Catherine Asaro
is a Nebula® Award-Winning author of science fiction and fantasy. May
2009 saw the publication of her twenty-fourth book, Diamond Star
(Baen Books).
In April 2009, Starflight Music released a companion music CD, also
titled Diamond Star, that offers readers a soundtrack for the
book. The songs are performed by Point Valid, a vibrant young rock band
from Baltimore,
with Catherine as guest vocalist.
As the latest in Asaro’s novels of the
Ruby Dynasty, Diamond Star tells the story of Del, the renegade
prince who would rather be a rock singer than sit on the throne. The
royal family wants him to stop, his friends want to use him, his label
wants to own him, and his enemies want to kill him. Del just wants to sing—without
starting an interstellar war.
Point Valid has performed selections from Diamond Star at science
fiction conventions, with Catherine as a
guest vocalist, including venues such as the 2008 Balticon, where their
panel on rock music in sf was one of the best attended new panels at the
con. In the summer of 2008, Catherine was the Guest of Honor at Trinoc*con,
and Point Valid came
with her as featured musical guests, where they did panels and a
concert.
After Point Valid dispersed for the school year,
off to college in different
parts of the globe, Donald Wolcott joined the
Diamond Star Project. An accomplished pianist in jazz, rock, and
classical music, he performs in a jazz-oriented duo with Catherine,
accompanying her vocals. Together
they do works from the CD and covers of jazz and pop songs by such
artists Nora Jones and Sade.
Donald
Wolcott - Jazzing Up The Stars
At age five, Donald
Wolcott received a special Christmas present—a used piano. That gift
began a life-long passion. He started lessons in classical piano, but
the young prodigy soon expanded his horizons beyond Beethoven and
Mozart. When he joined his middle school’s jazz band, he was exposed to
the genre that dramatically reshaped his music.
In 2005, Donald received
acclaim from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia as a top soloist
in their annual jazz festival. In 2006 he was accepted as a bassist into
the Montgomery County Honors Jazz Ensemble. In 2007 he earned an
honorable mention for jazz performance in the National Distinguished
Scholar Competition, and in 2008 he was one of only four people who
received the coveted “Maestro Award” for individual performance at the
Washington D.C. Heritage Music Festival.
After his high school
graduation in 2008, Donald accepted a scholarship to Towson University,
where he majors in Jazz Performance and is the pianist for the Towson
Big Band, the school’s premiere jazz ensemble. In the fourteen years he
has been playing music, Donald has become an in-demand pianist in the
Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. He plays for musical theatre
productions, composes arrangements of songs on commission, and often
performs for weddings, parties, and corporate events. He also teaches
private piano, bass, guitar, and drum lessons. As Catherine’s keyboard
accompanist, Donald showcases the Diamond Star Project
with his exciting arrangements and delightfully jazzy style.
Maya
Reynolds
is a high-energy, low-tolerance-for-boredom person. As the result, at varying times of
her life, she has been a teacher, a stockbroker, a psychiatric social worker and an
administrator. For five years, she was the VP of Operations for the public mental health
system of Dallas County.
When she decided to get serious about writing, Maya used her business expertise to draw up
a five-year plan for getting published. Her plan was so detailed, she achieved her goals
in three and a half years.
Her first novel, BAD GIRL, an erotic romance, was published by NAL Heat, a division of
Penguin, in September, 2007. She is currently under contract to NAL for a second novel to
be titled BAD BOY and published in 2009. She is also at work on an urban fantasy.
August 2, 2009 -
Paul Steven Gifford was born on April 28th 1965 in
Birmingham, England. Paul, from a remarkably early age, discovered he
was completely fascinated with the written word. By the age of nine he
was devouring several books a week, and had begun to write.
In
the early 1980’s, he and his father relocated to the Californian coast,
which he has cheerfully called home ever since.
While in college Paul wrote a few stories, but as
he got older alas writing was relegated onto his hectic life’s "back
burner" and he barely wrote a word of fiction for over fifteen years.
However in 2004 all this was about to abruptly and delightfully change,
as that was the year when he realized that despite a serene contented
existence an important aspect in his life was missing, the written word.
So, once more he began churning out in abundance short stories, and his
first book “The Curious Accounts of the Imaginary Friend,” was
released in 2007. And the rest, as they say, is history.
He has had three books published thus far. The
first “The Curious Accounts of the Imaginary Friend,” is a collection of
short horror stories all demonstrating his unique writing style and
ability to engage the reader from the very first word.
His
second, book, “Dr. Offig’s Lessons from the Dark Side, Vol. 1,” is a
similar collection however it is primarily aimed at the young adult
crowd. But adults seem to be enjoying it as much as the teenagers
judging from the raving reviews.
His third book, the long anticipated follow up to
his first, has recently been released entitled: “The Further Accounts of
the Imaginary Friend.”
He is a regular on the convention and book signing
circuit- check out his website
www.psgifford.com for details.
P.S. Gifford is a member of the Horror
Writer’s Association, lives in Lake Forest, California, is married, has
a teenaged son, two dogs, one rabbit and an endless dream.
August 9, 2009 -
Sue William Silverman's
memoir, "Love Sick:
One Woman's Journey through Sexual Addiction" (Norton), was also made
into a Lifetime Television movie.
Her other memoir, "Because I Remember
Terror, Father, I Remember You," won the AWP award in creative
nonfiction. As a professional speaker, Sue has appeared on many
national radio and TV programs including The View, Anderson Cooper-360,
CNN-Headling News, and the Montel Williams Show.
Her newest book is "Fearless Confessions: A
Writer's Guide to Memoir," and she teaches writing in the low-residency
MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
THE
WRITER'S CHATROOM
