Saturday, June 30, 2007
Summer fun from Tales of the Talisman

It's been a while since I've had a chance to post here. I'm just back from vacation and working to catch up withTales of the Talisman submissions, but I wanted to let everyone know about some fun stuff we have going on at talesofthetalisman.com

First off, the summer issue of the magazine is now available. The issue features 90 pages packed with great science fiction, fantasy and horror by Jack Mangan, C.J. Henderson, David Boop, Lawrence Dagstine and more. The 13 stories in the issue are beautifully illustrated by such artists as Laura Givens, Russell Morgan, and April Martinez.

Next, we're proud to announce the debut of our web comics page. Visit the site to see the first edition of Laura Givens' comic, "On the Air With Nicodemus Dare."

Out on the road this summer? Too busy outside with your mp3 player? Well, we've got you covered there, too. Click on the "audio" link at talesofthetalisman.com to find links to three great audiobooks by Tales of the Talisman contributors that may be downloaded in mp3 format absolutely free!

Hope you'll drop by and see what's new!

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-06-30 12:06:51

Sunday, April 1, 2007
Predicting the Future

I suspect most people who know sciencefiction realize that, aside from a few examples, the genre really isn't all that good at predicting the future. Like most writers, science fiction writers react to and write about events they know from their own lives and experiences, contemporary headlines, or even historical research.

Of course, science fiction does sometimes get it right. Jules Verne's Nautilus ismuch-touted and more recently, I was awed to watch prototype space elevators being tested at the X-prize competition outside Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The closest I've ever come to predicting the future was with a story I first wrote back in 2000 called "Through Fire and Snares." The story tells of terrorists that attack an American space station and the idea came to me soon after the attack on the U.S.S. Cole. Thing is, the story became essentially unsellable soon after September 11, 2001 --not because the specifics of the story were very much like the events of that day, but it reminded people nonetheless.

The thing is, I don't think predicting a terrorist attack on a major American target was exceptionally insightful in 2000. Terrorists had been the villains in numerous movies and bookslong before I composed my story. (For that matter, does anyone remember the G.I. Joe cartoon from the 80's and the terrorist organization, COBRA?)

What I really found interesting in the story was the exploration of a couple of technical and social ideas that were also part of the story -- for example, I've been fascinated by how long Soyuz spacecraft have been in service. Also, I'd recently read about the idea of a type of rover that might hop on a piston rather than travel on treads. Finally, to me, the ideas of science and exploration have always been a fundamental part of the human experience -- something we must do because we're human. However, I've occasionally encountered people who see science as somehow an elitest exercise.

Well, time has passed and I recently found the story again. I dusted it off, polished it up with (hopefully) improved writing skills and sent it out again. As it turns out, J Alan Erwine of the ezine The Martian Wave bought the story.

So, you can now check out "Through Fire and Snares" absolutely free at http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/tmw/cover.htm

Feel free to let me know what you think. Make sure to read all the stories and poems in the issue and vote for your favorites.

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-04-01 21:11:20

Saturday, March 3, 2007
March book signings

Iwill be doing two book signings this month. The first is today,Saturday, March 3, 2007 at the Barnes and Noble at 705 Sunland Park Drive in El Paso, Texas. I'll be signing Vampires of the Scarlet Order from 2-4pm.

The next signing will be the release party for Heirs of the New Earth here in Las Cruces, New Mexico on St. Patrick's Day, Saturday, March 17. The party will be at COAS Bookstore on the downtown mall from 10am until noon. All of my books will be available at that event.

Hope to see some of you there!

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-03-03 10:26:37

Friday, February 2, 2007
Heirs of the New Earth available!

I'm proud to announce that myfourth novel, Heirs of the New Earth, is now available for order.This novel completes the trilogy that began with The Pirates of Sufiro and continued in Children of the Old Stars. Currently the novel is available for order direct from my publisher at: http://www.lbfbooks.comor from the Genre Mall at: http://www.genremall.com/fictionr.htm#heirs

For those in Southern New Mexico and West Texas, there will be a book release party on St. Patrick's Day at COAS Bookstore in Las Cruces from 10 until noon.

For those who have followed this series, the book basically details the final confrontation between John Mark Ellis and the Cluster that has been building for the past two books. Here's the blurb from the back of the book:

The Earth has gone silent. John Mark Ellis and the crew of the Sanson are sent to investigate. When they arrive, they find vast alien machines known as Clusters in orbit. Fearing the worst, they land and discover that the once overcrowded, polluted Earth has become a paradise of sorts. The problem is over half the population is dead or missing and the planet's leaders don't seem to care. As Ellis works to unravel the mystery, sudden gravitational shifts from the galaxy's center indicate something even worse is in the offing. Can Ellis save the galaxy from the heirs of the new Earth?

Mark Anthony Brennan says, "Heirs of the New Earth is an exciting story of humanity's distant future. This is a relaxed, easy read, with prose that both entertains and engages us. Mr. Summers' tale is set on an epic stage, and yet he draws us in so that, in the end, it feels like an intimate experience. This is a well-crafted and thoughtful piece of science fiction.Highly recommended."

Posted by David Summers 2007-02-02 20:35:10

Wednesday, January 31, 2007
My other magazine

As anyone who follows this web logknows, I edit the science fiction and fantasy magazine, Tales of the Talisman. What fewer probably know, is that since 2001, I've also been working with a literary magazine published by El Paso Community College called Chrysalis. The magazine is edited by a student staff supervised by English faculty member, Ysella Fulton Slavin. My primary job on the magazine is prepress layout along with some editorial consultation, so Chrysalis really isn't my magazine but it's near and dear to my heart nonetheless and I'm very proud of the work the students do, assembling the publication.

Last year, Chrysalis placed in three categories of the prestigious Texas Incollegiate Press Awards, including coming in third place overall for best college literary magazine. That's quite an accomplishment for a small community college magazine, especially when you think about all the big powerhouse schools in Texas.

Chrysalis has been known to publish the occasional science fiction, fantasy or horror piece. However, the print edition has only been available in the El Paso area. Well, now that's changed. There is now an online edition of Chrysalis available at: http://chrysalis-epcc.4t.com

For those who enjoy my fiction, the on-line edition even features one of my stories, "The Legend of the Santo El Nino" at: http://chrysalis-epcc.4t.com/2006/fiction8.htm

"Santo El Nino" is one of those stories that doesn't fall neatly into genre boundaries. It is perhaps a little bit of soft science fiction and a little bit of light fantasy. The story was first published as "Rain Dance" in The Writers Post Journal back in 2005 and was selected as one of the top 10 stories of 2005 by the editors. I hope you enjoy the story if you check it out.

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-01-31 20:26:40