I’m still working away on my dark science fiction novella The Morpheist. It’s at about 12.5k in verbiage, around halfway in terms of story told. It’s the most sustained work on a single story I’ve done in quite a while; it gives me confidence that this will be the next big thing I finish. It used to be that I wrote with discipline and a sense of purpose. That was true in the 90s when I wrote for Superguy, and it was true for Brutal Light. I have to admit I lapsed once I finished Brutal Light, and stayed lapsed for several years–not going over all the reasons why, just acknowledging it happened. I’m mildly relieved to find I can still write this way.
It looks like I’m going to be a panelist at Penguicon 2012 (Friday April 27th through Sunday April 29th) in Dearborn, Michigan, USA! I’ll post again when I know the what and the when of the panels. PenguiCon attracts some big crowds, and is always insane amounts of fun, so I’m really looking forward to it.
The first review I’ve seen anywhere of my novel Brutal Light has come in. Admittedly, it’s mixed, but it’s overall positive. What do you think?
Meanwhile, on to the links!
Author and editor Lincoln Crisler has been hosting a series of ‘virtual panels’ on various subjects regarding Corrupts Absolutely?, the dark superheroic fiction anthology he edited. Two weeks ago, the topic was Meta-Morality. Last week it was Meta-Misses. Yesterday, it was Meta-Mates. Lots of perspectives and food for thought!
The first communication using neutrinos has been sent and received by a group at the University of Rochester. It’s the first step toward someday being able to communicate without worrying about pesky things like oceans or the moon getting in the way. (Not quite Star Trek-style, since it doesn’t beat the lightspeed barrier, but pretty cool, nonetheless.)
Speaking of cool, there’s a new system developed that lets a wearer make every surface a touch screen for smartphone-like usage. I won’t comment on what uses my inner 12-year-old has already imagined for this. Every surface means every surface, is all I’m sayin’. 😉
Here’s an interesting debunking of the ‘Creative Right Brain’ myth. The truth turns out to be a lot more complex, messy and interesting, which is just how I like it.
Interesting speculation going on in The Atlantic regarding how medtech could expand beyond the injured. The future is coming, ready or not! This is the sort of thing I find fascinating, particularly as, in The Morpheist, I try to worldbuild a cyber/biopunkish future in which some of our dreams and nightmares in this area and many others have come true.
Finally, as a folklore fan, I was amazed to read about five hundred new fairytales being discovered in Germany. Tales like these, particularly so close to their sources (they were collected around the same time as Grimm’s, and were far less rewritten), are a tremendous window to our collective past.