While I’m Away, An Open Promotion Thread

Posted on March 15, 2013    Posted by      251 Comments

This is my Bag of Travelin’, and the moment this goes up I am (hopefully) in an airplane, flying over Nebraska or Kansas or some such state, on my way to San Francisco and the Engadget Expand conference. I’m going to be busy most of the weekend, at the conference and/or hanging with friends, so there’s a good possibility I won’t update here again until I get back home Monday.

But, hey! This means it’s a perfect time to do a promotion thread, in which you, the readers of Whatever, promote to each other the stuff you like or love — stuff you’re doing, stuff your friends are doing, or just stuff you like even though you don’t know anyone involved. It could be a Web site, could be a new book or album, some crafty thing that’s caught your eye, a Kickstarter campaign or whatever. If you like it, and you think others would like it too, share it. It’s been a bit since I put up a promotion thread here, so no doubt you have all sorts of cool stuff saved up.

Note that if you do more than a couple of links in a comment, you might get the message punted into the moderation queue. I’ll be checking that queue from time to time today (even from the air — you can do that now) to release those messages, so don’t panic if it doesn’t immediately post. I recommend one link per comment, and making more than one comment if you have more than one thing to suggest.

So: what do you want to tell people about today? Share it in the comment thread!

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251 Comments on “While I’m Away, An Open Promotion Thread”

  3. I love Information Security. So much so that I changed careers three times to get into this field. Now, I get to speak to other Information Security professionals about how the Bad Guys (Black Hats) do their dirty deeds and what companies can do to protect their resources and data. How can you loyal Whatever readers get in on the fun? Why come to the 1st St. Louis TakedownCon! http://www.takedowncon.com/stlouis Hear professionals from around the world talk about interesting hacking topics. Take classes on various facets of Information Security. See the Missouri River Front! Heck, you can even go gamble if that fits a pressing need. It’ll be cool, it’ll be fun.

  4. Well, if blatant self-promotion is up for grabs…

    Beneath the Sky: Maggie is a young schoolteacher on the multi-generation colony ship, God’s Chariot, bound for their promised world, New Providence. When a faster-than-light freighter crosses their path, a forgotten history catches up with them and puts their future in doubt. Maggie and her father are drawn to the center of the conflict over what will become of their colony, their faith, and even their lives.

    It’s the space-opera analog of the Mayflower landing in modern Boston, filled with high technology, different customs, and 747’s cutting their travel time down to hours. Battling conspiracy, politics, and even pirates, Maggie must rise to the challenge or face her colony’s doom.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098541460X/

  5. The strongest chess tournament ever is happening over the next few weeks. The winner of the “Candidates Tournament” will challenge World Champion Vishwanathan Anand of India in a match later this year. The first round (of 14) is today. The website is having problems now, but check it later for some of the coolest looking coverage of chess I’ve ever seen. http://london2013.fide.com/

  7. For anyone who administers a large music group (concert band, choir, orchestra, etc.), take a look at Muzodo online performance scheduling software.

  9. Well, I’ve been goofing around with an online “kid’s alphabet book” that is trying to address the “X problem” (as in, not many names start with X). It’s called X is for Xenarthran, and is mostly armadillos.

    It’s still a bit weak at points, though. Does anybody know names for either armadillos in general, or specific kinds of armadillos, that start with I, J, M, O, R, U, or W?

  10. Amazing Stories. I’m trying to bring it back in publication. In pursuit of the necessary funding, I’ve started up a “social magazine” site (http://www.amazingstoriesmag.com); I’ve got nearly 90 genre-fiends writing for the site: we publish anywhere from 4 to 10 posts a day on subjects ranging from science fiction lit to japanese culture – all of it related to your favorite subjects – science fiction, fantasy, horror and their presence in lit, in games, on television, in comics, anime and the movies.
    The mantra for the site is “Free Membership – Free Fiction”. If I can build the membership and viewership up high enough to attract serious advertisers, I have investors waiting in the wings to fund the magazine – which will publish everything for free. If you want to help bring Amazing Stories back – check out the site and sign up for a free membership. (Privacy is handled the way fans want it to be – all opt in and no personal info shared with 3rd parties.)

  11. Sunrise Book Reviews
    1847 N. 2nd Str.
    Milwaukee, WI 53212-3760

    This is a freelance writers co-op; while we are all SF fans, we review mostly for non-genre venues. We’ll look at anything (physical books only); but it’s hard if not impossible to sell reviews of self-published books and vanity press productions; so be doubly warned, “available as a download from Amazon” is not going to get our attention.

  12. I’ve been building some PCs for friends and family and decided rather than waste the research, I’d share the builds on my blog for anyone to use as a guide. There are two specs, a “budget gaming box” at the $800 price point:

    http://www.haibane.info/budget-gamer-box/

    and a “professional gamer box” at the $1200 price point:

    http://www.haibane.info/professional-gamer-box/

    these are Intel builds with radeons. Selecting the GPU was the hardest part, and I settled on radeon even though I prefer nvidia – the price/performance curves are just stacked in AMD’s favor. But for CPU, Intel still rules the roost.

    I hope other folks building a system find these guides/spec lists useful!

  13. Wow, thanks for the chance! I was lucky enough that Amazon price-matched B&N and Apple, so my first science fiction novel THE SIXTH DISCIPLINE is free on Kindle and in almost every other ebookstore. Details here.

    The story:
    Ran-Del Jahanpur has spent his entire life in the Sansoussy Forest; he’s a hunter and a warrior until one morning when he becomes prey for a hunting party with more advanced technology. He wakes up to what might as well be a different world, a city from which there seems no escape.

    From the Amazon reviews:
    “All the characters are sharply drawn and believable . . . . The final resolutions include Sansoussy rituals and political maneuvering in Shangri-la. Tension is high and the outcome satisfactory. A good read.”

  14. Another entry into the blatant self-promotion category…

    For Doctor Who fans who are interested in a female perspective and enjoy podcasts, allow me to recommend Verity! It’s an international Doctor Who podcast with a rotating group of six women. This year we’re counting down to the DW 50th anniversary by examining each Doctor’s era through the lens of a “representative” episode. (Though we do NOT agree on which episodes they should be!) It’s fun!

    http://veritypodcast.com/

  15. I’m self-publishing a novel at the end of the month and I have the perfectly reasonable expectation to take the fantasy genre by storm a week or two after that. Perfectly. Reasonable.
    The book is called Spell/Sword — it’s like Joseph Campbell, Fritz Leiber and an issue of Naruto made sweet love in a DNA sequencer and then I had a weird dream about it….and THEN wrote the book.
    More information about the book and some samples of my other work: micro-fiction, fairy tales, short stories, and assorted navel-gazing and nerd-musing.

    http://www.spell-sword.com

    I’d love your mild interest — with the hopes of earning your faint approval.

  16. This is my amateur attempt at a book review for a book I recently discovered and that I think the Whatever.Scalzi crowd would like:
    James Morrow
    Shambling Towards Hiroshima
    San Francisco: Tachyon Publications, 2009

    Morrow’s comfort with writing is evident in his wry, restrained delivery and knack for understatement. The tone of this slightly and humorously alternate reality is perfect for the protagonist—a World War II era actor who specializes in portraying monsters that require elaborate makeup or entire suits. Everything about Morrow’s 1940’s Hollywood rings true except for his conceit that the military has genetically engineered terrifyingly huge lizards of Godzillaesque proportions and is preparing to unleash them on Japan instead of launching a potentially costly amphibious invasion.

    Over the objections of a hawkish general intent on using the lizards without restraint, Central Command opts to demonstrate the horrible potential of their weapon by staging a scaled-down dramatization of the possible havoc for which they need an actor in a lizard suit attacking a carefully rendered model city. Syms Thorley, the narrator and Hollywood’s most experienced monster actor, is recruited for this by blandly anti-Semitic FBI agents. Sworn to secrecy with strident warnings of the consequences of an information breach, he begins rehearsing and mastering a script calculated to inspire maximum fear and alarm in a delegation of Japanese diplomats who, the Americans hope, will return home and urge Japan’s leaders to sue for peace.

    Morrow’s genius is particularly evident in the bantering and chronically adversarial dialogue between Thorley and his FBI handlers:

    “Any Japs up family tree?” Agent Jones asked me abruptly.
    “Only money lenders, bagel makers, and rabbis,” I said, not really expecting a laugh. Humor was never a strong suit of anti-Semites, except when T.S. Eliot wrote about cats.
    “That accords with our findings.” Agent Jones said.
    “What associations does the name Karl Marx bring to mind?” Agent Brown asked.
    “I believe he stayed in New York with Gummo when the others went out West,” I said.
    “Are you prepared to sign a loyalty oath?” Agent Brown asked.
    “To which country?” I asked.
    “I have infinite patience,” Agent Jones said. “I really do. My patience goes from here to the goddamn moon.”

    As with all great satire Morrow carries heavy freight with a light, fast vehicle that never goes anywhere predictable.

  19. Well, fellow science fiction readers, re the promo John has suggested, you may wish to check out my new combat sci-fi novel Stellar Assassin, which has reached No. 17 on Amazon kindle’s Top Hot Releases in Space Opera! After 25 years of being in SFWA and with six other novels out, it is great to make it to someone’s bestselling Top List. You can check out the title by going here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/6157858011/ref=zg_bsnr_nav_kstore_5_158591011#2 Oh, and do share the Random House update news with your fellow authors and readers. John did a wonderful service to our newer genre authors with his Hey There! alert. Tom/T. Jackson King.

  23. I promote the BIL Unconferences, related tenuously by “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” to the TED Conferences. grass roots, ad hoc, informal, multitrack, brings together space activists, hologram salesmen, 3-D printers, nanotechnology and life extension folks, and more. I gave 3 talks at BIL 2012, aboard the Queen Mary; and 3 at BIL 2013 on “What is THINKING?”; “Quantum Cellular Automata and the Holographic Universe”; and “Anyone Can Learn.”

    Next week I fly to New York City for a cousin’s 100th birthday party.

    Enjoying the Red Door Poetry Workshop at Caltech, which has separate weekly meetings for very short (haiku & tanka), long form (poems or prose 3 pages each or longer, and default poetry.

    My 5,000 Facebook friends have been laughing at my column “Crackpots on Parade” where I deconsuct crackpot pseudoscience cut & pasted from various Facebook Groups. Also, reading my serializing the novella “doG is Dead” – most recently Chapter 38 “Cyclopean City” (15 March 2013) of a sequence of loosely linked Lovecraftian novellas about a world where Magic and Science both work. “Joe Ben Dracula” was a sequel to the novellas “Mage of Hornets” begun 5 December 2012, completed 15 December 2012, 70 pages doublespaced, 21,500 words; “Hero of Magnets”, completed 27 December 2012, 81 pages; 27,650 words; “doG is Dead”, begun 28 December 2012, completed 25 January 2013, 102 pages; 35,000 words. “Mage of Hornets” and “Hero of Magnets” and “Genera of Moths” are anagrams of “Game of
    Thrones”

    Concurrently, FB-serializing “Galactic Arming 2080”, the 6th novella of a Hard SF series, each 10 years apart.

    Series of works of fiction in the same timeline:
    * 2020 [the 400,000 word novel series Alzheimer’s War: Biotechno-Thriller set in 2020 AD in Brazil, China, India, Russia, orbit; a joint naval assault on Shanghai Disney Resort; serialized on my Facebook Timeline]

    * 2030 “Africa 2030”, 10,750 words, submitted to Analog

    * 2040 “Lutetia 2040” 34,500 words, submitted to Analog

    * 2050 story on arrival of first practical robotic interstellar spacecraft in Alpha Centauri system, “Centauri 2050”, submitted to Analog, completed 14 Dec 2012 at 59 pp., 19,750 words. There are two 10-year-old colonists in Lutetia in “Centauri 2050”

    * We saw them, get married in the 2060 novella in this series: “Centauri-New Earth 2060”,
    completed 29 Dec 2012, 24,300 words; submitted to Analog.

    * “New Earth 2070” (completed 26 Jan 2013) gets people to exoplanets.

    * 2080 “Galactic Arming”; novella just completed 14 Feb 2013, having been started 26 Jan 2013

    * 2090 “Coalsack 2090” (nearly done as of 14 March 2013 at 30,100 words)

  24. My latest book, Netwalker Uprising, is now out on Createspace, Kindle, B & N, and Kobo.
    What’s it about?
    In a post-apocalypse recovery future, how can Melanie Fielding find a way to protect her family and her business from virtual attacks by opponents from beyond the grave? Melanie leads the Enforcer team that manages Netwalkers–uploaded virtual personalities after death–and keeps them from preying on living people in the virtual arena. Not all Netwalkers acknowledge her authority, and those who don’t are out to destroy Melanie and the things she prizes. She has to ally with her treacherous grandmother, the Netwalker Sarah Stephens–but can she trust Sarah?

    Links to Createspace, Kindle, B & N and Kobo can be found here: http://joycereynoldsward.com/its-a-book/

  25. My wife and I are currently under contract with ECW Press to write Wanna Cook? The Unofficial Companion Guide to Breaking Bad. Wanna Cook? will feature episode guides for each season of the award-winning drama, as well as critical analysis of major themes, interviews, and all sorts of interesting tid-bits that come from pouring over the series obsessively for five years. Wanna Cook? will be released in the spring of 2014 in the US, Canada, UK, and Germany, and you’ll be able to pick up a copy at brick and mortar booksellers and online. If you’d like to learn more and hear about the joys of episode guide writing, check out my blog, Solomon Mao’s where you’ll also find links to social media and my co-author’s sites, and be sure to peruse my weekly updates and musing on “Meth Mondays”. Thanks, and thanks to John Scalzi for the space today!

  26. But actually, in more serious matters, all right-thinking people should jump on the kickstarter for Westward Vol. 1: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2121530004/westward-volume-one

    This is a gritty steampunk treatment of Inspector Gadget. And if that isn’t enough, Ken Krekeler is a fairly terrifyingly multitalented man, rendering gorgeous art with amazing composition sense alongside pitch-perfect dialogue. No, seriously, get it.

  28. Hi John – what a great idea!

    So here’s what I do – I work with people who have horses and am a confidence coach!

    I write a free weekly blog with articles
    and insights into confidence and self awareness and occasionally talk about the horses too

    So if you, or anyone you know likes horses but has confidence concerns, anxiety etc check out The Confidence Blog at

    http://www.effectivehorsemanship.wordpress.com

    Thanks!

    Cathy

  29. Me again-

    “If you like psychological thrillers with a touch of class, this is the book for you”

    Yep I have written a novel…..

    Definitely psychological and yes, many people die and there is a hero profiler so if you like that sort of thing head over to Amazon and look for Redemption by C J Sirett…..

    Will pop a link in later as am on phone at the moment!

  32. Since you do seem to enjoy your pets Mr. Scalzi, I’d like to promote some books that all animal lovers should read. http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?page_id=164

    These books by Nathan Winograd, (Redemption and Irreconcilable Differences in particular) detail the sad state of modern day animal “shelters” in america, and how there are proven lifesaving alternatives that can be used to change this. Following the No Kill Formula, there are now over 90 open admission shelters representing 300 communities in America that have eliminated the killing of healthy, treatable shelter animals, including the entire city of Austin Texas, the largest No Kill Community in America.

  33. I am working on my first ebook in which I am sharing some of my adventures in coming out of my comfort zone by doing 101 things in 1001 days, everything from silly goals like riding a mechanical bull and cooking Spambalaya Jambalaya to serious one like traveling alone and visiting a UU church. I will be giving suggestions for how readers can come out of their own comfort zones. The list with links to my posts is here: http://www.tootimidandsqueamish.com/101-things-in-1001-days/

    What a cool idea for your post!

  34. I’ll promote Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction From The Margins Of History

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1537879721/long-hidden-speculative-fiction-from-the-margins-o

    “What we want to do

    Most written chronicles of history, and most speculative stories, put rulers, conquerors, and invaders front and center. People with less power, money, or status—enslaved people, indigenous people, people of color, queer people, laborers, women, people with disabilities, the very young and very old, and religious minorities, among others—are relegated to the margins. Today, mainstream history continues to perpetuate one-sided versions of the past while mistelling or erasing the stories of the rest of the world.

    There is a long and honorable legacy of literary resistance to erasure. This anthology partakes of that legacy. It will feature stories from the margins of speculative history, each taking place between 1400 and the early 1900s and putting a speculative twist—an element of science fiction, fantasy, horror, or the unclassifiably strange—on real past events.

    Our plan is to include about 20 stories, or about 100,000 words. The anthology will be released in trade paperback and DRM-free digital formats in the first quarter of 2014.

    These amazing authors will be submitting stories for the anthology:

    Linda Addison
    Jennifer Marie Brissett
    Chesya Burke
    Aliette de Bodard
    Tananarive Due
    Amal El-Mohtar
    Andrea Hairston
    Beverly Jenkins
    Alaya Dawn Johnson
    Kima Jones
    Victor LaValle
    Ken Liu
    Sarah McCarry
    Neesha Meminger
    Nnedi Okorafor
    An Owomoyela
    Kiini Ibura Salaam
    Veronica Schanoes
    Rion Amilcar Scott
    Nisi Shawl
    Troy Wiggins”

    Just look at that lineup!

  35. I may as well plug this one website that I’m very fond of: http://www.thistothat.com
    It’s the kind of website that justifies the entire internet to me. Most of the time, you don’t need it, but when you do, it’s fantastically useful.

  36. Thanks so much for opening this space up for some promotion, John!

    For anyone who’s planning on attending The Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) at McCormick Place next month, I’ve organized a discussion panel tackling a topic that I believe would be of interest to a lot of Whatever’s readers, as it was heavily inspired in part by John’s fantastic piece from last year about Who Gets to Be a Geek – it’s called “Exorcising the Spectre of the Fake Geek Girl: Discussing gate-keeping and sexism in geek culture.”

    Here’s the official panel description: “This moderated panel will demystify the spectre of the “fake geek girl” that’s been haunting geek culture. Do “fake geek girls” really exist? If so, does it even really matter? Why is there the perception that they are invading geek spaces? Is it really about keeping geek culture “authentic” or about keeping certain people out? And who gets to define what makes one a “real geek” anyway? Six diverse and very opinionated Chicago panelists will tackle these questions and more by discussing some of the blog posts and videos that sparked debate over this topic last year, and sharing their experience of what it’s really like to be geeky women navigating their way through the gates of geek culture. A Q&A session will follow discussion with the panelists.”

    The panel will take place on Sunday, April 28th, from 12:15-1:15pm in room W473. http://c2e213.mapyourshow.com/5_0/sessions/sessiondetails.cfm?ScheduledSessionID=18A9CC

    I’m really excited about the panel as this is the 2nd panel I’ll have organized at C2E2 – I did my first last year (“The Geek Girl and the Artist: Women’s perspectives on geek culture, gender identity and art/media”) and we had such a positive experience that we really wanted to do another panel this year and tackle a more specific issue concerning women and geek culture. Last year, I acted as panel moderator and this year, I’ll actually be one of the panelists.

    I was recently on a local podcast, Loot the Room, to talk a little bit about the panel and the subject: http://loottheroom.libsyn.com/pirates-of-dark-city-and-the-fake-geek-girl
    The guys were awesome and invited me on again after I’d been a guest on the podcast last year to talk about my first panel: http://loottheroom.libsyn.com/girls-geeks-and-geek-girls
    Definitely give these guys a listen – they’re a fun bunch and I’ve actually learned more about geeky topics that haven’t been my realm of expertise. And I’m not just saying that because they’ve had me on twice and are making me a semi-regular guest!

    As with last year’s panel, we’re being sponsored in part by the Chicago Nerd Social Club (http://www.chicagonerds.com/), which, if you’re a nerd or geek living in the Chicago area and looking for a group of awesome people to be nerdy and social with, is definitely something you want to look up. CNSC believes strongly in the idea that nerds are, in fact, social people, and works to create a safe and inclusive space for anyone who considers themselves a nerd or a geek in any way that they want. (Full disclosure: I’m a member of the Board of Organizers.) We help connect and promote local nerd groups and organize meet-up events centered around nerdly interests – a few months ago, we had a social event at the Adler Planetarium’s “Adler After Dark” monthly adults-only evening where attendees were encouraged to come dressed in cosplay and even the Midwest Garrison of the 501st Legion stormtroopers came. I love the planetarium, but it was even cooler walking in and having a stormtrooper check my ID at the door and seeing them patrolling the museum while Darth Vader was having his picture taken with people by the replica of the moon landing, while the Chicago Ghostbusters were sipping Romulan ales in the lounge – people not part of the nerd group who had no idea that we’d arranged this also had a blast. And we recently were able to get a group discount rate for tickets to the Steppenwolf’s production of She Kills Monsters (http://www.steppenwolf.org/Plays-Events/productions/index.aspx?id=573), which if you live in Chicago and have any familiarity with RPG/D&Ding, you absolutely have to see. The group loved it so much we’ve organized a seconding outing to see the play AGAIN before the run ends on April 20. So if you’re a nerd/geek in the Chicago area looking for something to do/like-minded people to hang out with, check us out!

  37. Just in case anyone hasn’t found it yet, I’d like to direct any knitters, crocheters and hand-spinners to http://ravelry.com which has recently reached 3 million members who are of all ages, genders, races and nationalities. As well as being an amazing database for yarns and patterns, a place for designers to self-publish easily, it has a huge number of forums covering pretty much every subject under the sun, including SF.

    I’m just an ordinary member but this site has revolutionised the yarn and fibre world. I believe that it’s also the largest site that uses Ruby on Rails.

  38. Well, you know, since you asked: I am the President of a men’s chorus in Tampa, FL, USA. We sing four part a capella in the Barbershop style, a style originated in the United States. If you like to sing, a capella singing is (in my humble opinion) one of the harder and more rewarding styles, and four part harmony is harder (and more rewarding) yet.

    The Tampa Heralds of Harmony have open rehearsals every week, mostly on Monday, but some Wednesdays. Come and see us, and we’ll have you on the risers “ringing chords” before the night is through!

    We’re directed by Tony De Rosa, a three-time gold medalist at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International competitions. See our website for more details: http://www.heraldsofharmony.org. We have members from all over the state, if you’d like to car pool there’s a chance we could have someone pick you up. Drop me an email, larry@theclapp.org.

    If you’re not in or near Florida, but would like to know more about the barbershop style, or find a chorus near you, check out the BHS’s website, http://www.barbershop.org/. If you are female, check out http://www.sweetadelineintl.org/. We have affiliated organizations in many parts of the world; see http://www.barbershop.org/about/affiliates.html.

  39. I recently released another Derek Stillwater novella, GRAVEDIGGER, as an ebook. And perhaps of more interest to this readership, I released an SF short story, “Humanitarian Aid” as a Kindle short under the name T. Ray Drew.

  40. Today’s blog at Studio Kat Designs is pretty interesting. This very creative lady’s latest purse design includes a pocket that can be used for concealed carry – a very unusual feature for a purse pattern. Her blog series on the design’s creation has generated more comments than any other topic she’s ever blogged. Check out today’s blog , for 3/15/13. http://blog.studiokatdesigns.com/ It addresses the positive and negative comments she’s been getting to the design and her take on them.

  44. (lurker emerging)

    Line and Orbit, my first novel (co-written with my good friend Lisa Soem) is currently available to purchase or poke at with a cursor. It’s a QUILTBAG space opera (more science fantasy than science fiction, really) and I’d like to think it’s a good time to be had, though of course I would.

    You can find out more about it, including links for purchase/poking, right over here. Currently only ebook editions are out, but print will follow early next year.

  46. Authors and creative types: If you need a website, but do not have the bucks to shell out for the WordPress VIP hosting that Whatever uses, go for a self-hosted WordPress site over which you have complete control. I’ve created a complete guide to setting up such a site, including choosing web hosting, installing WordPress, and making non-eye-searing design decisions.

    All the details are at http://sitesetupkit.com/ , and you can see some of our success stories at http://sitesetupkit.com/wall-of-fame/ .

    Thanks to our host for the invitation to promote!

  47. @K.W. Ramsey – Very funny. I like the idea of a Rampant Bloodspiller named Ficus.

  51. My recently-rebooted blog. It’s a feminist nerdy perspective. Fantasy, sci-fi, and history, all with unique perspectives and extensive arguments. Check it out at http://challengebygeek.com/
    Also, if you’re planning to be at Chicago’s C2E2 in April, be sure to check out the panel Exorcising the Spectre of the Fake Geek Girl: Discussing Geek Culture, Gate-keeping, and Sexism. I’ll be on it. http://c2e213.mapyourshow.com/5_0/sessions/sessiondetails.cfm?ScheduledSessionID=18A9CC

  52. I am practicing the banjo, working on getting a compilation album mixed and mastered (bluegrass jam circles at a major west coast festival, Wintergrass), developing an NFC based instrument theft prevention system, and trying to understand why in the name of Gawd anyone ever though Jack Bauer was some kind of super hero. Worst. Spy. Ever.

    Then, breakfast.

  53. My debut novel, RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY, was released this month. RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY is a modern Southern Gothic novel about one family’s tragic past and the consequences that it holds for their future. It is a poignant, moving tale about the need for forgiveness, redemption, and Coca-Cola. It is available at Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Your-Wedding-Day-ebook/dp/B00BJ7CCKY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363052813&sr=1-1&keywords=rain+on+your+wedding+day

    Thanks for the chance to promote this. I know it will get lost in the flood of other promotional comments here, and that’s OK, but I hope people do get a chance to read and review.

  54. Thanks, John!

    Let me join in by shilling my two part YA fantasy novel, DRAGONTAMER’S DAUGHTERS:

    http://www.amazon.com/Dragontamers-Daughters-Part-1-Pearl/dp/1475200641/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338763149&sr=1-2

    Description: It is the unforgiving high desert of the Old West–but the Old West of an alternate Earth. Where the native people defend their lands with dragons very different from the fire-breathing monsters of our legends. Where Isabella–who is almost 13 years old–and her sister Alijandra–who is almost 8–scratch out a meager life with their parents.

    Into their lives comes a small, wingless dragon from far away. Finding the dragon near death after a fight, the girls take it home and begin tending it back to health. Alijandra calls the dragon “Pearl,” after its tiny white eyes.

    While Pearl heals, the family begins to learn where the dragon came from, as well as the strange and terrifying powers it possesses. As the family ponders what to do with Pearl, they learn that the hunt for the girl’s father, a outlawed former dragontamer, has intensified. At the same time, Pearl grows more and more compelled to complete the mysterious journey that brought her to these lonely lands.

    And while John’s being so gracious, let me pimp my blog: http://www.kentonkilgore.com/blog/

  56. I scanned all the old ideas I scribbled into the margins of my college notes and now I’m trying to turn each of them into the story I never wrote. Many are terrible, and some are… interesting… but I’m giving each of them the old college try, one by one. It’s often silly and sometimes even poignant. The website is http://www.unwrittenword.com. Let me know what you think!

  58. Well it is not about a book, but here goes.
    I am The Adventurous Silversmith and I do traditional silversmithing (raising and sinking of vessels from a flat sheet or silver, copper, bronze) and some jewelery for fun. I am a codesmith by day and a silversmith on weekend.

    Go check out my website http:www.TheAdventurousSilversmith.com

  61. Gosh, so many amazing projects! I wish I had all the money and all the time to read and buy or play or listen to all of the things.

    I’m doing a Kickstarter for The Daring Adventures of Captain Lucy Smokeheart! Which is already nearly funded, actually, but I have some stretch goals, that being the thing the cool kids do: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andrhia/the-daring-adventures-of-captain-lucy-smokeheart

    It’s going to be a year-long monthly pirate serial and treasure hunt. It will have carnivorous mermaids! And jungle-dwelling lizard-men! Volcanoes! Atlantis! Possibly a sweaty, sunburnt Swedish sorcerer! Also monthly puzzles that lead you to new pieces of story on the website!

    I’ll be adhering to various feminist and social justice ideals in the writing, as is my way. And the zeitgeist of the readership in between episodes will influence the direction of future episodes. I’d like the story to unfold as a conversation, not just a monologue. It is going to be the most fun thing ever.

  64. Improv for Gamers is going into its second year of workshops in the California Bay Area. We’re developing a Level 2 workshop to hold at EndGame (AMAZING game store) in July, and will be bringing back Level 1 to Big Bad Con in October.

    Improv for Gamers is an workshop that illustrates how basic improv skills can improve your tabletop role playing experience, and not just in narrative or GM-less games. It covers basic “yes and” exercises and builds to longer scenework that promotes risk-taking, accepting complications, and collaboration between players. It is designed for gamers with little to no improv experience.

    We encourage anybody interested in starting something similar in their own city to contact us for more info. We’ll gladly share our format and content of the workshop.

    http://www.seannittner.com/improv-for-gamers/
    http://www.bigbadcon.com/improv-for-gamers/
    http://www.bigbadcon.com/
    http://www.endgameoakland.com/

  65. If you want to try slightly different science fiction, check out my completed online serial set in near future Lagos, Nigeria. It’s about three people who get caught up in a terrorist plot in near future, and a mysterious stranger with a specific set of skills that comes to their aid. It was described as “Stephenson like” by someone that was not related to me, but I had just given her the first series of the BBC Sherlock, and so she was understandably grateful http://naijanaz.blogspot.com/2012/10/oya-iyansan-master-index.html

  69. Thanks for the opportunity!

    i just released Twinned Universes, Book Two of the Catalyst Chronicles, last week. It’s about the clone of a TwenCen musician who must travel to another universe to meet the man he was cloned from and try to save him from being killed. It’s available in paper and multiple eBook formats. Here’s the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Twinned-Universes-Catalyst-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00BO9GIHU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363366939&sr=1-1&keywords=twinned+universes

  71. Heh – remember that whole thing about Tamora Pierce and Vericon at Harvard? It’s actually…next weekend….

    Tammy had been in a lather about getting out the door – and her assistant looked at the invitation e-mail and asked “Is it the 22nd already…?”

    Yeah – we’re a pair of chuckleheads.

  73. For those that saw my book in Scalzi’s pile here (http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/03/09/your-saturday-pile-of-new-booksarcs-in-two-parts/) and thought V&A Shipping? What? I need a book that mashes up Star Wars and Smokey and the Bandit! You can pick up the ebook here (http://www.amazon.com/V-A-Shipping-ebook/dp/B00B1MVTYM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363367161&sr=8-2) for only $2.99. I’m also blogging the entire contents of the book if you’d rather read for FREE. Check out my blog at http://jrmurdock.com.

  74. Given that blatant self-promotion is allowed, I’m pretty stoked to have published my first novel, “Interesting Times.” It was intended to be a humorous deconstruction of the contemporary fantasy genre, but like with most things I do, what I intended was not what happened. At all. But I think it’s at least moderately entertaining.

    “Oliver Jones was a dull man living a dull life, until one night a stray cat began speaking to him. In English. And that was before things got really strange. Now he is on the run, hunted by an inhuman assassin who will stop at nothing to kill him. His only hope for survival rests with a trio of unlikely new allies: A werewolf with a fondness for Hawaiian shirts, a strange little girl who just might be immortal, and a gunfighter with an anger management problem. Oliver always wanted a little excitement in his life, but now he finds himself living in Interesting Times…”

    It’s got six five-star reviews, and one of them wasn’t written by someone I know!

    http://amzn.to/VA5pN2

    – MJS

  75. I’m Anthony Francis, and I have a story in the STRANDED anthology with Anne Bishop and James Alan Gardner. The theme of the anthology is young adults finding their own way in space, and my story, also titled “Stranded,” is about a young genetically engineered centauress from a supercivilization who has to rescue a shipload of children who’ve crashed on a world she wanted to claim as her own: http://amzn.com/B008OJ15FI

    I’m also editing an anthology DOORWAYS TO EXTRA TIME which will be out this August.

  77. Okay, talkaboutme time. Well, let’s start with I’m 55 as of yesterday. Which is important, since it slides into the current project I’m doing. It’s a wargame. Not sure about posting this here, but what the hey.

    First, this wargame is a physical thing: map, rulesbook, lots of little cardstock-ish counters. And dice. Not a computer game by any means. Wargames were most popular in the 60s and 70s, and have been losing ground since the arrival of the PC. There is still a niche for it, but it has seen better days. I enjoy them as do a few other old geezers.

    The design I’m working on has to do with the Soviet-German War in WWII, and focuses on operational art, a level of warfare fuzzily situated between strategy and tactics. The reason for the focus here is that more recent historiography has determined that it was at this level that the Soviets beat the Germans in WWII. The Germans were better at tactics, but from that point they started to lose their focus. By contrast, the Soviets tended to get better the higher up the level of warfare they were.

    This is what the crux of my game design is, those differences at the higher levels of warfare. Lots of research has gone into it, lots of reading of texts so dry I had to drink water every 5 minutes just to keep my brain from getting flakey. It all started in 2004 and right now it’s in development with a wargame company. Hopefully it’ll see publication either at the end of 2013 or the beginning of 2014. Still lots to do, but I’m liking where it’s going at this point.

    And when I’m done with this, there’s a science fiction novel I need to get out of my head and onto paper. It has ginormous jumpships–equivalent to beached whales in normal space, corporation as interstellar government, and a Sheen(robot) named Polly.

  78. Wait, you mean a “Bag of Holding” right? I’ve never heard of a “Bag of Traveling”. What does it do? Think of your destination, climb inside and suddenly you and the bag are there?

  79. What a great chance to do some unabashed self-promotion. Thank you Mr. Scalzi and I hope your time at the Engadget conference is a good one.

    My name is Conrad and I write a blog on the craft of writing and being an aspiring author. Someday I will hopefully be doing this exact same thing, be on my way to a conference and put an open invitation to my readers for self promotion.
    Here is my link:asideofwriting.com

  81. I’m still promoting my latest novel, THE REANIMATION OF EDWARD SCHUETT, which has been referred to by reviewers as “a zombie novel you give to people who don’t like zombie novels.”

    Fifty years have passed since the Zombie Uprising. Civilization has returned to the world, although faster in some places than others. Edward Schuett, however, has missed all that. He has just woken up with no idea who or where he is. Or what he is, since he has been a zombie the entire time.

    But he’s no ordinary zombie. He can once again think and speak, and he’s healing quickly. His presence is a disruption to the rebuilt society around him, especially when it is realized he has a unique ability that may just make him the most powerful biological weapon in history.
    Use the link below to purchase it or to see a free preview of the first several chapters.

    http://www.permutedpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=173

    And I’m even currently giving away a free copy on Goodreads!

    http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/42267-the-reanimation-of-edward-schuett

  83. I want to send big love to the Rat City Rollergirls (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rat-City-Roller-Girls/34196174440 or http://ratcityrollergirls.com/).

    Every bout they raise money for a charity and collect food for Ballard Food Bank. Last bout in Key Arena they raised $2,000 for First Book and Nancy Pearl (Librarian extraordinaire) read Where the Wild Things Area in the middle of the track as the intermission entertainment to 4,000 Roller Derby fans. Players have also been going to schools – doing storytime with the kids kids talking about the importance of reading and fitness.

    “The lasting impact of the partnership at Key Arena, Lehman said, was the sense of possibility felt that night, from “the kids in attendance who heard a full stadium cheering for their right to read,” to “the volunteers carrying heavy buckets filled with change,” to “the amazing Rollergirls who reminded us what’s so fun, and hard core, about reading.” http://www.theskanner.com/article/Rat-City-Rollergirls-Raise-2000-for-First-Book-Program-2013-03-07

  84. A book by my cousin, not sci-fi:
    Center of Gravity: A Guide to the Practice of Rock Balancing by Peter Juhl.
    Rock balancing is a growing art form that uses ordinary rocks to create startling ephemeral sculptures. Artist Peter Juhl tells about how he discovered the magic that could be worked with just a few stones, and how like-minded balancers around the world have found one another, forming a generous and cohesive community.
    http://www.amazon.com/Center-Gravity-Guide-Practice-Balancing/dp/1482026341

  85. This Tuesday, I’m musical guest on The Cosmic Ray Show, a live web TV series! 8pm Cascadian/Pacific Time, 11pm Eastern, 12:30am Newfoundland (sorry, guys). As of this post’s date, that’s this coming Tuesday, four days away, March 19th.
     
    I’m a musician, doing rage-driven acoustic elfmetal; the most common comparison I hear is Led Zeppelin, but with some Great Big Sea mixed in. I’ll be appearing with Discovery News writer Amy Shira Teitel, Ryan Kobrick from Yuri’s Night, and NASA/JPL engineer Matthew Robinson. Tune in, it’ll be interesting and fun.
     
    Finally, thanks for another promotion post! I do these on my band blog occasionally, and totally got the idea from you. ^_^

  86. Inkstained Succubus Press is taking submissions to open anthologies and fiction and non-fiction books. http://www.inkstainedsuccubus.com

    Our three new books of 2013 are coming out this month.
    Beyond the Veil is a series of ten fantasy short stories, detailing how the Greek gods became the Roman gods.
    Crossroads is a horror romance, in which our heroine must save the monster she loves.
    Riding the Nightmare is a collection of eighteen gay short stories, including werewolves, truckers, an incubus and cosplaying convention-goers.

    I have had three novels released since September:
    Hard Reboot, a heterosexual cyberpunk kink novel, in which our hero reprograms his brainwashed wife.
    Spellbound Desire, a heterosexual urban fantasy romance between a combat mage and a hard-drinking PI.
    Barbarossa’s Bitch, a gay post-apocalyptic biker novel.
    Click my name to go to my website.

  88. 10 years ago, I told people I was a writer. Instead of finishing anything, I started in the mortgage business and built a very successful career. Now that I’m nearly 30, I’m trying to finish a few projects – one of which is to write a novel. The first chapter is on my blog, Before & After Man at http://www.beforeandafterman.com.

  90. Self-promotion: the fiction writing I’m doing hasn’t gotten to the stage where I’m ready to plug it, but I can point you to http:legionabstract.blogspot.com, where I have been holding forth on the Legion of Super-Heroes for some years now. Obviously this is only of interest to you if you know or care who the Legion of Super-Heroes is, but if that’s you, welcome.

  91. My little blog seems relevant to the interests of most folks that would come to Whatever: http://wondrouswindows.wordpress.com/
    It’s a SF/F blog (mostly, though I have a small continuing series of posts on James Bond movies) that deals mostly with the history of fantasy, right now. I try to deal with things like the appeal of fantasy, where tropes come from, who wrote what, and what silly things happen in Sheridan Le Fanu’s short stories.

    The history posts are all here: http://wondrouswindows.wordpress.com/category/lotr-reread/

    It looks like a lot of Whatever readers are also blogging about what fascinates them — I’d love if some of you folks came by and commented. Or hell, just read something and liked it. Whatever, I’m easy. : )

  93. Thanks for the chance to indulge in shameless self promotion. I arrange, publish, and perform music for various size saxophone ensembles. Also do lessons and coaching sessions for (mostly) young sax players.

  95. This has nothing to do with writing or anything, but who doesn’t like beer? A buddy of mine is opening a nano-brewery! He supplied the beer for my wedding, and it was phenomenal. He’s got a Kickstarter going, and he’s already hit his goal, so everything at this point is gravy, but if you like beer, live in the DC Area and want to support a local brewer, check it out!

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/481989526/forge-brew-works

  96. In June, my second book will be out. It’s called iD, and it’s the sequel to vN. It’s a pretty direct sequel. It has the usual self-replicating humanoids, plus missionaries, seasteads, FOGBANK, casinos, jailbreaks, and theme parks based on Hammer films.

    Soon, the story I wrote for The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy will be out, as part of a Tomorrow Project anthology. The story is called “Permacultures,” and it’s about vertical farming in a future Detroit. I’m also working on a story about the Internet of Things and invisible computing called “Social Services,” for an anthology that The Institute for the Future is putting together. Cory Doctorow is in both of those anthologies, and Warren Ellis joins us for the second.

    And I’m working on a film treatment based on a pre-existing short film, extending the story into feature-length and giving it some more characters and dimension. I’ve never done a film treatment before, so it’s a real challenge. It’s daunting, compressing a whole narrative into a few pages.

    But I’m really excited about David Nickle’s next book, The ‘Geisters, because I’ve watched him work meticulously on it, every day, since its inception. It’s about poltergeists, the creeps who love them, and the women who get in the way.

  98. What the heck. I’ve been writing Horror recently for some reason. Don’t ask me why, but my mind seems to be stuck on it. I have a story in the Anthology ‘What Scares the Boogey Man?’ edited by John Manning.

    Amazon

    Barnes and Noble

    It’s a real treat being in an anthology with Janet and Chris Morris, Nancy Asire, and a bunch of other writers who I admire. This was my first fiction sale, everything I’d done before was non-fiction. If you want someone to bore you to death with the details of how catalytic converters are made, I’m your man. Or I can scare your socks off by introducing you to Grandma.

    Wayne

  99. For those who love good TV, the next series of Sherlock starts shooting on Monday March 18th.

    Sherlock

    If you haven’t seen it, grab it. I recommend it highly. When the BBC gets something right, they hit a home run.

    Wayne

  107. Since St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, this is timely. I’ve been working on a site where Irish, Scottish and Contra dancers can go for dance notes in several forms. These can be used for learning and teaching dances as well as on the dance floor when you can’t quite remember how the next part of the dance goes. Once it matures a bit more i’ll be adding mobile apps to make it even easier to get at the notes while out and about.
    http://www.danceminder.com/

  109. John, your kindness is hugely appreciated.

    My latest novel ‘Queen of Time,’ contemporary magic realism, is both pixeled and papered at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KOKA5G). The digital version is currently discounted to nearly free since it needs some love. I’m thrilled that epic fantasy readers have enjoyed my Ryel Saga, and hope they’ll eventually be part of the audience for this book. The first three chapters are on my website at http://carolynkephart.com.

    Synopsis: Classics professor Lucasta Hilary’s lackluster routine in Midwest academia changes forever thanks to seeming quirks of fate that bring her unexpected fame and inexplicable beauty, but her good fortune soon proves to be very far from heaven sent. Two eternal adversaries seek to alter Lucasta’s destiny, in a struggle that spans eons and ranges from the bleak remains of Hadrian’s Wall to the lush jungles of the Yucatan highlands to the very edge of existence, where temptation, damnation, and redemption inextricably entwine.

  110. Thanks so much for the space, John!

    Two things:

    The first, is my theatre company and I are producing Tery Pratchett’s ‘Wyrd Sisters’ for the stage. Our theatre will be the Side Project theatre in the northside of Chicago, and will be directed by John Morrison of ‘Geeks Vs Zombies’ fame. The play will be in the 2nd half of july. Here’s the info on the show:

    http://www.kickstarter.com/pro…

    The second is my podcast, ‘The Burnham Society’, which chronicles the magical goings on within the Second City. It’s a backdoor fantasy inspired by Charlie Brooker and John Hodgman. We’re over a year in, with 14 episodes, and daily facebook posts. Check it out on itunes and

    burnhamsociety.madeoffail.net

  112. Neil Gaiman’s Radio presentation of Neverwhere is out and available for international listeners on the BBC Radio 4 website (can also use BBC Radio Player) as a podcast. Catch it well you can. It has a star studded cast and from what I’ve heard or the first episode it is fantastic!

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r522y

  113. There is a “Self Promotion” thread over at the Boing Boing, today, as well. I got lost in the noise over there. I might as well go two for two. But let’s cut to the chase:
    UKULELE!
    My friend has been playing the ukulele since he was a child and his father told him not to touch the ukulele that was hanging on the wall as decoration. I like to make videos. I go to my friend’s regular Saturday morning gig at a bakery in Berkeley, California, and I video him playing his ukulele. I put the end product up on the YouTube machine:
    http://www.youtube.com/user/PipLagenta

  114. I like to sew and weave. I like to sew and weave a lot. I like Renaissance Faires.

    But I can only go to the Faire so often, and I like to sew and weave more than that. So, I offer up my services to others who love the Faire, but aren’t so fond of sewing or weaving.. If this is you, take a look at my etsy shop, http//www.faireattire.com and find just the perfect outfit, custom made just for you.

    For authors, I offer proofreading services at very reasonable rates, at stuckidianne@yahoo.com.

  115. http://www.BitsOfWrite.com – By Emrick Fyste – I a Prose Engineer, building worlds with my words!

    I have posted serialized stories, though currently I am working on a couple of new stories and major revisions on dusted-off old manuscripts, so have not put up new content in a while. Please feel free to follow on twitter @EmrickFyste where I will announce when new content is put up.

    Eventually, a short story/novellete anthology is headed for an E-Book.

  116. I just released the third book in my dark fantasy series featuring ex-government agent turned paranormal vigilante, Craig Lockman. It’s already got a couple 5-star reviews on Amazon, which is always nice. If you want to know more about the series, you can hit up my website. Here’s a link to the first book: http://rob-cornell.com/?page_id=58

  117. I’m co-directing an archaeological excavation at a 35,000 year old site in Namibia called Erb Tanks Rockshelter. It’s the oldest known site in the region to be successfully dated (although there’s probably tons more undiscovered in the area) and last year we found a painting of a human figure on a rock slab from an 18,800 year old layer. It also happens to be located in the Namib Desert, one of the harshest deserts on Earth, so we’re trying to understand how early humans dealt with the extreme and dynamic climate. We submitted an NSF proposal in December for future excavations, but we got word that it, along with a lot of other wonderful research proposals, is probably screwed because of the sequester. So write your congressman and tell them you demand your Science back!

  119. I’ll be in the attic crawlspace repairing/updating the ductwork between the bathroom fan (that I installed last week) and the roof vent. I intend to reinforce the phenomenon that I have no idea how to do anything until I’ve actually done it. Then it seems easy. No links.

  121. I just took a trip through Central America in which my followers got to vote for where I’d go next – it was an amazing and exhausting experiment and I’d love your feedback on the idea – Here’s a post – http://wp.me/p3ba3u-6N

  122. Oh, and since I’m supposed to promote something or other, my pieces are still appearing regularly at thecmosite.com, allanalytics.com, and educationalit.com. Any of you would be more than welcome to drop by and snipe, though some of the stuff at allanalytics is a bit techish. I hope to be resuming my regular blogging at my own blog in a couple weeks time, as I’m also just finishing the copyedit on THE LAST PRESIDENT and will have more time after that.

    Also, I occasionally wander through the streets of Denver giggling maniacally.

  123. I write indie table top RPGs and release them for free under the Creative Commons license with the hopes that someone will dig it enough to fork the ideas into their own games.

    My 1st game is dice-less and uses a Jenga tower like in the game Dread. Instead of making a character up at the start you being the game with no memories or any idea of who you are. As the game goes on you make pulls from the Jegna tower making actions more difficult and dangerous the longer the game goes but with each pull you are given a slip of paper with a random memory that resurfaces. Perhaps you will learn something about who you are and what is going on or you might learn that the friends you have been relying on to survive are not as good and trusting as you thought.

    http://www.morningskye.com/

    My second game is being edited now and should be coming out soon and I have a 3rd game in the works.

  126. I love reading analysis and non-fiction about Doctor Who almost more than I like watching Doctor Who itself, especially the classic series. One of my favorite recent examples of this is Tardis Eruditorum http://amzn.to/Xdt57u. It’s based on a blog of the same title. I haven’t read the blog, but loved reading the book. The first collection is all about the first Doctor. The author has also published (and I’ve bought but not read) a second Doctor collection. Others will follow, I’m sure, and I will snap up all of them.

  127. I am in the home sprint on this fantasy novel (first in a proposed trilogy – hey, it’s fantasy, there has to be three). Anyway, I’m trying for an epic American West setting with a little Victorian kinkiness to keep things spicy and a little brassy. So plenty of six shooters and carbines, what I hope is a unique magic system, and some characters in the city might put on goggles and pull on brass levers.

    There is magic surrounding this world, magic that is accessible to every sentient being. Some are better at it using it than others. A cavalry regiment stands at the edge of the frontier; a young lieutenant enjoys being free of her powerful family. But it will all change because the old gods have returned. Soon the regiment will be in the middle of a war between nations, a war between races, a war between the gods and Emilia Graves will have to draw on every bit of her power and her family’s to survive.

    Excerpts found here, info on the site itself

    http://www.jeroljohnson.com/index.asp?SEC=40B4AF56-6F4A-49E6-B68A-753DA293129E&Type=B_BASIC

  128. This is a link to a non-fiction book I enjoyed the hell out of. It’s written by a chap called Bob Altemeyer and it’s called The Authoritarians. If you’ve ever wondered why the world is like it is and wtf that guy over there might be thinking, then this might be for you. I can’t recommend it highly enough. The book is a free download (hosted by the University of Manitoba) from here:
    http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

  129. The Library of Justice in Saint Paul, MN, is my little free library built to look like the Hall of Justice. As far as I am aware, it’s the first LFL with a specific focus on comics and graphic novels. My wife and I also curate and stock it regularly. Check out the blog–with links to our Facebook and Twitter feeds–at http://www.libraryofjustice.org!

  130. …aaaand I should clarify that, no, I might be *a* Bob but I’m not *that* Bob. That would be wrong.

  131. My mom just self-published for the first time a fantasy novel she wrote years ago (when I was little) as well as a short story collection, and is working on editing other novels of hers for publication. Search for Kyra Halland (a pen name, since her real name is almost identical to that of an already-established fantasy author) on Google, which will point you to her site, which will point you to the places where you can buy her novel “Urdaisunia,” as well as where to find her on Facebook and Goodreads.

    Another friend of mine also recently self-published her first novel in a trilogy she’s writing; look on Amazon for “The Seat of Desolation” by Ashley Felde (also look for her on Goodreads). (No links because I’m typing on my phone, and writing HTML on a software keyboard is nigh-impossible.)

  134. Let me second Michi’s recommendation of C2E2, but also provide you with a great podcast for your listening pleasure (and which I’m also a co-host).

    Zone 4 (http://www.zone4podcast.com) is a weekly podcast focusing on comics, television, and popular culture, and is part of the Comic Related (http://www.comicrelated.com). Co-hosted by Brant Fowler, John Wilson, Ron Fortier, and myself, we provide insightful conversation and commentary about a variety of topics, and we encourage people to give us a listen. We also provide shout-outs for people who like us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Zone4Podcast), and welcome everyone who can to please give us a listen. Thanks!

  135. I’m publishing a weekly listing of Energy (and Other) Events in the Cambridge, MA area at http://hubevents.blogspot.com, as I have for over the last three years; trying to connect people who are working on methane sniffers for cell phones to reduce methane leaks in US cities as well as the developing world; working on “how to get all of humanity to educate itself swiftly enough to generate spontaneous behaviors that will avoid extinction” by introducing the political environmental community to the work of Robert Cialdini, a psychologist who studies influence.

  136. As the father of my own 2-year-old Monster, I want to teach my kids the important things in life. I want to teach him how to count to 10, where his eyes are, and which half-bull, half-fish creature has five horns and is considered the start of all Frankish royalty.

    These things are important.

    With words by me (Darren J. Gendron) and pictures by Obsidian Abnormal, we created The Monster Numbers. The numbers 1 through 10 are covered through 10 different legendary creatures, like the Cyclops or the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

    And in a nerdy version of head-shoulders-knees-and-toes, The Monster Numbers has kids counting the faces of Janus, the feet of the Sanzuwu, and the horns of the Quinotaur.

    For more on The Monster Numbers, including our “Pin Pals,” check out our Kickstarter at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dernjg/the-monster-numbers-book

  138. I’m an author. I write Steam Punk, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult Space Opera, and Super Hero stories.I’ve got five stories up on Amazon and two ongoing serials on Juke Pop Serials.

    I *also* am a science teacher in an inner city school district. According to my department head, we haven’t had a shipment of expendable supplies in 12 years and counting. To combat that lack of supplies and help support my the students, I’ve committed half of all my writing income to doing just that.

    So… if you like any of those genres, want to help out with some on-the-ground support for inner city schools, (or maybe even both?), I’ve detailed my plan and have links to all of my current work right here ==> http://www.robertcroman.com/?p=1094.

  139. Capclave, the SF con put on by the Washington (DC) Science Fiction Association, will be held October 11-13, 2013 at the Gaithersburg, MD Hilton. Our Guests of Honor this year are author George R. R. Martin, editor Sharyn November and fan artist Steve Stiles, with special guest author Howard Waldrop.

    Memberships are currently $50; $30 for active military and students. You can buy a membership online at http://www.capclave.org

    Also, we will have fan tables at Lunacon, Ravencon and Balticon where you can stop by, say hello to the dodo mascots and buy a membership.

  140. It took a total of 5 years for John Garside and Colin Fleming to co-create/shoot, and Colin to do all the visual effects, but the independent retro sci-fi cult classic, “Max Neptune and the Menacing Squid”, premiered to a long-awaiting audience in 2010, then released on DVD with extras. It was recently made available on Youtube for FREE. I had a lot of fun playing “Max Neptune” and sharing a similar world that “Flash Gordon” and/or “Commando Cody” serials are rooted in. Please feel free to share it with anyone/everyone.

    Also, RIO, The Duran Duran Tribute Band I’m in, recently met up with John Taylor at his book signing in Hollywood at Cinescape. We chatted it up with Duranies of all ages promoting our future shows, then eventually surprised our parallel universe bandmate, JT, as he stepped into The RIO World.
    He took off like a banshee, garnishing 2 tickets for driving through stoplights. We were very excited to see him again too, yet managed to get home safely and movingviolation-free.

    One other thing, I came across a bunch of sketchbooks and decided to publish each one through Lulu in volumes. While substitute teaching for LAUSD, I’ve been passing around a copy to the students to inspire ideas about how they might think about independently publishing their own art/writings. CEC Sketchbook Volume 1 is from 1993. I was 19 then, older than they are now, yet still within the chapter of a teenager which many of them just/will stepped/step into. The Walter Reed Library now carries the book, where on February 28th, hundreds of students throughout the day claimed they were “inspired by a dream” to borrow it.

    Thank you for putting this space here for us to promote our stuff!
    -CEC

  141. I would be remiss if I did not take advantage of this opportunity to plug my quarterly, all-volunteer, all-donation magazine of speculative fiction: Quantum Fairy Tales is at http://quantumfairytales.com It’s the current platform for my serialized story “Tabitha Reeves: SPACE GIRL!”
    Tabitha wakes from routine deep sleep on her interstellar journey when the liner is attacked by pirates, hoping to capture… her.
    Hope you enjoy it. I know I’ve found a number of things in this thread I’m checking out.

  142. As it happens, I do have something to promote! A few weeks ago my co-writer and I launched a radio-drama-serial-style podcast based on Greek mythology, called The Hermes & Hekate Road Show. Somebody asked if it’s like Gaiman’s American Gods, and I guess sorta, in the gods-in-modern-America sense. The story’s not all that similar, though.

    Anyway! If you like podcasts, or audio drama, or non-Bullfinch-approved Greek myth, or all of the above, you can find the first episode here: http://hhroadshow.libsyn.com/the-hermes-hekate-road-show-episode-1 . It’s also available on iTunes and various other podcatchers, and naturally we have a Facebook page as well. Enjoy!

  144. I have no fiction to promote and never will – having wisely quit after writing, then reading, a one-page screen treatment of a 2001 sequel when I was 14 (in 1971) – but as long as I’m here, let me promote the piano works of Maurice Ravel. Classical radio stations in markets such as Washington, DC generally play either pieces that were written for orchestra in the first place (e.g., La Valse, the Daphnis & Chloe suites, Bolero) or orchestral versions of pieces that Ravel first wrote for piano. Ravel was a master orchestrator – his version of Moussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is better known than the original for good reasons – and during creatively fallow periods, he would orchestrate (sometimes for ballet) his own piano works. The piano originals are simply more nutritious. Go get a good recording of Valses nobles et sentimentales (such as Philippe Entremont’s) or Le tombeau de Couperin (which has six movements, versus the orchestra version’s four, and ends with the incredible Toccata that I’ve been trying to learn on my own for some time) and find out for yourself.

    [I actually got into Ravel as a teenager through the two piano concertos, which of course avoid the whole problem described above. Leonard Bernstein appeared on network TV as both piano soloist and conductor in a performance of the G major concerto – hard to believe today that such a thing was broadcast in prime time! Then I went to my public library, which thankfully had the Samson Francois/Paris Conservatory Orchestra version. (The flip side is the Concerto for the Left Hand, utterly different in form and mood but written at the same time, around 1930.)]

  146. Two things I’d like to throw into the self-promotion medley:

    Last month, my first pro fiction publication was published in Clarkesworld. It’s about sadistic aliens and loneliness:
    http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/stufflebeam_02_13/

    And I’ve been writing short speculative fiction reviews every other Monday on my blog, Short Story Review. The next one if due this coming Monday, in fact:
    http://www.shortstoryview.blogspot.com/

    If anyone has review suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them! Feel free to e-mail.

  148. My film and booklet, Lady Bits. Lady Bits is a series of seven comedic animated shorts that are designed to entertain, educate, and open discussion about women’s sexuality. It also includes an booklet that delves further into the facts. They act as an educational tool that can be used in a group or by an individual. Images and book sample pages at http://animationnerd.com/ladybits.html

  149. Hi Bonnie! It’s Genevieve! Nice to see you here.

    And y’all should totally read Bonnie’s story and her reviews, they are awesome!

  150. @Dan Thompson: your book sounds fascinating, but we don’t all have Kindles. There are these things called Nooks which, despite not getting as much press, are maybe even better than Kindle. If you haven’t signed one of those Amazon exclusive slave contracts, consider the rest of us out here with Nook, Sony, Kobo, and the others who don’t do monocultures/monopolies.

  151. I’d like to recommend a couple of books by people I know, both of them currently on Kindle.

    The first is Cowboy Saints and Other Lost Wonders, by Phil Raines. Several of the stories in this collection have been reprinted in various Year’s Best SF and Fantasy anthologies, as well as gaining ‘honourable mentions’ in both Dozois’ Year’s Best SF and Locus magazine. His stories regularly appear in various well-known fantasy publications. The book is published by Brain in a Jar books, which regularly puts out Kindle reprint collections of various genre names.
    UK: http://amzn.to/YeIqbl
    US: http://amzn.to/YeIrMk

    You should also check out Escape from Hell! by Hal Duncan, author of Ink and Vellum: Hal Duncan is a Scottish author of science fiction and fantasy. His first novel, Vellum, was nominated for the World Fantasy Award and went on to win the Spectrum and Tähtivaeltaja Awards. It has been translated into half a dozen languages, and Ink was shortlisted for the 2011 Tähtivaeltaja Award.
    UK: http://amzn.to/YeInfE
    US: http://amzn.to/YeIvvx

  152. Gotta love blatant self-promotion, especially on a site where lots of readers converge.

    I used to constantly annoy my friends and family by talking about books non-stop. Now, as a book blogger, I annoy complete strangers by talking about books. Technically I run a YA blog, but there’s a little something for everyone on The Mad Reviewer because I have a wide range of genres I’m interested in. Science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, romance, realistic fiction, horror, speculative… you name it, I’ve got it! In addition to book reviews,I run author interviews, highlight my favourite indie/self/traditionally published authors every Saturday and have giveaways every couple of months or so.

    The Mad Reviewer

  154. I’m a happy designer having won a project to rebrand the 24th largest Electrical Equipment Distributor in the US. On the other end of the spectrum I’m developing a pro-bono logo and signage for my community to disuade house prowling!

  156. I’ve been writing a bit about my experiences of being a 40 year old and going to college for the first time: http://collegeinmyforties.wordpress.com On a very much related subject, I’ve got a “GoFundMe” donation page for this: http://www.gofundme.com/collegeinmyfortiesfund I have a grant for the current semester and a job on campus, but we’re still struggling with day to day expenses. It actually takes a lot for me to publicize the donation page, but this prompt came along on one of those “should I just give up and go back to a job” sorts of days.

  157. The ehMTee Show is a homegrown, cross-platform, webcast variety program of original songs by its host, Michael Thorner and the Must We Wait Forever Band, as well as music interpretations and light comedy. In this pilot episode, guests include the composer Mantler, as well as Gemini award-winning comic writer Paul Bellini (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Fab Magazine, Kids In The Hall) and Canadian comedy legend, Scott Thompson (Kids In The Hall, The Larry Sanders Show, Hannibal), performing together for the first time in 12 years!

    We’re looking for help to complete final post-production for the pilot episode, obtain music clearances, and develop our audience plan. Contributions have associated perks! Thanks for this forum Cory. Here’s the link:

    http://www.indiegogo.com/theehmteeshow

  160. If there are indie / self-published writers in this community (and I bet there are!) I invite you to come join the Indie Author Marketing Info group over at LinkedIn. As it says there: “This a community space where independent authors and creative service providers share ethical marketing best practices and other tips and techniques to help build successful careers.”

    See you there!

    http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Indie-Author-Marketing-Info-4835945

  163. Those of you who are Babylon 5 fans may want to make a trip to Phoenix over Memorial Day weekend where we are having 14 Babylon 5 Actors and creator J. Michael Straczynski on hand to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Babylon 5. If you aren’t a B5 fan, then there’s plenty of other stuff going on including authors Brandon Sanderson, Terry Brooks, Cherie Priest, Timothy Zahn, Peter Orullian, Leanna Renee Hieber, Delilah S. Dawson, Greg van Eekhout, Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Alexandra Monir, Kevin Hearne, Mike Stackpole, Sam Sykes, Gini Koch, Janni Lee Simner, Aprilynne Pike, Adam Rex, James Owen, Suzanne Young, Marcy Rockwell, Jeff Mariotte, Jon Lewis, Tom Leveen, Joe Nassisse, Jordan Summers, C. J. Hill/Janette Rallison, and some author you might know from this particular website.

  164. I entered a writing contest on another author’s blog, so I’m kind of promoting her… It’s pretty low-key, but I’m working on getting myself back in the habit of writing, this was a way to motivate me, and I’m proud of the result. http://mistressofthedarkpath.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/march-2013-writing-contest-st-patricks-day-theme/
    It’s called, “The Paths of Dubh Linn,” and can be found waaaaaaay down in the Comments for any intrepid soull with the time to read Yet Another Thing.

  166. The kickstarter for my friend’s second novel has just about reached its goal, but he could use a few more supporters to push it over the top. His world is about airships and pirates and all sorts of trouble, but I usually best describe it as steampunk Pirates of the Caribbean with magic thrown in for good measure. His first novel was a great read and I can’t wait for the sequel.

    Go check it out, I think you’ll enjoy it.

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1634677790/on-discord-isle-a-novel

  167. @Bruce Diamond: huh. I did do a search and it didn’t come up. I bow to your superior search-fu, apologize to Dan, and buy many many things for my Nook from the rest of the thread.

  168. (Oops. Darn Post Comment button)

    @Bruce Diamond — my search didn’t return Dan’s book because I was searching for the electronic version. He has not made it available as a Nook Book.

    Other authors who did provide Nook or Smashword links: boughten! Thanks for making it possible for your words to be read everywhere.

  169. LOVE LOVE LOVE this amazing musician from Rainbow, California (yes, she lives in a place called Rainbow!). From toy-piano-street-performer to music-video-godess. Eliza Rickman has Kickstarted an entire debut album and made incredibly beautiful music videos on shoe-string budgets. She’s just about to make her 3rd video, featuring little taxidermied critters – I can’t wait. I donated a bat (!) to the project. I don’t know how she’s not totally famous – NOBODY rocks a toy piano like she does.

    Yeah, I’m a huge fan. No, there’s nothing in this plug for me (except enjoying great ORIGINAL music and performances).

    Eliza Rickman – Cinnamon Bone = GORGEOUS VIDEO
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ri7CCPJSEo

    Check out her facebook and twitter too for updates on live performances. She’s a doll. You’ll love her!

  170. A mere 10 days from now, my writing blog, http://catsignal.com, will have its fifth anniversary. There are lots of short stories, lots of haiku, flash fiction, and articles and quotes about writing. All free for the reading.

    Thank you, Mr. Scalzi, for both this opportunity and the “Old Man’s War” series.

  173. If anyone out there is looking for a new, free hobby that involves robots, geeky fun, robots, making the world a better place, and in addition actual working robots, please consider going to http://www.usfirst.org/ and looking for a FIRST Robotics team in your area that needs mentors or coaches. You don’t have to know robotics to coach a team, but you will definitely have the opportunity to learn as much as you want. The 2013 season starts in September!

  174. I just finished the final draft of my first novel! It’s the first in a series called “Twelve Stakes”, which is about, to quote the homepage:

    “Twelve Stakes is a supernatural/noir/mystery/thriller/fantasy about secret vampire societies, outlaw biker werewolves, drug dealing Fae, magic-addicted witches, and the dark world lurking just around the corner from our own.”

    Where monsters become heroes…

    Please stop by:

    http://www.twelvestakes.com/

    Thanks, Mr. Scalzi!

  175. OASIS 26:The annual fan run science fiction convention on May 24-26, 2013
    produced by the members of the Orlando Area Science Fiction Society.

    This year the convention will be at a NEW and exiting location!
    The Castle Hotel on International Drive.

    Our Guests of Honor are: Seanan McGuire (writer) and Bernie Weisman of Tachyon Books (publisher/editor)

    For more information go to: oasfis.org/oasis

  176. I’ve been maintaining a blog that monitors new books on the Amazon Kindle for about a year. I’ve found that Amazon is great for searching, and for some recommendations of ‘things you might like’, but it is very hard to find what was released in the last week. I grab the releases from the website by genre and put the new releases in a single large table on one page/genre. I think it makes it easier to scan new releases.

    New Kindle releases

  177. Daily Science Fiction is running DSF Madness, a 64-story bracketed “competition” of the longest stories we published in 2012. It’s an excuse to read two stories each day and vote for your favorite at the site dailysciencefiction.com.

    The bracket is here: DSF Madness Bracket. We’re about halfway through the first round thus far. Won’t finish in March, or April.

    Thanks, John, for all that you do.

  178. Marcon SF convention in Columbus OH is March 29-31, Easter weekend. http://marcon.org/
    Joe Haldeman
    Heather V. Kreiter
    Jeff Dee
    Gay Haldeman
    F. Paul Wilson
    ToyBoat Band
    Brian Keene

    This will be the 31st year I’ve attended Marcon, and about the 27th as concom. If you are at Marcon, stop by the Info Desk and say hello to me.

  179. With the demise of The Specusphere where I was an occasional reviewer, I’m changing the focus of my blog http://www.imaginemeatclarion.blogspot.com slightly to include book reviews. My main interest as a writer and a reader is speculative fiction so it’s likely most reviews will be in that genre but I read widely so I’m not limiting myself as you’ll see from my first review which is crime fiction. I’ll be putting my reviews from The Specusphere up over the next few months, too. Call in and have a look and if you have a book you’d like reviewed let me know. I hope to have a website up and running soon and the details will go on my blog as soon as they are finalised.

  180. ConBust is a science fiction convention run by students at Smith College in Northampton,MA, on March 29-31. http://sophia.smith.edu/ssffs/conbust/index.html ConBust is a smaller convention, but it’s a lot of fun, with good programming on writing, anime, steampunk and other topics.

    This will be my third year vending there, along with other artists. Beads Above sells beaded, chain mail & steampunk style lanyards and pins to hold your con badge. https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeadsAbove While the site hasn’t been updated recently, it will gave folks an idea of what will be available at the con. If you’re at ConBust in two weeks, come by & say hello.

  187. Thanks John for the opportunity to self-publicize! I have a review blog, http://www.bookzombieblog.com, and I’ve recently started a complete re-watch and commentary on Babylon 5. The pilot episode and first two regular episodes are up, episode 1.3 should be up by the end of the weekend.
    I’m always happy to have new visitors! Don’t expect great academic insight, just an old fan’s look back at the series with 10+ years perspective!

  189. I try to tell people is isn’t fascist republicans or socialist democrats that will destroy the country, it’s the intense partisan hatred that will destroy it.

  192. I wrote a book of aviation maintenance themed short story and verse called “Tales of the Wrench”. It’s 99 cents on Amazon.

    Chase a runaway tire across an airport, survive a mid-air collision, drop an engine into a lake, press through boredom, travel around the world, and reflect upon the important things. These things and more, explored in story and verse.

    Come with me if you will, upon a short trip into the reality, fantasy, and downright lies; that are aviation, and it’s less glamorous sibling: Aviation Maintenance.

    http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Wrench-Inspired-Maintenance-ebook/dp/B009MXSWME/ref=la_B007B1JLBA_1_1_title_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1363445951&sr=1-1

  194. I have had a story published in issue #1 of Crowded Magazine, a really great speculative fiction collection with beautiful art. My story, ‘House Hunting,’ is about a young girl and a homeless man fighting demons in suburbia. You can buy issue one (in a variety of formats) here: http://www.crowdedmagazine.com/subscribe.php

    (Thanks for the promotion thread, John!)

  196. I do a weekly book podcast with my sister every week. I’ve been a science fiction fan since childhood, so there is a bit of a science fiction-y slant to our book selections. Our most recent episode was “Holes” by Louis Sachar. Upcoming is our year in review, so it may not be the best place to start. We talked about “Redshirts” a few months back if you’re looking for a logical place to start. You can find us at http://www.novelideaspodcast.com or in itunes by searching for Novel Ideas.

  197. Thought you might like this one: I was talking to my wife about Mongoliad, discussing that these writers were pros because they knew how to wind four stories together as one, and talking about the relief of reading a well-written (in this case also well-edited) book. My wife then says “Yea, only a few really do that, like Heinlein and Scalzi”.

  199. So, a friend of mine had the world premier of a new composition recently and I could not stop thinking to myself…John Scalzi needs to hear this. I couldn’t stop thinking at the time that this ought to be the score to Old Man’s War. It is called “PROJECTIONS” composed by Andrew Perkins. Check it out if you like: http://youtu.be/U91h8U3QwHY

  201. Woo, self-promotion!

    As a musician and a geek, I was inspired by JoCo’s Thing-a-Week, and have been doing my own, much smaller, mostly-harp-and-mostly-Scottish-music Thing-a-Week. It’s over on Tumblr for now (http://elizabethtimmerman.tumblr.com/), with links to Bandcamp for those who want to download the tunes.

  204. I’m Arnold T. Blumberg, writer, editor, book designer, internationally-recognized zombie expert (no, really!), and I’m also co-publisher at ATB Publishing, a new pop culture-themed press. For those that love Doctor Who, you might want to check out ATB’s first release, OUTSIDE IN: 160 New Perspectives on 160 Classic Doctor Who Stories by 160 Writers, just in time for the show’s 50th anniversary: http://www.atbpublishing.com/outside-in/ And if you love zombies, we’ve still got you covered when the definitive guide to zombie cinema, ZOMBIEMANIA, returns this fall with a huge update called ZOMBIEMANIA RISES: http://www.atbpublishing.com/zombiemania/ Please keep an eye on ATB Publishing for lots of other exciting new projects. Thanks so much for giving us a chance to plug. :)

  205. Getting in a bit late on this, but may as well drop in a link to my book!

    Thunderstone

    This is a YA-ish fantasy story set in a land that vaguely resembles an alt-history version of the Pacific Northwest.

    Back-cover blurb:

    Young Mirya Thunderstone, like all Dwarf women, has lived her entire life inside her people’s mountain home. Frustrated by her confinement, she longs to take up her family’s legendary axe, and follow in the footsteps of her late, war-hero brother. But when an accident strands her outside the mountain, she finds there’s more to being a hero than wielding a weapon. Joined by a playful otterkin couple, a deadly Elf warrior, a laid-back Native hunter and an outcast orc, Mirya must use both her axe and her wits to find the truth behind the war that claimed her brother’s life.

    The inspiration for this was simple: You don’t really hear much about Dwarf women. The conventional wisdom is that they either don’t exist, or there are very few of them, and they stay home inside their mountains. I decided to uncover the reasons why that might be, and considered that a refugee or otherwise displaced band of Dwarves in a strange country might well have developed customs of seclusion around the few women in their party, so to help their people survive. But what happens when the reasons for those customs no longer exist? What happens when their population is full and flush, and yet the tradition of keeping women locked away stays on? What happens to the women who don’t want to be “protected” like this?

    In a real-world sense, part of the reason Dwarf women are so rarely dicussed is that they don’t fit the Western ideal for what’s attractive in a woman. Some Dwarf women have facial hair (though mine don’t), and in any case, like the men, they are short, broad and decidedly strong-featured. Traditional fantasy romanticizes the past, and therefore tends toward idealized visions of gender: strong, brave men and beautiful women. Of late, many of these beautiful women are also allowed to be strong and brave, but few have been allowed not to be conventionally attractive. (And here, I’ll note my delight with the huge range of female characters GRRM’s written for ASoIaF.) Girls and young women who want to be strong without also having to be decorative have had few SFF characters with whom they may identify. My hope is that Mirya helps fill that gap.

  206. I’ve been cast in this year’s NYC production of the Listen To Your Mother event. This year there will be readings in 24 cities. It’s original stories by local people for local people. Take a look and see if there’s a city near you and check it out. If there isn’t one now there might be one soon!

    http://listentoyourmothershow.com/

  207. For Sunshine week (http://sunshineweek.org) a group of librarians has created a petition on the White House “We the People” site. We need 100,000 signatures. Please help us get a response out of the White House to “open access” ALL federally funded govt publications and data. Thanks for signing!

    “Require free online permanent public access to ALL federal government information and publications.”

    https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/require-free-online-permanent-public-access-all-federal-government-information-and-publications/h7K86wdJ

  208. Thanks for the signal-boost! There’s a kinda Big Idea behind my recently released novella, ‘Sweet Mercy.’ It’s an sf/f-romance involving superheroes, where the heroine’s super power has the ability to induce feelings of compassion in others. She uses this power to defuse tense hostage situations and subdue ferocious guard dogs, in the process of fighting a villain intent on sharing his pain with deserving and undeserving alike.
    http://champagnebooks.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=149&product_id=623

  210. Calling all scientists (and, yes, that means you!) – I’m publishing a blog with a new entry every day with a link to a citizen science opportunity. Topics covered thus far have included monarch butterflies, Roman wars, and amusement park rides, each of which links directly to a different citizen science project.

    If you’d like to see the science that you can do yourself, then read my blog: <A HREF="http://factismals.com"Factismals. What have you discovered today?

  212. I suppose this might be an appropriate place for this.

    I’m serializing a novel on JukePop Serials. It’s a survival story about nuclear bombs, roadtrips, long distance relationships and freaky monsters with red eyes. The story was featured in an issue of Megaton’s online magazine in January and is still in its first act, so if you like following serials as they happen, there’s still time to get on board early before it speeds up.

    Link: https://www.jukepopserials.com/home/read/282

  213. Feel free to mallet me, I just wanted to take this opportunity to say hi to Chrissy, Athena, and the cat’s. I figure people forget their part of your life too, if not for them there would be no you. Please take the compliment (all of you) intended! Enjoy your trip and keep writing AND helping people.

  214. Faded Page is a site offering free ebooks by a range of authors (mostly fiction at present) — currently 500, adding approximately 50 more every month. Titles are scanned, proofread several times by volunteers, formatted and published both in basic text versions, HTML and epub.

    Unlike virtually all other such sites, it operates under *Canadian* copyright law (death date of author +50 years). That means it is able to go beyond the 1923 cut-off and include authors such as Faulkner and Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Zane Grey, H. P. Lovecraft, Cyril M. Kornbluth, Ray Cummings, Henry Kuttner, Clark Ashton Smith and many more.

    At the moment, the first classic titles drawn from pulp magazines published in the 1930s-60s such as Startling Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Amazing Stories, Unknown, Out of this World Adventures, Super Science Novels, New Worlds, Wonder Stories and others are arriving at the site.

    Faded page is at http://www.fadedpage.com/ To see the complete catalogue, click on “Find a book” and then on Search without filling in the form.

  216. Thanks for the chance to shamelessly promo FableCroft’s latest things!

    Two new books available for pre-order: “One Small Step” (16 original spec fic short stories by women) and “The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories” by Joanne Anderton (debut collection, featuring the best of Jo’s excellent SF and Horror short stories, plus two original works). Pre-order special available here: http://fablecroft.com.au/books/pre-order-specials-one-small-step-and-bone-chime

    And FableCroft’s books are now available on Kindle, or if Amazon isn’t your thing, also at Wizard’s Tower Books and Weightless Books. Look out for “Epilogue”, “After the Rain” and the new ebook version of Tansy Rayner Roberts’ “Splashdance Silver” novel! http://fablecroft.com.au/books/ebooks/announcing-the-ebook-release-of-splashdance-silver-by-tansy-rayner-roberts

    *runs off to check out some of the other recommendations above*

  217. My plug is for writers.stackexchange.com. It’s a Stack Exchange beta site, meaning it’s an attempt at bringing the awesome, no-nensense Q&A format of Stack Overflow into the writing arena.

    Some of my personal favorites include:

    * Preventing genre-savvy second-guessing in murder mysteries
    * How do you develop a strong female character?
    * Editors: Edit on first read, or read and edit on second round?
    * Querying for a setting-heavy speculative fiction novel

    We’ve got an enthusiastic community, but we’re small, and haven’t really reached critical mass yet. I’m finding that the site – the attempt to talk about writing in Q&A, rather than back-and-forth discussion – is a really interesting experiment; so far, I’m finding it a pretty awesome way to conjure up interesting essays on pretty much any writing topic you’re interested in. Where it goes from here on will depend heavily on what users make of it – so if you love talking about writing, you might want to take a look :D

  219. What a novel concept and far be it from me to pass up such a great opportunity. Getting close to retirement drove me to start thinking about what I was going to do with that extra time. The main requirement was to come up with something that wouldn’t put my wife over the edge. My answer–write a novel. Darn if I didn’t finish it.

    It’s a science fiction novel about an aging engineer (go figure) who builds spaceships. Through a series of events he has the chance to actually emigrate on one and it’s a voyage complete with terrorist attacks, an egocentric captain, a sapient computer and an incredibly beautiful woman.

    Why does life have to be so complicated?

    http://www.amazon.com/Charas-Promise-ebook/dp/B008WGE4LK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357439721&sr=8-1&keywords=chara%27s+promise

  223. Shamelss self-promotion without the shame because you told us we could? Excellent. I would like to use this comment to promote my two fantasy novels.

    The Beauty’s Beast is about a cursed werewolf knight fighting to regain his human form and earn the love of a fair maiden. Available wherever ebooks are sold, like:
    http://www.amazon.com/The-Beautys-Beast-ebook/dp/B004AHKCL6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363543442&sr=8-1&keywords=the+beauty%27s+beast

    My second book, Heir to the Underworld, is about a normal team thrust into a world of dueling gods and ancient monsters. Supernatural shenanigans abound. Available here:
    http://www.amazon.com/Heir-Underworld-E-D-Walker/dp/1469927349/ref=la_B0045TAK4S_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363543524&sr=1-1

    Thank you, Scalzi, for the thread. :)

  224. Hello! I am an artist who makes unique gifts. I hand paint coffee mugs, sculpt unique light switch plates, make custom name paintings for you and those you love, wings you wear, jewelry, and fingerprint trees for weddings. I always love custom orders. Please check out my work, feel free to contact me with any ideas or requests, or just to say hello.
    Thanks,
    Leela Hein
    My Online Art portfolio- http://rmdart.webs.com/
    My Etsy- https://www.etsy.com/shop/RileyMicaDesigns

  225. Sweet! I am the least self promotey type, but I’m trying to be better about it. I do modern pet photography in Portland, Oregon. My business is called Blinker Photography and I photograph dogs and cats exclusively (owners are welcome to be in the shot too).

    I love animals and it’s an honor to document the bond between people and their pets. Pet photography is also a great way for me to donate my time to animal rescues I support.

    If you like fun, you should check out Blinker Photography or be friends!

    http://www.blinkerphotography.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/BlinkerPetPhotography

  229. My father recently wrote a science-adventure novel about the last flight of the Space Shuttle called Lunar Dance:

    “From the boardroom to the courtroom, the halls of Congress to the launch pad, Lunar Dance is a story of ambitious dreams, bold actions and eternal love set amid the high stakes world of today’s commercial launch industry, where the opportunities are boundless, but failure leads to certain death.

    When maverick aerospace startup Roadrunner Rockets hired former NASA engineer Carl Heinel, they knew nothing about the secret that consumed him. But Carl soon realizes that their revolutionary technology could allow him to keep a promise from his distant past – a promise he is committed to fulfilling, regardless of the cost. The one piece he needs to make it all possible is a retired space shuttle.

    Lunar Dance follows Carl and the team from Roadrunner Rockets as they implement their elaborate plan to secretly obtain the shuttle they need and embark on the greatest adventure in history. A plan in which everything is hidden in plain sight, nothing is as it seems, and only a handful of people know the real truth. Everything is proceeding very well – until it all goes catastrophically wrong.”

    Currently at 4.5/5 stars with 10 reviews on Amazon.

    http://www.amazon.com/Lunar-Dance-ebook/dp/B00AECQ440/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363556215&sr=8-2&keywords=lunar+dance

  231. Has anyone else read the “best obit ever” for Harry Stamps? Makes you realize that good writing shines through in every situation, even an obituary. Makes you fall in love with a character you have never met.

  232. Well, there have been more than a few posts ahead of me, so I’ll be brief and just say my first novel is out and getting some happy reviews. You could call it near-future post-apocalypse character-driven speculative fiction, or you could just call it a good story. I prefer the second definition. Drop by, take a peek. It’s less than a cup of coffee. Link: http://www.amazon.com/Behind-the-Ruins-ebook/dp/B00ATH92D0/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1356596475&sr=1-2

  233. I do voice overs! My work has all been live and recorded webinars and seminars focused on retirement plans, but I would love to branch out. I would be willing to work on spec to get into a diferent type of voice work. Email: pmroyce@charter.net

  235. Thanks for this, John.

    And hey, I wrote a book. It’s called THE DAEDALUS INCIDENT. In it, I crash a Royal Navy frigate circa 1779 into the planet Mars. How did it get into such a predicament? Well, you gotta read the book.

    Details on my site at http://www.michaeljmartinez.net. It’s out May 7. Also doing a Goodreads giveaway at the moment, so check that out if you’re an early adopter kind of person.

  236. I would like to draw people’s attention to BBC Radio 4’s dramatisation of Neil Gaiman’s ‘Neverwhere’. The cast and production value are amazing! I haven’t yet read the novel (I know, I know.), but after 10 minutes of listening to the adaptation, I went straight to Amazon to buy it.
    The hour-long Part 1 is up on the BBC iPlayer now at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r527b. Part 2 follows later today. I’m not sure how to access the BBC iPlayer from outside the UK, but I’m sure there are tech-savvy readers on the blog here who can help :)

    This is from the website:
    A six part adaption of Neil Gaiman’s novel adapted by Dirk Maggs for Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra, sees James McAvoy as Richard lead a stellar cast which includes Natalie Dormer, David Harewood, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Christopher Lee, Anthony Head, David Schofield, Bernard Cribbins, Romola Garai, George Harris, Andrew Sachs, Lucy Cohu, Johnny Vegas, Paul Chequer, Don Gilet and Abdul Salis.

  239. Not promo. Just feel compelled to say, my, that is one handsome and practical carry-on bag.

    I’m a little bit of a luggage junkie. (But I’m in complete control. I can quit whenever I want. I just don’t want to.)

  241. I mentioned Marcon, but forgot to say that the nominations for the Hugo awards that will be presented at LonestarCon, will be announced at 4pm Friday March 29 at Marcon Science Fiction Convention in Columbus Ohio.

  246. Well, as long as we’re shamelessly self-promoting ourselves, I figure it can’t hurt to share my current project: Hey, Internet! Let’s Write a Novel or Whatever, which can be found here: http://heyinternetletswrite.blogspot.com/ .
    The objective is to take a novel from initial concept to complete, edited, purchasable product (using Amazon’s CreateSpace service) over the course of a year, while also liveblogging the whole process. I’ve missed some posts recently on account of illness, but it’s live again and updating every evening.
    If any of you folks would like to check it out, that would be great.

  247. YOU ARE CORDALLY – CORDELIALLY – ACCORDIONLY – PLEASANTLY! YOU ARE PLEASANTLY INVITED

    WHAT: The European print launch of Ira Nayman’s Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience)
    WHEN: Sunday, March 31, 5pm
    WHERE: Eastercon, Bradford, England, room TBA

    WHY YOU WANT TO GO: “Ira Nayman is, without a doubt, totally insane. I mean, really bug-nuts crazy… As such, you can imagine that his stories are about the same. And they are. But they’re really funny, which is what makes them pretty awesome.” Mia Darien, Boom Baby Reviews

    “Yes, like all the other stories by Ira Nayman, this is hilarious and yet the reader is poked into thinking beyond the conventional.” Geoff Nelder, Café Doom

    WHY YOU REALLY WANT TO GO: I will be wearing a t-shirt. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, people – you really don’t want to miss it!

    YOU ARE…NOT GOING TO SUCKER ME INTO MISSPELLING “CORDIALLY” AGAIN – YOU ARE HAPPILY INVITED

    WHAT: The North American print launch of Ira Nayman’s Welcome to the Multiverse (Sorry for the Inconvenience)
    WHEN: Saturday, April 6, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
    WHERE: Ad Astra, Toronto, Ontario, room TBA

    WHY YOU WANT TO GO: “I did become a keen reader; I found I was drawn in, interested and amused. Overall it was a good jape, and if a healthy spot of sci-fi comedy is your thing, then it will serve you very well.” Kate Onyett, Future Fire

    “[O]ne of the funniest sci-fi books I’ve ever read.” Seregil of Rhiminee, Rising Shadow

    WHY YOU REALLY WANT TO GO: There will be cake. It’s good to get your sugar rush early, because Saturday is a busy, busy con day.

  249. I’ve written a set of rules for ranking the severity of cyber attacks. The scale goes from level 0 (nothing important happened today) to level 7 (ohmygodohmygodwe’reallgonnadie). I’ve got a few goals for the project, the foremost of which is pointing out when the media are sensationalizing something that is relatively unimportant/benign. I got tired of seeing outrageous stories of persecution for little more than being a curious person – and I thought I would try to do something about it.

    So, I created The Gibson Index: http://www.gibsonindex.org/

  251. I’m trying to fund a solo music tour across america, playing classical cello in mixed venues (read: bars). I’ve put together a program of 20th and 21st century music (including a new commission by composer ilkim tongur especially for the tour) that shows that new music isn’t all terrible and hard to listen to. it’s actually pretty good. Please give me a listen at my site jaripiper.com or at my indiegogo/soundcloud thang http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/american-cello-summer-tour/x/480029

WHATEVER


Taunting the tauntable since 1998
John Scalzi, proprietor – JS
Athena Scalzi, contributor – AMS
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