Monthly Archives: September 2023
View From a Hotel Window, 9/25/23: CVG
Posted on September 25, 2023 10 Comments
And here we have another quality parking lot photo, both foreground, and especially, background. Tonight at 7pm: Cincinnati, I’ll see you at the Joseph-Beth booksellers! And then, that’s it for this leg of the book tour. Do I go home from here? Dear me, no! I’m off to Budapest tomorrow, to be the Guest of […]
View From a Hotel Window, 9/23/23: Pittsburgh
Posted on September 23, 2023 20 Comments
Well, folks, if we’re talking parking lot views, it appears that we have hit the motherlode. This is an extremely impressive collection of loitering vehicles. I think it may even be a record, and in 15 years of touring, that’s saying something. Reminder that today’s event is at 4pm and that the venue is now […]
View From a Hotel Window, 9/22/23: DFW
Posted on September 22, 2023 9 Comments
Another airport hotel view, once again because I have to be up silly early to catch a flight — not the earliest I have to get up, that’s tomorrow — and being at an airport hotel is the easiest way to manage that. Also, after the horrendous travel day I had yesterday (I didn’t get […]
Meet the Ohioana Award
Posted on September 22, 2023 17 Comments
It’s an award, given by the state of Ohio, to Ohio writers, in the shape of — yes! — Ohio. It is a very on theme award, I have to say. And I have one, for The Kaiju Preservation Society, which won this year’s Readers’ Choice Award (i.e., the one Ohioana Award that is voted […]
Not a View From a Hotel Window, 9/21/23: Denver, Unfortunately
Posted on September 21, 2023 34 Comments
So I’m on the tarmac on SFO this morning, listening to the informational flight video as the plane is pulling away from the gate, when suddenly the informational video, and the lights, and the air conditioning, go out, followed by quiet but insistent beeping noises, followed by the pilot getting on the intercom and going […]
Trying Out A New Recipe: Half Baked Harvest’s Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Blondies
Posted on September 21, 2023 22 Comments
About a week ago, the temperature had dropped just enough for it to feel like a real fall day. Of course, now we are back up to the 80’s despite it being the end of September, but for one glorious day it was cool and breezy, and I knew I wanted to make something that […]
View From a Hotel Window, 9/20/23: SFO
Posted on September 21, 2023 8 Comments
Turns out, you can stay at the airport when you’re at SFO. Which is what I did, because I have an early flight the next day. However, I did manage to get into the city, and had a good time, with the event and with seeing friends. It’s always nice when that happens. Tomorrow, or […]
View From a Hotel Window, 9/18/23: San Diego
Posted on September 19, 2023 19 Comments
Technically a marina is a parking lot! It’s lovely view, someone currently being ruined by the sound of someone running a chainsaw near by; it really drowns out the sounds of the sea lions at the marina. Humans are the actual worst. TONIGHT: I’m at Mysterious Galaxy bookstore at 7pm. I’m looking forward to it, […]
Starter Villain is OUT + Starter Villain Theme Song by DESSA!
Posted on September 19, 2023 30 Comments
The waiting is over! Starter Villain, my latest novel, is out today in North America (Sept. 21 in the UK), and is available in print, ebook and audio. However you want it, you can get it! It’s available at your local bookstore, and I encourage you to get it there, but here are some additional […]
View From a Hotel Window, 9/18/23: Scottsdale, AZ
Posted on September 18, 2023 23 Comments
Scottsdale has apparently not gotten the memo that it’s supposed to be a bit autumnal: It’s currently 100 degrees out right now, which I discovered is not an especially walkable heat when I walked most of a mile to get my COVID and flu boosters at a near(ish) pharmacy, and then walked back. I did […]
New (Sort Of) Music Release: MFH23EP
Posted on September 17, 2023 1 Comment
As I noted yesterday, today’s at-home music technology has the capability to take some old, muddy recordings and freshen them up a bit — make the music brighter and/or give it more dynamic range. With that in mind, I took five of the tracks from my Music For Headphones album, which were recorded some twenty […]
Saturday Music: Two Remasters
Posted on September 16, 2023 4 Comments
Because I’ve been nerding out about music lately, I now have a frankly ridiculous number of plug-ins for my Digital Audio Workstations, which do all sorts of cool things. One useful one is called Ozone, from Izotope, which listens to your current audio project and then does an automatic rebalancing of levels of every instrument […]
The Half-Price Books Union, and Also, Australia
Posted on September 15, 2023 17 Comments
I’ve been traveling the last couple of days, and am about to be traveling for two weeks straight after that, so I’ve posted my usual “hey, I’m traveling, don’t expect a reply” email auto responder. This means that if you were hoping to get an email response from me about something, bad news, friend, you’ll […]
View From a Hotel Window, 9/15/23: Troy, MI
Posted on September 15, 2023 18 Comments
Ah, the parking lot view. Simple. Classic. For those of you who ordered a signed copy of Starter Villain from Subterranean Press, today’s the day I sign them. All one thousand or so of them. It’s going to be a busy morning. And then I go back home, because I have an interview to do […]
The Big Idea: Matthew Sangster
Posted on September 14, 2023 4 Comments
Want to dig into the tropes and traditions of the fantasy genre? Matthew Sangster has come over from the University of Glasgow to give us An Introduction to Fantasy, and to retrace the steps that brought him to propose and then write the book. MATTHEW SANGSTER: People who love Fantasy know viscerally in their hearts […]
25 Years of Whatever
Posted on September 13, 2023 73 Comments
At the start of the year I had big plans to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Whatever. On the 13th of each month leading to this day, I would write some sort of retrospective piece, or musing about my life or the world, culminating in a capstone piece that would, well, be this particular […]
I Went To A Bourbon Pairing Event Despite Disliking Bourbon
Posted on September 12, 2023 53 Comments
There’s something about pairing events that really interests me. I love the idea that there is a specific drink that goes with a specific food based on experts’ opinions on their flavors, and the way they interact with or compliment each other. I’ve been to a few wine pairing events, and once opted for the […]
The Big Idea: Malon Edwards
Posted on September 12, 2023 1 Comment
Death isn’t always the end. In author Malon Edward’s world, death is the precursor to becoming something more than you previously were. Follow along in his Big Idea to see how growing up in Chicago inspired his newest book, If Wishes Were Obfuscation Codes and Other Stories. (Trigger warning: suicide) MALON EDWARDS: One of the core […]
Smudge Has Questions About His Meal
Posted on September 11, 2023 17 Comments
“Waiter, I ordered this steak rare. As you can see, it is clearly medium rare, and that is simply unacceptable. Send it back. Tell the chef to get it right this time. Your tip is riding on how quickly I get what I ordered.” Smudge, a tough crowd at a restaurant. (Oh, who are we […]
A Note About a Thing
Posted on September 10, 2023 10 Comments
My wife threw me a surprise party yesterday, to which dozens of friends from all across the country showed up, and I was so surprised and overwhelmed and happy I did not actually take a single picture, which if you know me is highly uncharacteristic. I’m still slightly dazed from it. So quickly: For everyone […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying