Back Home and a Bit Discombobulated
Posted on April 22, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 5 Comments
This is what I get for taking redeye flights and then daysleeping to catch up on all the sleep I didn’t get on my flight. Today a total wash-out for braining. The song above captures my general state at the moment. I’ll be better tomorrow. Maybe! We’ll see!
Regardless, good to be home. It’s where my people are.
— JS
Checking In From LA
Posted on April 20, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 21 Comments
Here’s my view from the stage at the LA Times Festival of Books earlier today, on which I, Ben Winters and Tim Blake Nelson (with moderator Jesse Andrews) were meant to talk about “when work gets weird,” but actually ended up discussing many other topics as well, which at one point resulted in me, a very lightly progressive member of the petit bourgeois, unleashing a stem-winding polemic about the endgame of late-stage capitalism, because, I guess, why not. It’s 2024, maybe someone has to. That said, it was a generally lovely panel, and it was nice to meet all the other panelists. Then we all went to sign books, and it’s always a pleasure to do that.
Aside from the Festival of Books, I also had a few meetings to talk about current and potentially upcoming projects. One should never counts chickens before they hatch, particularly in LA, but I can say I thought the meetings went well. Seeds were planted, shall we say. We will find out if any bloom.
How has your weekend been?
— JS
Happy Birthday, Krissy
Posted on April 18, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 39 Comments
She’s fabulous and I just think she’s neat. And it’s also her birthday! If you are so inclined, wish her a happy one.
— JS
The Big Idea: A.D. Sui
Posted on April 18, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 3 Comments
Author A.D. Sui knows about the day-to-day experience of navigating the world with a disability, and in The Dragonfly Gambit, she brings some of that experience in to the life of her characters. In this Big Idea, she explains why this was important to her, and what it brings to her characters to give them life (and spite).
A.D. SUI:
Disclaimer: in this post I’ll be focusing on depictions of physical disability as that’s something I have personal experience with. Your (or others’) experience with disability, whether it’s physical, sensory, or otherwise may vary, but I hope this post can still be a jumping point for discussion around disability portrayal in speculative spaces.
#
Imagining yourself as the protagonist of a sweeping epic is a universal experience. I’ve done it. You’ve done it. We’ve all closed our eyes at some point whether when were eight or twenty-eight and imagined what it would be like to save the day. Past heroes in Science Fiction & Fantasy spaces tended to come in a standard male able-bodied muscular configuration which left most of us out of this ubiquitous experience. What’s worse, these depictions could convince us that disabled folks were simply not meant to be the heroes of a story.
Modern SFF offers a broader variety of protagonists for us readers to imprint upon, especially disabled protagonists and heroes. However, when writing our own disabled characters who save the day, we may, unintentionally, shield them from their own disability. We can do this through 1) special powers or magic that the disabled protagonist wields which allow them to forgo the typical physicality expected of protagonists and heroes (e.g., magic can be used in combat from a distance) 2) placing them in a disability-normative world (e.g., disability is socially positioned as normal variation rather than a deficit) or 3) by situating them in environments where their disability plays a less limiting role (e.g., a non-ambulatory character in zero G).
Across the board, these protagonists are still capable, optimistic, and attractive (as many real-world disabled people are). While there is nothing wrong with using these narrative techniques. Often disabled authors want to create a world where they don’t need to deal with ableism and other discrimination. But these narrative approaches may also provide a “way out”; a means for authors to star a disabled protagonist without having to write about the messy nature of disability and the messiness of disabled bodies.
In The Dragonfly Gambit, I aim to create circumstances that yield well to discussions of class, gender, ethnicity, and how those intersect with disability. For example, and without too many spoilers, I illustrate how two characters with vastly different social status are treated following their injuries. I can also discuss how the visibility of a disability impacts the perception of a character’s attractiveness and their social capital, and how these concepts intersect with traditional feminine ideals.
For Nez, my protagonist, I make a world that is harsh and that provides few opportunities to exert her agency. I leave nowhere for her to hide, give her limited tools to make her mark on the world and leave her to her own devices. As a disabled kid growing up in post-Soviet Ukraine, that was my own starting point. I know it well.
By leaning into the negative perceptions and hurdles in Nez’s way (and her personal dissatisfaction with her disabled body) I am able to discuss how agency can still be exercised even if it means leveraging the negative perceptions of others. In a sense Nez is neither an active nor a passive protagonist, but rather a constrained one, having to navigate a world that does not and will not accommodate her. It also allowed me to develop Nez into a character with whom I felt at home. She’s tired, and angry, and refuses to forgive.
In the real world, where we often stereotype disabled folks as kind, inspirational, and nearly-superhuman (consult any Paralympic advertisement), it felt refreshing to draw up a character with some relatable pettiness and grit. Some of my favourite depictions of disability in popular media are the Elric brothers from Full Metal Alchemist, Camina Drummer’s brief injury/disability arc in The Expanse Amazon series, and Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender. All of these examples don’t shy away from the anger, confusion, and dissatisfaction that often comes with disability without portraying their characters as “weak”. With the case of the Elric brothers and Toph, special “powers” (and I use “powers” broadly to encompass alchemy and Earthbending, respectively) do not fix the disability and do not spare the characters from the physicality that’s required of them.
Disability experiences are just as unique as the people having them. Hence, I do not expect that the framing of disability in “The Dragonfly Gambit” will resonate with every reader. But by leaning into disability, instead of softening the experience, we, as authors, have an opportunity to hold space for the complex and often unpleasant emotions that disability can unearth. By doing so, we have the chance to write disability experiences that will resonate with real-world disabled readers. By creating protagonists who are angry and unsatisfied, we can also validate these feelings in our readership.
Finally, a disabled protagonist who isn’t supported by magic or their environment and who succeeds despite of it (or in spite, as spite is a favourite motivator of mine) may become a stronger symbol of hope to the real-world disabled readers than a character with special powers. It stokes the idea that we are strong enough to do the hard things with just ourselves and our bodies, no matter how messy or frustrating these bodies can be. Change will be won over through effort and not an incantation. Unfair worlds will be made fair and not simply become so out of thin air.
There is no magic in the real world, but luckily, us disabled folks don’t need it.
——
The Dragonfly Gambit: Amazon|Bakka Phoenix
A Quick Trip To Portland (Oregon, Not Maine)
Posted on April 17, 2024 Posted by Athena Scalzi 41 Comments
In a recent post of mine, I said that I felt like I wasn’t doing much of the things I enjoy lately. One of these things is travel, and another is spending time with friends. When the opportunity arises to combine the two, who could say no? So at the end of March, I popped over to the West coast to spend a few days with an old college pal who is currently living in Portland, Oregon. She played tour guide and showed me around to some amazing spots in Portland. We hung out, had good food, good drinks, and had a great time overall. I thought I’d share some highlights with y’all!
I had been to Portland once before, when I was sixteen for the 2015 Westercon. From what I remembered, I quite liked Portland, and coming back almost ten years later seemed like a lot of fun.
My flight arrived into PDX at 8:30pm, and I ended up making it to my friends place at about 9:30, so they suggested a place that was open late for food. Specifically, a place that is only open late, that being between 7pm to midnight, and they only serve coffee, tea, and desserts.
I thought that sounded just like my cup of tea (ha!), and we walked a few blocks to Rimsky-Korsakoffee House. I was so excited to try it, but when we stepped inside I realized I had literally been here before. Some very cool people from Westercon had taken me here, and it was only when I saw that familiar, whimsical, cozy string lighting that I recognized it. Regardless, I was more than happy to be back, and had a difficult time choosing what dessert to get.
I ended up getting the Ginger Cake with Warm Caramel Sauce, and an orange cappuccino. The ginger cake was for sure an amazing choice if I do say so myself, as it was warm, moist, and spiced to perfection. The orange cappuccino was a wonderful pairing. Honestly if I lived in Portland I would make it a point to try every dessert listed.
The next morning, it was a short jaunt over to Flour Bloom, a coffee shop that has plants, pastries, and, you guessed it, coffee!
There was art for sale from local artists, tons of plants you could buy, and a photobooth. My friend and I both got “The Flower Child”, which is a honey-lavender-rose latte with cardamom and dried rose petals.
(Though we got the same drink, my friend got hers with oat milk, so it’s a slightly different color than mine.)
After our coffee, my friend took me all around the Industrial District and we explored so many different and super unique antique/vintage/thrift stores.
One of them had this vintage style kitchen that was totally to die for.
As well as this super cool wall of old stereos!
After gettin’ my thrift on (I bought so many trinkets), we headed to McMenamin’s Kennedy School. It’s basically an old elementary school that got repurposed into a hotel and restaurant type of thing.
Again, I realized I’d been here before, but my friend and I got to do something I didn’t do last time, which was spend an hour in their soaking pool. I love me a good warm body of water to relax in, especially when accompanied by a crisp, cold cider. I got the blackberry cider and my friend got the blood orange ginger cider. I didn’t take any pictures of the pool or anything because it was prohibited (which is totally understandable). It was a great time despite it being a little crowded.
For dinner we went to a modern Japanese place not far from my friend’s apartment called Wa Kitchen Kuu, where we tried a sake flight, some seriously good chicken, and I also got a roll.
Everything was so delish, I was tempted to go back for dinner or lunch another day, but my friend said we should try to avoid repeats and I agreed.
After dinner we went to Studio One to see a movie, and it was unlike any theater I’ve seen before. Each auditorium has a different name and is set up with all sorts of comfy furniture, like couches and plush chairs. There’s also tables for your drinks and food. Which, by the way, you can order your drinks and food right from your seat! Like real, hot food, not just movie theater popcorn. And also drinks with alcohol in them! It was so luxe.
We had already had dinner so I just got a drink and a crème brûlée, which was extremely yummy. We had intended on seeing Godzilla: Minus One, but accidentally saw Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It was very bad. But honestly laughing at it the whole time with my friend was so fun it was worth seeing that garbage.
And that completed my first full day in Portland! The next day, my friend and I got breakfast at a place called Harlow which is classified on Google as a health food restaurant and I can totally see why. I got the pesto garden scramble which was eggs, seasonal vegetables, yams, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale, with walnut basil pesto. Plus a side of quinoa.
This was so tasty and filling, and I felt so healthy eating it! The bee pollen on top of my turmeric golden latte with coconut milk might’ve been too healthy for my taste, but these veggies, eggs, and pesto really hit it out of the park.
Later on we grabbed a quick bubble tea from Mochinut. I got the Thai tea which is one of my favorite kinds of boba to get.
That night we were going to a club called 45 East for a rave, and I had nothing to wear to said rave, so we went shopping at this very interesting shop that had Halloween costumes, huge platform shoes, lingerie, wild accessories, all sorts of funky stuff! I threw together an outfit of a black dress, neon green fishnets, and these absolutely amazing Demonia boots.
I’d always wanted to go to a rave and I was not disappointed. The music was boppin’, the people were friendly, the lights were colorful, and it was so much fun. My feet definitely hurt from dancing, though.
After that we popped over to a nearby restaurant for a quick bite and a drink, and I got a seriously delicious drink called “Dirty Pretty Dirty Chai” which was chai infused vodka, Mr. Black cold brew, miso-vanilla, and oatmilk. I also got these strange, fried deviled eggs.
They were certainly something.
The next day I got to go to the infamous Portland Saturday Market. It’s basically a giant art vendor market and there’s also things that aren’t art, like clothing, home decor, and food (not that home decor and clothing can’t be works of art).
There was so much to see, so many more vendors than I thought there would be! If I hadn’t had to fly home with my suitcase, I would’ve bought way more stuff. But I ended up buying a few items like a shirt, some stickers, and I got some food, too. My favorite thing I ate was this rice pudding.
Following the market, my friend took me to Lan Su Chinese Garden, which was a beautiful place full of Chinese history, culture, and gorgeous foliage. Not only did we walk through the tranquil gardens, but we stopped at the lovely tea house and had tea and pastries. I honestly didn’t take many pictures because I was trying to really soak everything in and just enjoy the flowers, tea, and nice weather. It was an excellent time.
After walking around downtown for a bit and exploring some more, we stopped at Dan & Louis Oyster Bar, and I was so excited to get some West coast oysters while being in the actual West coast!
These oysters were really good, I honestly wanted to get more but I ended up being pretty full from the clam chowder, calamari, and shrimp cocktail we had.
That night we went to my friend’s friend’s party, a Queer Prom, and I met so many amazing people and had such a fun time, and the party lasted late into the night.
And then the next day I flew home!
My time in Portland was time very well spent, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I loved hanging with my friend and meeting her friends, had so much good food, saw so much unique, cool stuff, and was just glad to be out doing something I like to do. It was great.
Have you ever been to Portland, or maybe even live in Portland? Do you have recommendations for me for the next time I go? Do you like thrifting and West coast oysters? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
The Big Idea: Christine Ma-Kellams
Posted on April 16, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi
History doesn’t always repeat, but echoes of what has happened before turn up in new variations in the present. Christine Ma-Kellams uses one of those echoes for dramatic effect in The Band, in a way that involves… kitchen appliances.
CHRISTINE MA-KELLAMS:
The most terrifying part about evil is not so much its magnitude but its proximity—how ordinary it is, how close to home.
Exactly one decade and a day ago, I woke up from nap-time with my then-toddler in our one-bedroom Cambridge apartment with my man hovering over me.
“Did you hear what happened?” he whispered.
I didn’t at the time, but soon found out about the pressure cooker bomb that went off at the Boston Marathon—an event we almost went to that fateful morning but decided against at the last minute—when two brothers who lived down the street from us in Inman Square did the unthinkable. We spent the rest of the afternoon sheltering in place after the governor shut down the entire city to look for the perpetrators.
Seven years later, when I (along with the rest of the country) underwent another shelter in place—a much longer one this time, because of a totally different kind of disaster—a strange deja vu set in. I invariably thought of how the Tsarnaev brothers used a household kitchen appliance to wreak deadly havoc on innocent Bostonians on an otherwise ordinary April day.
The last lockdown was also when I started writing The Band, so it probably comes as no surprise that a pressure cooker bomb makes a cameo in the climax of my own novel as well. I didn’t want to just recycle history though; I wanted to rewrite the future in a never-before-seen configuration. Stuck at home, I looked around my kitchen. At that point, a 7-in-one electronic device changed my life twice over: first, when it made me into a domestic goddess who no longer had the plan ahead for dinners, and second, when it became a turning point in my novel.
Because in the seven years between the two lockdowns, something else notable happened: the Instant Pot became a national sensation. Somewhere around 2016, it became the “It’ thing to have in every kitchen in America. I, being prone to suggestibility, could not resist. Technically, the Instant Pot is a pressure cooker. But crucial to the unexpected turn of events that unfold in The Band, it’s not your usual pressurized device. All the ingenious bells and whistles that made the Instant Pot inventor—a software engineer named Robert Wang—rich and famous also accounts for the critical twist that comes about in my own novel when one villainess’ plot doesn’t go as expected. Evil—like everything else—doesn’t always go according to plan, and that makes it all the more more interesting.
Household appliance-turned bombs aside, there is another layer of evil that ends up being the sub-flooring for The Band. It’s the kind of wrong we commit not out of hate, but indifference, which strikes me as the true opposite of goodness and love. When terrible things happen because well-intentioned people trying to do the “right” thing are not paying sufficient attention to what is really going on—that just might be the real mystery of the universe, one we have yet to solve.
The Band: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Powell’s
I Was Absolutely NOT Procrastinating Today, Nevertheless, Here is a Cover of “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)”
Posted on April 13, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 19 Comments
This is the fault of my friend Greg van Eekhout, who today on Facebook opined that “If you’re over 45 and play guitar you have a moral duty to learn at least one yacht rock song.” To which I commented that I called dibs on “Brandy” by Looking Glass. And since I called dibs on it, I felt beholden to, you know, actually whomp it up. It is the weekend, so I felt like I could take a couple of hours to play with it. And here we are.
Two things: I did not do the background vocals on the song, because I am lazy, and I used MIDI guitar, because I’m having some difficulty getting my audio interface to play nice with my guitar right now. The problem here is almost certainly me rather than the audio interface. Nevertheless, if you were going to comment that my guitar playing seems to be coming along, all I can say is, thanks, I cheated.
Also, if you want to compare and contrast with the original, here it is:
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
— JS
Hey, I’m Not Going to Try to Scam You on Facebook (Or, You Know, Elsewhere)
Posted on April 13, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 8 Comments
Briefly: Some dimwit scamster is pretending to be me on Facebook and then is sliding into people’s messages there, trying to get them to use “my” marketing expert, what looks to be an equally scamalicious Facebook account. So for the avoidance of doubt:
This is the only public Facebook account I have (note the URL); you’ll notice the “verified” blue check on it (likewise, I note it’s mine here). Any other public facing account purporting to be me is fake, and if tries to get you do anything, you should probably report it as a scam.
(Note: I have a private Facebook account for friends and family, and also a Scalzi Enterprises account. Neither of them are going to slide into your private messages to try to sell you anything, either.)
Here is that fake account purporting to be me; if you have a Facebook account and would like to report it for impersonation, please feel free (don’t be a jerk about it, just report it). Here is the account of the “marketer” it wants to suggest I am using. I do not use her, nor, obviously, do I suggest you use the services of that account, either. It’s almost certainly a scam. FYI, the picture of the woman there is stock art.
Also, in a general sense, any account purporting to be a well-known person who tries to get you to give money directly to them, or someone else associated with them, is probably really bad news, and you should not have anything to do with them.
Also also: I am not going to try to upsell you on any marketing mavens. All my marketing and publicity is handled by my publishers. I don’t work with outside marketing people at this time, and even if I did I would not slide into your messages about it.
At this moment in time, the only thing I’m trying to sell you is books. I’m not going to slide into your personal messages about those, either. You can get them from any bookstore. Support your local one!
— JS
Your Occasional Reminder the 80s Were Even Weirder Than You Remember
Posted on April 12, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 36 Comments
That is, if you were there for them at all.
That’s it, that’s what I have for today. Some days are like that.
— JS
Here Comes the Rain Again
Posted on April 11, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 7 Comments
Turns out it was no joke that the only clear day in a week was the one that had the eclipse: it rained so much today that my yard river is back, which means good odds that I will find more fish in the grass when I walk the dog tomorrow. It’s such an odd thing. I imagine the fish aren’t thrilled with it either.
— JS
A Quick Note to Struggling Authors About What You Should Not Do
Posted on April 10, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 31 Comments
Hi there. I know publishing is a difficult industry and it’s a real challenge to get eyeballs on your work and to find an audience, especially here in 2024. These days I do generally try not to be proscriptive about advice I give about how to get attention to work; nevertheless I do think there are some things that no one should do, ever, because it will come back to bite you hard on the ass, and follow you for the rest of your career.
One of those things: Fabricating quotes from other authors about your work, and then putting those quotes on social media promoting your work. It’s a bad idea! Don’t do it!
Why? To begin, it’s dishonest, and depending how you do it and for what purpose, possibly actually legally fraud. Which is not a good look! To continue, the authors who you are manufacturing quotes from are real live humans who may be annoyed or irritated by being used in such a manner. Their endorsements and identities are valuable to them and others (which is why you’ve pilfered them), and fabricating their approval is a risk for them if left unaddressed.
Also, if you’re going to manufacture an endorsement from an author prominent enough for your purposes, it means that other people will know or know of that author, and may even contact them and say, more or less, “hey, did you actually promote this book?” And when they attest that, indeed, they did not, this means that your dishonesty will become known to the very people you hoped would read your work. Which, you know. Defeats the purpose.
So, please, resist the temptation to fabricate quotes from other authors (or, really, anyone) for your books. You will be found out! It will become part of your reputation! The results will not be great for you! Ever!
Thank you for your attention.
— JS
PS: Yes, this piece of advice is based on real life events, involving me. I would greatly prefer it if you didn’t go out and try to find this person; if I wanted to shame them by name I would have done so. I hold out hope that they have the ability to learn, and that this is a momentary case of ambition outstripping good sense, and that they will remove those posts of their own accord, and soon, and choose not to do this again. Also, remember: Never be an asshole on my behalf. I don’t need that kind of help, and it reflects poorly on you if you volunteer yourself for that sort of service. Thank you.
An Artistic Rendering of the Eclipse
Posted on April 10, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 4 Comments
At the eclipse party the other day, one of our younger participants decided to document the event in chalk on our house sidewalk. I took the picture, darkened the concrete via Photoshop, and was treated to this end result, which is, indeed, a fair likeness. Better than I could do in chalk, in any event.
— JS
The Big Idea: Shannon Page
Posted on April 9, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi
For the Nightcraft series of books, of which The Empress and the Moon is a part, Shannon Page delved into a branch of arcana that eventually became the heart of her writing. Read on to find out what it is and how it shaped the work.
SHANNON PAGE:
I am not a tarot practitioner, trained or otherwise. I’ve done very little reading up on the cards and their traditional interpretations; I have only even ever had my own cards read once. But, as may be obvious by now to even the most casual of readers of my Nightcraft Quartet, I am strongly attracted to the cards and their symbology.
As The Empress and The Moon, the fourth and final volume of the quartet, is releasing, I’ve been thinking more about this apparent contradiction: “I know nothing about this, but I think it’s great.” My main character, a witch named Callie, shares with us her skepticism about the tarot. Her best friend, Logan, is a professional tarot practitioner, and Callie’s mother also works with the cards; both witches are always trying to get Callie to learn them, to accept their value. In traditional witchkind, however, particularly the science-based community Callie is a member of, the tarot is looked down upon. “They’re for humans” is a common, and scornful, attitude.
Of course, characters grow and change, and by the end of the series, many of my witches, warlocks, humans, cats, and others have expanded their understanding of the world and how so many things are not what they may seem. Dividing lines turn out to be more fuzzy than sharp; truths that “everyone knows” get challenged and upended…and Callie finds herself reaching for the cards at some pivotal moments.
In writing these moments, I reached for the cards myself.
I own a number of tarot decks, though the one I use most frequently is also the one I’ve had the longest. It is a traditional Rider-Waite-Smith deck in its classic yellow box, and it used to belong to my ex-husband, who found it in the hallway of an apartment building he lived in before we met. Intrigued, he put it on his bookshelf but never opened the box. When we married, I sort of adopted the cards, and took them with me when we parted.
I have no idea whose they were originally, or why they were left in a hallway in Oakland, California in the late 1980s. But they are mine now.
I used them in several different ways as I wrote the Nightcraft Quartet. When deciding the books’ titles, I chose cards with images and meanings that particularly spoke to me as they related to Callie and her journey from a powerful, yet fairly sheltered, younger witch to the wiser and more self-possessed woman she is at the end of the series.
When I got stuck in a scene and didn’t know the best way forward, I would often pull out the deck and deal a few cards onto my desk, studying the images and letting them tell me a story that resonated.
And, when I needed an actual tarot reading in the epilogue of Empress, I shuffled and dealt an invented spread, “reading” the cards just as they came out, changing nothing from what this random act gave me. Amazingly—or maybe not so amazingly—it worked. The cards told me just the story that needed to be there.
A big reason for the tarot’s enduring appeal is the near universality of the images and their themes. In not just the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, but also the many, many other versions I’ve seen (a number of which I own), we find issues and concerns shared by so very many of us: love, family, attachment; grief, fear, danger; power, and the lack thereof; community, wisdom, triumphs, mistakes; poverty and wealth. We humans (and witches too, I think) are endlessly interested in these themes, in all their variations and permutations. It’s at the heart of why we write and read stories.
The Nightcraft Quartet could have been written without the use of the tarot, but it would have been a far shallower story—more head than heart, more elaborate construction than tale from the soul. Like Callie, I’ve grown to appreciate the truth of the cards as I’ve opened myself to their intuitive magic. They’ve been a divining rod to the story deep inside…inside me, inside all of us. Come along; I’ll deal you in.
The Empress and the Moon: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Powell’s
Eclipse Report
Posted on April 9, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 69 Comments
Look, I’m not going to lie: I was not one hundred percent convinced we were going to be able to see the eclipse. April in Ohio has, shall we say, variable weather, and the week before the eclipse was almost all gray and rainy. The weather predictions were “mostly cloudy” to “raining in the AM,” none of which was at all promising. It would be annoying enough if it was just me, but we were having about 50 people over. And while none of them would (reasonably) be annoyed if the eclipse didn’t show, it would still be a disappointment.
So, aside from the eclipse being an absolute fantastic celestial experience, it was also a massive relief that for one day, April in Ohio did us a solid, and the sky was clear with (at most) high, hazy clouds. The eclipse went off without a hitch, my guests were thrilled and amazed, and it was exactly the sort of once-in-a-lifetime sort of experience it was meant to be. As an astronomy person from way back, it was absolutely a bucket list experience, but even folks in town who I know were not hugely invested in it were taken with it. And I didn’t even have to leave my property for it. Which meant, of course, that it was perfect. The fact that I got to see it with friends and family made it even more wonderful.
I hope wherever you were, that you got to see some or all of it; even as a partial eclipse it was a fantastic experience. Tell me your experience in the comments.
— JS
New Books and ARCs, 4/5/24
Posted on April 5, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 14 Comments
The first weekend of April brings a new stack of books and ARCs to the Scalzi Compound. What here is an intriguing read to you? Share in the comments!
— JS
There’s Something Fishy About My Yard
Posted on April 5, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 27 Comments
We had quite a bit of weather earlier in the week (nor are we out of it, although Eclipse Day looks to be all right if the predictions hold) and as a result our yard flooded and we had a river running through it. Which is all right! In fact our yard is designed to channel overflow from a neighbor’s pond down our yard and toward a creek on the other side of the road from us. It happens a few times a year and, once the rain stops, it drains fairly quickly and efficiently.
And as a side effect, every now and again, when things dry up a bit, I find these: stranded bluegills in my yard. They are dead, alas for them, and today as I was walking Charlie, I found rather a few of them: at least a dozen, all near the treeline. Because I don’t want the dog to eat them whole, or the cats to drag their carcasses into the garage, I was obliged to chuck all that I found into the treeline, which was every bit as icky as it sounds. I hope not to do that again for a good long time. Also, one really does never get used to random fish in the yard.
So, that’s my Friday so far. How are you?
— JS
Third Thursdays At Cherry Street Bottle Shop & Cocktail Kitchen
Posted on April 4, 2024 Posted by Athena Scalzi 21 Comments
This past fall, a new bottle shop opened up in downtown Troy. As someone who frequents Troy and its small businesses, I was excited to check out Cherry Street Bottle Shop, which I first visited back in November.
Upon entering, you’ll see a large selection of beers and wines, as well as some home goods and plenty of barware items for your home bar or kitchen.
I quickly learned that not only was this a bottle shop, but a cocktail kitchen, as well!
(This was their menu back in November, and while some things are the same, they also change some of the cocktails seasonally and whatnot.)
This place is actually quite unique, because they batch make their cocktails and have them bottled and ready to go to pour over ice and serve to you.
These are made and bottled in house and are ready to drink, making them super convenient. I have tried the Blueberry Mule as well as the Strawberry Fields Tom Collins, and both were excellent.
Plus, the bottle shop has this awesome decoration that one of the co-owners made herself:
Okay, so now that you know what Cherry Street Bottle Shop is, we can talk about the event I went to at their cocktail lounge, located in the downstairs of the bottle shop.
Every third Thursday of the month, they have a special event. For March, it was a cocktail tasting featuring a gimlet, a margarita, and an old fashioned. Their lounge area has a limited amount of seating, so I was happy to get a ticket before they sold out.
I was the first person to arrive, so I was able to snap a picture of the lounge, which is quite chic:
(The hat on the table belongs to the event’s special guest host, Tall James.)
There was also this giant grazing board to snack on before/during the drinks:
So, I had a seat and waited for the event to begin. I was surprised to find out that not only were we getting a gimlet, margarita, and an old fashioned, but we were also getting two variations of each drink! So it was more like a flight of gimlets, a flight of margaritas, and a flight of old fashioneds. A pleasant surprise indeed!
(Tall James started off the event by telling us that there’s a typo on the sheet. It’s supposed to be “classic old fashioned” and then “banana old fashioned”, not “classic” twice.)
The flight sheet had the recipe for each cocktail, so you could make it at home later on if you wanted, which I thought was pretty neat.
The first flight was the gimlets. The classic, the cucumber-mint, and the strawberry basil:
This flight was so pretty! I was obsessed with the colors and the giant ice spheres. But how did it taste? Well, I like gin and I love fruity drinks, so this was a fantastic flight for me.
Each one was made with Beefeater gin. The classic was light, and sweeter than I was expecting. It had a slight floral flavor, from the gin I’m sure, and was quite refreshing. The cucumber mint one was very cucumbery, which gave it a summery vibe, and was nice and minty without being overwhelming. The strawberry basil smelled absolutely amazing, like a ripe strawberry, and was just as delicious as it sounds.
The second flight was a classic margarita, a spicy margarita, and a smokey margarita. I can’t say I’ve ever had a margarita without a salt or sugar rim before, but these were very purist and didn’t have a rim with them. The classic was very limey, but that wasn’t a problem for me, as I quite enjoy citrus. The spicy one had a genuine kick to it from habanero, so much so that one sip was plenty for me. As for the smokey, I have a hard time with smokey drinks, and this one was like smoke incarnate, so again one sip ended up being enough for me. Spicy and smokey both are just not my preferred flavor profile, but there were plenty of people there who really enjoyed those ones.
Finally, the old fashioneds. The classic, made with Old Granddad Rye and Demarara sugar, was decent considering how hard of a time I have drinking bourbon. I didn’t hate it, which is saying something.
As for the banana and rum, well, it was certainly a unique flavor. Can’t say I’ve had anything quite like it before. Always glad to try something new.
Speaking of new things, I had never heard of fat washed bourbon before, but I learned, and it is wild. It’s literally bacon grease infused bourbon, and you can actually tell. Like, it has the taste of bacon! It was so unexpected. This last one was made with Four Roses Bourbon, and much like the others, just a taste was more than enough.
This concluded the event (which was only fifty dollars), and before you say anything I promise I was perfectly safe getting home. I know y’all always worry whenever I post any drinks I have, but worry not, for I am a responsible youth!
As you can see, Cherry Street Bottle Shop puts on great events, but they’re actually part of a larger group called Craft Event Bar Collective, which is designed to help you make your special events perfect with their bartending, DJing, grazing boards, and even event planning itself.
This is one of my new favorite local spots. Not just for its cocktails and wine, but for its creativity and uniqueness. I love the passion and friendliness the two co-owners, Carly and Sara, bring to their business. I highly recommend checking them out, whether you’re just grabbing some beer to go, sitting down and having a cocktail, or looking for some event specialty services.
Which drink looked the best to you? Would you try a banana drink? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
New Uncanny Film Column: “The Godzilla Beeper”
Posted on April 2, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 14 Comments
Over at Uncanny Magazine this month, I’m writing about Godzilla, and the very specific problem that sequels featuring this very famous Kaiju have over time. What is that problem? You’ll have to read the column to find out, but I assure you, it will be interesting and thought provoking. Or your money back!
— JS
How to Make Me Write a New Short Story
Posted on April 2, 2024 Posted by John Scalzi 10 Comments
Locus Magazine, which is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit, has been doing some fundraisers in order to keep itself running along, and asked me if there was something I could to to help. I said sure: If their current fundraiser (which is at this very moment at $59.5k) reaches $75,000, I’ll write a short story for everyone who contributes to the fundraiser. What will it be about? Got me! But it’ll be original, never-before-published, at least 2,000 words, and for a year at least, exclusive to the fundraiser supporters. I’ll write it this summer (I have a couple of deadlines before then), and then out it will go into the folks who have supported Locus.
So: Wanna make me write a new short story? This is how to do it. Here’s the link to contribute to the fundraiser. There are three days left as of this writing, so don’t delay, get on it soon. I know you want to make me dance like a monkey! Do it!
— JS
The Big Idea: John Wiswell
Posted on April 2, 2024 Posted by Athena Scalzi 4 Comments
“Normal” looks different on everyone. This can be especially true if you happen to be a shapeshifter. Come along with author John Wiswell as he shows you what normality is for the main character of his newest novel, Someone You Can Build A Nest In, as well as a bit about what normal looks like for himself.
JOHN WISWELL:
How does a Fantasy adventure look from the point-of-view of the monster everyone wants to slay?
That’s something I’ve been thinking since I was a little kid. We all agree monsters are cool, right? We have art of them, read stories about them, and dress up as them for Halloween. You can only read so many stories about heroically killing off camps of vile goblins before you wonder. What was Medusa’s daily life like for all those years, before the day Perseus showed up with his sword and his destiny? Before Jonathan Harker visited, what was the emotional landscape of all the centuries inside Dracula’s dark castle?
To put it another way: what are the internal lives of all the creatures our stories pretend don’t have them?
Because wherever we deny empathy and internal life, we usually find the most interesting stories have been hidden. Monsters are often repositories of those things society wishes didn’t exist—hence all the disability-coding in ogres and queer-coding in vampires. When you turn a monster over in your hands and look at the different angles, you often find things you relate to. The things that make you feel unwanted. Fantasy is a special genre for exploring those parts of our lives.
Also? Tentacles are awesome. Wings, spiked tails, and shells harder than iron. Just the idea of living in a body where that sort of thing is normal is interesting. Any life you live long enough is normal to you. As a disabled guy living in a body that has tried to kill me numerous times, I love learning other people’s normality.
As I wrote more of Someone You Can Build A Nest In, Shesheshen’s idea of ‘normal’ cast a spell on me. Being a shapeshifter doesn’t solve all of Shesheshen’s problems. She can take any form, but she has trouble generating bones and many kinds of organs. This means hunting around for things to build her body on top of. To some extent her shapeshifting is a superpower, but also, to her, bones are assistive devices.
And none of it is weird. Some early reviewers questioned if this book was Body Horror because Shesheshen warps her body so frequently, but it’s never grotesque to her. No more than maintaining the glucose meter on your bicep or flushing out an abscess you’ve had for weeks. She messes with her body the way we all mess with ours. Her “Body Horror” is normalized rather than exoticized, the same way all many disabled people eventually find a degree of familiarity and normality. So from the first chapter, her experience is something closer to Body Fantasy, or Body Normality.
We’re not weirdos to ourselves; it’s other people who try to make us feel that way. Many of us internalize that and shame ourselves. But to Shesheshen, it’s the world who treats her as monstrous that is wrong. One of the key parts to writing her was to let her take pride in herself. When she succeeds at fooling her home invaders (humans call them “monster hunters”), that tickles her. That she can pull herself out of pain and brain fog to fight is affirming. And when she finds that special someone she might actually want to date? She picks out bones from the local butcher’s shop to design herself the best possible dancing feet. She tries on bones the way other people try on shoes and jackets.
That’s the big idea: treating atypical bodies as typical, because they are typical to those of us who live with them. My body has been trying to kill me since I was twelve years old. This is my normal.
Monstrous joy has to exist in a book about monstrous pain. That’s what Shesheshen is fighting for.
Well, that and some new leg bones.
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