Eric James Stone

(Cross-posted from the Bloggernacle Times.)

A few weeks ago I was at the North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) in Seattle. While there, I met author Eldon J. Thompson when he moderated a panel I was on. The panel was called “Dragon Big, Knights Crunchy,” and it was about how to make it believable that your heroes will succeed against terrible odds. After the panel, I found out Eldon was LDS. Through sheer coincidence, three of the four panelists were LDS — Brandon Sanderson was also there. (Another coincidence was that Brandon and Eldon both had their first novels released the same month.)

Later during the convention, I had the chance to hear Eldon read the first chapter of his novel, The Crimson Sword, and found it very intriguing. So I bought the novel and read it, and it lived up to its opening. (You can read chapter one online on Eldon’s website. You can also purchase an autographed copy of The Crimson Sword here.)

Eldon kindly consented to allow me to interview him, and here are the results:
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If there were justice in the world of movie box office receipts, Serenity would make much more than Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (currently at $380 million in the U.S. alone) because it is a much better movie. That won’t happen, of course, but if you like smart, funny, action-packed science fiction, you need to help Serenity do well at the box office so Hollywood will make more like it. I saw it for free last night — I’ll be paying to see it again.

Serenity is a continuation of Joss Whedon’s short-lived TV series Firefly, but you don’t need to have watched the TV series in order to understand what’s going on. But in case you want a little background…
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For those of you who don’t know, Joss Whedon is the creator of my favorite television show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (You can see my posts about Buffy here.)

In addition to the Buffy spin-off Angel, he also created a science fiction show called Firefly. Unfortunately, Firefly didn’t even last a full season, but it sold so well on DVD that the studio decided to do a movie. That movie is called Serenity, and it opens on September 30. Here’s the film synopsis, provided by Universal Pictures:

Joss Whedon, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family — squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

I watched the series when it aired, but the better experience is watching it on DVD, because the TV network didn’t air all the episodes (or even air them in the right order.)

Anyway, although Firefly/Serenity is another reason to like Joss Whedon, it’s not the reason I’m writing this entry. The film producers have decided to allow bloggers to the advance press screenings, so I applied to go and received an invitation to a press screening in Salt Lake on Tuesday. So if all goes well I’ll be able to post a review of the film before most people can go see it, just like the big-name movie reviewers.

Blogger privileges — another reason to like Joss Whedon.

I did a signing last week at a Waldenbooks in Provo, which went fairly well.

I’m doing a signing tomorrow at the Waldenbooks at Fashion Place Mall in Murray. That event is actually listed in both the Deseret Morning News and Salt Lake Tribune.

Someone really liked my story “Resonance.” A quote:

There was a really awesome story in September’s Analog: Resonance by Eric James Stone. Indubitably the best thing in that issue. (Though Sanctuary was also very good.)

See what else this fan had to say here. (You have to scroll a bit over halfway down to find it.)

Arrrr!

I spent an extended Labor Day weekend at NASFiC (North American Science Fiction Convention). A NASFiC is held in years when the WorldCon is outside North America. This year, WorldCon was in Scotland, so NASFiC was held at CascadiaCon in Seattle.

I was on several panels:
Dragon Big, Knights Crunchy
Is There a Future for Humanity?
Change for a Penny: Microtransactions, Licenses, and Virtual Exchanges
Favorite Music from SF&F Movies and Television
Morality in Youth-Oriented Fantasy
The Idea Factory
Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests and 21st Annual Awards
Cloning: Hoary old clich?or hot topic of the decade?
SciFi Friday, Changing the Face of Science Fiction on Television

My favorite of the panels I was on was “The Idea Factory,” where we discussed where ideas come from, how we get our ideas, etc.

I also did a reading that was attended by five or six people. I read “Bird-Dropping and Sunday,” plus a few short-short stories. I think they went over fairly well.

In addition to being on panels, I attended several panels, at some of which I took notes. Here are my (very raw) notes:

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The following is a story from the September 7, 2005, issue of the Crossroads Journal, a semimonthly paper serving Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs.