Jeff Carlson was born on the day of the first manned moon landing and narrowly escaped being named Apollo, Armstrong or Rocket. His father worked for NASA-Ames at the time, and his granddad on his mother’s side was a science fiction fan whose library included autographed copies of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Guess what they talked about. Big ideas in small heads sometimes lead in strange directions. Jeff grew up to be a writer. He lives with his wife and sons in California, and welcomes correspondence via email.

 

Bibliography

Novels:

After a minor bidding war between two publishers and strong interest from a third, Jeff's first novel, sf adventure The Invisible Sea, sold to Roc Books and will be published in 2007.

More info as things develop...

 

 

Short Fiction:

	"The Frozen Sky" (novelette) Writers of the Future XXIII, forthcoming *Awarded first place by contest judges Anne McCaffrey, Algis Budrys, Eric Kotani and Robert Silverberg.
	"Gunfight at the Sugarloaf Asimov's Science Fiction, forthcoming Pet Food & Taxidermy"
	"Snack Food" Tales of the Unanticipated #26, November 2005
	"Pattern Masters" Tales of the Unanticipated #25, August 2004
	"Meme" Fantastic Stories #25, May 2004
	"Exit" Ultraverse #1, November 2003 * Reprinted from Dreams and Nightmares #54. * Reprinted from the MosCon XVI guidebook
	"Pressure" Strange Horizons, August 2003 * Reprinted in the Strange Horizons: Best of 2003 anthology from Lethe Press, Fall 2004.
	"Monsters" Space and Time #97, March 2003 * Honorable mention, Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror #17, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant.
	"Interrupt" Strange Horizons, January 2003 * Honorable mention, The Year’s Best Science Fiction #21, edited by Gardner Dozois.
	"Enter Sandman" Artemis Magazine #6, Spring 2002
	"Pressure" (novelette)Darkling Plain #2, January 2002

Scriptwriting:

One of Jeff's screenplays has been optioned.

 

Nonfiction:

	Article: "Cliffhanger: How to Protect (and Encourage) Small Climbers."		San Diego Family Magazine, forthcoming
	Essay: "Daycare Duke'em" - what to do about aggression in daycare.		San Diego Family Magazine, forthcoming
	Crafts article on home- made picture books.		The Family Digest, forthcoming
	Article: "Father Knows Best (But Only Because Mommy's At Work)."		San Diego Family Magazine, forthcoming
	How-to / photo feature on homemade, backyard miniature golf courses.		Boys' Life, forthcoming
	Travel tip for "This Works" column		Catholic Parent, July 2006
	Household tip for "This Works" column.		Catholic Parent, May 2006
	Crafts article on home- made Easter confetti eggs.		The Family Digest, April 2006
	Essay: "It's A Small World After All" - think twice before bringing your sick kid to daycare.		San Diego Family Magazine, March 2006
	Essay: "The Gift Hat" - how to deal with Christmas excess.		New Jersey Family, November 2005
	Parenting tip for "This Works" column.		Catholic Parent, May 2005
	Parenting tip for "This Works" column.		Catholic Parent, January 2005
	Household tip for "Ideas That Work" column.		Christian Parenting Today, Fall 2004
	Article: "Traveling With Toddlers: What to do When Baby Wants OUT of the Car Seat."		San Diego Family Magazine, July 2004

 

More Than You Probably Need To Know: Although active in his youth in baseball and soccer (1980 Advanced Mustang League Champions), Jeff also spent a lot of time with Frank Baum, James Michener, Jean M. Auel, Stephen King, John Irving, Wendy Pini, John Varley and Joe Haldeman. Mom and dad probably should have made him watch more TV. Those writers were heavy-duty influences and more than anything what they taught was scale, the idea that the world is bigger and much stranger than hometown U.S.A. With a head full of independence, Jeff dropped out of high school at fifteen after acing the California High School Equivalency Exam. Don't try this at home, kids. A good chunk of his newfound freedom was spent on such thrilling activities as running a cash register at Super 7, but he also wrote an epic novel of approximately a million words, borrowing heavily from The Stand and The Hotel New Hampshire. That's right. A hauntingly beautiful apocalypse. It garnered no more than the usual rejection letters, but another thing Jeff had learned was the persistence of vision. He attended college in Arizona, where he earned a B.A. in English Literature. Soon he moved back to the coast after taking meetings in Hollywood, acquiring an agent, buying a sport coat. Ultimately the decision to return to California proved the best of his life because it led him to his wife, Diana, who is smart and pretty and sweet. Like many creative types, Jeff has a ridiculous employment history. From the semi-autobiographical short story "Meme," published in Fantastic Stories: "There is no such thing as a part time job that is both meaningful and well paid. Most aren't either. Including his stints as a gas jockey during high school, Alan Lilly has held nineteen positions in at least seven separate fields, so his expectations are as low as mud. Driver, pressman, salesman, waiter, phone rep, cashier -- he rarely stays more than twelve months and several times he's quit after one shift. "He is not a slacker, thief or trouble-maker. He's a musician. He has better things to do." In real life Jeff has also worked in construction and in credit investigation, and he still does freelance editing-and-adapting of translations of Japanese manga for clients such as Dark Horse Comics, Digital Manga and VIZ. Most recently he is a House Dad Writer Guy, and spending a lot of time with Elmo and Dr. Seuss (and a little bit, still, with the work of Joe Haldeman, Kay Kenyon and Richard K. Morgan) while finding room for his second novel; skiing; backpacking; NFL games; South Park; Jethro Tull; and sushi-and-a-movie dates with his wife. Give him a shout via email.	Sierra Nevada
	Sierra Nevada
	Grand Canyon
	Grand Cayman
	Austria - Ice Caves

 

 

Reviews & Blurbs

Tangent Online review of ”Enter Sandman”

Tangent Online review of ”Interrupt”

 

 

Representation:

Literary Don Maass Donald Maass Literary Agency 121 West 27th St., Ste 801 New York, NY 10001 212-727-8383 www.maassagency.com

Film / TV Vince Gerardis Created By Agency 1041 N. Formosa Ave. Formosa Bldg., Room #10-11 W. Hollywood, CA 90046 323-850-3555 Fax: 323-850-3554

 

 

Schedule / Appearances:

Jeff will be at WorldCon in 2006.

Jeff will be at BayCon in 2007.
Jeff intends to be at RadCon in 2007.
Jeff hopes to be at WorldCon in 2007.

Designing alien worlds with Larry Niven		Bad advice for Writers with Mark Kreighbaum & Kent Brewster

 

Contact:

Send Jeff email

 

Free Fiction:

“Pressure” at Strange Horizons

“Interrupt” at Strange Horizons

 

 

Favorite Games:

 

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