2003
January 2003 - Documentary: "Fantastic Voyage: The History of Science Fiction"
Thanks to Bill Ritch and Chris Snider, we had the opportunity to watch the History Channel's "Fantastic Voyage: The History of Science Fiction," a very good documentary on science fiction. It was eye-opening to have the timeline laid out before us - puts it all in perspective. That's right, science fiction did not start with Star Wars.
February 2003 - Mitchell Graham, author of The Fifth Ring
Our speaker was first-time author Mitchell Graham, author of the Fantasy / Sci-Fi novel, The Fifth Ring, the first book in a trilogy. From Publisher's Weekly: In an excavation beneath his palace, the power-mad King Duren finds the remnants of an ancient warrior race and the tools he believes will help him unite the world under one banner (naturally, his). These tools come in the form of five magical rings that supposedly control enormous crystals containing vast arcane power. But when the fifth ring goes missing and ends up in the hands of a young farm boy named Mathew, who happens to be a skilled swordsman, a series of tragic turns leads this unwitting protagonist into a lengthy battle against Duren's forces. Mitchell Graham gave an excellent talk on writing, getting published, the archetypal hero, and his friendships with JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
March 2003 - Artist Extraordinaire, Dan Henderson
March's guest speaker was the very talented local artist Dan Henerson. He gave an excellent talk about his artwork and showed us slides of his work spanning twenty years. From the sublime to the disturbing, Henderson's work has graced the covers of several novels.
April 2003 - Sci-Fi and Mystery Bookstore
In April, we treated ourselves to an outing to the Science Fiction and Mystery Book Shop. (And the great little coffee shop next door.)
The store had recently moved to their new location at 2558 Shallowford Rd, bigger and more convenient, and many of us had not had a chance to check it out. It is easily the best of Atlanta's specialty book stores, with new and collectible Science Fiction & Mystery, original art & autographs.
May 2003 - Sam Chupp, game designer
Our guest speaker for the May 2003 meeting was Sam Chupp. Sam is a game designer and writer, and has designed, written, or contributed to more than thirty books. Sam spoke to us about the importance of imagination and how to foster imagination in kids (of all ages) through that which he knows well: role-playing games; their past and their potential future.
June 2003 - Nebula Award winner, Michael Bishop
Nebula Award winning author Michael Bishop was the guest speaker at the June meeting. His latest collection of short stories, Brighten to Incandescence was published in early June by Golden Gryphon Press. Mr. Bishop spoke to us about his many books, his writing process, and
Michael Bishop is the author of more than fifty stories or novels, many of them set in Georgia of the future. His 1982 novel No Enemy but Time won the Nebula Award. He also won the Nebula for his 1981 Novelette "The Quickening," as well as several Locus Awards and other honors.
Some of Lewis Murphy's personal favorites are Ancient of Days, a novel in which a prehistoric man is found living on a Georgia farm; Catacomb Years, which features a domed city of Atlanta; and Brittle Innings, in which the Frankenstein monster is discovered playing minor league baseball in 1940's Georgia.
July 2003 - Local Author, John A. De Vito
Local author, John A. De Vito spoke to us at the July meeting. His novel, The Devil's Apocrypha, subtitled "There Are Two Sides to Every Story" is a science fiction novel of Biblical proportions, and is on the Amazon.com bestseller list. Miss Jayne says John was very enteraining, and that she has never laughed so much.
August 2003 - Discussion of Dragon Con and the upcoming Writing Contest
Lively discussion of the up coming Dragon Con and the Third Annual Science Fiction Writing Contest for High Schoolers.
September 2003 - Professional Miniature Painter and ASFS Member, Bob Ladd
Bob Ladd, professional miniature painter, spoke to us at the September 13th meeting. Well known for his military and fantasy models, Bob travels to as many conventions as he can and shared his experiences with us, as well as tips on painting models.
October 2003 - Netherworlds Haunted House
Several of our braver members, along with some stalwart OutWorlders, went to the NetherWorld Haunted House. Very, very scary. Great fun.
November 2003 - Local Writer, Wendy Darling, co-author of Breeding Discontent, a Wraeththu Novel
Wendy Darling (co-author, with Bridgette Parker) of the SF novel Breeding Discontent, will be our featured speaker at ASFS's November 8th meeting. Breeding Discontent is set in the Wraeththu universe created by Storm Constantine. The book was editted by Constantine herself. Wendy will discuss "Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction".
December 2003 - Winter Party Celebration and Fellowship
Join us for our Winter Party at Chris and Chris's house. See our Photos page for pictures of last year's party.
