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Mentioned in this Episode:

Laurell K. Hamilton
This American fantasy and romance writer is best known for her Anita Blake series of novels featuring a professional vampire hunter, necromancer and supernatural consultant for the police. Her other work includes the Merry Gentry series of urban fantasy novels in which the world of faerie interacts with our world.
 
 
“After Life”
In the third episode of Season Six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy has to readjust to being alive after being resurrected by her friends. Spike, a vampire, has been in love with Buffy for a long time. When she asks, “How long was I gone?” He responds with “147 days yesterday. Uh, 148 today. Except today doesn’t count, does it?” Jean Marie uses this as an example of how what isn’t said in fiction can be more powerful than what is actually said.

Diane Whiteside
According to her website, Whiteside is a “spicy romance author of western historicals and paranormals, including the Texas Vampires trilogy.” The vampire series features Don Rafael Perez, originally a 13th-century Spanish knight, now a vampire living in Texas.
 
 
 
Good Reads
This social network for bibliophiles supports readers and authors in connecting and sharing their love of books and good stories. All the books in The Genre Traveler’s book review queue are listed in my account on Good Reads, as well as the book(s) I’m currently reading. Also, whenever I post a book review here or at the New York Journal of books, I add a link to it on Good Reads.

For more information about Jean Marie Ward:

• www.jeanmarieward.com

 
Related Reading (and listening):

• Podcast Episode 61: One Bad Ass Genre Writer (with Danielle Ackley-McPhail)
• Writing honest book reviews

I apologize for the late notice on the first one … I’ve been swamped this week! But I hope if you happen to be in Austin this weekend, you’ll have the opportunity to check it out and have some fun.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

	Clockwork con Jan. 20-22 Austin, TX   Steam Powered Giraffe will be there. I saw them perform last Friday and was really impressed. Other guests include O.M. Grey, who I met at the Symposium. A very nice and approachable lady.
	Lady Mari’s Costumed Walkabout April 14 11am to 3pm Del Mar Fairgrounds San Diego, CA   Lady Mari is a woman with a big personality. I saw her modeling an outfit at the Symposium’s fashion show. I bet she’s a lot of fun to hang out with.
	Gaslight Gathering May 11-13 Town & Country Hotel San Diego, CA   This event bills itself as Southern California’s first dedicated steampunk and Victoriana convention.
	Clockwork Alchemy May 25-28 Doubletree Hotel San Jose, CA   This is a new convention for steampunk fans put on by FanimeCon.
	Steamcon IV October 24-26 Hyatt Regency Bellevue, WA   Each year has a theme and because this year it is close to Halloween, the theme is “Victorian Monsters.”

This week I chat with Cathy Udovch, also known as Garfeimao, a long time staffer at TheOneRing.net, the largest Tolkien fan website on the internet. During the podcast, we talk about the new The Hobbit films, how the story is being fleshed out from Tolkien’s original version, the necessity of maps for epic fantasy, how critic received Tolkien’s work when The Lord of the Rings first came out, how movies encourage reading, Andy Serkis and more.

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Mentioned in this Episode:
 

 
Martin Freeman
The Hobbit had to take a break in filming last year because Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins in the two-part The Hobbit film, also plays Dr. John Watson on the BBC series Sherlock.
 
 
 
A Ring of Truth
In the a 1977 animated version of The Hobbit, after Bilbo escapes from Gollum with the ring and has told his somewhat modified version of his adventure tale to the dwarves, Gandalf says …
 

 
Did you catch that wink at the end?

Wagnerian Stories
In this episode, Cathy compares the original Hobbit tale to the fantasy operas of Richard Wagner. Wagner has been compared to Tolkien, primarily for his mythic storytelling, his ability to make completely fictional stories feel like they are much older.

Midnight in Paris
This 2011 Woody Allen romantic comedy centers on a group of Americans visiting Paris. Gil (Owen Wilson), the lead character, is a screenwriter who is trying to finish his first novel. His fiancee, Inez (Rachel McAdams), dismisses his ambition as a romantic daydream. One midnight he gets drunk and wanders the city and then finds himself transported to the 1920s. Among the people he meets are F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) and Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates).

The Eyes of the Dragon
This 1987 novel was a surprise deviation for author Stephen King when it came out. Unlike his other work, this story was a classic fantasy with magic and a clearly established battle between good and evil. Characters from this book also become involved in King’s later Dark Tower series. Interestingly enough, the villain in The Eyes of the Dragon, Randall Flagg, first made his appearance in The Stand, which was first published in 1978 and later re-released in 1990.
 
 
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
In the 2011 re-imagining of this film, Andy Serkis (who plays Gollum in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films) plays Caesar, the chimpanzee who gains increased intelligence due to genetic experiments and lead the ape revolt.

The Adventures of Tintin
Based on a series of classic comic books created by George Remi (under the pen name Herge) from 1907 to 1983, this 2011 animated film is directed by Steven Spielberg. Unlike most animated films, Tintin is created through performance capture techniques used to create such digital characters as Gollum (The Hobbit) and Caeser (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). Andy Serkis, who played both those characters portrays Captain Haddock, Tintin’s best friend.

Dragonheart
Sean Connery was the voice of Draco the dragon in this 1996 fantasy film directed by Rob Cohen. The animators were inspired by Connery’s actual performance in animating Draco’s facial expressions.
 
 
 
Annual Events

• Jan. 3 – Tolkien Birthday Toast
• March 25 – Tolkien Reading Day
• September 22 – Baggins’ Birthday Bash
• October/November – Hall of Fire

For more information about Cathy Udovch:

• www.theonering.net

NOTE: The volume for this week’s guests recorded very low. In order to match it with my voice and allow you to hear what they were saying I had to increase their volume. This brought with it some hissing back ground noise. Therefore the quality of this recording is not great, but listenable.

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Sourdough Jackson’s Torpedo Junction is available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon.com. You can view a preview of Karen Morrissey’s Fisher King: Percival’s Descent here.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Erwin Rommel
Popularly known as the Desert Fox, Rommel was a German Field Marshal during the second World War. He got his nick name for his time leading the German and Italian forces in the North African campaign. He proved to be one of the most skilled commanders of desert warfare in that conflict. He was respected as a humane and professional officer, treating captured soldiers humanely and ignoring orders to kill captured commandos and Jewish soldiers and civilians. Later, he was linked to the conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler. For this treason, Hitler decided to eliminate Rommel, but quietly because of his renown. In exchange for assurances that his family would be spared, Rommel agreed to commit suicide.

Anson MacDonald
One of Robert A. Heinlein’s pen names was Anson MacDonald, created by Scot John W. Campbell Jr., the editor of Astounding Science Fiction during Heinlein’s early career. Anson was Heinlein’s middle name and MacDonald was taken from Heinlein’s second wife’s maiden name. He closely guarded his reputation under both his name and Anson’s, reserving his top tier work for these names.

Harry Turtledove
Author Harry Turtledove is probably best known for his alternate history stories, although he also writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. His first two novels were published in 1979 under the pen name “Eric G. Iverson” because his publisher felt that people wouldn’t believe that “Turtledove” was a real name. Dubbed “The Master of Alternate History,” his novels have been credited with bringing the genre into the mainstream.

Leslie Fish
Leslie Fish is one of the most well-known filk musicians. In 1976, she created the first commercial filk recording, followed by another in 1977. Her best known song is “Banned from Argo,” which has spawned more than 80 variants and parodies.

The Fisher King
The Fisher or Wounded King is a character from Arthurian legend charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Specifics vary, but his is always wounded in the legs or groin make it impossible for him to move on his own. His land suffers as he does and all he can do is fish from the river near his castle. Some works even separate this character into two … a father and son or grandfather and grandson. In those versions, the older of the two never leaves the castle, while the younger can see guests and goes fishing. Both are always wounded.
 
 
Scott Edelman
Edelman was the founding editor of Science Fiction Age, published 1992 to 2000, and later became editor of SCI FI Magazine, the official magazine of the Sci Fi Channel (now SyFy). He has edited the channel’s online magazine, Science Fiction Weekly since 2000. Other publications he has edited include Last Wave (semi-professional, 1982-1985), Rampage (covered pro-wrestling), Sci-Fi Universe, Sci-Fi Flix and Satellite Orbit. In the 1970s, he worked in comic books, writing horror comics for both Marvel and DC. He created Scarecrow for Marvel and has written several short stories, as well as the Lambda Award-nominated novel The Gift.

Sentient Stuffed Animals
Toys that are somehow alive or sentient is not a new them in literature. There are plenty of stories out there featuring them, such as Winnie-the-Pooh, The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy and The Indian in the Cupboard. You can find lists of sentient toys in fiction on GoodReads.com and Wikipedia.com. Many children go through a phase where they believe on some level that their toys are alive. I mentioned my story of Tigger in this podcast. Here is a picture of me and my Tigger. To have a larger view, click on the image.

For more information about Karen Morrissey and Sourdough Jackson:

• www.thursdaynightpress.com

Related Posts & Information:

• Podcast Episode 62: Military Science Fiction
• Podcast Episode 60: A Map of Contents
• SF subgenres: What is alternate history?
• SF subgenres: What is space opera?

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Linnea Quigley
Born in Davenport, Iowa, Quigley moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to pursue acting. She quickly established herself in the arena of independent films and appeared in almost one hundred feature films. She is best known for her role in The Return of the Living Dead, but has appeared in many horror films such as Nightmare Sisters, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Creepozoids, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Night of the Demons (1988 original and 2010 remake), and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.

Kyra Schon
Kyra is best known for her role as Karen Cooper in the George A. Romero film Night of the Living Dead (1968). She was the trowel-wielding zombie girl. She is a regular contributor to Dread Central, an online magazine dedicated to horror entertainment. An interesting bit of trivia: Her father, Karl Hardman, played her father in the Romero film.

Slime Mold
Formerly classified as fungi, slime molds are now classified as protists, a group of eukaryotic microorganisms that don’t really fit into the other kingdoms. Eurkaryotic cells have complex structures enclosed with membranes … human cells are eukaryotic. There name comes the phase in their life-cycle where they appear as a gelatinous slime.

Geoff Peterson
Craig Ferguson’s robot skeleton sidekick, Geoff Peterson, debuted on April 5, 2010, with limited capabilities. In July 2010, he was upgraded to be able to shake his head, keep his mouth open, and use his right hand to perform what seems to suggest a sexual act.

Geoff was designed and built by Grant Imahara of Mythbusters fame. He has glowing blue eyes, a metal mohawk and wears an oversized brown suit with a The Price Is Right name tag. He is voiced by Josh Thompson.

Geoff was inspired by Ferguson’s constant complaints of lacking a band or sidekick, coupled with his desire to have his own “Robot Skeleton Army” … a reference to The Terminator cyborgs. Also, he has expressed a keen appreciation of the motorcycle driving Ghost Rider from the Nicolas Cage film. Imahara volunteered to create this sidekick if Ferguson could get him 100,000 Twitter followers, which he accomplished in 24 hours.

The Three Stooges and Hitler
In the 1940s, the Three Stooges made several anti-Nazi movies including You Nazty Spy!, I’ll Never Heil Again and They Stooge to Conga. Moe Howard’s impersonation of Adolf Hitler highlighted these shorts.
 
 
 
Springtime for Hitler
Mel Brooks’ The Producers (1968), starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, told the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to create a flop, so they can run away to Brazil with the money when the play closes. They find a former Nazi soldier who has written a musical based on Adolf Hitler’s life and are sure they’ve found their failure … especially when they find a drugged out hippie to play the lead. Unfortunately, it becomes a popular musical comedy that is a rousing success.
 

 
Recently, Mel Brooks successfully adapted the film into a Broadway musical, as well as a re-make film (2005) starring Nathan Lane (in Mostel’s role) and Matthew Broderick (in Wilder’s role).

Winter Warlock
One of the characters in the 1970 stop-motion TV special Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town was the Winter Warlock. He starts off evil, but when Kris Kringle gives him a toy train, his heart of ice melts as he laughs at childhood memories. In becoming good, he loses most of his magic, but he had some leftover magic feed corn that made reindeer fly … that’s how Santa got his flying reindeer.

Voldemort
Lord Voldemort, also known as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,” “the Dark Lord” or, as today’s guest put it, “Mr. No Nose,” is the chief antagonist in the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. Born Tom Riddle, he believed that blood purity was important and wanted to rid the wizarding world of people who had Muggle (non-magical) heritage. He also wanted to rule both the wizarding and muggle worlds. Interesting side note, his name is supposed to be pronounced the French way with a silent “t,” which was correctly done in the first four U.S. audiobooks. However, since characters in the movies pronounced the “t,” the remaining audiobooks did, as well. The French phrase “vol de mort” means “to flee from death,” which Lord Voldemort actually does in the Harry Potter books.

Killer Plants
Man-eating plants is a recurring theme in horror. In fact, recently I read a short story in the anthology Three Messages and a Warning, that was about an illustrator who was drawing the man-eating plants imagined by a mad scientist. Also, a recent episode of Haven featured attacking plants. Here’s a link to the article Mark wrote about “floraphobia”: www.horrorgarage.com/horror/column-mark-mclaughlin-floraphobia.php

 
Mamie Van Doren
This American actress and singer rose to popularity as Universal Pictures version of Marilyn Monroe, with her platinum blonde hair and curvaceous figure. Because of many of the roles she played in film, she was known as “Hollywood’s Bad Girl” and of “The Three M’s” … the other two being Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.

Justin Bieber/Ozzy Osbourne Best Buy Commercial
Take note at the end … Bieber in costume makes a comment about Justin Bieber looking like a girl.

 
Actors with strongly identified characters
Some actors portray a character so well that fans lose sight that this is a fictional character separate from the actor. Some notable examples include:
 

	Bob Denver as Gilligan
	Henry Winkler as The Fonz
	Leonard Nimoy as Spock
	Brent Spiner as Data

 
Woops!
This post-apocalyptic sitcom aired on Fox from Sept. 27 to Dec. 6, 1992. It centered on six survivors of a world nuclear holocaust living in an abandoned farm house. It starred Evan Handler (Sex and the City, Californication), Fred Applegate (whose gone on to do Broadway), Meagan Fey (Charmed, Freaks and Geeks), Cleavant Derricks (Sliders), Marita Geraghty (Groundhog Day) and Lane Davies (Good & Evil, The Crew).
 
 
 
 
Cavemen
Based on the GEICO cavemen ads, this dramedy ran on ABC from Oc. 2 through Nov. 13, 2007. The show was put on hiatus during the Writers Guild of America strike and didn’t survive. The final six episodes never aired in US markets.
 
 
Threshold
Produced by Brannon Braga, David S. Goyer and David Heyman, this science fiction TV drama first aired on CBS in September 2005. It first aired on Fridays then moved to Tuesdays, which ended up hurting ratings. The show was canceled on Nov. 23, 2005. The final four episodes were never aired in the US, but are available on the DVD.
 
 
 
 
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
In 1972, Darren McGavin starred in a television movie called The Night Stalker, in which he played an investigative reporter who suspects that a serial killer in Las Vegas is a vampire. This movie was followed in 1973 with a sequel called The Night Strangler. This time Carl Kolchak (McGavin) is up against a serial killer who creates an elixir of life from his victims’ blood that keeps him alive 21 years at a time. The success of these two TV movies lead to the TV series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, that ran for one season, 1974-1975.

In 2005, the TV series was re-booted. This time Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) played Kolchak … and the series was canceled before the first season was complete.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Vincent Price starred in this 1971 horror film about a man, horribly disfigured in a car crash, who takes revenge on the doctors he thought were the cause of his wife’s death. He kills them using methods based on the Ten Plagues of Egypt from the Old Testament. Once he has exacted his revenge, he commits suicide, embalming himself while lying next to the embalmed body of his wife. Of course, as with many horror films, it was followed by a sequel, Dr. Phibes Rises Again. Dr. Phibes is resurrected by a predestined angle of the moon and finds that his house has been demolished and his papyrus scrolls from the Pharoh’s Tomb stolen. Those papers have the information he needs to resurrect his wife, so he goes off in search of the thieves leaving bodies in his wake.

For more information about Mark McLaughlin:

• www.facebook.com/markmclaughlinmedia

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Paranormal
Adjective: Denoting events or phenomena such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.

Ley lines
Alleged alignments of a number of places of geographical and historical interest, such as ancient megaliths, natural ridge-tops and churches, ley lines were first suggested by Alfred Watkins in 1921. He theorized that these alignments were created to ease overland trekking by line of sight navigation during neolithic times and have persisted in the landscape over time. More recently, the term has become associated with spiritual and mystical theories about land forms, including feng shui.

Bennington Triangle
Between 1920 and 1950, several people went missing in an area of southwestern Vermont. Joseph A. Citro coined the phrase to describe this area during a public radio broadcast in 1992. The Bennington Triangle was further popularized in two books. Citro claims that this area shares characteristics with the Bridgewater Triangle in neighboring Massachusetts.

Hollow Earth
The concept of a hollow Earth recurs in folklore and as the premise for subterranean fiction, a subgenre of adventure fiction. This hypothesis proposes that our planet is either entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Although disproved by observational evidence and the modern understanding of planet formation, the concept is still featured in some present-day scientific, pseudoscientific and conspiracy theories. The general scientific community has dismissed the idea since at least the late 18th century.

Romania’s Painted Monasteries
In northeastern Romania, there are a series of monasteries with their exterior walls painted with biblical scenes. These elaborate 15th and 16th century frescoes show saints, prophets, angels, demons, Jesus, heaven and hell. In 2005, while participating in a group of “famous American writers” in Suceava, I had the opportunity to see many of them. It was a memorable experience.

Déjà vu
From the French meaning “already seen,” term describes the feeling that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation before. When you experiences déjà vu, you feel a compelling sense of familiarity, an uncanny sensation that you experienced this same situation in the same way already.

Schnellegeister
Also known as a snallygaster, this large flying reptile with feathered wings has been spotted in both Pennsylvania and Maryland since at least the 1700s. The name come from the German phrase that means “fast spirit or ghost.”

For more information about Fiona Broome:

• fionabroome.com
• faeriemagick.com
• hollowhill.com
• lab.fionabroome.com
• mandelaeffect.com

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Mentioned in this Episode:

High-End Thriller
A publishing industry term that means a thriller with pace, danger and tension, that also features three-dimensional characters, a literary writing style, a complex plot mechanism and elements that challenge the reader to think. In a way, they are a cross between the traditional thriller and literary fiction.
 
 
Booker Award
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction was first awarded in 1969 to Something to Answer for by P.H. Newby. This award promotes the finest in fiction, rewarding the very best book of the year.
 
 
 
Purple Prose
The term “purple prose” refers to writing that is so extravagant, ornate or flowery that it can break the flow and draw attention to itself. This type of writing is often sensually evocative beyond the needs of its context.
 
 
 
For more information about Andrew Pyper:

• www.andrewpyper.com

Previous Canadian guests have included:

• Joseph Picard: Podcast Episode 21: Attack of the Nanite Zombies
• Jonathan Ball: Podcast Episode 39: Pushing the Boundaries of Genre Literary Art
• A.P. Fuchs: Podcast Episode 44: The Self-Evident Truth
• Robert J. Sawyer: Podcast Episode 30: Exploring Options in Science Fiction

Further Information and Reading:

• Types of fiction: Thrillers
• SF subgenres: What is a thriller?
• Types of fiction: Literary fiction
• Types of fiction: Genre fiction

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Honor Harrington
This fictional character is the hero of military science fiction books set in the “Honorverse” written by David Weber and published by Baen Books. She and her story lines bear a striking resemblance to real people and political situations, although the Honorverse takes place on another planet. Weber also writes alternate history, in addition to epic fantasy and space opera.

Military Charities
Each edition of the Defending the Future series includes advertisements for military related charities such as the USO (United Service Organization) and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Dark Quest Books
A small publisher of science fiction, fantasy and horror books and ebooks, as well as role playing games. Four of the people associated with this publisher have been guests on my podcast (not with my intent, it just happened that way): Mike McPhail, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Alma Alexander and Jennifer Brozek. Authors they’ve published who have been guests on the podcast include Bud Sparhawk, Jean Marie Ward (coming Jan. 9), C.J. Henderson and Misty Massey.

For more information about Mike McPhail:

• www.defendingthefuture.com
• www.darkquestbooks.com
• milscifi.com
• www.mcp-concepts.com

Related Posts:

• Podcast Episode 61: One Bad Ass Genre Writer with guest Danielle Ackley-McPhail (Mike’s wife)
• Podcast Episode 51: Focusing on Shorter Fiction with guest Bud Sparhawk (published in Mike’s anthology)
• Podcast Episode 52: Hard Boiled Speculative Fiction with guest C.J. Henderson (published in Mike’s anthology)
• Nancy Jane Moore, who is in No Man’s Land, will be my podcast guest on Feb. 13!
• Podcast Episode 49: Going with the Marketing Flow (the podcast I referred to in which a role playing game is being marketed by novels)
• Podcast Episode 42: The Effect of Ebooks on Literature (the podcast I referred to in which we discussed becoming a muli-modality producer of content)

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Mirabile by Janet Kagan
To make bringing along our plants and animals easier and so nothing could go extinct, geneticists built redundancy into the DNA of all the plants and animals we took with us to colonize other planets. The thing is, once the colonists got to Mirabile the data base telling them what species was inside what species was mostly lost … and the geneticists mixed plants and animals … so you never knew what you were going to get. Tulips could sprout bats. Kangaroos could be birthing wolverines. Add to that the unique flora and fauna of Mirabile and Annie Jason Masmajean (Mama Jason) had her hands full. She is the head scientist and acts as a genetic detective when weird things show up.

FaerieCon
The 2011 FaerieCon was held a couple of weeks ago in the Baltimore area. It is a gathering of faerie artists and authors and grew out of Faerieworlds, a West Coast mythic music festival. For more information, go to www.faeriecon.com.

For more information about Danielle Ackley-McPhail:

• sidhenadaire.com

Further Information and Reading:

• Classic creatures of SF: Fairy folk
• SF subgenres: What is fairy tale fantasy fiction?
• SF subgenres: What is urban fantasy?
• SF subgenres: What is steampunk?

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Imperial China
The time in Chinese history known as Imperial China took place between 221 BC (the beginning of the Qin Dynasty) and 1912 AD (the end of the Qing Dynasty). Imperial China was preceded by the Warring States Period and followed by the Republic of China. Several dynasties occurred during Imperial China: Qin, Han, Cao Wei, Jin, Wu Hu, Sui, Tang, Song, Liao, Xia, Yuan, Ming and others.
 

Cultural Revolution in China
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was a socio-political movement that took place from 1966 to 1976 in the People’s Republic of China. The goal of the revolution, set into motion by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong, was to enforce socialism in China by removing capitalist, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society, as well as impose Maoist orthodoxy within the Party. The revolutions fomented violet factional struggles and millions of people were persecuted, suffering a wide range of abuses such as rape, torture, sustained harassment, imprisonment and seizure of property.

Sharon Kay Penman
Best known for the Welsh Princess trilogy and Plantagenet series, Penman is an American historical novelist. Her novels are usually set in England, France or Wales and about the English and Welsh royalty during the Middle Ages. Some of her work has reached the New York Times Bestsellter List and she is known for her meticulous research of settings and events, as well as her characterizations.
 

Mob Psychology
The psychology of a crowd is different than the psychology of an individual. There are different theories for explaining this. Sigmund Freud believed that people’s minds merge is some way, with each member becoming less aware of the true nature of their own actions. There are proponents and dissenters of this concept. Another theory is that of convergence. Convergence theory postulates that the crowd’s behavior is carried into it by particular individuals. In other words, people of like minds converge to form a crowd. Contagion theory says the opposite, that crowds cause people to act a certain way.

Luddite
The luddites were a social movement in the 1800s in which textile artisans rebelled against the changes occurring with the Industrial Revolution, often by destroying mechanized looms. The movement was named after General Ned Ludd, a mythical figure who, supposedly in 1779, smashed two knitting frames in a “fit of passion.” He is also known by the names Captain Ludd or King Ludd. Today, the term is used to refer to individuals who are against industrialization, automation, computerization or any new technology in general.

The Hundred Acre Wood
This is the fictional land where Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends from the series of children’s books by A.A. Milne reside. The young boy Christopher Robin would accompany Pooh there to visit and play. In the books, the Hundred Acre Wood is part of a larger forest and is centered around Owl’s home. In the movies, the term is used for the entire Pooh bear world.

For more information about Alma Alexander:

• www.almaalexander.com
• anghara.livejournal.com

Further Information and Reading:

• Podcast Episode 21: Attack of the Nanite Zombies
  This is the podcast episode I referred to where the author had a character made out of fish parts.
• SF subgenres: What is historical fantasy?
• Types of fiction: Historical
• SF subgenres: What is alternate history?