Monthly Archives: September 2015
Can’t Brain 2: The Can’t-Brainening
Posted on September 10, 2015 43 Comments
Actually, today it’s not that I didn’t have brain capability, it’s just that it didn’t last past about 1:30pm. I could actually feel my brain shutting down! It was amazing. Anyway, how are you today?
The Big Idea: Stephanie Diaz
Posted on September 10, 2015 3 Comments
Next time you can, go look at the moon. Pretty innocuous, right? Not for Stephanie Diaz and her Extraction series of books, of which Evolution is the latest installment. STEPHANIE DIAZ: For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed of having adventures in outer space. In fact, the first original words I remember writing […]
I Can’t Brain Today
Posted on September 9, 2015 79 Comments
And have decided to stop trying. And you? Can you brain today?
The Big Idea: Zen Cho
Posted on September 9, 2015 25 Comments
Sugar for your tea? While you have both, Zen Cho is here to explain a little about their physical origins, and why they matter for her novel, Sorcerer to the Crown. ZEN CHO: When I started writing what was to become my first published novel, I’d already written two novels. I had to throw them […]
Krissy Goes to Chicago
Posted on September 8, 2015 17 Comments
This last weekend Krissy took her mother and her daughter to Chicago, and snapped a few pictures as well. Here are five I especially liked. Chicago. I love that town.
The Big Idea: Cindy Pon
Posted on September 8, 2015 79 Comments
When Cindy Pon turned in her Big Idea for her novel Serpentine, she had titled it “A Guide to Writing Non-Commercial YA Fantasy,” with the notation “Maybe the titles of this post is a little tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely.” Why would she think that? Read on for the explanation. CINDY PON: When I was pitching […]
The Big Idea: David Walton
Posted on September 7, 2015 6 Comments
And now, for your Labor Day delight, here’s David Walton and his book Supersymmetry, explaining how what appears like a detail in one book can become a big idea in the sequel. DAVID WALTON: It’s time to tie your mind in knots a second time . . . Only five months ago, John was kind […]
Approving Grasshopper Approves
Posted on September 6, 2015 19 Comments
Not only is this grasshopper pretty chill, it totally looks like it’s giving me a “thumbs up.” Thanks, chill grasshopper! You’re pretty awesome yourself! This is all I’ve got for you today. But by golly, isn’t it enough?!?
My College Degree: Not So Useless After All
Posted on September 5, 2015 71 Comments
Apparently, if you’re getting a humanities degree and you want to make money, a philosophy degree is the way to go. This is according to PayScale, a company which surveys college graduates about such things: Although philosophy majors rank 75th on PayScale’s overall list of majors at mid-career earnings, it’s the top humanities bachelors degree in […]
Clouds, 9/4/15
Posted on September 4, 2015 13 Comments
Because with clouds like these, we’re not getting a sunset tonight. Enjoy.
The Big Idea: Bradley Beaulieu
Posted on September 4, 2015 7 Comments
If there’s a way to encapsulate the thoughts of Bradley Beaulieu with regard to his new novel Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, they might be: “Dying is easy. Tragedy is hard.” Learn what this means below. BRADLEY BEAULIEU: Years ago, like any new writer, I was working through ways I might portray tragedy and loss in […]
“Being Poor,” Ten Years On
Posted on September 3, 2015 93 Comments
Ten years ago today, I put the essay “Being Poor” on Whatever. I wrote the piece, as I explained later, in a rage at the after-events of Hurricane Katrina, when so many people asked, some genuinely and some less so, why many of the poor people didn’t “just leave” when the hurricane smashed into the Gulf […]
The Big Idea: Rebecca Alexander
Posted on September 3, 2015 4 Comments
Writing can be an adventure or an escape, and it can also be a way of dealing with events around you, and to explore what they mean and do. Ask author Rebecca Alexander, author of The Secrets of Blood and Bone. She’ll tell you. And does, just below. REBECCA ALEXANDER: Ten years before I began working […]
New Books and ARCs, 9/2/15 + Reminder: Event in Columbus Tomorrow, 7pm
Posted on September 2, 2015 34 Comments
And now I’m caught up with the new books and ARCs that came in while I was on tour! See something you like here? Tell me about it in the comments. And if you are in or around Columbus tomorrow, remember that I am coming to the OSU bookstore for my final tour event. I’ll […]
Wrapping Up 2015: A Hugo Awards Open Thread
Posted on September 2, 2015 190 Comments
I’ve had a few people express a desire for an open thread here to discuss this year’s Hugo Awards, to touch on some topics I haven’t specifically addressed; separately, Charles Gannon, who was nominated for the Nebula year, and was just below the cutoff for the Hugo Best Novel award this year, noted something I […]
The Big Idea: Adam Rakunas
Posted on September 2, 2015 4 Comments
Pineapple juice in paradise inspires science fiction! That’s the first thing you need to know about Windswept and its author Adam Rakunas. But if you would like to know more — and you do! — Rakunas goes into further detail below. ADAM RAKUNAS: It started with a bar. I was in Hawaii to officiate a wedding, […]
It’s Been a Busy Day at the Scalzi Compound and I Have an Event Tonight So In Lieu of Actual Words, Please Accept This Picture of a Cat
Posted on September 1, 2015 21 Comments
I imagine this will be pleasing to the large majority of you. And remember, if you are in or near the Dayton area: Tonight! Books & Company at the Greene. 7pm. Be there! Because I will be, and I don’t want to be alone.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying