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Archiving for Posterity: A Twitter Thread on Book Blurbing, 5/13/23
Posted on May 13, 2023 37 Comments
Archiving here for the sake of posterity (and not relying on Twitter for it; they’ve gone wonky, alas, so this is a cut and paste job) 1. To reiterate this once again for everyone: If you see me blurbing a book, it’s because I have actually read the fucking thing and I liked it enough to […]
New Books and ARCs, 5/12/23
Posted on May 12, 2023 12 Comments
It’s Friday, and what better time to be thinking about books for the weekend. What in this stack of new books and ARCs is calling to you? Share in the comments! — JS
An Appropriate Cover: “With Or Without You”
Posted on May 10, 2023 13 Comments
Fun fact: Bono, the lead singer of U2, has the same birthday as me: Today, May 10. So I thought it might be fun to essay one of his band’s more famous songs. It’s not going to replace the original, to be sure, but I enjoyed putting it together. Additionally, a thing I learned today: […]
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Posted on May 10, 2023 50 Comments
Well, I’m no longer in my “early fifties,” I’m smack dab in the middle of them, and of middle age. And you know what? So far, at least, my fifties have been terrific. I’m very definitely in the part of my life where I am comfortable with who I am and what I’ve done with […]
Cover Reveal: Starter Villain
Posted on May 8, 2023 35 Comments
Tor Books has a history of giving my novels some pretty terrific covers, and, hey, guess what? They’ve done it again! Please enjoy the cover of Starter Villain, featuring, as it does, a tremendous executive-level cat. And, yes, cats are integral to the plot of the novel. How? You’ll have to read the book to […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #10: Short Bits, Part Two
Posted on May 7, 2023 7 Comments
More short answers to pressing questions! Let’s get right to it: Theorboast: I would love to see you rate some unusual musical instruments for suitability in your band. Theorbo? Theremin? Hurdy-gurdy? Duduk and tar? As it happens I do own a theremin, and also some other vaguely unusual musical instruments such as an Omnichord, a […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #9: Short Bits, Part One
Posted on May 6, 2023 10 Comments
And now, short answers to some of the questions that I otherwise did not get to this year: Karen A. Wyle: What does it mean to retire from self-employment? Is there any purpose in declaring, to oneself or others, that one is Retired? If you stop working for a living, and don’t plan to start […]
I and Michi Trota Talk About Writing and Life and Stuff
Posted on May 6, 2023 1 Comment
And specifically about The Kaiju Preservation Society, at the American Writers Festival last year. It’s an hour long! We cover a lot of ground! Enjoy! — JS
Reader Request Week 2023 #8: The British Head of State
Posted on May 5, 2023 39 Comments
Just in time for tomorrow’s coronation, this question from Miles B: I’m British, and I’m curious what you (Americans in general, but obviously you in particular) make of the way we determine our head of state? For those of you who might be unclear about this, the head of state of the United Kingdom is […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #7: Money Among the Generations
Posted on May 5, 2023 53 Comments
David Goldfarb asks: Something that occurred to me to wonder about, a while ago: as someone who grew up poor, how do you feel about your daughter’s attitude towards money? I’ve seen posts from her where she talks in a fairly casual way about spending what to me (also upper middle class! pretty close to […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #6: An Update On the Church
Posted on May 4, 2023 38 Comments
Several folks in the request thread have asked for an update on the church, with some additional information about what it takes to renew and refurb an old building like this into something useable. As it happens, today we got another milestone in its refurbishment under our belts, so it’s a fine time to catch […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #5: That Big Damn Contract, Revisited
Posted on May 3, 2023 29 Comments
Will Glass wants to know: How’s the Big Damn Contract going? Hard to believe it’s been 8 years. Not that any of this is our business of course, but since you’ve talked about it a fair amount, your avid readers are curious. Are you satisfied with the deal you got? From Tor’s perspective are they […]
I’m the Guest of Honor at the 2023 Budapest International Book Festival
Posted on May 3, 2023 23 Comments
For those of you who can’t read Hungarian, which admittedly includes me, this is what the article screenshot above says, via Google Translate: John Scalzi will be the guest of honor at this year’s Book FestivalThe Budapest International Book Festival, which is now being held for the 28th time, is a noted event of the […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #4: My Memory
Posted on May 2, 2023 27 Comments
Granny Roberta says: I had a really good question a while back but I forgot to write it down. (Remembering the actual question was never an option.) So how’s YOUR memory holding up? As far as I can recall, it’s about as good as it ever was, which is to say, not particularly good or […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #3: Our Giant Lawn
Posted on May 2, 2023 27 Comments
–E asks: You have this giant lawn. I don’t get the sense you do much more than mow it (or rather, Krissy mows it). What do you use your giant yard for? Throwing balls for the dog, I’m sure, and taking photographs of yourself in dresses, but do you ever picnic in your yard? Did […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #2: The Future of Social Media
Posted on May 1, 2023 17 Comments
Stars & Arrow asks: I’m curious about your thoughts on the future of social media, beyond the current doom-spiral of Twitter and the struggle to figure out a replacement for that. I keep thinking of all the ways social media has been used in the past, particularly in countries where speech is more limited, and […]
Reader Request Week 2023 #1: The Fallout From Abortion Restrictions
Posted on May 1, 2023 42 Comments
Time to begin this year’s Reader Request Week, and why not start on an absolutely-non-controversial-in-any-way topic, suggested by LadyCat: Quick sum up: What are your thoughts about your family, specifically your wife and daughter, remaining in Ohio for the long term due to its strict limits on abortion and the spillover from this into other […]
Quick Update on the Researcher Gig
Posted on May 1, 2023 3 Comments
Which is: I’m still sorting through applicants. There are a lot of you, folks, and you are all so good. I’ll have a final decision by the end of this week. Thanks for your patience, there’s only one of me doing the selection. — JS
New Music From Me: “Just Here For the Bassline”
Posted on April 29, 2023 12 Comments
Krissy and Athena are away for the weekend, and between eating donuts and pestering the animals, I played around with my digital audio workstation and came out with something with a pretty killer bassline, with a bunch of other bleepy and bloopy stuff around it. It’s kind of if a New Order bassline and a […]
The Kaiju Preservation Society a Locus Award Finalist + Final Two Days For Hugo Nominating
Posted on April 29, 2023 7 Comments
First things first: Kaiju is a 2023 Locus Award finalist, in the category of Science Fiction Novel. This delights me, both for itself, and for the company it keeps. Here’s the full list of finalists in the category: SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL I’m not going to complain about that peer group of novels and novelists. There […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying