On Selection Bias
I have a story I’m shopping dealing with twins, leukemia, and advanced, AI-guided care. A lucky man. I’ll tell Clarisse and Hazel they might have a way out—if MedBrain can work its magic.
Horngard: The Podcast
Tuesday I was in a podcast with Baen’s publisher Toni Weisskopf, her managing editor Joy Freeman, and marketing lead Heather Ridolfi. The subject: Elizabeth Moon’s Paksennarion trilogy, the Paksworld universe, and Horngard. The discussion was wide-ranging, and my main takeaway was that I need video filters or makeup before going into an interview. Or, at least, cleaning up my office background.
A PWYW (pay what you want*) for a PILE of Elizabeth Moon’s Books
As you wait for Horngard by Elizabeth Moon (It’s an October new release!!), you should totally check out Humble Bundle’s Mini Bundle of Elizabeth Moon books! It includes the three seminal books that tell Paksennarion’s story, as well as key novels in the Heris Serrano “space opera” series.
I collaborated with Elizabeth on Horngard, and am excited to see it come to light in…less than three weeks!
The way this works is that you pay a minimum price – you can pay more if you want – and you get a huge value in return. For this bundle, if you pay at least $16 (see * above), you get $119 worth of books. The more you pay, the more the charity makes – in this case, it is Canine Companions. HumbleBumble are also upfront that if you pay more, Humble Bundle and Baen make more money as well. Elizabeth Moon is paid royalties according to what you pay.
Hurry and buy your bundle; it’s only available until September 26!!!
WorldCon Schedule!
AKA LACon V, But Whatever
The schedule is up and, barring being added to more panels, this is my (paltry) schedule. I’m going to see what I can do in terms of scaring up publicity for Horngard, as that’ll be published (eep!) a couple of months later.
Here’s my rubric:
The Jewish Horror one is interesting because, in my traumatized opinion, the whole Shmuley Myers series is one, long, drawn out horror show. But I’ve got From Generation to Generation (ebook/audio), a Jewish “Lazarus” tale with enough personal history trauma to make it qualify a bit as a horror piece. Speaking of which, if anyone’s interested in free listener codes and is willing to write a review, just contact me and I’ll see if I can make that happen.
I’m guessing the second will be an AMA, but I don’t know if anyone’s going to be moved, at the end of the Con, to come see… We’ll see.
Adding Short Stories and Audio Books!
Maggie Weber strikes again! Consent is now joined by Shloshim, Shut Eye, and Joy on Audible. next short story in my collection is now out. Listen to it here!
Blood of Leeches is a new ebook, currently enjoying (for the split second) a #1 rating:
I’m currently soliciting for an audiobook producer (aka a narrator) for the story.
Consent Now Out as an Audiobook!
Consent is a science fiction short about, frankly, revenge as a PTSD cure. I don’t encourage it and, having had PTSD for decades, there’s a reason this story is in the fiction instead of self-help genre.
Maggie Weber was the producer (voice and sonic layout) of the book, and she’s working on a few more short stories from my collection. (She’s also a human and dog mom, clothing upseller (check out her book), prolific youtube…and apparently someone who doesn’t need to sleep).
Lickspittling
From my BlueSky account: Lickspittling is a good look for G.Santos and the Jan 6 traitors. But for Google and Apple to bribe Il Duce with funds for his Royal Ballroom is a disservice not only to shareholders, but to the American people. Ah, fascism, the grift that keeps on grifting.
The Dog Days
Writing a post from 36,000 feet on a mobile phone with broadband. Life in 2025, for better or worse.
It’s WorldCon week. I’m looking forward to meeting with a few authors and agents. I’ve got an audiobook producer working on one of my short stories. More on that anon.
2025 Olio
Writing
This is shaping up to be a busy year. The fourth novel in the Shmuley Myers mystery series, tentatively titled “A Measure of Mercy,” will be out in the fall. Two other under-wraps projects are underway as well. Or is it three?
Armadillocon
I’ll be attending and co-running this year’s Writers Workshop. It’s an excellent opportunity to get peer and professional critiques of your work. The ‘con is low-key, welcoming authors and readers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Meet your authors, learn about the business, and attend fun panels (I hear there’s filking).
WorldCon 2025
I’ll be attending WorldCon in Seattle (August 13-17). Glasgow was a trip too far for me last year, but I’m jazzed to go. ArmadilloCon faves Nisi Shawl (whose talks on “Writing the Other” are an ArmadilloCon must-see) and Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) will be there.
Social Media
While I have accounts on Meta and the site formerly known as Twitter venues, I do not use them. Find me at BlueSky (or, obviously, here).
On LLM (first of many, I’m guessing)
I’m not a fan of the current qualifications of Chat-GPT and its ilk. Three examples:
- writers I know are suing for copyright infringement because Google, MS et al have slurped up their novels into their LLMs.
- I’m researching a science fiction book and needed facts on oxygen candles (used, for example, in submarines to produce oxygen). Asked the same prompt and got two answers. “…The amount of oxygen…[is] around 1 to 2 pounds of oxygen per hour…” and, “The total amount [is]…in the range of tens to hundreds of liters per hour…”
- The prompt for the image above was “a jewish israeli and palestinian arab stab each other each holding a bloody knife.” It was a test, not a wish or political statement. I wanted to see what the AI would “imagine.” I can’t tell which is who. Forgetting the knives, they’re both wearing combat webbing (the one on the left has what looks to be a belt). How could it dream this when I specified knife? Is this what it creates when prompted for either?
Unfortunately, it’s going to get better. And while this might clear the cruft of Photoshop manipulators from the creative industry, it makes me worry about what dark “hallucinations” AIs might be having.