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|   Jeff VanderMeer will be stopping by my place of employment, Brookdale Community College, on his current book tour for Finch and Booklife. He'll be reading from the new novel, discussing aspects of the writing life, and answering questions. If you're in Jersey, stop by. Open to the public and free. Here's the pertinent information:
Brookdale Community College on Nov. 17th, from 11:30 to 1:30, in the Navesink Room of the Student Life Center, reading from his new Fantastic/Noir novel, Finch and discussing his new book for writers, Booklife.
Here's a link to driving directions to the Lincroft Campus of Brookdale from all over Jersey:
http://www.brookdale.cc.nj.us/pages/131.asp | |
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| Yesterday was a good day. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) calendula_witch and I got in a terrific walk up some mondo hills, spent some good quality couple time together, both got writing and reading done, then eventually went out. Our itinerary included Good Vibrations, Borderlands Books, Tacqueria Cancun (one of my favorite Mexican restaurants on the West Coast), and of course, The Make-Out Room for Writers With Drinks. Borderlands Books produced some unexpected bonus in running into Greg and Astrid Bear. I also got a phone call on the store phone, from sdn, which was surprising but fun. We ran into Kat Richardson on the sidewalk, who was killing time before reading at Writers With Drinks, so we pulled her along. Once there we met up with maryrobinette (another reader) and Mr. maryrobinette, along with two friends of calendula_witch's. Afterwards, out with the WWD crew for crepes and fries at Frjtz. Whoever thought of putting truffle oil on french fries ought to be sanctified. After WWD, we wound up talking to blakecharlton and therinth quite a bit. Blake's a medical student with both a personal and professional interest in cancer, Erin is a nurse. They had a lot to say, especially Blake, which was very helpful to me in my ongoing process of sorting my perspectives on my cancer, its recurrence, and my fears both rational and irrational. One thing Blake talked about was the survivorship community. The point he made, in reference to a close family member who'd survived a very bad experience with cancer (much worse than mine looks to be, frankly), was that there were conversations that Blake could not have with his loved one. There's a shared experience and an emotional vernacular which cancer survivors only find in other cancer survivors. This of course made all kinds of sense. You see the same phenomenon in veterans, law enforcement, survivors of a disaster, or people who've shared any complex, high stress experience. Which made me realize that one reason I'd written "The Specific Gravity of Grief" was to try to frame that cancer experience, that cancer mindset, for people who haven't taken that particular journey. To some degree, it's why I blog so extensively and thoroughly about my cancer journey, but the story (just finished, now in revision, due out from Fairwood Press next year) is a way of communicating the essentially incommunicable. Or so I hope. A lot of streams crossed last night, and it wasn't dangerous so much as enlightening. It reminded me that while I stumble a lot, I also continue to progress. Sometimes I remember to be proud of myself, and the people around me. | |
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| Went to Tucson on Friday with Julia T. to hear Barbara Kingsolver read from her new book, and speak about writing and other matters. The whole event supported the Community Food Bank, and I hope that the sold out crowd and the number of folks I saw taking flyers about volunteering and their Farmers Markets means they will have a long term gain from the event. Julia and I got to town a little early, so I could make her deposit recycling with me (the glamor!) and cruise by Clues Unlimited in their extravagantly purple new digs. It was fun getting to chat books with Chris for a while, and I picked up copies of Doubleback by Libby Fischer Hellmann (partially set in AZ) and Phoenix Noir edited by Patrick Millikin. Then we picked up Julia K.T. and went out for a fabulous dinner at Ghandi Cuisine. Everything was delicious, from the Lasuni Naan and the veggie samosa (pretty much the only way I will willingly eat peas, I confess) and the Mango Lassi to the entrees. All three of us were "spicy" eaters, which complimented things nicely. We had various selections from the Tandoor Oven. Warning -- the Mixed Grill option is very generous, and while I was glad to have tried it and now know that yes, I do like fish and shrimp as well as chicken and lamb prepared this way ... well, Julia KT's puppies benefited as well. :) Barbara Kingsolver was a delight. She read selected passages that made me want to come home and start reading The Lacuna immediately. (Maybe over winter break?) She spoke on a number of issues near and dear to my heart, including the importance of indie bookstores to their communities. She also hit on a couple of writing related topics that Julia T. and I had covered in our conversation on the two hour drive up (when we weren't listening to High Tide in Tucson on audio), and mentioned aspects of Tucson that she misses and still treasures, including Tucson Meet Yourself -- where Jeff, David and I met up with Julia K.T. and Grace this year! The Julias indulged me and we waited in the long but briskly moving line to get my books signed. When we reached the signing table, I was surprised and delighted to see my Harper rep there! :) Then we took Julia K.T. home, and Julia T. hit her door about midnight, and I came home to very sleepy dogs and hubby. To compensate, I slept in about three hours past my normal time on Saturday, which put me out of sync all day. But Jeff and I did pay enough attention to the time to go downtown in Douglas and visit the Capitol Christmas Tree. Jeff blogged about this with photos. We saw a few friends, including Robin and Angie, and heard seasonal songs from the high school band. Jeff, having greater reach, added our wishes to the banner on one side of the v-e-r-y long truck, and I purchased a pin to mark this historical occasion, and suspect I'll be tracking it periodically as it continues on its journey. We visited briefly with some of the drivers / traveling crew, one of whom was in a car with a Bookman's twitter account on the bumper! :) The pin, BTW, is the wonderful "gift wrapped" AZ silhouette from the top of the web site, etc. But for now, it's time to get off-line and dedicate myself to my newsletter deadline. | |
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|  Do you knit? Do you know someone who knits? Are you planning to knit something for a loved one this holiday season? Then go, right now, to IAFAuctions and bid on this yarn. It is knittable and it is fancy and awesome. It must needs be knitted into something cool and I demand that people fight over it in the few hours it has left before bidding ends. This yarn is one of the most interstitial pieces of art I’ve ever, ever seen and it must go on to the next state of its evolution! Bid. Now. Shoo!
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| Resulting on swollen hand. I've had a lot of cat bites before but this one was particularly deep. However, there's no infection and the swelling is down quite a bit. So it's back to business as usual.
Fortunately, Her Majesty isn't an outdoor cat so there's not a lot her funky little teeth have been sinking themselves into.
But that's the most excitement we've had around here in ages. Back to work. | |
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| So I hope that ksp24, casacorona, and sandial don't think they got away unscathed this year! As you know (Bob), the Sparkly Paddle of Birthday Wonderfulness is not bound by restrictions of time or place. So assume the position, folks! Hope you had a day of Unrestrained Yet Total Happiness with all the fun delights you could ask for, and a few you didn't know you wanted, beginning another year that brings you so much Awesomely Bright and Shiny that you have to wear shades on your shades! And--right here! right now!--don't forget to live forever! | |
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| Frequently, when I'm out and about, I can picture myself doing many things, wondering what it would be like to work at this job or that. In restaurants, I can picture myself in the kitchen (although I think I'd prefer baking the desserts to cooking the meals). On the road, I wonder about the lives of the truck drivers. At an art exhibition, I want to try my hand at every medium I see. Politician, actor, teacher, fireman, pilot, deckhand on a cargo ship, and on and on. But today, I was out getting my hair cut, and I looked around the crowded salon, and realized I simply can't picture myself cutting hair for a living. I guess that's one. | |
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| Holy guacamole, Batman. It's done. Well, you know, not done done. It's up for a rewrite next, after I've rewritten Siege. But it's done, it's a book, it's a lot of words with more to come. It'll end up about the same length or a smidgin longer than Prodigal Mage. But that story is told now. And I think I'm reasonably happy. I have written 5 novels this year. There were times when I seriously doubted I could do it. But I've done it. As I said, I have 2 to rewrite between now and the new year. That's not a problem. Rewriting is playtime. Rewriting is the reward for the utter agony that is the first draft. When I'm less utterly brain dead (running on about 9 hours sleep total over the last 3 days -- God bless caffeine and adrenaline) I'll talk a bit about what this process has been like and how this year has changed me. Aside from making me fatter from sitting on my arse all day every day in front of a computer. Shit. I did it. I can't believe it. 131909 / 131909 words. 100% done! Now, I'm going to be off the air for a couple of days. Everyone please be careful, take good care, and I'll be back! | |
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| English Bands I Used to Listen To But Don't Anymore:
Aztec Camera
That Petrol Emotion
Lilac Time
Fatima Mansions
Mighty Lemon Drops | |
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| I was in the mood for some apocalypse, so we went to see "2012." I've been looking forward to that for a long time! I have this perverse love for the end of the world on a big screen, in color! It's the sheer dark majesty of all those slow-motion tsunamis and eruptions. When I was a child, I had repeated dreams about the end of the world. It was pretty scary. I can remember standing on a narrow remnant of land, amid the ruins of burning cities, with the lava flowing toward me on the land side, and the tsunami roaring in from the sea, wondering which one would get me first. In one of those dreams, the aliens told me where to find a lifeboat, but my parents wouldn't listen to me, so we all died.
Well, the disastery parts of 2012 are just as glorious as I could have wished. I particularly like the part where an airplane trying to fly out of a gigantic earthquake rift is almost hit by a train that has been hurled out into the rift by the force of the shifting tectonic plates. Oh yeah. Actually, any movie that has both Chiwetel Ejiofor AND repeated discussion of tectonic plates gets my thumbs-up. I won't even tell you about some of my other favorite moments, because that would be spoilerish.
The movie also had an unexpected and pleasing amount of diversity--even though MOST of the non-Americans who briefly occupy our attention do get killed. In fact, there was one really cool moment, for me. Danny Glover appears as the President of the US, and I thought, "oh, yeah--here's that 'black man is President' meme again." And then, I suddenly realized, holy cow, IT CAME TRUE. There really IS a black man in the White House. ; ) I was so happy. But, er, let's just say that I hope the Washington Monument doesn't fall down during his term. . . .
Unfortunately, there were two things that made it a bad movie with great scenery, instead of a really lovable extravaganza. First of all, the last half hour (or maybe it was only twenty minutes that seemed like more) stopped being exciting and started being really stupid. They threw in a kind of dumb obstacle course that was an anti-climax to the thrill ride we'd already had, plus some irksome speechifying. And some proof positive that no one involved in the making of the movie had ever read "The Cold Equations."
Secondly, especially during the denouement, character consistency went straight to hell. People did whatever was convenient for the screenwriter at that particular moment, thus losing all cohesion as real characters. And the writers also killed people pretty much at random, and in seeming contradiction to what I thought were tacit promises made (possibly by different writers?) at different points in the movie.
Oh, and a third thing that made me mad: until about halfway through the movie, I had high hopes that there would NOT be a dog. We already had the obligatory cute, endangered children. But no. They couldn't leave well enough alone. There was a dog.
Good fun, though. We'll be laying in some champagne for the night of Dec. 22, 2012. | |
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| I have a huge bruise from the base of my neck down to my right shoulder blade, because while I was in France I jammed myself into the doors of a Paris subway car to hold it open for the last person in my family to jump on. Those things are like the garbage crusher from A New Hope, holy crap. I could be pissed that I have a huge painful bruise, but frankly, I'm just excited that I sustained an injury from something that can be considered vaguely useful. Usually I get bruises from things like accidentally closing my thumb in door hinges. (I'm not proud of it, okay? But it's a lie to pretend it doesn't happen.) In other news, my favorite Unrelated Caption so far:  | |
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| It’s been a busy few days over here, I tell you what. Thursday night was the big Boneshaker party at 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea, and frankly, it was a blast. I’d had some concerns about turn-out and timing; but Ellen and Suezie rocked the house, Mark was a superlative MC, and a very nice B&N rep named Jessie was present (arranged by Psynde) to sell books. The event was truly a credit to these folks — to their organizational skillz and general awesomeness.
You can see a few pictures here, including shots of yours truly with DJ Eternal Darkness, me and Psynde comparing boots and drinking tea, and my old buddy Avionne from Tennessee — who is here in town with her husband, Gordon (via Scotland, long story).
Then, last night was Aric’s birthday. After birthday presents and red velvet cupcakes,* we got together over at this dark, groovy, chilly little bar called the Stumbling Monk with Torres, John and Krissy, and Kat; and behold, beverages were consumed.
Hmm. What else? Oh yeah - on Friday I got my very first royalty check from Tor, indicating that the Eden Moore series has finally earned out! Everybody, do a little dance with me! [:: shakes it ::] [:: shakes it like a paint mixer ::] I’d long since assumed that the day would never come, but I’ve never before been so happy to be wrong.
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And now for the recent stats for the fabulous urban fantasy adventure about a neurotic vampire/thief and her wealthy blind client, now with Bonus! Cuban drag queen and military intrigue:
Project: Bloodshot
New Words Written: 2080 (meh)
Present Total Word Count: 72,112 words
Goal: 95,000 words by December 12
Things Accomplished in Fiction: Gathered the usual suspects; had conversation about money, what comes next, etc.
Things Accomplished in Real Life: See above, plus housework, errand-running, present-wrapping, day-job work, litter-box changing, short story plotting, researching, reading, and more.
Reason for Stopping: Hubs just got home; we’re going out for a bit, like normal people do on a Saturday night. Just this once.
* He wanted a red velvet cake but I walked everywhere on the hill and couldn’t find a grocery store that had any mix (I won’t buy them premade; but I’ll make them myself without complaint). So I drove out to Trophy Cupcakes and nabbed half a dozen red velvet cupcakes, then topped them with Batman insignias. Because I know my audience, that’s why.
[Crossposted to/from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.] | |
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| Yes; I'm still in Florida with my folks. Not doing much but hanging out, going out to meals and reading for Best Horror #2. Helped my mom get onto facebook, which means I need to be discreet (hi mom!) in case she actually reads it.
The dial up is better than previously. I hope that by the time I'm here next they'll have wireless throughout the community. Right now, it's only in the clubhouse.
The weather is gorgeous. Sunny, hot, cool in the shade. Eat your hearts out northerners :-). | |
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| Not enough sporks in the whole wide world... You want to read it! You know you do! flyer behind the cut, with complete transcript! ( Read more... ) | |
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| Me: "I know - that person did not just say that. Because if they said that? There would have to be a reckoning. And I am too damn busy today for a reckoning. They will just have to call back tomorrow."
Adam, riffing on Boondock Saints: "There was a FIIIIREFIIIGHT!!" | |
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| Fashion shoot in my backyard today. The photographer is a friend of mine and I was happy to offer the space to his crew, which included an actress from High School Musical and her "really good" hair and makeup people. Since my ex-husband and I separated, my house has come in handy: it's been used for a wedding (complete with tea ceremony in the living room) and a music video. The shoot involved a silver disco ball. This pleased me. Unexpected bonus: the stylist, Simeon, also happens to have his own line of lingerie and brought a box of his wares for me to sift through at my leisure. I loved the stuff: black French lacy things with "a touch of Thai trimming". He gave my favorite pieces to me for free. I decided that he is a very very nice person.  Simeon   | |
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|  At World Fantasy there was a one-hour panel on the Google Book Settlement with Russell Davis, Karen Wester Newton, Charles Petit, Jay Lake, Christopher Kastensmidt, and Dan Gamber moderating. Though all agreed that the panel was too short it covered some good ground.
Sorry you missed it? Not to fear, Rick Kleffel’s Agony Column has the full podcast of it.
Here’s what the website/little book had to say about this (death) panel:
“The Google Books Settlement has caused worldwide controversy and will have a marked effect on every author and publisher. Hear various viewpoints on this issue.”
It’s sort of like saying, “Well, you can throw this match in that pool of gasoline, but there might be some side effects.”
Animated does not do this panel justice. So, let me say, up front, that, whatever they’re paying Russell Davis for being the Prez of Sifwa (Science Fiction Writers of America): It ain’t enough. It ain’t nearly enough. That guy is a rockin’ firebrand, folks and if you doubt my words, well …
Click through to read the rest of his review of the panel or follow this link to the MP3 of the full panel.
Mirrored from SFWA | Comment at SFWA - Tags:c.e. petit, christopher kastensmidt, copyright education, dan gamber, google book settlement, jay lake, karen wester newton, news, podcast, russell davis, sfwa blog
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