Tag / Books

by Michael Janairo

UPDATE: Mark your calendars: Long Hidden, the anthology, is on its way

LongHidden-frontcover-sm

UPDATE: Change of date and time (see below)

The anthology “Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History,” which includes one of my short stories (“Angela and the Scar”), has a release date: May 9, 2014.

Where can you buy the book? Check out the publisher’s page, Crossed Genres. The trade paperback edition is $19.95, and it is 363 pages. In addition to my story, it includes stories by some big-name writers such as Tananarive Due, Sofia Samatar, Ken Liu, Victor LaValle, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sabrina Vourvoulias. For a complete list of authors, check out my earlier post.

And while you’re at it, you may also want to kick in some bucks for the Crossed Genres Magazine’s current Kickstarter Campaign.

But wait, there’s more!

A book release party will be held at 9 pm Saturday, May 10, at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, 236 E. 3rd St., New York, New York 4 pm Saturday, May 10, at Alice’s Arbor, 549 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. Here’s the event page on Facebook. So if you’re in NYC, please go to the event and buy a copy. (Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend, as my day job is taking me to a conference at Yale.)

Continue reading →

by Michael Janairo

Thank you, Tor.com

So this is next on my reading list, thanks to a random drawing on Tor. com.

Publisher’s Weekly says of Eileen Gunn’s collection of short stories, “Questionable Practices”: “Nebula-winner Gunn combines humor and compassion in 17 short, intricate gems that showcase her many talents.”

Can’t wait.

20140327-205343.jpg

(Note the Tor.com buttons, too)

by Michael Janairo

New on Goodreads: Veterans of the Future Wars

VFWCoversmAn anthology of military sci-fi that I am in — Veterans of the Future Wars — has just been added to Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20691034-vfw.

If you haven’t already seen it, go check it out today. It is being put together by Martinus Publishing.

Here’s what’s cool about the anthology:

It’s military sci-fi about veterans, to honor veterans, and several of these stories were written by actual veterans. Read these tales to share in the adventure, the triumphs and tragedies, and if you like your freedom thank those who have served to protect it. 10% of all profits will be donated to Disabled American Veterans.

Thanks!

by Michael Janairo

My latest identity upgrade: ‘Goodreads Author’

I just got this email from Goodreads:

Hi Michael,

Welcome to the Goodreads Authors program! We have upgraded your profile to an official author account. Your special status as a Goodreads Author gives you greater access to the millions of readers in our Goodreads community—so expect to get to know some passionate book lovers!

Here’s the link https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7796395.Michael_Janairo

I haven’t done anything with it just yet, but this next step is all thanks to being listed as one of the authors of the Long Reads anthology.

Anything you’d like to see on my Goodreads Author page?

 

 

by Michael Janairo

Review: Go, Dog. Go!

Go, Dog. Go!
Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I was a little kid, this book seemed to be more my older brothers’ speed. It was longer. It was more complex, and it had a sense of danger about it that I didn’t truly understand as a young reader. When I finally did read the book, I thought it was really cool. I felt like I accomplished something, and I couldn’t understand what had made me apprehensive about reading it in the first place.

View all my reviews

by Michael Janairo

Long Hidden anthology cover revealed

Long Hidden cover revealed

So this is cool.

The good people at Crossed Genres have released the Cover by  Julie Dillon and the Table of Contents for the anthology Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History, which includes a story I wrote specifically for the anthology.

I am really honored and excited to be in the same book as all these writers, many of whom are big-name award-winners and all-around awesome people.

  • Sofia Samatar – “Ogres of East Africa”
  • Thoraiya Dyer – “The Oud”
  • Tananarive Due – “Free Jim’s Mine”
  • S. Lynn – “Ffydd (Faith)”
  • Sunny Moraine – “Across the Seam”
  • Rion Amilcar Scott – “Numbers”
  • Meg Jayanth – “Each Part Without Mercy”
  • Claire Humphrey – “The Witch of Tarup”
  • L.S. Johnson – “Marigolds”
  • Robert William Iveniuk – “Diyu”
  • Jamey Hatley – “Collected Likenesses”
  • Michael Janairo – “Angela and the Scar”
  • Benjamin Parzybok – “The Colts”
  • Kima Jones – “Nine”
  • Christina Lynch – “The Heart and the Feather”
  • Troy L. Wiggins – “A Score of Roses”
  • Nghi Vo – “Neither Witch Nor Fairy”
  • David Fuller – “A Deeper Echo”
  • Ken Liu – “Knotting Grass, Holding Ring”
  • Kemba Banton – “Jooni”
  • Sarah Pinsker – “There Will Be One Vacant Chair”
  • Nnedi Okorafor – “It’s War”
  • Shanaé Brown – “Find Me Unafraid”
  • Nicolette Barischoff – “A Wedding in Hungry Days”
  • Lisa Bolekaja – “Medu”
  • Victor LaValle – “Lone Women”
  • Sabrina Vourvoulias – “The Dance of the White Demons”

The anthology is edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older, and is slated for publication in May 2014.

by Michael Janairo

How to write a bestseller with ‘stylometry’


Scientists say they’ve uncovered the secret to writing a bestselling novel. By using a process called “statistical stylometry,” which basically means data mining an overload of printed matter — in this case 40,000 books and film scripts — to find patterns of wood usage.

The Stony Brook University researchers say that books that used more conjunctions (and, or, but) and thought-processing words, such as “recognized,” did better than books that had a higher percentage of verbs, adverbs and foreign words.

Do you believe them?

Here’s a quote from one of the researchers, which gives a sense of what it means to write about research (and maybe a good example of how not to write a bestselling sentence (look at those action verbs and a verb of being, but then again there’s that all-powerful “and”).

“Based on novels across different genres, we investigated the predictive power of statistical stylometry in discriminating successful literary works, and identified the stylistic elements that are more prominent in successful writings.”

by Michael Janairo

Review: Bears on Wheels

Bears on Wheels
Bears on Wheels by Stan Berenstain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A classic. Lots of tension. Defies physics and logic. Great ending.

View all my reviews

by Michael Janairo

Facts, figures about reading and books

In catching up on my reading of what the Times Union offers readers (in print), I came across a Harvey McKay column in the business section that focuses on reading. Though he doesn’t attribute his facts, I present them here for your reading pleasure:

Continue reading →