Monthly Archives: October 2018
View From a Hotel Window, 10/18/18: Los Angeles
Posted on October 18, 2018 19 Comments
Dig that crazy sculpture down at the bottom left. I got in to my hotel SUPER early and they had exactly one room to give to me. Fortunately, one room was all I needed. Tonight: Los Angeles! Downtown! The Last Bookstore! 7pm! Be there and bring everyone you know. It’s easily reachable through public transportation! […]
The Big Idea: K. Bird Lincoln
Posted on October 18, 2018 5 Comments
In today’s Big Idea, we learn of the tomb of a surprising person in a surprising location, and how K. Bird Lincoln used it to think about the world and characters she created in her new novel, Black Pearl Dreaming. K. BIRD LINCOLN: I grew up Lutheran in a mostly white church in Cleveland, Ohio. Imagine […]
View From a Hotel Window, 10/17/18: Portland
Posted on October 17, 2018 11 Comments
It feels very Portland-y to me. Also, this is the first photo from the TempPhone™, the phone I’m using for a couple of days until I can get my grubby little hands on a Pixel 3. The TempPhone is basically the cheapest phone they had at the Verizon store, which two generations back would have […]
Housekeeping Notes, 10/17/18
Posted on October 17, 2018 10 Comments
Just a couple of brief things: 1. My phone’s hotspot was acting odd last night so I reset my phone to see if it would fix it. Not only didn’t it fix it, but the phone completely refused to turn back on. Various emergency procedures were enacted (including cursing, begging and bargaining) but to no […]
The Big Idea: Steven Erikson
Posted on October 17, 2018 16 Comments
Call Steven Erikson a radical, a rebel or just someone who watches too much TV, but the fact is: Right now, a particular trope of fiction has him fed up. And he’s doing something about it, as he explains in this Big Idea for his latest, Rejoice, A Knife the Heart. STEVEN ERIKSON: I have […]
View From a Hotel Window, 10/16/18: Seattle
Posted on October 16, 2018 4 Comments
Running a little late because I got into room late! But very pretty. No parking lot, sorry. Tonight: I’m at the University Bookstore at 7pm! If you hurry you can still make it! Tomorrow: Portland, Oregon and I’m at the Clackamas Barnes & Noble! Come see me please! Bring everyone you know!
The Consuming Fire is Out and I’m On Tour!
Posted on October 16, 2018 23 Comments
Today’s the day! The Consuming Fire, the second book in the Interdependency series and the sequel to the Locus Award-winning and Hugo Award-nominated The Collapsing Empire, is now out in the United States and Canada (and the US edition available in other places in the world). The UK edition will be out on Thursday. The […]
Smudge: Very Tired and a Little Bit Stoned
Posted on October 15, 2018 25 Comments
As you can see from this photo. Krissy had gotten in close to pet him, and he just plain snuggled into her arms and started to nap. It’s adorable! Why is Smudge tired and a little bit stoned? Because today he took a trip to the vet and was relieved of a couple of small […]
The New Thing I’ll Be Doing This Tour: The Element of Chance
Posted on October 15, 2018 28 Comments
This upcoming book tour for The Consuming Fire (here’s the link to the schedule) will be the tenth(!) book tour I’ve done, and over the course of time I’ve developed a strategy for my events: I read from an upcoming work, I read something short and funny, and then I read a piece from Whatever, usually […]
How to Get Signed Copies of The Consuming Fire: The Informational Post
Posted on October 15, 2018 3 Comments
Want a copy of The Consuming Fire signed to you? You have numerous options, all good. Here they are: 1. Come see me on tour! Which starts tomorrow in Seattle and winds through a significant portion of the United States. Aside from being able to get your book signed, you’ll also get to see me […]
The Big Idea: Ryk E. Spoor
Posted on October 15, 2018 2 Comments
The thing about trilogies is that they always have that “middle chapter” — the one that has to do its own thing while serving the arc it’s in the middle of. Writing one is always a challenge, and Ryk E. Spoor is here today to tell you how he’s managed it with Demons of the […]
It’s Woolly Bear Season
Posted on October 14, 2018 12 Comments
Woolly bear caterpillars, that is, which are apparently supposed to tell you by their pelt whether it’s supposed to be a warm or cold winter. This one suggests it will be a mildish winter, which I am perfectly fine with. However, there’s no actual scientific grounding, so, you know. Don’t blame the Woolly bear any […]
New Books and ARCs, 10/12/18
Posted on October 12, 2018 15 Comments
As we head into an increasingly autumn-like weekend here at the Scalzi Compound, here’s a slightly-larger-than-usual stack of new books and ARCs for you to peruse and contemplate. And if there’s anything here that rings your bell, tell us about it in the comments!
Father-Daughter Voting
Posted on October 12, 2018 43 Comments
It pleases me immensely that today I took Athena to the local board of elections office so that she could vote in her very first election ever. She was a couple of months too young to vote in 2016, so this was the first time she could do it. We both voted early because on […]
A Decade of WordPress Hosting (Or, This Year’s Annual Unsolicited Endorsement)
Posted on October 12, 2018 9 Comments
A decade ago this very week (on 10/10/08, in fact), Whatever moved from being self-hosted to being hosted on WordPress, and on its very fine VIP service. Lots of things have happened in the world and in my personal life since that switchover, but you know what hasn’t happened? Whatever being down or inaccessible for […]
The Big Idea: Jennifer Estep
Posted on October 12, 2018 3 Comments
Football, cooking smells and names — how do they all come together to be inspirations for an epic fantasy novel? Jennifer Estep knows how, and today she’s here to tell you how they combined for Kill the Queen. JENNIFER ESTEP: I tried to write epic fantasy for years—years! In fact, the very first (unpublished) book […]
The Existential Loneliness of an Empty Carnival Ride
Posted on October 11, 2018 19 Comments
Which is, puzzlingly, not the name of some 70s prog rock album. Right now is the time for the annual Pumpkin Show in my town, during which people fill the streets, eat fair food, and ride the rides set up in the small town park. This is one of them. It looks very sad without […]
October Flowers
Posted on October 10, 2018 10 Comments
I’ve been traveling today, to Michigan to sign a whole bunch of books, but saw these flowers and thought that they would be nice to share with all y’all. A little bit of color in your day, as it were. Hope you enjoy them.
The Consuming Fire Contest Winner + Notes One Week Out From Release
Posted on October 9, 2018 25 Comments
Hey! We’re one week out from The Consuming Fire officially being released and me starting my book tour! Let’s talk about these things! 1. First, congratulations to Shatle, who for the Consuming Fire contest yesterday correctly guessed (and was the only one to correctly guess) that the city I was thinking of was Kingman, Arizona. […]
The Big Idea: Amy S. Foster
Posted on October 9, 2018 3 Comments
Why do writers write books? One reason is to figure out who our characters are, and who they need to become to be fully realized. Amy S. Foster explains the journey one of her characters makes, across a trilogy of books that ends with The Rift Coda. AMY S. FOSTER: Almost three years ago I […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying