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About Curtis C. Chen
Curtis' short stories have appeared in Daily Science Fiction, MISSION: TOMORROW, and OREGON READS ALOUD. He is a graduate of the Clarion West and Viable Paradise writers' workshops.
You can find Curtis at Puzzled Pint Portland on the second Tuesday of most every month. And yes, there is a puzzle hidden in each of the KANGAROO book covers! Finding the rabbit holes is left as an exercise for the reader.
Visit him online at: http://curtiscchen.com
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Author Updates
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Blog post...to a WordPress "journal" on my professional author website: curtiscchen.com/journal
I will no longer be updating this site. So long, Blogger, and thanks for all the... dish?
Please update your bookmarks! (Do people even still say that?) Or, better yet, sign up for my mailing list to get all the latest and greatest news: news.curtiscchen.com2 years ago Read more -
Blog postHe died six months ago:
Sunday, June 10th, 2018.
He passed away at 4:27PM.
It was raining outside.
Tye was with him.
We were all with him. The whole family was together.
He was happy.
Tired, but happy. He was tired
and he just
went to sleep
one
last
time.
Our boy is gone and there's nothing for it.
I'm glad he was a part of our family.
I'm glad we had those last seven months--
goo2 years ago Read more -
Blog postI'll be in San Jose next week for Worldcon 76, and wonder of wonders, I am actually scheduled to be on some programming items! Here's where you can find me:
FRIDAY, 17 Aug 2018
SFWA Business Meeting
08:00 - 10:00, 210DH (San Jose Convention Center)
All SFWA members are welcome!
Cat Rambo (M), Kate Baker, Curtis Chen, Andy Duncan, Erin M. Hartshorn, Jeffe Kennedy, Terra LeMay, Sarah Pinsker, Lawrence M. Schoen, Steven Silver, Nathan Lowell
Autogra3 years ago Read more -
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Blog postIt's that time of year: I don't know why Norwescon always falls on Easter weekend (probably some combination of hotel contracts and fannish tradition) but it's happening again! If you'll be there at the end of this month, here's where you can stalk* find me (recommended sessions are ★ starred, YMMV):
Friday, March 30
Reading: Tina Connolly
10:30–11 a.m. @ Cascade 4
Something new and different. Tina Connolly reads something you probably haven’t heard bef3 years ago Read more -
Blog postIt's that time of the year when writers blog about their award-eligible works published in the last calendar year. Well, I only had one work published in 2017:
If you read and enjoyed Kangaroo Too, please talk it up anywhere and everywhere you like!
And now I'm going to direct your attention toward some other writers who have published outstanding fiction in 2017. In no particular order:Claire HumphreyA. Merc RustadA.C. Wise (ADD 30 Dec 2017: see also her What Have You3 years ago Read more -
Blog postThis coming weekend I'll be at OryCon, a science fiction/fantasy convention held annually in Portland since 1979. This year it's at the Red Lion Hotel on Jantzen Beach. When not at the bar, here's where you can find me (moderator for each session in bold):
Friday, November 17th
2:00pm-3:00pm
Getting Your First Professional Sale
Thrawn - 252
An author can struggle for months or years before achieving their first success, but even after writing their opus, they3 years ago Read more -
Blog postNext weekend (October 13-15) I'll be at Can*Con, the Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature in Ottawa. And no, I am not Canadian, but they're letting me crash their party anyway. (Thanks to my literary agent Sam Morgan, last year's Agent GoH, for paving the way!)
Here's where I'll be:
Saturday, October 14
9:00AM - Salon B
SFWA: Supports for Writers & Routes to Membership
An overview of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writ4 years ago Read more -
Blog postThere are lots of squirrels running around our apartment complex. Sometimes we throw peanuts out onto our back patio for them to eat. We try not to do it while they're watching, because we don't want them to get the idea that we're feeding them directly.
But lately there's this one squirrel who's been running around right outside our front door. We see him several times a week as we're leaving to go out, and he always runs up and stares at us like "whaddya got for me?"
4 years ago Read more -
Blog postICYMI last weekend: my debut novel is one of this year's finalists for the Endeavour Award, "for a distinguished SCIENCE FICTION or FANTASY BOOK written by a Pacific Northwest author or authors and published in the previous year." Hearty congratulations to my fellow finalists:Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine, Tor BooksDreams of Distant Shores by Patricia McKillip, TachyonEocene Station by Dave Duncan, Five Rivers PublishingLovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, HarperMore information from4 years ago Read more
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Blog postAs you know, Bob, space tourism features pretty heavily in both of my Kangaroo books: the first one takes place mostly on an interplanetary cruise spaceship, and the second book sees Kangaroo going undercover as a civilian on the Moon.
And, of course, tourism often involves drinking. Like modern cruise ships, the Dejah Thoris in Waypoint Kangaroo encourages its passengers to imbibe early and often; and the Hotel Tranquility in Kangaroo Too boasts a well-stocked, all-hours lobby bar4 years ago Read more -
Blog postThis pleasant surprise appeared in my inbox today (email truncated):
http://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/05/2017-locus-awards-finalists/
I'm flattered that enough people voted for Waypoint Kangaroo to put it in the top ten for the first novel category, and I'm honored to be listed alongside these outstanding works:The Reader, Traci Chee (Putnam)The Star-Touched Queen, Roshani Chokshi (St. Martin’s)The Girl from Everywhere, Heidi Heilig (Greenwillow; Hot Key)Roses a4 years ago Read more -
Blog postEarlier today I realized that Norwescon is NEXT WEEK. Time to start making plans! Here's where you can find me at the con (other than the bar):
Thursday, April 13
Write Your Elevator Pitch Workshop
Cascade 12
2–3 p.m.
Got a good elevator pitch for your manuscript? Whether you’re seeking an agent and traditional publisher, or planning to self-publish, you need to have an elevator pitch of your book. Loglines and elevator pitches are ways to explain your story/4 years ago Read more -
Blog postTL;DR: I care about the Academy Awards and I care about data reporting.
This year's Oscar nominations (honoring films released in 2016) were announced on January 24th, and ever since then I've been checking Oscars.org periodically to see if they've published the "view by film" tab on the nominations list. Several news outlets reported on the numbers of nominations different films received, but usually the Academy posts a full list of nominations for each film.
4 years ago Read more -
Blog postShort answer: Hong Kong, in April.
Long answer: Below is a list of all my currently scheduled author events and appearances in 2017. Bookmark curtiscchen.com/events for the most current details, and contact me if you'd like to invite me to something in your neck of the woods!January 28th (Saturday), 2pm - reading/signing at Vintage Books in Vancouver, WA with fellow local author Alexis Radcliff.January 31st (Tuesday), 7pm - SFWA Reading in Kirkland, WA with Fonda Lee and Randy Hende4 years ago Read more -
Blog postEvery year around Christmastime, DeeAnn and I spend an entire day at the movies seeing as many first-run shows as we can. Here are some statistics recounting how we spent our Boxing Day this year...
(with apologies to Harper's)
Movies seen: 5
Musicals seen: 3
Animated movies seen: 2
Disney movies seen: 2
Animated Disney movies seen: 1
Movies set in the past: 3
Movies with Alan Tudyk in a supporting r4 years ago Read more -
Blog postWHAT: livetweeting movie THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT
WHEN: 8:00PM Pacific Time (UTC/GMT-8) on December 24th (Xmas Eve)
HASHTAG: #LongKiss2016
You may recall this film from Day 15 of #42Movies, my birthday blog series last year. A few of our live-tweet participants have never seen it before, and I'm looking forward to seeing their reactions, and how well this flick holds up after the last two decades of tumultuous American history.
Want to follow our featured com4 years ago Read more -
Blog postA couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my post-election ennui. Now I'm doing something about it.
Today is #GivingTuesday, and regardless of how you feel about the proliferation of Thanksgiving holiday adjuncts (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, etc.), there are many opportunities to amplify your donations today and this week due to other people and organizations matching funds.
And sure, those folks could just give their money freely instead of digging4 years ago Read more -
Blog postHello. This is my post-terrible-election blog. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
I've had a lot of thoughts and feelings over the past week. I haven't been very productive, writing-wise. But here, I think, is some much-needed perspective:
https://youtu.be/SHG0ezLiVGc
To wit, nobody should be surprised to learn that America—overall, historically, demonstrably—is racist as fuck. Non-white minorities have always known this. If you look like any kin4 years ago Read more -
Blog postNext weekend (Nov.18-20) I'll be reading, paneling, and drinking at Oregon's premier, fan run, annual science fiction/fantasy convention held in Portland. Please stop by the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront if you're around. We can raise a glass to freedom, if nothing else...
Thursday night 11/17 (pre-con)Karaoke with friends. Contact me for details, if we be friends.
Find me to get KANGAROO swag!
Friday 11/184pm - Reading from Kangaroo Too - Hawthorne (2)
4 years ago Read more -
Blog postI turned 43 years old this past Saturday. We celebrated without much fanfare, and that was by choice: I guess I'm now on the even-numbered-birthdays-blowout plan, after the big Trek puzzle hunt for my 40th and the karaoke extravagana for my 42nd.
But despite being low-key, we did manage to pack in quite a few things:
One week before my actual birthday, I livetweeted my binge-rewatch of the first season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the best damn show on television. See my St5 years ago Read more -
Blog postSeptember's Writers With Drinks includes multi-award-winning author Anuradha Roy. Plus survival poetry, kickass comedy, and tons of science fiction and fantasy!
When: Saturday, September 10 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, doors open 6:30 PM
Who: Anuradha Roy, Margaret Wappler, Hollie Hardy, Naamen Tilahun, Dominique Gelin and Curtis Chen!
How much: $5 to $20, all proceeds benefit the CSC
Where: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd. St., San Francisco, CA
About the re5 years ago Read more -
Blog postOne month ago, I was fortunate enough to attend the Schrödinger Sessions II (SS2), a "science for science fiction writers" workshop at the University of Maryland (UMD), organized by the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) and focusing on quantum physics. The workshop was free, including lodging in a UMD dormitory and breakfast and lunch every day, and it was totally worth paying for my travel there and back.
I first got interested in quantum mechanics (QM) back in high scho5 years ago Read more -
Blog postI received a mysterious postcard this week:
No obvious hidden messages jumped out at me from the text, but DeeAnn wisely pointed out that several different video games are mentioned or described. That's pretty interesting.
Without knowing where this might lead, I'm not very motivated to spend time trying to solve it... but I'm sharing it here in case somebody else out there wants to take a crack at it.
If you do figure something out, please leave a comment5 years ago Read more -
Blog postIf you're going to Worldcon later this month, here's where you can find me:
SFWA Autographing: Curtis Chen
Friday 16:00 - 16:50, SFWA Table (Kansas City Convention Center)
I'm volunteering to staff the SFWA Table, and I'll be there starting at 3:00pm along with Ed Lerner. Stop by and say hello!
Reboot! Changing Up Comic Characters
Friday 18:00 - 19:00, 2204 (Kansas City Convention Center)
"Spider Gwen, Amadeus Cho, Thor, Captain America. We'5 years ago Read more -
Blog postYesterday was the "book birthday" for my debut novel WAYPOINT KANGAROO, and I did a bunch of guest blog posts and interviews to coincide with its release! But first things first...
Tor.com is running a sweepstakes to give away five copies of the book! Enter before 12noon Eastern Time this Friday, June 24th (US/Canada only).
And now on to the blog posts! Some of these may be more interesting to writers and other publishing professionals, but I hope they give ev5 years ago Read more
Soldiers fight to survive.
They fight each other, and they fight the demons inside.
Sometimes, they fight real monsters.
SNAFU collects stories of ancient myths, time travellers, horrors in the old west…
and the soldiers who fight them.
Featuring some of the best writers working in the field today.
Jonathan Maberry, Greig Beck and James A Moore lead the way, with a contingent of emerging authors to back them up.
Fight or die.
With Waypoint Kangaroo, Chen makes his debut with this outer space thriller.
Kangaroo isn’t your typical spy. Sure, he has extensive agency training, access to bleeding-edge technology, and a ready supply of clever (to him) quips and retorts. But what sets him apart is “the pocket.” It’s a portal that opens into an empty, seemingly infinite, parallel universe, and Kangaroo is the only person in the world who can use it. But he's pretty sure the agency only keeps him around to exploit his superpower.
After he bungles yet another mission, Kangaroo gets sent away on a mandatory “vacation:” an interplanetary cruise to Mars. While he tries to make the most of his exile, two passengers are found dead, and Kangaroo has to risk blowing his cover. It turns out he isn’t the only spy on the ship–and he’s just starting to unravel a massive conspiracy which threatens the entire Solar System.
Now, Kangaroo has to stop a disaster which would shatter the delicate peace that’s existed between Earth and Mars ever since the brutal Martian Independence War. A new interplanetary conflict would be devastating for both sides. Millions of lives are at stake.
Weren’t vacations supposed to be relaxing?
In Mission: Tomorrow, science fiction writers imagine the future of space exploration with NASA no longer dominant. Will private companies rule the stars or will new governments take up the call? From Brazilians to Russians to Chinese, the characters in these stories deal with everything from strange encounters, to troubled satellites and space ships, to competition for funding and getting there first. Nineteen stories of what-if spanning the gamut from Mercury to Pluto and beyond, assembled by critically praised editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt.
With stories by:
Jack McDevitt
Alex Shvartsman
Lezli Robyn
Robert Silverberg
Michael F. Flynn
Brenda Cooper
Michael Capobianco
Sarah A. Hoyt
Mike Resnick
David D. Levine
James Gunn
and more
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
Bryan Thomas Schmidt is an author and Hugo-nominated editor of adult and children's speculative fiction. His debut science fiction novel The Worker Prince, received Honorable Mention on Barnes & Noble’s Year’s Best SF of 2011, and was followed by sequels The Returning and The Exodus. His childrens' books include 102 More Hilarious Dinosaur Jokes For Kids and Abraham Lincoln: Dinosaur Hunter—Land Of Legends. Schmidt has edited anthologies Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6, Beyond The Sun, Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For a New Age, Mission: Tomorrow and, with Jennifer Brozek, coedited military high fantasy original anthology, Shattered Shields. Schmidt hosted #sffwrtcht (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer's Chat) Wednesdays at nine p.m. ET on Twitter from December 2010 through early 2015. A book editor for WordFire Press, he has also edited freelance for clients including New York Times Bestsellers Angie Fox and Andy Weir, for whom he was the first editor on the hit novel, The Martian.
Oregon Reads Aloud is a collection of twenty-five read-aloud stories for children, written and illustrated by Oregon authors and illustrators.
The twenty-five stories in Oregon Reads Aloud are a celebration of all things Oregon, including a great food cart feud, the dance of the Chapman Swifts, the creation of Oregon’s mountain ranges, and a legendary African American cowboy at the Pendleton Round-up.
The book is a tribute to twenty-five years of SMART Reading’s work empowering Oregon children for reading and learning success. Oregon Reads Aloud proudly features the state’s rich trove of talent within the children’s literary community, including Eric A, Kimmel, Elizabeth Rusch, David Horn, Brian Parker, and Trudy Ludwig, among many others.
Set in the same world as Waypoint Kangaroo, Curtis C. Chen's Kangaroo Too is bursting with adrenaline and intrigue in this unique outer space adventure.
On the way home from his latest mission, secret agent Kangaroo’s spacecraft is wrecked by a rogue mining robot. The agency tracks the bot back to the Moon, where a retired asteroid miner—code named “Clementine” —might have information about who’s behind the sabotage.
Clementine will only deal with Jessica Chu, Kangaroo’s personal physician and a former military doctor once deployed in the asteroid belt. Kangaroo accompanies Jessica as a courier, smuggling Clementine’s payment of solid gold in the pocket universe that only he can use.
What should be a simple infiltration is hindered by the nearly one million tourists celebrating the anniversary of the first Moon landing. And before Kangaroo and Jessica can make contact, Lunar authorities arrest Jessica for the murder of a local worker.
Jessica won’t explain why she met the victim in secret or erased security footage that could exonerate her. To make things worse, a sudden terror attack puts the whole Moon under lockdown. Now Kangaroo alone has to get Clementine to talk, clear Jessica’s name, and stop a crooked scheme which threatens to ruin approximately one million vacations.
But old secrets are buried on the Moon, and digging up the past will make Kangaroo’s future very complicated...
All of those campfire stories you heard as a child come alive in this collection of musically inspired western tales.
The authors and their inspirations:
- Robert Jones: Death Letter Blues by Son House
- Jeff C. Carter: God's Gonna Cut You Down as peformed by Johnny Cash
- Vivian Caethe: Blaze of Glory by Jon Bon Jovi
- Curtis James McConnell: The William Tell Overture by Gioachinni Rossini
- Curtis Chen: Don't Fence Me In as performed by David Byrne
- David Boop: The Yellow Rose of Texas
- Camille Griep: Horse with No Name as performed by America