Various & Sundry 3/27/07
Posted on March 27, 2007 Posted by John Scalzi 9 Comments
Various things:
* I meant to pimp Justine Larbalestier’s Magic’s Child last week, when it hit the stores, but then collapsed into my own belly button. Let me rectify that now by saying that Justine has written not only a terrific book here — this should not be a surprise, given that she’s up for the Norton Award this year — but also managed to stick the landing with her “Magic or Madness” trilogy, which is very cool. Justine and I did our trilogies more or less at the same pace, and it was great to be able to have someone out there who was going through the same crap I was, pretty much in step with me. It was helpful, you know?
But that’s all backstage stuff. Up front, as I mention, Justine’s got a great book and an excellent conclusion to her series. You must go out and buy copies right now.
* If you’ve been following the SFWA elections in the ElectionBlog (actually a newsgroup), you’ll know that Will Shetterly has been asking interesting questions of the candidates and making some cogent observations. Now he has some questions about electronic piracy (and SFWA’s engagment with the issue) and about SFWA’s current “newsgroup”-style online discussions. If you’re a SFWA member (or are thinking about becoming one, ever), head over to Will’s blog, read the questions, and leave your answers to the questions there.
* If you’re in the Dayton, Ohio area and you’ve thought to yourself, “gee, I wonder what Scalzi would be like, lecturing on how to write fiction,” you’re in some luck, since I will be lecturing on that very same topic on Friday, April 13, as part of Sinclair College’s 33rd Annual Writers’ Workshop. There will be two 90-minute sessions, and there will also be other instructors, schooling participants on poetry, non-fiction and screenwriting. The cost of the workshop is $25, unless you’re a Sinclair student, in which case it’s just $15. Anyone who’s ever seen me live knows I’ll have no problems talking for an hour and a half solid, but I do also plan on answering questions as well.
* Athena just wrote a four page, single-spaced ghost story. She is made of awesome.
Well of course Athena is made of awesome. She likes rubber ducks, after all. =)
John, Do you know if they will be recording your lecture? Possibly for sale? I would be interested.
Readers do go on about Athena, don’t they? Of course she is an only child of well educated, literate and involved parents so she is preternaturally well spoken, confident, and composed with a sense of humor well in advance of her pay grade. As well, we readers do not get to see the Dark Side (which all kids have) during which your decision that spanking is verboten after the age of 4 or so is tested mightily.
Certainly your decision to include her in Whatever adds to the “family” nature of this blog and to the sense that you and Krissy and Athena are actually friends of ours instead of electronic constructs.
Having raised two wonderful daughters and having 1.5 wonderful granddaughters I am no more immune to Athena’s charms than anyone else. My favorite Athena moment is about 2 frames of the “Don’t vote for Daddy” video. Right at the end when she says “he’s very confused” and right before you call out to her there is a very brief moment when her earnest expression morphs into a grin of such puckish humor that it should be frozen, framed, and tucked away.
Sentimental Old Jarhead
When do we get to see said Ghost Story? Ooh, Subterranean Online! Yes! That’d be awesome.
Scalzi, how could you not inform the readership of the Whatever blog about the current sad state of the Beauteous Ghlaghghee?
I had to go to By The Way and endure your endless orders to take pictures of this and that tripe just to learn about the B.G.
wtf?
The Official Ghlaghghee Fan Club
PS – TOGFC will gladly take the B.G. off your hands. You can keep the wife… and the comforter. ;-)
Yeah Athena! And a ghost story to boot, no coffee shops involved.
Of course, John, you’re going to have to instruct Athena in the fine art of mauscript preparation.
That ghost story wouldn’t be called ‘The Bleakness” by any chance would it?
Maybe the wrong Scalzi got credited on that book cover spoof a while back
I record books for the blind for the Library of Congress, and I need to know how to properly pronounce your last name.
Is it: SKAL zee, SKAHL zee, SKAHLTS ee…?
Thanks for you help!
Jane
Jane:
“SKAAL zee” is closest to how I pronounce it.