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Hello From Budapest, 9/28/23
Posted on September 28, 2023 17 Comments
The photo is from the opening ceremonies of the Budapest International Book Festival, just before I went up on stage and was given the Budapest Grand Prize by the mayor of Budapest, who is very tall and not a little bit handsome, and who referenced my shoes in a later presentation (they’re my Bosch Doc […]
Starter Villain a NYT, USA Today, Indie and Audible Bestseller
Posted on September 27, 2023 18 Comments
And it’s actually a New York Times best seller twice, as it landed on both the Hardcover and Combine Print & EBook list (numbers 14 and 12, respectively). Plus it’s #30 on the USA Today list (that list covers all books being sold in bookstore, regardless of format, genre and release date), #15 on the […]
View From the Sky, 9/26/23
Posted on September 26, 2023 16 Comments
Well, I’m off to Budapest now. This is the view from earlier today, heading from Ohio to Washington; now I’m on the plane heading to Europe. It’ll be most of a day in the sky and at airports before I make it to Budapest; I splashed out on Business Class to make sure my neck […]
View From a Hotel Window, 9/25/23: CVG
Posted on September 25, 2023 14 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Saturday Music: Over the Hillside (Rough Mix)
Posted on September 9, 2023 4 Comments
I’m not saying that me posting covers of songs I like is becoming a usual thing for the weekends here, especially as I’m about to have my weekends booked for the next two months inclusive, but I am saying it’s been kind of fun to learn more about my music production equipment, and my current […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying