My First Blog Hop

It appears that I've been tagged by Mr. Shaftoe in a blog hop. In case you're not aware, a blog hop involves someone tagging me with 4 questions which I answer and then in turn pose the same or similar questions to three other bloggers/writers. Think a chain letter but far more public. So without further ado:

1 – If you could time travel and steal somebody else's novel/short story/film for yourself, what would it be? 

Oh wow. This is a tough one, because I love and read so widely. You know, I'm going to take the work that no one would expect, Ender's Game. As Mr. Shaftoe and I have discussed in the past Ender's Game is one of those works you need to read at the right point in your life, and for all its problems it still has a special place in my heart. Of course, if I'm time traveling anyways I could always make a few modifications to the text...

At the very least I would no longer feel ashamed to admit I was moved by the work of a homophobic assclown.

2 – What writing sin do you actively have to struggle against in your own work? 

This is an easy one. Overwriting. Using three words when one would do. Part of it is the desire to sound profound and witty, but the truth is when I first started writing seriously I was a wordy bastard and needed to learn to cut my wordcounts down. 

I can honestly say I've become a lot better about this.

3 – Pick three writers, past or present, that you would want to have dinner with. Why those writers? 

Isaac Asimov, J.R.R. Tolkien, and John Scalzi.

Why those writers? Simple, they've all had an effect on who I am as a writer. I devoured as much of Asimov's writing as I could get my hands on growing up, especially his robot stories. So many of them involved intelligent people solving problems with brains rather than brawn, something I try to emulate in my writing when I can. Tolkein because The Hobbit was read to me as a child and sparked my love of reading. Scalzi because he's shown me that science fiction can be accessible and fun and still be good.

Also, I'm almost certain Scalzi would start a fight with the other two and that would be damn entertaining to watch.

4 – You have forty-two words, write a story. 

Twisting and pulling I tapped into the flows of magic, forcing them into forms they despised, shapes they abhorred. They fought the whole time, but my will proved stronger. A red rose bloomed at your sainted feet, my love.
You hated it.

And with that it's time to tag others to keep this hop going, so Amanda C., J.M. Frey, and Christine Vasilevski, I chose you! You have one week to answer the questions above and choose three people to keep this going.

My Ad Astra 2014 Schedule

Since it appears the schedule for this year's Ad Astra is pretty much set I'm going to post mine. Any changes or updates I'll post on my Twitter, @KWRamsey.

10:00 PM Friday - Feminism and The Rise Of Slash Flick

K.W. Ramsey, Leah Petersen, Sam Burmudzija, Sunny Hope - See more at: http://ad-astra.shdlr.com/grid#sthash.wbapbu6Y.dpuf

K.W. Ramsey, Leah Petersen, Sam Burmudzija, Sunny Hope - See more at: http://ad-astra.shdlr.com/grid#sthash.wbapbu6Y.dpuf

11:00 AM Saturday - Swords: More Than Just the Pointy End
10:00 PM Saturday - The Adventures of Icabod Crane In The 21st Century
12:00 PM Sunday - War and Genre
2:00 PM Sunday - Sci-Fi Classics: Fact or Fallacy?