‘Star Wars Attack of the Authors’ Announces West Coast Tour

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DK Publishing announced their West Coast tour of Star Wars Attack of the Authors. Numerious EU authors, the 501st Legion, and the Rebel Legion will be on hand for. Expect giveaways, photo opportunities, and the chance to win Star Wars prizes.

  • April 12: Raleigh Park Elementary in Portland, OR – 1PM
  • April 12: Powell’s Books in Beaverton, OR – 7PM
  • April 14: Third Place Books in Bothell, WA – 2-4PM
  • April 15: Books Inc. in Berkeley, CA -3PM
  • April 20: Carlsbad City Library in Carlsbad, CA – 3:30PM
  • April 20: Bookworks in Albuquerque, NM – 7PM
  • April 21: Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, CA – 2PM
  • April 21: Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, AZ – 1PM
  • April 22: Warwick’s in La Jolla, CA – 2PM
  • April 22: Barnes & Noble on Rainbow Boulevard in Las Vegas, NV – 2-4PM

For more details, head over to DK Publishing’s calendar page

Check Out Nanci’s Guest Post on Fan Fiction at Club Jade

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Our own Nanci has a post up at Club Jade examining the media perception of fan fiction since the release of 50 Shades of Grey.

Until now, I’d couldn’t believe that the mainstream media hadn’t yet made the erroneous connection that fanfic = porn.  So an article on CNN entitled “Fifty Shades of Grey shines light on erotic fan fiction”, I wasn’t that surprised.  But I still facepalmed; especially when I saw the accompanying photograph of Kirk and Spock.  The third sentence of the article states, “Welcome to the world of fan fiction, where fans tweak or add to existing series, novels and characters —oftentimes with a steamy twist” (emphasis mine).

It is the word “oftentimes” that bothers me about that statement.  Yes, I know there is erotic fanfic on the internet (refer back to Rule 34).  I’ve read it; heck, I’ve written it.  I don’t think “smut” (as it’s called) is anything to ridicule or look down upon, and I’m not ashamed to read or write it.  But that does not mean that the majority of fanfic is porn, and I hate that people will see novels like “50 Shades” and believe that is the case.

As a fanfic writer myself, the implication that all I’m doing is writing badly written porn really ticks me off. I’ve read some tremendous fan fiction that deserves praise for being well written fiction. So yes, I’m annoyed with 50 Shades and how the media is portraying fanfic.

Hop on over to Club Jade to read the rest of the article.

EU Author Aaron Allston’s Upcoming Appearance Dates

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Author, humorist, and Ewok enthusiast Aaron Allston has updated his appearance schedule for the remainder of the year:

  • May 5: Austin, TX | Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy – with Peter Mayhew
  • May 30-June 3: Columbus, OH | Origin’s Game Fair – Michael Stackpole and Timothy Zahn also in attendance and will join Allston on a Star Wars panel or two
  • July 27-29:  Austin, TX | Armadillo Con
  • August 23-26: Orlando, FL | Celebration VI 
  • August 31-September 3: Atlanta, GA | Dragon*Con – Michael Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, and several other Expanded Universe writers will also be in attendance.

If you ever get the chance to see Allston on a panel at a convention, drop whatever it is you’re doing and grab a seat. He’s one of the funniest men alive and puts on an incredibly entertaining show. This year promises to be especially fun as his first X-Wing novel in thirteen years is due out in August.  

via Roqoo Depot

Star Wars Weekends Guests!

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On last week’s podcast, we reported on the Celebrity Hosts for this year’s upcoming Star Wars Weekends – James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein.  On Friday, Disney announced the nearly full roster of guests.  Hooray!

Weekend I (May 18 – 20)

  • Ray Park – (Darth Maul – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
  • Jerome Blake (Rune Haako/Mas Amedda – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
  • Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Clone Captain Rex and Clone Commander Cody – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Weekend II (May 25- 27)

  • Andy Secombe (Watto – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
  • Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
  • Tom Kane (voice of Yoda – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Weekend III (June 1 -3)

  • Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
  • Silas Carson (Nute Gunray/Ki-Adi-Mundi – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
  • (Star Wars: The Clone Wars voice talent – currently TBD)

Weekend IV (June 8- 10)

  • Michonne Bourriague (Aurra Sing – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace)
  • Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett – Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi)
  • Daniel Logan (Boba Fett – Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones)
  • Nika Futterman (voice of Asajj Ventress – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

It’ll be interesting to see the two Bobas together during Weekend 4, and I’m really looking forward to Nika Futterman’s appearance.  Asajj Ventress is one of my favorite characters on The Clone Wars and I don’t think she’s done an event like this before.  And I’m looking forward to seeing what Jake Lloyd has been up to, especially with The Phantom Menace 3D release this past February.

Personally, I’m hoping that the additional guest for Week 3 is Matt Lanter, for obvious reasons.

(via)

Star Wars Easter Eggs (Literally)

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No matter what your beliefs, Easter is here and we can all enjoy the one universal thing about it: Talking about how awesome these eggs are. Incredibly talented people from across the internet have put these pictures up online and I am shamefully reposting them for all of you to see.

Pictures below the cut.

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Director Ross’ Status Unclear for ‘Hunger Games’ Sequel

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Yesterday, it was reported that Hunger Games director Gary Ross would not be directing its sequel, Catching Fire. Speculation ran rampant as to why Ross would back away from the already-blockbuster franchise with some showbiz sites stating that a money dispute was part of the issue. Others theorized that he simply didn’t have the desire to attach himself to a single story for the next several years.

Now there are reports that the previous reports were erronious and Ross has not told Lionsgate that he’s leaving. Stepping away from an almost guaranteed hit sequel didn’t make a whole lot of sense and for the sake of the next three films, I’d hope he sticks around. He seemed to have worked well with author Suzanne Collins in creating the adapted screenplay and that chemistry could be invaluable moving forward.

As so many of these stories go, no one really has a clue as to what’s going on. Yesterday’s news sounded rather definitive and today’s followups are backpedaling quickly, leaving fans rather confused about the future of the franchise. Personally, I would be surprised if Ross and Lionsgate parted ways at this point.

H/T to Club Jade for the followup news

Friday Star Wars Roundup

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Welcome to the roundup!

At the end of every work week, we’re going to gather up the most interesting bits of Star Wars related news and discussion from around the web and hand them to you lucky readers in the handy link-dump format.

Two New Scoundrels Announced: We knew that Han, Chewie, and Lando would be comprising three of the characters in Timothy Zahn’s upcoming novel Star Wars: Scoundrels. Frank Parisi announced two additional characters via the Forcecast last weekend: Kell Tainer and Winter Celchu. The following animated gif accurately portrays the feelings of Tosche Station’s writing staff regarding this announcement:

Bless you, Bill Adama. More news below the cut.

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Tosche Station Radio #11: Author Appeal

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Podcast: Stream Here | Download

It’s a big, big week for Brian, Nanci, and Tosche Station Radio.

The show kicks off with an announcement: TSR has a new official blog! Brian, Nanci, and mutual friend Shane have launched Tosche-Station.net, a new site where the staff will write and snark about the news and issues in geek culture. With a heavy dose of Star Wars, of course. We’d like to thank Roqoo Depot for being our home for the first ten episodes and their help in promoting the podcast. As you’re listening to this episode, hop on over to the new site and check out Shane’s snarky look back at Children of the Jedi and Brian’s review of Essential Guide to Warfare.

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