Notices

Expanding Critters - Feedback Wanted

I've long planned to offer workshopping in more genres, both writing and in other creative areas. But there are lots of options how to do that... so I'd appreciate your thoughts. Please share your thoughts here, so I can keep them in one place. Thanks!

Notice about Notices...

New notices layout much preferred, but I've got a CSS glitch to fix before I roll it out. :)

New perk for Critter members — Free ads for your books (or other stuff)

Many Critterfolk have asked if they could advertise their books/stories/etc. on Critters. I know how important it is to get the word out — and how hard that is — so I decided heck, let's try it as an experiment and see how it goes. Details are here...

The State of The Future?

What are your thoughts about the future (as in, "The Future")? Is the future healthy or are people burned out on it? Share your thoughts at http://newnewforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=553

Vote for Your Favorites!

http://critters.org/bestpoll

It has polls for your all-time favorite books / short stories / poems / poets / authors, each in genres of mainstream / SF&F / horror / mystery / romance / erotica / thriller / childrens / young adult / nonfiction. (Ok, there's no "nonfiction poetry" category but... :) )

Please give it a try, vote for your favorites, and please spread the word. The more people vote the better the scoring gets. Hope you find it useful!

Wishes for the Future

What do you want the future to hold? World peace? Self-driving cars? Share your dreams of the future, big or small, on the Wishes for the Future forum. What would you love to see? (It's part of my NewNewForum.com site. Meant to be fun, and it's anonymous, so don't be shy!) We're 73% of the way there, thanks!

The Critters Queue

Manuscripts themselves are here.

Queue of manuscripts out or to be sent (dates are estimated,
depending on number of mss. sent out, which depends on number of
members; probabalistically, the end of the queue is usually about
a month away):


     Title                      	Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Week of 1-Sep-2010 (Crits due 8-Sep-2010):
 SF  Laterally                          [mpc] David Barron -#18638
 SF  A Day in the Life of Marion James  [mpc] Amber Hunter -#18639
 SF  Dream of Conquest                  Nicole Andrews -#18640
 SF  Tying Knots                        [@] Ken Liu -#18641
 F   The Hand with the Knife            Jeff Chapman -#18642
 SF  The Sacrifice of Berra 4, chapter one  David Erickson -#18643
 F   The Diver                          Sarah Gibbel -#18644
 F   Weird and Wonderful                tony lavely -#18645
 H   Seven                              David Randall (Randy) Smith -#18646
 F   Calypso (Formerly Green Island)    Anne Nicholson -#18647
 H   Untitled Short Story               M. R. Zuchniak -#18648
 SF  Lingham 22                         M.R. Zuchniak -#18649
 SF  Being, Bethany                     Victor Eremita -#18650
 F   Elemental Assassin - chapters 1-2  Rebecca Matthews -#18651
 SF  Hypnagogue                         M. I. Burton -#18652
 SF  How do I know you are not a human?  David Allkins -#18653
 F   Grow Your Own Dinosaur             J.P. Hooper -#18654
 H   The Take                           Christopher White -#18655
 F   Any Port in a Storm                Patrick S. Tomlinson -#18656
 F   Anubis Arises                      Pam Bitner -#18657
 F   The Jongurian Mission, Chapter 1   Greg Strandberg -#18658
 F   Baptized                           Michael Gillen -#18659
 F   The Unpropitious Return of Antonio Dias Caldas  Christopher Kastensmidt -#18660
 SF  Gap Years, Part 2                  Gareth D Jones -#18661
 SF  Daniel the Duelist, Chapters 1-2   Derek Fair -#18662
 F   Spirit Shifter, Chapter 1          Gavin Cramblet -#18663
 SF  Ripples                            Deborah Jensen -#18664
 F   One Year                           Cameron Beman -#18665

Week of 8-Sep-2010 (Crits due 15-Sep-2010):
 SF  The First Conspiracy               Nathaniel Wildermuth
 SF  The Heart of the Matter            Annette Piazza
 F   Dead Men Walking, chapters 1-3     Arabella Chippindall-Higgin
 F   Needle Rain Chapters 1-8           Carol Dunn
 H   Hellbound                          Charles Brutsch
 SF  Leaving Providence                 Mary Elaine Califf
 F   Bear at the Door                   Dionisios Efkarpidis
 SF  Captured on Video                  Richard Zwicker
 SF  Cloud 9 from Outer Space           R.W.W. Greene
 F   The Three of Wands â€" Virtue      Nerine Dorman
 H   In the Forest of the Mountain Wolf (2nd Revision)  Lawrence Vernon
 H   The Gift - Chapter 4               Brian Fischer-Giffin
 SF  In The Frying Pan                  Steve Everett
 H   The Spyglass                       Rob Jacobsen
 F   Things Might Turn Out OK After All  David Ferrington
 F   The Retriever--Chapter 1           A.K. Karam
 SF  White Rooms                        Dennis Sun
 F   The Disintegration of Those Who Tame Demons (incomplete  Annette
 SF  Neighborhood Watch                 David Haws
 SF  Necrotic Empire - Prologue         Terry C. Simpson
 SF  Allegiance                         Alex Shvartsman
 SF  Dark Detour                        L Young
 H   And Then the Clock Struck Two      Brian W. Matthews
 SF  American Badlands: Prelude         Jeff Cook
 H   Never Bitten                       Chris Narbone
 H   Tattoos                            Andrea Leech
 F   Phoenix's Ashes Chapter 1          Juanita McConnachie
 SF  Murder at L5                       Paul M. Frazier
 F   A Mother's Curse                   Charles D. Shell
 SF  With My Vortex .19 in Hand, I Boldly Go Forward  Brad Baughman

Week of 15-Sep-2010 (Crits due 22-Sep-2010):
 SF  The Paralytic Converter            William Hagberg
 F   The Cloud City                     Christina Bejjani
 F   The Black Orb, Chapter One Plus Outline  Sabeen Aameir
 SF  Losing Zero                        Scott Malabarba
 SF  The Virtual Resort, Chapter 5-6    Rene L. Saucedo
 SF  Illusions of Control RFDR          Colton Goodrich
 F   The Centaur's Bride                Eric J. Juneau
 SF  Galaxy's Deadliest Creature        Chris DeSantis
 SF  Wonder                             Dean Rodina
 F   Serpent's Heart                    Donald Jacob Uitvlugt
 F   The Book of Gaal part 1            Karl Sundsvold
 F   Avalina - Begining                 Laura Eschbaugh
 H   Book of Shadows, Chapters 28 & 29 & short epilogue  A. R. Braun
 SF  Lost Gods, 22-24 with brief synopsis  David Anthony
 SF  Seedling                           Ben Godby
 F   The Bridge and the Coin            Michael Vella
 F   Dogs at the Table                  P.E. Zimmerman
 F   End of Days Prophecy               Brad Slagowski
 F   The Heart of the Loadstone Chapters 1-3  James MacHaffie
 F   Princess Of The Damned Chapters 1-3  N.B. Yomi
 F   How the Isle of Cats Got Its Name  James Hutchings
 F   The Sangam                         Arun Jiwa
 F   The Hardest Blow                   Justin R. Lawfer
 F   Beastmaster                        David Hiller
 SF  A Voice for Sandy                  Greg Hullender
 SF  Art for Aliens V2                  Antha Ann Adkins
 SF  Frog And Genie                     Sean Lai
 SF  Intifada!                          Nigel Hall
 SF  The Porridge Minders               anatoly belilovsky
 F   The CIty                           Ken Lindsey

Week of 22-Sep-2010 (Crits due 29-Sep-2010):
 F   Grandmother Spring                 Rachel H. White
 SF  The Lycanthropic Principle         Carl Frederick
 F   The Gods Move On.                  Rowan Clemerson
 F   Sharachus, Chapters 1-3            Michael John Grist
 F   300 Year Storm                     Peter Kovic
 SF  The Brave Little Trash-bot at the End of the World  Michael Andre-Driussi
 SF  Another's Destiny                  Chuck Tay
 SF  Changing Horizons                  Xanise Twinn
 SF  Red Son Rising                     Rhonda Wright
 SF  New Orleans Fog                    Vaughn Cowart
 F   Love Letters                       Jonathan David Lim
 SF  Legacy Soldier Ch 19               Rob Gilliam
 SF  Resonics Revelations:The Senate Wars (Story 2 of 7)  J. R. Calvo
 F   Falcon's Wings, Ch 3 & 4, 1st Draft  Philip Quayle
 F   The Scribbler Plans His Next Magnum Opus  Russell Adams
 F   The Sands of Al-Haasra             Aidan Fritz
 F   Equus [rewrite as fate of aqauraius 1 to 1,5]  G. Tonks
 SF  It Sang in the Silence             Madison Henderson
 SF  The Lost Universe Chapter, Chapters1-8  John Colgrove
======================================================================
      (Note, if the last week above looks abnormally large, it probably
      needs me to add a new week, a task I do manually when I get around
      to it.  Future critique dates are approximate and subject to change.)

[@] - Pro [SFWA/HWA] author
[*] - Extra week(s) for holidays/aburt-out-of-town.
[mpc] - Most Product Critter Award winner
[!] - Special non-Wednesday dates because Critter Captain will be out of town

Waiting to enter Queue (Will enter at end of queue on "[date]"):

 F   The Four of Wands: Completion      Nerine Dorman [15-Sep-2010]
 F   Five of Wands: Strife              Nerine Dorman [?]
 F   Six of Wands: Victory              Nerine Dorman [?]
 F   The Dead of Night                  Nerine Dorman [?]
 F   A Pearl for Anel                   Nerine Dorman [?]
 H   The Lucky Ones                     Leonard Dawson [?]
 H   Snakecharmer                       Nerine Dorman [?]
 F   A Covenant With Darkness           Nerine Dorman [?]
 H   A Piggish Nightmare                Lawrence Vernon [15-Sep-2010]
 H   At Three Past Midnight (3rd Revision)  Lawrence Vernon [?]
 SF  To Sail the Winds of Song          Donald Jacob Uitvlugt [22-Sep-2010]
 H   Over the Threshold                 Donald Jacob Uitvlugt [?]
 H   On A Foggy Day (2nd Revision)      Lawrence Vernon [?]
 H   Patrick's Halloween Party          Lawrence Vernon [?]
 F   The Hour of the Rat                Donald Jacob Uitvlugt [?]
 H   The Gift - Chapter 5               Brian Fischer-Giffin [15-Sep-2010]
 H   The Zeva Project                   Lawrence Vernon [?]
 H   The Vampire at the Dealership [?]
 SF  The Orphan                         Steve Everett [15-Sep-2010]
 H   Oil Slicks                         Lawrence Vernon [?]
 F   Witch, Prologue and Chapters 1&2   Diana Lai [?]
 H   Outside, the Quiet Darkness Brooded  Brian Fischer-Giffin [?]
 H   Shadows (2nd Revision)             Lawrence Vernon [?]
 SF  Lost Gods, 24-26 with brief synopsis  David Anthony [22-Sep-2010]
 SF  Lost Gods, 27-28 with brief synopsis  David Anthony [?]
 SF  Lost Gods, 29-30 with brief synopsis  David Anthony [?]
 SF  Ontology or The Reasons Why        Steve Everett [?]
 F   The Jongurian Mission, Chapter 2   Greg Strandberg [8-Sep-2010]
 F   The Politics of Those Who Tame Demons (query)  Annette [15-Sep-2010]
 F   The Bloofer Lady                   Donald Jacob Uitvlugt [?]
 SF  Legacy Soldier Chapter 20          Rob Gilliam [29-Sep-2010]
 SF  Legacy Soldier Chapter 21          Rob Gilliam [?]
 SF  Automated                          Victor Eremita [8-Sep-2010]
 F   A Plain of Dust, a Scrap of Wood   Christopher Kastensmidt [8-Sep-2010]
 H   Z Company (Zombie Story)           Eric J. Juneau [22-Sep-2010]
 SF  Gap Years, Part 3A                 Gareth D Jones [8-Sep-2010]
 SF  Gap Years, Part 3B                 Gareth D Jones [?]
 F   The Master Is Equal Parts Guile and Evil  Ben Godby [22-Sep-2010]
				-+-

Held until participation ratio improves (then out that week):

 SF  The Extravagant Vagabonds, Chapters 11-14  A.M. Cole [11-Aug-2010]
 F   The Tale                           Michael Bondies [11-Aug-2010]
 F   Bronze Raiders: A tale of Ancient Troy Part 5  Dan Bracewell [11-Aug-2010]
 SF  Xenophobia, Prologue - Chapter 1   Chelsea [11-Aug-2010]
 SF  Chana                              Ieva Melgalve [11-Aug-2010]
 SF  Mr. Walters                        Evan Witt [11-Aug-2010]
 SF  The Omega Protocol Part I          Jonden Chickeness [11-Aug-2010]
 F   Hybrid                             Kurt [18-Aug-2010]
 SF  The Frontier World of Luna         Chong Shang Shan [18-Aug-2010]
 SF  Legends - the Beginning, Prologue/Chapter 1/Outline  Mohamed Moshrif [18-Aug-2010]
 SF  Farshift - Chronicles of a Wayward World, Chapters 1-3  Mike Carambat [18-Aug-2010]
 SF  Sir Lukan and the Dragon           Jacob Ulasich [18-Aug-2010]
 F   And the Beast Missed Him, synopsis  Hanna Carter [25-Aug-2010]
 H   Dead Cat Bounce                    Maeghan Kearney [25-Aug-2010]
 F   Skyler - The Beginning             The Burning Quill [25-Aug-2010]
 SF  Knights Of Magi Betrayl            chris pike [25-Aug-2010]
 F   Aqua                               Gints Zilbalodis [01-Sep-2010]
 H   Homer                              Michael Cooke [01-Sep-2010]
 SF  Hope                               Ian Hopkins [01-Sep-2010]
 F   'Asrai, Chapter 1                  Emily A. Forte Feliciano [01-Sep-2010]
 SF  The Extravagant Vagabonds, Chapters 15-18  A.M. Cole [01-Sep-2010]
 SF  The Video                          Michael Bondies [01-Sep-2010]
 SF  Resonics Revelations:Day of Reaping (Story 1 of 7)  J. R. Calvo [01-Sep-2010]
                                :::


>> Note 1:  Held manuscripts are removed after four weeks on hold and
>> must be resubmitted.

>> Note 2:  It is the *author's* responsibility to notify Aburt when
>> they have brought up their critique count and want their ms. sent out.




[Click here to see the queue including archival data from 1995.]