A Confession and a Motivation

As promised, I would like to expand on something I glossed over in my interview on Catholic Geek Radio, but now that I look back on it, played a much larger part in my motivations as a writer than I realized. It concerns how I moved from one university to another. It is not something I am proud of – instead it is something I am grateful for, since reminding myself of it is an effective defence against pride. This post will involve some painful memories, so please bear with me. Continue reading

My appearance on the Catholic Geek Radio podcast

On this sombre day, I will briefly mention my appearance on the Catholic Geek Radio podcast, where we briefly discuss this sad anniversary before moving on to lighter topics, such as superversive fiction, my background as a writer and the hope and beauty I try to capture in my work. The interview was recorded three days ago and will be available to listen to at 7pm EST today. There was one subject in the interview that I glossed over, and subsequently realised was worth covering in some depth, so I will follow up with a blog post on that in the next few days.

Once it goes live, the interview will be available here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/webuiltthatnetwork/2016/09/11/the-catholic-geek-poetry-and-superversive-sf-with-ben-zwycky

 

Where does the wonder come from?

wedding2It is my fifteenth wedding anniversary today, here is this year’s poem:

Where does the wonder come from?

Where does the wonder come from
That fills me as I think of you?
The privilege I have to share your life,
And know you love to share mine, too?

What can I be, what can I see
And share with you to lift your soul?
What can I learn, how can I grow,
And through your pain with love console?

What does our Lord require of us,
We two upon a path for one?
To unify our hearts and toils;
To calmly rest, with glee to run,

With overflowing joy take flight
And soar up to the healing light
That guides us through the passing night
Aflame with glory, clothed in might.

In daily troubles, trials and tears
Through precious days, weeks, months and years,
Cling to Him and thus together
Bind by an unbreaking tether.

United we can go and face
All challenges along the race
To win the great eternal prize
That He has set before our eyes.

Dragon Award Winners!

The Dragon awards were handed out yesterday, with the following winners in each category:

Best Science Fiction Novel

Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwithering Realm by John C. Wright

 

Best Fantasy Novel

Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia

 

Best Young Adult/Middle Grade Novel

The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett

 

Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

Hell’s Foundations Quiver by David Weber

 

Best Alternate History Novel

League of Dragons by Naomi Novak

 

Best Apocalyptic Novel

Ctrl Alt Revolt! by Nick Cole

 

Best Horror Novel

Souldancer by Brian Niemeier

 

Best Comic Book

Ms. Marvel

 

Best Graphic Novel

The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman

 

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series

Game of Thrones – HBO

 

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

The Martian

 

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC/Console Game

Fallout 4 by Bethesda Softworks

 

Best Science Fiction of Fantasy Mobile Game

Fallout Shelter by Bethesda Softworks

 

Best Science Fiction of Fantasy Board Game

Pandemic: Legacy by ZMan Games

 

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures/Collectible Card/Role Playing Game

Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game (7th edition) by Chaosium Inc.

 

I’m glad to see four of my six picks won (all of whom I have had the honour of either chatting with online or meeting in person this year) and my congratulations go out to all of the winners, well deserved and may you all get a substantial boost in sales as a result.

In Defence of Motherhood

In stark contrast to the glowing review by Marina Fontaine, another review of Beyond the Mist appeared at the Publisher’s weekly website last week. The review contains a large number of spoilers and is a mixture of muted praise and sharp criticisms. Some of those criticisms claim that there are structural flaws in the storytelling and weak characterization. Perhaps those are justified, perhaps not, I am too close to the text to be able to be unbiased in that regard – I leave it to those who have read the book to decide if the reviewer is being fair. Other complaints seem to flow from political disagreements with the themes and concepts in the work. One issue in particular I would like to respond to without giving away too many spoilers. Continue reading

More Reviewer Praise for Beyond the Mist and Nobility Among Us!

Dragon-award-nominee Marina Fontaine, up high in the echelons of the Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance, had some very kind words to say about both of my novels, highly recommending both and mentioning them in the same breath as the works of the great masters C.S. Lewis and John C. Wright.

To say I am flattered to be mentioned in this way would be a great understatement, it was Lewis who first fired my literary imagination, whose works I have read more of than any other author, and it was his type of literature that I was consciously trying to hark back to when I wrote Nobility Among Us. John C. Wright is of course a major influence in Beyond the Mist, the plot being based on some of his philosophical essays, among other things.

You can read for yourself what she had to say over here:

http://marinafontaine.blogspot.cz/2016/08/book-review-two-for-one-ben-zwyckys.html

The 99 cent deal on both books (and on Selected Verse: Heroes and Wonders) is still running for another day and a half, so take the opportunity to take a look for yourself for less.

Matt_BTM_Who_Am_I_Poster

Beyond the Mistall cover_f1_v13_frontsmallSelected Verse - Heroes and Wonders

Selected Verse - Faith and Family

All My Books for $0.99 Each (again!)

Another multi-parallel kindle countdown deal means that all of my books are now available at amazon for only 99 cents each until the end of the month. Grab them while you can!

Beyond the Mistall cover_f1_v13_frontsmallSelected Verse - Heroes and Wonders

Selected Verse - Faith and Family

 

 

 

 

 

Go out into the webiverse and spread the word! I do not send you out on this great task unarmed, however. Here are a selection of mighty memetic weapons with quotes from my two novels to aid you in your quest. Behold their majesty and choose your rhetorical blades!
BTM_fallig_flying_meme BTM_importance_meme
NAU Commoner to King MemeNAU-janitor-general-memeNAU soldiers in hills meme

Fly, my pretties, spread widely and infect as many minds as possible with these noble thoughts, Muahahaha!

*ahem*

Why yes, I was sleep-deprived while writing this, why do you ask?

*EDIT* I’ve replaced one of my paltry efforts with a much more awesome version produced by Matt Margolis.

 

Twenty-Eight and a Half

For my wife’s birthday:

Twenty-Eight and a Half

Wife and mother treasured far
Above all else, for who you are;
We celebrate another stage
In your ripe and youthful age,

Whereupon we share in cake,
Perhaps food served you as you wake
(If circumstances will allow),
In any case to show you how

Much we wish you all the best
And hope you can at least find rest
In what we try to do for you
(should our plans go off askew).

Your efforts we appreciate
And when you let us stay up late
We’ll try not to antagonize
Provide you with a nice surprise

And Let you know you’re loved and valued just the way you are.

Nobility Among Us in the August CLFA Book Bomb!

CLFA_BookBomb_graphic

The Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance is running another book bomb for twenty books today and tomorrow (22nd and 23rd July 2016). Nobility Among Us is on the list, as well as the second of L.J. Lamplighter’s excellent Rachel Griffin series.

A book bomb works by lots of people going on amazon and buying the same book on the same day, which boost’s the book’s rankings in amazon’s algorithms and makes it more visible to potential new readers. The author also gets paid for his work, as it should be. If you already have one of these books, please leave a review on Amazon (even if you don’t have much to say or someone else has already said similar things), as that also helps to boost that book’s visibility in amazon’s recommendations algorithm. If you’ve already done both of those, please tell your friends about this event in any way you can, on your blog, on twitter or facebook or any online community you are part of. (Please do that even if you haven’t bought it yet, spread the word as widely as possible!)

Let’s give these authors a boost! Click on the book picture to read more and buy:

  Freedom/Hate by Kyle Andrews
Everything they say on the news is a lie. To question that lie is a crime.

  A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller by Declan Finn
Sometimes, history can be murder.

  Reservations by Richard Paolinelli
Death stalks the Reservation.

   Farside by Patrick Chiles
A missing spacecraft, a cryptic message, and a fearsome secret hiding in plain sight.

  The Raven, the Elf, and Rachel (A Book of Unexpected Enlightenment 2) by L. Jagi Lamplighter
Before coming to Roanoke Academy, Rachel Griffin had been an obedient girl—but it’s hard to obey the rules when the world is in danger and no one will listen.

  American Warfighter: Brotherhood, Survival, and Uncommon Valor in Iraq, 2003-2011 by J. Pepper Bryars
The untold acts of valor by some of America’s most highly decorated combat veterans, the brotherhood they shared, and the fighting spirit that kept them alive through the war’s darkest hours.

  From Roundheel to Revolutionary by Jeff Daiell
Can Linda truly put aside her past? Or is she to be forever damned by it?

  Night Machines by Kia Heavey
It’s not really cheating if it’s only a fantasy … right?

  Decisively Engaged (Warp Marine Corps Book 1) by C.J. Carella
They picked a fight with the wrong species.

  Not by Sight by Ken Prescott
Cut off from his chain of command and hunted by a fanatical East German State Security officer with his own agenda, Sandoval must call on all of his skill and risk everything in order to survive and succeed.

  Operation Renfield by Steven G. Johnson
It’s the fourth year of World War II, and both sides are using every trick in the book, dirty, demonic and otherwise.

  Nobility Among Us by Bem Zwycky
A noble family’s quiet revolution against a crumbling hierarchy of tyrants.

  Cruncher and the Ghost by Robert Bruce O’Connor
A story so scary you’ll wet your pants laughing.

  Renegades: Origins by Kal Spriggs
A group of misfits, including aliens, psychics, mercenaries, and a rogue assassin, struggle to escape an alien prison where survival is measured in hours.

  Shut Up! The Bizarre War that One Public Library Waged Against the First Amendment by Megan Fox and Kevin DuJan
Non-fiction: An unlikely duo goes up against town hall and the ALA when they discover lewd goings-on in their local public library.

  The Hidden Truth: A Science Fiction Techno-Thriller by Hans G. Schantz
They subverted science, rewrote history, and corrupted society. Now he knows. And he’ll prove it, if they don’t kill him first.

  Levon’s Trade by Chuck Dixon
Levon’s trade is death.

  A Sea of Troubles by R. Dyne
A short science fiction story about growing up, guns, and the gravity of the situation.

  Hard Bite by Anonymous-9
A paraplegic serial killer whose daughter was killed in Los Angeles by a hit-and-run driver now targets the guilty for murder with the help of a pet monkey.

  On Different Strings: A Musical Romance by Nitay Arbel
Penniless Texan guitar goddess teaches British engineering professor. Hearts beat in harmony. The world has other ideas.