The Strega Cristobel and the Old Rattler Ken

First off, let me say welcome to new follower, Kate! I think I've welcomed every follower except for one, because at the time I couldn't figure out which one of you it was. You were like an optical illusion in which a crowd of people seem to have developed an extra head. So a belated welcome to that person too.

Now I want to turn you on to magnificent narrator Larry Santoro reading a story by magnificent writer Larry Santoro. The story is The Strega Cristobel and the Old Rattler Ken and the venue is the Old Towne Books & Tea podcast. I downloaded this months ago but just listened today and the story is wonderful. I've already talked up Larry on this blog, go listen for yourself:

http://oldtownebooksandtea.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2010-03-20T20_01_36-07_00

I have to be straight and tell you the host of the show is still feeling things out here as this is only episode 3 and he rambles a bit, so be patient or skip ahead. Enjoy the story.

I Didn't Mean To!

I accidentally wrote story 121 yesterday. It's a piece of twitfic called Friday. It came to me over the kitchen sink and I jotted it down and sent it off it a hurry, realizing midway that it was story 121. I hadn't meant to write anything so short as part of the 52 in 2010, but I did, so there you go.

My friend, blog-follower and fellow Sofanaut Larry Santoro has a new website pimping his most excellent narrative skills. Take a look: http://www.santororeads.com/Site/home.html and if you need anything read, or know someone who does, Larry's the guy to do it. He's fantastic.

This isn't ready yet, but it looks cool:

Did I Say Write?

What I meant was complete. In my 52 in 2010 post (I'd link to it here, but shit, just scroll down!) I said my goal was to write 52 stories in 2010. What I meant was complete 52 stories. Because I'll gladly pick up half finished things from months and years gone by, rework them and send them out. I'm not changing my goal, I just misstated my goal. I knew what I meant, if no one else did.

So, we're one week in, how's it going so far? Not as well as I'd hoped. I submitted one story yesterday and haven't quite finished my first story of the year, even though it was one of those three-quarters finished stories from last year. Oh, well. We fight on. It'll be done within twenty-four hours. I also have to figure out what I'm going to write next. I've taken on way too much stuff. Not the goal, but the goal plus everything else, meaning other writing things I've sort of promised to do. But it's cool. What the hell else was I doing with my life anyway?

Hey, the Sofa rocks! First off, the winners of this year's Sofanaut Awards have been announced. I'm actually lifting this from the always excellent SF Signal because it was actually written there and only on audio at the Sofa itself.

• Best Main Fiction: "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang (ep #66)


• Best Flash & Short Fiction: "Then, Just a Dream" by Lawerence Santoro (ep #84)


• Best Poetry or Song Contributor: Neil Gaiman


• Best Narrator: (Tie) Lawrence Santoro and Spider Robinson


• Best Fact Article Contributor: Jim Campanella (Science News)


• Best Artwork: StarShipSofa Stories Volume 1 - Skeet

Larry won twice! Way to go! Speaking of Larry, I'm happy to report that the Sofa raised $5,353 (US) for Spider and Jeanne Robinson. When you figure most of the donations were $5 a pop, that's pretty incredible. Thank you, to all of you who donated and all of you who helped get the word out!

On top of all that, StarShipSofa has a really cool show out this week with Amy talking about Trollope (Who shares a birthday with me) and a story by one of my favorite authors, Paul Di Filippo

Aural Delights No 115 Paul Di Filippo

Editorial: Lord Dicken’s Final Tally by Tony C Smith 04:00

Fact Article: Looking Back At SF History by Amy H Sturgis 16:20

Main Fiction: iCity by Paul Di Filippo 30:00

Fact Article: The Winners: The Sofanaut Awards 57:30

Narrator: Jeff Lane

Cossmass Productions

Lastly, I haven't yet read Kick-Ass (though a friend is loaning me his issues in a couple of days (Thank you, Jim)), but this trailer wowed me. It's not to be watched when the kids are around. Even if the kids are in their mid-thirties. Saw this on SF Signal as well. Maybe you should just go over there. I can't post the damned thing here, but go see for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zLsdBEsr90

StarShipSofa's Spider Robinson Fundraiser!

UPDATE: I feel like The World's Most Gigantic Ass for not mentioning that Larry's E-book is illustrated by the wonderful Skeet Scienski! http://www.skeetland-art.com/Home_Page.php Sorry Skeet!

Click here to help Spider and Jeanne Robinson!

Today's the big day! I hope that all of you are out there blogging about StarShipSofa's fundraiser for Spider and Jeanne Robinson. We had a fantastic response on Twitter yesterday. Thanks to all of you who tweeted and re-tweeted. I saw something like two-hundred tweets about the fundraiser. That's fantastic. I got a couple of notes during the day from Tony at the Sofa saying how he could see donation traffic picking up yesterday. I'm hoping we'll see even more traffic today.

Why? Because if people are actually blogging about it today, like we've asked, the message will reach people that it didn't reach on Twitter. We'll reach science fiction fans who don't use Twitter and we'll reach non-science fiction fans as well.

Why should you donate?

THE SHORT VERSION
1) It's a good cause, you big silly!
2) It only costs about $5.00, American.
3) You get an awesome e-book!

THE SLIGHTLY LONGER VERSION
1) From Spider's Blog: Earlier his year a brilliant surgeon, Dr. Andresz Busczowski, helped Jeanne Robinson beat back a rare and virulent form of biliary cancer. But it’s so rare even he can’t say how much time he‘s bought her, how soon it might recur—and her latest blood tests have been so discouraging they’ve now decided she needs to start chemotherapy as soon as possible. Besides the prescription drugs to counteract the chemotherapy, she needs special therapies and supplements, counseling, and extensive diet and lifestyle changes, to reduce her stress level and the strain on her liver to as close to zero as possible. All those things are expensive...and like many artists today the Robinsons were already running on fumes financially.

2) ONLY FIVE BUCKS! (More if you want to give more!)

3) You get Larry Santoro's excellent e-book novella, Lord Dickens's Declaration. Listen folks, a lot of you don't know Larry Santoro's work. In fact, most of us Sofanauts hadn't even heard of him until his stories began appearing on StarShipSofa's Aural Delights podcast. But let me tell you . . .

Wow.

That's Larry's work in a nutshell. I didn't know this guy from Adam a couple of years ago and now he's one of my favorite writers. He's been hiding out in the theater world and in Horrorland, sharpening his pen and now he can slice atoms with it. Larry controls his words, they don't control him, and at the same time he feeds them out like ten-thousand feet of kite string to play in the sky. They think they're running free, they don't know. All the while he knows where every one of them runs and what they're going to do next.

And Lord Dickens's Declaration is an absolute blast. Alternate history, steampunky, put-your-brain-in-a-box-and-don't-stop-shaking-it cool. The story features a world in which historians are the big guns and a computer which stretches across hundreds of acres (sometimes), called The Beast, sends those historians back in time. And let me ask you, have you ever known historians to put things back where they found them? Me neither. And that's what drives this mad world. It's 1902 in a world where Jesus ran the Roman Empire and a ninety-something Edgar Allen Poe runs North America. Occam is the man and who the hell is Charles Darwin?

Buy this book. Read this book. Enjoy, enjoy this book. Rest the rest of the righteously smug, knowing that your pleasure is also a Karmic write-off, all 100% of your electronic money is helping good people who are seeing a rough time.

GO NOW:

http://www.starshipsofa.com/shop/lord-dickenss-declaration/

THERE'S ONLY ONE DAY LEFT!

And then tell all of your big-hearted friends to pick up a copy as well. Thanks!

Dec. 30th Blog Rally for the Robinsons

UPDATE: I feel like The World's Most Gigantic Ass for not mentioning that Larry's E-book is illustrated by the wonderful Skeet Scienski! http://www.skeetland-art.com/Home_Page.php Sorry Skeet!

I need your help.

Quickly: Science Fiction author Spider Robinson's wife Jeanne is fighting cancer and they're both fighting to pay the bills. 100% of any money used to purchase Larry Santoro's excellent e-book, "Lord Dickens's Declaration," will go directly to the Robinsons. Here's the link:

http://www.starshipsofa.com/shop/lord-dickenss-declaration/

Dec 31st is the last day that people can buy Larry's story. I'd like to end the fundraiser with a bang. Let's get the word out all over the web to let people know on December 30th, there's only one day left to help. Why December 30th? Because if there's only one day left people won't put it off and say, "I'll do it later. I still have time." Make sure you link to the purchase page!

If you've got a blog, please use it. Tell your friends that are into speculative fiction ahead of time and ask them to blog as well. And let's ask the big boys to mention it, like BoingBoing, Gaiman, Scalzi, VanderMeer and whomever else you can think of. One last big push to help some good people in a bad situation.

Please tell me what you've done here, even if it's just sending some e-mails or tweets. Or post a link here to your blogpost. And if you happen to get a confirmation from someone like Cory Doctorow, then the rest of us won't all be bothering him for the same thing.

A few minutes of your time is all I ask and it could make a huge difference for the Robinsons. Thanks!

Please Help Spider And Jeanne Robinson!

This week StarShipSofa is proud to announce Aural Delights no. 111, Part I of Lord Dickens's Declaration by our own Larry Santoro. Lord Dickens's Declaration is also available for purchase as a limited edition e-book only for the month of December and all proceeds will go to Spider and Jeanne Robinson to help with their expenses due to Jeane's illness. The Sofa appreciates whatever you can do to help spread the word. Blast off!

Aural Delights No 111 Lawrence Santoro Pt 1

Lord Dickens’s Declaration is a novella by Lawrence Santoro which is an accompanying piece to StarShipSofa Stories Volume 1.

The story will be podcast free in three parts starting today but

to help the Robinson’s you can….

Purchase the ebook

You can purchase the ebook via PayPal or a credit card starting at £2.99,

ranging up to £100 if you would like to contribute more to Spider and Jeanne.