Monthly Archives: February 2015
My Solo Album (Not Really But Even So)
Posted on February 16, 2015 12 Comments
So, I posted this picture of myself with ridiculously large, Bono-like sunglasses on Twitter and noted that if I ever decided to make a solo album called The Life and Times of a Pretentious Wanker, it would be the cover photo. And, well. A fellow with the Twitter handle of “Johnny Magnum” decided to take […]
I am Busy Today But Do Not Wish to Leave You With Nothing Here on Whatever, So Please Enjoy This Picture of a Cat in a Bathtub
Posted on February 16, 2015 30 Comments
And Lopsided Cat is all, “What? Can’t a cat have a little private time? With his favorite sponge?” Hey, man. I don’t judge. How’s your Monday?
Reminder: Today is International Grover Appreciation Day
Posted on February 15, 2015 36 Comments
Have you shared the good news about Grover with the important people in your life? If not, today is a very fine day to do so! He is, after all, the best of all possible Muppets.
Today’s Thing I’ve Never Seen Before
Posted on February 13, 2015 21 Comments
It’s a large print edition of Redshirts, in a library binding and everything. I’m not 100% sure but I suspect this is the first book of mine in large print (the Hugo award may have helped it get into the format). At the very least it’s the first book of mine that I’ve seen in […]
New Books and ARCs, 2/13/15
Posted on February 13, 2015 33 Comments
A double-header of new books and ARCs today. These were ones that came in before I headed off on the JoCo Cruise last week. On Monday, I’ll catch up with some of the ones that have come in since. In the meantime, some excellent stuff here. See anything you like? Tell me about it in […]
The Big Idea: Randy Henderson
Posted on February 13, 2015 6 Comments
In which author Randy Henderson and the protagonist of his novel Finn Fancy Necromancy have a conversation about things and stuff. RANDY HENDERSON: “The Big Idea of Finn Fancy?” Finn asked. “Let’s do it! Time to get all introspective, Mork from Ork wrap-up style.” “Fine,” I replied. “For this book, the big idea was simply […]
There She Goes
Posted on February 13, 2015 59 Comments
Athena, driving herself to school for the very first time. A strangely melancholy moment here. On one hand, now I’ll get to regularly sleep in on school days for the first time in over a decade. On the other hand, my brain has started this song on a loop. So there’s that. They do grow […]
The 2015 SF/F Fans Award Recommendation Thread
Posted on February 12, 2015 64 Comments
The Nebula Award nomination period ends on February 15, and the Hugo/Campbell Award nomination period is well underway, and several other awards are in their consideration periods as well. Which makes right now an excellent time for fans of the science fiction and fantasy genre to make their recommendations for books, stories, art, movies and […]
JoCo Cruise Celebrity Artemis, In Which It Is Revealed I Am an Incompetent Captain
Posted on February 12, 2015 12 Comments
This is me playing Celebrity Artemis, as the captain of the USS Redshits (not a typo), with Steve Jackson as my engineer, Wil Wheaton at the helm, JoCo Cruise intern Joel Pattison on weapons (with every other intern pestering him), Ted Leo on science and Mikey Neumann on communications. Everything goes to hell very quickly, and […]
The Big Idea: Brian McClellan
Posted on February 12, 2015 8 Comments
When you’ve written a half million words in a world of your own devising, it’s okay to stop, look around, and take stock of what you’ve wrought. Thus does Brian McClellan look upon his works in the Powder Mage Trilogy, here on the release of the final book in the series, The Autumn Republic. Take […]
Lock In an Audie Award Finalist + Other Award Notes
Posted on February 11, 2015 10 Comments
First, look at that: Lock In is finalist for an Audie, in the Science Fiction category. Sweet! The graphic here notes Wil Wheaton as the reader (plus a full cast for “Unlocked,” which was included in the Lock In audio package), but the finalist notation in the “all finalists” press release (pdf link) also includes Amber Benson, […]
Announcing the Audie Award Finalists for Fantasy, 2015!
Posted on February 11, 2015 11 Comments
The folks at the Audie Awards asked me if I would be willing to announce the finalists for the Fantasy category of awards, and of course I was delighted to. The Audie Award, for those of you not aware, are the awards given out for excellence in audiobook achievement. This year, the finalists in the category […]
The Big Idea: Amy Bai
Posted on February 11, 2015 9 Comments
Who will your heroes be? How and why are they as they are? Amy Bai gave serious thought to these questions when writing Sword, and found the answers for her through a most circuitous path. AMY BAI: I grew up, as so many of us did, on Hans Christian Andersen, the Grimm brothers, Charles Perrault, […]
Subterranean Scalzi Super Bundle Available for a Limited Time
Posted on February 10, 2015 39 Comments
A couple of years ago, Subterranean Press released a “super bundle” of short stories and non-fiction books from me, perfect for completists who want to get lots of stuff of mine for a nice, low price. SubPress has revived the super bundle for a limited time with three new works in it: “To Sue The […]
The Big Idea: Rebecca Adams Wright
Posted on February 10, 2015 13 Comments
Rebecca Adams Wright was one of my students at the Clarion Writer’s Workshop. I’m delighted beyond words to spotlight her first, terrific, collection, The Thing About Great White Sharks, here on the Big Idea. As she explains, the title may say “sharks” but what it all really comes down to is people. REBECCA ADAMS WRIGHT: […]
The Big Idea: Courtney Alameda
Posted on February 9, 2015 9 Comments
First off: Whoa, that cover. It’s awesome. And the cover tells some of the idea of Shutter, by Courtney Alameda. She’s here now to explain what, and why, and how in the end a story may be worth a thousand pictures. COURTNEY ALAMEDA: Ideas don’t strike me. Characters do—at least figuratively. When people ask me about the […]
How I Spent My JoCo Cruise 2015
Posted on February 9, 2015 41 Comments
My thoughts, in no particular order. * I stand on dry land, I feel like I’m swaying. This is what a week and a day on a boat will do to you. It happens every time I come back from the JoCo Cruise. It’s a little weird, but it’s also kind of nice. Like the […]
Ships of the Line
Posted on February 7, 2015 17 Comments
Behold the Independence of the Seas and the Grandeur of the Seas, the two Royal Caribbean ships docked at RC’s private resort of Labadee, in Haiti. People noted, once they got out of the darkish corridor created by the towering presence of the two ships, that the Grandeur looked kind of small compared to the […]
Pictures From the JoCo Cruise, Part the Third
Posted on February 6, 2015 5 Comments
Just a couple of days left in the cruise now. Here are some more pictures! St. Kitts, as we were steaming out from it. A pretty little island. The ever-popular Jim Boggia, leading an ukulele jam to (of course) Paul McCartney. San Juan, Puerto Rico. We were here when Midnight Star came out, so I […]
Midnight Star Available NOW Worldwide on iOS
Posted on February 5, 2015 41 Comments
First, the relevant information and linkage: Midnight Star, the video game for which I created the overarching story and whose development I otherwise contributed to, is up and now available worldwide on iOS in the iTunes store. The game is free to play, with the ability to make in-app purchases (the game can be played […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying