Sime~Gen Perspectives Newsletter

DECEMBER 2007

Contents:
*ANNUAL NEW YEARS CHAT -- January 1, 2008
*SIME-GEN'S READERS/REVIEWERS CHOICE AWARDS
*COAL FOR CHRISTMAS
*NEW FROM WINSTON HOWLETT
*NEW AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
*NEW SIMEGEN SERVER NOW RUNNING
*REREADABLE BOOKS
*ASSORTED ITEMS OF INTEREST
*JACQUELINE'S LOSCON REPORT
*NEW REVIEWS
*NEW AT KEYBOOKS
*NEW ITEMS FROM ARTISTS AND AUTHORS AT CAFE PRESS
*STARRED CROSS JEWELRY
*HELP WANTED
*PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
*AVAILABLE RELEASES
*SITES TO REMEMBER
*SUBSCRIPTION AND CONTACT INFORMATION
**COPYRIGHT NOTICE**

******ANNUAL NEW YEARS CHAT******

We plan to continue the annual tradition of a group chat on New Year's Day, Tuesday January 1, 2008 (8!!!!) on our new server at the same URL using the same access routine you used last year.

We will hold nominations and voting for awards for the various people who have seen us through this transition this year, and we will announce the recipients of non-voting stock in Sime~Gen Inc. and update you on what Jean and I have been doing.

You can see brief definitions of all the awards at: http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/chats/chat2006_chat2.html#awards . In many cases, more detailed explanations of these awards, with lists of previous winners, can be found on the main Awards page . You can see these by following links from the one-liner page, above.

This meeting gives you a chance to chat live with Jean Lorrah and Jacqueline Lichtenberg, propose concepts and ideas for the domain, (keeping in mind that may volunteer you to do it) and listen to what others are thinking. Anyone who's on our lists or deals with us in any way is more than welcome to sit in, nominate, vote, and chat.

We run it in two simultaneous IRC chat rooms -- so you can split your screen in half. One screen is moderated during the business meeting so the log is easier to clean up. The other screen is just chatter. Then both "rooms" are opened so everyone can talk to each other and just party. For those that don't have the mIRC (or equivalent) software, there is an entry point for you via the web page of: http://www.simegen.com/techtools/chat/ .

We use the "rooms" #sgchat for the business meeting and #sgtalk for "side talk." The New Year's Chat will be: 4pm EST, 3pm CST, 2pm MST, 1pm PST. For those not in North America, please use the Worldclock website to calculate the time that is right for you.

The edited and cleaned text of the meeting is put online as soon as possible. Previous chat logs can be found at www.simegen.com/sgfandom/chats/ . if you want to take a look. Karen will gladly help OFF LIST to get you connected to the chat.... the access information will NOT be posted to any of the lists for server security reasons. Some help, though perhaps not quite current, is also found on http://www.simegen.com/techtools/ , where tutorials can be found. Karen will be on AIM prior to the chat and will do what she can to help everyone who wants to attend, "get connected."

Keep in mind since we host this chat on our own server rather than using one of the public chat services, we keep it private. So this isn't the sort of "chatroom" where people get into trouble. Well -- not unless you volunteer to manage a section of simegen.com, anyway.

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******SIME~GEN READERS/REVIEWERS CHOICE AWARDS******

Coming In Spring 2008 - The Re-launch of Sime~Gen's Readers' Choice Awards

Sime~Gen's Reviews Department is gearing up for the Spring 2008 rebirth of our Reviewer's Choice Awards. We will be awarding biannual awards in the following categories: Favorite E-Book, Favorite Paper Book, Favorite Publisher Web Site, Favorite Author Web Site, Gatemaster's Favorite Book, and Favorite Sime~Gen Reviewer.

All active participants in the reviews process - from Sime~Gen Reviewers, Staffers, and Gatemasters to Authors, Editors, and Publishers - will be eligible to nominate and vote in the various categories.

There is much behind-the-scenes work to be done, and many parameters yet to be worked out. We ask for and appreciate your input. To date, we have settled on a definition of "active participation."
   1) Eligibility to Nominate - must have been active within the last six months.
   2) Eligibility to Vote - must have been active within the last three months.
Keep watching for updates on procedures as they are worked out.

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******COAL FOR CHRISTMAS**********

COAL FOR CHRISTMAS by Lois Wickstrom and Jean Lorrah has just reached the semi-finals in the Fade-In Writers Network competition .

Winners will be announced in January. It would be great to win one of these contests, but even making the semi-finals is a minor credential in our quest to sell our scripts to Hollywood.

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******NEWS FROM WINSTON HOWLETT ******

Winston Howlett, ~ SAVAGE EMPIRE: PROPHECIES Co-Author writes: The members of the Galactic League started linking together last month. This was shortly after we FINALLY self-published "Honor's Endgame" the prequel to the novel that my girl friend and I wrote, and Glenn Yeffeth rejected "Allegiance"). "Honor's Endgame" is a massive space opera with five writers credited, available at lulu.com and Amazon.com .

Jacqueline adds: http://www.simegen.com/writers/GalacticLeague/ is our page for him but I've no idea how up to date it is.

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******NEW AUTHOR INTERVIEWS******

Wonderful new interviews with authors Linnea Sinclair and Victoria Graydale are now posted. Please check them out.

Interview with author Linnea Sinclair, author of "Down Home Zombie Blues," conducted by Midge Baker.

Interview of Victoria Graydale, author of "The Wizard's Daughter."

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******NEW SIMEGEN.COM SERVER NOW RUNNING******

Simegen.com is completed a move to a new, faster (more expensive) server. This is a RAID server with dual processors.

The Star Trek section will be expanded to include several new offerings, one an old (very old) Star Trek script by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and another is a Star Trek fanzine that is extremely rare today.

So now I'd like to put in my annual Holiday appeal.

Instead of going directly to amazon.com to buy from any of their merchants, go to the simegen.com top page (or any of our major entry pages), scroll to the bottom, and enter amazon.com through one of the search boxes.

We get a few cents for each purchase made with the /rereadablebooksr/ tag inserted into the product's URL at the correct place (and you pay nothing more). Our old search-boxes still make links that work. (amazon.com keeps changing the format of their links) Their new links look like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Those-My-Blood-Jacqueline-Lichtenberg/dp/1932100091/rereadablebooksr/

You might also want to start book shopping in my review column where there are links to the books to be reviewed through May of 2008. Or cruise through our Reviews department where hundreds of books are reviewed.

There are a few new offerings perfect for gifts in our bookstore section .

You may also find some glitches, which our sysadmin is still chasing. The work is progressing rapidly and the server has been online for several weeks now. Anyone who has a website on Simegen.com, or who has a Simegen.com mailbox must contact Webmaster@simegen.com for new passwords to access your sites.

Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

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******REREADABLE BOOKS******

The review columns for November and December 2007 have been posted. And the books to be reviewed in this column for June 2008 have been posted. You can now view the material to be discussed from January through June 2008 .

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******ASSORTED ITEMS OF INTEREST****

MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY'S SWORD AND SORCERESS XXII, published by Norilana Books and also available on Amazon. Our Margaret L. Carter has a story in it called "Vanishing Village." Glad to see the series revived even though DAW seems to have let it go.

Orion Press , a STAR TREK Fanzine Is looking for more reviews of Star Trek novels. Please review the list of novels we've reviewed, and see if you'd like to contribute. We're also looking for more Star Trek stories, dealing with the Classic Star Trek characters for this April's ANTARES 17. Lastly, we're looking for artwork. If you're art-capable, please contact us. We definitely need you! Hope everyone enjoys the holiday season!

Randy Landers
ORION PRESS

*********JACQUELINE'S LOSCON REPORT*****

As you may have seen in my previous post, this was my schedule for LosCon this year. Each of these items did occur on time and in the scheduled room. Those who've run cons, know this is a feat!

http://www.loscon.org/ for details of next year's LosCon when they post it in a few months.

Friday 12:30 Ballroom A What Females Like in a Male Leading Character
2:00 Dealer's Room - Autographing
3:30 Ballroom A 2007, the Year in SF TV
Sun 12:30 Boston-Atlanta Bite Me, the Continuing Popularity of Vampires
Sun 2:00 PM Plotting and Pacing
Sun 3:30 Ballroom B (M) Galactic Consumer Co-ops (Empires Are Just So Imperialisti

There were actually more people in the audience than on the panel, sometimes a large audience.

I don't know the final count of attendees. Every time I went by Registration to ask, even on Sunday, there was a line, so I didn't ask.

But the halls were full, though not crowded between program events. The audiences I saw as I peeked into rooms when I passed by were good sized. The average age still seemed somewhat higher than I feel it should be, but there were many younger couples -- and lots of little kids.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and found a group of young people setting up the gaming room while others set up children's programming (we sat and talked with them for a good while), dealer's room and art show. The invisible work that goes on behind the scenes to make a con happen is intense and takes year-long dedication.

Friday morning, we found the Con Suite had likewise been set up (on the 18th floor with a view of the airport to take your breath away). It was sponsored by two local companies. Good food and an array of beverages were in plentiful supply. The thing is, it took a whole crew of volunteers to set up and put out, tend and clean up, to make the buffet services work. And everything was perfect.

Next stop the dealer's room -- but not everyone was open yet.

I didn't tour the whole room on that pass because I got stuck at a table having a conversation with two people with their own books for sale.

Marcus Alexander Hart ( THE OBLIVION SOCIETY ) and Christopher Andrews (DREAM PARLOR). Dream Parlor was there as a novel made from a DVD medium-budget release, and Christopher Andrews was a co-author of the screenplay.

Andrews told me that he had written the screenplay, and gathered a group with a small budget to make the film. When they were halfway into filming the project, they got some more serious financial backing and produced a higher quality film with a very talented and skilled director.

They had the DVD playing on a small player while I was there, and the quality did indeed show in the few disconnected scenes I saw while talking.

Marcus Alexander Hart was also enthusiastic and involved, but I didn't actually register all the connections among these people. I must have spent an hour talking to them and I want to know more. They did show up at the Sime~Gen party later, but again I missed getting to talk to them.

I never saw the lightspeed moving Kaires all day Friday. I got a phone message from her late Friday night, but didn't find it until Sunday.

Friday evening I made the obligatory guest appearance at the Ice Cream Social (Hagen Daas) and sat down at a bistro table figuring to spend 20 minutes there before going to the Sime~Gen party at 8PM. Conversation flowed with those already at the table. People left, others came, conversation continued. I ended up talking at length with Greg Koudoulian , an Industrial Design- Automation specialist, who does satellite broadcasting and corporate video as well as a lot of other things.

Fandom is absolutely the most incredible collection of farflung talents and interests!

I went to the room Kaires had posted on the List for the Sime~Gen Party. She had signs up in the hotel in all the usual places, and a nice spot on the party floor. She had munchies (high quality, good stuff) and her special tea ready plus flyers and books and even a sponge dampened and ready to give out our free tattoos. What a backbreaking, last minute job!

There was already a group of people sitting around talking, and I was immediately drawn into long, winding conversations. One fellow had been waiting for me to finish a subject that had arisen at one of the panels in the afternoon. There were more people, and then Jan Howard Finder (The Wombat) came by, intending to pass through the room on the way somewhere else. We talked for I think well over an hour.

Out of the corner of my eye, I kept seeing new people come in. Kaires was always right up there with an explanation of what Sime~Gen is all about, an offer of tattoo or flyers or both. She's a warm, smiling, gracious hostess and grand conversationalist! But I never got to talk to her all night except to sketch some of what Jean and I have been working on to re-launch Sime~Gen in a new direction.

It was nearly midnight when I left and the party was barely winding down. Midnight LA time is 1AM AZ time, and I generally collapse about 9PM.

I meant to see her on Sunday, sign some books she'd brought, and thank her properly for the party but we never crossed paths. I've still got to do that. She did say she'd be willing to organize a Sime~Gen party for Westercon next year.

So I had an idea. We really ought to have ribbons made with the image on the tattoo that Patric made a couple years ago. People love to collect the little half-size horizontal ribbons on their badges throughout the con and it makes a great souvenir. Does anyone know where to get those stick-on ribbons printed?

I saw the art show Saturday (very few bids, and those mostly on inexpensive items), and talked to some of the dealers and the person in charge of the art-auction.

One used book dealer was selling pretty well for a LosCon. But there was only one used book dealer, one new book dealer, and a scattering of new books sold on tables where other things were for sale, plus several authors selling their own book.

There were movie poster dealers, action figures, costumes, jewelry, needlepoint, videos, one comic book table, and some crafts. Very few books,though some of our titles were there both new and used.

I was told that there are a good number of very young people willing to work on cons and make them happen, plus a large number of older more experienced people still working on cons. But the middle part of the demographic is missing. We don't know where -- but I could guess it's away from books and into other media fandoms.

On Sunday I did 3 panels, one panel with David Gerrold (who is looking good and has a film made from one of his books in the theaters now), and the final panel of the con (Galactic Consumer Co-op) where none of the panelists or the audience could figure out what the panel was supposed to be about.

So we talked about galactic civilization and commerce and collected an interested audience. Really strange, but memorable panel!

LosCon has been holding its attendance or growing, but I also heard that Philcon has shrunk again this year. A lot more happened at this LosCon, but obviously I'm out of space. Perhaps someone else on the list (I saw a few of our list members scattered throughout the hotel) could add something on the other panels or events?

Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

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******NEW REVIEWS********

These reviews are a sample of this month's new postings. Our Reviews Department is continuously posting new reviews. Find a list at http://www.simegen.com/reviews/ . Use our domain Google Search box on http://www.simegen.com to find books by a particular author, or to find a particular title.

Debatable Space by Philip Palmer

Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough

Write It When I'm Gone by Thomas M. DeFrank

Evil For Evil by K. J. Parker

Guardian's Keep by Lori Devoti

Scions: Resurrection by Patrice Michelle

Chili Con Corpses by J. B. Stanley

The Darkness by L. A. Banks

Bitter Tastes by V. B. Rosendahl

Egrets to the Flames by Barbara Anton

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****** NEW AT KEYBOOKS******

Our Keybooks Bookstore provides items of direct interest to writers and readers. Many writers work to the sound of Classical Music -- and many readers read to that background music. So we provide selections chosen for you by professional writers. The CLASSICAL MUSIC shelf at Keybooks has been recently updated. Go check it out (click on "music" at the top of the page).

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******NEW ITEMS FROM ARTISTS AND AUTHORS AT CAFE PRESS

A SIME~GEN postage stamp is now available to order on cafe press. It can be used just as you would use a a regular postage stamp. Be the first on YOUR block to have them!

We've got a new page for Cafe Press items from our artists and authors. Now you can get t-shirts, greeting cards, clocks, mugs, and other great stuff with work from your favorite artists. You can even buy books about Nessie, the Orange Forest Rabbit and The Reluctant Spy that aren't available anywhere else. http://simegen.com/marketplace/cafepress/ is a direct link to all our items and merchandise stores. Use of this page will give the domain extra income.

If there is an item that you wish to see that isn't offered, just write Lois and she'll get it ready for you to order.

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*******STARRED CROSS JEWELRY

Think about magnificent, hand-crafted Starred-Cross Jewelry for your holiday giving:

The image comes in four designs:
- silver & enamel brooch *
- silver & gold brooch
- silver & gold outline pendant
- small silver pin
(The first three are 1-1/2" square; the pin is about half that size.)

* Enamel can be almost any color - think Householding colors! How do you describe the color you want? Try http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_colornames.asp .

Follow the link to the artist's own page for ordering.

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******HELP WANTED

The spotlights section of Simegen.com currently needs interviewers, spotlight posting personnel, an assistant spotlights gatemaster, and a keygifts store manager. We are also requesting an Assistant Reviews Co-coordinator - duties include covering when other staff are unable to perform tasks. We are almost finished revamping our reviews section and expect activity to be at a constant high level. We're looking for a versatile quick learner able to put in some time daily. Pluses are: A good command of the English language (syntax, grammar, punctuation, in that order), some computer experience or ability to learn, and an interest in books. Direct all inquiries to simegen@simegen.com.

Individuals to take over, or assist with the SIMECENTER Site -- It isn't at all hard, but a bit time-consuming...and very rewarding ("meeting" these marvelous authors and artists, if only via EMail and their websites). Please write me, Kaires Tevesu, if you are interested.

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******PUBLICATION SCHEDULE********

We have had to withdraw the entire Sime~Gen project from Meisha Merlin for a wide range of reasons. They missed several deadlines for publication of TO KISS OR TO KILL and showed no signs of intention to get it out any time in the foreseeable future. That stalled everything else. It was very disappointing. So we are now actively in search of another publisher. THE UNITY TRILOGY should continue to be available for some time -- they have the right to dispose of all stock in the Meisha Merlin warehouse.

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******AVAILABLE RELEASES***********

~ the Omnibus reprint of Jean Lorrah's SAVAGE EMPIRE: DARK MOON RISING -- is #1 in the reprint program.

~ Trade Paperback edition of DREAMSPY from BenBella Books and you can order on Amazon and some other places. Read the comments here: http://www.simegen.com/writers/luren/dreamspy/dreamspyreviews.html .

~ SAVAGE EMPIRE: PROPHECIES is #2 in Jean Lorrah's and Winston Howlett's omnibus reprint of the Savage Empire series.

Still Available in Trade Paperback, SIME~GEN: THE UNITY TRILOGY .

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***** Sites to Remember *****

Author spotlights

Chats

Romance articles

Reviews of books by Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Reviews

Shopping

Sound files of Jacqueline Lichtenberg pronouncing Sime~Gen vocabulary words can be found at http://www.simegen.com/jl/nivetsoundfiles/index.html.

To sign up for classes, go to http://www.simegen.com/school/SchoolForms.html.

To volunteer, go to http://www.simegen.com/agreements/helpwanted.html for the latest openings.

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To contact editor for any reason, please e-mail Lisa Saunders at simegen@simegen.com.

*Please Note all material posted on Official Virtual Tecton is copyright İ by Sime~Gen Inc. and all rights are reserved. To get your Sime~Gen(tm) material sanctioned for web posting or to get permission to repost from official materials, e-mail ambrovzeor@aol.comor contact simegen@simegen.com. Sime~Gen (tm) is the trademark of a fictional universe copyright İ by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, 1969, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986 and Sime~Gen Inc. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.