Monthly Archives: March 2011
Why, Hello, My Little French Book
Posted on March 31, 2011 15 Comments
I can has French versions of Agent to the Stars! I really do love the cover, by Paul Kidby. Especially the frog. It cracks me up every single time. Man, I love my life.
The Big Idea: Douglas Hulick
Posted on March 31, 2011 25 Comments
Some say that dictionaries are descriptive, some say they are prescriptive — but how many say that they are inspirational? Douglas Hulick is one of the (I assume) relatively few in that last category, and he’s here to explain how a chance encounter with one eventually led to his debut fantasy novel Among Thieves. The […]
826
Posted on March 31, 2011 19 Comments
That was the number I had in mind for yesterday’s contest, and this was the fellow who picked it first. Congratulations, Mike, and thanks everybody for playing. I will probably give away at least a couple more ARCs of Fuzzy Nation before the release date, so be ready. Because it could happen at any time.
Today’s Installment of “Attractive Singer Sings a Sad, Pretty Song”
Posted on March 30, 2011 11 Comments
The band: Fisher. The song’s been about for a while, but it gets me every time, it does. I’m sentimental. So there.
Did You Know March 30 Is International Give Away an ARC of Fuzzy Nation on Whatever Day?
Posted on March 30, 2011 1,358 Comments
It totally is! I have a proclamation from the United Nations and everything! Actually, it’s not from the UN, it’s from my cat. And he didn’t so much proclaim it so much as stare at me unblinkingly with his implacable predator eyes. But that’s not important now. What is important is that I’m giving away […]
Science Fiction Film, Briefly
Posted on March 30, 2011
This week at FilmCritic.com, I decided to let other people do my work for me leverage the synergistic possibilities of social media by having people ask me science fiction and fantasy film-related questions on Twitter, to which I would respond, at Twitter lengths, in the column. How did it work out? The answers, in 140 […]
It’s Like Waking Up in 1993 All Over Again
Posted on March 29, 2011 24 Comments
Seriously, man. It’s like the kids in this band were fed nothing but a diet of Siamese Dream and Wish since they were, like, five. The rest of the album is pretty much more of the same. Which is not a bad thing, since I like Siamese Dream and Wish. I’m just glad to have […]
I See No Possible Way How This Incredible Cover Letter Could Ever Fail
Posted on March 29, 2011 180 Comments
As a preface: I did not write this. I might have exploded had I tried. —- [Author and address redacted] Dear [Agent / Editor] Prepare to be blown away. In your hands you hold the first four pages of my debut epic, VIOLET THUNDER. You have the truly unique opportunity to be one of the […]
The Big Idea: Derryl Murphy
Posted on March 29, 2011 16 Comments
They say travel broadens the mind, but for Derryl Murphy, it did more than that: It helped to write his newest novel, Napier’s Bones, and did so not just on a practical level (that is, of allowing him to research information) but also on an inspirational level as well. It’s an argument that being there […]
Yes, I’ve Seen the Latest Author Review Implosion
Posted on March 28, 2011 144 Comments
And so will you, if you follow this link. It’s starts in the first comment, and then doesn’t so much go downhill as plunge rapidly, as if down a mineshaft. Authors, aspiring and otherwise: See what this author is doing here? Yeah, that’s the thing not to do when it comes to your reviews.
Not Dead, Merely Uninteresting
Posted on March 28, 2011 16 Comments
In case you were wondering about the paucity of updates today. Hey, sometimes it happens, you know?
iPad Glitchery
Posted on March 28, 2011 14 Comments
I was alerted by a reader that for some reason the site wasn’t coming through on iPads. I told her to check her iPad browser cache, but then I checked my own iPad and had the same problem. I think I’ve identified the culprit — WordPress has incorporated a flashy new widget that displays site […]
My Coke Zero Methadone
Posted on March 26, 2011 57 Comments
People have been asking me how I’m dealing with my Lent-esque commitment to keep from drinking Coke Zero through Easter. The answer is that it’s been going pretty well. The commitment was to stop drinking Coke Zero, but I took it as an opportunity to also scale back the amount of caffeine I was drinking. […]
Diana Wynne Jones
Posted on March 26, 2011 44 Comments
News is coming across the Twitter that writer Diana Wynne Jones passed away in the night; I imagine it will be confirmed by official sources soon enough. I have no connection to Jones other than as a reader, but I think that’s enough to celebrate her life and mourn her passing. My favorite book of […]
Just Arrived 3/25/11
Posted on March 25, 2011 17 Comments
Look! Books! Here’s some of what’s been sent to me recently: * The Physics of the Future, by Michio Kaku (Doubleday): The subtitle to this pop science book proclaims “How science will shape human destiny and our daily lives by 2100.” Finally! Someone will tell me when I get my flying car! No, really, there’s […]
I Like Amanda Hocking
Posted on March 25, 2011 54 Comments
She just seems so darn sensible, that’s why. For example, when she talks about why, even after she made a name for herself self-publishing electronically, she took a $2 million advance from St. Martin’s Press for an upcoming book series, over on her blog. It’s worth reading in its entirety, but what it boils down […]
The Big Idea: Jesse Bullington
Posted on March 25, 2011 7 Comments
In some ways, writing a novel is as much about giving your characters space to introduce themselves — especially to you, their author — as it is giving them a plot so they will have something to do. In The Enterprise of Death, author Jesse Bullington had a particular character which he had been trying […]
Fuzzy Nation Audio, Book Tour Venue Change in Dayton, and Other Stuff
Posted on March 24, 2011 29 Comments
An all-night drive, two hours of sleep and a morning spent arguing with my computer about connecting to the Internet has not inspired me to new heights of creative genius, so instead I’m going to catch you all up on some stuff relating to me. 1. First, a number of you have asked if there […]
Computer Nonsensery
Posted on March 24, 2011 33 Comments
Desktop computer’s ethernet connection doesn’t want to ether today, which naturally presents a host of problems. So guess what I’m doing with my morning? Be back later.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying