Another edition of "Where do writers get their ideas?"

Look to the news, folks. The scary and strange happens around us all the time. This week, it's the story of Rom Houben, who, after a car crash, was thought to be in a coma that lasted for 23 years.

However, after a recent brain scan, it was revealed that Rom was actually conscious and fully aware of his surroundings for almost two-and-a-half decades--just too paralyzed to communicate with anyone. Now he has a keyboard that responds to tiny vibrations in his hand to let him type.

This recalls to mind a tale from Stephen King's short story collection, Everything's Eventual. In Autopsy Room Four, a paralyzed, but fully aware man is wheeled in to an autopsy room after being pronounced dead, and can only watch and feel as the doctors prep him to be carved open.

Brrr. Not sure how someone could stay sane during the kind of ordeal Rom has gone through. What other strange stories have you come across lately?

AgentInbox - a new way to query

There's a new online service being marketed to writers and literary agents. Hosted by WeBook, AgentInbox is "a service that connects publication-ready authors with reputable, vetted literary agents."

How does it work? For now, you go in, create a profile, and then decide what manuscript you want to submit. Based on a form you fill out, you are offered a list of the various agents who fit your criteria and who have signed up to participate in the site. You can research them, view their agency websites, and see what they want in a submission, such as a query letter, the first fifty pages, a synopsis, or all of the above. Then, once you've selected the agents you want to query, you go through each, providing the necessary info, and send it off. WeBook steps in momentarily to review your submission and make sure it is formatted properly. Then you get notifications when the queries are passed on to the agents, and you can monitor their progress, such as whether they've been read, rejected, etc.

I sent out a few submissions through the site to test it out, and it does offer some good features. While certainly not a comprehensive list, it does present--from what I've seen so far--professional and legitimate literary agencies, and cuts out a bit of the digging around and researching one might have to do to come up with them in the first place. It's hardly going to replace my little query spreadsheet I use to monitor what stories I've sent where, but it is a nifty tool that I think I'll be using again. The process is nicely streamlined, though right now, if you have two agents with a different set of submission requirements, they'll each require a separate session to get the info in.

At this time, the service is free, though I've little doubt that once it becomes popular enough, they'll switch to a subscription or fee for at least some of the features.

What do you all think? Anyone else used this site yet? Do you find it helpful?

Short story sold

I recently heard from the editors over at Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. They've picked up my short story, Odd Jobs, which I've been shopping around for a bit over a year. Really glad this one found a home and can't wait to see it come out. It should be added to one of the issues within the next six months. I'll be sure to update once it's available.

In other news, over on my Examiner.com spec-fic page, I'm going to be running some free chapters from recent Angry Robot releases, starting with Nekropolis. So check in there, as a new one goes up each day.

Another edition of "Where do writers get their ideas?"

Ok. So we've seen theories about the Hadron supercollider being sabotaged from the future. Now, for the next installment of "Where do writers get their ideas?" let me point you to this company, which has supposedly created a mind-to-computer interface for computer games. Here's Emotiv's spiel about their new product:

Fulfill the fantasy of having supernatural powers and controlling the world with your mind! For over a millennium, mankind has dreamed of the ability to control objects with the power of thought. Today, that dream has become reality! This Christmas, you can experience the fantasy of having supernatural powers and controlling the world with your mind.

Your journey will take you through a mythical landscape of forests, temples and en environment that adjusts itself based on how you feel. Destiny, through the magic of your mind, will be yours to command! Engaging, immersive and nuanced, Emotiv-inspired gameplay will be like nothing ever seen before.

Now, will this live up to what they're promising? Who knows. But you can bet that as the word gets around on this and other similar technological developments, you'll see a rush of science fiction stories that will deal with the consequences of direct brain-to-tech interaction, for good or ill. I can see your imaginations spinning already with the possibilities.

One small step

The first thousand words of a new story have been set down. Planning on this one being a bit over 100k, so there's a bit to go yet. Who knows if this initial scene will even make the cut? But after a couple weeks of brainstorming and worldbuilding, it's a good feeling to be dipping the toe in and seeing if the water is hot. Excited, yet nervous at the same time.

Let's see where this one goes, shall we?

Queries are making the rounds with the last one. They've received several positive responses, with some partial requests, so here's hoping.

Tobias Buckell expounds on freelance finances

Science fiction author Tobias Buckell has put together a massive post concerning how he has organized his finances in regards to his freelance career. Aside from his novels, he's put a lot of time and effort into freelancing, which is quite the bumpy road of sporadic payments and assignments.

After all the medical chaos and bills he faced in the past year, Buckell has taken a fresh look at how he manages his budget as a freelancer, and he's sharing his wisdom with all of us. Be warned, his post includes some very intimidating graphs and spreadsheets. He has really ground the math down to a fine powder, and provides his own caveat that the whole system he's developed will likely be most loved by huge geeks.

Lastly for the day, I have a book review up on Examiner.com for The Unincorporated Man. If you're a fan of David Louis Edelman's Jump 225 series and other "thinky" sci-fi novels, then check it out.

Book review and author interview

The latest Examiner.com postings include an interview with Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind, and a review of Finch, the latest from Jeff VanderMeer.

Oh, and has everyone had a chance to read The Gathering Storm? Any thoughts? Did it live up to your expectations? For me, it was an incredibly adventurous read, and makes me all the more anxious for the next two titles.

Denver book signing

The book signing for The Gathering Storm was a lot of fun. Myself and the other members of the Storm Leader team got to have lunch and some great conversation with Brandon Sanderson before the actual event. Then we divvied up the various duties to help the signing run smoothly, such as passing out bookmarks and other goodies to the attendees, helping monitor the signing line as people brought stacks of books to the table, fetching the occasional glass of water, and running trivia contests. Here's a shot of the team:

Also, I got some video of Brandon doing a reading from The Gathering Storm, plus some of his Q&A session afterwards. The videos are on Youtube and embedded here.

Enjoy!