Peter Ahlstrom

VP and Publisher, Dragonsteel

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@BaronDestructo I’m so disappointed. What you describe was exactly what I wanted in another Stargate series—heck, ANY sci-fi series. What a waste.

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@MichaelShanks So disappointed. Ugh.

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@ste44933 @hashjenni Congress set up the nonpartisan America 250 commission 10 years ago. Their celebrations are still happening. Trump decided to do his own thing and set up the Freedom 250 group. They’re the ones having trouble now.

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@kyaathecatlord I mourn your loss

[Brian McClellan @BrianTMcClellan]

I live in Utah, a high desert, where water is an extremely limited resource. And these pricks want to build data centers here? It's a slow death for the whole region so a few rich people can get richer.

[Anonymous @YourAnonNews]

Shark Tank Billionaire Kevin O'leary says 2 people fighting data centers in Utah are Chinese agents. Turns out its just 2 local girls in Utah, they make a hilarious video calling him the fuck out

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@republicanfarm1 @Cat5SMASHICANE Runner going from 2nd to 3rd has to go back to 2nd and tag up before advancing to 3rd. Fielder touches 2nd base so he is out.

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@minakichijapon You have every right. Generative AI is theft.

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@kayezad @dazi180turtle @BlueNosePanda @Djoko_UTD We have weird shoulder genetics in my family. My sister separated her shoulder twice on serves in high school and always served underarm after that. It confused opponents on the first set but they always adapted.

[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC]

This is sad. I know as a politician these companies are going to spend a billion dollars against me for saying it but 🤷🏽‍♀️

Pervasive gambling is not good for society. It turns life into a casino, traps people in addiction & debt, surges domestic violence, and fosters manipulation.

[Brent Weeks @BrentWeeks]

It's not a rule. It's a Problem: the Tiffany Problem. You put a character named Tiffany in your medieval Earth, readers balk because they think she's a Valley Girl. YOU and enlightened medievalists know that Tiffany was a common nickname for Theophania. The reader is WRONG! (Let's pause a moment until the blasting of kazoos fades.)
Congrats, you're right, but at a cost: reader immersion. You've put a moment of WTF into the head of every reader who doesn't know this thing you know, and even into many of those who do (they'll stop to marvel at how you knew that weird detail, too). You pay the price one of three ways: add enough context for the unenlightened readers to understand, change the name, or break immersion.
Choosing to break immersion isn't the brave choice. Not because you're not a brave person, but because it's not a moral choice: it's a craft choice. So is how you choose vocabulary (simple/esoteric/flowery), description style (plain/poetic), setting (every day/historical/ultra-weird), or blending genres. Breaking immersion often will winnow/refine your readership to those who like how YOU break their immersion, who like being pulled out of their reading world to marvel at tiny details you got right. Readers who prize maintaining their immersion will likely choose authors who prioritize maintaining readers' immersion in the future.
"Aha! See? I'm being brave because I won't water down my creative vision for the sake of reader immersion!"
Eh... maybe. There's a lot of competition in that space, and those who do it well enough to make careers are doing a lot of things well. (Maybe some do it intuitively, but the perpetual heavyweights are highly aware masters of craft.)
Those who love a niche aren't necessarily anti-commercial; they're just placing their bet on an uncluttered field with fewer competitors: Tom Clancy filled his books with (boring/fascinating) technical details of military hardware/doctrine/oh-god-everything that one might think only a hardcore mil-geek could love. He relayed the story that when he finally managed to sell The Hunt for Red October to a small publisher, he said, "I think it might sell five thousand copies!" His wife said, "I bet it'll sell fifty thousand copies!"
Surely only a language geek could love Tolkien, amirite? Surely only the staunchest navel-gazer could love Proust?
So make your choice, pay your price. If you do your niche well enough, you can make a career either way.
(Wow, this turned long. I think it would've made a better substack. Let me know. I'm thinking of starting one.)

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@BreathTakerAnon @hannahhedon @Nicosaesthetic Yeah, this is classic Bipolar Type II

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

Looking forward to the Quentin Tarantino remake of Julius Caesar where at the end he pulls out a huge sword and yells, “Eff you, Brute!”

[Jim Butcher @longshotauthor]

<.< … >.>

I deny everything.

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@IlluminatiEyes @OG_Okobogee @CollinRugg Last December the inversion got so bad in Salt Lake during a convention that I was holding my breath as much as I could between the convention center and the hotel. And I hate seeing these rolling coal trucks just belching black smoke everywhere in Utah County. So inconsiderate.

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@kyaathecatlord Yeah, FINALLY! 😆

[kbport @kbport714]

A new book!

[The Happy Fits @TheHappyFits]

Made it to your living rooms!

[Peter Ahlstrom @PeterAhlstrom]

@paulapoundstone Perfect economy of motion. That dog knows exactly where to direct its energy to get the job done. It’s poetry.