The Great Balticon Readathon continues with a pair of writers who are also a couple: Sharon and Steve have been married, as she says, “for more than half her lifetime.” Their partnership apparently works. They began collaborating in 1979. Not only have they remained married, but they’ve written many novels (she says 17, elsewhere 23, he says “more than 20” … nice sort of problem to have) and more short stories than you could shake a stick at, if you were the sort of person inclined to stick shaking. (I’m not. I just read stories. Sometimes write them. And draw pictures about them.)

Sharon Lee joins our list of the Cat-approved among Balticon Guests of Honor. In addition to serving our genre by catering to our feline overlords, she was Executive Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., and then vice president and president of that organization. She is a self-described introvert, which makes her willingness to serve especially generous. She likes Maine, setting five novels and her own self there. Steve likes it too. They say it’s beautiful … and a place freelancers can afford to live. (Yes, I did note this in my Official Record.) Appropriately, it seems that their current cats are Maine Coon Cats. You can find delightful pictures of the Crack Coon Nursing Team on Sharon Lee’s blog. (Search for tag Life with Coon Cats.)

Full disclosure: If I didn’t adore them for living on a Cat Farm, finding out that they’ve got a computer called Number 10 Ox would have won my loyalty. So I’m firmly entrenched at this point.

Steve Miller has a background as a performance poet who got tired of living on beer and started expanding into other writing, including submitting stories to science fiction magazines and fanzines. He also plunged into fandom. He edited a science fiction tabloid, was involved with his local science fiction club (BSFS), and eventually he and Sharon started a genre bookstore with a “traveling convention SF art agency component.” That BSFS connection should make Balticon feel like Old Home Week to Steve!

Attention, novice writers who’d like to travel: Steve says he’s attended “hundreds and hundreds” of conventions, as a fan, writer, and art agent. If I get a chance to talk to the two of them at Balticon, I think I’ll ask them about the practicalities of this. Anything they wish they’d known back at the beginning that would have simplified their travel? And most importantly, do the cats miss them terribly while they’re gone? (Not that I’d know anything about the kind of spite-and-boredom-fueled-toilet-paper-snowstorm that can happen when one relegates cats to the care of sitters…) OK, I’ll ask straight up: is the house more or less intact when you return?

Pretty clever, the two of them, figuring out how to make a living travelling and writing and visiting Most All the Conventions. But then, they are the two of them clever in many ways. Prime example: Sharon kindly linked (sharonleewriter.com) a FREE download of the “quirky little space opera” Agent of Change. The first of the Liaden Universe® novels, replete with charming but lethal protagonists and a deftly portrayed universe for them to live in. Clever, clever. The first one’s free? I think I saw how this works on TV. Because, yes, of course, I downloaded and read the free book. And then started looking around rather urgently for the next. Agent of Change is a solid mix of planet-side and space adventure, touched with humor and suspense both, and graced with understated romance. Lots of action, and well-written dramatic scenarios of large scale and small. I so liked the protagonists! They were multi-dimensional, with strengths and flaws. The story was well balanced between male and female dual protagonists, which was refreshing. And the Turtles? How can you not want more of the Turtles? Well played, Lee and Miller. Well played. You’ve definitely hooked this reader into returning to Liaden.

Next up on GBR: Charles Stross!

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know what Steven Barnes is probably doing right now?

Writing.

In which area he’d be writing is anyone’s guess. He’s well known for his work in science fiction, television scripts, mysteries, comics, and animation. He’s also written comic books, newspaper copy, and magazine articles. Additionally, as though there needs to be more, he’s a life coach and the author of his Lifewriting™ course, and maintains an active blog that seems to be an active marketing tool. Novice writers, you might check out his online thoughts on marketing yourself and your writing.

A quote from Barnes: “Life is a wonderful, complex, demanding game. The way to win is to decide what you want, focus on that goal, surround yourself with people who will support your dream, and nurture the ability to laugh at yourself.”

With that quote in mind, I chose Dream Park, a story of murder and mayhem in a live-action role-playing adventure game set in the not-so-distant future in a human-constructed environment that’s a fantastic combination of amusement park, extreme adventure trek, and virtual reality. This entry for the Great Balticon Readathon was new to me, a collaboration between Barnes and Niven. This was Barnes’ first published novel. Niven, the senior writer on the project, is the lead author, but Barnes wrote the raw draft. He cites the experience as an intense learning experience, a writing practicum of sorts, with the more experienced Niven acting as master craftsman to help Barnes understand the workings of  a novel.

Characterization is subordinate to plot in this novel, and both of these are secondary to the vision of the interaction of role playing games, live action adventure, virtual reality, and imagined future technologies. You can actually imagine a concept such as the Dream Park being created, which is a sign of a convincingly imagined future. This is the sort of book that will appeal to those who are hungry for a strong visual element and a fast-moving, battle-laden adventure.

One thing I appreciated was the amount of diversity present in the competitors and game masters. It was presented matter-of-factly, which is how it should generally be, with some of the more charismatic and positively portrayed characters casually depicted as non-white. Loved that, especially in a book originally published in 1981.

The novel and its sequels inspired the International Fantasy Games Society, which requested and received permission to use the name of the fictional governing gaming organization created by Barnes and Niven. This group still exists. A real-life Dream Park was attempted, but the organizing company went out of business in 1997. Living near Orlando, and witnessing the development of the major theme parks over the years, I suspect that something similar in scope is not too far in the future. I wonder if Barnes and Niven would attend?

Omystars, folks! Just checking our progress and I have come to an unsettling conclusion: we’re going to have to read FASTER.

My suggestion: cut out the nonessentials. Ironing, for example.

When I set out to prepare myself for Balticon 50, I optimistically thought I’d have time to do the reading, reader responses, brief bios, and still maintain my life and my own writing schedule. BUT… not to be. Each of these blog entries is deceptively short. They probably look as though I’ve just tossed them off. The unseen part: I spend hours researching each author and their works before chosing a book or story, and selecting points to focus on for the post.  And it’s fascinating! But I still have mundane commitments and all the messy, gloriously human things to attend to as well as doing the actual composition and editing. I also have to make a sketch, photograph the sketch, then prep it for online use in the Procreate app. Essentially: a bigger job than I thought it was.

It’s been grand fun…but the clock is ticking. And I still have to pack! Will I make my deadline? If I could get a Batlabel, I would want one that said “Nailbiting Suspense.” Perhaps I should get one? Let me add that to the list.

Are YOU ready for Balticon 50?

Next up: Larry Niven and Steven Barnes propel us through a wild adventure in DreamPark!

Next up will be Michael Flynn’s short story, “Built Upon the Sands of Time”. You can read it for free on his blog.