Monthly Archives: November 2011

Quentin Rowan Speaks

I was pointed in e-mail to this article by Quentin Rowan, the fellow who released a debut thriller novel that was widely praised for its skill in storytelling — possibly because much of it had been plagiarized from other authors. The resulting mess of that discovery was impressive. Likewise, Mr. Rowan is a bit of […]

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Regarding Snobbery

Apropos of nothing in particular, a few thoughts on the subject of snobbery. 1. One is perfectly within one’s own prerogatives to feel snobby about things, if one feels invested in them in one way or another. 2. However, being a snob often makes one look like an asshole. 3. It especially makes one look […]

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Crunching the Numbers for Remakes

This week over at FilmCritic.com, I look at the economic argument for remakes, reboots and reimaginings; will a new version of an old story make more money than the original, when you adjust for inflation? I crunch the numbers and come up with some interesting results. Come see what they are. And then, of course, […]

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Quick Note For Posterity

As of about an hour ago, November 2011 is Whatever’s most-visited month ever, beating out February 2010 (which had the Great Amazon/Macmillan Fracas in it). w00t! Nice to know in these crazy, Twitter and Facebook-laden days, that people are still visiting good, old-fashioned blogs. Even when they don’t regularly feature wanton, egregious nudity! So, thanks, […]

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Book Title Announcement

Some of you may recall that in August I announced that I would have a book collection of my film columns out, in conjunction with the Boskone 49 science fiction convention in February, published by NESFA Press. That book now has a title: 24 Frames Into the Future: Scalzi on Science Fiction Film Nice, right? […]

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Nebula Nomination Period Open

A quick reminder to SFWA members and other authors, editors, publishers and etc: The nomination period for the Nebula Awards (and also the Bradbury and Norton Awards) is now open, and will continue through February 15, 2012. For all the details, including rules and eligibility criteria, please go here. We had an excellent Nebula Awards […]

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Magick 4 Terri

Writer, artist and editor Terri Windling has hit a bad patch recently, thanks to some health and legal issues, and her community of peers and fans are coming together to help her out with Magick 4 Terri, an online fundraising effort. If you’re a fan of fantasy and science fiction, you’ll find a lot of […]

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Reminder: Chicon 7 Cyber Monday Sale

Hey, remember when I told you last week I would remind you today that Chicon 7, the 2012 Worldcon (of which I am the Toastmaster, don’t you know) was having a membership sale today? This is that reminder. Save up to $30 on your memberships! Spend that money on books! Or, you know. Whatever else […]

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Whoa

Experiencing a truly unique catastrophic system crash on my desktop computer, and I say that with the equanimity that only someone who is securely backed up (and has several other computers in the house) can have. Nevertheless, this will probably keep me busy for some time. Be back in a bit. Update, 12:20pm: Major problem […]

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Lopsided Cat, Considerate in His Way

“What’s that? You want to use the desk? Yes, well. Of course you may, at some point, for whatever incomprehensible talking monkey thing it is you do here when you are not scritching me. What? Writing? How adorable. However, at the moment I’m afraid I simply must use this desk. I am doing a very […]

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My Twitter Retweeting Policy

This is another one of my “write to refer people to later” posts. Because I have a fair number of Twitter followers, I am often asked to retweet posts, many relating to charities, fundraising events, petitions, Kickstarters, etc. So here is my general policy on that sort of retweeting, and other things you have to […]

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Thanksgiving Advent Calendar Wrapup

Well, that worked, I think. Twenty four entries and about 20,000 words written, on things I was thankful for, both serious and not-so-serious. The point of writing it, as I noted in the beginning, was to focus on the holiday of Thanksgiving itself, rather than see it as the opening bell to a five week […]

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The Big Idea: Delia Sherman

When it comes to their projects, authors, like anyone, can bite off a little more than they can chew. The question is: What do they do then? This was the quandary that Delia Sherman found herself confronted with while writing The Freedom Maze, set as it was in antebellum Louisiana. As the book received both […]

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Two Black Friday Notes (and One Cyber Monday Preview)

They are: 1. Remember that you may order my books from Jay and Mary’s Book Center, my local independent bookstore, and I will sign them and send them to you for the holidays. All the details are here. 2. Canadians, remember that Bakka Phoenix books has signed books of mine for sale. But hurry because […]

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