Posts Tagged ‘The Sorrows of Empire’

Interview on 2012writersALIVE

This afternoon at roughly 2:30pm EDT, I spoke for half and hour with host John Byk of the 2012writersALIVE podcast about my new Cold Equations trilogy, my writing process, and my feelings regarding collaboration. We hung up the phone at 3pm — and half an hour later, the interview was live. That’s some fast turnaround!

Anyway, I had fun chatting with John, so give the interview a listen.

(P.S. — I apologize for the fact that I sound like I’m shouting from the far end of a tunnel. Next time I grant an interview by phone, I’ll use my land line instead of my cell phone.)

 

Scribe nominees interview

What could be more compelling (aside from careful observation growing grass or drying paint) than an interview with six Scribe Award-nominated authors about their nominated works and their views on media tie-in writing? Nothing, that’s what! Click on over to Jonathan Maberry’s Big, Scary Blog to read his interview with the nominees in the IAMTW‘s most hotly contested award category, Best Speculative Original Novel.

My tome Star Trek Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire is on that list of nominated works, and I join fellow nominees Keith R.A. DeCandido (Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon), Matt Forbeck & Jeff Grubb (Guild Wars: Ghosts of Ascalon), Sean Williams (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II), and Nathan Long (Warhammer: Bloodborn: Ulrika the Vampire) for a virtual roundtable discussion.

A sample of my loquacious genius in action:

BIG SCARY BLOG: What makes a really good media tie-in book?

DAVID MACK: Other than good writing and storytelling? A passion for the universe and characters is essential, in my opinion. More than that, I think it’s important to have respect for the source material one is working from. I won’t name the franchises, but I have on a few occasions turned down offers to write novels because I just couldn’t get excited about the core property, and I was concerned that my lack of enthusiasm for the material might come through in my writing. Licensors, publishers, and fans all deserve better than that for their money, in my opinion.

And there’s more where that came from. Go check it out and leave a comment so Jonathan will know you were there.

I’m a Scribe Awards nominee!

At long last I get to utter the face-saving banality, “it’s an honor just to be nominated.” My novel Star Trek Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire has been nominated for a Scribe Award, which honors excellence in the field of a movie/TV/game tie-in literature, in the Speculative Original category (in other words, an original narrative in the science fiction or fantasy genres).

Here’s the official press release from The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers (IAMTW), which sponsors and bestows the annual Scribe Awards:

The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers is proud to announce the 2011 Scribe Award nominees for excellence in licensed tie-in writing — novels based on TV shows, movies, and games – and this year’s Grandmaster, honoring career achievement in the field.

This year’s Grandmaster is Peter David, who has worked in television, film, books (fiction, non-fiction, and audio), short stories, and comic books. He’s the acclaimed author of over fifty novels, many of them New York Times bestsellers. His extraordinarily prolific output of consistently excellent books includes two dozen original Star Trek novels, three Babylon 5 novels and novelizations of such major motion pictures as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, and The Hulk.

David is also one of the most successful and acclaimed comic book scripters in the business with popular runs on such titles as Supergirl, Star Trek, Wolverine and, in particular, his work on The Incredible Hulk franchise (in comics as well as books). His many awards include the prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Award. He lives in New York with his wife Kathleen and their three children.

Our 2011 Scribe Nominees are:

GENERAL ORIGINAL
CSI: SHOCK TREATMENT by Greg Cox
BURN NOTICE: THE GIVEAWAY by Tod Goldberg
MIKE HAMMER: THE BIG BANG by Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane
MURDER SHE WROTE: The Queen’s Jewels by Donald Bain
PSYCH: THE CALL OF THE MILD by William Rabkin
SAVING GRACE: TOUGH LOVE by Nancy Holder

SPECULATIVE ORIGINAL
GUILD WARS: GHOSTS OF ASCALON by Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb
STAR TREK: MIRROR UNIVERSE: THE SORROWS OF EMPIRE by David Mack
STAR WARS: FORCE UNLEASHED II by Sean Williams
SUPERNATURAL: HEART OF THE DRAGON by Keith R. A. DeCandido
WARHAMMER: BLOODBORN: ULRIKA THE VAMPIRE by Nathan Long

BEST ADAPTATION
FINAL CRISIS by Greg Cox
GOD OF WAR by Matthew Stover & Robert E. Vardeman
THE WOLFMAN by Jonathan Maberry

BEST YOUNG ADULT
ALPHA & OMEGA: THE JUNIOR NOVEL by Aaron Rosenberg
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: ALDWYNS ACADEMY by Nathan Meyer
THUNDERBIRDS: SITUATION CRITICAL by Joan Marie Yerba

The Fifth Annual Scribe Awards will be given at a ceremony and panel discussion held during Comic Con International in San Diego in July 2011. Details will be announced soon.

As you can see, my book is up against some impressive competition in the Speculative Original category. I’m flattered to find my work on the short list; I extend my congratulations and best wishes to all my fellow nominees, and I thank the Scribe judges for their consideration.

Tune in again in late July to find out who the winners are!

How hot is it out there…?

One hundred goddamned degrees, that’s how hot. I just made a short walk to and from the post office, and I felt as if I had been hiking across the sands of Tattooine, or through the southern wastes of Arrakis. I fully expected to be attacked by Tusken raiders on 30th Avenue or swallowed by a spice worm on 43rd Street.

And why, you might ask, did I willingly venture out into such scorching weather?

I was mailing out copies of my most recent Star Trek Mirror Universe novel, The Sorrows of Empire, to the headquarters of the IAMTW (International Association of Media Tie-in Writers) and the judges of its Speculative Fiction–Original jury for the Scribe Awards.

This is my fifth time entering a novel into the Scribe Awards, and I am hoping to continue my perfect record: four consecutive years and not a single nomination. This year I had a difficult choice to make: enter Sorrows, a work I am quite proud of that was published in January, or wait until October to submit my next Star Trek novel, Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game.

In the end, I decided that I wanted to give the judges plenty of time to consider why they were snubbing my work this year, so I elected to send them The Sorrows of Empire, and I look forward to seeing what books make the final Scribes ballot in its place.

A new review of The Sorrows of Empire

My trusty Google Alert screen has brought to my attention a new and rather favorable review of my most recently published novel, Star Trek Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire (Expanded Edition). This time, the kind words come from the folks over at showmescifi.com —

Star Trek Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire — This is the REAL sequel to “Mirror Mirror,” and Yes, It’s Awesome!

Yeah, the article headline pretty much sums it up, but there are some choice quotes, my favorite of which is the pithy (though arguable), “David Mack is brilliant.”

Yeah, I’ll take it. I’ve had to eat a slice of humble pie once today, I need the ego-boost to balance the scales.

New interview with moi

Unreality-SF.net has just posted a detailed interview with me regarding my recent and upcoming Star Trek books, including Vanguard: Precipice, Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire (expanded edition), More Beautiful Than Death, and Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game.

Interview scribe Jens Defner and editor Daniel Berry have outdone themselves again with this in-depth look at my 2010 offerings, so head on over to their site and give it a look!