Author: ianrandalstrock

Blurbage, part 3

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I just received an awesome blurb from Stanley Schmidt, who was the editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact from 1978 to 2012, and who is a 35-time Hugo Award nominee. Stan writes of my upcoming collection:

“The short-short story is one of the hardest kinds of fiction to pull off, and few since Fredric Brown have done it as often or as well as Ian Randal Strock. But that’s not all he does. Wandering Through Time displays a delightful diversity of his thought-provoking ideas and engaging storytelling.”

I Voted for Harris

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On Sunday, I voted (early) in this year’s elections. I voted for Kamala Harris for president, and I think you should, too.

Why did I vote for her? Let me tell you.

I voted for her not for any specific policy promise or rhetorical flourish. I voted for her because I think that when she is sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, and an issue is brought before her that she needs to decide, her first thought is going to be “what is the best decision for the country?” If Donald Trump is sitting at that desk, however, I think his first thought will be “what is the best decision for me and my friends?” That difference is the only reason I needed to make my decision. But I’ll go a little further for the rest of you.

I think Kamala Harris will surround herself with appointees, advisors, and assistants who will also be thinking “what is best for the country?” I think she will seek out the smartest, most capable people possible. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has already told us who he’ll be looking to appoint, and who he won’t, and I don’t think they’ll be working for our best interests. I don’t trust the cadre around him, and I don’t trust his judgment in finding more appointees or advisors.

You can look at any of the campaign nonsense you want—taxes and tariffs, deplorables and enemies, fascism and greatness—none of what they’re saying today will matter after the inauguration. The only thing that will matter is who is making the decisions, and what is uppermost in their minds when they make those decisions. That’s why I voted for Kamala Harris, and why I urge you to do the same.

A Vampire is Running for President: Thank God!

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A press release from Fantastic Books:

It’s been a horrific election season. Supporters on both sides are quite certain the other candidate can’t be human. Maybe we’d be better off voting for an actual monster!

Should being outed as a real vampire disqualify one from running for the presidency of the United States? Michael A. Ventrella’s hilarious Bloodsuckers answers that question.

Disgraced journalist Steven Edwards considers the “Batties”—the loonies who believe that vampires are real and Norman Mark is one—just another crazy tin-foil-hat extremist group. Then someone shoots at Mark, changes into a bat, and flies away before Steve’s eyes, leaving him as the prime suspect. With the help of the Batties, Steve goes underground. The only way he can establish his innocence is by proving vampires exist—not an easy task while on the run from both the FBI and the bloodsuckers.

Fantastic Books is releasing a new edition of Bloodsuckers right now, timed to coincide with “the most consequential presidential election in American history.” But aren’t they all? We’ve been tuned in to news of this election non-stop for years; it’s time to take a break. Read Bloodsuckers, and put it all into perspective.

Bloodsuckers: A Vampire Runs for President
Michael A. Ventrella
$15.99, 250 pages, trade paperback (ebook $7.99)
publication date: October 29, 2024
ISBN: 978-1-5154-5828-9

Bloodsuckers—and all Fantastic Books books—are distributed via Ingram. Review copies are available upon request.

    Can New York Vote Republican?

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    A friend asked me how many Republican presidents have carried the electoral votes of New York State. It’s a simple enough question. But I think it may be masking something else. My friend may be wondering if the present is monolithic: that the way things are is the way they have always been, and always will be.

    New York is currently overwhelmingly Democratic—so much so that it’s nearly inconceivable that New York would vote Republican for president. In 2004, 58.37% of the vote in New York was for John Kerry, the Democrat (he earned 48.3% of the popular vote nationwide). In 2008, Barack Obama took 62.88% of New York (52.9% nationwide). In 2012, Obama got 63.35% of New York (51.1% nationwide). In 2016, Hilary Clinton took 59.01% of New York (48.2% nationwide). And in 2020, Joe Biden garnered 60.87% of New York (51.3% nationwide).

    But reality is not quite so unchanging.

    There have been 42 elections with a Republican candidate on the ballot for president (the first was John C. Fremont in 1856). In those elections, New York has voted for the Republican candidate 20 times, and 22 times for the Democrat. When New York votes Republican, that candidate has won 17 times (New York voted for unsuccessful Republicans Fremont in 1856, Hughes in 1916, and Dewey in 1948). When New York votes Democratic, that candidate has won 15 times (New York voted for unsuccessful Democrats Seymour in 1868, Tilden in 1876, Humphrey in 1968, Dukakis in 1988, Gore in 2000, Kerry in 2004, and Hilary Clinton in 2016).

    So yes, in the current era, New York state voting Republican is highly unlikely. But such was not always the case. And it may not always be the case in the future. The key take-away from these numbers is: things change. The Republicans may be able to divorce themselves from the insanity of the Trumpian party, and once again field rational candidates for national office. The Democrats may become unhinged through their own acceptance of a radical fringe. The one thing we know for certain is that humans are very good at extrapolating trends, but absolutely terrible and foreseeing inflection points in those trends.

    WotF Podcast Appearance

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    Less than a fortnight ago, John Goodwin interviewed me for his Writers of the Future podcast. That hour-long interview is now live at this link: https://soundcloud.com/writersofthefuture/297-ian-randal-strock-the-importance-of-short-fiction?si=8200bff4a422459ab8fc6c6c9d08524f&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing&fbclid=IwY2xjawFuhFtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSB2IR4NX79JtYEK9Vb_IlQ1woNklLXy3cOMT_Ynz42mtDJiLn0M_eBX7g_aem_4LRGlWsM0VNcypTPo68mzQ

    Listening to it, I realize I referred to a lot of things listeners might be interested in learning more about, so I’m providing this list of references and web links. Enjoy!

    Artemis Society International, which is now the Moon Society: https://www.moonsociety.org/

    Analog Science Fiction and Fact: https://www.analogsf.com/

    Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine: https://www.asimovs.com/

    The Daily Free Press: https://dailyfreepress.com/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_advertising

    Random House Bantam Doubleday Dell: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/

    Wandering Through Time: https://www.fantasticbooks.biz/product-page/wandering-through-time-by-ian-randal-strock

    The Presidential Book of Lists, Ranking the First Ladies, and Ranking the Vice Presidents: https://ianrandalstrock.com/home/writer/books/

    Altered States of the Union: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31180369-altered-states-of-the-union

    Carren Strock: https://carrenstrock.com/

    Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanverse

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_science_fiction

    Mike Resnick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Resnick

    Lezli Robyn: https://lezlirobyn.com/

    Galaxy’s Edge: https://www.galaxysedge.com/

    Alice Henderson: http://www.alicehenderson.com/

    Gray Rabbit Publications / Fantastic Books: https://www.fantasticbooks.biz/

    Reviews!

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    The new issue of True Review has just been posted. In this one, they’ve reviewed two Fantastic Books titles: one six years old, the other still two months from being published.

    Of Susan Casper’s The Red Carnival, reviewer Andrew Andrews writes “I love Casper’s style. It is truly gritty, edgy, compelling, dark and emotional. In this case, there is a stark and sinister force at this carny in the town of Somerset that makes all the festival lights turn red. There is a ride that appears out of nowhere, not attested to by the carny operators, called ‘Golgotha, Place of Skulls,’ and there comes a frenzy of violence by the carnygo’ers and carny staff. There is an impulsivity to this narrative that is disturbing, yet almost amusing.”

    That’s a good review of a very good book, and I don’t want to take anything away from it.

    But of far more personal import is his review of my forthcoming collection, Wandering Through Time. He writes: “Ian Randal Strock is the Harry Turtledove of short-short SF. His alternate-history stories have punch. The take on a geographically divided America in the time of the Civil War rings strongly in ‘Shall Not Perish from the Earth.’ I think it’s Strock’s best tale. In ‘The Necessary Enemy,’ it’s always wars, it seems, that drive humankind’s progress and destiny. ‘Rockefeller on the Rocks’ proves that unique tales, true or not, of U.S. vice presidents could perhaps work, with sufficiently advanced technology. Why can’t we replace veeps with robots? Who would know?”

    I’m thrilled, honored, and a humbled to be compared to Harry Turtledove. My book is being released on December 3.

    Science fiction convention (tenth of 2024)

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    This weekend, I’ll be in Texas for American Mensa’s quarterly board of directors meeting, but next weekend is Capclave in Rockville, Maryland.

    As usual, I’ll be at the Fantastic Books table in the dealers’ room (open Friday 3:00–6:00pm, Saturday 10:00am–6:00pm, and Sunday 10:00am–2:00pm). I’ll be participating in the Mass Signing and Awards Ceremony in the Atrium (Saturday, starting at 7:00pm). And I’ll be on the following panels:

    Friday at 6:00pm in Washington Theater: “What Is a Small Press?” with Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Shahid Mahmud, Adeena Mignogna, and Joshua Benjamin Palmatier.

    Friday at 8:00pm in Washington Theater: “This One Time…” with Morgan Hazelwood, Michael A. Ventrella, and Jean Marie Ward.

    Saturday at 12:00n in Jackson: “The Future of Currency” with Elektra Hammond, Shahid Mahmud, and Jennifer R. Povey.

    Saturday at 4:00pm in Eisenhower: “Short Stories Are Where It’s At” with Ken Altabef, Scott H. Andrews, Jennifer Brinn, and Sheree Renée Thomas.

    Sunday at 12:00n in Monroe: “This Was the End” with Scott Edelman, Shahid Mahmud, and Alex Shvartsman.

    Hope to see many of you there!

    …As I was saying!

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    A press release from Fantastic Books:

    Fantastic Books is gearing up to publish …As I was saying! The book will be a collection of funny, horrifying, sweet, depressing, outlandish, and true tales of life and encounters at conventions. And we’re looking for your stories!

    Tell us your stories about things that happened at conventions. Give us your conventional stories that aren’t very conventional.

    We focus on science fiction conventions, but we’re willing to expand our horizons a bit to comic cons, writer conventions, media conventions, things that are close.

    Fantastic Books publisher Ian Randal Strock (who has attended more than 200 of them himself) and editor Michael A. Ventrella (who is responsible for Release the Virgins, Three Time Travelers Walk Into…, and the sequel anthology to “The Eye of Argon”) will be co-editing the book. Amazing Stories has graciously agreed to host the submission form at this link: https://amazingstories.com/convention-stories-for-fantastic-books/

    So please, share your stories; we’re dying to hear them.

    Note: the title comes from Michael’s own contribution to the book.

    Also note: this is an unpaid opportunity. If the book actually makes money, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to an appropriate charity.

    Random Thoughts

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    To-do lists: the joy of crossing things off them, or the truly icky feeling of a list with everything but one crossed off, and just knowing that one is going to sit there for a very long time, so that the incomplete list can never be thrown away.