Monthly Archives: June 2017
View From a Hotel Window, 6/30/17: Denver
Posted on June 30, 2017 12 Comments
I actually took this photo on the 29th, local time (which it still is when I post this), but because Whatever is on Eastern time, it’ll show up as the 30th. Time zones! They are freaky. In any event, after some delay, I am now in Denver, in my hotel room, which I think is […]
The Big Idea: Jean Marie Bauhaus
Posted on June 29, 2017 2 Comments
First books in a series are often easy to write — fresh ideas, new characters, cool situations. What about the second books, where you have to continue with the rules you already set out? How do you keep it fresh for the readers, and the author? It’s a question Jean Marie Bauhaus confronts in her […]
Administrative Note: All July Big Ideas Scheduled
Posted on June 28, 2017 3 Comments
If you were waiting to hear if you were scheduled for July and have not heard from me, a) Sorry, b) Yup, they’re all scheduled. Still taking queries for August.
My Denver Comic Con Schedule
Posted on June 27, 2017 12 Comments
Hey! I’m going to Denver Comic Con this weekend! I’ll be on panels and signing books! Here is my schedule! Panels: Laughter in the Face of Disaster (Friday 6/30 11AM Room 407), Military Scifi an Institution (Friday 6/30 3PM DCCP4 – Keystone City Room), Fight the Power! Fiction for Political Change (Friday 6/30 4:30PM Room […]
New Books and ARCs, 6/27/17
Posted on June 27, 2017 23 Comments
We interrupt this Tuesday afternoon to bring this fresh stack of new books and ARCs that have arrived at the Scalzi Compound. What here is a book you would like in your possession? Tell us in the comments!
The Big Idea: Desirina Boskovich
Posted on June 27, 2017 3 Comments
Memory and language: Two concepts that Desirinia Boskovich had in mind for her novella Never Now Always. And now, here she is, to remember to you, in words, why they were important to her story. DESIRINA BOSKOVICH: There are key moments and motifs in fiction that we latch onto as readers, and as writers. Symbolic […]
Harry Potter and the Initially Dismissive But Ultimately Appreciative Fan
Posted on June 26, 2017 120 Comments
The first time I personally encountered Harry Potter was not long after the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, came out. I was 30 and my daughter was an infant, so in neither case were these particular Scalzis the target demographic for the books, but by that time the buzz (and sales) […]
Why My Wife is Amazing, Part 73,592
Posted on June 25, 2017 71 Comments
Conversation between me and Krissy yesterday: Me: With all this bullshit around health care, and the possibility of pre-existing conditions and insurance caps coming back, we should probably look into supplemental insurance. Krissy: I got us supplemental insurance years ago. Me: You did? Krissy: Yes. I even have policies for very specific things. Me: Like […]
Stars and Fireflies, 6/24/17
Posted on June 24, 2017 11 Comments
I finally got out the tripod, and it makes a difference. This is one you’ll want to see the big version of.
Interview, of Me, in Iowa, In Which I Talk About Writing
Posted on June 23, 2017 3 Comments
Gotta be honest, I had entirely forgotten I’d done this interview last year when I was in Iowa City for a book festival. But eventually it all came back to me. Also, it’s a pretty good interview. Enjoy.
In Which I Announce My Plan to Hide From the News Until Head On Is Done
Posted on June 23, 2017 29 Comments
Hey, did you know I’m currently writing a novel? I am! It’s called Head On, and it’s coming out in ten months. Also, it’s not done yet, and the deadline is real soon now. I need to make some real progress on it in the next few weeks or else my editor will give me […]
A New Addition to the Midnight Star Universe
Posted on June 23, 2017 4 Comments
If you’re a fan of the Midnight Star video games I helped create, here’s something fun for you: John Shirley, legendary writer and lyricist, has written “Purgatorio,” a serialized story set in the Midnight Star universe. He’s written it for Bound, a new company (and iOS app) specializing in serialized fiction. Which is pretty cool. […]
The Big Idea: Laura Lam
Posted on June 23, 2017 2 Comments
Big Ideas are great for a book (I mean, that’s kind of the whole point of the “Big Idea” pieces). But as Laura Lam explains about her novel Shattered Minds, sometimes the Big Idea is just the jumping off point. LAURA LAM: Sometimes you get the big idea for the story. Sometimes that’s not enough, […]
On That GOP Health Care Bill, and Tax Breaks
Posted on June 22, 2017 115 Comments
First, my initial thoughts, as rendered on Twitter. I know folks who'll likely die if this GOP health plan passes. But I guess the big tax cut I'll get out of it is supposed to make that okay. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) June 22, 2017 I'd rather keep paying those taxes and help keep my […]
The Big Idea: Curtis C. Chen
Posted on June 22, 2017 8 Comments
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie… well, if you’re Curtis C. Chen, maybe you think about setting a novel there. Here’s Chen now to explain Kangaroo Too’s lunar connection. CURTIS C. CHEN: It is very likely that I set Kangaroo Too on the moon because of The Fifth Element. In […]
More Fireflies
Posted on June 22, 2017 10 Comments
I’m getting a smidgen better at taking pictures of these little glowy dudes. The secret, which is not a secret at all, is long exposures on steady platforms, and low ISO settings so you don’t blow out the picture. This one, which is actually a detail of a larger photo, is a 20 second exposure […]
The Big Idea: Linda Nagata
Posted on June 21, 2017 21 Comments
For The Last Good Man, author Linda Nagata decided to take a risk with one of her characters, who is not the usual sort for the literary milieu Nagata has her story inhabit. Who is this character? And what were the repercussions of that risk? LINDA NAGATA: For most of my career, I’ve written novels […]
Putting the Head On Cover Here, Because Why Wouldn’t I
Posted on June 20, 2017 27 Comments
I mean, I was happy to give Entertainment Weekly an exclusive for a day, but now this cover needs to here at home. Also, I really like it. Credit to Irene Gallo, Tor’s art director, and Peter Lutjen, the cover designer (he also did the design for Redshirts and Lock In). Tor always does right […]
The Big Idea: Theodora Goss
Posted on June 20, 2017 8 Comments
In her Big Idea piece for The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, author Theodora Goss makes an observation about classic monster stories that I, personally, never picked up on, but now that she’s pointed it out, seems obvious. It says something about me that I missed it, and something about her that she’s used […]
Head On Cover Reveal + Excerpt at EW.com
Posted on June 19, 2017 31 Comments
You know, just in case you’re curious. Here’s the link.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying