About Us

Scot Noel's Science and Fantasy Fiction

Engaging stories of science fiction and fantasy, along with essays, book reviews, fantasy art, and more!

All the Universe or Nothing

In a screenplay by H.G. Wells for the Science Fiction Film "Things to Come," the movie ends with a dramatic monologue that goes in part:

“... And when he (man) has conquered all the deeps of space and all the mysteries of time, still he will be beginning.  And if we’re no more than animals we must snatch each little scrap of happiness and live and suffer and pass, mattering no more than all the other animals do or have done. It is this-or that: all the universe or nothing... Which shall it be?”

With foresight, insight, and a sense of fun, we hope to examine that challenge in these pages and in the stories we offer up for your consideration. 

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I have always written Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction.

Indeed, from the moment I learned to scribble in cursive, I began to split my time between playing with toys and penning tales of their adventures.  I went on to earn a degree in English and to make my living via the keyboard.

My name is Scot Noel, and now that you are here my fame is complete.  (Yes, I've always been a bit of a smart ass too.)  But the truth is, your attentions are all the celebrity we need, and for acclaim and critical review, it's your comments that will mean the most. 

So thanks for stopping by and let's take a moment to get better acquainted.

Writing for Dollars

News Releases, brochures, advertising copy, marketing materials, grants, technical manuals, design documents, and a thousand other bits of professional word play have been my bread and butter.  And while a career in fiction never seemed to be in the stars, I was fortunate to have one of my Science Fiction stories about nano-technology, "Riches Like Dust," selected for the Writers of the Future anthology, Volume VI in 1990.

Of even greater fortune, my Writers of the Future win became the springboard for a career in computer game development.  From 1994 through 2001, I worked as writer, voice director, associate producer, and project manager for a computer game company at first known as Event Horizon Software, and which later gained fame as DreamForge Intertainment.

It was an exciting time to work in computer gaming, when even the smallest company could create projects of exceptional design, and a premium was placed on good storytelling.

In fact, each of our games in those days came not only with a manual, but with a fully developed novella to help establish the background and bring the world of the game to life.  And yes, the novellas were mine.

Our storytelling skills did not go unnoticed, and soon we were working in the worlds of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, including Ravenloft and Menzoberranzan, crafting a series of games for SSI that were both well received and showcased the burgeoning talents of our team.

Even our two real-time strategy war games, War Wind and War Wind II: Human Onslaught featured more interesting story lines than most, including tales of  cultures in conflict and lost humans more in need of alliances than firepower.

During these years I was able to hone both my management and writing skills while working with a highly talented crew of programmers, artists, designers, writers, musicians, and voice actors. 

In fact, it was at DreamForge that I met my future wife Jane, an artist and Art Director.  After only a dozen or so proposals, she agreed to marry me and we have made a great team ever since.  This website is just one example of our ongoing collaborations.

Our Own Business

The downside of developing computer games is that the work goes on 60, 70, and 80 hours per week, leaving little time for a personal life and precious few moments for writing fiction. 

Naturally, we decided to make the situation even worse.  My wife Jane had always harbored entrepreneurial dreams, and one day she announced that she was leaving to found her own company.  I think my generous response went something like "just try not to lose too much money, OK?"

A year later I too was an employee of Computers Made Easy, Inc. (now CME Websites), a web development company known for, as you can imagine, its graphics, web copy, and search engine optimization techniques.  If you've an interest, you can browse our Portfolio of Web Projects.

As we all know, when you own your own business, you only have to work half days.  You can pick any 12 hours you want. Every single day. Weekends included.

And the Years Flew by...

All that time I was writing a few things here and there, sending some out to brave rejection and filing others carefully away. Trouble was there is a difference between writing to publish and writing for your own passions.

Those of you interested in serious careers should know this.  You need to be familiar with the market to which you are trying to sell and then craft your tales to meet that demand.  Remember, editors have to sell their magazines and books. That means giving the audience what the audience expects, at least most of the time.

With so few moments to devote to writing, I could never bring myself to write for a specific market, and I found precious little patience for the idea as well.  When by happenstance an editor likes what I like and likes what I write, then we have hit it off and I have been blessed with another sale.  Editors find me easy to work with and quick to supply requested changes and the like, but for me to sit down and engineer a work with a specific publication in mind has always resulted in more daydreaming than work.

And the submission process is so long.  It can take months to hear anything, and many months to years afterward to see your work in print.

Science and Fantasy Fiction

Although I am sometimes slow, it eventually occurred to me that my own company make websites.  So one afternoon I went online and Googled my way through many of the responses for terms like Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Sci Fi, and the rest.  I was checking over the competition for an idea that was forming in the back of my mind.

I quickly came to the conclusion that Science and Fantasy Fiction have not yet come of age on the Internet.  Most genre websites are an afterthought, not a medium.  They have little character and offer nothing to inspire the imagination. 

It made me feel all the more strongly that there would be a place for ScienceandFantasyFiction.com.  After all, ours is not an earth shaking site, nor one of remarkable new technical achievement.  It simply has something along the lines of character and offers stories that assume you love to read, and to think, and then read some more.

Should I find an audience of a dozen appreciative minds, this site will feel like home.  Should a hundred, a thousand, or more honor its halls, then our efforts will be more than blessed, with our precious library of tales ever ready to entertain and inspire.

Thank you for coming, truly!  Feel free to Contact Us with your comments or concerns, and return as our guest whenever it may please you.  We are always open.

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My Creative Career

Rites of War was my last completed game as Project Manager.  Development went smoothly, I had a great crew, and to this day I enjoy  fond memories of the project.

 

Game of the Year award winners Sanitarium and
Anvil of Dawn.  These two stand out as among our most original creations.  Stephen King even has a character in his novel "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" mention his love for the computer game Sanitarium.  Our teams
were at their creative best,
and Sanitarium can still be found on many bargain shelves.

 

In developing Chronomaster, we had the privilege to work with Roger Zelazny just  before his untimely death.  It was also our good fortune on this project to form a lasting friendship with fantasy writer Jane Lindskold. 

Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, I missed my chance to voice direct Brent Spiner, Ron Perlman, and Lolita Davidovich.

Magazines

As time challenged as I was during my computer gaming career, I did manage to have a few stories and articles appear in publications as diverse as Pandora, Strategy Plus, and Algis Budrys' Tomorrow Magazine.

 
Among my favorite stories were the short-short pieces of robot fiction that found a home in the small press magazine Vision. 

I am not known for being terse.  In fact, during my career in computer gaming, I was often referred to as "tree killer" and that just for the volume and lengthiness of my memos.

Anthologies

Science Fiction and Fantasy are not the sole compass of my interests.  A good fantastical tale is exactly that.

In 2001 and 2002, I wrote two zombie horror stories for these Eden Studios anthologies edited by James Lowder.

The Book of All Flesh and The Book of More Flesh are just plain fun, filled with imaginative and, dare we say, frightening tales.

Both Books are not only still available at Amazon.com, but have become a bit of collectors items, selling from $65 to $200 a piece.  You can download a PDF preview of The Book of More Flesh here, by clicking the following link: Preview the Book of More Flesh.

Current Work

Somehow, in addition to our web design work at Computers Made Easy, I have found time to become Executive Editor of Inspiring Times / InWestmoreland Magazine, a family publication that covers stories of general interest in our home county.

My Creative Career

You can learn more about my creative career by clicking the book icon above.  We hope you enjoy you stay, and come back again soon!