Monthly Archives: February 2010
Up in the Air: An Open Pimp Thread
Posted on February 8, 2010 173 Comments
Another day of travel for me, back to Ohio, where I am told it will be snowing when arrive, which means my car in the airport parking lot will be a shapeless mass under a huge pile of snow. You can imagine how excited I am by the thought. In any event, as I’m busy […]
View From the Getty
Posted on February 7, 2010 23 Comments
The rain stopped Saturday just after I and my friend Natasha arrived at the Getty Museum to wander about. It was the first time there for the both of us, and I think both of us had the same reaction: What a lovely museum, and what a lovely place for a museum, too. I snapped […]
In Other News, I’m Old
Posted on February 6, 2010 86 Comments
Via Andrew Sullivan, I learn that Kids These Days are less likely to start blogging, and that the form is increasingly the purview of the ancients, they being defined as people over the age of 30. This doesn’t surprise me terribly. For the vast majority of what people (not just teens, but teens also) used […]
Kindle Versions of My Books Now Back Online
Posted on February 6, 2010 124 Comments
And all available for $9.99 or less! Indeed, one as low as $5.19. Who’da thunk it.
Oh, and About The God Engines
Posted on February 5, 2010 20 Comments
Some folks noticed that Amazon has a fairly large delay on delivery for The God Engines, and wondered if that was somehow related to what was going on with Macmillan. No, quite the opposite: The darn thing sold so quickly that additional printings had to be made and those are now working their way towards […]
Books Back on Amazon (But Not Kindle)
Posted on February 5, 2010 26 Comments
I was alerted via Twitter and e-mail that my Tor books were back on Amazon, but as I was out of pocket at the time (I was hanging about with my friends Mykal Burns and Wil Wheaton), I only just now got back to my browser to confirm with my own eyes. My eyes say: […]
The Big Idea: James Knapp
Posted on February 5, 2010 10 Comments
When is a zombie not quite exactly a zombie? For James Knapp, and his new novel State of Decay, it’s when you you take the idea of the undead and give it a whole new socio-political spin — a spin that incorporates free will, social castes, an unending war, and other such fun things. I […]
And Now, The Obligatory View Out the Hotel Window
Posted on February 5, 2010 39 Comments
Here you go: Yes, raining in southern California, which I have been led to believe is its natural state in the last few weeks. But I just escaped Ohio in front of what appears to be a soul-crushingly immense snow storm, so I don’t think I will complain (and also, I hope I can find […]
A Technical Thing re: Amazon and My Tor Books
Posted on February 5, 2010 57 Comments
Every couple of hours someone sends an e-mail or post saying “Your book is back up on Amazon!” and point to the same thing, so I want to post this to clear up the confusion. The one physical version of Old Man’s War that’s up on Amazon is “Bargain Price Paperback,” which is to say […]
Mission Accomplished
Posted on February 5, 2010 43 Comments
My In-N-Out Double-Double from earlier this evening, before I consumed the hell out of it. You would not have wanted me to take a picture of it after I had done so. In other news, yes, I’m in California. LA to be precise. Doesn’t my typing look three hours later to you than it normally […]
Hey, You Know What
Posted on February 4, 2010 78 Comments
I could really go for an In-N-Out Burger right about now. (leaves)
Science Fiction Oscar Thoughts
Posted on February 4, 2010
Over at AMC this week I have thoughts on the Academy Award nominations, at least as they involve science fiction movies. You know what to do. Remember that I have been, and always will be, your friend.
A Quick Interview of Me, By Me, To Catch Up With Everything Amazon
Posted on February 4, 2010 120 Comments
Q: Hey, you. A: Hey, me. Q: How you holding up? A: Well, I think you know. Q: I do, but this isn’t meant to be an internal dialogue, asshole. A: Fair enough. Aside from the fact that the largest online bookseller is continuing to refuse to sell my Tor novels, everything is fantastic. Thanks […]
Why In Fact Publishing Will Not Go Away Anytime Soon: A Deeply Slanted Play in Three Acts
Posted on February 3, 2010 340 Comments
CHARACTERS: ELTON P. STRAÜMANN, a modern-thinking man with exciting ideas JOHN SCALZI, a humble writer KRISTINE SCALZI, the wife of a humble writer ACT I SCENE OPENS ON STRAÜMANN and SCALZI, standing. STRAÜMANN: The publishing world is changing! In the future, authors will no longer need those fat cat middle men known as “publishers” to […]
SFWA Has a Point to Make
Posted on February 3, 2010 85 Comments
And makes it quite nicely here. And in case you’re wondering, no, I didn’t have a thing to do with it.
Back Naps For Hep Cats
Posted on February 3, 2010 41 Comments
Get hip to the scene, daddy-o: napping on your tum-tums is strictly Squaresville. All the cool cats know back naps are the cat’s meow, you dig? Crazy.
The Big Idea: Katharine Beutner
Posted on February 3, 2010 25 Comments
People in myths live forever — or do they? For every Apollo or Persephone, there are the women and men whose lives these famous deities intersect in the telling of the tale — but who otherwise fall from the page, and from thought. Can they be resurrected? Katharine Beutner thinks it’s possible, and sets to […]
A Note Re: Amazon Links in Big Idea Pieces
Posted on February 3, 2010 29 Comments
Some of you may note that despite my being annoyed with Amazon in the last week, Amazon links have not been pulled from previous Big Idea pieces, and I added an Amazon link to the latest Big Idea piece as well. The reasoning here is simple: Unlike some large online retailers I could name, I […]
Just Arrived, 2/2/10
Posted on February 2, 2010 30 Comments
A little groundhog showed up at the house today and said “sorry about the six extra weeks of winter. Maybe these will make up for it.” What did he bring? * Coyote Destiny, by Allen Steele (Ace): True fact: My very first author fan letter was to Allen Steele. I found his e-mail and gushed […]
Initial Oscar Thoughts, 2010
Posted on February 2, 2010 68 Comments
As I do every year (except last year, when WordPress ate my entry, BOO), I’m giving you my thoughts on the Oscar nominee field and who, at first blush, I suspect will win their categories. Because I want to keep today’s previous entry near the top of the Whatever front page, I’ll put these thoughts […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying