My Sci-fi (ish) Bucket (ish) List for 2012

Ok, it's not so much a bucket list as a things-I'm-looking-forward-to-this-year list. Bucket list just sounds better. ;)  These are the top 10 science fiction / fantasy things I’m personally looking forward to this year. (Not including, of course, the 10 League books coming out this year. Can you believe it?)

1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (May 1)

I loved Divergent. If you haven’t read it, go forth and read.


2. Winds of Winter by George RR Martin (Who knows?)


This is supposedly the last installment in the Songs of Fire and Ice series. I don’t know when it’s scheduled to be published, but the FIRST CHAPTER of Winds of Winter is on Martin's web site. (That page says it's to be published last year; Dance of Dragons didn't come out until last July.)

3. New Neil Gaiman or Scott Westerfeld?


I'm jonesing for another Coraline or Graveyard Book or Leviathan trilogy. Hint, hint.


4. Hunger Games Movie (March 23)


Well, isn’t everyone looking forward to this?

5. The Hobbit Movie (December 14)






6. Dark Shadows movie (Summer)

Three of my favorite things together. Johnny Depp + Tim Burton + Dark Shadows. This could be totally brilliant or completely awful.  For you Dark Shadows virgins, Moviebyte did a quick introduction to the movie / series.


7. Game of Thrones Season 2 (April 1)

HBO's excellent adaptation of George RR Martin's Game of Thrones made me go read the Songs of Fire and Ice series -- only to discover it's not finished (see item 2 above).  Season 2 should be based on book 2, A Clash of Kings.




8. Walking Dead Season 2.5 (February 12)

I'm not usually a zombie fan, but AMC's The Walking Dead is a damn good show. Period.





9. HG Wells spinoff of Warehouse 13

Last spring, Hollywood Reporter and several other places reported that a Warehouse 13 spin-off was in the works, featuring one of my fave characters, HG Wells. The spin-off (possibly called Warehouse 12) is set in Victorian London. (Yes, it is Steampunk-ish.) We saw a backdoor pilot or sorts for it on last season's Warehouse 13 (via I09).

btw, HG is a woman.

10. The Apocalypse (December 21)

As we've all no doubt heard by now, the Maya calendar runs out on 12/21/12.  All the end-of-the-world prophecies are, of course, fiction (knock wood), but I'm secretly glad the Hobbit movie comes out before that date. ;)

The Mayans are probably laughing their asses off.

What are you looking forward to this year in the science fiction / fantasy (and/or young adult) universe?

I'm calm. No really, I'm totally calm.

Hi everyone! Man, it seems like forever since I've blogged. It's good to be back!

What's been up since last I blogged? In a word? Stress!

The last month or so has probably been fairly tumultuous. So much going on. Probably the biggest thing is that my wife and I are getting close to buying our first home and moving to upstate NY. We're super excited (in no small part because this means moving from a crappy apartment in Queens to a house with a wood burning fireplace and enough room where we can finally get a dog!) but like anyone who's bought a house before knows, the process is one of the more stressful you'll go through. Who knew one person could fill out so many forms? Or that so many different people could want money from us. Or that the subway does not go to upstate New York. People drive cars there! Crazy, but true.

On top of that I'm working on the final pre-ARC edits to my next book. (nope, still can't tell you the title or anything about it. Errrg.) One of the things I learned last go round was the huge importance of the ARC. For those who don't know, the ARC is the advance copy that goes out to bloggers, reviewers and other influential folk about 6 months or so before the book is formally released. So you can imagine getting the book ready for this stage is incredibly important. I know I made a few changes to The Eleventh Plague after the ARC went out that I really wish I had made before. Don't want that to happen again.

Oh and I'm also in talks about what happens next bookwise after this fall's release!

Whew! My heart is beating a little faster just writing all of that!  I will admit that I do have a bit of a tendency towards anxiety and am doing my best to keep myself calm in the midst of all of this.

So my question to all of you is…how do you keep an even keel when there's so much going on? Any good relaxation suggestions?

I Love Robots!

I confess - I am a dyed-in-the-wool robot lover! Imagine how thrilled I was to see this!



Which goes along with this favorite!



Do you love robots? Got any favorites? (Besides R2D2 & C3PO!)

Stories Made Real

One of the cool things about sci fi and dystopian is that the very best ones show our world the way it could possibly be. I've read a few dystopians lately where I question how the world in the story is derived from the world in which we live in. It seems illogical that our world would go to those extremes willingly.

For me, I'd much prefer a dystopian to show a world where I can still see traces of my world. I want to believe that the world in the story is possible--so that I can prevent it from happening in my own, real world.

Which is why, when I was visiting the site of one of the best YouTube vloggers out there (Charlie Is So Cool Like), and I came across this fun video, my first thought was... well, why don't you watch it and tell me what book it's like?



Yup! Doesn't this remind you of our very own Angie Smibert and her debut, MEMENTO NORA?

MacGuffins: Using them effectively

The MacGuffin, often the object or information everyone is after, is one of the most popular elements in modern storytelling. The term popularized by Alfred Hitchock, who knew his shizz, is often the foundation the story is built around. But what is a macguffin? And how can we use them as writers? Here's a few classic MacGuffins: The Maltese Falcon - some will kill for it, but is it a priceless object or just symbolic of the dangers of greed?

The Letters of Transit - first off, if you start to think about these powerful letters of transit (that can not be rescinded), you'll smell something funny. I'm sure a bunch of Nazis would bow to some papers. But that's not the point, is it?

 The suitcase - Is it his soul? Another symbol? One thing's for sure we want to see in that box.

 Also this: The bar at my local theatre (headed there this afternoon)

To really get your mileage with a MacGuffin, it must be plausible, but it should serve as a catalyst. It gets the story going, and it shows up at times to give it a boost, but we don't dwell on it. Characters don't spend whole scenes analyzing it. Cynical Rick doesn't question why the heck Charles De Gaulle would sign those papers or why anyone would care. We don't see into the suitcase. Some of my favorite macguffins come courtesy of J.J. Abrams - various Rimabauldi artifacts. Even why they're stuck on the island is a MacGuffin. It provides a structure to tell a story and build characters, but don't look too closely or you might see the smoke and mirrors. Incidentally, I think this is why some people got so frustrated with Lost.

 For better or worse, building an entire series around a MacGuffin can backfire when people expect a profound revelation at the end. I'd learned my lesson with Alias.

 The show was never about Rimbauldi and his prophecies. It was about Sydney and her relationships. The rest was MacGuffins.

So when my Critique Partner and I were discussing Alcatraz the other day and he said, "I think I'll keep watching to see what the mystery is," I reminded him it was going to be a MacGuffin.  But there you have it, four episodes in and the show has him hooked on the promise of the mystery, on the promise of the MacGuffin.

 So my advice about using MacGuffins:
1. Make it interesting, but don't dwell on it.
2. Use it to enhance your characterization and relationship building.
3. Don't be surprised or offended when someone is upset that your MacGuffin didn't pay off. It's probably going to happen and that's ok.

What other MacGuffins come to mind when you think about movies, television, or books?  Do you like them or do they frustrate you?

Book Trailers Going Strong in 2012!

If you haven’t noticed, book trailers are getting more sophisticated. Sometimes that’s because the publisher decides the book calls for a big production, complete with actors and sets. Random House made a stunning, magical period piece for Robin Bridges’ The Gathering Storm.

It’s one of my favorites. They also made a creepy, science fictiony one for me, for STARTERS.

And I love this one for Macmillian made for CINDER by Marissa Meyers which really makes you feel like it’s a movie or television trailer.

BORN WICKED by Jessica Spotswood not only has high production values, but wonderful casting and lots of kissing.

But sometimes these elaborate trailers are made by the authors themselves. And it’s because more people have access to equipment today. As digital continues to explode, I predict we’ll see more of this.

This one was designed by the author, cast with friends and family, and crewed by some talented people. You look at this and it’s hard to imagine that a publisher could beat it. Anne Greenwood Brown’s LIES BENEATH.

Here is another very ambitious trailer, this one with dialogue, made by the author and friends: HARBINGER by Sara Wilson Etienne. Anyone who has ever made a short film knows how much work this is.

Even though I’m focusing on complicated trailers, sometimes a simple one might be the most elegant solution. But I suspect most authors would like to have the option to see their dreams realized, however they visualize them. And we’ve all become so visually sophisticated that using standard images seen too often in the early book trailers will now pass over our eyes, barely noticed and quickly forgotten.

What an author brings to the design of her own trailer is passion and an intimate sense of her own story that no one else can beat. The challenges to the amateur production are obvious – less budget, less access to professional talent, actors and crew. But one thing the author needs to do is learn when to let go. That means keep it on the short rather than long side. When you work so hard, months in prep, and days in production, not to mention what can be weeks of post, the author is often too close to the blood, sweat and tears to be able to make judicious cuts.

If you decide to make your own trailer, be sure you get feedback from friends who are in film school or pros, preferably at the storyboard/script stage, but definitely when it’s time for the final cut. Unless of course, you’re an author like Ransom Riggs, who used to make trailers professionally.

There are lots of cool trailers out there. If you know of one made for a YA science fiction/fantasy 2012 release that you like, tell us about it in the comments.

Celebration + Giveaway!

Today THE OTHER LIFE hits shelves in the UK!

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the worldSherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?

I can't believe my little book is out in the world! (Well, in the UK! It'll be out in the US May 1st!). But if you don't want to wait that long, I'm giving away one final signed copy of THE OTHER LIFE to one lucky winner!

Would you like to watch the trailer?

I guess you're wondering what you have to do for a chance to win?

Just comment on this post with your email address and you'll be entered! The giveaway is international! I'll announce the winner February 15th on this blog!

If you would like to stay busy until then, you can read diary entries from Joshua's POV on five blogs. You can find the first diary entry here!