tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3596550435682943926.post2299423240039251367..comments2024-03-29T03:35:30.962-07:00Comments on Hop's Blog: Clive Cussler - Two Thumbs UpHop Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12923433894475072056noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3596550435682943926.post-89917760310083304322015-03-04T06:47:33.252-08:002015-03-04T06:47:33.252-08:00KDP is short for Kindle Direct Publishing. It'...KDP is short for Kindle Direct Publishing. It's the Amazon doorway for indie authors. Hunting for new stuff there is painful. I mostly follow the "also bought" suggestions and hope for the best. Currently reading The Fighter Queen Saga (5 books) by John Bowers. It's well written, with some extremely good backgrounding. Mil.SF set a couple of hundred years in the future, so closer to space opera (the usual FTL and gravity control). <br /><br />As for my stuff, a couple of years ago, I put up my entire backlist in a window between IT projects. Since retirement, I've managed to write one new novel, of a kind no traditional publisher would ever consider, called Crimson Darkness. It's a lost colony epic. <br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RI3M7YY<br /><br />Don't know if you allow links here, so feel free to delete it.William Bartonhttp://williambarton.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3596550435682943926.post-35029161178419133602015-03-03T18:48:08.566-08:002015-03-03T18:48:08.566-08:00Oh yeah, Asimov's used to be top notch.
What&...Oh yeah, Asimov's used to be top notch. <br />What's KDP?<br />I know there's some gems among the huge volume of self published stuff. But how much chaff do we have to endure to get wheat? A competent magazine editor who winnows a slush pile does a great service for his readers.<br />Are there KDP books you would recommend? William, I'd like to see your recent stuff.Hop Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12923433894475072056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3596550435682943926.post-15060835372909664162015-03-03T17:17:30.860-08:002015-03-03T17:17:30.860-08:00When Gardner Dozois was editor of Asimov's, he...When Gardner Dozois was editor of Asimov's, he would sometimes challenge the facts in my stories, making me prove I was right. I enjoyed that and sometime, proven wrong, learned a thing or two. One of the things I'm looking forward to is seeing a new space literature evolve, fiction based on solid fact. I think the day Musk lands his first MCT on Mars, a lot of things will change. Meanwhile, you can comb through the self-published stuff on KDP, looking for the gems. There's a lot more of them there than in contemporary traditionally published SF, just a little hard to find. Anyway, that's where I'm putting my efforts, both as a reader and as a writer.William Bartonhttp://williambarton.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3596550435682943926.post-67373973631786871512015-03-03T11:50:21.501-08:002015-03-03T11:50:21.501-08:00William, right you are. Most recent SF is PC and s...William, right you are. Most recent SF is PC and science free. I would hope there are lots of numerate, science savvy SF fans who are being neglected.<br /><br />But our culture seems to be getting dumber and shallower -- what I call the Britney Spears zeitgeist.<br /><br />How to change this trend? I am hungering for 21st century Sputnik moments. If Musk, Lewicki or any of the new players enjoy some dramatic successes, that might renew interest in space exploitation/settlement.Hop Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12923433894475072056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3596550435682943926.post-51195077410382985502015-03-03T06:51:50.637-08:002015-03-03T06:51:50.637-08:00You can't go wrong with Cussler, most of the t...You can't go wrong with Cussler, most of the time. As for SF, it really just boils down to what's happened in the publishing industry. The editorial cadre has come to be dominated by a certain type of progressive, combined with the fact the most are English majors with little concept of underlying science and technology. This has been going on for years. Back in early 1990s, coming off the success of Dark Sky Legion, I tried to sell a near future novel called Space Men, about the collapse of NASA after a terrible accident aboard Space Station Freedom. My then agents reaction was, "Nobody cares about this space program stuff." I'm sure SF readers do, but the publishing filter says no. Nowadays, indie writers can do what they want, but finding the right SF books among all the dragon-vampire stuff is hard labor.William Bartonhttp://williambarton.comnoreply@blogger.com