The SHUTTLE December 1998 The Next NASFA Meeting is 19 December 1998 at the Regular Time and Location DonÕt Forget the Christmas Party on the 19th and the New YearÕs Eve Party on the 31st Oyez, Oyez November Minutes by Samuel A. Smith, ÒHimÓ The next NASFA meeting will be 19 December 1998 at the regular time (6P) and the regular location (room 130 of The November meeting of the North Alabama Science the Madison City Municipal Building). Fiction Association was called to order on Saturday, Novem- The December program is to be determined at press time. ber 21, 1998 in Room 130 in the Madison City Municipal The December after-the-meeting meeting will be the Building at 6:15P by President Anita Eisenberg. annual Christmas party at Nancy Cucci and Ray PietruszkaÕs (continued on page 2) house. Bring your favorite food and/or drink. Festive/holiday dress is encouraged but not required. Also, donÕt forget the annual New YearÕs Eve party at the same venue! Check the minutes for results of the NASFA election in November. You can also find the full results of the special auction that selected Ewoks and Barney to fill out the empty spaces on the gavel plinth. Inside this issueÉ NASFA Calendar............................................................2 Letters of Comment ........................................................4 Book Review ..................................................................3 FFFQ Results Ñ Final Installment .................................5 Deadline for the January 1999 issue of The NASFA Shuttle is Friday, 1 January 1999. 1 NEW BUSINESS 19 BD: Harry Warner, Jr. Anita and Marie and what the butcher saw. (A bandaid Ñ 19 BD: Dave Chalker. ask Anita.) 25 Christmas Day. Elections! 26 BD: Mike Stone. Here are the election results. All officers were once again 26 Boxing Day (Canada). elected by apathy, except for Publicity Director, where there 31 New YearÕs Eve Party at Ray Pietruszka and Nancy was actually a race: CucciÕs house. President ........................................Anita Eisenberg Vice-President..................................Mike Kennedy JANUARY 1999 Secretary ................................................Sam Smith 01 New YearÕs Day. Treasurer ..........................................Ray Pietruszka 05 BD: Debbie Mitchell. Program Director .....................................Mike Ray 06 BD: Rich Garber. Publicity Director ..............................Ronnie Lajoie 07 BD: Douglas E. Lampert. The meeting room at the Madison City Municipal Build- 15Ð17 Chattacon XXIV Ñ Chattanooga TN. ing has to be reserved a year in advance. This requires our 16 NASFA Meeting NOT on this date. deciding on meeting dates for 1999. After much consultation 18 Martin Luther King Day. of calendars and convention flyers, it was decided to hold the 20 BD: Larry Montgomery. January NASFA meeting on the fourth Saturday of the month 23* NASFA Meeting Ñ 6P Business, 7P Program, at the (to avoid Chattacon), and to hold the remaining eleven NASFA Madison City Municipal Building. Moved to avoid meetings on the third Saturday of their respective months. conflict with Chattacon. ATMM TBD. Nancy Cucci will be contacted (probably by Mike Kennedy) to reserve the room. Mark your calendars! FEBRUARY 1999 OLD BUSINESS 02 Groundhog Day. The empty space on the plinth (gavel block) was auctioned 09 BD: Jack Lundy. off to benefit our favorite charity (us). Votes (in the form of 10 BD: Marcia McCoy. money) were collected as follows: 11 BD: Jeanna Woosley. Ewoks .............................................................$4.16 12 LincolnÕs Birthday. Barney.............................................................$2.17 14 St. ValentineÕs Day. Kenny .............................................................$1.17 15 PresidentÕs Day. Smurfs.............................................................$0.75 16 BD: Mike Ray. Captain Kirk ...................................................$0.75 17 BD: Nancy A. Cucci. Teletubbies......................................................$0.56 17 Ash Wednesday. Power Rangers ................................................$0.34 20* NASFA Meeting Ñ 6P Business, 7P Program, at the Ronald McDonald...........................................$0.00 Madison City Municipal Building. ATMM at Nancy C3PO and R2D2 .............................................$0.00 Cucci and Ray PietruszkaÕs house. Harlan Ellison was ruled ineligible as he is a real person. 22 WashingtonÕs Birthday. (No comments, please!) 25 BD: Nicholas Mitchell. The winning annoying creatures were the Ewoks and Barney. Mike Ray took the action item to get us an Ewoks MARCH 1999 picture for the plinth. Jim Woosley took the action item to 02 BD: Ronnie Lajoie. acquire a photo of Barney. 04Ð07 World Horror Con 1999 Ñ Atlanta GA. ANNOUNCEMENTS 08 BD: Bill Payne. Mike Ray announced that on December 12th, at Big Spring 10 BD: Kerry Gilley. Park, Lunatech, Inc. (the company he works for), will be doing 13 BD: Anita Eisenberg. the fireworks for the Aids Action Coalition rally. 15 BD: Carlo DeShouten. The meeting was adjourned at 6:57P. The program was the 17 St. PatrickÕs Day. usual discussion session. The After-The-Meeting Meeting was 17Ñ21 20th International Conference on the Fantastic Ñ Ft. held at Mike KennedyÕs place. Lauderdale FL. 21* NASFA Meeting Ñ 6P Business, 7P Program, at the Madison City Municipal Building. ATMM TBD. 22 BD: Jayson Woosley. NASFA Calendar 26Ð28 MidSouthCon 17 Ñ Memphis TN. OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO DECEMBER 1998 04Ð06 SMOFCon 16 Ñ Colorado Springs CO. The North Alabama Science Fiction Association meets on 07 BD: Alan Brown. the third Saturday of each month. (Unless there is a large 12 BD: Toni Weisskopf. nearby convention being held that weekend Ñ in which case 14 Hanukkah. we usually hold the meeting on the second or fourth weekend.) 17 BD: Robin Ray. The regular meeting location is room 130 of the Madison City 17 BD: Jack L. Chalker. Municipal Building. The Executive Committee meeting (if 19* NASFA Meeting Ñ 6P Business, 7P Program, at the scheduled) is held at 5P. The business meeting is held at 6P. Madison City Municipal Building. ATMM will be The program begins at 7P. Anyone is welcome to attend any of the annual NASFA Christmas Party at Nancy Cucci the meetings. There is usually an after-the-meeting meeting and Ray PietruszkaÕs house. with directions available at the program. 2 were also left Scarred, by rampant run-away magic which Have Yourself a Howling transformed them into things different from, but no less than, the few base humans who survived. Various technological and Little Christmas magical artifacts also remain from the War, to be exploited by A BOOK REVIEW the knowledgeable or lucky. by Jim Woosley Over the years between the War and the present of the novel, the world has come to be lead and ruled by five Well, itÕs Christmas, and time to take at look for the books Òfamilies,Ó the strongest of which are the Galweigh and the you want to buy friends and family (or to receive in turn). So, Sabir. Only these families have begun to resurrect the dark hereÕs one from my eclectic playlist. blood magic of the ancient Wizards, practiced by their ÒWolvesÓ who secretly rule the family as they become Scarred by the Diplomacy of Wolves, by Holly Lisle. Warner Aspect, 1998, backlash of their spells. Standing against them are the Falcons, trade paperback, $12.99, ISBN 0-446-67395-1. a secret society of benign sorcerers who await the Rebirth of OK, I guess the secret is out: I love Holly Lisle. (ThatÕs their Wizard War-era founder, the supposedly benign Vin- OK; JannÕs been begging me for the book ever since I came calis. home with itÉ). Ever since Minerva Wakes was published in Into this world come Kait, an adopted daughter of the the wake of HollyÕs guest appearance at Con Stellation, what, Galweigh, on her first family mission, to see to the safe six years ago, weÕve followed her career at Baen with great marriage of her wanton sister Tippa. Kait has a secret Ñ she is interest: the Arhel books, the DevilÕs Point trilogy, and several Scarred (and hence under constant threat of death given dis- other books and stories which remain near to our hearts. covery) of the most fearsome sort: she is Karnee, a Shape- IÕve also been a regular reader of Forward Motion < http:/ Shifter Ñ a werewolf. Standing both with and against her is Ry /www.sff.net/people/holly.lisle/index.htp >, HollyÕs on-line Sabir, also Karnee, one who wants to dominate and control her. newsletter for prospective writers Ñ a great way to spend Magic is unleashed in battle between Galweigh and Sabir, hours on-line, as Holly brings both her experience and her a magic whose release destroys all of the Galweigh Wolves and humor to giving well-written, practical advice. And I fondly most of the Sabir, as the SabirÕs soldiers destroy most of the remember her session on ÒWorld BuildingÓ at the convention, Galweigh family, leaving only Kait and a few others to escape. and the similar material at Forward Motion. The magic has other effects; KaitÕs sister Danya, captured by So IÕve been anxiously awaiting Diplomacy of Wolves, her the Sabir as the intended sacrifice during their attack, is new novel, the first book of a trilogy called The Secret Texts. hideously Scarred and escapes, bearing the Reborn Vincalis ItÕs finally arrived in bookstores (donÕt forget BookMark from her rape by RyÕs cousins. And Kait, Ry, and others are <grin>), and IÕve been reading it this past week amidst work partially possessed by the spirts of ancient Wizards, who