Monthly Archives: April 2020
The Big Idea: Adrian J. Walker
Posted on April 30, 2020 7 Comments
For his new novel The Human Son, author Adrian J. Walker decided to get into a different mindset entirely. A very very different mindset. ADRIAN J. WALKER: Human beings make terrible decisions. I wrote The Human Son in the shadow of Brexit, so I know what I’m talking about. Don’t worry, that wasn’t a political […]
Webb School Days, Vol. 1: A Playlist
Posted on April 29, 2020 16 Comments
I made a playlist of some songs I listened to, when I went to @TheWebbSchools back in the 80s. Care to take a listen? The Spotify link awaits you below.https://t.co/1vzGUikCZ7 pic.twitter.com/OWSBelznyQ — John Scalzi (@scalzi) April 29, 2020 And in case you don’t have Spotify, here’s the playlist in YouTube form:
And Now, The Most Terrifying Self Portrait I’ve Done This Week
Posted on April 29, 2020 42 Comments
It’s the “kaleidoscope” setting on a camera app I was playing with. Yeah, that’ll stick with you when you’re trying to get to sleep tonight. Oh, and just for good measure, here it is in black and white: Sweet dreams!
The Big Idea: A.J. Hartley
Posted on April 29, 2020 4 Comments
If we’re lucky, we don’t come to close to thing that might terrify us. A.J. Hartley did not have that luck, and the encounter he had informed what would become his latest novel, Impervious. A.J. HARTLEY: How do you make fantasy out of real life horror? It happened 51 weeks ago, my personal glimpse of […]
The Big Idea: S.L. Huang
Posted on April 28, 2020 16 Comments
Characters these days often have extraordinary abilities that make them seem almost more than human. The protagonist of S.L. Huang’s new novel Critical Point has one. It may not be the one you expected. S.L. HUANG: So, I’m a nerd. I’ve always been a nerd. By middle school, I had all the Star Wars movies […]
Quarantine, Six Weeks In
Posted on April 26, 2020 75 Comments
Thoughts on six weeks of quarantine (so far): * I had a really good week last week, with The Last Emperox hitting a bunch of best seller lists and some other good things which I can’t talk about yet falling into place, and aside from that life at home continuing on in a generally pleasant […]
Zeus, Majestic
Posted on April 25, 2020 11 Comments
Those of you who remember when we first got Zeus might, like me, be a little amazed he is now the senior cat of the Scalzi household. But it turns out he wears the title well. Also, he still takes a pretty grand photo, from time to time.
My Online Tour Setup
Posted on April 24, 2020 23 Comments
When it became clear that for this tour I’d be doing all my events from my office, I went out and got a fairly nice webcam for streaming and whatnot. But it turns out that it plays only fitfully with my computer and also that my sound card kind of hates it. So this is […]
Additional Thoughts on Emperox’s First Week
Posted on April 23, 2020 45 Comments
Because I have them! And this is my site, where I can talk about them! In no particular order: * I’m still a little stunned by where Emperox ended up on the NYT list. Bluntly and honestly speaking, given the global pandemic, which makes the getting of books rather harder than it usually is, I […]
The Last Emperox a NY Times and USA Today Best Seller
Posted on April 22, 2020 27 Comments
So, there is this: And also, there is this: And in case you can’t see that, The Last Emperox is #6 on the New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Best Seller list, and #14 on the USA Today Best Seller list. The NYT list is looking at new fiction specifically; the USA Today […]
The Last Emperox Spoiler-Filled Discussion Post (WARNING: Spoilers!)
Posted on April 21, 2020 83 Comments
Now that The Last Emperox has been out for a full week, I think it’s time to open up a place for people who have read the book to be able to discuss it without worrying that they will spoil the plot points for others, so for the next few days at least I will […]
A 30-Day Song Challenge in One Day
Posted on April 20, 2020 20 Comments
Because I’m not patient enough to do this over 30 days. It’s a list that features a different mood/idea/whatever for each of 30 days, and then I added an extra one, because some months have 31 days. Let’s go through the whole thing at once, shall we? 1. A song you like with a color […]
Week Five of Quarantine and Ugh, I Have Nothing Useful to Say About It, So Here’s a Picture of a Puppy Instead
Posted on April 19, 2020 40 Comments
This labradoodle showed up in the yard yesterday and I got to play with it a little bit while its human loitered a socially responsible distance away. It was adorable. And yes, before you ask, we’re thinking about getting another dog sometime soonish. Not this one, cute as it is. Anyway, uhhhh, another week of […]
My Online Event at the Commonwealth Club, 4/17/20
Posted on April 18, 2020 7 Comments
There’s about seven minutes of hold music at the beginning; you can forward to the 7 minute point in the video where the event actually begins. There’s a couple minutes of announcements and then I start blathering, and I go on for about an hour. Enjoy.
Krissy at 50
Posted on April 18, 2020 113 Comments
It’s Krissy’s birthday today, and it’s one of those round number ones: She’s 50 now, which is kind of wild to think about. It means (among other things) that she and I have been married for half of her life now, and have known each other and been in love for even longer than that. […]
Me and NPR’s Scott Simon
Posted on April 17, 2020 4 Comments
Doing a little thing on the Twitters. Enjoy. (If you can’t see it, hit that link.) Tonight’s Open Book with @Scalzi and Thornton Wilder! https://t.co/4w1PO5dnkD — Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon) April 17, 2020
The Sneeze
Posted on April 16, 2020 17 Comments
Not Sugar’s most dignified moment, but it makes for a striking picture. Hope your Thursday is going well, folks.
Checking In On TLE Sales (Kind Of)
Posted on April 15, 2020 33 Comments
I’m a big proponent of reminding people to take Amazon ranking numbers with a grain of salt, for all sorts of reasons. With that said, they can be a fun if distorted mirror to get an idea where one’s sales might be. And at the moment, The Last Emperox is: #1, #3 and #40 New […]
The Last Emperox is Out!
Posted on April 14, 2020 38 Comments
If you’re reading this, then The Last Emperox, my latest novel and the conclusion to the Interdependency Trilogy, is now out in the US and Canada in hardcover, eBook and audiobook editions (UK folks: You have two more days for the UK print edition). I’m happy to say the book has been a hit with […]
Sunset, April 13, 2020
Posted on April 13, 2020 9 Comments
The next time I see this glowy orb, my new book will be out.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying