The Avengers ushered in a new era of epic movie-making that I hope runs long into the rest of 2012. Here are my Can’t Miss Movies of the Summer and Beyond in order of their release date:

Dark Shadows (May 11) Okay, so it’s not the moody darkener many of my generation or older were hoping it was going to be, but it looks like a helluva lot of fun. And with a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Chloe Moretz, and stunner Eva Green, this is a film that’s sure to become an instant Tim Burton classic, right up there with Beetlejuice, the Nightmare Before Christmas and Batman Returns (yeah, if you haven’t guessed, I’m a Michelle Pfeiffer fan from wayback).

Battleship (May 18) I may lose some of my sci-fi streetcred for putting this one on my list, but I gotta hand it to the gang at Hasbro for turning a nostalgic little strategy-memory game into a summer blockbuster. Sure, they had to bring in Transformers-like aliens to do it, but they couldn’t let a year go by without utilizing the million (billion?) dollar software they developed for the Michael Bay films, right? We don’t give the film industry enough kudos for their recycling efforts!

Chernobyl Diaries (May 25) If you’re a horror fan, and/or you caught the trailer when you went to see Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods (What? You haven’t seen it yet? Then what the eff are you doing here? Go see it and then come back and read this), then you are probably pretty jazzed to see this film about a group of young folks that venture into the rad-soaked Russian countryside to perhaps loot the hastily evacuated nuclear disaster site, but encounter vengeful spirits instead. Oren Peli of Paranormal Activity fame, Produced and co-wrote this supernatural horror thriller. (At least I think they’re vengeful. They could just be lonely. Horribly, stabby lonely.)

Snow White and the Huntsman (June 1) I’m watching this for Charlize Theron, goddammit. That is all. And my girlfriend will probably come for Chris Hemsworth. That is really all.

Prometheus (June Speaking of Charlize Theron, she’s in this prequel(?) to Ridley Scott’s Alien. I don’t care if it’s a true prequel or not, it’s an effing Ridley Scott film, it has the space jockey in it and Michael Fassbender as David 8 the android. Wish him a happy birthday here.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22) Just watch the trailer.

Brave (June 22) The next big Pixar [computer] animated film. A medieval fantasy epic about a young Scottish red-headed girl named Merida who would rather hunt and adventure than play maiden or damsel in distress.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (June 22) I love comedies as much as the next guy, but I can’t say I’m as big a fan of them as I am of sci-fi, fantasy or horror, BUT, this particular comedy, starring Steve Carrell and Kiera Knightley, has a bit of a sci-fi twist. An asteroid is going to destroy the world.

The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3) See my post on why this re-boot is a good thing here.

The Dark Knight Rises (July 25) Another no-brainer.

List Bonus!

Ruby Sparks (July 25) A really cute looking fantasy along the lines of Stranger Than Fiction or Being John Malkovich, a struggling novelist (Being Flynn‘s Paul Dano) starts writing about a make-believe girl from his dreams, only to discover that very woman (It’s Complicated‘s Zoe Kazan) has become real and is living in his house.

Didn’t Quite Make My Top Ten:

And then there’s the Total Recall (August 3) remake with Colin Farrel, Red Lights (July 13) with Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy, and the sci-fi comedy Neighborhood Watch (July 27)! Check these out and more at the EW Summer Movies Calendar here!

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Jovey CR-1477 crouched amidst the carnage and sighed. “Boys, boys, boys. You ever think of investing in stun guns?” His voice, though electronic, was drenched with disapproval.

Ednard O’Grady’s flesh, blood, and bones were spattered across the interior of the Benavedes living room, and his limbs and head were rent from his body. Thander McThewlis’ body, by comparison, was intact but riddled with holes and a fine mist of his skin and blood cells were sprayed over the furniture, walls, ceiling, and décor. Shell casings, shattered glass, and bullet holes established weapons, trajectories, and positions.

The two enforcers from the McThewlis gang had paid a visit to Mister Benavedes, a money launderer for the Cardeñas family. Young cousins Milas and Sargento Cardeñas, assigned to shield Benavedes, tried to play it cool, but Milas, via his See-All^® optical display visor, had detected a spike in O’Grady’s biorhythms and felt he had no other recourse but to fire first.

Jovey reconstructed the crime scene. O’Grady tensing, Milas drawing his .50-caliber MAG heavy pistol, Sargento almost simultaneously drawing his UZ machine pistol, Mr. Benavedes leaping behind a couch, and the air exploding in gunfire as O’Grady and McThewlis fumbled futilely for their guns, which never left their holsters.

“Stun gun’s gotta penetrate,” Milas answered, “Even a raincoat can come thick enough to insulate. Who knew these bozos wouldn’t even be wearing plex? Anyone in their right mind in this business doesn’t walk the streets without wearing plex.” His heart rate was accelerated, he was perspiring, and he wouldn’t stand still. He kept looking at his netwatch for police alerts.

Jovey pulled a couple body bags from one of the cartridges around his waist, unfurled them, then rose and stood in front of Milas. He extended a segmented finger and shifted his compound eyes from blue to red for emphasis: “Listen to me, Lieutenant Milas. You did good here. You did what you had to do to protect Mister Benavedes, his family, and yours. It just got a little sloppy, so what? The job is done. Now all we have to do is clean it up. You get the big stuff, I get the microscopic. Are we copasetic?”

Milas ground his jaw and started to raise his wrist to glance at his netwatch.

“Communications have been intercepted and diversions have been arranged. We should have at least an hour to do this. We copasetic?” He tilted his head towards Milas, pulsing the lights of his eyes.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’re copasetic, Jovey.”

Jovey turned to Sargento, who was biting the knuckle of his index finger. He caught his eyes and nodded. “Copasetic.”

“Good. Send Mister Benavedes and his family to the Lux hotel in Atlanta. All expenses paid. Compliments of the family Cardeñas. If anyone asks, if anyone presses, he can tell them there was an infestation, and he is having the house fumigated.”

#

“Your mechanoid did a nice job at the Benavedes place,” Officer Dominic Serposa said, entering Doctor Aryo Cardeñas’ home later that morning.

Jovey, patched into the house systems, watched the two men via the interior security cams and various networked robots standing watch or housekeeping near the foyer, living room, and Doctor Cardeñas’ study.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Officer Serposa.” The Doctor had a touch of whimsy in his voice.

“Yeah, well, after the department took care of the gang chases, riots, and the fires that broke out in the city early this morning, the Captain figured it might be a good idea to look over the call logs within the time period to make sure we didn’t miss anything. Came across a ‘shots fired’ anonymous tip in the vicinity of the Benavedes place, so he dispatched a couple detectives.” Serposa let that hang for a moment, but the Doctor betrayed no response. Serposa continued. “They did an electron sweep and didn’t find a thing. I mean, it might have been suspicious if it had been spotless, but there was enough of a layer of cellular dust, hair, and clothing fibers that the place looked clean, but still lived in. And there was another layer on top of that of chloropicrin, corroborating the Benavedes story that the place was being fumigated, while they stay at a nice hotel. Quite the cleaning job, I have to hand it to you.”

Now in the study, Aryo, in his brown slacks, vest, and light gray lab coat, sat at the corner of his desk and picked up a datapad and began looking over schematics. “Is there a point to all of this, Serposa?”

“There have been rumblings among the riff raff that there’s an amazo new ghost in the Cardeñas fold, someone who kills or abducts without a trace. People, particularly enemies of your family, have gone missing—no forwarding addresses, no electronic trails, no messes, no bodies.” Serposa picked up a small bust of Thomas Edison, showed no sign of recognition, and put it down again, askew of its original position. “We’ve racked up a slew of missing persons reports in the last couple months we can’t attribute to anyone.” He walked over to the Doctor, drew the flaps of his leather coat to his sides, and set his arms akimbo. “Now I haven’t heard of anyone rising in the ranks or any professional hit men strolling into town—but I happen to know of a certain Doc who’s a wizard at building robots.”

“I design service and entertainment models for Robomechanics. I have little to do with my family’s exploits, Dominic. I imagine you have more to do with their dealings than I.” Aryo said plainly.

“In fact,” Serposa went on, as if coming to a big reveal at the climax of a crime show, ignoring the Doctor’s counter-accusation, “you’re credited with the design of one of the most successful safety inspection robots in the history of the line, are you not?”

“Machines have been building machines for two hundred years and testing them for almost that long. It was a matter of time before they replaced our inspectors as well,” The Doctor said.

“So modest, Doc. So it was only a matter of time before the machines designed to kill people became sophisticated enough to clean up after the people that kill people?”

“I’m not in the business of designing assassin androids.”

“Never said you were. I hear the programming involved is murder. Or there’s no programming whatsoever, they’re just glorified remote-controlled chassis and usually more trouble than they’re worth.”

“Are you here to charge me with something? I’m sure we’re both busy men—”

“We’re surrounded by robots these days. Some of them are even fighting our wars. But your robots are quietly revolutionizing the way we live. They’re in our schools, homes, strip clubs, factories—”

“I’m part of a larger, international team—”

“Yeah, but according to my research, that team speaks awfully highly of you.”

“As I would of them.”

“Just, indulge me, won’t you?”

Aryo glanced up into a cam to make contact with Jovey. “Very well, Dominic. But I do have a conference call I must attend. It should be brief, but it is unavoidable. Why don’t I let Jovey tell you a little about himself while I’m out?”

“Jovey?”

“Jovey CR-1477,” Jovey responded, entering as the Doctor made his exit. Jovey continued, with the Doctor’s voice and mannerisms, “Doctor Cardeñas likes to think of me as the missing link between robots and androids.”

The effect was unnerving; Serposa rose and put the high-backed leather chair between himself and the Jovey.

“Though I possess the higher order Artificial Intelligence and Emotion Controls found in most Robomechanics androids, I also have a secondary super processor that can analyze, assess, navigate, or even assert control during more mundane, day-to-day tasks, saving a tremendous amount of energy and wear and tear on my primary Artificial Neural Nexus.”

Serposa seemed primed to run out the study doors. However, the detective had one more question.

“What’s the CR stand for?”

“Cerberus Robot.”

#

Two weeks later, Jovey was called down to the Ocean City docks at 2 AM to clean Metrofane Catalano’s car. Metrofane was a tall, wide man with a fighter’s nose and jet black hair. He wore a dark suit with armor-clad shoulders. “I really appreciate you coming down here, Jovey. I don’t know what we would do without you. I mean, we got good cleaners, but even the best men can’t erase the things electron scanners can catch.”

“Don’t talk. Just do as I say. Open the doors and trunk.” Metrofane nodded and passed the task onto his driver, Jwayne, a sturdy black man. The 2146 Cadillac Descent was an 18.5 by 6.5 by 5.5 feet high black and chrome tank of a car. From the looks of it, Metro had shot his business associate, one Terry “The Fish” Fisher, point blank in the face, but not before letting him sweat first. Blood, hair, skull fragments, and brain matter lined the rear windshield, ceiling, and backseat of the interior; that was to be expected. However, urine soaked the floor of the car, and the contents of Fisher’s wallet were strewn across the seat opposite his body: credrods, photos of his family, season tickets to a Jackals game. Fisher had pleaded with Catalano for his life, but it hadn’t been enough. It must have been personal. Jovey detected trace amounts of lip gloss on Fisher’s collar and a combination of Methyl cinnamate and Ethyl lactate—strawberry and cream perfume—on his shirt cuffs and wrists. “He had an affair with your wife?”

“Worse. The Fish took my baby girl’s virginity.”

“Maxima is nineteen and the evidence suggests their sex was consensual.”

“I have one rule, Jovey! No one touches my daughter!”

Jovey let it drop. He directed the men to place the corpse in a body bag. Slender, spider-like limbs fanned out from his forearms and collected the larger remains in two smaller bags, and he placed them inside the body bag and sealed it. Then Jovey power steamed cleaned the interior, scanned it and cleaned it again. Six fist-sized balls ejected from his midsection into the car, spreading out on impact, their hundred-thousand microbots per square foot consuming whatever his steam cleaning might have missed.

“Now, gentlemen, please remove your clothing, jewelry, and shoes. Place them in a pile in the trunk of the car.” Metro and Jwayne did as instructed, and the microbots flowed over the pile as well, while the men stood shivering and blowing into their cupped hands. Jovey de-contaminated them with a more conventional blast of soap and water, and then provided them with a change of clothes from his own car.

After they were fully dressed, he beat the living shit out of them.

“Che cazzo!” Metrofane shouted between blows, “Did you blow a gasket?”

Jwayne tried to hit back, splitting his knuckles open against Jovey’s plasteel skin. Jovey elbowed him in the nose, bloodying it.

“Now get the hell out of here,” Jovey said calmly, “And tell whoever finds you that you were carjacked. I will strip the Descent and plasma bomb the frame.”

“My car? Do you know what that car is worth? It’s supposed to last forever!”

Jovey bridged the distance between himself and Metro in an instant. “I have many rules, Mister Catalano, but foremost among them is to protect the family Cardeñas, of which, through marriage, you are a part. I have in my database access to 200 years of syndicate crime and the cretino mistakes that brought down men ten times smarter than you.” Jovey didn’t breathe, but the hum his power cells gave off rose audibly, and there was a crackle coming through the speakers just behind the grill that served as his mouth. Jovey caught himself. “My apologies, sir. Ten times more careful than you. Now start walking. Please.”

“Aren’t you supposed to do what I say? Couldn’t you find another way without destroying such a valuable piece of automotive excellence?” Metro’s arms reached out to his tank car as he pleaded with Jovey.

“You must have me confused with some other robot. Perhaps a logic based robot, bound by human ass-kissing directives? I am sorry to continue to disappoint you, Mister Catalano, but my actions are governed by multiple components, rather than programming alone. My array of sensors determines my perception, which is interpreted by my Artificial Neural Nexus into comprehension, triggering chemical reactions throughout my chassis which can feed back in a way akin to emotions. Together they determine my actions.”

“For example: Terry “The Fish” Fisher was a productive member of society who had a wife, children, and a thriving shipping business on which his employees and clients depend. I admire this, which motivates me to emulate his success. He loved seafood pasta, deep sea fishing, and sailing, and he shared his interests with those who worked hard and well. Those characteristics engender loyalty, priming me to serve. Of course, he was a known womanizer. This flares up a little disgust, which cautions me to keep my distance.”

Metro looked at Jwayne, crossed his arms, and looked down at his feet and back at Jovey, eyes at a squint.

“Unfortunately, rather than communicate with Mister Fisher, or intimidate him, or work him over, you killed him. This makes me feel suspicious and compels me to investigate. I deduced that he was having relations with someone you valued. This caused you pain that you wished to repay in kind, so you made him suffer for your own satisfaction—I empathized with your pain, I felt a fraction of my own version of it—but then you blew his brains out.

“Fisher will have no opportunity to atone. No longer provide for his family or his employees. His children will grow up fatherless. This now comes dangerously close to paradox, since, by your own admission, you place great importance on your daughter, compelling me to question your ability to reason. Your emotions are out of control and caused you to overreact.

“Finally, your desire for me to value your vehicle over your probability of staying out of prison is petty and ironic. This makes me angry, which drives me to protect.” Jovey’s eyes were blazing red, and his voice had become a sharp, electronic whisper. “Even if it’s to protect you from yourself.”

Metro took a step back, almost a stumble, and ran his hand over his mouth, fingers rasping against the stubble on his cheeks. “What about the body? Should we dump it in the Atlantic?”

Jovey laughed and threw his arms up. “Ten thousand people this year alone are undergoing genetic surgery to become amphibious or solely water-breathing as part of the Undersea Labor and Living Initiative. The northern east coast, long a hold out due to hundreds of years of industrial pollution, has begun a massive movement to clean up the ocean floor and begin development of its own sub coastal cities. We will no longer be dumping the products of our violence in this ocean. Now leave the body to me and go.”

Jwayne grabbed Metro, and they started off at a trot, then a full run. Jovey placed Fisher’s body in the compartment in the back of his light blue hatchback and set to work dismantling the Descent, rims and tires first.

#

“I wanted to kill him, Doctor Aryo.” Jovey said, his electronic voice wavering. He drove up the 540 towards the Natural Burial Preserve in Parvin State Park. There was no moon, but the ambient light from Locus Jersey provided the night sky with an eerie gray coloring.

“I know, Jovey. And there may come a time when you will have to kill someone—for the good of the family.”

“Am I capable of that? The ECs of disgust, fear, and pain would repel me from causing those same feelings to others. Anger drives me to defend the weak, which includes humans and most other robots. Hate compels me to seek understanding rather than simply destroy. Or, if I should commit such an act, might I not suffer a Nexus meltdown and cease functioning?” This was how he preferred to speak, not the slang-filled vernacular of Jerseyans.

“It’s possible. But in that scenario, your super processor should take over, complete the clean up and return you home.”

“That—that is a comfort.”

Doctor Aryo sipped his coffee out of a thermos and looked out the window. By the light of the headlamps he took in the last blooms of mountain laurel, dogwood, and magnolia trees and the fleeting thrill of an oriole swooping through the branches. “What you should always be vigilant of is not your negative emotions, my boy, but those that fill you with joy: pride, passion, desire, even simple affection—these can lead to envy, suspicion, and restlessness when you suffer their lack. Also, take care that you not fall out of moderation into self indulgence, excess or avarice.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“To this end, I’ve provided you with a conscience of a sort. A secondary persona that you can virtually interact with, deliberate those situations you find contentious. The matters that try men’s souls.”

Jovey felt a sense of relief akin to gratitude, but he also felt something else, a small emptiness in the pit of his midsection that the more he tried to identify, the more it slipped away. He dismissed it as he approached his destination, an area of marshland into which he would have to hike. He parked his vehicle, opened the hatchback, and pulled the body bag from its compartment.

He walked for a time before he engaged the Doctor once again, “I understand there are long periods where my services are not required, but I have flashes of being assigned a job—then nothing. Then a brief recollection of returning to my docking station and then nothing again. I run simulations, analyze crime scenes, devise new strategies for crisis scenarios based on historical data or current open cases at the LJPD. I have been operational for a year now, but 60% of that time is unaccounted. I fear I may be suffering systemic breakdown or critical recall failure.”

“Ha, ha, ha, oh, Jovey, I am so sorry! You’re experiencing echoes from jobs that have been deleted from your permanent memory. Possibly impressions or false start backups from your super processor. We’ll have to run a few system checks to see if we can resolve the phenomenon. Remind me when we get back to the lab to do so.” Ankle deep in the marsh, Doctor Aryo stopped him in his tracks and put his hands on his plasteel shoulders. “I’m sorry, Jovey, it can’t be helped. It’s the nature of your job that the less you retain the less danger to the family. Imagine what would happen if you were discovered during one of these burial excursions? Imagine if Officer Dominic wasn’t on the take and decided to put the screws to you in earnest?”

“I understand, Doctor Aryo.”

“Good, good, that’s my boy. Onward.”

#

Jovey understood, but that didn’t mean he liked it. He silently and swiftly dug an anchor post-style hole, ten feet deep with a two foot radius, in the soft muddy earth and, before it sludged closed, he drove Fisher’s body into it and watched the swamp slowly devour him. Jovey steam cleaned the mud, grass, and worms off of himself and stood on a solid piece of earth. He put his hand to his chest where a man’s heart would be, though his power cells were both where a man’s lungs would be, and he recited a poem Doctor Aryo had written for his own father’s funeral when he was a young man:

Your body settles into the earth
Even as your soul rises to the heavens
The machine is now still
It has served its purpose
It has given life and taken it
It has shared its light in all our lives
And we are the better for it
Volare l’anima, via, via!
We are right behind you.

The sun was rising on a beautiful day. Jovey’s primary programming preferred rain, but he was stimulated by the over-abundance of light and warmth cutting through the treetops. When he returned to the car, a Forest Ranger stood near it, a full figured woman with pale skin and light orange hair pulled back in a braid to her lower back. Jovey’s power cell couplings fluctuated in surprise. “Good morning, Ranger.”

“‘Morning, Robosugar. Mind if I have a look at your funeral license and burial permit?”

“Robosugar? I am Jovey Cerberus Robot-1477, Funeral Director for Ecostyx Natural Burial Services. I assure you, Ranger, all my paperwork is in order.” Jovey handed her a credrod ejected from one of his fingers and stepped over to his car to point out the animated Ecostyx promotional door panel, which featured a Charon the boatman with a sympathetic smile, paddling his gondola over glistening water against a setting sun, over and over again.

“I’m sure you’re fine, we’re just stepping up our patrols in this neck of the woods. I discovered a body last week not too far from here, near the creek, down by the old barn bridge, and the boys at the station are all riled up, thinking ‘where there’s one, there’s bound to be others.’ Anyway, I’m the new girl here, so what do you say we get to know each other a little bit?” She slipped the credrod into her datapad and tapped off a few boxes on the screen. She looked up from her pad, made eye contact with him, extended her hand, and said:

“I’m Ranger Roxanne EA-9019.”

The world froze as their infrared laser guidance systems momentarily blinded one another. Entertainment Android! Jovey’s Nexus exploded in a million different neural directions. His cold rubberized hand touched her warm, soft-yet-strong one, and they held the connection for a thousand microcycles. Then she broke it, sliding away from his touch, her brilliant blue eyes like shattering shards boring into his, blinking at regular intervals.

“You are an android, Ranger Roxanne?”

“Refit and reassigned, yeah. I was tired of the city and the men. And the women. And their needs. I stumbled across the available position here on a jobs directory, I put in a request and serendipity! Here I—”

Jovey leaped onto her like a spider and twisted her head around once, twice, and then tore it away from her torso. She screamed and an alarm went off in her patrol car. He launched the head with the force of a cannon into the grill, through the engine and power cells, and the patrol car exploded. Her body flailed with some last unknown command and grabbed his legs, but he was already firing his cutting lasers into her neck hole as her lubricants and servo fluids spewed out all over his faceplate.

Wildly, he thought he heard someone crying.

The female android body fell to its knees and over, as Jovey stepped off of it onto the soft earth. He spun around looking for Doctor Aryo, perhaps he had been the one crying? But no, there was no sign of him. He dragged the android—she had been refit with armor and it made her dense—over to her burning car, and he placed the synthetic body into it. He stepped away, watching it burn for a moment before he returned to his car and sped away.

“It looks like we’re going to have to find another dumping ground. And probably another cover for you,” Doctor Aryo said from the back seat.

“Shut up, Doctor!”

Aryo was taken aback and didn’t speak again.

“She was beautiful,” Jovey said. The emptiness inside was replaced with a ball of revulsion. It expanded into his chest and head and extremities. Everything went dark.

Jovey wouldn’t remember driving home.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this story, set in the timeline of future history that leads into Spiral Legion, the sci-fi horror roleplaying game I designed and have run for friends since 1994 (which evolved from a game I created in 1991 or 92 while drinking with my brother and his buddies). Someday soon, I hope to bring the game to the masses, but until then, I will continue to create stories in that universe, as well as the universe of Forsaken Stars. If you would like more info on the game, visit https://facebook.com/Spiral Legion! And, of course, I would love to hear your thoughts on this story, and if you would like to see more stories hosted on this blog by myself and perhaps other genre writers, so please, I encourage you, leave your thoughts in the Comments section. And if you haven’t guessed yet, though the idea for this story was spawned by Harvey Keitel’s scene-stealing performance in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, and Jovey’s look is inspired by at least a couple of George Lucas’ droids, Cleaner than Spotless owes its heart to Isaac Asimov.

Pick up your own copy of Cleaner than Spotless at amazon.com here!

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I happened to win March’s challenge with a gory little piece that I hope sees the light of publication soon, but in the meantime I can bask in the glory that is getting to choose the prompt for May. I decided on “Zombie Love” and, since I’ve been meaning to get back into drawing and painting, decided to go the extra mile and give the group some visual inspiration. Though this particular piece is more for the horror writers, I figure it can be metaphorical too, like sometimes the heart wants what it wants without regard for the brain.

It also made me wonder, “what if instead of going for the brains all the time, the zombies went for the heart?” After all, a lot of [ancient and primitive] cultures valued the heart of their kills for their power, wisdom or courage.

Anyway, enjoy the piece, and if you don’t, my apologies if you find it distasteful or outright horrific.

But I do love horror. And zombies.

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And you can catch Patrick at the Babylon Club tomorrow!

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Engle, who was born in Los Angeles to a Cuban mother and American father spent her summers in Cuba where she developed a passion for tropical nature. This interest led her to study agronomy, botany and, eventually, creative writing. She has written many books, including six young adult historical novels written in verse. Among her titles are The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor book; Tropical Secrets, winner of the Sydney Taylor Award; and Pura Belpre honor books, The Firefly Letters and Hurricane Dancers. She has received a total of over 50 honors and awards for her six young adult novels and is also the recipient of the first Newbery Honor ever awarded to a Latino.

Engle’s young adult novels are influenced by her Cuban roots. Her newest title is no exception–it was inspired by stories told to Engle by her grandmother about her childhood. “It’s about her growing up on a farm in Cuba during troubled times in the early 1900s,” she said.

The Wild Book follows an eleven-year-old girl named Fefa as she struggles with dyslexia. As Fefa works to overcome her learning disability, she observes the struggles around her, including political strife, violence and kidnappings. The lyrical novel has received positive feedback, earning a starred review from Kirkus Reviews which states, “The author gives readers a portrait of a tumultuous period in Cuban history and skillfully integrates island flora, fauna and mythology into Fefa’s first-person tale.”

Her novels feature youths who are faced with seemingly hopeless situations but do their best to make positive and hopeful decisions. Through her writing, she uses a blend of imagination and reality as a tool to reach and communicate with young readers. Her use of lyrical writing and cultural details and imagery has also helped bridge the gap between cultures and provides a relatable way to look at places that might otherwise go unexplored, according to Nancy Algier, an avid reader and fan of Engle.

“She gives us insight into a world apart,” Algier said.

A Book Barn will be hosting the event inside the two-level bookstore located at 640 Clovis Avenue, Clovis Calif. 93612. More information and pre-orders of The Wild Book are available by calling Dan and Peggy Dunklee at 559-297-9052. More information about the author and her works is available at www.margaritaengle.com.
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Don Gilbert was born on March 25, 1966. He graduated from Granite City High in 1984. Don wrote “A Place to Call Home,” and it was published in Wisconsin Review in 1989. He graduated from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville with a BA in English in 1989 and an MA in English in 1991. He is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), Teacher Trainer, having spent his time in the Corps in Agusan del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines, from 1997 to 1999. Don and his wife Malu were married May 8, 1999. He served as English department chair at Yuma Catholic High School in Yuma, Arizona from 2002 to 2009 and now teaches English and art at Youthbuild Charter School of California here in Fresno. When he came to Fresno, his wife stayed in Arizona to continue teaching for a time, so with some free time on his hands, Don tried his hand at acting in Woodward Shakespeare Festival’s Summer of 2010 performance of The Merchant of Venice, as the Prince of Aragon. Not long after, he joined the Fresno Sci-fi & Fantasy Writers and though he enjoyed his acting experience, has decided to devote much of his time to writing. And once you check out his blog, Don Gilbert: So Many Words, So Little Time…, you’ll see why.

1. Don, you do movie reviews at your blog, what are your (top 5) favorite films?
1. Rear Window (1954) James Stewart, Grace Kelly, dir. Alfred Hitchcock

2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman

3. Star Wars—Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill

4. The Matrix (1999) Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss

5. Fight Club (1999) Brad Pitt, Edward Norton

2. Favorite movie quote?
“I’m trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it.” –The Matrix

3. What is your favorite Shakespearean play and why?
Othello. It has one of the nastiest villains in literature, Iago, who supposedly inspired John Milton in his creation of Satan for Paradise Lost. It is also about passion and jealousy, and it’s an early comment on racism at a time when Elizabethans distrusted foreigners, especially people of color. Some of Shakespeare’s earlier plays, like The Merchant of Venice and Titus Andronicus, relied more on racial stereotypes, but Othello, which came relatively late in his career, shows more progressive thinking. The Moor, Othello, is the central character, and he is multidimensional. I can’t think of any other play from that period that even comes close to presenting a character of color like that.

4. What are you reading lately?
One I am looking forward to reading soon is the latest by Stephen King, 11/22/63, a time travel novel about a character who finds he has the opportunity to prevent the JFK Assassination. I have just been reading a book on writing called How Not to Write a Novel, which looks at writing in terms of common amateur mistakes that prevent unpublished authors from becoming published. It also has humorous examples illustrating what not to do. I recently enjoyed Camera Obscura by Lavie Tidhar, a steampunk novel set in Paris by an Israeli author. Steampunk II is an excellent collection of steampunk short fiction, and The Immorality Engine by George Mann, another steampunk novel.

5. Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars! I was eleven when the first Star Wars film was released, and it captured my imagination. I was hooked. I have seen all the films numerous times, read a few of the books, had lots of action figures, and even wrote a little bit of fan fiction. Recently I went to see The Phantom Menace in 3D, which proves that I am a diehard fan. The original Star Trek series was before my time, and after seeing Star Wars, I had a hard time relating to the Star Trek characters sitting around on the bridge while the camera shakes. I did enjoy The Wrath of Khan, though, and I used to watch Deep Space Nine. The new Star Trek film is a clever reboot, and I will likely see the sequel when it comes out.

6. Who or what got you writing?
In childhood, I had puppets and liked to make up stories and put on shows for kids in the neighborhood. My mother even built me a puppet theater that I could set up. I also used to draw, and I liked to tell stories through my drawings. At Southern Illinois University, I started out majoring in art, but found that my heart really was into telling stories. I changed my major to English, and I took creative writing classes. My professor was Lloyd Kropp, author of Greencastle, which won several awards and earned Lloyd the title of Illinois author of the year. Michael Douglas optioned his first book, The Drift, for a possible film adaption, though the film was never made. Lloyd was the first person who taught me how to write fiction, like understanding the difference between narration and scene development, or telling vs. showing. Lloyd had reading parties at his home, and I read several of my stories there. One of the stories I wrote for his classes became my first published story, “A Place to Call Home,” which appeared in a small press literary magazine called The Wisconsin Review. I went on to become an editor of another literary magazine, Sou’wester, and then I started teaching. I once met Joyce Carol Oates, and it was Lloyd who introduced me to her.

7. Who has influenced your writing most?
I have many influences from authors I enjoy reading. One of my all-time favorite writers is Flannery O’Connor, who wrote very dark, comic short stories about serial killers and con artists. I also love Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic horror stories. Stephen King is another writer I admire. Sci-fi authors I enjoy include Isaac Asimov, who I read when I was growing up, and Ray Bradbury. More recently, I have come to appreciate Robert J. Sawyer, author of Flashforward, and Ursula K. LeGuin. I have always loved reading Sherlock Holmes mysteries and detective novels by Agatha Christie.

8. I notice a few of your stories have some great twists, and everyone loves a good twist, is there a particular inspiration for your love of surprise turns?
I’m a fan of O. Henry, who was famous for his surprise twists (“The Gift of the Magi” for example). I must have a special fondness for those kinds of stories.

9. If you could time travel, when would be your first stop?
To the 1590s or early 1600s so that I can prove William Shakespeare did write his own plays! Actually, I have studied quite a bit about Shakespeare, the man and his work, and I am curious to know more. We still don’t know how or why Shakespeare traveled to London and got started in theater, and it would be wonderful to see the original acting company perform those plays.

10. What is your creative process? Hardware? Software? Do you have music going or a tv show in the background, or do you go out to a café or a park?
I write on a laptop using Word. The laptop makes me mobile, and I like composing on a keyboard. If I need to research something, I use the internet to get started. My favorite place to write is Starbucks, where I can stay for hours writing a story. I like being out somewhere, as the background noise stimulates me. I don’t like total silence. If I’m at home, I have the television on.

11. Similarly, when and where do you do your best work or feel that your best ideas come to you?
I do quite a bit of thinking about a story before I ever write a word. My best ideas usually come to me from the time I first go to bed until I fall asleep. I am completely relaxed, and my mind is free to wander. Being relaxed seems to be the key. Somehow, I always remember those ideas later after I wake up. Then, I keep the ideas in my mind, and over time, they develop. When I feel ready, I start writing, and often during that first draft, my sense of humor creeps in and the story develops further.

12. As an English teacher and writer, what is your “go to” advice for aspiring writers?
Writers are readers, so I recommend that aspiring writers read everything they can get their hands on, especially the kinds of reading material they want to write. Nonfiction is important, too, since most fiction writers do at least some research. It is also important to be part of a writing community, such as FSFW, or any kind of writers critique group, whether face to face or on the internet. Since becoming a member of FSFW, I write a great deal more than I used to. I once saw W. P. Kinsella some years ago giving a talk at the University of Iowa at Iowa City, and I remember him saying that it’s essential for any writer to “set the butt in the chair” on a regular basis. I agree with that, too.

13. Do you have a cure or remedy for Writer’s Block?
A positive attitude and confidence in yourself are the best remedies for writer’s block. For me, writer’s block comes at a time when I am having doubts about my ability to write a particular story. This is why it is important to be part of a writers group or community, as the support from other writers is powerful to keep you on track and knowing what a story needs to be successful.

14. What has been your most satisfying job to date?
People have told me that I am a natural teacher, and teaching brings great joy to my life. I knew I was a teacher the first day I ever taught a class. Despite the politics, the never-ending piles of papers to grade, and the second-class status society often awards us, I love the job. My best teaching job is the one I currently have, teaching at YouthBuild Charter School of California. I teach young adults who are at-risk, and watching them grow and evolve into responsible human beings is like watching a miracle.

15. You’ve lived in Illinois, the Philippines, Arizona, Central California–which home has been your favorite? And now, If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I grew up in southern Illinois, in a small steel town, Granite City, near St. Louis, Missouri. A Pulitzer Prize winning author, Robert Olen Butler, is also from there and attended the same high school I attended, though some years before me. One of Butler’s novels, Wabash, is based on Granite City, and Butler always called Granite City a place “where north meets south.” Many people from Arkansas migrated to Granite City to work in the steel mill, including my family’s next-door neighbor, who proudly displayed the Confederate flag on his car. I always wanted to escape from Granite City, as the pollution from the mill would leave a black coating over everything, and the racist attitudes of people bothered me.

I entered the Peace Corps in 1997 and was assigned to the Philippines. I lived and worked there for two years, and it was the greatest challenge of my life. I had to learn the language and the culture, and found myself as an outsider much of the time. It was like being a child all over again, trying to learn and get by. Everyday things became a huge challenge, like shopping for food or riding on public transportation. By the second year, though, I was something of a master and could navigate the place and culture more easily. I met and married my wife, who is a Filipina, and made many friends there. Our wedding was like the biggest social event the community ever had, and people I did not even know showed up with family members.

My wife, our daughter, and I lived in Granite City for a couple of years after I returned to the States, and we got so many unwelcome stares from people. The bank where I did most of my banking throughout my whole life suddenly did not want me as a customer when my wife and I applied for a joint account. We then moved to Arizona, which was more comfortable for my family since my wife and daughter could fit in better. Arizona, though, has its quirks and tends to be conservative. The state recently tried to pass an anti-immigration bill that made us all uncomfortable.

Now, we live in Fresno, California, which is, in my opinion, the best place I have lived. While not perfect, people are laid-back and we feel free to live our lives in peace. If I could live anywhere, it would be here in Central California, though a close second would be the Philippines. My wife and I have talked about retiring to the Philippines some day.

16. Having known you for close to a year now, and looking over your blog, I’ve noticed that you became quickly and deeply involved in the Fresno Community–acting, your activities with the church, teaching at YouthBuild, and of course the FSFW–what are some of your favorite things to do in Fresno, and what about this city would you like folks to know about it most?
When I first moved here, I had to leave my wife and daughter back in Arizona, as we needed my wife’s income to make this transition happen. I became very active in the Fresno community because I was alone, and I needed to keep myself busy. The first thing I did was join a local church, which helped a great deal because they had social events and activities. A colleague recommended the Woodward Shakespeare Festival, and somehow I ended up auditioning when I heard that they would consider beginners as well as seasoned actors. I ended up being cast as the Prince of Aragon in The Merchant of Venice. My wife was shocked when I told her, since she knows me to be a quiet person. The odd thing about my acting experience was that I enjoyed rehearsals much more than actually performing in front of an audience. The rehearsal was a time to develop the character and explore ways to present the scene. Once the show premiered, my performance was set and couldn’t change. I was never nervous performing for an audience, as after tons of rehearsals, the part was second nature. I was only on stage for about ten minutes, and the rest of the time was spent backstage sitting around, waiting. I had to stay in costume for the entire show, as I had to take a curtain call with the rest of the cast at the end, and then we all had to clean up as soon as the audience left. I find acting incredibly difficult, and while I’m glad I tried it, I am in no rush to do it again.

I absolutely love the Tower District, which reminds me in some ways of the Central West End of St. Louis, MO. All the neat shops, and there is so much excellent community theater. I have been attending the New Ensemble productions at the Broken Leg Stage in Tower, founded by Heather Parish, the director I worked with at the Woodward Shakespeare Festival. Heather picks challenging, contemporary plays that don’t get much play here in Fresno. I also have been attending the Fresno Philharmonic at the Saroyan Theater.

17. What is your favorite word?
Awesomeness! (My wife likes to use this word)

18. Who or what makes you laugh?
My daughter makes me laugh. She likes to do funny voices, and can imitate Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, and Yoda from Star Wars. I tell her all the time she should become a voice actor for cartoons.

19. Favorite Place to Eat?
Pho 75 #2, near McKinley and First. They have the best chicken noodle soup in the world.

20. Favorite TV shows?
Favorite Comedy: The Big Bang Theory, largely because of Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon.
Favorite Drama: Person of Interest, a bold mystery drama that goes well above all other television dramas. The storyline from week to week keeps me watching.
Favorite Reality Show: The Voice, because the judges are all current, successful recording artists, and initial auditions are blind. I also like that they don’t show the obsessed, off-key contestants who think they’re already stars.

21. What is your favorite song of all time?
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. When my wife and I were dating in the Philippines, the film Armageddon was popular, and we used to hear that song everywhere. It became “our song.”

22. Finally, any other projects you’re working on or have a hand in you’d like us to know about?
I have been helping a friend edit his thriller novel. He just reported to me that an agent wants to read the entire manuscript. If it becomes a bestseller, my name will be on it as editor.

I currently have two short stories being considered for publication, and I am trying to write two new stories every month, at least one full-length short story, and at least one flash fiction story. My latest obsession is with steampunk, and I recently wrote a Chinese steampunk story. I am trying to push myself to try new things, to write different twists on current sci-fi and fantasy genre, and to try different styles of writing.

I also keep up with posting on my blog, and I am trying out some humor writing for a change of pace.

One of my instant favorite’s of Don’s stories is “The Rat and The Hawk,” his entry in Roh Morgon’s Snowfest blogfest earlier this month. I highly recommend it! It’s a short short story with Don’s distinctive voice–delivering shocks and zings with the calm of a master clock maker. Oh, and if you think the acting world has lost Don as a performer, take heart, because he can sometimes be found at Open Mic nights in Clovis or Fresno, reading some of his work, so stay tuned!

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So folks have been asking why we need a Spider-Man reboot. Well, aside from Sony wanting to hold onto the rights (lest it fall back into Disney’s/Marvel Studios hands, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, since they created the guy), there are a few things Sam Raimi gummed up which Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man gets right, which I’ll point out once you enjoy the trailer:

• Gwen Stacy (in this case the lovely Emma Stone) was Peter’s first love. (Mary Jane may have known him first when they were kids, but Gwen was Peter’s first high school relationship. Not counting Betty Brant, but that’s another story.)
• Andrew Garfield is even more Ditko-esque in appearance than Tobey Maguire! (And I suspect, probably sounds more like him too.)
• Peter Parker was a science wiz and created his own webshooters. (Versus Raimi’s natural webshooters, which were cool, but I missed Parker’s inventiveness in his films. Spidey for me, has always been a bit of a gadgeteer.)
• Doctor Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) finally gets to LIZ OUT! (As opposed to Dylan Baker’s Connors, who hovered in the last two Raimi films as Pete’s science professor/conscience.)
• Denis Leary as Captain George Stacy. Raimi’s Stacy, James Cromwell, may look the part and have more gravitas, but Leary brings his whip-smart delivery and take-no-guff attitude to the table to give the character a fresh new take that I like. That and it looks like he’s got a much larger role in shaping Peter’s character, and the film.
• Sally Field as Aunt May. What? Yes. Aunt May’s never looked hotter. (I mean no disrespect to Rosemary Harris, but I’ve had a thing for Sally Field since Smokey and the Bandit. I was so jealous of Burt Reynolds!) I realize this new film may have more to do with Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate version of Spider-Man, and if that includes a youngified Aunt May (and Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben), then I have no choice but to give it a ringing endorsement!

Check out more at the official site: http://theamazingspiderman.com/

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Here is my entry, coming in at a brisk 541 words:

Cleaner Than Spotless

written by Rob Lopez

Circa 2150, Locus Jersey 3:00 AM

Jovey CR-1477 was designed by Doctor Aryo Cardeñas to clean up after any unfortunate accidents in which the family was involved. Currently, the family in particular was Milas and Sargento Cardeñas, and they had “accidentally” blown away Thander McThewlis and Ednard O’Grady, two enforcers from the McThewlis gang who were trying to lean on Mister Benavedes, the manager of one of the Cardeñas money laundering fronts. The Cardeñas cousins had tried to play it cool, but O’Grady red-flagged on Milas’ See-All^® optical display visor and he felt he had no choice but to fire upon them before being fired upon. When the explosive and brief firefight was done, Sargento put the call in to his Uncle Aryo to “send the machine cleaner.”

Jovey crouched amidst the carnage and sighed. “Boys, boys, boys. Have you ever thought of investing in stun guns?” His voice, though electronic, was drenched with disapproval.

Milas’ MAG-N7 .50 Caliber Heavy Pistol had scattered O’Grady’s flesh, blood and bones across the interior of the Benavedes living room, and rent his limbs and head from his body. Sargento’s UZ Machine Pistol, by comparison, kept McThewlis’ body intact, but riddled it with holes and had sprayed a fine mist of his skin and blood cells over the furniture, walls, ceiling and décor. Then there were all the shell casings, shattered glass and holes in the walls.

“Stun gun’s gotta penetrate. Even a raincoat can come thick enough to insulate. And who knew these bozos wouldn’t even be wearing plex? Anyone in their right mind in this business doesn’t walk the streets without wearing plex.” Milas’ heart rate was accelerated, he was perspiring and he wouldn’t stand still. He kept looking at his netwatch for local police alerts.

Jovey pulled a couple body bags from one of the cartridges around his waist, unfurled them, then rose and put himself in front of Milas. He extended a segmented finger and shifted his compound eyes from blue to red for emphasis: “Listen to me, Lieutenant Milas. You did good here. You did what you had to do to protect Mister Benavedes, his family and yours. It is just a little sloppy, so what? The job is done. Now all we have to do is clean it up. You get the big stuff, I get the microscopic. Are we copasetic?”

Milas ground his jaw and started to raise his wrist to glance at his netwatch.

“Communications have been intercepted and teams have been dispatched throughout the city to provide diversions. We should have at least an hour to do this. We copasetic?” He tilted his head towards Milas, pulsing his red compound eyes.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’re copasetic, Jovey.”

Jovey turned to Sargento, who was biting the knuckle of his index finger. He caught his eyes and nodded. “Copasetic.”

“Good.” Jovey handed Sargento a credrod. “Give this to Mister Benavedes and send him and his family to the Lux hotel in Atlanta. All expenses paid. Compliments of the family Cardeñas. If anyone asks, if anyone presses, he can tell them there was an infestation and he is having the house fumigated.”

#

Here are the details about the Blogfest, from J.W.’s blog:

The prize of the blogfest will be a $15 Amazon gift card. I’d like to think everyone has switched over to a Kindle (because it’s what all the cool kids are doing…), but the gift card should sate any reader’s addiction.

You can receive up to 3 points for the blogfest. Here’s how:

All points will be randomized into a number generator at the close of the blogfest.

To refresh from the previous post, here is the criteria to submit:

Suggestive topics to consider when critiquing:

• Does the character have a personality I can fall into easily? This includes any dialogue exchanged.
• Is the world around them set up to compliment the character as they’re introduced?
• Are there secondary characters to assist with the hook?
• Lastly, would I read more?

Finally, your sign up link. I hope to see many of you here on February 13, 2012!

Peace and Writing Love,

JWP

So, check back here on February 13, 2012 to see an excerpt from one of my upcoming sci-fi/horror shorts!

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That’s right, dear readers, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and the Fresno Sci-fi & Fantasy Writers are going to be out in force the weekend before like an army of cupids and merry makers, bringing love and sharing our love of books with you!

We have TWO Big Valentine’s Weekend Events!

Open Mic Night at the Clovis Book Barn

Friday, February 10th 2012, 6:30PM to 9:00PM, the Clovis Book Barn is hosting and the Fresno Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers are coordinating! Join Us for an evening of fiction, poetry or music! Share your writings or that of your favorite author’s! Entertain and Be Entertained! If you would like to get on the mic, a sign up sheet will be available on site, or you can pre-register at the Barn or by emailing me, Rob Lopez, at forsakenstars AT gmail DOT com with your name, title of your piece, genre (sci-fi, fantasy, fiction, poetry or music) and length of the piece. This event is Free and Open to the Public!

The Clovis Book Barn is located on 7th and Clovis Avenue in Old Town Clovis at: 640 Clovis Ave, Clovis, CA 93612

Facebook Event Page is Here.

AND

Book Lovers’ Day at The Brass Unicorn

Saturday, February 11th, 2012, 1:00PM to 5:00PM, the Fresno Sci-fi & Fantasy Writers and The Brass Unicorn are teaming up to bring you an afternoon filled with romance, wonder and excitement! Book Signings and Readings by Roh Morgon, Christopher Wood, EAJ & Mellie Smith, Jim Geiser and more! Art prints & sketches by yours truly, Rob Lopez! And of course The Brass Unicorn’s wide selection of books, music, crystals and tools for those on the path to self discovery and spiritual fulfillment! This event is Free and Open to the Public!

The Brass Unicorn is located next to the Starline in the Tower District at: 845 E. Fern Avenue, Fresno, CA 93728

Facebook Event Page Here.

So what are you doing for Valentine’s Day Weekend?

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