Get a free story when you subscribe

Author, Editor, Media Tie-In Writer

Tell Me - Bryan Thomas Schmidt

 

I first met Bryan at the Rainforest Village Writers Retreat. He is a great guy to work with and read. I’m looking forward to Beyond the Sun and that’s not just because I’m in it. It is, as he says, because the anthology is all about exploring the universe.

My mom says that, as a child, I never played with a toy the same way twice. And I think that’s a pretty good summary of my approach to life, especially in creativity. I love adventure, exploration. I like to go to places I’ve never been, meet people unlike anyone I’ve ever known, get to know their culture, language, the way they think…And I’m fascinated by the idea of exploring the universe.

Is it any wonder that 35+ years after she said that, I’m still creating projects like Beyond The Sun? At its heart it’s about exploration and the desire to know the unknown. Space colonization has been mankind’s dream for generations; one that remains unfulfilled. And I’m just crazy enough to believe it’ll happen one day. I really do.

So what better subject for an anthology than stories from fellow dreamers of what that might be like? I love working with other writers and helping them get published and noticed. I love introducing them to each other and to readers. It’s why I started SFFWRTCHT and do so many author interviews and promotional aids. So why shouldn’t my work reflect that desire as well?

I think Beyond The Sun is an example of that. It’s me bringing together writers I like and admire and challenging them to inspire me, each other and readers around the world. It’s the little curious kid who wanted adventure longing for new adventure stories to explore, new places to visit from the minds and imaginations of others, and new cultures and people to encounter.

And this time, with the Kickstarter, I’ve invited others to share in the dream. Let’s help some writers get pro-rates for their work. Not just pros but up and coming talent. Let’s give these writers and some awesome artists a chance to be a part of the adventure and explore with us and then we can all sit back and enjoy the resulting explosion of creativity for decades to come.

That’s why I like editing anthologies. It’s why I often like reading them. And it’s why I created this Beyond the Sun Kickstarter project and anthology. And I can’t wait to see what becomes of it!

~

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is an author and editor of adult and children’s speculative fiction. His debut novel, The Worker Prince(2011) received Honorable Mention on Barnes & Noble Book Club’s Year’s Best Science Fiction Releases for 2011. A sequel The Returning followed in 2012 and The Exodus will appear in 2013, completing the space opera Saga Of Davi Rhii. His first children’s books, 102 More Hilarious Dinosaur Books For Kids (ebook only) and Abraham Lincoln: Dinosaur Hunter- Lost In A Land Of Legends (forthcoming) appeared from Delabarre Publishing in 2012.  He edited the anthology Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6 (2012) and hosts #sffwrtcht (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer’s Chat) Wednesdays at 9 pm ET on Twitter and is an affiliate member of the SFWA.

What is the “Tell Me” guest blog? It is a 400-600 word (more if you need it) blog post where you tell me something about your project. Tell me why you did it. Or what inspired you. Or something that you’ve always wanted to tell the world about the project. Tell me why you love it. Or hate it. Or what you learned. Tell me anything you want. I’m listening….

Meet Jennifer Brozek

Jennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her YA tie-in novels, BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident and Shadowrun: Auditions, have both won Scribe Awards. Her editing work has earned her nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Hugo Award. She won the Australian Shadows Award for the Grants Pass anthology, co-edited with Amanda Pillar. Jennifer’s short form work has appeared in Apex Publications, Uncanny Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and in anthologies set in the worlds of Valdemar, Shadowrun, V-Wars, Masters of Orion, Well World, and Predator.

Jennifer has been a full-time freelance author and editor for over seventeen years, and she has never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to teach writing classes and volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com or her social media accounts on LinkTree.

Browse the archives

You may also like...

End of the Year. Time to take stock. According to my 2018 Freelancer Summary sheet, I worked 316 days. I may not have done a lot each one of those days, but I wrote down “Nada” only 40 times in 2018. There were a lot of those days where I wrote on two different projects, edited, and had a phone call. Almost all of those work days included some form of email. Blah. Blah. Blah. Yes, freelancers work a LOT. So, what did I accomplish in 2018? These are just facts and figures. Published: (Incidentally, these are all eligible for 2019 awards)A novella, an ABC book, and four short stories. Not a bad set for the finally reaching the published stage. •    Arkham Horror: To Fight the Black Wind (novella)•    A is for Apex (ABC book)•    “An Open Letter to the Family” – Disabled People Destroy SF issue, Uncanny Magazine•   ...

scroll-horizontal

Elizabeth Guizzetti has been a friend and peer for years. Today, she tells me about her love of language, how it shifts over the decades, and how she keeps slang of the past alive in her vampire books today. Thank you for having me today, Jennifer. I’m so excited to talk about one of my favorite types of research. As an author, I love all historical research, but one of my passions is idiomatic phrasing and slang. As everyone is aware, slang changes generationally and within generations. Sometimes a word slides through several groups and is dropped within a year. Idioms tend to last longer but still follow fads and expose a period’s morality and generational fears. For an author, idioms can make handy shortcuts to depict the inner thoughts and even a character’s personality. One of the biggest pitfalls that an author can run into while using idioms and...

scroll-horizontal