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Douglas Preston is the New York Times best-selling author of the newly released IMPACT, recently published by Forge Books. He is the co-author, with Lincoln Child, of the famed Pendergast series of novels, including such bestselling titles as The Book of the Dead and The Wheel of Darkness, as well as The Relic, which was made into a number one box office hit film.

Doug’s solo novels include Jennie, made into a movie by Disney, and the New York Times bestsellers Tyrannosaur Canyon and Blasphemy.

Doug discusses how he explores controversial scientific theories and current events in all of his thrillers. He talks about his trip to Cambodia with National Geographic, where certain discoveries ultimately provided the background to IMPACT.

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Marjorie Liu is a New York Times bestselling author of novels, short stories, novellas, and two ongoing series. Dirk & Steele is a series of novels of paranormal romance and the Hunter Kiss series focuses on urban fantasy. Marjorie has written NYX: No Way Home, for Marvel Comics, and is co-writing the ongoing series Dark Wolverine. Marjorie is also an attorney. She divides her time between the American Midwest and Beijing and Shanghai in China.

Marjorie discusses her novella Armor of Roses recently published in the anthology, INKED, as well as her work on Dark Wolverine and NYX for Marvel Comics. Marjorie talks about the new videogame Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box based on her novel Tiger Eye. She discusses her sources of inspiration and the widespread appeal of paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

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Jake Black is the author of THE AUTHORIZED ENDER COMPANION, recently published by Tor Books. Fans will be able to explore the first complete and in-depth encyclopedia of all the persons, places, things, and events in Orson Scott Card’s beloved Ender Universe.

The long-awaited volume was written under the editorial supervision of Card himself, who recently received the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in Young Adult literature from the American Library Association. Jake Black has written for several popular franchises and characters including Smallville, Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Twilight, and Star Trek. He is the author of Marvel Comics’ Ender-series comic books Gold Bug, Cheater, and Recruiting Valentine.

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Brandon Sanderson is The New York Times bestselling author of The Gathering Storm. The Gathering Storm, published by Tor Books, is Book 12 of The Wheel of Time series and the first of three novels to make up the conclusion.

Brandon Sanderson is the author of several critically acclaimed fantasy novels including the Mistborn trilogy and the recent Warbreaker. In five years, Brandon went from unknown college student to bestselling author to the writer chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Brandon’s first published book was Elantris, a terrific novel which won the Romantic Times award for best epic fantasy of 2005 and was chosen by Barnes and Noble.com editors as the best Fantasy or Science Fiction book of the year.

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Ken Scholes is the author of CANTICLE, the second book in the Psalms of Isaak series, published on October 13th, 2009 by Tor Books. LAMENTATION, published by Tor Books in February 2009, is the acclaimed first book in the series.

Ken won the Writers of the Future contest in 2004. His first short story collection, Long Walks, Last Flights, and Other Strange Journeys, was published in December 2008 by Fairwood Press. Ken Scholes was recently hailed by Booklist for his “rare gift for inventive storytelling that invites comparisons with the genre’s leading practitioners”.

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Douglas Clegg is the New York Times bestselling author of The Priest of Blood, Afterlife, and The Hour Before Dark. Doug’s short story collection, The Machinery of Night, won a Shocker Award, and his first collection, The Nightmare Chronicles, won both the Bram Stoker Award and the International Horror Guild Award.

Doug’s newest book is Isis, A Tale of the Supernatural, published by Vanguard Press. His first novel, Goat Dance, was published by Simon & Schuster in 1989, and Doug has had more than 20 books published in the last 20 years. He has primarily written supernatural fiction — from horror to fantasy to psychological suspense with a paranormal edge. In 2000, Doug’s short novel Purity became one of the most-downloaded fiction ebooks on the Internet — reaching more than 100,000 readers in its first year.

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Ben Bova’s new novel, The Immortality Factor, is published by Tor Books. Dr. Bova is President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He has written 120 futuristic novels and nonfiction books, and has been involved in science and high technology since the very beginnings of the space age.

Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, “for fueling mankind’s imagination regarding the wonders of outer space.” In 2008 Dr. Bova won the Robert A. Heinlein Award “for his outstanding body of work in the field of literature.”

In his various writings, Dr. Bova has predicted the Space Race of the 1960s, the discovery of organic chemicals in interstellar space, virtual reality, human cloning, the discovery of life on Mars, and stem cell therapy.

Dr. Bova has worked with film makers and television producers such as Woody Allen, George Lucas, and Gene Roddenberry. In 2001 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Technorati Tags: ben bova, hugo award, immortality factor, science fiction, Stem Cell Research

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Ken Scholes

Ken Scholes is the author of LAMENTATION, published by Tor Books in February 2009. LAMENTATION is the first in a five book series called The Psalms of Isaak. Ken Scholes was recently hailed by Booklist for his ‘rare gift for inventive storytelling that invites comparisons with the genre’s leading practitioners’.

Ken discusses how LAMENTATION came about and gives us insights into becoming a successful writer. He compares and contrasts short story writing and novel writing, and discusses his many upcoming projects.

Ken sold his first story to Talebones Magazine in 2000 and won the Writers of the Future contest in 2004. His quirky, offbeat fiction continues to be published in various magazines and anthologies like Polyphony 6, Weird Tales, and Clarkesworld Magazine. In 2006, Ken’s short story Of Metal Men and Scarlet Thread and Dancing with the Sunrise appeared in the August issue of Realms of Fantasy. LAMENTATION is an extension of that story.

Technorati Tags: fantasy, ken scholes, lamentation, science fiction, short stories

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Eric Nylund

Eric Nylund, HALO and GEARS OF WAR writer and story consultant, discusses his new book, MORTAL COILS; his new comic mini-series, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA – The Cylon War; and his new graphic novel, HALO: Genesis. Eric provides tips on becoming a game developer and the path to becoming a successful writer.

Mr. Nylund is a writer and story consultant for Microsoft Game Studios where he helps develop and maintain blockbuster billion-dollar game franchises such as GEARS OF WAR and HALO. He has helped shaped the intellectual property for some the world’s best videogame developers, including Bioware, Ensemble Studios, and Epic Games.

He is a New York Times bestselling author and World Fantasy Award-nominated author of several novels – including HALO: Ghost of Onyx and Dry Water – which have sold over two million copies. MORTAL COILS, Mr. Nylund’s latest novel coming out in February 2009, will be his ninth novel.

In January 2009, Mr. Nylund had his first comic mini-series published, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: The Cylon War—a prequel to the television show. Also out in Spring 2009 is his graphic novel, HALO: Genesis, which will appear in the Limited Collector’s Edition of HALO WARS.

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica, Eric Nylund, Gears of War, Halo, Mortal Coils

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Orson Scott Card is the national bestselling author of the Ender’s Universe novels. His newest book, ENDER IN EXILE, is published by Tor. Most recently, Mr. Card was awarded the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in Young Adult literature from the American Library Association.

Best known for his classic novels Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow, Mr. Card’s work has won multiple awards, including back-to-back wins of the coveted Hugo and Nebula Awards – the only author to have done so in consecutive years. His titles have also landed on “best-of” lists and been adopted by cities, universities, and libraries for reading programs.

The Ender novels have impacted other areas of pop culture, inspiring a Marvel Comics series, a forthcoming video game from Chair Entertainment, and pre-production on a film version. Mr. Card offers writing workshops and occasionally teaches writing and literature at universities.

In our SCIENCE AND SOCIETY interview, Mr. Card discusses the tremendous cross-over appeal of the Ender novels, comparable to that of the Harry Potter novels and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He offers insight on character development, the creative process, and what constitutes a good story. Mr. Card also discusses the critical importance of developing young peoples’ literacy skills and reading habits.

Technorati Tags: ender in exile, ender's game, orson scott card, science fiction