Monthly Archives: January 2020
New Books and ARCs, 1/31/20
Posted on January 31, 2020 23 Comments
As we bid adieu to January of 2020, let’s send it off with this hefty stack of new books and ARCs that have arrived at the Scalzi Compound. What here would you like to greet February with? Tell us all in the comments!
Krissy in Her Happy Place
Posted on January 30, 2020 13 Comments
She’s got a baby and she’s a got a cat, and she’s clearly pleased about both. Hope your day found you in a happy place as well.
Permanent Snackery
Posted on January 28, 2020 42 Comments
Over the holidays, I saw that people were doing a thing where they left out snacks for the folks delivering their various gifts and packages, on the principle that a) ’twas the season and b) delivery people were working long hours and deserved some appreciation. I thought this was a nice idea, and joined in […]
A Brief Overview of My Current Political Thoughts
Posted on January 27, 2020 95 Comments
I’ve not been writing on politics nearly as much as I have in previous times, in part because in this age of obvious corruption and complicity, I find it difficult and wearying, without the motivating prod of actually being paid for it, to write anything that I haven’t already said in broad and unambiguous terms. […]
If You Go Carrying Pictures of Chairman Mao
Posted on January 26, 2020 12 Comments
The Warhol portrait is in fact very impressive close up. But it was equally impressive how people seemed to unconsciously place themselves in a tableau around it. I’m back from Chicago, where I hung about with many impressive people talking about many impressive things. This was good for my brain, but now I am also […]
New Books and ARCs, 1/24/20
Posted on January 24, 2020 18 Comments
Friday again, and time for another eclectic stack of new book and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound. What here is speaking to you as we head into the weekend? Tell us in the comments?
Off to Chicago; Here’s a Cat
Posted on January 23, 2020 11 Comments
I’ll be in Chicago over the next few days to hang out with friends and do a little business so updates here may be sporadic. Please accept this cat as compensation for my likely mostly absence through Monday. It’s a fair trade.
The Big Idea: Charlie N. Holmberg
Posted on January 21, 2020 4 Comments
For The Will and the Wilds, author Charlie N. Holmberg asks: When is a kiss not a quite a kiss — or perhaps more accurately, not only a kiss? The answer: when certain, special, creatures are involved. CHARLIE N. HOLMBERG: Once, almost exactly three years ago, Charlie had a weird dream. In this dream she […]
My Tools and Programs, 2020
Posted on January 20, 2020 37 Comments
Over on Twitter this morning I was watching people discuss the pros and cons of various writing tools, which reminds me that it’s been a while since I’ve discussed which tools I use to work, and do work-adjacent things, these days. So in case anyone is interested, here is my list of current tools and […]
Zeus Contemplates the Meaning of Existence, January 2020
Posted on January 19, 2020 11 Comments
He’s been contemplating the meaning of existence for a while now. I don’t think he’s gotten particularly far with it, but to be fair, I don’t know that anyone else has really done all that much better than he has. So there’s that. I’m back home, after a few days in suburban Detroit for the […]
New Books and ARCs 1/17/20
Posted on January 17, 2020 10 Comments
This looks like a very fine time to show off this week’s stack of new books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound! What here is getting your blood pumping? Tell us all in the comments, please!
The Big Idea: Simon Jimenez
Posted on January 17, 2020
When you have a big idea for a story, the question then often becomes — what practical things do I need to do to make this big idea work for the story? For The Vanished Birds, author Simon Jimenez had his big idea, and now in the Big Idea piece, he explains how he made […]
The Big Idea: Parker Peevyhouse
Posted on January 16, 2020 1 Comment
At first blush, the ability to do anything sounds like a great idea. But there are reasons that it wouldn’t be… especially when you’re writing a novel. Parker Peevyhouse explains why, and how reining it all in made a difference for Strange Exit. PARKER PEEVYHOUSE: When you live in a simulation, anything is possible. But […]
The Last Emperox Gets a Starred Review in Publishers Weekly
Posted on January 16, 2020 14 Comments
Publishers Weekly has dropped their review of The Last Emperox, and, well: Hugo Award–winner Scalzi knocks it out of the park with the tightly plotted, deeply satisfying conclusion to his Interdependency Sequence space opera trilogy… Balancing existing character dynamics and surprising—but well-earned—reveals with interstellar politics and pressing ethical questions of sustainability and power, Scalzi sends his […]
The Big Idea: Rod Duncan
Posted on January 15, 2020 2 Comments
When it came to writing novels, Rod Duncan discovered that it helped for him to get out of his own head, and to take a chance on a character outside of his own personal experience. That character has since taken him places, including to his newest novel, The Fugitive and the Vanishing Man. ROD DUNCAN: […]
Hey, Guess Who Will Be Going to Dragon Con This Year?
Posted on January 14, 2020 19 Comments
Spoiler: It’s me. I will be going. As its literary guest of honor. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a warm Agrabah welcome…. Wait. Wrong script. Ladies and Gentlemen! We are delighted to announce that John @Scalzi is the #DragonCon2020 literary guest of honor! pic.twitter.com/LYJxI2E7eQ — Dragon Con is going virtual for 2020! (@DragonCon) January 14, […]
The Big Idea: Kameron Hurley
Posted on January 14, 2020 5 Comments
For this Big Idea, Kameron Hurley looks at what it takes to get a book right — and how her latest novel, The Broken Heavens, had to look beyond binary expectations to get there. KAMERON HURLEY: Two choices: Left or right. This or that. Choose one or the other. There’s no in-between. No other choices. […]
When I Die and People Write About Me
Posted on January 14, 2020 41 Comments
Apropos of nothing in particular, I have some thoughts about my (hopefully not imminent) death, and the people who will decide to write things about me immediately thereafter. Consider this piece a bit of advance planning. 1. When I die, some people will be moved to write touching pieces about me, talking about all the […]
First Pass Oscar Predictions, 2020
Posted on January 13, 2020 19 Comments
You know what? I genuinely can’t generate any enthusiasm for thinking about the Oscar slate at all this year, so, yeah, I’m gonna take a pass and maybe come back to it in 2021. I feel pretty good about this decision, honestly.
Get Signed/Personalized Copies of The Last Emperox From Subterranean Press
Posted on January 13, 2020 7 Comments
We’ll be announcing my tour dates for The Last Emperox soon, but in the meantime I understand that not everyone can get out to see me when I’m on tour, either because I’m not coming to a town they are near, or because they are pinned by a large automobile and literally can’t move (or […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying