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 The FSFS Newsletter is written by FSFS members covering everything Fantasy and Sci-Fi |
The "Fantasy and Science Fiction Society" welcomes you to  Welcome to the May edition of the FSFS Newsletter. This is a slightly delayed NL because I completely forgot about it at the start of the month and then I was too busy to do anything about it until now! But from now on the Newsletter should be released on the first of each month. The June edition may be slightly delayed as my last exam is on that day and I don't know if I will be celebrating or commiserating. Anyway, with the excuses out of the way, let's begin the Newsletter! Contents 1. Month Summary 2. Push/Pull: The Author See-Saw 3. Reflection on Goals 4. Book Review: The Integral Trees 5. Advertisements 6. Newsletter Challenges  April certainly was a busy month for Writing.com. P15 was finally released in beta form to the world. I've not looked back since I made the switch, and I believe many others feel the same way. The normal writing.com will be replaced by the P15 version around the 7th of this month, so if you haven't had a chance to try it out, visit https://p15.writing.com before that date to get a feel for it.  I recently read an article by best-selling author, David Farland, who talked about marketing books often being a "push" or "pull" effort. What he meant by that is an author, who spends a lot of time on social media hyping their book generally does not attract a lot of readers. Those who offer other things, say, an interesting blog about anything but all the details about their latest book "on sale now," "pulls" readers in. For example, David Farland's blog is the Daily Kick. I read every article on writing he posts. At the end, he has a commercial message, "My new book, x, has just been released," with a link, or sometimes, he mentions someone else's book. However, what if you're like me, not a best selling author? My blog often features articles on writing like this one, and "pushes," too, letting my readers know my progress or about my new book. Truthfully, my blog is a lot less popular than "The Daily Kick." I'm edgy about my sales or lack of sales every day. What makes being an author a bit nerve racking. David Farland ended his blog article by saying the best way to "pull" readers is to write that next book. A good story, a well written story, is what will really attracts readers, especially in this new age of social media, clamoring for people's attention. And, there are now more books than ever for people to choose from. How can one book even stand out? I don't know if you've been following the debate over the Hugo Awards this year. Best selling author Eric Flint recently wrote that best selling books rarely get nominated for awards like a Hugo. He sells a lot of books, mainly in series, which "pulls" readers in again and again, but awards don't go to books in a series. They go for stand alone books. Today series are very popular, an author writing a trilogy or a series, can "pull" in lots of readers. To Eric, selling his books is its own reward, he could care less about winning an award. He likes paying his bills more. In my case, my first novel, the first book in a series, didn't sell very well for more than two years. The publisher passed on publishing the sequel, but didn't pass on renewing their contract with me... not after I published the third and fourth books of my series, which came out last fall and my sales, well, we'll call them solid ever since. I just came out with the first book in a new series in March. Its sales are in the same place as the first book in my first series at this point. So, with three more books in that series to publish over the next two or three years, one thing I know is that writing those books has a strong chance of "pulling" in more readers and my growing number of fans. It won't be long before I launch a trilogy, too. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm going to continue to write my blog, but I'm just not that great with twitter and my Facebook page, which based on "pushing" versus "pulling" is not such a terrible thing. Oh, don't get me started about Facebook, where I hoped social media would be a godsend... No, the means to success as I see it, so far at least, is to write the next book and keep publishing books in a series. Those sequels will "pull" in the readers as long as I write the best story I can. It's not like I really expect to become rich writing sci fi and fantasy. Being an author means, "Don't give up your day job." But one day, maybe I'll have enough books out that those stories will "pull" in readers and fans. The life of an author is a see saw. Up and down, up and down, and having my books read by someone who enjoys them... that's the best award. "Push/Pull: The Author See Saw" by Highmage - D.H. Aire   When my creative writing professor asked me what I plan to do after I graduate, I told him “I don’t know,” and that I will figure it out later. One problem I face is that I have no résumé. On top of that getting jobs requires prior experience. The thing is that obtaining experience means have pre-experience. It makes no sense if you ask me. Living off of book sales would be cool but that is rare. I found out that content writing is something that interests me, but it generally does not pay well-which stinks! A copywriter apparently makes the most which is a creative writing field. Like my mom said, everyone started somewhere so I just need to find where to begin. I believe that a lot of you can emphasize. So if anyone else is or has been in my situation, I would love some input.  Book Name: The Integral Trees Author: Larry Niven First Published: 1984 Locus Award 1985 Larry Niven was born in Los Angeles, California and spent much of his childhood in Beverly Hills. His schooling has ranged from a brief stint at Cal Tec, Washburn University in Kansas, and graduate work in mathematics at UCLA. He ended up dropping out of school in order to write science fiction full-time. His first story was published in Worlds of If. The Coldest Place was set on the dark side of Mercury and earned him a grand total of $25. As Niven continued to write, his friend and publisher, Fred Pohl, suggested that he write science fact based stories, pointing the author toward the “odd pockets of the universe.” Niven took the idea as his own and would become one of the more renown hard science fiction writers of the 20th century. Niven’s “known space” universe exploded with life. His books were filled with unique aliens such as the Kzinti, Trinocs, Outsiders and Kdatlyno. His vivid descriptions of of worlds such as Jinx, Plateau and Down were devoured by the fans who all wanted more. Niven’s Opus is the series of books known as Ringworld, winner of the Hugo award. In this series, Niven created a Dyson Sphere and populated it with adventures and more unique aliens. The author has also had a career in writing for television. He has written scripts for series such as “Land of the Lost”, “Star Trek: The Animated Series”, and for DC Comics character Green Lantern. In Niven’s later years, he has been writing in collaboration for the most part with authors Jerry Pournelle, Steven Barnes, Brenda Cooper and Edward M. Lerner. Two exceptions to this are The Integral Trees and its sequel, The Smoke Ring. This is his most ambitious world building vision since the creation of the Dyson Sphere of the Ringworld. In this series, Niven has created a massive, naturally-occurring free-fall environment that orbits a neutron star and has populated it with more of his unique characters. The Integral Trees was nominated for a Hugo for best novel (1985), nominated for a Nebula for Best Novel (1985), and was also nominated for a Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award (1985). Larry Niven lives in California with his wife and continues to turn out more wonderful books of hard science fiction, fantasy and other colorful subjects. “The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn’t have a space program. And if we become extinct because we don’t have a space program, it’ll serve us right!” ― Larry Niven The Integral Trees is a story set around the fictional neutron star Levoy’s Star (known as “Voy” in the book). A gas giant, called Goldblatt’s World and nicknamed “Gold”, orbits Voy just outside its Roche Limit. The planet’s gravity is not enough to keep its atmosphere and it has been pulled free into an independent orbit around the star and forms a gas torus ring. In the center of this torus is an inner ring where the air is thick enough to support life and is known as “The Smoke Ring”. Most of the plants in the Smoke Ring are fragile because they do not need to support their own weight. The exception to this are the “integral trees”, giant stalks with a green “tuff” at each end. They grown hundreds of miles long with one end pointed at Voy and the other at Gold. Due to the winds inside the ring, each end of the tree curves making the plant resemble the mathematical symbol for “integral”. Five hundred years ago, twenty astronauts from an interstellar “ramship” colonized the Smoke Ring. Their descendants have adapted to the free-fall environment and have lost much of their technology and culture. Due to the micro gravity, the people are very tall and thin and have developed prehensile toes as a second set of hands. The story begins with the inhabitants of the Dalton-Quinn tree. Quinn tribe’s tree is slowly falling out of the smoke ring and is dying. The tribe is suffering from a severe drought. The leader decides to send a party up the tree, to hunt and recut the tribe markings, but he populates the group with the cripples and people he considers troublemakers to the tribe. It is not said, but they are being sent away to die. When the party reaches the midpoint of the tree, they are attacked by the Dalton-Quinn tribe that live at the opposite end of the tree. During the battle, a tremor splits the tree in half causing the in-tuff where the Quinn tribe lives to fall closer to the neutron star and killing all of its inhabitants. The tree finds a new equilibrium that is closer to the Smoke Ring’s center. The surviors of the battle jump clear of the broken tree and are set adrift in the sky. They almost die of thirst before they hook a passing whale-like “moby” which takes them to a free-fall jungle of plant life. There they are catapulted into a battle between the Carther States who live in the jungle and the slave-runners from London Tree. The party is split when six of them are captured by the slavers and two remain in the jungle. The Carther States counter-attacks a few weeks later and during the battle the Quinn Tribe members manage to steal London Tree’s CARM (Cargo And Repair Module), it is a small spacecraft that belonged to the original settles of the Smoke Ring. While the Quinn members do not completely understand how to pilot the CARM, they manage to fly it into the thinest part of the gas torus and see the naked stars for the first time. Once in space, they attract the attention of the Interstellar ship Discipline that is being cared for by an AI named Kendy. The AI aids the occupants of the CARM and helps them return to the Smoke Ring safely, but what is there for them to return to? And what of the AI’s original mission? ### One of the reasons why I wanted to review Larry Niven’s The Integral Trees, beyond the fact that it is a book I enjoyed in my college days and remember fondly, is that the complex habitat that he dreamed up with fellow writer Robert Forward is every bit as wild and wonderful as the author’s Ringworld, but of a more organic and analog nature. It is not as well known, but I feel that it is a series of books that should be given a second look. The plot and characters of the book are simple. In fact, I would call the plot almost YA in nature due to the lack of character development. The constant warfare is a comment on human nature, but I found that the lack of female independence in his world to be stifling. I suppose that in regressing civilization, Niven felt that regressing the role of women in the smoke ring societies to be in a similar vein. It is the world that Niven creates that is the real star of the book and it is not an accident that he begins the novel with diagrams of what the world and the trees look like, in order to help the reader understand this alien environment that he has envisioned. If you are not a mathematics major, you might miss why the trees are named as they are, being in the shape of a mathematical symbol for integral. The natives of the story do not refer to the trees this way. The world is lush, wondrous and full of mystery. It is a hard place to ever forget once you’ve read the book. I highly recommend The Integral Trees. It is a story that you should experience at least once. The State Series: A World Out of Time (1976)—Locus SF Award nominee, 1977 The Integral Trees (1984)—Nebula Award nominee, 1984; Locus SF Award winner, and Hugo nominee, 1985 The Smoke Ring (1987)
Please vote for your favourite entries in the April round of "Thrice Prompted"
An FSFS-only forum dedicated to poetry. Currently hosting a group exclusive poetry workshop. Plenty of opportunity to win on of 4 merit badges!
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Last year the Coffee Shop for the Fantasy society didn't do so well. This year the new and improved Fantasy and Science Fiction Society will rule the iron throne, knocking the pesky Martells ("The Power Reviewers Group" off. Well, that's if we get a team together! If you are an FSFS member and want to be part of this event please let me know. I am limited to 14 members (15 including myself), so only apply if you are available in June to participate. Participants will be required to review and/or write and take part in any games/activities the event host chooses to include. Please read over the Game of Thrones page to get an idea of what it's all about. If you want to advertise in the FSFS Newsletter please contact me, Matt Bird MSci (Hons) AMRSC   .Newsletter Challenge  Each month I set a Newsletter Challenge. This challenge is open to the whole of writing.com, so you don't have to be an FSFS member to enter. Invalid Merit Badge #201075 In "May 2015" I challenged you to pick your favourite lines of poetry. I am pleased to announce the winner (chosen by the random number function on Excel) of the FSFS Merit Badge is.... Steev the Friction Wizurd This month's challenge open to all of WdC is: Write a quality review for any of the Three Prompts entries. The entries are: "Invalid Entry" "Unicorn's Blood" "The Outer Discovery" "Eternity" "Invalid Item" Once you've sent the review, link to it in the comments below using the {review:1234567} writingML tag. Assuming reviews are all of a similar quality the winner will be decided by the random number generator. Thank you to all the members who submitted articles to the Newsletter. If you submitted an article that wasn't included, don't be offended. I can only fit so much in the Newsletter. Please submit it again when I send the call out for articles. Please comment on this Newsletter if you enjoyed it, or if you have any suggestions for future editions. |
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