The World According To...

Image: Russ Seidel

Authors create their own worlds. It's the job, right? We create the setting, the people, the situations. Sometimes it's completely based on the real world (Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies), sometimes it's partially based on reality (Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale), and sometimes it's many light years to the left of reality (Frank Herbert's Dune).

As authors of Parallels: Felix Was Here, we created our own universes. Now suppose you were allowed to bring such a creation to life (and not just in a film or at an amusement park like DisneyWorld's Avatar)? What changes would you make? Here are my top three:

Image: Lauro Roger McAllister

1. A Four Day Work Week

I live in the US. I don't have a job, but I do have two children, one in 9th grade, one in 7th, and I am exhausted. I don't think I can get through three-and-a-half more years on this schedule. We get up at 5 or 6 a.m. because classes start at 7:20 a.m. (No, that is not a typo.) After school, there is an avalanche of homework, doctor's appointments, instrument lessons, instrument practice, play rehearsals, and on and on. It's a race to get out the door in the morning and a race to beat the clock to get to bed at a reasonable hour. (And we lose both of those races at a rate of near 50%.) Getting a Ph.D. and working full-time as a math professor was not this stressful, I swear. (All the time, unfortunately.)

A four-day work week may never happen in this country, but it does exist in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, and Germany.

2. A Sleep Machine

Image: ALT1040

Did I mention my never-ending exhaustion? Let's fix that sucker once and for all, shall we? I'd like a machine in which I could program my desired hours of sleep, plug in, and get those 8 (or 9 or 10) hours of happy, happy dreamtime--guaranteed.

I know, I know, this already exists as Ambien, Lunesta, and other medications, but Rosanne Barr is a cautionary tale on why one shouldn't mix writing (tweet, tweet) with drugs. Enough said.

(I suspect cats have their own internal sleep machines already. Lucky fur balls.)

3. Beam Me Up, or rather, Beam Me Away

Image: Andrew

How cool would it be to have a means for instantaneous teleportation? Forget airport security lines, lost luggage, or even forgotten homework. What if you could go anywhere at any time in just seconds? What a world that would be!

I suppose it would have to come with certain regulations. We can't all zip over to Disney's Expedition Everest roller coaster after school (or Times Square for New Year's Eve, or the beach for lunch hour). But it sure would come in handy, if say, you were in the path of a natural disaster like fire, flood, or hurricane.

Image: Ars Electronica: Cinematic Rendering in Deep Space

The technical side of instantaneous teleportation could have some nifty side effects. Consider the idea of breaking down a human body into particles and then reassembling them. On one hand, there is the fear of mistakes, an idea Micheal Crichton used in Timeline. But what about fixing things in the body? What if such a teleportation machine could be used to instantaneously heal a broken bone, remove a tumor, or rewrite your genes to ferret out certain illnesses? Doctors would go nuts! (But surgeons would have to kiss their scalpels goodbye.)

And then there's the other stuff. The trucking/railroad/air transport industry of moving goods would go the way of the dinosaur. Reduced fossil fuel use would help the environment. Maybe we could transport our garbage to the center of the sun! And imagine storage. What if you could put all your clutter into the equivalent of a data cloud? OMG! No more stacks and stacks of plastic bins filling our garages and basements!

Of course, this is the part of the story where something horrible happens. Let's not forget Stephen King's The Jaunt.

_____________

What things would you come up with for a better universe? What horrible/wonderful consequences might arise from them? Where would you go if instantaneous transformation was possible?

My Top Five Faves of Speculative Fiction on Netflix

Image: By Netflix (Netflix Media Center) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It's addicting. It steals your sleep. It makes you stay up at least an hour past your bedtime even though you swore up and down you'd stop. What am I talking about? Netflix. And its lure is growing stronger all the time with new, original programming. Here are my top five shows that fall into the category of speculative fiction:

#5 The 100

Based on the books by Kass Morgan, there are currently 4 seasons available and a 5th to come. This mash-up of sci-fi meets fantasy follows a group of older teens as they are kicked out of the orbiting space station they were born on to go back down to earth. Their mission? To see if the old green and blue ball is habitable after humanity let loose with nuclear weapons about a hundred years previously.

The first season grabbed me with constant nail-biting tension and some curve balls. Unlike a lot of YA stories, the parents of these kids aren't dead (yet), but stuck up in the space station while the kids try to adjust to earth. The influence these separated groups have (or don't) on each other is fascinating. Plus, if you think the scariest thing the kids deal with is growing their own food or finding mutated animals, think again. I don't want to get into spoilers, but they aren't alone...

___________

Image: Dan Belanescu

Watch the first episode of Black Mirror, if you dare.

#4 Black Mirror

The Twilight Zone meets the technological age in this series, which includes 19 separate episodes spread over 4 seasons. The first one, The National Anthem, had me hooked, jaw on floor in complete disbelief. It was probably the most psychologically disturbing thing I've seen on television, period (closely followed by renting Deliverance).

On the other end of the spectrum, San Junipero is one of the most beautiful love stories I've seen. Other episodes, like The Entire History of You and Black Museum, are fiendishly clever stories.

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Image: The New Croton Dam, By Acroterion (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

A (digital) bus crash off this bridge is featured in The OA

#3 The OA

This eight episode series follows the extremely odd life of Prairie Johnson. She reemerges into her adopted parents' lives seven years after disappearing. Previously blind, she can now see, but she won't talk about where she's been. Instead, she becomes the leader of a band of misfits who get together to learn a routine that might be described as Garth Fagan dance combined with high speed tai chi. It all has a higher purpose though.

I loved this show's stunning visuals and creepy mood.

_____________

Amazon.com: Funko Pop Stranger Things Eleven with Eggos

After watching Stranger Things, this is what my daughter wants for her birthday.

#2 Stranger Things

The strangest thing about this series is that after watching the first half of the first episode, I got so bored, I quit watching. Then all the hype finally convinced me to give it another go and what a ride! If I hadn't, I would have missed the upside-down, Joyce's Christmas lights, Dustin's lisp, and Eggo waffles.

Not only does Stranger Things serve up a heaping dose of 80s nostalgia, but it borrows from all the movies I loved as a kid. Does telekinetic Eleven's bleeding nose remind you of someone? Of course! While the girl in Stephen King's Firestarter had the power of telekinesis and pyrokinesis, it was her dad who got a bloody nose whenever he used his mind to control someone. You can also find the influence of Poltergeist, Alien, and a host of other popular movies from that era.

This show is completely bonkers and so, so fun. There's two seasons (17 episodes) to relish and if your pining for season three, you're not alone.

____________

Image: Karl-Ludwig Poggemann

#1 Dark

Because Dark and Stranger Things feature a missing boy in their opening episode, it's natural to compare them. But missing child aside, these are quite different shows. While Stranger Things has its scary moments, there is a campy vibe that lets you know your favorite characters may be put through the wringer (or become invaded by soul-sucking worms from another dimension), but chances are, they will emerge victorious.

So why would I put this show above Stranger Things? The title says it all. Dark is, well, very dark. You don't know what's going to happen. There is no feeling that things are going to turn out all right in the end. The cinematography is so gorgeous. There are long overhead shots of a lush, green forest in every show and this deep cave nestled in a hillside that just begs you to enter, but promises you'll be terrified with every step. The characters are extremely realistic in their flaws, but even as they do terrible things, part of you sympathizes with their plight.

Luckily for me, there is a season two in the works.

__________

Have you watched any of these shows? Do you have recommendations for my next Netflix addiction? How much sleep have you lost binge-watching?

Virtual Crime - What's the Big Deal?

Image: Caitlin "Caity" Tobias

In my short story, Scrying the Plane, Lillian Reynolds dives into a virtual reality plane where everything seems like tons of fun: Twitter bluebirds flit about delivering messages, and the band U2 is performing "live".

Then things take a scary turn and she ends up in the virtual hands of a lecherous old man. Before escaping the police, this villain declares: "I never touched her." Technically, he's right.

Image: Newtown grafitti

Scrying the Plane was published in May of 2016 in the Parallels: Felix Was Here anthology. By October, a story came out of a VR game player, Jordan Belamire*, who was virtually assaulted by another player while blasting away zombies with a bow and arrow in QuiVr. (Read the details in this post from Belamire.)




Reactions to this story were mixed. Some commented that since nothing actually happened, it wasn't a big deal. Others felt a comparison of virtual groping in a game to sexual assault was insulting to victims of "real" sexual assault. But the developer of QuiVr, Aaron Stanton, was horrified and designed a gesture their customers can execute to make other players disappear, creating a virtual safe space during play. (Source: nypost.com)

Image: Mikael T

So is virtual assault a crime? Not yet, according to lawyer Mark Methenitis. As of now, sexual assault and rape statues in the US require physical contact. Players might see their avatar attacked, but they can't feel it. But physical sensation with VR isn't impossible. (Source: TheGuardian.com)

Haptic technology is used to provide a sense of touch. Haptic suits or vests are being developed so gamers can feel explosions or bullet impacts. (Wikipedia)

Image: KOR-FX Immersive Gaming Vest (sale price $99)

What do you think? Should Stanton's safety gesture be an industry standard for all VR games? Would you be interested in feeling the violent effects of these war games with a haptic suit or vest? (Personally, I'd rather have a virtual massage than get shot, but that's just me.)

*This may be a pseudonym.

FUTURE PLANS

Hey, friends, yes the book is out, the reviews are coming in, and we thank you for your kindness in posting them. If you any of you are still interested in a review copy, please let us know.

We apologize for the long silence, the A to Z knocked a few of us out, but we've come up with a blogging schedule we hope you'll support. I've listed it below. We'll post a for sure once a month article on the 4^th Wednesday of each month. A day you can count on, but also, look for blog hops, contests, and giveaways!

If you'd like to be a guest, or know of someone who would please send them our way, we'd love to feature other speculative fiction authors! Just send an email to any of us, or to yolandarenee@hotmail.com

Look for our first 4^th Wednesday post next week, with L. G. Keltner, author of Felix Was Here!

Thanks for your patience and support!

L G Keltner – June 22

Sandra Cox – July 27

Sylvia Ney – August 24

Michael Abayomi – September 28

Crystal Collier – October 26

Yolanda Renee – November 23

Cherie Reich – December 28

Hart Johnson – January 25

Tamara Narayan - February 22

Melanie Schulz -   March  22

We're Ready!

If you have a suggestion or question, please let us know!

PARALLELS IS HERE!

TODAY IS BOOK RELEASE DAY!

But first
Winners of the Parallels
A to Z Drawing are:

Won via L. G. Keltner's posts - Nilanjana  @ Madly-in-Verse

Won via Yolanda Renée's posts - Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor

Won via Sandra Cox's posts -    J. Lenni @ J Lenni Dorner Blog

Won via Crystal Collier's posts – Michelle @ Writer in Transit

Won via Melanie Schulz's posts – Gina @ Life & Being Lost

Won via Tamara Narayan's posts – Bish @ Random Thoughts

Won via Cherie Reich's posts - Kathleen @ Kathleen's Blog

Won via Sylvia Ney's posts - Lynn @ Lynn Proctor

Won via Hart Johnson's posts – Heather @ HMGardner

Won via Michael Abayomi's posts - Michele @AnAnimalChaplain

PARALLELS: FELIX WAS HERE!

Enter the realm of parallel universes!

What if the government tried to create the perfect utopia? Could a society linked to a supercomputer survive on its own? Do our reflections control secret lives on the other side of the mirror? Can one moment split a person’s world forever?

Exploring the fantastic, ten authors offer incredible visions and captivating tales of diverse reality. Featuring the talents of L.G. Keltner, Crystal Collier, Hart Johnson, Cherie Reich, Sandra Cox, Yolanda Renée, Melanie Schulz, Sylvia Ney, Michael Abayomi, and Tamara Narayan.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will expand your imagination and twist the tropes of science fiction. Step through the portal and enter another dimension!

Print

Amazon

 Barnes & Noble

Ebook

ITunes

Amazon

 Barnes & Noble

 Kobo

 Goodreads

Release date: May 3, 2016

$14.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 218 pages, Freedom Fox Press

Science Fiction/General ( FIC028000) and Fiction/Alternative History (FIC040000)

Print ISBN 978-1-939844-19-4 eBook ISBN 978-1-939844-20-0

Order through Ingram, Follett Library Resources, or from the publisher

$4.99 EBook available in all formats

“Pensive and manifold views into parallel earth not without a glimmer of hope.”

- Edi’s Book Lighthouse

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, two Facebook groups, and a monthly newsletter.

 

Freedom Fox PressA division of Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

P.O. Box 383, Pikeville, NC 27863-0383

inquiries@dancinglemurpressllc.com

www.dancinglemurpress.comwww.dancinglemurpress.com

Z=Zenith

Here we are at the end of the A to Z Challenge.  We started this month with the hope of launching the IWSG anthology Parallels: Felix Was Here into the stratosphere, and only time will tell if we succeeded.  Who knows where the anthology will be when it reaches its zenith?  We, the ten authors who’ve contributed to this book, can only hope that those who do read it find an enjoyable and thought provoking experience within its pages.

Dive into worlds where memories may be sacrificed for the sake of utopia, where drug trials are unregulated, where cures for diseases may bring about even worse consequences, and people are sorted into groups, inevitably leaving a few who don’t fit nicely within any one box to fend for themselves.  Experience the horrors of looking into the eyes of a serial killer every day and exploring the memories of the dead.  See a society where all but a few people are interconnected by a worldwide network, or another where the internet can be explored through a virtual reality interface.  Experience the magic of creatures folded from paper coming to life and the unsettling feeling of being haunted by that which never was.

There’s a wide variety of stories to read, and odds are that you’ll find something that will entice and intrigue you.

The release date is fast approaching!  May 3^rd is just around the corner.  It's this coming Tuesday, in fact!  Are you excited?  I know we are!

Don’t forget!

Every comment gives you a chance to win one of ten copies of Parallels: Felix Was Here!

L is for Lily: Meet Lily Reynolds from Scrying the Plane

Image Source: Luna Jubilee / !bang poses

LilyCrazyCrafter: Hey. Anyone out there?

AZVizTor: ??

LilyCrazyCrafter: Don't be a shy sheep. I'm stuck in my room right now. No one to chat with. My parents are so ticked off at me, and don't even get me started on my sister. Ruiner of homework, destroyer of my best Minecraft house. Never mind. Pretty soon I'm out of here. Got a party to crash, if you can dig it.

AZVizTor: Party?

LilyCrazyCrafter: Sorry, I can't invite you. You could be on the other side of the planet, and I'm not an idiot. It's not like I'm going to tell some stranger where I live. But yeah, this party is going to be intense. Dude running it has VRP access. You been on the VRP?

AZVizTor: No.

LilyCrazyCrafter: Me neither. It's so bogus they won't let anyone under 21 hook in. What's the big deal? 

AZVizTor: What is VRP?

We all get sucked in - Self portrait by MattysFlicks

LilyCrazyCrafter: Dude, are you from this planet? How can you not know about the Virtual Reality Plane? Interactive Internet? You just need some Sleep Ease and a converter box, not to mention someone to attach the leads to your temple chip. Do you even have a temple chip?

AZVizTor: No.

LilyCrazyCrafter: Well that explains a lot. Guess your parents are super religious, huh?

AZVizTor: ?

Minecraft wolf from Pierre Gorissen

LilyCrazyCrafter: Sorry, didn't mean to pry. But maybe you could get a chip implanted on your own someday. It can't be that bad if they put them in two-year-olds. I can't remember. But man, I can't wait to check out the VRP, especially Minecraft. I'm going to run from zombies, tame a wolf, or ride a trolley. It'll be mega! Hope I don't end up brain-dead or anything--haha.

AZVizTor: Brain-dead?

LilyCrazyCrafter: Well, gotta go. Wish me luck! I'm meeting a friend and...I'd better not say anything more. You could be a narc for all I know! Toodles.

A to Z - Parallels

A TO Z CHALLENGE THEME REVEAL

We are the authors of the 10 stories

that make up the book

Parallels: Felix Was Here

and

we're going to be discussing us and our stories.

So tune in daily to learn something new

and if you comment you'll have

a chance to win a copy of the 

most exiting book to hit the shelves

this year! 

Parallels: Felix Was Here!

Every comment during the A to Z Challenge

will be one entry into the hat

for a drawing and 10 winners will receive a copy of the book!

Speculative Movie Trivia

Image courtesy: Valerie Everett

Hi speculative fiction fans! Today we have some bits (or bites) from some classic sci-fi movies. How many of these can you name? (Please keep your eyes on your own comment box. Any cheater will be fed to the nearest black hole where you may be crunched into a mass the size of a pin head over a millennium or burnt to a cinder depending on which scientific theory you follow.)

1.     Quote: "I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that."

2.     Telekinesis, dancing broom, flying camper

3.     Worst prom ever.

4.     Mashed potatoes mountain

5.     Quote: “Here’s Johnny!”

6.     (A younger) Donald Sutherland pointing his finger with his mouth open in a huge, scary O.

7.     Nazi face melt

8.     Abdominal explosion

9.     Quote: “Strange game. The only winning move is not to play.”

10.   Homicidal marshmallow man

Did you get all ten? 

We will post the answers later.