Hey all, Justin here to let you know that tomorrow marks the first day you can place your order for Scott Sigler’s latest Galactic Football League novel, “THE ALL-PRO”. We at the Dead Robots’ Society want to help Scott make this an even better success than his previous GFL pre-order campaigns, and to do that we’re bringing you a special code that will help you save $3 off the price of the book. That’s right, if when you order the book you put in the code ROBOTS you will save yourself $3 off the price, plus you’ll be letting him know who sent you. So, head on over the the book’s website, order yourself a copy, and show your support not only of Scott and us, but of Dark Øverlord Media and all they do. Remember, the code when you order is ROBOTS. Now get out there and join the team! Hussle, hussle!

Hey, everyone, just wanted to let you know that the fine folks over at Flying Island Press are putting together another (yes, ANOTHER) short story magazine, and this time they are tackling the popular genre of Steampunk! If you’re someone who likes to write stories about airships and Tesla coils and steam-powered jetpacks, this is for you. Here is what the Flying Island website has to say:

We are fast approaching the anniversary of this little endeavor. It’s amazing to think how much we’ve done in the past nine months and how much more we want to do in the coming years. To celebrate all of that, we thought it would be ultra-super-mega-awesome to do a theme for the release of our August issue.

My first thought was “Steampunk!”. For those of you that don’t know what that is, think Jules Verne crossed with Bladerunner. Most of the aesthetics involve brass fittings, corsets, airships, and other Victoriana mashed up with steam powered tech that didn’t exist in the good Queen’s day. If you want to do some reading, I would recommend books like The Difference Engine, Boneshaker, or The Hidden Institute by Flagship favorite author Brand Gamblin.

All of our traditional rules apply re: submission guidelines. Follow those to the letter and you’ll be rewarded with us at least reading and considering your story. Ignore them at your peril. One final note, steampunk is usually considered science fiction, but if you want to introduce fantasy elements, by all means please do!

Submissions close for this steampunk inspired anniversary issue on May 31st and the issue itself will come out in August. So break out the goggles, fire up the steam powered typewriter, and send us your best stories!

And wait, that’s not all. You can now pick up Scott Sigler’s book, “The Rookie,” on the Kindle for $2.99. $2.99! That’s a bargain, a steal, and something you just cannot pass up. Not at that price, people. Scott Sigler is a hard working writer, and he deserves your support as he blazes a trail all of us might one day follow. I already own the hardback, and now I own the eBook version too.

For those who might know what this book is about, here is a brief description:

Set in a lethal pro football league 700 years in the future, THE ROOKIE is a story that combines the intense gridiron action of “Any Given Sunday” with the space opera style of “Star Wars” and the criminal underworld of “The Godfather.”

Aliens and humans alike play positions based on physiology, creating receivers that jump 25 feet into the air, linemen that bench-press 1,200 pounds, and linebackers that literally want to eat you. Organized crime runs every franchise, games are fixed and rival players are assassinated.

Follow the story of Quentin Barnes, a 19-year-old quarterback prodigy that has been raised all his life to hate, and kill, those aliens. Quentin must deal with his racism and learn to lead, or he’ll wind up just another stat in the column marked “killed on the field.”

Michio Kaku is not only a great scientist, but he’s one of those rare breed who is able to take a subject that is — by its very nature — incredibly complex, and make it understandable to the layman. I don’t have a mind for numbers of complex scientific theories, but when when Dr. Kaku explains them, I get it. I’ve long been a big fan of his work. One of his latest books, “Physics of the Impossible,” is one that’s been mentioned multiple times on the podcast, and right now you can get the Kindle eBook version of it for the amazing price of $1.99. Folks, that is a steal! I highly encourage everyone to buy this book, especially those of you who aren’t sci-fi writers. It will prove to be an invaluable resource. Get it now!

Publisher’s Weekly says: In this latest effort to popularize the sciences, City University of New York professor and media star Kaku (Hyperspace) ponders topics that many people regard as impossible, ranging from psychokinesis and telepathy to time travel and teleportation. His Class I impossibilities include force fields, telepathy and antiuniverses, which don’t violate the known laws of science and may become realities in the next century. Those in Class II await realization farther in the future and include faster-than-light travel and discovery of parallel universes. Kaku discusses only perpetual motion machines and precognition in Class III, things that aren’t possible according to our current understanding of science. He explains how what many consider to be flights of fancy are being made tangible by recent scientific discoveries ranging from rudimentary advances in teleportation to the creation of small quantities of antimatter and transmissions faster than the speed of light. Science and science fiction buffs can easily follow Kaku’s explanations as he shows that in the wonderful worlds of science, impossible things are happening every day.

Find out more at www.jeremyrobinsononline.com

Flying Island Press is putting together an event that all of us should be proud to support. They are planning on publishing a benefit issue of their magazine, and the precedes of it will be donated to AutismSpeaks.org, an organization that supports autism research. To help make this issue all it can be, the are putting out a submission call for short stories that deal — in some way — with autism. The word count they are aiming for is between 2000 – 7000 words, though this is negotiable. Just contact them if that would prove to be a problem. And please, though this should be a given, please treat the issue of autism with respect.

So far as payment is concerned, this is a benefit book designed to provide money for a worthy organization, so you will not be paid for your submission. You will, though, receive a link for a free download of the digital issue, and they will provide you, out of their own pockets, a print-on-demand issue copy from Lulu or another publisher. The karmic rewards, though, are incalculable.

For more information, please go to their announcement page and learn more there. I hope all of you find this as important as we do, and that you’ll put your energies toward writing a story that you, and they, would be proud of.

Dear listeners, we at the Dead Robots’ Society are proud to let you all know that Fiendmaster and friend of the show, Paul E. Cooley, will soon be publishing “Fiends Vol. 1” via Blue Moose Press. According to his website, here are the particulars:

Purchase A Piece of FiendMaster History

This $35.00 limited edition hardcover contains:

* Canvas (2010 Parsec Nominee)
* Tattoo (2010 Parsec Finalist)
* Closet Treats
* The FiendMaster Scrapbook bonus materials about the tales and future stories

All purchasers of the hardcover will receive a free e-book version as soon it’s available.

The books will be printed at the end of February and should be in your sharp little claws in March.

To find out more, please go HERE. I’ve already purchased my copy, and I hope you all do the same.

From the Overlords at Ray Gun Revival:

“Ray Gun Revival magazine was started in 2006 as a fun little side-project, an amateur token-payment ‘zine spawned from enthusiasm for Firefly and with the intention of introducing a new generation of readers to great genre fiction. In 2010, our publisher moved away from ‘zines and we intended to go on hiatus for awhile to consider our options and decide our future. While mulling things over, we were approached by a new publisher, Every Day Fiction. They volunteered to host us and pay our authors Semi-pro rates. All we had to do was keep doing our ray gun thing. Now, we may be haughty and mercurial Overlords, beholden to nothing and no one, but we’re not fools. We hit that generous offer with great vigor, like a (metaphor doesn’t translate well into English).

That was August of 2010. RGR re-opened our slushpile submissions in December and aimed for a site relaunch in February, 2011. In their enthusiasm to present space opera and golden age sci-fi to a new audience, our publisher put together this short teaser trailer to promote the relaunched magazine.

This trailer was shot over a weekend in Ellinger’s parents’ house for a budget of under $100. We shot with a Canon T2i SLR that cost under a thousand dollars and edited the whole thing together with Adobe Premier. Everything is hand made, and the blue screening was accomplished with blue tissue scotch taped over the window. The music was made available through Creative Commons by the St. Matthews Choir, and the image is courtesy of the Hubble telescope, also in the public domain.

Our publisher’s goal for RGR is for us is to go fully Pro. If we’re successful, this time next year we might find ourselves a SFWA-qualifying market. For our part, when not vaporizing puny planets, we’re just happy to take the next step publishing great character-driven space opera / golden age sci-fi short stories. We’ve always been known for our stellar (heh) cover art. Now the quality of the fiction is being elevated to match. Our authors for February are Larry Hodges, Mike Resnick, Michael Merriam, and Gerri Leen.

We’re very pleased with the teaser trailer produced by EDF. Please feel free to share it around with other space opera fans. And please do visit Ray Gun Revival magazine, a free space opera e-zine paying Semi-pro rates with larger aspirations. RGR – it’s where the cool (galactic Overlords) hang out.”

As some of you might remember, during Dragon*Con 2010 I sat in on a panel hosted by Kevin J. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta. The panel was entitled “Things I Wish A Pro Had Told Me When I Started Out.” The information presented in the panel was part of a larger discussion called the Superstars Writing Seminar. Recently I became aware of video clips from the seminar available online, and I thought that I would post one of them, along with a link that will lead you to others. Hopefully you will find them as informative as I have.

Would you like to see more? Please go to the Superstars Writing Seminars clips page at YouTube.

Along with all this, Mr. Anderson put out a free writing podcast for David Farland’s writing group. It’s entitled 11 Tips to Increase Your Writing Productivity, and you can listen to it via the player below.

Everyone, please show your support and purchase Philippa’s novel today, either in paperback or ebook format. Pip is an incredibly giving person, and truly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. It is an honor every time she’s on our show. I hope all of your show your love and respect by helping her new novel become a success.

Paperback:               Kindle: