one I wanted to be hearing, so I’ve taken it upon myself to fill that
void.
I love books and I love my fellow authors. I am pretty keen on
celebrating that. I wanted a place where I could talk about all things
happening within my chosen genre, all the things I love in fantasy,
science fiction, even some crossover into paranormal romance, including
weekly segments focused on: breaking news, upcoming titles, interviews
with guest authors from every point in their various careers, upcoming
book tour info, convention news, and just overall general discussion of
our genre.
Parts of the podcast will be reader focused, but there will also be
parts coming up for those who are writers, including interviews with
professionals of all walks of life from within the world of publishing
itself. When we can, we’ll talk with editors, artists, publicists, you
name it.
Along the way I also hope to have a variety of contests and book
giveaways, and with listener feedback, I can steer the course of this
vast leviathan to where they want it to go. This isn’t a lecture
series. What I want here is a dialogue between listeners and readers,
and the authors I bring to them. What you say matters and I want to hear it.
We'll be talking to authors from the ones you already know as New York
Times bestsellers to those authors out there who you have yet to
discover. The first episode featured bloggers the Paperback Dolls, author Jackie Kessler and New York Times bestseller Charlaine Harris.
So go download the podcast at itunes or over here and "Like" our Facebook page. That's where we'll be holding discussions on each of the shows and it's the best place to find out about our giveaways.
San Diego Comic Con-the hive of scum and villainy of all things nerdy and awesome-is almost upon us! I ship out on Tuesday, July 19th to help the fine folks at Penguin set up for the con and will be there until Monday, July 25th. By all means, if you are going, I want to see you! I will sign books/postcards/e-readers, even children!
Where can you find me? An excellent question! There is always a good chance that if you’ll find me if you stop by the Penguin booth (# 1117) or its Mysterious Galaxy partner booth (#1119) next door. Most likely I will be talking about my favorite subject--ME. MG will have me on sale, so I’m always happy to convert someone to the Simonverse and sign on the spot.
As far as specific events that I’ll be on display at, we have these:
Thursday, July 21st
3:00- 4:00 pm, PANEL: Magic and Monsters
Adult and Young Adult Science-Fiction and Fantasy authors discuss the costs and consequences of “magic” in their novels and the scary, hairy, and dangerous creatures that lurk in the worlds they have created. Visit the worlds of Kim Harrison (The Hollows series), Andrea Cremer (The Nightshade series), Anton Strout (The Simon Canderous series), Lev Grossman (The Magicians), Ben Loory (Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day), J.F. Lewis (The Void City novels) and Diana Rowland (The White Trash Zombie series) guided by moderator Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. 25ABC
Thursday, July 21st
4:30-5:30 pm, post-panel signing, AA8
Saturday, July 23rd
3:00-3:50 PM, Amber Benson & Anton Strout MG Booth Signing
Signing giveaway copies of DEATH’S DAUGHTER & DEAD TO ME, plus other books for sale. You may have to fight through the legion of Buffy fans there, but it will SO be worth it, right? RIGHT?
I’m going to spend my time catching up with old friends, geeking out over some Doctor Who at the Nerdist Podcast taping on Saturday, and running around slobbering a bit. Won’t you join me? Hope to see you there!
Hey there, my beasties!
Just a heads up on a new anthology that’s coming out this summer. I’m in it and the reason you should pay attention (other than that) is that this may be the only way you’re going to see this story in print!
Last year, the authors of the Gen Con Writer’s Symposium put together a commemorative anthology for the show called Stalking the Wild Hare, a title I still don’t quite get. It featured a reprint of my Simonverse historical story ‘The Fourteenth Virtue” from The Dimension Next Door, which had been a short story sale generated from a previous Gen Con conversation. It’s the Ben Franklin, Necromancer one (written years before that Abe Lincoln fellow was slaying vampires, I assure you).
This year’s anthology is called:
It features a bit of near-future cyberpunk technomancy piece of mine called ‘tique. You haven’t read it. It hasn’t been published before, but I had a blast writing it.
How do you get a copy, you ask? Excellent question! Well, if you’re at Gen Con Indy this summer, you can buy one there, quite possibly off Author Guest of Honor me.
Since many of you probably won’t be able to make it to the middle of the country for the “best four days of gaming”, I’m offering to collect preorders here. C&C (not the music factory, mind you) is a $16.00 trade paperback and not only do you get my story, but you get this awesome line up of my fellow Writer’s Symposium authors:
I’ll even try to get them to it for you. How’s that for added incentive? I’d say the sooner you get your order into me, the better, so I can get a ballpark count of how many copies I’ll need from the publisher. Let’s say July 20th as a cut off date for getting your preorders in.
Email me at anton.strout@gmail.com with subject ‘Carnage & Consequences’ and I’ll make sure you’re able to snag a copy!
The contracts are on their way to me, so it's safe to say that I have just sold two books in a new series to Ace Books! The first of them, due in November to my editor, is Alchemystic, Book One of the Spellmason Chronicles. The second is entitled No Title Yet. Catchy, right?
They will be based on a short story I did for the anthology Spells of the City (still available online and at some fine bookstores across this great nation of ours). My story was called "Stannis" and detailed the life a girl, a gargoyle, and the family legacy that stretched between them. These books will spell out the greater story behind that tale, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.
I know the first thing out of your mouth after "grats!" will be "What about Simon?"
Well... at the moment, I'm writing the books I'm getting paid for, and right now Simon does not qualify for that. I know there's a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of book four, Dead Waters, and I promise you I will get back to it when I can, but it's not my top priority at the moment. I've got the outline laid out. I've always known where I wanted it to go next, but the reality is I still believe in building my career through traditional publishing. Now, I could shop the idea around to other publishers, but I think it's unlikely they'll want to pick up a series that another publisher put the brakes on. In a perfect world the Spellmason Chronicles will do so well that I'll get to call the shots on what does or does not go to press, so that may be an option. Who knows? When I have the time to ACTUALLY write the full Simon book, I may even try the self publishing route if all else fails.
That said, let me remind you that the Simon series will be out on audible.com in July, for the loyalists out there. This means my mother-in-law will finally be able to enjoy them and that she can also stop asking me when they're coming out as audio books :P
Also, I hope to sell more short stories about the Simonverse as the opportunities arise, so there's that avenue to look down as well. I'll keep you posted.
Again, new series coming from yours truly. Alert the media! I literally mean that... report it where you will. I need the press :P It's scary writing in a new world where I don't know quite everybody yet, and I certainly miss the old gang- Simon, Jane, the Inspectre, and good old Godfrey... not to mention the vampire Brandon Walsh- but it's scary exciting to have all these new people showing up on my mind's doorstep demanding camera time in the new book. I really can't wait to share them with you!
All my best,
Anton
I really was touched by your enthusiasm, even though I am apparently quite a mean little April Fool's trickster...
As some of you know, my agency ICM, has a film and television division out on the west coast. I've been working hard at refining the pitch for the Simon Canderous series with them, and, well...
It didn't go over so well... at first. Thanks to the one season wonder of The Dresden Files on SyFy (back then just SciFi) no one wanted to take a chance on another live action paranormal city type show.. THANKS, Jim!
BUT with some retooling of the pitch and script, I am proud to announce that as of January 2012, the CW is bringing back it's Saturday Morning Animation Action Pack, and leading the line up with be an animated version the Simon Canderous series!
Now to make it work with the time slot and that demographic, there have been a few small changes that deviate from the series, but I'm told this is a good thing. Here's a summary from the CW's official news:
Simon & The Bat Pack
Welcome to Spook High, a high school of a different kind where the students are special--recruits, that is. Teen heartthrob Simon Canderous and his friends have been enlisted in after school activities for paranormal ops training by the Department of Extraordinary Affairs Other Division- New York's answer to the underfunded world of paranormal investigation. It’s a school day caught up in hot lunches, study halls where the desks might try to kill you,and schoolyard politics, but its becoming par for the course for new student Simon Canderous. After a life of reform schools and sixteen years of watching his power of psychometry—the ability to divine information solely by touching an object—destroy his grades and any chance of a getting a girlfriend, he’s joined the high school forces of Good hoping to gain some control. But when the mysterious hottie ghost of ex-cheerleader Irene shows up at their after school hang out the Lovecraft Café, he and his football buddy Connor must figure out how she fits into a nefarious plot involving a cultist prom committee, learning how to dance while slaying zombies, and the forces of Darkness crushing on him.
I'm terribly thrilled and can't wait to see the show. I was talking to my fellow writer Amber Benson (of Buffy fame) and they've already approached her about doing the voice of Jane Clayton-Forrester, the 'mean girl' who heads the cultist prom committee. Can't wait for you all to see it next year! Fingers crossed it turns out as good as it sounds!
In light of that, The League of Reluctant Adults decided to raise money for the Red Cross in a creative way that will also benefit two lucky aspiring writers!
Get a helpful critique of your first pages and synopsis from a group of authors from the League of Reluctant Adults!
Highest bidder (100% of proceeds go to the Red Cross to help Japan) gets to submit a synopsis and first batch of pages (up to 6000 words between the two - you decide how that works) of any fiction project for "expert analysis" by either Team Fang or Team Claw, two groups of authors from the League of Reluctant Adults! (We're a group of published authors of urban fantasy, young adult, and paranormal romance; see our blog at http://reluctantadults.blogspot.com/)
What you get: We'll each commit to taking at least an hour to read your stuff and let you know what we think is working great, and what we think isn't working, and give ideas for improvement. Some members may concentrate more on the synopsis, some on the pages, but we'll all be giving our best constructive advice. Be ready to get a spectrum of opinions, and possibly disagreement between league members, either noted on the document itself or on separate documents. It'll be like we're all sitting in a room, discussing your story and early pages. You will have six months to submit your document (Microsoft Word ideal), we'll have a month to look it over and comment. (note, this is for craft/story feedback only, and not in any way a guarantee of representation or publication). At the end, we'll email your word doc back, full of all of our comments, either on the document, or on separate documents.
Team Fang members: Mario Acevedo, Dakota Cassidy, Stacia Kane, JF Lewis, Nicole Peeler, KA Stewart, Anton Strout
Go here to bid on Team Fang (of which I am a part of), or go here to bid on Team Claw. Good luck, and spread the word! Let's help out!
Team Claw: http://cgi.ebay.com/Manuscript-story-cri
Over in his goblin filled weblair, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
jimhines announced:
Earlier this week, I got the official acceptance for my story “Corrupted,” which will be in the anthology THE MODERN FAE’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, edited by Patricia Bray and Joshua Palmatier.
Don't we look like we should be solving crimes together? Or at least writing books together? I think so too.
The crowd is always great for these events. A lot of Whedonesque enthusiasts turn out for her, which means part of my time in spent watching people who are shaking and can barely speak to sweet, sweet Amber. I remind them to breathe. How sweet is Amber, you may wonder? So sweet that she, as a fan of my books herself, tries to turn them on to my series as well, which is awesome. I'm not quite as well known as her, despite my insistence to her fans that I was her stunt double on Buffy. Part of me secretly wants that level of adoration thrust upon me...
Speaking of which, I got a little fan love this time around. There were cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine that one awesome reader brought, and oh my crap they were delicious! Let's see... other interesting things that happened... I signed some Kindles, a Sony Reader, a faux movie poster for Dead To Me that the webmistress of undeadapproved.com brought, and I also signed packs of Life Savers, a signing first for me (although it did cause a bit of a marital spat when someones wife accidentally ate them on the way home).
And here's the biggest first, right here in picture form:
That's right. I finally had someone show up to a signing dressed as one of my characters! I can check that off my bucket list. I'm not gonna lie. It was hella-awesome! He had everything-- the long black trenchcoat, the Ramones t-shirt, gloves, Life Savers, even a retractable bat! He joke that he was maybe Simon in twenty years. I told him I thought it was cute he thought Simon would live that long working for the Department of Extraordinary Affairs.
All in all, a great signing with an amazing fellow author and stupendous readers and fans, some old and some new! I am humbled and honored that you guys dig the books enough to show your unbound enthusiasm towards me. It means a lot.
Now back to the book mines!
Frustrated by the squandering of his success, I decided I wanted to turn the powers of the Sheen towards some sort of self-indulgent good.
Please share and spread the word.
An Open Letter to CBS
Greetings Network People,
Listen, I know things are probably pretty crazy over there right now. I mean, what with this whole Charlie Sheen thing going on, screwing up your programming and all.
It seems like every other meme on the internet has his name attached to it. I suppose the world is endlessly fascinated by those who exhibit bad behavior in public. I suspect he’ll end up with a reality show out of it or something. I wish I knew what was wrong with him, I really do. Granted, I’m in no position to be doling out any kind of diagnosis. After all, I just write entertaining works of fantasy fiction. Maybe it’s the drugs. Maybe it’s the drinking. Maybe it’s having grown up with no perception of reality beyond his celebrity… I’m not quite sure. I only know that with every passing day, there are new outrageous quotes popping up out of his mouth, all the while his other cast members and crew go without work. Maybe he wants out of his contract by any means necessary? I doubt we’ll never truly know…
I suppose that’s why I’m taking the time to write. I don’t want to appear opportunistic, but when I see such reckless disregard on his behalf, I can’t help but pose a solution, and yes, that solution involves me and my own work writing the Simon Canderous series of contemporary fantasy novels for Ace Books.
I think there is some solid reasoning here as to the finer points of picking up a show based on my series to help fill the void Mr. Sheen is leaving, unless of course you are planning to soldier on and re-title your show One and a Half Men… but first a few sensible points about working with me and my book series as show content before talking about more show specific details.
I would actually be very appreciative and thankful to be on television, which some people out there do not seem too mindful of, unless you count showing up as a laughing stock on the news.
No one would have to worry about my antics under the influence. Outside of a deep love of lemon flavored PEZ, that’s about the height of my addictions. Mind you, I like a good drink, but I don’t have all that much of an addictive personality. The worst you’ll probably hear of me was that I was in a hotel room and ran around in circles until I crashed out from too much sugar. You can rest assured that I’ll keep writing the best books I can, and hopefully content for the series once picked up.
Unlike some people, I would consider it a privilege to be involved in a network show, actually taking those working around me into consideration before jeopardizing the lives and jobs of everyone involved in production.
Yes, yes, I know that every author thinks their precious darling books should be made into films and television series, but I tend to write very cinematically and I think there are some convincing arguments to be made for why this show would be a worthy pilot project:
Cop shows set in cities are beloved. Be it The Shield, Law & Order, The Wire, CSI: Wherever… you can’t swing a dead cat for fear of hitting a long running or much loved cop show out there. It’s a solid formula. Mystery, Investigation, Solved, rinse and repeat. Tune in next week! Consider the Simon Canderous series CSI: Ghostbusters Edition.
Supernatural shows are beloved… especially the show actually called Supernatural. Paranormal shows even spurn their own cult fan followings that have their own conventions and fanzines… it’s proven that viewers love the paranormal. For your consideration: Buffy, Angel, Supernatural¸ Charmed, The Walking Dead and the wildly popular True Blood on HBO (which is also based on an Ace Books series by my lovely friend, Charlaine Harris). The Simon Canderous series has many of the well-travelled creatures people come to expect of paranormal fantasy shows, from chupecabras right on down to non-sparkling vampires and ooey-gooey zombies.
As an added bonus, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s got a lot of humor to lighten the mood. Fighting the creepy crawlies and undead of Manhattan while keeping under budget… well, you kind of have to laugh your way through your workday if only to keep from going mad from all the Lovecraftian horrors out there.
Bearing all that in mind, a paranormal cop show based on my Simon Canderous novels should be a no-brainer to chance yourselves on. Most of it could be filmed on location on streets of Manhattan—my personal stomping grounds—a film and television friendly town. The rest of the pivotal locations are narrowed down to a handful of staged locations, as well as some semi-famous real world locations around the city. It’s likely that the biggest expense would be special effects, but I can’t imagine they’d run higher, say, than Charlie Sheen’s weekly salary.
Anyway, just some delicious, delicious zombie brain meats for you consideration. You can reach my agent at ICM through me at: anton.strout@gmail.com
Thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Anton Strout
www.antonstrout.com
