Monthly Archives: July 2006
Tidbitty Goodness
Posted on July 31, 2006 32 Comments
What I’m thinking about a bunch of things: * Mel Gibson’s Anti-Semitic Meltdown: See, this is why I don’t drink. Not that I harbor long-suppressed anti-semitic inclinations, or (perhaps more charitably) have a holocaust-denying anti-semite father who drilled his prejudices into me deep enough that they burst out when I’m stopped by the cops from […]
Coffee Shop Rescheduled
Posted on July 31, 2006 16 Comments
A note for the folks who have preordered You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop Into a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing: Subterranean and I are pushing back the release date to February 2007. The pre-production took a little bit longer than we had anticipated, which would have pushed back the the release […]
One Last Hugo Plug
Posted on July 28, 2006 6 Comments
For those of you who are eligible to vote for the Hugos and the Campbells, Monday is the last day to vote. Please do vote. I go into detail why you should vote in another entry, but in sum, you should vote because you can. So vote, even if you don’t vote for me. But […]
Athena Giving You The Word, Fresh For ’06, Sucka; Plus, a Blogging Self-Pimp Thread
Posted on July 28, 2006 72 Comments
I pity the fool who doesn’t respect the Goddess. Now, onto various random things: * First, antipodean SF editor Jonathan Strahan has posted up a podcast which features Tim Pratt reading his original fantasy short story, “The Third-Quarter King.” It’s up here. * Also landing on my desk from down under: Hal Spacejock, a humorous […]
Because Apparently I’m Just a Chatty Cathy…
Posted on July 27, 2006 6 Comments
… Here’s another interview of me, this time a short one at Meme Therapy.
Cincinnati/Covington Appearance
Posted on July 27, 2006 14 Comments
If you live in the Cincinnati area in Ohio or the Covington area in Kentucky, and you want to see if I actually exist, and you’re not doing anything on August 12th, then you should know I’m making an appearance at the Mary Ann Mongan Branch of the Kenton County Public Library, In Covington, KY, […]
And Now, Another Exclusive Sneak Preview of The Last Colony You’ll Remember For the Rest of Your Days!!!
Posted on July 27, 2006 13 Comments
Can you contain the excitement? No? Well, fine. Here’s a bucket. And now, your exclusive sneak preview: It was raining werewolves. Cryptic, yet inscrutable! Just the way you like your exclusive sneak previews. Don’t worry, I’m not giving away all the best lines.
Wednesday Author Interview: Ellen Kushner
Posted on July 26, 2006 2 Comments
Over at By The Way, we’ve got the fabulously fabulous Ellen Kushner talking about her latest book, The Privilege of the Sword, as well as her radio show, her work with Interstitial Arts Foundation, and all other sorts of good stuff. Go read the interview and I’ll love you forever! In that, you know, comfortingly […]
Did I Mention: House For Rent?
Posted on July 25, 2006 24 Comments
I mentioned some time ago that our house in the Washington, DC area would soon be up for rent. Well, now’s that time. We’re posting the listing in other places, of course, but just in case DC-area readers (or, alternately, readers who know people in the DC area) are in the market for a house […]
Don’t Stop Believin’, Man!
Posted on July 25, 2006 80 Comments
Chad Orzel, who knows of my predilections, has pointed me in the direction of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Journey, which offers an album-by-album retrospective of the most radio-persistent rock band from the 80s. It’s not a bad overview; I don’t think any over the age of 25 really needs a recap of the Escape/Frontiers […]
Interview in Some Fantastic
Posted on July 24, 2006 13 Comments
For those of you who don’t already know what I think about everything, the SF zine Some Fantastic has a pretty long interview with me in its latest edition (note: 2.2 MB pdf download in that last link). In the interview you’ll discover why Old Man’s War protagonist John Perry is not my “Mary Sue” […]
Yeah, I’m a Dork
Posted on July 24, 2006 12 Comments
The really interesting thing is that it’s gotten to a point where Athena doesn’t really blink anymore when I add an extra finger to her hand, or make her eyes the size of saucers, or give her vampire teeth. She’s pretty much immune to the Photoshoppery at this point. To forestall the inevitable “aren’t you […]
Every Night the ACLU Lawyer Will Have to Come Home and Scrub Scrub Scrub
Posted on July 24, 2006 43 Comments
The ACLU is defending the right of the Westboro Baptist Church to picket funerals. That gig’s gotta suck. I think the members of the Westboro Baptist Church are hateful little worms who ought to fall down a sewer drain and receive an entirely appropriate demise therein; I also strongly suspect they have a valid First […]
The Value of (Long) Fiction Online
Posted on July 23, 2006 37 Comments
Science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer and science fiction commentator Evo Terra are having a rather lengthy discussion on their Web sites about whether e-books are really a way to get one’s self known as a science fiction author. This particular conversation began when Sawyer, who has his own book line in Canada, rejected a […]
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
Posted on July 22, 2006 21 Comments
Note to aspiring authors: Just remember that for everyone of these you get, you also get one of these. And you have no control over either. So don’t fret over either. Just write as well as you can.
NPR Does SF
Posted on July 22, 2006 5 Comments
Passing along this e-mail I got from Rick Kleffel, editor of The Agony Column: Thought I might mention that my report on the Singularity for NPR is going to run this Sunday, near the end of the second hour — Vernor Vinge and Cory Doctorow on NPR! If enough folks respond, NPR will commission more […]
How Not To Market to Bloggers, Redux
Posted on July 21, 2006 48 Comments
Someone got fired. In the wake of this entry about a really bad e-mail pitch I received from a PR company on behalf of Napster, this popped up in the entry’s comment thread: Hi John, I am the President & CEO of Guerilla PR and am quite disturbed by the email that was sent to […]
Day of Play
Posted on July 21, 2006 18 Comments
Here’s Athena on her new bike (she outgrew the old one — who knew that’s what kids do), and now we’re about to head off to see Monster House, which, as the title suggests, is about a house that’s also a monster. So basically, no time to hang with all y’all. You kids have fun […]
Foil-Stamped and Embossed For Your Pleasure
Posted on July 20, 2006 35 Comments
Tor sent me a few samples of the cover of the upcoming mass-market paperback version of Old Man’s War, which I share with you now, in all its foil-stamped and embossed glory. And not just foil-stamped and embossed in one color, but two — silver and gold. Truly, I am living the science fiction author […]
La Guerra Del Viejo
Posted on July 20, 2006 14 Comments
This just in: Spanish-language rights to Old Man’s War have been claimed. Excellent. That’s the seventh language into which OMW will be translated (following Russian, French, Chinese, German, Japanese and Hebrew). My book is seeing more of the world than I have. I’ll have to fix that one day.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying