Page Created: 09/16/10. Last Updated: 11/01/10. Last Google Group Page Update: 01/04/09.
JEFF SOMERS
Books:
Science Fiction:
The Digital Plague (forthcoming)
The Electric Church
Other:
The Freaks Are Winning
Lifers
Magazine:
The Inner Swine
The author's website is: http://www.jeffreysomers.com/
Amazon.com reviews: http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0316021725/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt/104-7566189-4237501?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
MEETING SUMMARY:
Meeting Date: January 12, 2008.
Meeting Site: Saddle River Valley Cultural Center.
Official Attendance: 23,
Meeting Program: Talk by Science Fiction Writer.
Notes:
Meeting Memories:
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 2008 Philip J De Parto:
The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County met on Saturday, January 12, 2008 at the Saddle River Valley Cultural Center in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Almost half of the audience arrived well after the start of the meeting which complicates matters in many ways: it undermines our pre meeting activities, it makes it hard to communicate information to members at the start of the meeting, and it gives our guests the impression that they will be addressing an empty room.
The Ice Nine discussion touched on the upcoming STAR TREK movie, CLOVERDALE, the new GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE cartoon show and THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. Barry Weinberger announced that due to the box office success of ALVIN AND THE CHIPMONKS, the Academy Awards were creating a new category for Best Chipmonk. Meanwhile Chuck Garofalo kept a lonely vigil in the basement with DANGER MOUSE cartoons as his company. Philip De Parto announced that club members are invited to become members of the SFABC Speakers&Programs Google Group and post their observations about meetings they attend.
Jeff Somers is the author of the science fiction novels, THE ELECTRIC CHURCH and the forthcoming THE DIGITAL PLAGUE from Orbit Books. He edits the personal 'zine, THE INNER SWINE, has written many short stories, and has written non genre books as well. His official website is http://www.jeffreysomers.com.
Mr Somers' first encounter with written science fiction occurred when he stumbled upon THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE in the library when he was 10 years old. Within a year he was writing his first fantasy book, a very bad Tolkien rip-off, THE LORD OF THE GEMS.
LIFERS was his first published book. It is a gritty mystery from a small press publisher which was favorably reviewed in THE NEW YORK TIMES. It did not open the doors to best sellerdom for him, however.
His next book was THE FREAKS ARE WINNING. This was a collection of articles he wrote for THE INNER SWINE and published by Tower Books, a division of Tower Records. Tower was a major player in the 'zine market, and its bankruptcy was a large part of SWINE's circulation dip from 1200 to 200 (plus trades).
THE ELECTRIC CHURCH was inspired by an aside in Douglas Adams' DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY which features an appliance which could satisfy your religious duties by believing for you. What if these machines became militant fundamentalists? Thus was born the idea of the electronic monks of the book.
Mr Somers wrote the initial draft of CHURCH in 1993. The first chapter was published by the defunct web publisher, <anotherchapter.com>. His editor at the site brought the work to the attention of Orbit Books.
The author is also a prolific short story writer who produces about 90 stories a year in a variety of genres. His talke "Ringing in the Changes," about a grifter plying his trade, was selected for THE BEST MYSTERY STORIES in 2006.
Our thanks to everyone who helped make this an enjoyable meeting.