hello to like eight people

[readingthedark]

Hello people I know in the Boston area who have spare money and time and are committed to writing fiction,

I happen to have the odd luxury of being friends with my favorite film reviewer. He was my fave film reviewer first but for a bitter old punk, he's also quite fun to be around. Especially because he knows an unfathomable amount about film, fiction and storytelling. I first encountered his writing when the award-winning Dawn Song came out from Tor. I mail-ordered it and, among other things, I adored how edgy its structure was. I immediately decided that Mike Marano was a veteran of the Gulf War and I've been trying to start that phony rumor ever since. If one person asks him how he deals with the trauma of his memories of combat, I'll be grateful.

(Impoverished or non-Bostonians: please note that I'm trying to educate and entertain you too, just like Mad Professor Mike will if you fly into Boston to take his class at Grub Street on Sunday nights. Grub Street has half-off tuition scholarships available, so the course would be $225 and then you could afford some of the air fare.)

I first encountered his reviews at SciFi.com and the mag Cemetery Dance. And they're brilliant. So, I don't know many people that this applies to, but I recommend him highly. Seriously, he is the real deal.

Act now, time is running out. (PS - Grub rocks too.)

>> ChiZine Fiction Editor, Stoker and International Horror Guild Award-winning
>> horror and SF writer Michael Marano will be offering a new class on "The Art
>> of Genre" at Grub Street, Inc., a non-profit creative writing center
>> dedicated to nurturing writers and connecting readers with the wealth of
>> writing talent in the Boston area. Grub's mission is to support creative
>> writers at all stages of their development so that they can achieve their
>> goals of publication, social and professional networking, gainful employment
>> in the field, and/or personal enrichment. Details are below. For more
>> information, contact Grub Street via their web site at
>>
>> http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=40
>>
>> The Art of Genre
>> Using the unreal in your fiction offers unique opportunities to break
>> fresh, new ground. This class will help hone the tools you'll need to write
>> genre fiction--be it science fiction, fantasy, or horror--with a distinctly
>> literary bent. In addition to the weekly workshopping of short stories and
>> novel fragments, students will be given a background on the genres'
>> histories and their respective subgenres, strategies for using surrealism
>> and postmodernism in their work, approaches to using "real world" research
>> as a way to flesh out otherworldly settings and narratives, and ways to use
>> the unreal as a tool to make metaphoric statements that can only be
>> articulated with fantastic trappings. Other topics covered will be
>> strategies for marketing your work, techniques for idea generating, and
>> protocols for developing their work with the help of editors and agents. The
>> goal is to give you a solid grounding in the demands of fantastic fiction,
>> and a better understanding of literary potential of your favorite genres.
>>
>> $425/$400 members
>> 10 Sundays in Boston, 6pm – 9pm. Begins January 18th
>> Instructor: Michael Marano
>> Registration Deadline: January 15th

Comments

[mdm-sosostris.livejournal.com]

Is this Mike from Readercon? I don't have any money, plan to be in Boston any time soon, or write fiction; but if this Mike is that Mike, tell him I said hi.

(Also, I miss you.)

[readingthedark.livejournal.com]

I could reach for some quirky metaphor about how you too should be committed (subtly implying that it should be to fiction or an institution), or I could ooh and ah about your icon, or I could say, "Of course I only know one Mike, I'm unpopular and it's a very rare name," but, instead, because you are my sister and I love you, yes, almost certainly that Mike.

[mdm-sosostris.livejournal.com]

I think I enjoy watching you bypass your own snark more than I enjoy said snark itself. And I enjoy your snark quite a bit. So thank you for the metaconversation as well as for the love. Also, I originally typed meatconversation. Make of that what you will.

[ciunas-alainn.livejournal.com]

Thanks for introducing my small-town brain to Mike. I just read his review of Let The Right One In and I almost don't want to watch the movie for fear it will spoil the brilliant review.

[readingthedark.livejournal.com]

He knows more about film than anyone I know, and I know some ubergeeks. Specific shots and dialogue and scenes beyond belief. But most of all, I've never read a review of his without knowing almost exactly how I'll feel about the movie. We don't always agree, but he gives me info I can actually use. And he turned me on to Joseph Losey, one of the most amazing filmmakers the world will ever produce.