Monthly Archives: February 2017
The Big Idea: Jacqueline Carey
Posted on February 14, 2017 6 Comments
Shakespeare is a font of inspiration for writers, not only for the words he put to paper, but for the worlds built around the words. For her new novel Miranda and Caliban, Jacqueline Carey explores the world of The Tempest, one of the bard’s greatest plays. What does she find there? Here she is to […]
The View From the Top of Amazon’s Heap
Posted on February 12, 2017 31 Comments
Yesterday nine of my novels were on sale for $2.99 in ebook format, across a bunch of different retailers, but most prominently on Amazon, because, well, Amazon. Amazon has a number of different ways to make authors feel competitive and neurotic, one of which is its “Amazon Author Rank,” which tells you where you fit […]
One Day eBook Sale: Old Man’s War series + Redshirts, Lock In and Fuzzy Nation, $2.99 Each
Posted on February 11, 2017 31 Comments
Hey, if you live in the United States or Canada and like your books in electronic form, then for today only (February 11, 2017), a whole bunch of my ebooks are on sale for $2.99 each. Which books? Old Man’s War The Ghost Brigades The Last Colony Zoe’s Tale The Human Division The End of All […]
Today’s New Books and ARCs, 2/10/17
Posted on February 10, 2017 29 Comments
As we move into the weekend, here’s another stack of fine books and ARCs that have recently come into the Scalzi Compound. Which of these titles moves you? Tell us all in the comments!
Three Weeks Into Trump’s America
Posted on February 10, 2017 105 Comments
Hey, Scalzi! It is I, your fake interlocutor! I wish to ask you about your thoughts on Trump and the news this week! Ugh. I mean, okay? I guess? You don’t sound excited! I’m at this place where I do want to talk about what’s going on with our government, and at the same time […]
The Big Idea: Kameron Hurley
Posted on February 9, 2017 11 Comments
I start this Big Idea for The Stars Are Legion, by Kameron Hurley, with a disclosure: I liked the book enough to blurb it (you can see the blurb right there on the cover, above). Why did I like it? Well, as it happens, Kameron’s piece today will go a long way to explain. KAMERON […]
“The Dispatcher” a Finalist for Two Audies + Locus Award Voting + Nebula and Hugo Award Voting + Print Preorder Info
Posted on February 8, 2017 8 Comments
So, this is a good day for me: The Dispatcher, my novella that was released as an audiobook from Audible, is a finalist for two(!) Audie Awards, first in the category of Science Fiction, and second in the category of Original Work (meaning, first published in audio form). I’m thrilled about both, and it’s lovely to […]
Announcing the 2017 Audie Award Finalists in the Fantasy Category
Posted on February 8, 2017 9 Comments
Hey! I get to tell you which works, authors and narrators are finalists for the 2017 Audie Award in the category of Fantasy. The Audies are the highest award in the audio book industry, so being a finalist for one of its categories is a very fine honor indeed. This year, the finalists for the […]
The Big Idea: Stephen H. Provost
Posted on February 8, 2017 5 Comments
It can happen that writing a book of one sort can be the genesis for a book of another sort entirely: Writing a non-fiction book inspired Stephen H. Provost to have a big idea for a fictional tale, one that developed into his new novel Memortality. Here’ he explains how he got from the one […]
Announcing The Expanding Tour 2017! 24 Cities! Five Weeks!
Posted on February 7, 2017 70 Comments
It’s now officially announced: My tour dates for The Collapsing Empire! I’m calling this one The Expanding Tour 2017, and here are the venues (follow the links for times and details): Tuesday, March 21 Joseph-Beth Booksellers Lexington, KY Wednesday, March 22 Quail Ridge Books & Music Raleigh, NC Thursday, March 23 Flyleaf Books Chapel Hill, […]
The Big Idea: Lara Elena Donnelly
Posted on February 7, 2017 5 Comments
Difficult times are complicated, not only for themselves but what they do to people — who are themselves complicated even at the best of times. Or so Lara Elena Donnelly might argue, both here in this Big Idea piece, and in her novel Amberlough. Is she correct? Read on for her argument. LARA ELENA DONNELLY: […]
In Which the Eternal Question of “What Would It Sound Like If Morrissey’s ‘Every Day Is Like Sunday’ Was Covered as Dark Ambient With a Cookie Monster Singer?” Is Answered
Posted on February 6, 2017 20 Comments
It would sound like this. And now you know.
The Big Idea: Ryan David Jahn
Posted on February 6, 2017 1 Comment
Author Ryan David Jahn has given a fair amount of thought into the nature of violence, and guilt, and other primary emotions and urges. They’re present in his novel The Breakout; Jahn explains why, and how they influence him as a writer. RYAN DAVID JAHN: In daily life, I’m surrounded by a cloud of free-floating guilt. […]
New Books and ARCs, 2/3/17
Posted on February 3, 2017 38 Comments
They say that when a stack of books and ARCs this high pops its head out during the first week of February, you’ll have lots of good reading for months afterward. I would tend to agree. See anything here that you’d like to curl up with during the winter cold? Tell us in the comments!
The Big Idea: Fonda Lee
Posted on February 3, 2017 6 Comments
There’s more to alien creatures than green skin or an extra set of eyes. Fonda Lee, author of Exo, comes around to tell you why, and how it affects her new novel. FONDA LEE: You know, there just aren’t enough aliens in YA science fiction these days. I’d argue there isn’t enough YA science fiction […]
The Big Idea: Jess Nevins
Posted on February 2, 2017 16 Comments
One day author Jess Nevins decided to see how far back the origin story of “superheroes” went — it wasn’t Batman or Superman, folks — and the answer to the question (or the answer he arrived at) was both further back in time and more complicated than he could have ever expected. The result: His […]
Crescent Moon, 2/1/17
Posted on February 1, 2017 28 Comments
Proof the what the eye sees and the camera sees are different things: When I was looking through the viewfinder I could see details in the crescent and nothing of the non-illuminated part; here in the picture it’s entirely the other way around. I like it.
In Which a Cover Strapline Does Not, Alas, Reveal a Vast Conspiracy For My Benefit
Posted on February 1, 2017 86 Comments
I was pointed this morning to a blog post by an author not previously of my acquaintance who was making a bit of noise about the UK cover of The Collapsing Empire; the June 2016 cover reveal of the UK cover featured the strapline “The New York Times Bestselling Series” (above, to the left), and […]
The Big Idea: Thoraiya Dyer
Posted on February 1, 2017 9 Comments
Bread is the staff of life, as it said, but what happens when bread doesn’t make sense for your world? Thoraiya Dyer has given this question some serious thought for her novel Crossroads of Canopy, and invites you to discover with her where these thoughts lead. THORAIYA DYER: I’ve always wondered, even as a child, why […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying