Page Created: 09/25/10. Last Updated: 10/29/10. Last Google Group Page Update: 06/02/08.
RUSSEL LIKE
Books:
After the Blue
A Bowl of Fruit, a Whale in the Woods
A synopsis of After the Blue can be found at: http://hometown.aol.com/farnstarfl/synopsis.html
MEETING SUMMARY:
Meeting Date: January 8, 2005.
Meeting Site: Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Official Attendance: 26.
Meeting Program: Talk by Science Fiction Humor Writer.
Notes:
Meeting Memories:
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 2005 Philip J De Parto:
The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County met at the Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey on Saturday, January 8, 2005. Author Russel Like was the featured speaker.
The usual pre meeting events were held prior to the official commencement of the gathering. Our Anime Associates viewed episdoes of MAGICAL SHOPPING ARCADE ABENOBOSHI in the Wesley Room while the Final Frontier had a lively discussion of memorable villains at the far end of the Fellowship Hall.
Guest Speaker Russel Like is the author of two self published novels, AFTER THE BLUE and A BOWL OF FRUIT, A WHALE IN THE WOODS. AFTER THE BLUE is satire, as a race of clueless aliens tries to piece together the human civilization it has destroyed by accident. A BOWL OF FRUIT is an alternate worlds romp a la Harold Shea or Thursday Next. In this second novel, a man discovers an artifact lost by time travelers which allows a person to use a painting as a doorway to another world. Both books have been favorably reviewed in publications like ANALOG, CHRONICLE, BOOKLIST (the trade journal of libraries) and BOOKSENSE76 (published by the American Booksellers Association).
AFTER THE BLUE had been accepted for publication by a small press when the editor left the company. It fell into the limbo of orphaned books although an advance had been paid and the galleys had been produced. It remained in limbo for several years before the author was able to convince the company to release the rights back to him. Rather than risk still more delays, Mr Like decided to publish the book himself. All the pre production work had already been done, although he commissioned a new book cover with the assistance of his wife and her sister. A review in BOOKLIST resulted in enough orders from school classrooms and libraries to go to a second printing. The volume has been used in classes on satire in high schools and colleges in a number of states.
Armed with good reviews and sales of his first book, the author gave the regular channels of science fiction publication another try when he wrote A BOWL OF FRUIT, A WHALE IN THE WOODS. Feedback on the story was positive, but several editors passed on it due to concerns about how to market the title. Rather than spend a couple of years on the submission merry-go-round, he decided to publish this one himself as well. He has not been displeased with the results.
It wsa interesting and entertaining to learn about the books' unusual publishing history and about their contents.