Monthly Archives: February 2011

The Big Idea: David Halperin

Hey there, folks. As I am busy today doing panels and signing books and fighting back the alien invasion of Chicago, I thought I might fill the void that otherwise might be here today by dropping in a Big Idea post. And what a thematically appropriate Big Idea we have for today, as David Halperin, […]

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Today’s Nefarious Plans

They are: two panels (one on cover art and ebooks, one on the Hugo awards) and a reading, at which I will likely read from Fuzzy Nation and also from the current work in progress. Which means that the people who go to my reading today at Capricon will be first folks besides me and […]

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How I’ve Been Spending My Evening

Standing on a giant scale so that the people running Capricon 31 could find out what my weight is in Coke Zero cans. The answer: 204 cans, or for those of you with metric inclinations, 76.5 liters. A measurement of 76.5 liters is henceforth to be known as a “Scalzi,” as in “Your dad is […]

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In Chicago(land)

And here is the obligatory “photo from the hotel window” to prove it. Beyond you see the majestic 294 West freeway, and the parking lot for the mall which has attached itself to the Westin Chicago North Shore, which is where I am because that’s where Capricon 31 is, for which I am author Guest […]

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The Big Idea: Karen Mahoney

Folklore has tropes and tales that it comes back to again and again — but today’s readers are a discerning lot, and it takes more than reheating a trope to engage them. How to mine the trope and yet make it fresh is a subject on author Karen Mahoney’s mind, and today she talks about […]

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Today’s Lesson From Congress

If you’re a married, Republican U.S. Representative, Craigslist’s personal ads are not for you. Write that down, please. And underline it. (Mind you, Craigslist’s personal ads are probably not a good idea for any U.S. Representative. But especially married, Republican ones.) Seriously, though. I looked at that story, and what I felt for the dude […]

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A Curious Historical Artifact For You

I’ve mentioned to people before that I tend to write very small when I hand letter things. How small? Well, while going through some old writings, I unearthed this letter, which I wrote on standard 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper when I was 19 or 20: I have the letter because it was one of […]

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Star Wars Characters: Some Actually Get Better

Over at FilmCritic.com this week, I act as a peacemaker between friends and settle a question about the Star Wars series, namely: Do any of the characters actually get more interesting as the series goes along? The answer probably won’t surprise you (it depends on the character), but you may be surprised which characters I […]

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My Capricon Schedule

For those of you who will be at Capricon, which begins this Thursday, here’s my schedule of programming. For those of you who will not be at Capricon, this is what you’ll be missing, you fools. Opening Ceremonies – Thursday, 02-10-2011 – 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm – River C (Media) Welcome to Capricon 31: […]

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The Big Idea: Stina Leicht

Fantasy authors incorporate elements of the fantastical into the modern world all the time — the genre of “urban fantasy” is all about that. But when authors inject fantasy into the real world, and into events of the real world that have a history of contentiousness and hard emotions, there’s another level of complication… and […]

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Bandwidth Boosting

A couple of things that people have sent me in the last week that I’m happy to boost the signal for: First, this message from my pal Jesi Lipp, about the teen writing workshop called Alpha: I was wondering if you would be so kind as to mention Alpha on your blog again. Here’s a […]

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And Now, My Thoughts On the AOL-Huffington Post Thing

Looks like AOL is still spending too much to replace me. (Context, for those of you who lack it: For two years in the mid-90s I was AOL’s in-house writer/editor and did all sorts of various writing and editing gig for them. Then I was laid off and shortly thereafter AOL bought Time Warner. I […]

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Hey, Look: Fanties!

In case you were wondering what those creatures, featured in both The Last Colony and Zoe’s Tale, might look like. Those of you familiar with the Subterranean Press limited editions of my Old Man’s War series will recognize the artwork as Vincent Chong’s, and a terrific job he’s done of it. This will be one […]

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Fun With Artwork

I liked Paul Kidby’s art for the French version of Agent to the Stars so much that I bought it. And here it is. And it looks fabulous. Paul was also kind enough to offer me the black and white sketch he did for the cover, which is also fabulous, in a monochromatic fashion, so […]

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Science Fiction Award Recommendations 2010: The Reader’s List

We’re getting close to crunch time for Nebula and Hugo Award nominations: For SFWA members, the last day to get in Nebula nominations is 11:59pm (Pacific) on February 15, and while the Hugo nomination period lasts through March 26, it’s generally a good idea not to wait until the last minute to get in your […]

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