A common name

It has come to my attention that one of the trolls or sockpuppetts commenting harshly on genre websites is named Joe McDermott.

This is not me. I have a ridiculously common name. McDermott is one of the most populous names of Ireland, and any Biblical Catholic male name including Nehemiah and Ephraim (I literally have a cousin named Ephraim) are to be expected in front of McDermott all over the world in some great quantity what with the traditional size of traditional Irish families. We do run out of names.

I am currently recovering from some minor surgery, and I am fairly certain my drugs aren't suddenly so good that I would be cheering on Heinlein. I also didn't have any good drugs leading up to the surgery. I dislike most Heinlein quite a lot. It is like Ayn Rand: a thrilling discovery at 15, that intellectually collapses by 17 because of problematic ideas and (more importantly) tedious workmanlike prose shoving bad ideas in my face.

Anyway, I have a common name. There are many of us. We are legion. We also probably don't agree about anything regarding this stupid genre thing. Any comment left by a Joe McDermott that is not in complete agreement with Cat Valente (whose LiveJournal thing is dead right on the money) can be assumed to be some other Joe McDermott, angrier, I presume, and/or a sockpuppy attempting to damage my reputation.

Don't be a sockpuppy, people. There are much greater battles to fight in this world.

Asimov's Asimov's Asimov's

So, I am pleased to see the positive reception of "Paul and His Son" in Asimov's, including mention at Tangent, SFRevu, and Locus.

I am even more pleased to see that in honor of this short story, there's a limited time sale on the eBooks of Disintegration Visions and Maze.

As it is, going straight to the Apex website for the next two months nets both eBooks for just 1.99.

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/frontpage/18042565-limited-time-only-disintegration-visions-and-maze-ebook-bundle

But, wherever fine eBooks are sold, Disintegration Visions is only .99, all this month. Next month, I believe MAZE is going to be just .99 cents.

It is the April/May Asimov's, after all. Two months of Asimov's, two months of a great deal on an eBook for any newcomer to my fiction interested in a little more for the right price of less than a burger at your least favorite burger place.

Woo?

Woo!

Hot Take on Genre Awards Thing

I actually don't really care very much, either way, but it is fascinating to see true human stupidity at play from Sad Puppies who want that pin so badly they'd blow up the very award to get it.

So, if you game the rules to a major genre award to suit your agenda because you feel your work and work you like is not properly honored by the field, what you actually accomplish is not a domination of the center of the field. Rather, you merely pull the major award over to your dull, lifeless obscurity. You win the battle; you win all the fancy trophies; not a one of them will mean anything, though, because you will still be an obscure, miserable hack. And, the award that used to mean the world to you, will not mean the world to anyone else. Good job, Sad puppies. You know, winning all the awards wont mean that people like you, or buy your books, or take your ideas seriously, right? If you "win" by gaming the system, it isn't mysterious, and it just means everyone likes you less for bullying the field, and making the major awards in the field as pointless as you are.

So, trolls out to agenda a Hugo? Yeah, you're really dumb if you think this will somehow make your agenda front and center after the firestorm implode on internet fury.

The Asimov Drop

So, in honor of my short story, "Paul and His Son" in the April/May 2014 Asimov's Magazine, which was recommended by Locus Magazine and Lois Tilton here, Apex Publications is doing a price drop on the eBook of the short story collection, DISINTEGRATION VISIONS, down to just $.99 for the month of April.

So, one could easily pick up a copy of Asimov's Magazine (or a subscription, which is also good) and check out "Paul and his Son" here:

Then, go to one of the many on-line venues for eBooks, for instance DriveThruStuff or the Apex Website. (Okay, the latter doesn't seem to have the new price updated, yet, but it will, soon.) I know the price drop will be going out to all the major on-line vendors, so check in this week as the update goes through.

Hooray for special price promotions!

(This is not an April Fools Joke, by the way. I am not foolish. I tell no jokes, ever.)