Unconventional Gets Reviewed! Positively!

Unconventional Gets Reviewed! Positively!

Sep 24

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Humble ol’ me was glad to read the positive review given Unconventional, my novel(la) about geeks and laffs and booze, by Jeff Giles over at Popdose, who said it was “what Fanboys wanted to be”:

The debut novel (or novella, as somewhat grumpily conceded in the Author’s Note) from Alert Nerd‘s Matt Springer, Unconventional is, according to the front cover’s helpful summary, “a tale of sex, booze, and geeks”.pretty much in that order. And as unappealing as a book filled with drunk, naked nerds might seem, Springer makes it work, thanks to his effortlessly conversational writing and a plot that actually has less to do with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings than it lets on.

Awesome, amirite?! I’m perhaps biased.

This is just the start of a BIG fall for Alert Nerd and our suddenly-explodey publishing arm, Alert Nerd Press, which now has a fancy new website! (It looks awesome Jeff!) As does the UnConvention, Chicagoland’s finest sci-fi gathering and the subject of Unconventional.

Our very own Ms. Sarah Kuhn will release her own novella in October, One Con Glory, a twisty romantic comedy for the obsessive fangirl in everyone. Originally serialized in our e-zine Grok, the book will feature an expanded and revised version of the story, bonus material, and sketches by some of the leading lights of the webcomics movement. Read Julie’s blog!

And of course, our e-zine Grok trucks ever forward. We’re gearing up for issue 5 before the end of the year, with a theme of “retcon.” Should be fun.

It’s gonna be a great fall. We’re very excited, and as ever, thankful for your support, your links, your reading and your comments. We hope you like these things we do. It’s all incredibly fun, and it’s about ten bazillion times more fun if even just one of you out there in InternetLand enjoys any of it.

So let’s do this!

SPX Bound

SPX Bound

Sep 24

spxgahanwilsonposterfullOn Saturday, I’ll be at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, representing Team Alert Nerd. I promised Chris Haley a photo of one of his original Let’s Be Friends Again strips framed next to a Bryan Lee O’Malley page, so it’s possible that the handoff will occur sometime Saturday unless Haley has been felled by swine flu. My only other firm goal is to not irritate (Alert Nerd guest blogger and Grok contributor) Fantastic Fangirl Caroline to the point of physical violence, a goal I can’t make any promises about.

If you’re going to be there, look for the Hagrid-sized dude wearing a tie, as ever. I make no promises, but I may even have a new SPX edition of the Alert Nerdian. I urge you to say hi.

This is going to be my first year at SPX, which I have heard lots of great things about.

I need to find my sketchbook.

Nerdly Advice Is Back!

Nerdly Advice Is Back!

Sep 23

Nerds have questions, but nerds have to appear authoritative or risk losing their nerdy cred.

That’s why, as a recurring feature on Alert Nerd, Jeff answers these conundrums anonymously. It’s like Ann Landers as written by Gorilla Grodd. We call it Nerdly Advice.

Stuff We Like This Week: September 18 Edition

Stuff We Like This Week: September 18 Edition

Sep 18

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In an effort to combat our occasional…okay, okay, near-constant negativity, we give you a regular feature full of nothing but love — Stuff We Like This Week. Appearing every Friday, SWLTW will recap the things that have set our little nerdly hearts aflame within the past seven days.

District 9

District 9

Sep 17

So I realize I’m weeks behind here, but we finally got out to the movies last weekend, and after a fine meal of cuban food and sangria, we saw District 9.

District 9

It’s an astonishingly great movie, only “astonishing” because even though the hype and reviews had prepared me for something enjoyable, I never expected it to really fire on absolutely every cylinder, and work on nearly every level. It’s an action flick, it’s a sci-fi think piece, it’s got twisted humor and great performances, the FX is discrete and effective.it’s really got everything.

Astonishing.