Monthly Archives: September 2017
New Books and ARCs, 9/29/17
Posted on September 29, 2017 20 Comments
Well, September went pretty quickly, didn’t it? To send it off, here’s a stack of new books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound. Tell me what speaks to you from this stack, down in the comments.
The Big Idea: Jon McGoran
Posted on September 29, 2017 13 Comments
What’s the next step beyond gnarly tattooing? Jon McGoran has an idea, which makes up the central conceit of Spliced. But how he got there is another story entirely. JON McGORAN: I came up with the idea for Spliced while researching my book Dust Up, an adult thriller about biotech in big food and pharmaceuticals. […]
The Big Idea: Alethea Kontis
Posted on September 28, 2017 9 Comments
In When Tinker Met Bell, Alethea Kontis is working in the universe of another author. How does she do it? As it happens, she drew inspiration from another universe entirely, one she visits once a year. ALETHEA KONTIS: In 1996, fresh out of college with a Chemistry degree and absolutely no idea what to do […]
The Piece I Wrote For This Evening is Totally Not Relevant Anymore, So Please Enjoy This Cool Picture of a Stick Bug That Was On My Sliding Glass Door Instead
Posted on September 27, 2017 18 Comments
I love these things. They are so cool looking. And the multiple reflections going on are pretty nifty too.
That’s So Weird + A Couple of Big Idea Updates
Posted on September 26, 2017 2 Comments
My Big Idea schedule says I was supposed to run the Big Idea for Fran Wilde’s Horizon today, but I already ran it last week. Which means that I screwed up, because today is the release day. So: If you missed the Big Idea when I posted it early, here it is today. Also, congrats […]
Sunset 9/25/17
Posted on September 25, 2017 3 Comments
I may have bumped up the saturation levels a bit in this one. I regret nothing.
Can You Tell My Earnings From My Amazon Sales? Spoiler: Nope, Not at All
Posted on September 25, 2017 47 Comments
There was thread over at Metafilter this week talking about book sales and author earnings, including a link to a study that purported to chart author earnings, based on sales at Amazon. I have to admit I had a bit of a giggle over it. Not because it was attempting to guess author incomes, which […]
Out For the Weekend
Posted on September 23, 2017 10 Comments
But don’t worry, Spice is here to keep you company. See you on Monday (or maybe Sunday evening, if I feel frisky).
New Books and ARCs, 9/22/17
Posted on September 22, 2017 16 Comments
Just in time for the weekend, a new batch of books and ARCs at the Scalzi Compound for you to peruse. Which would you want to give a place in your own “to be read” stack? Tell us in the comments.
The Collapsing Empire an Audible Deal of the Day
Posted on September 22, 2017 9 Comments
And being an “Audible Deal of the Day” means you get to spend very little to get the book — in this case something like $3. The deal as far as I know is limited to the US and maybe Canada, and it’s only for today. So if you want it at this price, you […]
The First Sunset of Fall, 2017
Posted on September 21, 2017 14 Comments
Featuring an Amish gentleman on a recumbent bicycle. As all the best first sunsets of fall do. So long, summer. You did all right.
Today is International I’m Busy So Here’s a Picture of Krissy Day
Posted on September 21, 2017 8 Comments
And as luck would have it, I happen to have just the picture for such a day! What are the odds? (Spoiler: They are in fact very good.)
Why I Had a Good Tuesday This Week
Posted on September 20, 2017 24 Comments
Because yesterday I got to hang out a bit with Alison Moyet, who if you didn’t know is one of my absolute favorite singers, both in Yaz, and with her solo work. We’d become Twitter buddies in the last couple of years and when I mentioned to her Krissy and I would be at her […]
The Big Idea: Fran Wilde
Posted on September 20, 2017 12 Comments
Today, award-winning author Fran Wilde has a shocking confession to make! About something she said! Here! And yes, it involves her new novel, Horizon. What will this confession be? Will there be regret involved? Are you prepared for what happens next?!? FRAN WILDE: Dear readers of John Scalzi’s blog, for the past three years, I’ve […]
View From a Hotel Window, 9/19/17: Chicago
Posted on September 19, 2017 19 Comments
Krissy and I are playing hooky today because we’re going to the Alison Moyet concert in Chicago, which necessitated a bit of a drive. Well, we’re here now, and the view from the hotel is lovely, nary a parking lot in sight. How is your day?
The Big Idea: Annalee Newitz
Posted on September 19, 2017 5 Comments
In her debut novel Autonomous, former i09 editor-in-chief and current science and tech writer and editor Annalee Newitz gets under the skin of the healthcare industry and thinks about all the ways it’s less-than-entirely healthy for us… and what that means for our future, and the future she’s written in her novel. ANNALEE NEWITZ: There’s […]
Today in I Need a Better Class of Detractor
Posted on September 18, 2017 61 Comments
It is delightful to see one of my detractors assert I will never earn out an advance on work I've already received royalties for. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) September 18, 2017 Well, specifically this silly person said I would never earn out [x] amount of money I got as an advance, and also that I […]
The Big Idea: Douglas Wynne
Posted on September 18, 2017 3 Comments
In Cthulhu Blues, author Douglas Wynne wants you to catch the waves. Or perhaps more accurately, to appreciate the fact that the waves already have you — and show something else between them. DOUGLAS WYNNE: Back when I was studying music production and engineering at Berklee College of Music, I had a mystical epiphany that […]
New Books and ARCs, 9/15/17
Posted on September 15, 2017 29 Comments
If you were wondering if any new books and ARCs have come to the Scalzi Compound recently, the answer is, why, yes, they have. And here they are! Tell me which titles here intrigue you, down in the comments!
A Spiderweb Collection
Posted on September 15, 2017 9 Comments
This morning was dewy and we have quite a lot of spiders around the Scalzi Compound (it being a rural area and full of bugs, you see), so I went out with my camera and took pictures of some of the webs, and occasionally, the webs’ architects as well. The collection of images is here, […]
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