Away For the Day; Suggest a Writer’s Blog
Posted on March 23, 2011 Posted by John Scalzi 141 Comments
I’m traveling later in the day to see a friend, which means I have some non-blog related tasks to attend to first, which means I AM LEAVING YOU. For the rest of the day, not forever. UNLESS I DIE. Which I’m not planning to. JUST SAYING.
But as they say, when a door closes a window opens, the better to leap out of, and in that spirit I say to you: Hey, in the comment thread, why don’t you recommend to folks here another writer’s blog that you read on a regular basis? Because writers are interesting! And we smell of lilacs. It’s true.
Just tell us why you like the blog, and leave a link to it (just typing in the URL is fine, you don’t have to fiddle with html) so people can check it out. Try one link a comment, since three or more links per comment will likely just you send to the moderation queue, and I won’t be around to free comments on a regular basis. You may post more than comment in the thread.
You can also suggest interesting author Twitter feeds if you like, because that’s just like blogging, only shorter.
If you’re a writer you may suggest your own, but if you do, your blog better be AWESOME. Because that’s what readers here deserve.
All right, then. You kids have fun. See you tomorrow.
Chuck Wendig’s blog ( http://terribleminds.com/ramble/ ) is always worth a read. There’s plenty of food for thought about the craft of writing, the occasional writing challenge, and a lot of humor.
So many great writer/bloggers out there!
One is Allison Winn Scotch, a novelist who answer lots of questions about agents/publishing/writing in general. http://www.allisonwinn.com/ask-allison/ She’s also an entertaining twitterer @aswinn.
Pay Averil Dean’s Twisting The Kaleidoscope a visit: http://averildean.wordpress.com/
She writes dark erotica, and her blog is always a searing, honest, and thoughtful read.
Can I suggest mine? Is that cool? If it’s not cool, then nobody click on it, or maybe the comment could even be deleted.
I also have to point to the fabulous Lara Zielin, a YA author and all round wonderful person. She’s on twitter @larazielin and blogs at larawrites.com/blog, but she also has a specific site for writers http://www.help4writers.com/blog/ where she answers questions, gives tips and also offers editing services. She’s a great resource!
Patrick Rothfuss, author of the unrelentingly awesome The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear has a consistently entertaining- if somewhat sporadically updated- blog right here:
http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/
Catherynne M. Valente’s blog:
http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/
Seriously. The woman takes no prisoners.
(Oh, yeah, and also me. At my name plus dot com.)
I wear a Wil Wheaton now. Wil Wheatons are cool. Actually it is a much geekier blog than Whatever, but I kinda like that sort of thing. http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/
David Brin’s Blogspot is one I recommend. I’ve been following since ’04 or so. Always has interesting discussions going on.
Cherie Priest is always good to read:
http://www.cheriepriest.com/
I’m sure many people here already read it, but Wil Wheaton’s blog is fabulous, smart & geeky: http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/
Jason Sanford has a great blog. His posts on aspects of genre and nongenre are informative and entertaining, and he defined the subgenre of SF Strange. Always intersesting.
http://chinamieville.net/ China Mieville has a very different idea about what a blog should be
I like N K Jemisin’s books, and also her blog:
http://nkjemisin.com/
But then so do you. Already. Probably.
Dru Pagliassotti’s blog: http://drupagliassotti.com/
Which I recommend because: a) she’s clever; b) she covers a variety of topics; c) she’s got a new book out; and d)…well, in the interest of full disclosure, she’s a good friend of mine.
Still — you should read her!
Ooh, and Charles Stross!
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/
Somebody will eventually get around to *linking* Mary Robinette Kowal, but I’m going to use my two links’ worth for a couple less known but still excellent folk: Cheryl Morgan, one of the editors for Clarkesworld and owner of Wizard’s Tower Press, and something just a little different for this crowd: Jack Lewis, veteran, motorcyclist, and general storyteller. I think, though, if you liked Old Man’s War, you’ll like Jack.
You can read the musings of numerous authors including Sarah A. Hoyt, Dave Freer, Kate Paulk, Amanda Green, and Rowena Cory-Daniels here: madgeniusclub.blogspot.com
Always something good going on at Charlie Stross’s: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static.
I’ve been a big fan of Brendan Halpin’s for… man, almost a decade now?
http://www.brendanhalpin.com/
He doesn’t blog terribly often, but I always enjoy his thoughts. His most recent entry is fascinating, as he talks about anger, the internet, and people.
And then there’s the rantings, ravings and ramblings of strange fiction writer and carnival freak, Hal Duncan:
http://notesfromthegeekshow.blogspot.com/
I can highly suggest Jim C. Hines’ blog. He is amazingly good at well reasoned posts to difficult questions (with just enough lighter content to keep it from being too heavy)
http://www.jimchines.com/blog/
The recent posts about Convention Comp Policies are especially interesting.
T & P N H is usually a great read too…
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/
My suggestion is a multi-author site called The Inkpunks: http://www.inkpunks.com/. A fun group of writers who talk about the business and the craft and give you many different angles on writing.
For twitter, I enjoy following @SamSykesSwears and @PaulJessup. Both funny and weird.
I also humbly suggest my own blog (linked in my name above) and my prowlings on Twitter as @eruditeogre.
Then, for all your SF history requirements, there’s Frederik Pohl:
http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/
Nnedi Okorafor is a novelist of Nigerian descent known for weaving African culture into creative evocative settings and memorable characters. In a profile of Nnedi’s work titled “Weapons of Mass Creation”, The New York Times called Nnedi’s imagination “stunning”. She is also a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University.
http://nnedi.blogspot.com/
Nobody’s said Elizabeth Bear yet? What the hell’s wrong with you people? http://matociquala.livejournal.com
Or even more obviously… Neil Gaiman!
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/
Robin McKinley- a great blog with plenty of footnotes!
http://www.robinmckinley.com/blog.php
http://davidhewson.com/blog/
He blogs almost entirely about writing, tech related to writing and the interesting stuff he comes across researching for his writing (he’s a Brit; almost all of his story takes place in Italy; he’s a bit into photography; that can be very cool).
Even the most regular readers of BoingBoing can find lots of interest at Cory Doctorow’s own http://craphound.com/
Frequently NSFW, there’s always a new multimedia treat, a grumble or a threat to be found at http://www.warrenellis.com/
Sarah A Hoyt by her lonesome can be found here: http://accordingtohoyt.com/
This is probably stretching the definition of blog to breaking point, but I’d like to recommend Sf-Debris’ Star Trek video reviews (now expanded to included Dr Who, Babylon 5, and assorted others). He takes a nice hard critical, and hilarious, look at Trek (all series and the movies) and the various plotholes and cockups, along with the themes that went right and outright successes, that it generated.
The Trek stuff is here on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sfdebris
The Non-Trek reviews (and some of the Trek stuff that had copyright issues) are here on Blip:
http://sfdebris.blip.tv/posts?view=archive&nsfw=dc
And while you’re checking out Charlie’s Diary, don’t forget to follow some of the links in his “Other Blogs” sidebar, tons of great content there.
Lawrence Watt-Evans
Not so much a blog but a newsgroup you can interact with via a web interface:
http://www.watt-evans.com/discussion.html
Always interesting dicussions on writing, life and just about anything.
Michael J. Sullivan is originally an independent writer but recently signed with Orbit Books. He is writing a marvellous fantasy series called the Riyria Revelations.
http://riyria.blogspot.com/
Am I the first? Yes! Visit Jay Lake at http://www.jlake.com His link salad is a wonderful jumping off point for strange and wonderful on the web.
I try and check in on Karen Traviss’s blog often (I’ve got a whole folder of bookmarks), and she’s got a pretty good view on the world: http://karentraviss.typepad.com/blog/
For twitter? William Gibson. I’ve found some awesome, kickass things through his randomness.
I’d recommend Tom Clark’s great blog of poetry, photos and essays:
http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com
I’ve been reading Ursula Vernon for the past five years now, and she continues to write the kind of quirky, witty, brilliant pieces that make laugh and then make me jealous.
Click on my name to reach my blog. I’m not to the level of awesome of Whatever, but my level of awesome is rising daily. I hope to have it over 9000 soon!
As for other writer’s blogs, I recommend Marie Bilodeau, an awesome author/storyteller and a hoot to boot. You can find her blog at http://mariebilodeau.blogspot.com/
I’m a C J Cherryh fan. Kind of homey. You get to hear about her pet koi, ice-skating, their e-publishing venture, and what she and her partner Jane Francher are working on. http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/
Also Jerry Pournelle. Klunky interface, but some of the best opinion and discussion around.
http://jerrypournelle.com/
Jennifer Crusie’s blog. Because she’s funny. And there are dogs.
http://www.arghink.com/
Duane Swierczynski’s blog: Secret Dead Blog and his pictures of where writers write Tumblr – Secret Dead Tumblr.
KD Sarge writes excellent character-driven SFF, and blogs at: http://www.kdsarge.com/wordpress/
Aside from, ahem, mine, I strongly recommend Erica Orloff’s. She publishes in multiple names in multiple genres and her blog is both wise and kind and besides, today’s her birthday, so why don’t you deluge her blog.
http://www.ericaorloff.blogspot.com/
Kit Campbell is an indie writer of SFF. Her blog is at http://landsquidattack.wordpress.com/ (and yes, you can make certain inferences from the blog name).
Juliette Wade is a linguist by training who writes anthropologically-centered SFF. She has an excellent blog about worldbuilding and the craft of writing, found at http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com
She also tweets at @juliettewade.
I’m also an SFF writer (link via my name). You can find my tweets at @Siri_Paulson.
Summer Pierre. She is an artist, a writer, and mother to a toddler. http://summerpierre.wordpress.com/
M. John Harrison’s “ambiente hotel” is pretty fantastic at times. His recent “list of things to avoid in popular fiction” post was particularly enjoyable.
http://ambientehotel.wordpress.com/
Motherhood is Not For Wimps: hilarious and touching by turns, even if you don’t have kids (you were a kid, after all).
http://damomma.com/
I would highly recommend Rhys Hughes’ blog, The Spoons That Are My Ears! http://rhysaurus.blogspot.com/. This mad Welsh writer is one of the most creatively deranged people I know. And a hell of writer. You will find links to some of his online stories, but be warned, they are habit forming.
I often check in with Lilith Saintcrow – it’s an active blog that’s generally about craft or industry stuff, and Lili herself is entertaining.
I regularly follow the Stross, Pohl and Nielsen Hayden blogs already mentioned–good stuff. Another of my very favorite writer’s weblogs is Mark Evanier’s “News from ME” (at http://www.newsfromme.com/ as one would expect). The easiest way to explain Evanier is that for most of his career he’s written TV for a living and comics for love, which is not to say he puts less care into his more lucrative gigs. In fact, Evanier’s career is a pretty good argument for the proposition that just because one writes in a form widely viewed as déclassé doesn’t mean one can’t do it well.
Over the years Evanier seems to have encountered just about everybody who’s anybody in comics, animation and Hollywood show business, and he has a healthy interest in and knowledge of the pioneers in these fields as well, with good stories about many of these people. The current front page, for example, includes mini-essays on Daws Butler, Shari Lewis, Jack Paar and (in a very moving vignette) Dick Shawn. Two prominent recurring figures are Jack Kirby (with whom Evanier worked as an assistant in the early 1970’s) and Tex Avery (their paths crossed frequently during Avery’s final years at Hanna-Barbera).
As one would expect of a seasoned sitcom writer (not to mention the dialogue writer for the barbarian fantasy parody Groo the Wanderer), Evanier also has an eye for absurdity, irony, and other oddball aspects of everyday life, and has been known to share some of the most delicious in his weblog. My favorite can be found with an onsite search for the phrase “idaho spud”. Trust me on this one.
Alastair Reynolds. Not updated very often, but contains some interesting tidbit once in a while.
http://approachingpavonis.blogspot.com/
Mike Brotherton http://www.mikebrotherton.com/
Also my own http://oceanblue1.wordpress.com/
Sorry if I posted this twice, WordPress seems to be acting up lately.
Sarah Rees Brennan at http://mistful.livejournal.com and Maureen Johnson at http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com/blog are both terrific, funny young-adult writer/bloggers.
Courtney Milan’s blog, http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/ . Lots of interesting posts about the publishing industry, legal issues in the time periods of her works, etc.
Patricia Wrede’s blog, http://pcwrede.com/blog/. Mostly posts about the process and business of writing.
Here’s something a little different from most of the rest. Mark Evanier is primarily a comic book and animation writer, but he’s a lot more than that. His blog deals with subjects ranging from voice actors to Hollywood labor relations to Abbot & Costello to his favorite creamy tomato soup he only gets to eat five weeks out of the year. He also tells stories about many of the people he’s worked with, without coming off as a name dropping schmuck, but rather as a guy who wants to tell you wonderful things about his friends and co-workers. Read his Mel Torme story or the one he recently posted about his just passwed away plumber (both of them stand up guys in Evanier’s opinion): http://www.newsfromme.com/
Juliette Wade at http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/. Great blog on world-building, linguistics and developing alien culture from one of the best writers doing this today.
I enjoy Stacia Kane’s blog: http://www.staciakane.net/blog/ She’s always got interesting writerly/publishing stuff plus a good dose of random hilarity. Check ‘er out.
Stacia Kane’s blog is always full of interesting: http://www.staciakane.net/blog/
and Terrible Minds is full of funny: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/blog/
First, I nominate my friend’s blog, Jay Garmon [dot] Net as always having interesting material. Besides being an aspiring science fiction writer, Jay was the host of CNet Networks TechRepublic Geekend for many years. (As an open disclosure, I am a guest columnist for Geekend also).
Warren Ellis not only creates disturbed comic books, he also has a gonzo blog!
Tobias Buckell always has interesting things on his blog. http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/weblog/ And his twitter feed @tobiasbuckell is fun to follow, too.
Todd Klein’s blog is a fun read, and I check it out a few times a week. He’s primarily known as a letterer, but he has written a number of comic books. The best part of his blog is his dissection of logos for comic books, in which he goes through every version of a logo (Superman, for example) from the first use to current day. The logo studies are a great mix of history, design, marketing, and talent (hint – they’re collected under ‘Logo Studies’ in the Categories section on the left edge of the page). He often reviews current comics and is doing re-reads of older YA books from his childhood.
http://kleinletters.com/Blog/
Theodora Goss has an interesting blog and a really engaging voice.
http://theodoragoss.com/
Nick Harkaway’s blog is sometime fun and always thought-provoking. It hasn’t been quite as active since he reproduced, but he’s getting back up to a shadow of his former speed lately: http://www.nickharkaway.com/category/blog/
I enjoy Sam Sykes. He’s nuts like me. But mostly he’s got some really interesting insights on writing and the genre.
http://samsykes.com/
Just wanted to pop back in here and say thanks both to John for prompting this list and for all of the excellent suggestions resultant. I commonly find myself with some downtime in front of the PC, have visited my 3-4 daily stops already, and honestly, ridiculously, at a loss for anything else interesting to surf to.
An embarrasment of riches! I’ll never be bored again- or productive, for that matter. So thanks for that, too.
Oh, this is like Christmas. Except I’m not fighting with my siblings. Awesome.
Anyway, I really enjoy Kat Howard’s blog: http://strangeink.blogspot.com . She is a great writer, person, and blogger. Plus, she has a dog named Sam I Am.
Deanna Raybourn’s blog is great, too: http://deannaraybourn.com/blog
And Barry Eisler’s: http://barryeisler.blogspot.com
For explodey goodness, zombies and diet tips I aways dig Aussie writer John Birmingham’s home Cheeseburger Gothic at http://www.cheeseburgergothic.com/
I really enjoy Jamie Todd Rubin’s thoughtful science fiction blog http://www.jamierubin.net/, and Janice Hardy’s excellent writing advice http://blog.janicehardy.com/.
Ken Levine has one of my favorite writing blogs. Although he’s just published a book of humorous travel essays, he’s much better known as a TV writer/producer/creator on a whole bunch of hit shows. He also does MLB play by play (Mariners). There is always something interesting on his blog and I’m particularly fascinated by his behind-the-scenes discussions of the mechanics of writing and pitching for television.
Here’s the link: http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/
One of my favorites (aside from Whatever) – Sharon Lee’s http://rolanni.livejournal.com/
This is Sharon Lee of Sharon Lee & Steve Miller….think Liaden Universe and the dark fantasies
DUAINFEY and LONGEYE.
Why? Writing, Reading, Music and Coon Cats, with a side of humor. ‘nuf said.
I’ll 3rd or 4th or 5th or whatever (there’s been a few mentions) Juliette Wade’s blog at http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/.
Wil Wheaton rocks in general: http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/
Also my friend Ian does a cool writer’s blog about action scenes in particular: http://www.writebetteraction.com/
My blog isn’t mainly about writing (though I am a writer as well), it’s about stage combat and stunts. But there are posts about writing and literature pretty often, as well as stellar writing samples form me and my students. I’ve gotten some compliments on it so I hope it’s good enough to live up to Mr. Scalzi’s admonishment:
http://bonzuko.com
*From.* Sheesh!
I really like Lauren Dane’s Twitter stream as she manages to discuss a lot of topics in a very cogent manner in a very small amount of space.
http://twitter.com/laurendane
Hyperbole and a Half is absolutely hysterical.
I second your http://www.hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com and raise you http://www.thebloggess.com .
(And I think I have a cool blog, but maybe I’m a little biased.)
No one has mentioned James Lileks, whose writing as a columnist I first encountered in the Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages in the mid-1980s. He’s been a novelist as well and apparently is working on another. Our host, I believe, hired Lileks during his time at AOL in Virginia. Lileks’ daily Bleat dates to the same period (late ’90s) and I enjoy it despite the occasional, unavoidable hint that “our political ideologies [are] totally at variance” (as Philip K. Dick regarded Robert Heinlein, while writing admiringly about him as a human being, in his preface to The Golden Man story collection, circa 1978). Lileks has enriched my life and that of my family in one small way – a number of years ago he posted an audio file of “Music to Drive By” by the Joe Loss Concertium, evidently a pickup orchestra comprising Hollywood’s greatest session musicians circa 1966; a gem of the era unknown to me before (now available at YouTube).
I would have also mentioned By Ken Levine – I see someone has done so already.
For those who like their SF writer blogs livened up with film-related musings, photos, and other miscellany amongst all the usual author talk, try Paul McAuley:
http://unlikelyworlds.blogspot.com/
Not unlike ‘Whatever’. But British. And without the readership, cats, or bacon.
I rather like Meg Cabot (yes, she of the Princess Diaries) — her blog is very funny, and if you’ve ever read any of her books, you’d know she’s a total fangirl.
http://www.megcabot.com/
I’m a huge fan of SF author Mark L. Van Name who writes the Jon & Lobo series of military SF (starting with One Jump Ahead), and he’s got a great blog which he uses to discuss his writing, movies, food, technology … (hmmm, sounds a bit like some of the content over here). Check him out, please!
http://markvanname.blogspot.com/
My blog is literally awesome – today is the day I finish a full year of doing something awesome every day. (Yesterday I blogged about fireworks set to music, last Sunday I blogged about a hot air balloon ride, and on Saturday I put up photos of light sculptures shining on the Australian National Library, including one that made it look like a giant bookshelf.)
I’m going to continue being awesome, but soon I’ll be switching out a few days a week for other things, like steampunk (on Sundays, starting this Sunday).
Louise Curtis
I highly recommend the following:
Dean Wesley Smith – Good commentary on writing and publishing in general
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/
J. A. Konrath (self-publishing Evangelist)
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/
My own (on the business of publishing) – tips on promotion and publishing
http://www.write2publish.blogspot.com/
And Thanks Larry (#37) for mentioning my husband’s Blog (www.riyria.blogspot.com) – I’m glad you enjoy!
And of course Joe Haldeman:
http://joe-haldeman.livejournal.com/
Lately it has focused on his recovery from surgery, but he did mention he completed another novel recently!
Michael
I do really enjoy Elizabeth Bear’s blog (http://matociquala.livejournal.com), though she does make you feel like a giant sloth in comparison.
And of course, Marureen Johnson’s twitter feed, @maureenjohnson, is hilarious because she is completely crazy. (And I mean that in the best way possible.)
I like Murderati – http://www.murderati.com – a bunch of mystery writers and some supernatural stuff too – about a dozen of them, so a very nice mix of ideas, writing posts, film writing posts, crime posts and general life posts.
Check out Robert Fulghum’s blog. He’s the author of ‘Everything I Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten’ and subsequent books. I like the way he thinks about life. I suspect he and Scalzi would get along well. http://www.robertfulghum.com/
Since somebody mentioned Sam Sykes, I feel obligated to mention Ari Marmell, game designer, fantasy author, and currently Syke’s fiersome blog nemesis. Ari’s an imaginative guy:
http://www.mouseferatu.com/
I enjoy Joe Mallozzi’s blog. He’s an SF tv writer and show runner who also likes to blog about food. He has book club discussions which are interesting, and his featuring of OMW was how I found Whatever and the John Scalzi ourvre.
http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/
Fun to see so many people identify with Wil Wheaton, and now I will have DROP EVERYTHING including the baby, to check out hyperbole and a half.
Your criteria for naming one’s own Author Blog was “Awesome”, which I interpret as “Shameless”, and therefore, I will self promote here: http://www.la-juice.com. More sass than a barrel of fish, less pulp than a root canal.
Hope you check it out, hope you like!
I really like Elizabeth Bear’s blog and also Charles Stross but I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Frederik Pohl. He’s 90-or maybe 91 and he seems to have known everybody who wrote SF from the 30s on and has wonderful stories about them. Of course, back then maybe you could count all the major players on two hands.
http://www.FrederikPohl.com
I’m a fan of Marjorie M. Liu, she of the shapeshifters and Dirk & Steele books. Her commentary when she travels, especially home to China, are always fun & educational!
http://marjoriemliu.com/blog/
Ryk Spoor is worthy of your attention in my humble opinion.
http://seawasp.livejournal.com/262839.html
WB
Humble apologies I copy/pasted the wrong link, forgive.
Ryk Spoor here:
http://seawasp.livejournal.com
WB
A fantasy author I like very much, perhaps not widely known but I think her books are very good.
P.C. Hodgell
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38968.P_C_Hodgell/blog
Larry Correia of Monster Hunter Fame http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/
Michael Z “MadMike” Williamson http://mzmadmike.livejournal.com/
For everything you ever wanted to know about the brain but were afraid to ask … (no, zombie hordes you are NOT invited) and some SF visit Teddy’s Rat Lab. Informative, fun, and BRAINS, what more could you ask for?
http://teddysratlab.blogspot.com/
WB
http://fateandfaith-julee.blogspot.com/2011/03/welcome-to-my-new-adventure.html
begining writer Julee Adams on her adventures in becoming a published author. Please leave a comment or follow!
Outre fantasy with a beat:
One tin leg one meat
Visual and audio stimulus available from free on up.
one tin leg one meet.
Rob Hunter.
–ml : Dum Luk’s
Well, that sucks. I blew the html. Try this:
http://www.onetinleg.com/
–ml : Dum Luk’s
Fantasy/dark fantasy/science fiction (she would be adamant: NOT horror): Caitlin Kiernan at http://greygirlbeast.livejournal.com/. She offers a very personal insight into her writing process.
The other is John Langan. Although he seldom posts, this most recent invitation to write brief stories about Laird Barron was well responded-to and well worth reading: http://jplangan.livejournal.com/69961.html. For those of you who haven’t read any of his work, I can highly recommend it.
Among other things, horror writer Paul Haines’ blog is a graphic and confronting account of his battle with cancer: http://paulhaines.livejournal.com/
I’m going to suggest Amy Sundberg’s The Practical Free Spirit. It’s about the intersection of being serious about creative pursuits and actually Getting Stuff Done. It may be interesting for the Scalziesque crowd.
I love “Cheeseburger Brown” – He write amazing sci-fi serials. He also has a novel, “Simon of Space” which is delightful and acts as a good introduction to his work. Almost all of his stories are loosely interconnected, so if you love finding treasure as you read, you’ll love his work.
Site:
http://cheeseburgerbrown.blogspot.com/
Did nobody mention Joe Abercrombie? His is a blog where he talks about his books and interests, not updated every day but really good when it is:
http://www.joeabercrombie.com/news/
Also George R R Martin where he talks a lot about American Football, miniatures, ‘his’ King Kong (haha I’m sure you know which King Kong) and lately the upcoming HBO series based on Game of Thrones:
http://grrm.livejournal.com/
My friend Jeff in Colorado Springs, science-fiction and computer book author, has a good blog where he talks about writing, technology, ham radio, and a whole bunch of geeky stuff. He’s a contrarian, but a positive one, which is why his blog is called “Contrapositive.”
http://www.contrapositivediary.com/
Another friend of mine here in Denver, Jim, is also a SF author, and has a good blog of his own:
http://jamesrstrickland.blogspot.com/
Both of them will be at Anomaly Con in Denver this weekend, promoting a new double novel they’ve been writing.
Writing and Snacks….and dog pictures.
http://gregvaneekhout.livejournal.com/
I would suggest NOT posting comments on the forums of this site unless you know what you are talking about.
http://www.dansimmons.com/index.html
Peter V Brett has a great website, amazing artwork by Lauren Cannon, and rather cool contests:
http://www.petervbrett.com/peephole/
Jay Lake writes a lot on Craft:
http://www.jlake.com/blog/
Then there is SAM SYKES, made famous here by his head of John Scalzi stuff:
http://samsykes.com/
I am a poor reader, apparently: I read more than three when you clearly wrote three or more.
Peter V Brett has a great website, amazing artwork by Lauren Cannon, and rather cool contests:
http://www.petervbrett.com/peephole/
Jay Lake writes a lot on craft, which I find fascinating.
http://www.jlake.com/blog/
I enjoy author Dave Freer’s blog on living on tiny Flinder’s Island, Tasmania, Australia, after emigrating from South Africa. Diving, dogs, cats, fishing, writing, scottish dancing, growing vegetables, living off the land/sea, building a chook house, etc.
http://flindersfreer.blogspot.com/
I quite like Monica Valentinelli’s blog.
http://www.coledrewes.com
Did you like “Gates of Fire?” Of course you did! Check out Steven Pressfield’s blog: http://www.stevenpressfield.com/
I second the mentions of Ryk Spoor, Elizabeth Bear, and Robin McKinley, and raise y’all an Ursula LeGuin. Her recent post about cussing is priceless.
http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Blog2011.html#New
Also, of course, in an act of shameless self promotion, my own “home sphere” blog has a mix of book and movie/TV reviews, geeky stuff about SF related topics, and “girl stuff” like knitting and food and gardening, plus whatever my magpie-like mind happens to run across in a day. My personal favorite is the one about the Stazor, an invention for the 14 year old in all of us.
amnottheonlyone.blogspot.com
Arggh… full site link is http://amnottheonlyone.blogspot.com/ (in an act of shameless correction)
I’d like to hip you to my friend Christine’s blog: http://www.herravendomain.com.
She writes horror but is very sweet. Which I find unsettling. Hope she didn’t hear me!
I’d like to recommend Alison McGhee’s wonderful blog which is always a joy and delight to read.
Though not much with actual writing, it’s fun to look at all the pretty pictures at Laini Taylor’s blog. She’s a writer of middle grade fantasy, but her books are still enjoyable for adults. (I’m a HUGE fan of her Dreamdark faerie books).
http://lainitaylor.blogspot.com/
Resident Alien http://witzl.blogspot.com/ — not SF but about raising a family in multiple cultures not one’s own. Talk about your world-building…
Also The Backyard Arthropod Project: creepy crawly bugs, bugs, and more bugs close-up and personal, every Saturday. http://somethingscrawlinginmyhair.com/
I’d like to recommend Joe Posnanski’s blog (http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/). He’s primarily a sportswriter, and one of the best sportswriters I’ve ever read, but he occasionally veers off and writes about whatever strikes his fancy at the moment. No matter what he writes about, he’s always thoughtful and entertaining.
There’s always a trenchant opinion or some bizarre stuff on the go at Peter Watts’s blog.
http://www.rifters.com/crawl/
As well as discussing truly fascinating Sciencey stuff and his own stunning fiction, Peter has enjoyed interesting times recently – he has experienced the full force of US border patrol bullying (and been prosecuted for his trouble), and latterly has narrowly withstood a truly horrible attack from Mother Nature (no, you don’t want to look at those pictures he has hidden below the fold).
Not precisely a blog, but Kristine Katherine Rusch’s weekly, on-going series on the current changes in pyublishg/history of publishing is fascinating.
http:// kriswrites.com
Said Cunning Old Fury: http://jeffreysomers.com/blather/
I second Mark Van Name’s site. While waiting for your next Scalzi fix, throw yourself into “Next Jump Ahead”!
http://markvanname.blogspot.com/
http://www.mynewhitmanwrites.com
Nigerian author, blogger, poet.
Most of the ones I read have already been suggested.
I’ll add my own though (but it isn’t terribly amusing or anything, just me rambling about writing a lot and stuff): http://overactive.wordpress.com/
There are so many authors I love, so I will specify the sites that are most informative and interesting for UF/PR readers:
http://www.charlaineharris.com/
http://www.chloeneill.com/
http://www.staciakane.net/
http://www.dakotacassidy.net
http://www.seananmcguire.com/
Why these authors?
Charlaine answers her site daily and has a plethora of readers/authors who constantly recommend amazing books to read within her genre.
Chloe Neill has a sense of humor and is so friendly, gracious to fans and her books are fun to read. Vegetarian and loves food.
Stacia Kane is independent and thought provoking in her blog.
Dakota Cassidy is witty and dirty minded. Love the naughty jokes and creativity of her blogs/FB posts. She’s very interactive with her readers.
Seanan McGuire/MIra Grant. If you haven’t read her October Daye series or “Feed” (zombie series)….then I truly pity you. Her blogs are also full of intellect and wisdom. She’s very artistic and down to earth, loves cats.
Nathan Bransford is one of my regular reads. Can’t go wrong with middle grade space adventures.
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/
Here is some great flash fiction along with short stories and writer musings:
antheastrezze.com
She hasn’t been posting much lately, but Holly Lisle always has interesting things to say about fiction and the writing life. http://hollylisle.com/writingdiary2/
Acute observation and mordant comment: http://will-self.com/
Just happened to find John’s book “Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded” and became an instant fan. I’m not into science fiction, but John’s take on the world is exactly like mine. If you’d like to read my meanderings, I am shamelessly promoting my blog on having bipolar disorder, spending and saving, having a child with autism, fibromyalgia, and various other inanaties at http://www.lifeonthedomesticfront.blogspot.com. I’d be thrilled if you had a look and welcome all comments.
After I shamelessly promoted myself (see above), I realized that it might be nice and somewhat more humble of me to share with you two of my all time favorite bloggers: Wendie Tobin who writes http://www.mommytopia.com and Anna Newell Jones who writes http://www.andthenshesaved.com. Wendie has been writing most recently about losing her mother to pancreatic cancer, but in a way that will have you both laughing and crying. Anna is fairly well known as the Denver chick who went on a total spending fast for a year and paid off a ton of debt. I deeply admire this, being a big spender, so I’ve been reading her quite a bit. Check them both out if you want to be entertained.