Laughing at Cancer

Unidentified Funny Objects 2 [Amazon | B&N | UFO Pub], an anthology edited by Alex Shvartsman, is now available in e-book format. I believe the trade paperback is out as well (or will be any day now).

I’m not sure why we needed big chrome boobs on the cover, but Alex has put together some impressive names, such as Esther Friesner, Ken Liu, Tim Pratt, Robert Silverberg, and more.

My story in the anthology is called “Stranger vs. the Malevolent Malignancy,” and it’s all Jay Lake’s fault. Jay has been battling cancer for years, and as is his way, he’s talked openly and honestly about his experiences on his blog. Right around the time I was searching for an idea to write about for UFO2, Jay wrote a post talking about humor – even morbid humor – as a coping mechanism.

“Humor is incredibly subjective at the best of times. Humor in the face of mind-numbing adversity… If I couldn’t laugh at this at least some of the time, I’d have curled up and died of grief and fear a long time ago.”

His post stuck with me. It reinforced a lot of the things I believe about the power and value of humor. And so I decided to write a funny story about cancer.

As it turns out, it’s a bit of a challenge to make a story about terminal cancer funny. Especially when you’re trying very hard not to minimize or gloss over the reality of cancer, the unfairness and the indignity and the grief and the reality of it all.

I ended up writing about a superhero named The Stranger, whose powers include the ability to talk to objects. Including his own inoperable tumor.

While I was working on the story, Jay announced his terminal diagnosis. Since that time, the SF/F community lost author and advocate Ann Crispin to cancer. Several other people I know have revealed that they or their loved ones are fighting cancer. And I find myself more and more relating to one of the characters from the story, who says, “The point is, fuck cancer.”

I asked Jay if he was okay with me using some of the details he’d shared in his blog when I wrote the story. Jay was kind enough not only to say yes, but to offer to read it when I was done. (Which means if you read the story and hate it, it’s officially ALL JAY’S FAULT!) I might have also used him as the basis for a head-in-a-jar who used to be a superhero but is now a psychiatrist…

I’ve read the story in public several times now, and it was scary. Scary to talk bluntly about something we often try not to think about, and scary because while I know my intentions with the story, there was no guarantee I’d succeeded. If I screwed this one up, not only would I have a broken story, but I’d have written something that could potentially hurt and offend a lot of people.

So far, the reaction has been positive, which gives me hope that I got it right. No story works for everyone, of course. But humor is both a coping mechanism and a way to confront fear and ugliness. And I can think of few things more frightening and ugly than cancer.

A story can’t cure cancer. But maybe — hopefully — it can bring a little light to those in the midst of that battle.

ETA: Author J. W. Alden is giving away an autographed copy of the anthology on his blog. Just comment to enter.

Cool Stuff Friday

Another Friday, another collection of links that will hopefully make your day a little better.

Podcast Fiction: El-Mohtar and Ahmed

Two more recommendations from PodCastle.

First up is Saladin Ahmed’s Where Virtue Lives. This story takes place before the events of Ahmed’s award-winning novel Throne of the Crescent Moon, and shows how the aged ghul-hunter Doctor Adoulla Makhslood first met the young and rather uptight warrior Dervish Raseed bas Raseed. The story is also available at Beneath Ceaseless Skies. The story would be a great way to sample Ahmed’s world and writing. If you like it, you should enjoy the book as well.

I’m particularly fond of Adoulla, his impatience with the trappings of virtue combined with his determination to do what’s right. I appreciate the role religion plays in this world, how it’s woven through the magic and day-to-day interactions of the characters. This story also touches on the dynamics of power and control in an abusive relationship. There’s a “strong-guys-rescuing-the-women” overtone to the story, which I would have liked to see challenged a bit more, but overall I enjoyed it.

Next is A Hollow Play, by Amal El-Mohtar. This story was also published in the Glitter & Mayhem anthology, and is a tale of love and sacrifice and relationships and alienation and magic. This is the second of El-Mohtar’s stories that I’ve listened to and loved. In many ways, it’s a quiet story. There are no swords, no battles with evil demons, no end-of-the-world stakes.

But it’s a very powerful story. El-Mohtar makes the reader feel Emily’s sense of loss and being lost, her awkwardness and courage, and her love.

I was told that this is the kind of story some people might describe as being Full of Gay Agenda!!!1!!1! Having listened to the story, I’ve decided that’s just silly. There’s no agenda here, unless you feel that acknowledging the existence of gay or genderqueer or poly people is an agenda. (In which case, please go away.)

I’m particularly impressed with the way El-Mohtar wrote about feeling trapped in one’s own body, both from a human perspective and a not-quite-human one. Though this isn’t an area where I have first-hand experience, to me the story felt both respectful and genuine.

Ten Year Anniversary

This week marks ten years since Amy and I got married. That’s a quarter of our lives we’ve been together. If you look at how long we’ve been friends, we’ve been a part of each other’s lives for more than half the time we’ve been alive.

I don’t even know what to write here. I do know that I’m incredibly fortunate. Amy has put up with an awful lot over the past decade, from living with a struggling writer (and all of the emotional roller coaster rides and derailments that entails) to my struggle with undiagnosed depression to my obnoxious insistence on making her watch one geeky show after another. (In my defense, she loved Buffy, Doctor Who, and most of the other things I introduced her to. Because she has excellent taste!)

Amy, when you read this — and yeah, I’m gonna make you read my blog again — I know there have been some unexpected … let’s call them challenges. But I love you, and I wouldn’t trade these past ten years for anything. I can’t imagine doing all this without you, and I wouldn’t want to try. I’m looking forward to at least 60 more years. Yeah, that’s right, you’re stuck with me for a good long time.

Happy anniversary, love!

I wanted to share a few of my favorite pics of the two of us from years past…

More

Thoughts on World Fantasy Con

I’ve been hearing a fair amount of frustration with this year’s World Fantasy Convention over various issues.

WFC was the first “world-level” convention I attended, more than a decade ago now. It was intimidating and overwhelming, but also fun and rewarding. Sadly, I won’t be at WFC in Brighton this month. Which could raise the question, “Why am I griping about a con I’m not even going to?”

I’d like to think this isn’t griping. (At least, not just griping.) I think the problems being pointed out are important to be aware of and talk about even for those of us who won’t be at this particular convention. Since a decent number of authors, fans, and conrunners check in on this blog from time to time, I figured it was worth a blog post. I’ve also tried to do some rumor-checking and dig up more information on the various complaints I’ve heard.

The point isn’t to bash the volunteers who’ve been working their asses off to make the convention happen. It’s to say hey, it sounds like there are a few problems here. Maybe some of them can be addressed before the con. Hopefully we can also address them at future conventions.

#

WFC is charging £5 to attend Kaffeeklatsches and Book Clubs?

True.

I’ve had one kaffeeklatsche as an author, and there was no charge to attend. It was a lot of fun — a chance to hang out in a more informal setting, enjoy a few snacks and drinks, and just chat. In this case, the WFC website says they’re charging for two reasons.

  1. They’re passing along the hotel charge for biscuits and coffee.
  2. As a way to “prevent people taking advantage and reserving multiple slots and then simply not turning up.”

I know I would personally be very uncomfortable with people having to pay to come chat with me at a con. My understanding — and I could be wrong — is that most cons cover the expense for kaffeeklatsches the same way they cover other hotel expenses, bundling it into the cost of the convention instead of presenting this kind of add-on fees.

The only other thing I’ll say is that I know some authors have declined to do a kaffeeklatsche at WFC because of this.

I’d welcome thoughts and input on this one from folks with more experience.

Is WFC deliberately set up to be exclusive?

To some extent, yes.

Under the FAQ explaining why World Fantasy is so expensive, it says, “Unlike many other conventions — particularly World SF — the attraction of WFC is its very exclusivity.”

For the record, this makes the convention significantly less attractive for me. But I suppose your mileage may vary.

Comics will not be sold in the dealer’s room.

True.

While this does not seem to be specific to this particular World Fantasy Con, I agree with Cheryl Morgan that excluding comics because you’re a “literary” convention is a serious fail. I guess I have a very different definition of literature than whoever came up with this rule. I hope this is a policy the WFC Board will reconsider in the future.

Wait, most authors get only one panel or one reading, if anything?

I believe this is correct, though I haven’t found an official policy statement anywhere. It’s also in line with what I’ve seen at other world conventions. Given the number of pros in attendance, most of whom want to be involved with programming, well, there’s only so much room for everyone.

Were they really planning a panel called “Broads with Swords” about those new lady writers “embracing a once male-dominated” genre?

Yes.

While WFC certainly isn’t alone in spotlighting “Women in ______” panels, this one felt particularly clunky and painful. Just read Jess Haines’ post on this one.

What I don’t know is whether the WFC programming folks heard the feedback to this panel and have changed/removed it. Does anyone know if this is still on the schedule?

Is accessibility an issue at this location?

It originally sounded like this was a problem for at least some convention events. However, an update from the WFC Facebook Page states:

“After further discussions with the Hilton Brighton Metropole hotel, they have revealed that there **is** wheelchair access to the Chartwell room via a staff lift/elevator off of the main hotel lobby. We apologise for any confusion our earlier announcement may have caused.”

I don’t know if there are other issues, but hopefully the con is continuing to work to make the event as accessible as possible. (After all, it’s not like convention accessibility is a thing nobody’s ever talked about before.)

#

Newbie support!

I also wanted to offer props to WFC for having a designated “Newbie Liaison” for people who are attending their first WFC, or their first convention period. I really like that the con is actively trying to create events and get-togethers for new people, and I’d love to see more conventions follow suit.

Tumblr

Got an email last week asking why I wasn’t on Tumblr.

As it turns out, while I’m not terribly active over there, I am on Tumblr at http://jimhines.tumblr.com. I’ve even got the “Ask Me Anything” function turned on, in case anyone wanted to ask me … well, anything.

I just hadn’t gotten around to adding that link to my website.

Well, NOW I HAVE! TAKE THAT, UNIVERSE!

Cool Stuff Friday

Welcome to week two of Cool Stuff Friday.

September Search Queries

Because I was bored curious, I took a look at the search queries that brought people to my website over the past month. There were the obvious searches for my name and my writing, along with the cover poses. But there were plenty of more interesting results, too…

  • “Sex cartoon” was in the top five queries for the month. I’m guessing most of these folks were rather disappointed to land on this sexual harassment comic.
  • “Sex c” was also in the top ten. Yeah … sex c and I know it!
  • “Form sex” – Not quite sure what that means.
  • “Sex carton” makes me think of Merry and Pippin, with Pippin asking, “It comes in cartons?”
  • “enchanted alethea kontis pdf” – Great book. You can pick it up at Amazon,  B&N, Mysterious Galaxy or your local independent bookstore.
  • “nude erotic men pose with semi dressed women” – I’m starting to sense a theme here.
  • “adam jamie fanfiction mythbuster” – Adding this to my To Do List.
  • “belly button shoot with nerf bullets” – Um … I got nothing.
  • “how racist people look when they take a dump” – Until now, this question had never once crossed my mind, and I WAS PERFECTLY HAPPY THAT WAY!
  • “jim hines diet and workout” – For next year’s fundraiser, I’m makin’ a workout video! We’ll call it Geekercise!
  • “phineas and ferb sex jokes” – Aren’t they a little young to be making that kind of joke?
  • “scalzi hugo travesty” – This just makes me giggle.
  • “serial killer hines” – HOW DID THEY FIND OUT???
«< 118 119 120 121 122 >»