Alison edits

Posted on July 18, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

I am indebted to Alison Dasho for pulling me out of the Carina Press slush pile and making Stellarnet Rebel a reality. She loved the story and the characters as much… no, definitely even more than I did. Which I didn’t think possible.

Alison not only understood the elements of good storytelling, she understood my world — its inhabitants, politics, emotions and technology — on so many levels. Her suggestions and ideas took what I thought were already great stories and made them even more amazing.

A good editor will make your writing stronger and a bad editor can destroy it (along with your self-esteem). In my 20+ years of writing, I’ve experienced both kinds of editors — the helpers and the destroyers. As a former newspaper reporter turned copy desk editor, I’ve been on both sides of the writer/editor relationship. Alison is everything I could have wanted in an editor, and several things I didn’t know I needed.

I worked with her through the developmental and line edits of both Stellarnet Rebel and Stellarnet Prince. I look forward to working with her on book three.

During the low points of doubt and frustration, her encouragement, assistance and insight kept me going. I learned so much through Stellarnet Rebel, my first published novel. And just when I thought I knew everything (ha!) I learned even more through Stellarnet Prince. Because Alison is more than an editor, she’s also a friend, cheerleader, fan, consultant, and shoulder to cry on (or in my case, I’m more of a ranter than a crier). She helped me through the publishing and promotion processes, too.

She edits her heart out to bring a story to life. If you’re thinking about self-publishing, finding an agent or submitting your book, or you have a chance to work with her, she’s worth her weight in gold-pressed latinum.

Thank you, Alison!

~ J.L. Hilton

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Posted in On writing..., Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series | 1 Comment

Porn for a geek girl

Posted on July 5, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

I imagine every man with a computer has a collection of “special” downloads. His own little private, pornographic Pinterest. I have a collection, too. But going through my stash of favorite images today, I started wondering what in the world it says about me. Here are some of the highlights.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Characters and curiosities at ConTemporal 2012

Posted on June 25, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

My table in the dealer’s room at ConTemporal 2012

I’ve returned from three days in Port Raleigh, otherwise known as ConTemporal, a new science fiction and steampunk convention in North Carolina. After doing Illogicon, StellarCon and ConCarolinas this year, I think ConTemporal might be my favorite. In part, because I really love steampunk, the Victorian Era and Wild West, but I also enjoyed myself because the staff, guests, vendors and attendees were so interesting and friendly. I had a fantastic time. It was not just a convention but an experience.

I sat on a steampunk accessories panel to discuss costuming, Victorian accoutrements and the necessity for tetanus shots and blue medical gloves if you’re going to start perusing flea markets and taking apart broken watches.

But I spent most of my time in the bazaar, selling my handmade wares and talking up my Stellarnet books. Being a very steampunky event, there wasn’t much interest in my cyberpunk novels, but I did give away several of my publisher’s “I (heart) Steampunk” stickers and a few of their steampunk promo postcards.

I met David Lee, the principal artist of Hatton Cross Steampunk: Fine Accoutrements & Contraptions of False Perception. His steampunk art has been featured at the “Steampunk Bizzare Exhibit” with Dr. Grymm in the Mark Twain Museum in Hartford CT and has been exhibited in various steampunk conventions on the east coast. His “Gentleman’s Flying Apparatus” aka “The Morgan Aeronautical Destroyer of Satan’s Arrogance” has been nominated for “Best non-goggle accessory” in the Steampunk Chronicle’s Readers Choice Awards.

Penny Dreadful Productions and Steampunk Boba Fett were there, and you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen a steampunk Star Wars character drive a power chair modded into a time machine. Surreal.

Brute Force Studios sold leather goods, including what looks like a steampunk version of the Net bracers in my books. Thomas Willeford (aka Lord Archibald “Feathers” Featherstone) and his products have been featured on television (MTV, BBC, “Castle”, “Oddities”), online (Wired, BoingBoing, Popular Mechanics, Playboy TV), and in several print publications.

Ziggy and Einstein of the Imperial Anti-Piracy Squadron

The Imperial Anti-Piracy Squadron, a multinational force comprised of a Zeppelin wing and a company of Sky Hussars, were on hand to protect us from any thieving airship buccaneers. I met the charming Graf Georg Wilhelm Heinrich August von Ziger, or “Ziggy,” the Captain of the SMS Halcyon zeppelin, and his on-board battle surgeon/OB-GYN Oberleutnant Hermann Einstein. Einstein is renowned for both his aptitude at healing battle-wounds and his self-alleged gynecological specialty: The treatment of hysteria by manual massage.

I chatted with author, artist and Hugo-award winner Kaja Foglio, co-writer and illustrator of the Girl Genius comics and novels and artist for over fifty Magic: the Gathering cards.

There are some more pics below, but this blog post this doesn’t even begin to cover the number of amazing characters and curiosities of this convention. I can’t wait for next year!

~ J.L. Hilton

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Steampunk Riddler

 

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How do you define “steampunk”?

Posted on June 22, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This post originally appeared on the Contact – Infinite Futures SF blog on June 17, 2012.

Next weekend I’ll be at ConTemporal, a new sci-fi convention in North Carolina. Guests will include steampunk authors Cherie Priest, Clay and Susan Griffith, and John Claude Bemis, and steampunk artists from Brute Force Studios, Hatton Cross Steampunk and Penny Dreadful Productions.

I’ll be in the bazaar selling my steampunk art books and wares, and on a panel talking about steampunk costuming accessories, Victorian Era jewelry and period style trends.

Which got me to thinking: What makes “steampunk” STEAMPUNK?

Answers vary. “It’s retro-futurism or a steam-powered alternate reality.” “It’s gears and goggles, Nikola Tesla and zeppelins.” “It’s Blade Runner meets Jane Eyre.” “It’s DIY craftsmanship and rayguns — with corsets and pith helmets.”

Robert Appleton mentions Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when discussing his steampunk novel, The Mysterious Lady Law. Cindy Spencer Pape’s Gaslight Chronicles series includes magic-and-fantasy. Island of Icarus by Christine Danse is a Male/Male romance. Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee is a mystery involving automatons, and Christine Bell’s The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale is a time-traveling pirate adventure.

To distinguish classic steampunk (if there is such a thing) from other varieties, there are terms such as weird west, dieselpunk, clockpunk, burlesque, and gaslight/gaslamp. The Steampunk Overlord in the picture above describes himself as circus punk or “cirquepunk”

I often hear, “Steampunk is Victorian science fiction.” But then I run into people wearing bits and pieces of WWI, WWII, Art Deco, and Edwardian gear and calling themselves “steampunk” — when, in fact, all of those things came along after Queen Victoria died in 1901. Or then I read something such as Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman by Balogun Ojetade, or The Nine Pound Hammer by John Claude Bemis, which are not Victorian. They’re alternate realities set within the United States, and don’t fall under the “Weird West” variety of steampunk either. Abraham Lincoln, vampire hunter, anyone? Are Mark Twain and steamboats also steampunk-alicious?

Some steampunk enthusiasts prefer to embrace the Victorian Era — and/or the American Civil War and Wild West period with which it coincides — while others want to leave the genre a wide open free-for-all where anything goes, so long as it feels steampunky …whatever that might mean, to them. Thus, we end up with everything from this freaking amazing steampunk house or an actual steam-powered phonograph … to “steampunk” dreamcatchers and “steampunk” plastic Jesus clock faces.

Or steampunk can be a verb — as in steampunking a laptop, a Nerf gun, Disney princesses or a Star Wars character.

How do you define steampunk? How much do you base your definition on historical fact or Victorian period literature — and how much on the current trends? What is it that makes something steampunk?

~ J.L. Hilton

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Summer shenanigans

Posted on June 14, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

Now is the summer of my discontent. My body does not tolerate heat or sun, I’m not a “water person,” and the mosquitoes eat me alive. So, when the mercury rises, I start looking for things to do in the comfort of any dark, air-conditioned home. Here are a few of the shenanigans I’ll be undertaking until the sweet, sweet fall.

My short story “Wren & Wood: Oak Moon” is featured on the Summer Reading Trail for the month of June. The Summer Reading Trail is a collection of stories from various authors in several genres. Offerings include short stories, deleted scenes, excerpts and novels. The one thing they all have in common is that they are free to read. An excerpt of Stellarnet Rebel will be featured in July, and I’m going to post an excerpt of the next book, Stellarnet Prince, for August, a sneak peek prior to the book’s official release in November.

Next weekend, I’ll be at ConTemporal in Chapel Hill, peddling my writing and my wares in the bazaar and appearing on a steampunk costuming panel with Sara M. Harvey. I won’t be in costume, but I’ll be discussing steampunk accessories and possibly a little history of jewelry and style trends in the Victorian Era.

I’m a featured author in the Sizzling Summer Reads 2012 party, which runs July 1-31 on the Romance Reviews website. Visitors will be able to play games, win prizes, meet & chat with authors of various romance genres — supernatural, fantasy, mystery, and more.

Throughout the summer, there will be special screenings of the movie Serenity across the globe, as part of the Can’t Stop the Serenity project. I’m a 2012 global sponsor, which means that downloads of Stellarnet Rebel and some cool swag were donated by my publisher Carina Press to every participating city.

I will continue to contribute to the Contact – Infinite Futures SF/SFR blog, a gathering place for Carina Press authors who write military sci-fi, sci-fi romance, cyberpunk, steampunk and any other variation of science fiction. My scheduled dates are June 17, July 3, 15 and 31, August 12 and 28, and September 9 and 25.

I’m looking forward to the Escapist Expo in September. Not sure yet whether I will be in the artist alley or just an attendee, but as a geeky event all about gaming, it sounds like a good market for my Stellarnet Series — and a whole lot of fun. I’ll keep you posted.

I’ll be judging the “Geeks Got Talent” competition at the 4th Annual Charlotte Geek Gala on October 27. The Gala benefits Geekdom and also the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, and will include live performances by Mikey Mason, trivia, photo costume contest, geeky goodie basket raffle, crazy games like Pin the Brain on the Zombie and Toss the Ewoks, free food and more.

Romance CooksAnd finally, a feast for the heart, the stomach, and possibly a few other body parts… November 7, as part of the launch of Stellarnet Prince, I’ll be appearing on the Romance Cooks blog. This is a really fun website where romance authors share their favorite recipes and their novels — with hotness ratings from 1 to 5 chili peppers (the books, that is, not the recipes). I’m not sure what I’ll post, since Glin don’t cook their food, but I’ll come up with something!

~ J.L. Hilton

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Costumes and coolness at ConCarolinas 2012

Posted on June 4, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This weekend, I attended my first ConCarolinas, an annual sci-fi convention in Charlotte, NC. I met actor Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun/Brunt in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Kevin in The 4400, and many more), who autographed a picture for me with “Long live the Dominion.” I rode an elevator with Monster Man Cleve Hall. I saw many Klingons, stormtroopers, ghostbusters, elves, vampires and a wookie.

The best part of the weekend, for me, was listening to Jeffrey Combs tell stories — especially the ones about punking Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) on the set of DS9, and how Casey Biggs’ mad gulping skills inspired the writers to turn Damar into a drunk.

I loved the costumes. I’ve always enjoyed Halloween, Ren Faires, cosplay, and historic re-enactments. The attendees of ConCarolinas really put a lot of love and detail into their costumes, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

~ J.L. Hilton

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You can’t take the sky from me

Posted on May 29, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This year, I am a global sponsor of Can’t Stop the Serenity 2012, an annual event where Browncoats — fans of Firefly — coordinate special screenings of the movie Serenity to raise money for Equality Now, an organization that works for the rights of women and girls around the world. Some screenings also raise money for Kids Need to Read and other charities.

As a global sponsor, I’ve arranged with my publisher Carina Press to donate digital downloads of my new book Stellarnet Rebel and other swag.

If you’re interested in attending a screening near you, check out this list of official screenings.

This is a replica I made of Kaylee’s parasol from the pilot episode of FIREFLY. It will be donated to my local Can’t Stop the Serenity charity event.

In 2006, I organized Raleigh’s first CSTS event. Since then, I’ve coordinated and emceed our local screenings, which included a raffle, costume contest and other shiny activities, along with the movie. We have raised a combined total of more than $21,500 for Equality Now and $2,800 for Kids Need to Read.

Worldwide, FIREFLY and SERENITY fans have raised a total of more than $600,000 for charity.

This year, I’ve turned organizational duties over to others, but I spent the weekend painting a parasol like the one carried by Kaylee in the Firefly pilot episode, which will be donated to Raleigh’s CSTS raffle.

Stay shiny!

~ J.L. Hilton

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Win two steampunk time travel titles

Posted on May 24, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

I love time travel stories. Whether its Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Somewhere in Time, or Time Machine (1960 version), if it involves a mash-up of two or more time periods, I’m there with bells on. In this case, Christine Bell, whose latest book The Bewitching Tale of Stormy Gale I had the privilege of reading in advance of its release on May 28, 2012.

This is the sequel to The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale, the adventure of a former Victorian street urchin turned time pirate who is adopted by an inventor and grows up in the 1990s with a brother named Bacon Frogs.

In this new adventure, Stormy is on the tail of a suspicious man seeking mercury in 1841 London, and ends up in the middle of a Salem witch hunt. A little bit Doctor Who, a little bit Mission Impossible (cue the theme music: dun dun da-da…), not too obnoxious on the steampunk, written as a first person narrative — which I found a hoot, but YMMV.

Christine Bell’s tales are a perfect storm for my reading pleasure. One rather frisky sex scene between Stormy and her husband, Dev the Loony Duke of Leister, is the only thing keeping me from sharing this with my almost 12-year-old daughter, who would deeply appreciate the heroine’s bold as brass personality and contemporary sense of humor. Living in Victorian London, Stormy laments, “God, I missed Google.” I would, too, Stormy, I would, too.

Would you like FREE digital copies (epub or pdf) of Stormy’s tales? Just leave a comment and one lucky winner will be chosen at random on May 30.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Real-life river dwelling tribes face genocide

Posted on May 18, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This post originally appeared on the Contact – Infinite Futures SF blog on May 8, 2012.

I think one of the important features of science fiction has always been its ability to draw attention to injustice, to suggest better possible futures, warn us away from the paths we’re on, and to inspire new ideas — both social and technological.

My novel Stellarnet Rebel features an alien race called the Glin whose environment is devastated by Tikati invaders. Sure, it’s one of the common tropes in fiction. “Advanced technological power exploits/invades/destroys culture unable to defend itself.” You know it from Avatar, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Star Wars and many, many more.

You also know it from history.

Unfortunately, there’s another real-world example happening right now, not in the distant past or imaginary future.

Brazil’s Awá tribe will face extinction unless more is done to protect their land rights, which are being abused by illegal loggers and cattle ranchers. Awá land within Brazil has been legally demarcated, but its boundaries are not respected. The Awá people have nowhere left to retreat. There are several accounts of them being killed. (Source: Survival International)

Read more or watch the video here.

~ J.L. Hilton

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One reader’s trash is another reader’s treasure

Posted on May 14, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

If there’s anything I’ve learned from being a published author, it’s one reader’s trash is another reader’s treasure.

I used to be a ruthless reviewer, when I wrote entertainment columns for newspapers. Movies, music, books, and events all filtered through my personal tastes and scathing sarcasm, for the sake of humor and meeting a deadline.

When no longer a columnist, I continued to gush my very subjective love or hate in places like Amazon, Facebook, Google reviews, Citysearch or blogs, laboring under the delusion that I had some kind of qualification based on my college education, editorial experience and highly-overrated sense of self importance.

Now that I know how easy it is for a misspelled word to appear in print — regardless of the fact that ten different sets of eyes read it — or how difficult it is to strike a balance between “enough detail to satisfy the readers who want excessive description” and “not bogging down the story with things that don’t matter” … I’m not as critical as I used to be.

I am a kinder, gentler reader now. When I write reviews, I will say “This is well-written and the characters are likeable, but I’m just not into crime dramas” or “The novel is light-hearted, and I expected something a little more serious.” Rather than, “THIS BOOK SUCKS. WHY DIDN’T THE WRITER CRAWL INTO MY HEAD AND MAKE THIS BOOK JUST FOR ME?!? WAAAAHHHH!” Which is pretty much, when I look back, what I was really saying when I wrote negative reviews in the past.

I’ve had readers say they loved my novel Stellarnet Rebel and re-read it five times. I’ve had readers say it sucked. I’ve had 5-star ratings on Amazon and Goodreads. I’ve had 2-star ratings. There are fans who understand the characters so well, they’ve made observations that blew my mind and suggestions I’ve incorporated into the sequels. And I’ve had critics who tore the work apart.

Anyone can write — or draw, sing, make a Youtube vid, whatever. But sharing it with the public is an act of courage. I understand that, now. We should encourage that bravery. And, yes, critique it, but in a useful way, understanding that we all bring our own baggage and agenda to every book we read.

~ J.L. Hilton

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