In a few months, I’ll likely delete the kanearts.net (the one you’re reading now) website entirely. Meantime, the alexjkane.com umbrella domain will instead forward to alexkanefiction.com, and will remain long after kanearts.net is just a fond memory.

Seemingly without warning, I’ve done a lot of tinkering under the hood and migrated all the archived posts from this blog — kanearts.net — over to the new domain, along with piecing together a new, long-term design to reflect my evolving views on the craft of fiction, the art of storytelling, and the business of publishing.

There are a number of reasons for this: Yahoo! Web Hosting is no longer fulfilling my admittedly needy demands as an amateur webmaster; I’m dropping the “J.” from my byline, for a number of reasons that have been rolling around in my head for quite some time; and I’ve fallen prey to the notion of a post-genre, “New Pulp” era for tomorrow’s working fictioneer. No longer can I rightfully claim to be a science fiction writer, or fantasist, or horror writer; it’s becoming increasingly clear that most of my favorite writers — and, indeed, most of the great writers of the past century — belong not to a single genre, but rather form a genre unto themselves: King, Bradbury, Gaiman, Matheson, Sturgeon, Le Guin, Oates, Lake, Palahniuk, Gibson . . . you get the idea.

So, anyway. It’s been a good run. There’ll always be a special place in my heart for kanearts.net — but its usefulness has run its course, and a domain like alexkanefiction.com is just a lot more practical as a platform to reach readers, writers, and the world of fandom.

• Thu, Aug 30 — Depart from Galesburg via Amtrak — 7:30 a.m.
• Thu, Aug 30 — Arrive in Chicago via Amtrak — ETA 10:40 a.m.
• Thu, Aug 30 — Governing the Solar System (Crystal C) — 12:00-1:30 p.m.
• Thu, Aug 30 — Habits for Aspiring Authors I (Columbus CD) — 1:30-3:00 p.m.
• Thu, Aug 30 — Opening Ceremonies (Grand Ballroom) — 3:00-4:00 p.m.
• Thu, Aug 30 — Haldeman, Gunn, Martin (Autograph Tables) — 4:00-4:30 p.m.
• Thu, Aug 30 — Body Modification (Columbus EF) — 4:30-6:00 p.m
• Thu, Aug 30 — Short Story as Testing Ground (McCormick) — 6:00-7:30 p.m.
• Thu, Aug 30 — Mars Desert Station (Columbus IJ-KL) — 7:30-9:00 p.m.
• Thu, Aug 30 — Adler Planetarium — 9:00-10:30 p.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — Are You a Dickhead? (Buckingham) — 9:00-10:30 a.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — Transhumanism and Space (DuSable) — 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — End of the Space Shuttle Era (Crystal B) — 12:00-1:30 p.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — Transhumanism (Crystal C) — 1:30-3:00 p.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — Turning Ideas into Stories (Columbus IJ) — 3:00-4:30 p.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — Writing the SF Novelette (Columbus KL) — 4:30-6:00 p.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — How to Avoid Getting Published (Columbus KL) — 6:00-7:30 p.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — Philosophy and SF (Buckingham) — 7:30-9:00 p.m.
• Fri, Aug 31 — Guest of Honor Speech (Columbus KL) — 9:00-10:30 p.m.
• Sat, Sep 1 — Annual Codex Breakfast (Houlihan’s) — 9:00-10:30 a.m.
• Sat, Sep 1 — Why Fantasy Dominates SF (Grand Suite 3) — 10:30-12:00 a.m.
• Sat, Sep 1 — George R. R. Martin Interview (Columbus EF) — 12:00-1:30 p.m.
• Sat, Sep 1 — Habits for Aspiring Authors II (Columbus CD) — 1:30-3:00 p.m.
• Sat, Sep 1 — The Secret History of SF (Crystal B) — 3:00-4:30 p.m.
• Sat, Sep 1 — Formidable Women Protagonists (Buckingham) — 4:30-6:00 p.m.
• Sat, Sep 1 — New Space: Where Now? (Comiskey) — 6:00-7:30 p.m.
• Sat, Sep 1 — Planet Earth at a Crossroads (Crystal C) — 7:30-9:00 p.m.
• Sun, Sep 2 — Writers’ Workshop Section O (Sandburg) — 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
• Sun, Sep 2 — SF and Science Now (Field) — 1:30-3:00 p.m.
• Sun, Sep 2 — Autograph Session 15 (Tables) — 3:00-4:30 p.m.
• Sun, Sep 2 — Incorporating the Personal (Columbus CD) — 4:30-6:00 p.m.
• Sun, Sep 2 — Torgersen, Campbell, Military F&SF (Gold Coast) — 6:00-7:30 p.m.
• Sun, Sep 2 — Hugo Awards Ceremony (Grand Ballroom) — 7:30-9:30 p.m.
• Mon, Sep 3 — Identity in the Virtual World (Columbus CD) — 9:00-10:30 a.m.
• Mon, Sep 3 — Ray Bradbury Memorial (Gold Coast) — 10:30-12:00 a.m.
• Mon, Sep 3 — Servicemembers on Military SF (Crystal A) — 12:00-1:30 p.m.
• Mon, Sep 3 — Collaborating with Mike Resnick (Crystal B) — 1:30-3:00 p.m.
• Mon, Sep 3 — Closing Ceremonies (Columbus IJ-KL) — 3:00-4:00 p.m.
• Tue, Sep 4 — Depart from Chicago via Amtrak — 3:00 p.m.
• Tue, Sep 4 — Arrive Home via Amtrak — ETA 5:35 p.m.

 FUTUREDAZE
An Anthology of YA Science Fiction

edited by Hannah Strom-Martin & Erin Underwood

List of Contributing Authors
in alphabetical order

POETRY:

E. Kristin Anderson
Jenny Blackford
Cathy Bryant
Sandi Cayless
Alicia Cole
John Grey
Evelyn Lumish
Irving
Brittany Warman
Neil Weston
Anna Della Zazzera

FICTION:

Steve Alguire
Camille Alexa
Stephen D. Covey
Danika Dinsmore
Gregory Frost
Nancy Holder
Alex J. Kane
Rahul Kanakia
Miri Kim
Rich Larson
Dale Lucas
Alex Dally MacFarlane
Jack McDevitt
Sandra McDonald
Jennifer Moore
Katrina Nicholson
Chuck Rothman
Mark Smith-Briggs
Leah Thomas
Llinos Cathryn Thomas
Lavie Tidhar
William John Watkins

I love pretty much every story I’ve read by Lavie Tidhar, Rahul Kanakia, and Camille Alexa; I’m truly humbled to be in such fine company. Not to mention Jack McDevitt, whose novel Chindi I recently picked up at an airport bookstore in Las Vegas — the guy can write like nobody’s business, his books carry blurbs by none other than Stephen-freakin’-King, and I’ve got my fingers crossed for an opportunity to meet him at the Chicon 7 Writers’ Workshop at the end of the month. If you haven’t checked out his short story “The Cassandra Project,” originally published online at Lightspeed, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. McDevitt recently collaborated on a novel-length adaptation of the story with Mike Resnick, which is due out before the end of the year. Can’t wait for that one.

Oh, and before I forget: I’ve got a lot of people to thank for their invaluable feedback on “Prospect of a World I Dream” — Hugo nominee Brad R. Torgersen, Dave Hutchinson, Jeremy C. Shipp, Grayson Bray Morris, Lyn Perry, S.C. Wade, Shaun Duke, Rahul Kanakia, Michael Beers, Ben Godby, anyone else who participated in Jeremy C. Shipp’s Yard Gnome Army fiction-writing class . . . Hell, I owe a lot of people big-time for this one. Seriously, you people are awesome, and beautiful, and I ought to buy you all drinks. Track me down sometime, and I’ll do just that. If there’s anyone I’ve forgotten, please accept my sincerest apologies. You’re amazing, and I love you guys — but I’m a forgetful dude. One of my many faults, unfortunately.

I’ve never gotten this amount of input on a story before, or such a warm reception. Even though it’s been rejected more times than I can count, people seem to love it. I know I’ve fallen in love with the characters, and find myself returning to the idea of a future novelization with greater and greater fondness for the story’s general premise. I think Inna and Ayden deserve a novel-length canvas in which to tell their story — an accessible, relevant YA novel with a science-fictional skeleton and an everyday, real-world heart. Hopefully one day soon I’ll get around to writing that book. Until then, I’ll play around in my Whispering Light universe and see where that takes me.

Anyway, here’s an excerpt from the review:

Like RAGAMUFFIN and SLY MONGOOSE, THE APOCALYPSE OCEAN follows a cast of ordinary human beings as they become entangled in the interstellar affairs of various warring factions of humankind and aliens alike — namely, the “ragamuffins” of the Xenowealth and the League of Human Affairs; cyborgs with superhuman strength and survival capabilities; engineered human pets and slaves liberated from their Nesaru “Lords”; and the hooded monstrosity known as the Doaq, a robed figure that stalks the island of Placa del Fuego at night, swallowing up unfortunates with the wormhole that serves it for a mouth.

The novel’s true payoff isn’t the relentless, breathtaking action that carries much of the plot, but rather its heady climax, which reveals a great deal about the Xenowealth universe’s ancient past; its vast, ocean-like network of wormholes; and the origins of certain antagonists from the previous two installments in the series.

Here’s my temporary writing office, also known to some as the kitchen.

Most importantly, there’s a stack of books I’ve been using as inspiration for my novel-in-progress, which I’m calling Whispering Light for now: Chindi by Jack McDevitt, The Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin, The Dark Horse Book of Monsters, and a book of artwork by H. R. Giger, who’s perhaps most famous for his work on Ridley Scott’s Alien. And on top, you’ll find my Oakley Minute 2.0 shades, which were a gift from the girlfriend about two years ago. She got me a pair of black-and-green Oakley Jupiters as a college graduation gift, but my dog, Sam, ate them for lunch. May they rest in piece.

To the left, that’s a 15″ Dell Inspiron laptop I’ve had for three years or so, which has taken a lot of abuse in the course of both my college and writing careers — a lot of papers have been hammered out on it.

You can tell somewhat from the picture that the “?” + “/” key is more or less broken — there’s a little white mechanism that the key itself rests on, and two tiny prongs that hold it in place. At least one of the prongs is apparently busted or worn down, because it no longer functions as intended . . . but it gets the job done, with a little added force.

Normally you’d see a coffee mug with a bold dark roast, steaming and giving off its heavenly coffee-shop scent, but since it was getting late I opted to try one of my girlfriend’s Nestle PureLife (devil-corporation!) with Lemon Splash bottled waters. Not bad, but I feel morally soiled for having drunk it. I’m also fond of Coke Zero, Diet Coke, and iced tea. And on occasion, a nice cold one — Dos Equis, Red Stripe, or Blue Moon.

Don’t mind the overflowing garbage. You wanna get any writing done, you have to sacrifice some things. Y’know, like chores, showering, and breakfast. Except today. Today I had coffee and an Entenmann’s chocolate-frosted doughnut.

Also, I should probably buy some new shoes. Those once-white Jordans are getting a little beat-up, and they ain’t as comfortable as they were when I bought ‘em, maybe two years ago.

Other books I’ve been reading, or have read recently, include Michio Kaku’s Physics of the Future, Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, The Apocalypse Ocean by Tobias S. Buckell, Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson, Year’s Best SF 17, eds. David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, Amped by Daniel H. Wilson, Leviathans of Jupiter by Ben Bova, and probably some others I’m either forgetting or gave up on before finishing. For more aesthetic inspiration, when the Giger book fails to get the gears turning, I’ll probably also dig out my copy of Spectrum 17: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art.

I’m up to 4,245 words on the novel, which means I’m at roughly 5.3% completion, based on my initial target goal of 80,000 words for a very basic first draft. That makes for the beginning of a new prologue — which may end up being the first chapter; I’m not sure yet — three more or less “finished” chapters (1-3), and the beginning of a fourth chapter. So most of the scenes are pretty short at this point, which means I’ll be going back and expanding a lot of the dialogue and descriptions once the skeleton of the novel starts to reveal itself a bit more.

I’ve currently written chapters from three different viewpoint characters, and know at least one or two more viewpoint characters will comprise the finished narrative. Would share tidbits from my research and worldbuilding, or character names, but that’d be pretty premature at this point . . . Plus, I may very well decide to use an excerpt as my quarterly Writers of the Future contest entry at some point, so I’ll have to try and maintain some anonymity. And let’s be honest: Most of you probably don’t give a damn about my worldbuilding; you’d probably rather just hear that I finally succeeded in writing one of these long, long manuscripts.

No more talking. As Yoda said so well, Do, or do not; there is no try.

My daily word count goal is 500 words, give or take a hundred. Tonight I finished at 552, and tomorrow I’m hoping to hit 1,000. That used to be my daily goal, but whenever I failed to hit it, or decided I wouldn’t have enough time, I’d just avoid writing anything at all, so the 500-a-day target has proved much more efficient on a weekly basis. It’s been getting results, whereas before 1,000 words a day wouldn’t have. The only downside is, now it’s really hard to write more than the requisite five hundred. But I’ve always been a fairly slow writer, and I write with a fairly minimalistic style, so it won’t hurt me much in the long run — at least, I hope not.

While my last novel idea was exciting, it was half-formed and unoriginal. Less than half-formed. Like, a-quarter-formed. It’s never going to go anywhere until I develop the premise a lot further. That’s still in the back of my mind, of course, but something I’m saving for when I’m a more mature writer. More experienced.

This time, I’ve spent months researching, reading and rereading some of the best science fiction novels I could find, and giving my creative brain a chance to play around before getting into the nitty-gritty of the thing.

Now, I’ve got a first draft in progress, and a title. Let me know what you think:

Whispering Light, that’s what I’m calling it. For now.

Postcyberpunk with a dash of near-Earth space opera. And nanopunk. Hopefully a touch of mystery, adventure, and wonder, too. Guess we’ll see.

I’ve got about three or four chapters done, but I’m only at about 4% completion as of right now. Gotta get in at least 500 more words tonight. Should be a hell of a first draft if I can keep this slow but steady, regular pace going.

I’m finding that by writing a little bit every day, rather than being lazy during workdays and writing like mad one or two days a week — like I used to have to do — I’m getting a lot more done on a week-by-week basis. And I feel a lot better about the project as a result. I’m excited about my characters, and where I hope to take them. I’m writing the sort of thing I’d like to read. Something like The Apocalypse Ocean by Tobias S. Buckell or 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke.

Oh. And I sold another short story recently. Pretty exciting news, but I can’t share the details quite yet. Check back soon.

Anyway, here’s an excerpt:

The novel traces the escalation of a civil rights movement, from opposing sides of a Supreme Court battle and surrounding protests, to revolution and the threat of all-out war, or even genocide. In Wilson’s convincing near-future America, Sen. Joseph Vaughn has called for the legal dehumanization of “amps” — human beings who, for either medical or military reasons, have been implanted with mind-enhancing devices designed to cure conditions like blindness or epilepsy, aid in the function of prosthetic limbs, or turn ordinary individuals into unstoppable killing machines.

In this way, it’s not impossible to sympathize somewhat with the antagonist’s cause. After all, any sufficiently advanced technology has the potential to become dangerous in the hands — or the brains — of individuals who are already dangerous beforehand.

But history has shown us that there is perhaps nothing so damaging to civilization as the denial of a particular group of human beings their basic human rights to freedom and opportunity. While reading the book in 2012, it’s hard not to imagine the “amps” as members of the LGBT community, an oppressed and misunderstood portion of society who as I type these very words are still marching and speaking out, writing and protesting — fighting, when necessary — for their right to love as they choose.