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Us

In a comic book world, what happened last night in Aurora, Colorado, would itself prove to be a superhero origin. A tragic crime, during the showing of a movie about a masked crimefighter? Heck, it almost is the Batman origin story, on a larger scale.

But we don’t live in a comic book world. The terror, the grief, the pain in our world is real. Real people, going through a real experience that those of us fortunate enough not have been touched by violence can’t even begin to imagine. In the real world, good doesn’t always rise triumphantly from the ashes of this sort of evil; and even when it does, it’s rarely as direct or obvious a path as it is in the comic books.

Here’s the thing, though. Here, in the real world, even if there’s no good to be found in something like this? We can, at least, avoid making it worse.

We can choose not to politicize it. We can choose not to make it about "us vs. them."

We can choose not to view it as nationality vs. nationality; religion vs. religion; Left vs. Right. Even if it turns out the gunman did see it that way–and we don’t know yet; we might never–it doesn’t mean that we have to. The people who were taken, the people left behind to suffer, aren’t confined to one ethnicity, one religion, one political party.

Some politicians are already politicizing this. Don’t. Don’t do it; don’t let them do it.

This isn’t about "us vs. them." Because today, "us" is everyone.

Not the GenCon Post You’re Expecting

Let me tell you, first, what this post should be.

It should be about how much of a blast I had at GenCon, my first time back in three or four years. It should be about how great it is to see friends I don’t get to see very often; how wonderful it is to discover that a good friend online is an even better friend (and better person) in real life; how much I enjoyed meeting with collaborators and co-workers whom I’ve never before met in person; how much fun it is to game with people in this industry I’ve long respected.

It should be about all that–and all of that is certainly 100% true, and fantastic–but it’s not going to be.

On at least one, and possibly two, different occasions at GenCon–the second has other potential explanations, but the first is incontrovertible–someone very specifically and very deliberately set out to spread false rumors about people for whom I care deeply. And I’m not talking about little annoying tall tales; I’m talking about truly malicious stuff that, if heard and believed by the wrong person, is potentially both career-damaging and relationship-destroying.

And just to add insult to injury, given the targets of these lies, and the way the rumors spread, I find myself almost positive that this came from someone in, or at least on the periphery of, the industry. Maybe fiction publishing, maybe roleplaying–but definitely someone I should be able to consider a colleague, or at least a peer.

No, I’m not going to repeat the rumors, or name the people smeared by said rumors. If you were involved even slightly, you know what I’m talking about.

So, first, I have a request. Whoever started those rumors, for whatever reason–if you happen to be reading this, I ask you to grow a pair and come forward. You can do it privately, via my e-mail or my contact page. If you identify yourself, and include an explanation and an apology that I can forward on to the people you hurt, that’ll be the end of it. I’ll keep your name quiet, I’ll pass along the apology, and we’ll all move on.

If not?

Well, I’m not stupid, and I’m not prone to posturing. If you don’t come forward, the odds are you’ll remain anonymous. You probably won’t be outed. You probably won’t face any consequences.

Probably.

On the other hand, I know the people targeted. I know at least some of the vectors by which the rumors spread. And just maybe, I’ll be able to work out who started this crap.

I’m not precisely a giant in the field. I’m no George Martin or John Scalzi or Bob Salvatore. I’m not a publisher, or an editor, or an agent, or a publicist, or a best-seller.

But I know publishers, and editors, and agents, and publicists, and best-sellers. I talk to them. And most of them are decent people who have no patience for this sort of thing.

So, yeah, you’ll probably come out untouched. But if you don’t voluntarily come forward, if you are in the industry, and I do manage to figure out who you are?

My hand to whatever God/gods may be out there, I will make it a genuine professional goal to fucking destroy whatever career you might have had. Think about how long I’ve been communicating with my fans, and how rarely I’ve ever stooped to making threats, and decide if I’m serious about pursuing this.

You will not fuck with the people I love.

Thanks, Ray

You really don’t get any bigger or more influential in the various speculative fiction genres than Ray Bradbury. Whether you’re a fan of his work specifically or not, there’s no denying how fully it shaped what was to come afterward. None of us who are into sci-fi/fantasy–whether as writers or as fans–would be precisely where we are without him.

Rest in peace, Ray, and thank you. Our worlds, real and imaginary, are better for having had you in them.

Just your friendly neighborhood…

Sure, I desperately want to see the Avengers. And Dark Knight. And Prometheus. But even more than those? This: The Amazing Spider-Man.

Yes, it’s an origin story again, and yes, it’d be nice if it weren’t. But A) it looks like a take on it we haven’t seen before, and B) far more important, it looks, from what we’ve seen, like a Spider-Man movie that gets the character completely right. (Something that, as much as I loved the Maguire/Raimi movies–and I really did love them, at least the first two–they never quite managed to accomplish.)

I don’t care if it’s an origin story. I don’t care if it’s "too soon" for a reboot. It’s freakin’ Spider-Man.

Well, fine…

If remakes and reboots really are the way of the future in Hollywood, then I might as well jump on the bandwagon. So…

Dear Hollywood:

I am willing to write the basic story, script, and/or novelization for a remake of the movie Krull, for a very reasonable amount of money. You had a lot of financial success with Clash of the Titans, so this is a movie worth considering, and if you look at my writing history, I think you’ll find us a pretty good match.

I eagerly await the calls that I just know are going to start flooding in any minute now.