Okay, so…
Every now and again, we see news articles about scientists having developed technology that could lead to teleportation, or (more likely) instant communication. It involves paired particles that, regardless of the distance between them, react in exactly the same way if one of the pair is subject to an outside force.
Can someone give me a more detailed description and explanation of this process, and the theory behind it? More importantly, it needs to be an explanation that’s at least mostly comprehensible by a layman who’s barely qualified to take a high school physics class. 
Can you point me toward any spec-fic short stories–sci-fi, fantasy, horror; specific genre doesn’t matter–that are less than 10K long (preferably less than 6K), but take place over multiple generations or historical periods?
Yeah, I know. Oddly specific. 
I have an idea for such a short story, but as I’ve never tried writing one like that, I’d like to see how other people have structured it.
Okay, so I’m mostly a fantasy and supernatural horror reader, but I’ve been on something of a sci-fi kick lately. Thing is, it’s been long enough since I read sci-fi regularly that I’m not sure what the good modern options are.
I’m a fan of Jack McDevitt and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and I’m looking for more along those lines. That is, “harder” sci-fi than, say, Star Trek, but soft enough that it’s still character/plot-driven first (as opposed to being an examination of future tech/culture), and easily followed by someone who barely knows a nanobot from a megabyte. (The same touch of mystery one finds in McDevitt and Rusch is a plus, but not essential.)
So, go ahead. Sci-fi me up, baby.
If you’re not already sick of hearing from me, I’ve got a new interview up at the page of the inestimable Phil Athans. Within, we discuss (among other things) the definition of fantasy, writing inspiration, gaming as it relates to writing, and plenty of other things that you may or may not find nearly as interesting as I do.
I wanted to offer my congrats to all the 2011 Hugo Award Winners–but most specifically to Lou Anders of Pyr Books, easily one of the top three editors I’ve worked with to date. 
Great job, Lou.
(So do we all get raises, now?) 
So the Dragon’s Lair signing is over. Not a humongous crowd, but a number of interesting conversations. Thanks so much to everyone who came out.
If you couldn’t make it, but are still interested in some signed books (and you’re local to the Austin area), you should still swing by the store in the near future. They’ve got a number of signed copies of The Goblin Corps, The Conqueror’s Shadow, and The Warlord’s Legacy still for sale.
While not nearly as irksome as my first example, I do find it seriously frustrating…
When I come up with a fantastic image, scene, or basic concept that I know would make an absolutely amazing basis for a story…
But for the life of me, I can’t figure out where to take it, what to do with it, or what story to actually tell with it! 
