DreamCasters Agenda,
December 2024

12-07-2024 | 1:00 pm ET via ZOOM

Opening Statement

Welcome to DreamCasters, a DreamForge discussion group devoted to helping our members improve their writing and storytelling through discussion and sharing expertise.

DreamForge News

DreamCaster Dates for 2024-25

Here are the dates and guests for upcoming meetings

• December 7, 2024 (Saturday) – Chris Pasetto (Computer Game and Film Writer)
• January 5, 2025 (Sunday) – David Hankins (SF & Fantasy Author – on Branding & Social Media)
• February 9, 2025 (Sunday) – Teresa Milbrodt. Teresais a creative writer, disability scholar, and assistant professor at Roanoke College. She is author of three short story collections, a flash fiction collection, and a novel, as well as several critical articles in disability studies.

Member & Author Accomplishments

What a strong showing! Congratulations DreamCasters & DreamForge Authors who are Writers of the Future winners in Q4, 2024

Finalists: Darren Lipman and K.Z. Richards
Silver Honorable Mentions: Jan Nerenberg, Jenny Perry Carr
Honorable Mention: Angelique Fawns, Amy Wethington, Annmarie SanSevero, Candice Lisle, Christopher Henckel, Esteban Raposo, Joshua Dyer, R.J.K. Lee, Shannon Fox

 

Annmarie SanSevero

I am thrilled to announce I’ve been offered a three book deal with Roan & Weahterford.

The first book is titled “Marked by Magic” and is a middle-grade fantasy/steampunk mashup.

In a world where machines rule and magic is banned, twelve-year-old Leif is content to focus on his training in the highly esteemed art of mechanics—until a strange rune symbol appears on his wrist, marking him as a magic-bearer. In an instant, his life is turned upside down. Soon, he’s not only facing his school bully in battle class but also the threat of expulsion—or worse.

When Leif’s father mysteriously disappears, Leif sets out on a daring quest to find him, with nothing but his emerging magical powers and a handful of allies—his fiercely loyal best friend, his prickly school rival, and a teacher hiding dangerous secrets. As Leif learns to wield Old Magic, he uncovers truths about his family, his society’s rejection of magic, and the buried history of those who wield it.

But the path is treacherous. Every spell he learns, every rune he unlocks, brings him closer to losing everything he holds dear—including his father’s love, his freedom, and perhaps even his life. Magic and machines collide in this character-driven adventure where friendships will be tested, family secrets unearthed, and a young hero will have to choose what kind of power he truly believes in.”

 

David Hankins

Two announcements.

One: thank you to Baen Books! “Drinking Plot Holes” is one of only two honorable mentions or the 2024 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award (BFAA)

Two: My book Death and the Taxman won the 2024 Independent Author Network (IAN) Book of the Year Award for Outstanding Humor/Comedy and was a finalist for the 2024 IAN Book of the Year Award for First Novel Under 80K Words.

The full DreamCaster gallery of published stories is online at Airtable.

Let us know about any new publications, awards, or accomplishments you might have. If you get news to me at Scot.Noel@DreamForgeMagazine.com, I’ll make sure to mention it.

Our Program – Chris Pasetto

In December, our Guest is Chris Pasetto. Jane and I worked with Chris at DreamForge Intertainment back in the 1990s. Since then, Chris has worked as a lead game designer at both Interplay Entertainment and Rockstar Games, as well as Senior Designer at High Moon Studios. Chris Pasetto is also known for the films “How I Survived the Zombie Apocalypse” (2009) and “Air” from 2015, and the graphic novel Kill the Minotaur.

Giveaway This Month!

This month one of our attending DreamCasters will win a copy of “Kill the Minotaur,” by Chris Pasetto and Christian Cantamessa. Athens lost the war to Crete. Now, they pay tribute to King Minos by sacrificing their best citizens to his unearthly labyrinth. Conspirators believe Theseus can be the hero they need, who can end the mad king’s bloody reign… but no one on this world has ever encountered anything like the savage minotaur.

DreamForge Editor Sells a Horror Tale

Yes, I know, DreamForge is all about positive science fiction and fantasy, but editor Scot Noel does like to write the occasional zombie or horror story. I just found out today that my science fiction horror story “The Big Project” has been accepted by Space & Time Magazine to appear around summer in 2025.

It’s an honor to appear in the oldest continuously published semi-pro speculative fiction magazine.

Space and Time has been putting the best speculative fiction and poetry in ink for over five decades—a must-read for true fans of the strange and unusual. Readers can look forward to stories from the future stars of genre fiction intermingled with unique tales from pros like Jessica A. Salmonson, Norman Spinrad, Jack Ketchum, Aliette de Bodard, Jonathan Maberry, and more!

In January

In January our guest will be David Hankins.

David Hankins writes from the thriving cornfields of Iowa where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dragons disguised as cats.

His writing journey began in the oral tradition of convincing his daughter to Go To Sleep with inventive stories. That usually backfired. After years of Just One More Story, David began transcribing his midnight ramblings in an attempt to keep his storylines straight. Children are ruthless in identifying mistakes in fairy tales. David writes lighthearted speculative fiction because that’s what he loves to read and—this is the important bit—there’s not nearly enough humor in the world.

David aims to change that, one story at a time. Today, David will talk about his writing career, but also clue us into his strengths in author branding, marketing, and developing your own publishing Kickstarter.

Story Prompts

Science Fiction— “Liars.” In a future where Humans and Aliens are making First Contact, a large part of the communications between the two species is handled by their A.I, systems. Research at Google DeepMind shows that Large Language Models may make excellent mediators. But how will the human and alien A.I.’s handle sensitive subjects? Aliens who reproduce by forcefully impregnating intelligent slaves?  Humans who kill and eat billions of sentient species each year?  War? Eugenic Purges? What are peaceful A.I, moderators to do?

Fantasy— Let’s consider a Fantasy in an unusual setting, like Ancient Egypt. Ammon, a young magic wielder in ancient Egypt, apprentices under the esteemed Hotep to learn agricultural magic crucial during the Nile’s annual floods. When crops begin to fail and the land shows signs of infertility, Ammon notices his mentor’s secretive nocturnal activities. Following Hotep, he discovers that his mentor is performing dark rituals to siphon the land’s fertility into talismans, exchanging them with Kemat, a merchant from a rival kingdom, for riches. Betrayed and concerned for his people, Ammon tries to warn the elders but is dismissed due to Hotep’s high standing. Determined, he embarks on a journey to gain the knowledge needed to counteract the dark magic. Returning empowered, Ammon confronts Hotep in a dramatic duel, restores the land’s fertility, and brings his mentor to justice.

Disclaimer: These ideas may or may not be original, convergent ideas are common. DreamForge makes no copyright or monetary claim on these story prompts. Have fun.