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Category: Story-related background

This image is a composite of two square images. At left it says, “SoonerCon 31 June 30-July2, 2023,” superimposed over a science fictional-looking image. Farther down on a multicolored design are the words, “What is Harlan Zephyr Up To?” Then it says, “SOONERRCON 31 IS JUNE 30-JULY 2, 2023 Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center in Norman.” At right is a screen-grab from a video on the SoonerCon Facebook Page shows three images from past shows and auctions. Across the top a runner reads, “Oklahoma’s Premier Pop Culture Convention.” Below that, it says, “Check out the Art Show & Charity Auction,” and “SoonerCon 31, June 30-July 2, 2023.”
A SoonerCon 31 Summary

A SoonerCon 31 Summary

By Jan S. Gephardt I promised a SoonerCon 31 summary, and I mean to deliver in today’s post. But this overview won’t be our last glimpse of SoonerCon. I love this convention, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s event. However – as at every convention – this one provided some “learning takes.” Our dealers table experiment continues, although after SoonerCon 31 the effort is looking ever more dubious as a genuinely money-making proposition. We had another unfortunate entomological…

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This image is created from two square-shaped images. The one on the left features a drone’s-eye-view of an old-fashioned black manual typewriter on a white background. The words say, “Your words are as important to an author as an author’s words are to you. Please leave a review. Katieroseguestpryal.com.” on the left is a predominantly black design with white, gold and tan dots around the edges. In the middle it says, “Feed an author LEAVE A REVIEW it takes five minutes and helps more than you can IMAGINE. ErinPhillips.me.” Many thanks for these images to Katie Rose Guest Pryal and Erin Phillips, via Rebecca's Write Inspirations.
Due a Review

Due a Review

By Jan S. Gephardt I’ve been reading some very enjoyable books recently. They really are due a review. I’m an Indie author myself. Co-publishing out of a micro-press I run with my sister counts as “indie,” trust me. Thus, I know how vitally important reviews are. But frankly, reviews are important to all writers, whether indie or traditionally published. Every single review posted by an individual reader tells the world that this author wrote a book someone felt moved to…

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Covers for Jan's three "Cops in Space" books, "The Other Side of Fear," "What's Bred in the Bone," and "A Bone to PIck."
What should police do?

What should police do?

By Jan S. Gephardt We rarely think to ask a fundamental question: what should police do? What part should they play in a multicultural, representational democracy? The ubiquity of police forces around the world argues that many societies believe police do have a role in civilized life. But what – exactly – should it be? As a novelist whose primary characters are science fictional detectives, I am in an unusual position, both to ask and to answer this question. But…

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“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” — Brian Tracy
Gratitude isn’t only for one day

Gratitude isn’t only for one day

By Jan S. Gephardt Here in the United States, we recently celebrated Thanksgiving. As I noted in my last post, it’s supposed to be a time to reflect upon the blessings in our lives and be grateful. My purpose today is to make the point that gratitude isn’t only for one day a year. It’s better understood as a lifestyle. It’s my lived experience that when one looks at the world with gratefulness, it’s easier to see the blessings that…

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No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother. - Margaret Sanger
Liberty and Personal Freedom on Rana Station

Liberty and Personal Freedom on Rana Station

By Jan S. Gephardt Recent events have gotten me thinking about liberty and personal freedom. Here in the United States, we recently seem to have had an unusual amount of trouble defining just exactly what those are. To whom should they be extended, and in what measure? There seem to be different standards, depending on who you’re talking to, and about whom they’re talking. Yes, I know. We Americans are kinda famous around the world for having staked a claim,…

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Hildie stands on a balcony at her home. She wears a red and gold saree.
A Vision From a Different World

A Vision From a Different World

By Jan S. Gephardt To a certain extent, every piece of fiction opens a vision from a different world. But in works of science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction, the idea of “a different world” is often more front-and-center. But translating that into visual art can be tricky. As I’ve described in the last two blog posts, “Visualizing a Character” and “Portraying Hildie,” this winter my friend Lucy A. Synk and I undertook a multi-painting project. We sought to create…

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Clockwise: a finished digital painting of Pamela Gómez, the illustration “Mac and Yo-yo in Their Workshop,” and design sketches of an EStee next to some studies for collar-mounted vocalizers all are examples of visualizing a character or a character’s tools.
Visualizing a Character

Visualizing a Character

By Jan S. Gephardt For a novelist, visualizing a character – bringing them into focus, learning who they are, and what makes them tick – is absolutely essential. Readers don’t read our books because they fell in love with the plot twists. They don’t seek out a book because they love murder, or war, or the scientific concept that makes a book “science fiction.” They read our books because they fall in love with our characters. At least, we writers…

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"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy
It Has to Make Sense

It Has to Make Sense

By Jan S. Gephardt Along with the rest of the world, I’ve been watching with horror as Mr. Putin’s army invades Ukraine. It appears to be a senseless act, mindless in its wanton brutality. I’d never get away with this in a story, is a thought that has frequently recurred. In fiction, it has to make sense. Putin was warned, and with each new development, he’s warned again. He had ample opportunities to turn back from this course. Now his…

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Take time to do what makes your soul happy.
I Just Want to Write

I Just Want to Write

By Jan S. Gephardt Sometimes, I just want to write. Please understand. I love my job. At this moment in my life, I’m able to do the exact thing I’ve dreamed of doing my whole life. I write the novels I’ve always wanted to write, and I publish them the way I want to. As Chief Cat-Herder (today’s my day!) and Manager of Weirdness at Weird Sisters Publishing LLC, I get to do all the things. I’m a lifelong artist/graphic…

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BFFs Lynette M. Burrows and Jan S. Gephardt.
A Pair of BFFs Talk about Writing

A Pair of BFFs Talk about Writing

By Jan S. Gephardt and Lynette M. Burrows A note from Jan to her readers: My longtime friend Lynette M. Burrows and I belong to some of the same writers’ groups, and first met through the Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society (KaCSFFS). We bonded over (among other things) our interest in writing, and we’ve been friends literally for decades. We regularly check in with each other to “talk shop” or be each others’ cheerleaders. Earlier this summer, I…

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