Biological Bedlam
Jams, Jordan Con, and Jokes among friends.
Outlaws!
As in my last letter, there are more of you now than ever, and while I hope I get to say that of every time I sit down to pen this, please know I am eternally grateful to the sixty something of you who actually seem to be at least nominally interested in my brand of nonsense.
It’s been a pretty busy month here at the Hideout, which is in the process of moving. Soon to be Mrs. Outlaw and I have been in the midst of merging our hive of smugglers and ill gotten gains into a central location. Moving is about as fun for me as a cigarette burn, and shes been a saint in her patience with me being a lot more surly than usual in a lot of this. I’ve been in a bit of a valley. The past can lay heavier sometimes more than others, and I am feeling absent family and friends more than normal. Outlaws leave a lot of ghost, going thier own way. Mine have been louder than normal, as they do.
The work however, grinds on.
I do have exciting news, and I’ll look to share that first as usual, and then go into my topic of the day.
I’ve landed another editing gig!
Huge shout out to author and graphic designer friend James Pittman for the killer cover design. Give him a read!
Chaos Theory will be a reoccuring title, we are tentatively set for two anthologies, with the first, Biological Bedlam, being all about genetic experimentation. The latest Pandora’s Box we have opened in our reality. I figured it was a perfect anthology subject with George R. R. Martin’s lazy ass literally becoming his own version of John Hammond instead of finishing Winds of Winter. Bayonet Books was kind enough to agree, and the call is up! I’ll quote the main premise below, and anyone interested head over at the link and send me a story. We take brand new authors!
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. The glory of man may be fleeting, but it does not stop them from playing God. Be it Dolly, or Dire Wolves, the pandora’s box of genetic experimentation is already opening, making now the perfect time to explore the wonders and consequences of playing Legos with the building blocks of life. We are looking for stories of the price of man messing with the genetic bonds of nature, be it scientific, magical, or divine. Stories in the tone of Jurassic Park, Frankenstein, or Bioshock. Give us super soldiers, lab bred monsters, and resurrected beasts. Show us both the beauty and the bodies in tales of action, adventure, and/or horror.”
My entry will be my most ambitious story to date, using one of nature’s greatest predators as a POV in the tale.
This is going to be an amazing experience, and I myself will have a hand in the selection of stories for the first time. I get to continue the universe I started with Children of Fire. Revisiting the world of the Guassian Republic and expanding what side of the galaxy you get to see.
Please, if you have ever wanted to be an author, and the topic tickles your imagination, send something in. Tell others as well.
In other news, we recently attended Jordan Con, despite me, being way too frank, never reading the Wheel of Time and really only liking Jordan’s work when he wrote Conan.
Jordan Con is like Dragon Con’s little sister, nowhere near as big but still a large Atlanta con that pulls lots of readership. It’s got dedicated Sanderson and WoT tracks along with a sold Writer’s track. I was introduced by an author friend and attended last year, applying to be a guest this year. Alas, at the time I only had a single story in publishing, and was denied. I fully expected that, but one may hope.
For those who don’t know me, I’ve alway been a “crew” kind of person. There’s a core group of people that I want to be around, that don’t drain my “Social Battery.”
My best friends, my Lady, and the people I trust to take my words in good faith; The people that let me be me without heasitation. Due to finances, burnout, or surgery, literally none of those people were going to make Jordan Con this year. Combined with the hour and a half drive to get there; I have to say I was not an excited man when the time came. Cons are my escape, but this con was lacking the usual bandits and reavers I associate with. None of my normal buisness partners or family besides the Lady were going to make it.
Except they did, I just didn’t know it yet.
Arrival at the Author’s Alley initally lacked fanfair and I was already tired, but sometimes you have to forge on with determination to just have a good time. It’s hard for me to buy paperback books. I struggle to read them, and If I am going to do so and take the time, it has to be both a friend and a story I really want to read.
Then we ran into a string of amazing people, that I did not realize had become such a great part of my professional writing life.
Venessa Giunta lit up the moment she saw Mallory and I. Big hugs and a kiss on the cheek for us both. Nessa is the Queen of The Writing Troupe a large writing group, Multiverse Con, and a wonderful author. More importantly, she’s absolutely the Con Mom, and one of those people that constantly gives positive energy. I’ve always known that she was wonderful, but the warmth was exactly what the Lady and I needed in that moment.
Joe Compton is another con staple. A killer youtube, a constant moderator, and retired Marine. Joe is everything Simper Fi. Always faithful, always supportive, and always on the grind to lift everyone around him.
Joe helped arrange a heavy metal get together on Saturday night, which let me meet tons of new friends, and share a love that is a huge inspiration to my writing and all my other accomplishments. Music is a huge driving force for me and I got to meet other wonderful people because of it. Joe came over during the event and specifically asked about Mal and I’s wedding, my career, and our lives. He took time out of his party to look me right in the eye and tell me he was proud of how much work I had done since we met just a year and a half ago.
Melissa Olthoff and Marisa Wolf shared a table, dubbed M&M by me so I could tell Mallory where to meet me. The joint between thier booth and Katharine E Wibell’s table served as a kind of home base for us. M&M greeted me with a smile, never treating me as a stranger dispite being much further ahead in thier writing journey. I was blessed to share the screen with them twice talking about Arcane on H.P Holo’s channel. The Baen ladies regailed me with tales of Con shinangans and Coffee Wives. Marisa sold me her Valkyries novel, and Melissa authored book 2 when I am done.
Katharine herself and her husband were introduced to me by the afformentioned Pittman, and have since become adventuring friends. We attended beer tastings, shared homemade mead, and in general got up to the best kinds of nonsense. They make some amazing drink, and Katie’s Dark Norse Fantasy is awesome.
It’s Viking Dark Fantasy, y’all, what more do you want me to say.
All in all, we had a hell of a time, with people I did not expect to be the bastions of energy in the sea of stangers that is a convention.
I’ve tagged everyone not just to drop a name, but to let you get to know the people behind the names. I could tag several more, but this post is long enough.
Y’all have a great month, and be on the lookout for great things, and I hope that when you find yourself in a low valley, and looking for a refuge, you find the solace of friends.
May We All Find What We Seek,
Jesse James Fain