BAM!
The Voting Don’t Stop
I think there are like 500 rounds to this thing, and I don’t think I even win anything. I won my bracket in round 3, and now we’re on to Round 4. GO VOTE FOR ME, PLEASE! I am currently GETTING MY ASS KICKED. <bursts into tears>
Vote for ME (Again! And Again! AND AGAIN!)
Apparently the 5th Annual Book Tournament over at BSC Review is endless. I won my bracket in round 2, and now we’re on to Round 3. GO VOTE FOR ME, PLEASE! Pretty please? C’mon. I have so little. I need this.
Vote for ME
Over at BSC Review, they’re holding their 5th Annual Book Tournament, and The Terminal State is one of the competitors in the first round! Wo0t!
Although, I am currently getting my ass kicked. For god’s sake, go vote for me!
Honorable Mention, “Best Horror of the Year V. 3”
The legendary Ellen Datlow released her list of Honorable Mentions for the third volume in her “Best Horror of the Year Volume 3” antho today, and golly, my story from Crimes by Moonlight is on it. I’ve had two other stories picked as HMs by Ellen in the past (The Defragmentation of Thomas Crane in “The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 18th Edition”, and The Script in “The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 19th Edition”) so apparently I am in some sort of a an Honorable Mention groove. There are worse places to be.
This is great news, of course. I’ve made it one of those personal writing goals to get Ellen Datlow to either choose one of my stories for inclusion in one of her Best Of anthos, or to buy a story of mine. I have a lot of these little mini goals. I’ll either get them all or die trying. Probably literally, as I get all boozy and senile in my old age.
Endstation Chaos!
FUN WITH TRANSLATIONS: So, last year Avery Cates #4 came out, The Terminal State, which, frankly, is my favorite title of the series. Aside from the stream of physics-related pages I get in my Google Alerts emails, I just like the title.
The series is translated into German. I’ve had some email exchanges with the German translator and its been fun. I like their covers, too. Here’s the cover for the German version of The Terminal State:
POW! Endstation Chaos, indeed! That’s bananas. I can’t decide which title is better. Although I wonder why they suddenly went with English on this one; the previous 3 all had German titles. Although we have to consider the possibility that “Endstation Chaos” is just so cool a title, it had to be.
Yay for Royalty Checks
I got a royalty check for my short story Sift, Almost invisible, Through in “Crimes by Moonlight”, edited by Charlaine Harris. And I feel great.
Getting royalty checks is rare enough in this business. Getting them for short stories in anthologies is almost like knowing the speed and direction of a subatomic particle: Theoretical, at best. Usually. Now I expect the universe to adjust the scales by dropping a piano on my head. Nice knowing y’all.
KGB Lit Interview
As I am a very famous and important person, The KGB Bar’s online literary magazine has interviewed me:
“As I’ve gotten older I have become increasingly aware that my development as a person really did freeze, in some senses, when I was much younger. A love for simplistic power-punk music. A sincere belief that flannel is an acceptable fashion choice. A refusal to watch DVDs coupled with a romantic love for serendipitously finding a beloved old movie on television. A child-like distrust of vegetables or, for that matter, any food that I have not previously consumed and survived. The themes and tropes I explore in my writing haven’t changed so much either.”
Check it out!
God Love The Internets
Various and sundry mentions of my books served up to me by Google Alerts, god bless ’em:
1. Thomas Jarrett over at Suite101 names The Electric Church as one of “Five of the Best Books You Should’ve Read“:
“Science Fiction needs more writers like Jeff Somers … If you enjoy fast action against overwhelming odds, this is one of the best books you could read.”
2. Niki Bruce reviews The Terminal State and likes it. A lot:
“Somers’ version of the future is one to be wary of, true, but it’s as entertaining as hell and Avery Cates is one of those characters that you just know could go on forever. Here’s hoping.”
3. Finally, The Terminal State was voted #43 on the SFcrowsnest Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction Books Chart! Jebus, we are in some fine company on that list.
And there you have, a Sunday for the ages. And now, time for a celebratory nip of the good stuff.
The Middle of F-ing Nowhere, PA
Dan Krokos*, who you’ll all be hearing about soon enough, and who must be greeted with a gutteral war cry of “KROKOS!“, sent me this photo, and titled it “Middle of fucking nowhere, PA”:
Rock on.
*I’d link to something, but Dan’s web site just makes me sad with all its emptiness.