On Friday night, the members of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society gathered in the Rotunda to hear fantasy novelist and folklorist Josepha Sherman speak, but Sherman herself was no where to be found.
The group sent delegates to meet her at the train station, but she never got off the train.
Fortunately, Greg Frost, a local fantasy writer, was able to fill in as a last-minute speaker and volunteered to sign copies of Sherman's books "under any name."
The replacement speaker is the author of the novel Fitcher's Brides, and a story he wrote was a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short science fiction in 1998, according to his online biography.
Frost's impromptu talk focused on the challenges of writing fantasy.
He said fantasy is harder to write than regular fiction because the author "needs to create everything," adding that the author "must know more about the characters than ever appears on the page."
The same rule applies for the worlds fantasy writers create, Frost said. Good fantasy depends on a credible world, and in order to establish a credible world, Frost said, the writer "must live in it."
He added that he disdains contemporary Hollywood fantasy because it fails to understand the difficulties of constructing a fantasy world. When Frost heard Tom Cruise say he loves science fiction because "you can do whatever you want," he was outraged.
Frost had the audience cracking up when he concluded his talk by sharing examples of bad science fiction.
The audience wasn't fazed by Sherman's failure to appear, and it welcomed Frost enthusiastically.
The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society is an organization that meets once a month to discuss all aspects of science fiction and fantasy. It has around 35 to 50 due-paying members, but all of its meetings are open to the public.
In addition to the monthly meetings, the group runs the annual Philadelphia Conference on Science Fiction and Fantasy, Philcon.
