All posts by Jason Fischer

Drusilla the Ditmar Diprotodon, Part Deux

Pimping

“Hey you! Nominate my boy, or I’ll slap you upside the head with my swagger stick!”

Of course, Drusilla the Ditmar Diprotodon is my friend first and foremost. So when I called on her to help me pimp my own work for this year, why she slapped on her purple pimp hat quicker than you can say “giant marsupial”.

Without further ado, here are my eligible works for the 2013 Ditmar Awards, as endorsed by Drusilla the Ditmar Diprotodon.

BEST NOVEL:

Quiver, Jason Fischer, Black House Comics

BEST SHORT STORY:

“Pigroot Flat”, Jason Fischer, in Midnight Echo 8

“Rolling for Fetch”, Jason Fischer, in Aurealis 49

Also, Drusilla would like to make a special mention of the following:

BEST FAN ARTIST:

Kathleen Jennings for “The Tamsyn Webb Sketchbook”

——

There are literally OODLES of other eligible works, as listed here:

http://wiki.sf.org.au/2013_Ditmar_eligibility_list

And details about the nomination process can be found here:

http://conflux.org.au/2013/02/19/ditmar-award-nominations-open/

Good luck with your nomination!

Thus Spake Drusilla the Ditmar Diprotodon

Funny/WTF?, Meaningful Post, Pimping, Uncategorized, Writing,

Some of you might remember last year when I introduced you to Drusilla, the Ditmar Diprotodon. This time-travelling spokesmammal of Australian SF has apparently remained in our time-stream, mostly for the fiction. Rumours of the secret megafauna invasion are still largely exaggerated and (for now) she is an ambassador of literature and peace. Today, she joins me on the Fisch-blog to talk about all things Ditmar.

JF: Hi Drusilla the Ditmar Diprotodon, thanks for stopping by.

DDD: My pleasure, Jason. Thanks for the huge bushel of vegetation.

JF: I’d do the same for any of my guests. Now, my sources tell me that you’re a passionate advocate of the Ditmar Awards.

DDD: Indeed. I think it’s wonderful to reward creative minds. We had a similar popular-vote award back in the Pleistocene Epoch, “The Mammal’s Choice Award”. Though our categories were more along the lines of Best Survivor, Species Viability, Most Effective Predator and the like. We still had a Fan Art category though.

JF: Megafauna are nothing if not organised. So, Drusilla, do you know who you are nominating in this year’s Ditmar Awards?

DDD: Oh yes! I’ve perused the 2013 Ditmar Eligibility List and cobbled together a list of my favourite books, novellas, short stories and even some reviews and podcasts that I got into last year. The beauty of the Ditmar is that I can nominate as many things in as many categories as I like. You don’t dilute or divide your nomination by doing so.

JF: So, if you were a creative type nominating your own work (which is okay to do) it doesn’t hurt you at all to list other works in the same category?

DDD: Indeed. You’re a mug if you don’t. I think that this mechanism effectively neutralises any self-touting – by the time the self-nominations are tallied up, the real results would come from the additional “I also liked this stuff” nominations.

JF: So, you’re saying the system works?

DDD: I know the Ditmars are not without their own controversies. Nary a year goes by without some sort of battle royale about the results, accusations of bloc voting, all of that drama. It reminds me in many ways of the “Mammal’s Choice Award” of 50,000 BCE. Brutor the Marsupial Lion was accused by many of rigging the vote for Most Effective Predator, but it turned out he really was the Most Effective Predator, as numerous corpses attested to.

JF: So do you think there was bloc voting, both now and then?

DDD: Probably. But that’s the law of the savana. No doubt many of Brutor’s relatives put their paws to the ballot, but it was probably a statistical blip when compared to the other terrified votes. At least the result was accurate! The Ditmar nomination process resembles a circus of touting and enormous lists of eligible works, but I think it’s a necessary process. After the initial flurry of activity, the overall numbers would float to the surface, and then the most representative value appears on that final ballot paper.

JF: I heard mention that you were frustrated by one of the rules?

DDD: Yes. As a fan, I was stymied by rule 4.1 “Nominations will be accepted only from natural persons active in fandom”. Stupid homo sapiens, of course you try to keep the fun all to yourselves. But ultimately I got around it by signing up to each Natcon, and I quote “or from full or supporting members of the national convention of the year of the award.”

JF: That’s clever.

DDD: [munching sounds]

JF: We need another wheelbarrow of lettuce in here.

AWMonline Writing Race

Uncategorized

Hey folks!

Just a quick missive to tell you about something cool – on the 27th of February at 8pm (Qld time), I’m going to be the special guest at the weekly Writing Race as run by the lovely folks at the Australian Writers Marketplace Online.

So, if you’re keen, sign up at the website, buckle in and get ready to write your fingers off! I’ve also been told I need to wear a crazy captain’s hat, so I shall do my best to dress up my bald scone. I’ve done this once before and it was great fun, very encouraging environment for us writer-types.

Here are some details. The relevant website is www.AWMonline.com.au

What is a Writing Race?

A Writing Race is a self-directed, one-hour writing session done in the company of online peers as part of a Forum convened by a Race Captain and moderated by AWM staff. Captains are sometimes Special Guests – successful writers who share their experience and encouragement.

Who can join in?

Anyone can join in the Writing Races. Writing Races are attended by beginner, emerging and established authors. This gives beginner and emerging writers the opportunity to write in the company of leading industry professionals, and provides published authors with support and encouragement to meet their contractual deadlines.

How do I participate?

If you subscribe to AWMonline, log in to your AWMonline account, and go to “Forums” under the “Writing Resources” tab. Click on the current Writing Race (they are labelled by date). If you are a guest, simply click on the home page Forum button and click on the current Writing Race. Tell us what you hope to achieve in your hour of writing. Then when the starting pistol sounds, get writing! After an hour, finish up and let us know how you went.

Do I have to show my writing to everyone?

No, you do your writing in your own private document, just as you always do. The Race Captain will only ask about your word count (or other goals) you achieved during the race. Some Racers like to share their favourite snippet at the end of the race. Racers are all very supportive of each others’ work.

Do I have to be really fast?

No, you can write at your own pace. You might even do some research, scene planning, or editing. We are there to have fun and honour our craft by finding the time to write. Most Racers are pleasantly surprised at how productive they are during a Race.

Who organises the Writing Races?

The Writing Races are organised by Queensland Writers Centre, a not-for-profit organisation that publishes The Australian Writer’s Marketplace and AWMonline as part of our commitment to providing resources and opportunities for writers.

For more information about AWMonline Writing Races, see our blog http://blog.AWMonline.com.au, follow us on Twitter @AWMonline, or like our Facebook page The Australian Writer’s Marketplace Online. Inquiries please contact admin@AWMonline.com.au

Because I’m a promotional NINJA

Pimping

No matter what I do with this writing thing, I like to have fun with it. Some of you may know that I have a new book “Quiver” available here. As a commercial artist it is of course in my best interests to promote my own product, but there’s nothing worse than spamming all and sundry with “BUY MY BOOK”.

With that in mind, I’ve taken a different tack. The protagonist of my book is a teenage girl, and as such she is by default all over the social networking. So if you’d like to chat to Tamsyn Webb, she is now on Twitter and Facebook! She is known to respond to readers with her usual sass and dry wit.

http://twitter.com/tamsynwebb

http://www.facebook.com/tamsyn.webb.9

One thing that backfired on me, er, I mean her. She is of course 17 years old, which means that Facebook won’t allow her profile to be completely public. So just friend away, friendo. You can then hear all about her adventures, and how the lack of chocolate is starting to get to her.

The Rabbit Hole of Research

Meaningful Post

It’s bloody great fun to fall down the rabbit hole of research. One of my favourite parts of writing is the conception stage, where you get to play fast and loose in the land of what-if. You know, collect shiny things, see how they fit together, woolgather and generally daydream about a topic.

When I was a little boy, I used to love poring through all sorts of books, encylopedias, whatever was lying around. I remember jumping from factoid to factoid, and used to love learning little bits of everything. Outside of pub trivia and writing, this sort of scatter-brain learning doesn’t have much practical use. Luckily I’ve parked my bum behind a keyboard once or twice (and pub trivia’d with the best of them).

And even now, one of my happiest joys is to faff around on Wikipedia or similar, rolling around in knowledge like a dog in poop. It’s almost like a game that I play with my own mind, where everything in a made-up scenario has to comply with its own logic. When I was writing the zombie novellas for Black House Comic’s After the World series (that have been repurposed into my novel Quiver, which is on sale here – wow, see what I did there!) I was a research NERD. I’m serious, I think I’ve learnt more about England, southeastern USA, the US military, Cuba, golf-carts, the English correctional system and about 1000 other things than I ever needed to know. In one instance, I needed to know where one of the characters lived in Gravesend, Kent. To get this information, I had to look up teacher salaries, and real estate, and figure out roughly what sort of house this man could realistically afford, and what would be a nice area to raise a family. This was all to get a street name, which I used ONCE.

This is an essential part of my what-if process – grab many disparate elements, find a way they fit together, and follow that thought for as far as it can go. Before you know it, you’ve got yourself a story sunshine 🙂

Of course there’s more to writing than just the outlining/conception phase, but by Jove’s bearded toothbrush, that’s the most fun bit for me.

New Review of Midnight Echo #8

Reviews

A new review has just gone up of Midnight Echo #8, the issue that contains my story Pigroot Flat. Reviewer OzNoir says:

“PIGROOT FLAT by Jason Fischer flips the script on zombie horror by introducing an all too real horror amidst the dust and desolate Australian outback. I particularly liked the living dead in PIGROOT FLAT as being objectified as mere obstacles while the true horror flourishes behind the face of the living.”

Glad it worked, that’s exactly what I was aiming to do! The rest of the review can be read here:

http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/review-midnight-echo-8.html

Fisch Industries: The Current State of Play

Uncategorized

So we find ourselves in 2013. The world did not end, which was fortunate – it turns out I can continue to write about the world ending with complete impunity. Huzzah!

I’ve had a small break from writing and scratched my video game itch. The only problem being that Fallow February is completely out of synch with everything else, and will most likely reappear as Fallow August. Because this February, and for the next few months, it’s nose to the grindstone.

So what’s going on?

a) My first novel Quiver is now on sale. I’m hoping to officially launch this at Conflux, and am currently pimping it hither and yon. If you liked novels like the Hunger Games and the Passage, and dig yourself some sweet zombie action, why not give it a try? 😉

b) I met recently with Russ and Liz of Ticonderoga Publications, the publishers of my forthcoming publication “Everything is a Graveyard”. Writing of new stories for this collection has now begun in earnest, and the titular story is going to be Tonnes of Fun. Toranas, dropbears, steam tractors and more. I’m also planning to write a new Jesusman short story for consideration in the anthology, and revise a new story that I wrote at Writers of the Future. That’s just for starters.

c) Was invited to send in a pitch to a Secret Embargoed Thing, which I have beavered away on over the last month or so. A very cool shared universe, and if it all goes ahead I’ll be as pleased as the proverbial pig in poop.

d) If I get a spare moment, I’m hoping to start work on a new YA novel that I’ve been outlining. Working title is Ripley Quarterquick, and the tagline is “Oliver Twist Meets Real Steel”

So that’s the state of play here at Fisch Industries. No rest for the wicked! 🙂

Easter Eggs that can be found in Quiver

Pimping

I’m a massive fan of “easter eggs“, meaning when intentional hidden messages, inside jokes, motifs and homages are hidden inside other works. That, plus my love of puns and other word bastardry, means I have included several easter eggs within my new novel “Quiver”.

Here are just a few that keen-eyed readers might spot:

  • Throughout the story the characters encounter several boats – these all start with the same letter.
  • I’m a fan of the UK series “Shameless”, and I’ve included many riffs that pay homage to this show. Character names, several references to Manchester (a brief mention of a community of survivors, a moment where Tamsyn wears a Man-U scarf etc) and others that fans might spot.
  • Going against the threads and tropes of postapocalyptic fiction, everyone in a position of legitimate civilian authority is female. The only male community leader found in “Quiver” is the Mayor of Gravesend, and his rule is FAR from legitimate. Most of the military leaders are male, and the polished war machine of today is rapidly devolving into barbarism. This is a very deliberate homage to one of my favourite postapocalyptic books, “The Gate to Women’s Country” by Sheri S. Tepper.
  • Most of the villainous military officers that Tamsyn encounters have surnames starting with the same letter.
  • References to other postapocalyptic or dystopian works such as “Lord of the Flies”. There’s the deliberate inclusion of a cat for Tamsyn as an antonym to the Harlan Ellison classic “A Boy and His Dog”.
  • Finally, while I’ve reined in my natural instinct to pun, there are at least two whoppers that I can think of that made it to the final version.
  • EDIT: Also, the titles of the original novellas attached to the After the World project were all  puns riffing on place names, death, and whatever Tamsyn was doing at the time. These are (in chronological order) Gravesend, Corpus Christi, Army Corpse, and Better Red than Undead. Hint for the last one: Cuba.

I’ve gotta say, this book was a lot of fun to write. If you’d like to nab yourself a copy, head over to the official website tamsynwebb.com. You can order the book in hard-copy, or get an e-book through either Smashwords or for the Kindle. By all accounts it’s selling well – I’m one proud and excited author!

Today, Quiver goes LIVE

Announcement, Pimping

Hi folks,

Well, it’s all official-like. My first full-length novel “Quiver” is now officially on sale, and available both in hard-copy and as an e-book. Publisher Baden Kirgan at Black House Comics has put together a stunning new website for the book, the aptly titled:

http://www.tamsynwebb.com/

This, for the uninitiated, is the name of my tough-as-nails protagonist. The girl with the dead-eye aim, putting arrows into zombie brains. This book has been a long time coming, and it actually took a few years to get to this point. Starting off as four connected novellas (from the “After the World” series), I’ve done my best to tie these together into one coherent novel, in the grand SF tradition of “fix-up” novels. This should be appearing in book-stores soon, and there’ll hopefully be an official launch of “Quiver” at some point in the near future.

Huge thanks to those who helped me with the behind the scenes work on this story (especially Jason Franks), and big kudos to Baden Kirgan and Julie Ditrich at Black House Comics – they’ve moved mountains to get this thing going.

If you like zombies with your YA, and if you’ve enjoyed books such as The Hunger Games and the Passage, “Quiver” might just be the book for you. Tell your friends, and I’d count it as a personal favour if you added the following nifty banner thing to your blogs and such:

http://www.tamsynwebb.com/#!promote/c14vf

Finally, I’m going to also be releasing this book as a Scott Sigler style podcast/audio-book…more details soon!