perhaps the godfather of sci-fi (a term he coined) and genre fandom in general. Among other things, he founded and edited the magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland which he edited for decades, and he also discovered Ray Bradbury. His Los Angeles home was veritable museum of film which was open to the public every Saturday morning he was home. He was also a writer himself as well as a literary agent as well as a movie and television star.

Forry was one of the greats, and he will be missed.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

A Tale of Two Michelles

This is the tale of two Michelles, one with one L and one with two, and a happy situation, unfortunately at the expense of a Judi.


Several months ago, New Jersey 101.5 FM’s After Hours program with Michele Pilenza went from a train wreck that I would listen to only to hear the carnage, to an actually interesting radio show. This was due to the presence of Michelle Jerson, subbing for Pilenza while she had her baby.

Michelle Jerson was a breath of fresh air. Not only was she a more experienced, and in my humble opinion, a much more entertaining broadcaster, but she was much more open-minded - something that might be important in doing a radio talk show that purports to give advice about lifestyle, relationships, sex and romance.

When Michele Pilenza with one L returned from maternity leave, she stepped easily back into the same shoes she left. Judgmental and close-minded as ever, she was back, and I was out of there. I was missing Ms. Jerson badly, as I really wanted to enjoy the show as an intelligent talk show instead of a nightly train wreck. Seriously, I just couldn't take Ms. Pilenza saying inane things like "fat people shouldn't date" or "ugly people should just give up" or telling callers that they were "freaks" because of some miscellaneous fetish. Like I said, she was real open-minded.

Luckily, or unluckily depending on your outlook, Ms. Pilenza has left the evening airways for the mornings, joining Dennis Malloy to replace the departing Judi Franco. As I wasn't a fan, this didn't affect me, but the side effect did - Michelle Jerson returned to the nighttime After Hours slot. Way to go, Michelle, you've got a regular listener.