 Building Dune
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
It’s an old creative-writing class adage, “Write what you know.” For science fiction authors, it’s difficult to “know” a lot about strange, far-flung planets from personal experience, because we can’t go there, except in our research and imaginations. We have developed many exotic settings for Sisterhood Of Dune, Hellhole, and our numerous other novels, and have found that in order to visualize and conceive alien worlds, it helps to visit the interesting parts of this world.
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 Why the Future Never Gets the SF Right
By Michael Flynn
The problem with near-future science fiction is that the fiction is over-taken by events. My novel Firestar, recently re-issued by Tor, concerns the near “future” of 1999-2010 and the hot scoop is that things didn’t work out that way. Some of it, sure, including, alas, the predicted recession. But Serbia is no longer the Bad Boy of the Balkans (nor are the Balkans the Place to Keep an Eye On) and we don’t have regularly-scheduled ballistic transport or single-stage to orbit or… However, anyone who thinks the main basic function of SF is to commit journalism on the future will be perennially disappointed.
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 Two sisters, two brothers, and the rebirth of the Deadtime Stories
By Annette and Gina Cascone
When our editor offered us the opportunity to contribute an article to this newsletter about our middle grade horror series The Deadtime Stories, we were hesitant—until she wrote, “What we are unequivocally NOT looking for is an article about how you got your ideas…”
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The EVE: Templar One Battleship Sweepstakes
 A chance to win a set of four model ships from EVE!
Sign up for your chance to win here!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to enter. Promotion begins January 3, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. ET. and ends February 14th, 2011, 11:59 p.m. ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules go here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Goodreads First Reads
We are currently offering the chance to win a copy of each of the following books on Goodreads:
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The Rules of Magic, According to the 
