Splinter Universe

Steve Miller will be a virtual panelist at Boskone 59, February 18-20.  Boskone 59 is a Hybrid Convention this year.

Steve’s schedule is below.  All times are Eastern Standard.

VIRTUAL: Unhappy Endings Format: Panel
18 Feb 2022, Friday 8pm – 8:50pm, Marina IV (Westin)
Jane Yolen, Steve Miller, Julie Czerneda, Paul Di Filippo (M), Ada Palmer

Tragic plays from Shakespeare, Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides are still with us … hundreds, even thousands of years later. Not all stories let the protagonist triumph — sometimes they lose; sometimes they even die losing. Some science fiction and fantasy writers’ unhappily ending stories are quite popular. Why do they succeed? Why do other such stories fail — even fail so hard their authors never try to write unhappily ever after?

VIRTUAL: My Favorite Character
18 Feb 2022, Friday 9pm – 9:50pm, Marina IV (Westin)
Olav Rokne, Jen Gunnels, Steve Miller, David Marshall, James Moore (M)

Google once estimated that humanity had published 129,864,880 books. If about half were SF/F/H trilogies — never mind, let’s ask it this way: from all the speculative fiction stories ever published, who’s your favorite character, and why? Heroine, villain, sidekick, romantic interest, alien bystander? Would you like to meet, have dinner with, or be that person? What does your choice say about your own character?

VIRTUAL: Solo Reading
19 Feb 2022, Saturday 12:30 – 12:55, Marina IV (Westin)
Steve Miller

The Chicago WorldCon has opened Hugo nominations.

Lee and Miller published a couple things in 2021 which we would like you to bear in mind while nominating.  They are:

Unless otherwise noted, all works are as by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

SHORT STORY
“Standing Orders,” Derelict, Zombies Need Brains, July 2021 (5,775 words)

NOVELETTE
“From Every Storm a Rainbow,” Baen.com (link to free story) December 2021 (7,957 words)

NOVELLA
“Dead Men Dream,” Change State: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 32, Pinbeam Books, March 2021 (19,800 words)

“Our Lady of Benevolence,” Bread Alone: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34, Pinbeam Books, November 2021 (14,500 words)

SERIES HUGO
The Liaden Universe® currently includes 23 published novels, and dozens of short stories.  The very first Liaden Universe® novel, Agent of Change, was published in February 1988.  The twenty-fourth Liaden Universe® novel, Fair Trade, will be published in May 2022.  The series is qualified — perhaps overqualified — for the Series Hugo.  Wikipedia article here.

HUGO NOMINATION RULES

It’s been a busy month for us, what with Trader’s Leap taking its first steps into the world.  We’ve done a total of three interviews in support of it and the Liaden Universe® in general.

For those interested, here is a comprehensive list:

Baen editor Tony Daniel interviews Lee and Miller (your choice of audio or video.  Princess Jasmine Sprite makes a special guest appearance in the video)

Mysterious Galaxy reading and Q&A (video)

Paul Semel Interviews Lee and Miller (written)

Have fun!

If you one of those who missed last night’s Wild Party at Mysterious Galaxy in honor of the release of Trader’s Leap, the twenty-third novel of the Liaden Universe® created and written by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller — there’s good news!

Through the magic of the internet, and the kindness of Mysterious Galaxy bookstore, you can see how it all went down.

Here’s your link.

1   Today!  Is Trader’s Leap Book Day!  This means the hardcover and ebook editions are available from your favorite vendor.

1a   If you have Just Now Realized that you would like to have a signed copy of Trader’s Leap, Uncle Hugo’s has a few more pre-signed copies.  Here’s your link.

1b   If you — yes, you; I see you there in the corner — have finished reading Trader’s Leap and Want to Talk About It, there is a spoiler discussion in progress at this link.  This is a moderated venue, so your post will not appear immediately.  It will be made public within 24 hours, and usually sooner, but we do sleep, and having the cats moderate just hasn’t worked out.

2   Ambient Conditions:  Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 31 is now available from your favorite ebook vendor.  This chapbook contains two stories — previously published “A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom,” and title story “Ambient Conditions,” plus an authors’ foreword.

2a   The paper edition of Ambient Conditions is available from Amazon only.  Here’s your link.

3   Paul Semel interviewed Lee and Miller.  You can read the results here.

4   Tomorrow night — that’s Wednesday, December 2, at 7 pm PST — Steve and Sharon will be reading from Trader’s Leap, talking trash, and taking questions at Mysterious Galaxy.  If you’d like to be part of this festive occasion, you need to sign up in advance.  The instructions for doing so can be found at this link.

5   If you haven’t read “Preferred Seating,” the companion story to “Ambient Conditions,” and teaser for Trader’s Leap, you still have a couple of days to grab it while it’s free at Baen.com.  Here’s your link.

EDITED TO ADD 6:  The Theory, insofar as it has been expressed to us, is that, yes, there will be an Audible edition of Trader’s Leap.  No, we don’t know when.  We are sorry not to be more informative, but authors pretty much are the last to know.

And that?  Is all the news that’s fit to print.

Everybody stay safe and stay healthy.

1a  Tshirts!  There is a deadline involved in preordering the new run of Liaden tshirts, and that deadline is!  Mother’s Day, May 10.  Your order must be in by that date.  Shirts ship on a first-ordered, first shipped basis, and will start shipping the week of May 11.

1b  If you don’t favor pink, take a look at the shirts on offer lower on the page at the link below, which are not only Not Pink, but are on sale.  Also? There are coffee mugs.

1c  Here’s the link to the Liaden Page at Offworld Designs

2a  The ebook edition of Splinter Universe Presents! has now been distributed to all of the Usual Suspects.  Here’s the link to Baen.    Here’s a universal link to Apple, BN, Kobo, 24 Symbols,  and Angus and Robertson.  Here’s the link to the Kindle edition.

2b  Here’s the link to the paper edition which is available only from Amazon.  No, the ebook and the paper edition have not been associated yet.  This is something that Amazon does (or, doesn’t do), so telling us really doesn’t advance the cause, thank you.

3  Pinbeam Books (this would be Lee and Miller’s indie publishing arm) is a catalog of Adventures in the Liaden Universe® chapbooks, and other Lee-and-Miller, and Lee, and Miller chapbooks, with links to Amazon, Baen, and BN.  This is the link to Pinbeam Books.

4  Please feel free to let your friends and fellow readers know about the limited edition tshirt offer, Pinbeam Books, and about the Liaden Universe® in general.  You have the links, use them well and wisely.

5  Everyone stay safe, and stay peaceful.  Tell your nearest and dearest that you love them, and thank them for being there.