Monthly Archives: February 2018
Oh, And: Krissy
Posted on February 28, 2018 4 Comments
A picture of her at the mission in Loreto, Mexico. If I remember correctly, she’s looking up at a saint, or the Virgin Mary. She’s pretty great (Krissy, I mean. The Virgin Mary’s all right, too, I guess).
Photos From the JoCo Cruise Loreto Concert, 2018
Posted on February 28, 2018 1 Comment
I spent last week on the JoCo Cruise, an annual excursion filled with music and comedy and readings and crafting and games and nerds, and one of the big events on the cruise was a land-based concert in the Mexican town of Loreto, featuring MC Frontalot, Paul & Storm, Aimee Mann, Open Mike Eagle and […]
The Big Idea: Rachel A. Marks
Posted on February 28, 2018 3 Comments
Author Rachel A. Marks reached into her own personal mythology to help craft her new novel Fire and Bone — a little bit of early imagination finding its way into a tale in present time. RACHEL A. MARKS: I’m going to be honest right up front; the Big Idea for Fire and Bone is a […]
Sunset, 2/27/18
Posted on February 28, 2018 2 Comments
From the plane as it was descending into Dayton. It’s good to be home.
The Big Idea: Tobias Buckell
Posted on February 27, 2018 15 Comments
In their new novel The Tangled Lands, Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell posit a world where magic is real — and exacts a toll, one different from what one might usually expect. Buckell is here today to expand and expound on that toll, and the parallels that toll has in our real world. TOBIAS BUCKELL: […]
View From a Hotel Window, 2/26/18: Hoboken
Posted on February 26, 2018 19 Comments
There are worse views to have, honestly. Sadly nearly all my time will be devoted to work while I’m here, so I probably won’t get into the city itself. But I’ll be back in April for the book tour, and am very much looking forward to that. Also, of course, a very different skyline than […]
Back From JoCo Cruise
Posted on February 26, 2018 25 Comments
I’m back! Did you miss me? No? Well, fine. Nevertheless I have returned from a week at sea, on the 2018 iteration of the JoCo Cruise. Briefly, it was wonderful, and I had a fabulous time, as always. I would go on about it, and probably will later, but right now I’m actually back at […]
The Big Idea: Myke Cole
Posted on February 20, 2018 1 Comment
For this Big Idea, author Myke Cole has some thoughts on how people find themselves governed and why — and how these thoughts have resonance for his latest work, The Armored Saint. MYKE COLE: Nobody trusts the government. The single greatest casualty of the political chaos of the past year is our faith in our […]
Out For a Bit
Posted on February 16, 2018 6 Comments
Hey folks — taking a break for about ten days. I’ve scheduled a Big Idea post for next week, which you’ll see pop up, but otherwise I’ll be off the Internet entirely until the 25th at least, and probably not back here until the 27th or so. Be good to each other until I get […]
Whoops, I Forgot To Update Today, So Here, Have Some Music
Posted on February 15, 2018 2 Comments
It’s Petra Haden doing an acapella version of David Bowie’s “Life On Mars.” Enjoy. And yes, in case you’re wondering, I got the name for Haden’s Syndrome from her. She knows. I sent her a signed copy of Lock In.
Thoughts on Pixel Buds
Posted on February 14, 2018 13 Comments
Because apparently I’ve gone entirely over to the Google side of the force and will be getting “Pixel 4 Lyfe” tattooed somewhere on my body, I’ve acquired a pair of Pixel Buds, the Google-manufactured wireless earbuds that are designed to work specifically with the Google Pixel 2 line of phones (which I have), although I […]
The Big Idea: Karen Healey
Posted on February 14, 2018 17 Comments
Author Karen Healey has some very specific advice about the use of apostrophes, and prologues. What is it and how does it have an impact on The Empress of Timbra, the novel she co-wrote with Robyn Fleming? Healey is here to fill you in on the details — with all the apostrophes in the correct […]
Cover Reveal of The Consuming Fire Over at Verge
Posted on February 12, 2018 17 Comments
Yes! Go see it! Here’s the link. The artist is Sparth, i.e., the same artist who did such great work with the cover for The Collapsing Empire. Plus there’s an interview with me there talking a bit about what’s going on in the book. No spoilers on specifics, but there’s a discussion on general themes […]
The New Guitar, and a Small Observation About Being a Dick
Posted on February 9, 2018 60 Comments
Most of you know I play a tenor guitar, which I like very much, but recently I decided I want to try playing a six-string guitar again, and went looking around for one that I thought I might like. Eventually I found one I thought I would like from a smallish company called Zager Guitars […]
New Books and ARCs, 2/9/18
Posted on February 9, 2018 18 Comments
Hey, it’s time for the book stack! These are the new books and ARCs that came into the Scalzi Compound this week. What’s speaking to you here? Tell us all in the comments!
10 Years of Big Ideas at Whatever
Posted on February 8, 2018 41 Comments
On January 22, 2008, the first “Big Idea” post went up here on Whatever, for Marcus Sakey’s At the City’s Edge. The latest one, for Sue Burke’s Semiosis, went up just this morning. All told, including the first and the most recent posts, 828 books have been featured in the Big Idea in a decade, […]
The Big Idea: Sue Burke
Posted on February 8, 2018 12 Comments
Got some houseplants? By the time you finish reading Sue Burke’s Big Idea essay about her novel Semiosis, you’ll never look at them the same way again. That’s pretty much a promise. SUE BURKE: Who’s in charge of the planet where you live? Is it you – that is, humans? Maybe. But not everything living […]
Whoops
Posted on February 7, 2018 35 Comments
The Pixel 2 is a tough little phone, but it turns out when you drop it from a decent height onto ceramic tile riiiiight on the corner, you may still have a problem or two. A thing to be aware of, folks. Fortunately I procured a replacement Pixel 2, and with the transfer of the […]
The Big Idea: Jasmine Gower
Posted on February 6, 2018 2 Comments
Tedium: Sometimes it’s an excellent motivator. Author Jasmine Gower explains how, and how it helped her novel Moonshine come to life. JASMINE GOWER: The appeal of fantasy is the satisfying escape into the truly impossible, unattainable adventures beyond the reach of even our most exciting moments in the real world. Fantasy provides an opportunity to […]
Kirkus Review of Head On
Posted on February 6, 2018 6 Comments
It’s the first trade review of the book (and, in point of fact, the first review of the book, period), and it’s a good one, and calls Head On “Very clever, wonderfully satisfying fun.” There’s a pull quote for you. And it’s nice to have someone entirely uninvolved with the book give it a thumbs […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying