It’s been a few months since I moved from blogging and sending newsletters to a combined approach through Substack. As my audience has grown, I thought it might be time to reintroduce myself and seek a little feedback so that I can make this newsletter as relevant as possible to my readers.
About Me and Why I Write
Arthur Naething, the senior English teacher at my high school, was legendary for his talent and enthusiasm, but also for his rigor and rules. Every year, the seniors had to complete two major projects, the “Moby Dick” project and the “Tragedy Paper.” I will save the tale of the Moby Dick project for another time (it was one of the most epic and memorable experiences of my academic career and deserves its own Substack). As for the tragedy paper, seniors had to write a paper comparing the book Mr. Naething selected that year (for us, Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”) to Oedipus Rex and analyze whether it, too, was a tragedy. (Spoiler alert - Oedipus Rex, we were told, was the greatest and possibly only tragedy ever written).
I don’t remember much about my paper or analysis, but I do remember this. In my paper, I made up a word. It was one of those words that ought to be a word, but I guess it wasn’t, because Mr. Naething said so. I told him “Shakespeare made up words,” and he responded that, “you, my dear, are not Shakespeare.”
Mr. Naething’s approach to teaching was very traditional. We were expected to use proper grammar and spelling, to support our arguments, and to have perfect sentence structure. In other words, we learned and were expected to follow the rules. And I agree—you should know the rules…and THEN, you can break them.
I never thought I’d be a writer. Not because Mr. Naething crushed me or anything, it’s just not something I studied or considered for myself. Then again, I also never thought I’d be a lawyer. (How that happened is also another story for another time). But suffice it to say that once I was in law school, I fell in love with Criminal Law because of another teacher, Deborah Denno, and that lead me to the Bronx DA’s Office.
Being a prosecutor is what lead me to writing. I was mostly working on crimes against children, so I started writing poetry for catharsis. The poems evolved into a book about my experience as an ADA. And as any of you who are writers know, once you start, it’s hard to stop.
Why Science Fiction?
My brother is to blame for my love of science fiction. I’m the younger sibling so my brother often chose what we watched on tv or what games we played. He loved sci fi, everything from old black and white Godzilla movies to the Six Million Dollar Man, The Incredible Hulk and, of course, Star Trek. We’d play Bionic Man, running slow so we looked like we were going fast, and making those “ch ch ch” sounds as we jumped up on the counter to reach the cookies. When we played Star Trek, he was always Kirk and I was always Uhura. When lucky, we could rope in a friend to play Spock or Bones. Then there were the books. Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, H.G. Wells and Tolkien. If my brother said it was good, that’s what I read. I’ve loved science fiction ever since.
There was something else Mr. Naething told us. At the end of every single class, he would tell us to “Go Forth and Spread Beauty and Light.” And that’s what novels do…they spread joy, escapism, ideas, empathy, sorrow and light. Thanks to Mr. Naething, I know the rules. Thanks to my love of sci fi, I also know when to break them. I don’t just make up words any more, heck, I made up a whole language! I write Science Fiction because it brings me joy, and I hope that what I write will do the same for you.
I think Mr. Naething would approve.
How Am I Doing So Far?
I recognize that readers of “All These Worlds” are writers, aspiring writers, friends and readers. That’s a wide audience, so please, give me feedback on how this is going so far. Too much? Too little? Not relevant to you? More book reviews? Less about me? Please feel free to share what you like or don’t like and how I can improve. After all, this is ultimately about you!
What’s Up Next?
In the coming weeks, I’m going to share some lessons learned and feedback about book awards and will also talk a little about the con scene and all of the places I’ve gone and people I’ve met since ReInception came out over a year ago. These are topics that might be of most interest to other aspiring writers, but I hope they will be a fun peak inside the book promotion world for everyone else.
Upcoming Appearances
After two cons in two months, I have a little break coming up. This April, I’ll be at a writing retreat in Northern California—I can’t wait to go and to report back! This July, I will be at ReaderCon in Quincy Mass - panels and specifics TBD. I’m noodling going to an award ceremony in Vegas at the end of April for the Pencraft awards—ReInception was the First Place winner in Science Fiction. Should I do it?
In other award news, ReInception is a finalist for the CIBA Cygnus awards and for the Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Finalists announcements will be coming in April for both awards. Wish me luck!
Book Recommendations
Speaking of The Tragedy Paper, one of my fellow alumni, Elizabeth Laban, was so inspired by this right of passage that she wrote a book of the same name. It has been translated into something like 17 languages! Here is my edited version of the Amazon blurb:
Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher. The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their secrets
.
I also recently finished and really enjoyed Wool by Hugh Howey. This is book one of the “Silo” series (there is a tv show called “Silo”). I found the first couple of chapters a bit slow and it was hard to get into, but once it gets rolling, it was fascinating and original - science fiction at its best.
The world outside has grown toxic, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. The remnants of humanity live underground in a silo.
But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they want: They are allowed to go outside.
After the previous sheriff leaves the silo in a terrifying ritual, Juliette, a mechanic from the down deep, is suddenly and inexplicably promoted to the head of law enforcement. With newfound power and with little regard for the customs she is supposed to abide, Juliette uncovers hints of a sinister conspiracy. Tugging this thread may uncover the truth . . . or it could kill every last human alive.
Finally, if you’re someone who hasn’t read much science fiction and want to ease into it, I had a great time listening to Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale as part of my judging of the Audie Awards finalists for best Science Fiction. This is not the kind of book I would normally have picked up, but I quite enjoyed it. It is a sci-fi meet cute that blends Bridget Jones’ humor and self-deprecation with Groundhog Day. On the worst day of her life, Cassie discovers that she can go back in time and try to get it right. As she “attempts to fix the life she accidentally obliterated, she'll discover she's trying to fix all the wrong things.” This was a fun, funny read. Very light and well written. It’s definitely more romance than science fiction, and romance is not usually something I enjoy, but this one was just what I needed after a very heavy couple of months!
