Anthologies:

Dark Faith 2 is well underway.  I’m about a third of the way through the 600 submissions we received in January, and I’m on schedule to get everyone an answer within 90 days of submission.  May 1st is the deadline for solicited manuscripts, and we’ll be making final decisions shortly after that.  The book will debut at WorldCon in Chicago (August 2012).

Novellas:

I’m nearing a first draft on Breaking The World.  The apocalyptic book follows three atheist teenagers trapped inside the Branch Davidian Church during David Koresh’s perilous standoff with the ATF and FBI.  I’m quite pleased with the way the story is shaping up.  So much so, it’s become the first book in a series.  Tentative release, Summer 2012.

Novels:

Severed Dreams needs some minor tweaking before it heads back out.

Stage:

Despite my best efforts, I haven’t been able to squirrel away enough time to finish my interactive adaptation of Shakespeare’s greatest war story.  I’m leaving this here until it shames me into action.

Top Secret:

A pair of really cool pop culture projects that I signed away my ability to talk about (for the moment).

Slice of Darkness Interview:  Jerry Gordon

We’re looking for the story only you could write, something deeply personal and at the same time universal.  Everyone believes in something and we want you to put those beliefs to the test.  We’re looking for smart, literate stories that don’t proselytize or stereotype.  Stories that make you think, that comment on the human condition and the social order.  Stories that are rich in their use of language.

However, as much as we love social commentary, don’t forget to entertain us.  The best way to get a feel for what we’re looking for is to read Dark Faith.

Submissions will be accepted from 1/1/2012 until 1/31/2012.  Unsolicited stories received outside this timeframe will be deleted, unread.

Please include a cover letter with your submission–even if we know you.  Please send no more than one submission at a time.  No reprints.  Simultaneous submissions will be accepted as long as you tell us up front (and immediately withdraw the story if you sell it).

All submissions must be emailed as an RTF file to Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon at darkfaithantho@gmail.com.

Visit the GenCon Writers Symposium website for more information and a full schedule.  I’ll be speaking on the following panels this year:

Fantastic Females

Dynamic women should rule the pages of your manuscript . . . not the mousy types waiting to be tied to a railroad track. Our panelists discuss how to avoid weak cliques and macho stereotypes, and how to craft strong, interesting ladies that advance your story.

When: Aug 4 2011 – 9:00am – 10:00am. Duration: 1hour

Selling Short Fiction

It can be a long road to selling short fiction, especially in a marketplace with decreasing print anthologies. But short fiction is still a writing art to pursue. Our panelists discuss markets, techniques, and how penning short stories can improve your chances of publishing novels.

When: Aug 4 2011 – 10:00am – 11:10am. Duration: 1hour

You Slay Me

Kill ‘em off. Hang ‘em. Poison ‘em. Blow ‘em up with a nuclear bomb. Slice ‘em up with a sword. Or maybe just run ‘em over with a train. But make it mean something. Make it interesting. And make your readers react. Our panelists discuss methods for killing characters–heroes and villains, how to time a death scene just right, what details to leave in and out, and how to decide which ones should “bite the dust.”

When:  Aug 4 2011 – 12:00pm – 1:00pm.  Duration:  1hour

Tackling Writer’s Block

Some authors claim there is no such thing as writer’s block . . . but there is some unseen force that prevents you from finishing your manuscript. Whatever label you care to give it–how do you tackle it? How can you defeat the force that keeps your fingers motionless on the keyboard and your brain in neutral. Our panelists have all faced this dreaded demon, and they’ve discovered how to best it. They’ll share their techniques.

When:  Aug 4 2011 – 1:00pm – 2:00pm.  Duration:  1hour

The Sword is Mightier

A rousing sword fight can get the reader churning through the pages of your book. But you better know how to make it feel real. Our master wordsmiths share their expertise in writing the good fight.

When:  Aug 5 2011 – 8:00am – 9:00am.  Duration:  1hour

Big on the Small Press

Writers can find big opportunities to break into publishing through the small press. Learn where to go, and what it takes, to make it big in small press. Our panelists include small press publishers, editors, and writers.

When:  Aug 5 2011 – 9:00am – 10:00am.  Duration:  1hour

Nothing But ‘Net

The Internet is a useful tool for research, finding writer’s resources, joining a writer’s group, and submitting internationally. But it’s also a great way to promote yourself and get your writing out there. We’ll tackle Facebook, Twitter, web pages, and software.

When:  Aug 7 2011 – 11:00am – 12:00pm.  Duration:  1hour

Apex Book Company has made “Ghosts of New York” available online for free, along with Catherynne Valente’s “Days of Flaming Motorcycles” (a preliminary ballot winner for the Bram Stoker award).

Check them out. And then pick up a copy of Dark Faith!

Workshops and panels on writing.  Mass signings.  And some of the best panels discussion you’ll find.  I’ll be there promoting Dark Faith and doing a few panels:

Mass Autograph Session
Time: Sat 11:30 am – Sat 1:00 pm
Room: Cedar

Making A Living As A Writer
Time: Sat 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Room: Short North

Mistakes Beginning Writers Make
Time: Sat 7:00pm-8:00pm
Room: Short North

Christian Horror
Time: Sat 8:30pm-9:30pm
Room: German Village

How likely is it that you’ll end up eating brains? Take the zombie apocalypse test and find out. Or if you’ve got a solid broadband connection, take a shot at The Outbreak, an interactive zombie movie (NSFW).  I’m happy to say I survived that one on the first try.  Leave me a comment (below) and let me know how you did.

And after the end of days eats you for dinner, why not check out my post-apocalyptic story “City of Refuge,” available free in audio and text formats over at Apex Magazine.  Or The Zombie Feed, a new online magazine (and soon paper anthology) started by Jason Sizemore.

70%

Wednesday

2.  Storms knocked out the air conditioning at the awards. Thankfully, it didn’t affect the beer taps or great conversations with @tobaisbuckell, @luciensoulban, and @lawrenceconnolly.

3.  It’s @mforbeck’s birthday… sleep be damned! Trying to keep up with the gang from White Wolf.

4.  4am Steak ‘n Shake. At least I don’t have to work the booth tomorrow morning!

Thursday

5.  8am phone call from @mauricebroaddus. Jerry, how quick can you get down to the booth?

6.  The gang from White Wolf beat me to the exhibit hall. I believe “suck it up” was the prevailing sentiment.

7.  Slow day selling books. No one wants to carry them around early in the day. At least @apexjason and I are having fun catching up with each other.

8.  How did @mforbeck drink me under the table and close a three book deal the next morning?

9.  The self-published guy next to our booth, hereafter referred to as “the carny barker,” is giving every single person the same canned sales pitch. A few more hours of this could lead to homicide…

10.  Witty dinner conversation courtesy of @mlvalentine and @tobiasbuckell (and a surprise appearance by @mikebrendan).

11.  I’m never too tired to pass up late night drinks with @tobiasbuckell, @mforbeck, and @jscoble. The war stories are flowing…

Friday

12.  Sneaking away from book sales for a very late lunch with @luciensoulban. You know things are going your way when the waiter screws up and brings you somthing that sounds better than your actual order.

13.  Kathy Watness is doing her best to make booth time enjoyable. Our booth has become the defacto hangout for fiction writers.

14.  After two false starts and a break to deal with family stuff, it’s a late dinner at Shula’s with the lovely @jenniferbrozek, her husband Jeff, and the estimable @apexjason.

Saturday

15.  So this is what it feels like to get eight hours sleep…

16.  Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh just waltzed by our booth.

17.  Everywhere I go, @jscoble appears. Is he following me, or am I following him?

18.  Talking about new projects with a couple publishers and game designers. Plenty of books to sign.

19.  @luciensoulban has managed to coordinate a dinner around everyone’s crazy schedules. The meal includes a terrific steampunk novel pitch, much roasting of @mauricebroaddus, and the real story behind Neil Gaimen and the roller derby girls…

20.  Quick stop before the evening’s main event, The Succubus Club. Why am I not surprised that girls are dancing in cages?

21.  Laughing with @mlvalentine as the guys stammer past the caged dancers. Paging girls with low self-esteem and daddy issues…

22.  We’ve just been unintentionally flashed by a girl on the second level. #secondlevel+metalgrating+skimpydress-underwear.

23.  And there’s @mikebrendan, well into his first kilt wearing pub crawl…

Sunday

24  Many thanks to @apexjason for covering the table while I network with @luciensoulban.

25.  Now comes the mad dash to fit a whole day’s worth of shopping into one hour. @brianjshoopman saves the day with pizza delivery and help loading books.

* There’s never enough time… Somehow I managed to miss Dave, Joe, Kim, and Jeff.

If the title sounds familiar, you can thank Jason Reitman for adapting the book and casting George Clooney in an Oscar nominated turn as the executive-status obsessed main character.  I highly recommend the movie to anyone looking for a grownup antidote to an endless summer of poorly executed IMAX 3D conversions.

The smart, enjoyable film becomes fascinating when compared to the original book.  The obvious changes are there.  Reitman dropped several major plotlines and added characters to give Ryan Bingham both a reason to explain “airworld” to the audience and someone to challenge his observations.

Devoid of most of these characters, the book deeply entrenches the reader in Ryan’s progressively flawed perspective, and that’s where things get interesting.  George Clooney is the natural embodiment of what the book’s main character imagines himself to be.  You can feel the similarity slowly fall away as it becomes increasingly clear that the book’s Ryan Bingham is an unreliable narrator.

In the film, Ryan eventually comes to question the end result of his beliefs.  The book goes for much darker territory.  Hiding behind Ryan’s detached vision of “airworld” is paranoia, substance abuse, delusions of grandeur, disillusionment, and desperation.  How did such a major tonal shift happen?  Listen to the director talk about what drew him to the book:

 
The film version of Ryan then becomes a vehicle for Reitman to explore his own attachment to “airworld.”  The end result is a satisfying personal detour that broadens the main character’s story arc for the masses, streamlines the plot, and puts the book in a difficult position.  Amazon reviews (since the movie’s release) have been negative, ranging from disappointed to outright anger.  The reality of Ryan Bingham can’t compete with his idealized counterpart.

It doesn’t help Kirn that readers, brought to the book by the movie, will find very little material in common.  Even the most central device, Ryan’s backpack speech (heard in the teaser trailer below) is a new additions created by Reitman. 

 
One of my favorite classes in college studied the process of adapting print to film.  Reading Up In The Air, I couldn’t help but wonder where readers would lose their ability to identify with the increasingly flawed main character and intentionally winding narrative.  The two works almost serve as doppelgangers for each other.  I’m an accidental tourist to both worlds, happy with the idealized and floundering versions of Ryan Bingham.  Readers that need to identify with a book’s main character should think twice before purchasing a ticket.

Take a look around and let me know what you think.  And if you haven’t already, sign up for updates (on the sidebar) so I can keep you in the know when new fiction is released.  Thanks for dropping by.  Grab a drink from the fridge and make yourself at home.

Jerry