Writer Lawrence Schoen has gathered 100 science fiction authors and asked them to write a short essay about their most memorable meal, which makes for a fascinating collection! EATING AUTHORS is now available as an e-book or a paperback.

And better yet, all the proceeds go to charity (fighting cancer).

The collection includes famous writers like Steven Barnes, Gregory Benford, David Brin, Myke Cole, Gregory Frost, Chuck Gannon, Laura Anne Gilman, Sally Wiener Grotta, Joe Haldeman, Sharon Lee, Jonathan Maberry, Jack McDevitt, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., James Morrow, Robert J. Sawyer, Alan Smale, Bud Sparhawk, Allen Steele, Michael Swanwick, Harry Turtledove, and many more, including our own Pocono Liar Michael A. Ventrella.

Order your copy here!

Astronomer Miriam Adler uses her expertise to identify star patterns from a 14th century cuneiform scroll, only to discover they date not to the past, but to two thousand years in the future. Certain factions in Rome, however, believe humanity is not ready to accept the revelations in the document, and are prepared to destroy it, and silence any who know its contents. Thus, she’s thrown into a power struggle within the Vatican that leads to the death of one colleague and the madness of two others.  

Undeterred by the danger, Miriam goes on a pilgrimage with a Jesuit companion who walks the fine line between reality and mental chaos. Their goal? To retrieve the original manuscript from the archives of Saint Catherine of Siena. After her Jesuit companion is kidnapped, she joins forces with a rogue Vatican Cardinal, his lifelong linguist companion, and her son, a Franciscan friar. Her quest takes her through Italy’s holiest shrines and the ruins of a Knights Hospitaller monastery on the Island of Rhodes. But the most dangerous path takes her along the fourth dimension of time. 

Pocono Liar M.A. Moore‘s latest novel THE STARS TO GUIDE THEM is now available, and is free on kindle for a limited time. There’s also a paperback edition. Click here to get your copy!

Our guest for the October 28th Zoom Chat is award-winning novelist Sarah Pinsker!

Sarah’s first novel, A SONG FOR A NEW DAY, won the Nebula Award this spring, and her short fiction has won the Nebula, Sturgeon, and Philip K. Dick Awards and been finalist for the Hugo and World Fantasy Award, among others. Her first collection, SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA (Small Beer Press) was also published in 2019. She’s also a singer/songwriter with three albums and another forthcoming. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

We’ll be discussing how to find a home for your story, but Sarah is willing to answer any questions you may have.

EDIT: This was recorded and is now available in our “expert advice” section.

Circuses that arrive by night, meteors hollowed out for low-tech space travel—how can we make our readers believe? Our guest at the October 14th Zoom Chat will be Kathryn Craft who will discuss concrete techniques that best-selling authors use to navigate the implausible and take your questions. 

Kathryn Craft is the author of novels The Art of Falling and The Far End of Happy (Sourcebooks), and chapters in Author in Progress and The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing (Writers Digest Books). Her 13 years as a freelance developmental editor inform monthly posts at WriterUnboxed.com, her Your Novel Year program, and her work with students enrolled in Drexel University’s MFA program. Kathryn is a member of the award-winning Tall Poppy Writers, and serves as the Women’s Fiction Writers Association’s 2020 Guiding Scribe. 

Her website is http://www.kathryncraft.com/for-writers.html

Our guest at next week’s Zoom Chat is Pab Sungenis, who will be talking about writing for plays and even comic strips!

Pab is a broadcaster who has worked for many radio stations, but is best known for his comic strip The New Adventures of Queen Victoria, which is syndicated daily by Universal Uclick. He is the author of the Sidekick series of Young Adult novels, published by Month9Books, and of the novels Go To Hell and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Columbine. He’s also written some plays which have been produced, and that’s one of the things we’ll be discussing at the chat.

The chat is free and is on Wednesday, September 30th at 8 pm EST.  Details on how to join are here.

Simply writing a good story isn’t enough. You need to sell it to agents, editors, and readers. You’ll be expected to participate in discussions online and at workshops and conventions.  You’ll want an “elevator pitch” and a way to show that you know how to use words, both in your writing and in your speaking. And that’s not easy. Studies show that “public speaking” is a fear many people have.

Join us on Wednesday, September 16th at 8pm EST for a discussion about “Facing the Public” with three people who have never experienced that fear. Writer/actors Keith Strunk and Teel James Glenn will answer your questions, hosted by Pocono Liars Club founder Michael A. Ventrella.

Teel James Glenn has killed hundreds and been killed more times — on stage and screen as he has traveled the world for forty plus years as a stuntman, fight choreographer, swordmaster, jouster, illustrator, storyteller, bodyguard, actor and haunted house barker.  He appeared on all the New York Soap operas, Spenser for Hire and in more movies that show up on Showtime and Cinemax then he wants to admit. His stories have been printed in over a hundred magazines from Weird Tales, Mystery Weekly, Pulp Adventures, Spinetingler, SciFan, Mad, Black Belt, Fantasy Tales, Pulp Empire, Cirvosa, Sherlock Holmes Mystery, SciFan, Crimson Streets, AfterburnSF, and Blazing Adventures.  He is also the winner of the 2012 Pulp Ark Award for Best Author. His website is TheUrbanSwashbuckler.com

Keith Strunk is an actor, author, teacher, producer, and a co-founder of River Union Stage, a professional Equity theater based in New Jersey.  He holds an MFA in Theater and has worked in commercials, independent film, stage, and industrial/corporate.  An award-winning scriptwriter, Keith has written a variety of film and stage scripts including a stage adaptation of A Christmas Carol.  He is the author of PRALLSVILLE MILLS AND STOCKTON, and THE DELAWARE RIVER SCENIC BYWAY, both from Arcadia Publishing, and “What Lies Between” in the LIAR LIAR Short Story Anthology.  He has directed and produced Shakespeare Theater with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders for more than a dozen years, is co-host of The Liars Club Oddcast and a founding member of the Liars Club.

Our guest for next week’s Zoom Chat is Megan Erickson, and the topic will be “crossing genres.”  We’ll discuss how publishers categorize books into genres, the way you can benefit from this, and the pitfalls of mixing them. Should you use a pen name when you change genres? Is it more important to specialize? Bring your questions!

Megan Erickson is a former journalist who decided she liked writing her own endings better and switched to fiction. She’s a multi-published USA Today bestselling romance author with publishers such as Avon, Berkley, and Hachette. She also writes science fiction romance as Ella Maven. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, two cats, a hamster, and a bearded dragon named Waffles.

That’s 8 pm EST on August 19th. For more details on how to join our free Zoom Chat, click here.