2013 - 10/2013 Meeting

Page Created: 07/24/13. Last Updated: 10/18/13.

DAVID WALTON, SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY AUTHOR

Official Site: http://www.davidwaltonfiction.com/

Books:

Quintessence (Alternate World Fantasy)

Terminal Mind (Science Fiction)

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Meeting Summary

Meeting Date: October 12, 2013.

Meeting Site: Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church.

Official Attendance: 18.

Meeting Program: Talk by Science Fiction / Fantasy Author.

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Notes:

Originally scheduled to be held at the Saddle River Valley Cultural Center, the meeting was reshuffled to the Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church at 6:00 PM as we were not able to gain access to the Cultural Center.

The following cartoons were shown at the Anime Associates video program: Betty Boop's Snow White; Betty Boop in Blunderland; Popeye the Sailor: Shiver Me Timbers; Popeye the Sailor: Can You Take It?; Daffy Duck: The Great Piggy Bank Robbery; Bugs Bunny: Hair-Raising Hare; Porky the Pig: Porky in Wonderland; Porky the Pig: Porky in Egypt.

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Newsletter Account

The monthly General Meeting of the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County was held at the Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey on Saturday, October 12, 2013. This was not supposed to be our meeting venue, but when we arrived our pass code did not admit us to the Saddle River Valley Cultural Center.

There is a saying that it is easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission, and as we could not reach anyone in authority at either site, we moved the meeting across the street and hoped for the best. To make a long story short, things worked out. We eventually updated our website and voice mail, put a sign on the Cultural Center, and made other adjustments in the meeting and pre meeting set-up. Thanks are owed to a number of people, especially Pamela Webber and Barry Weinberger.

David Walton was our speaker of the evening. Mr Walton is the author of the Philip K Dick Award winning novel, TERMINAL MIND, and the fantasy novel, QUINTESSENCE, as well as a dozen-or-so shorter works. His day job is in IT for Lockheed Martin. His night job is helping his wife handle their 7 children, the oldest of whom, Ruth (13), accompanied him to the meeting.

Our guest comes from a religious family. His childhood reading included some science fiction but no fantasy, as fantasy / magic was viewed as being kindred to the devil.

Mr Walton was in college when he realized that the books he most enjoyed were science fiction and fantasy. He resolved to become a writer. He had a friend who knew the proper way to submit a manuscript and other basic practices. The two of them collected rejection slips for years.

Our guest's first professional sale was to PHOBOS MAGAZINE, which was his entry to Codex, a community of science fiction writers early in their careers. He made a smattering of other pro and semi-pro sales before selling his first science fiction novel, TERMINAL MIND, to small press publisher Meadow Park Press. Amazingly, the book won the Philip K Dick Memorial Award for best original paperback publication. This work and winning the Jim Baen Memorial Award (annually presented to the best science fiction story giving a positive outlook on space) opened a lot of doors for him.

One of those doors was to David Hartwell at Tor Books, the publisher of his second title, QUINTESSENCE. QUINTESSENCE is a historical fantasy set on an alternative Earth in which the world is flat and the alchemist scientists are making discoveries which challenge the accepted world view of Aristotle and scripture. King Edward VI of England is on his deathbed. Civil war will soon be at hand, mirroring the religious strife already ravaging the Continent. Brilliant, deranged alchemist Christopher Sinclair steps onto this sage and obtains a royal charter to exploit a large island at the edge of the world populated by strange and wondrous creatures.

Additional notes to appear on 2013 - 10/2013 Meeting page of sfabc.org.

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Additional Notes will appear below.