 |
|
SUICIDE KINGS is out in hardcover (see below) and BUSTED FLUSH has been released in mass market. Meanwhile, I've delivered the additional content -- three new stories -- for the first volume of this storied series, WILD CARDS itself, which Tor will be reissuing later in the year. Since the first volume was historical in nature, telling the story of the wild card from 1946 to 1985, adding some original material to cover some of the "lost years" seemed like a natural.
The three new tales:
-- "Captain Cathode and the Secret Ace," by Michael Cassutt,
-- "Powers," by David D. Levine,
-- "Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan," by Carrie Vaughn.
No publication date yet. You'll know when I do.
As for FORT FREAK, the twenty-first volume in the series that WILD CARDS began, first drafts are all in, I've given the usual editorial note, and the writers are all off revising. This one looks to be a lot of fun. The Class of 2009 is doing some great work, and the old-timers ain't half bad either.
On other fronts, Gardner Dozois and I are very close to delivering our original cross-genre anthology STAR-CROSSED LOVERS, to Pocket Books. We're waiting for some minor revisions from one writer. Once those are in hand, the book will be delivered. Only it's not STAR-CROSSED LOVERS any longer. Pocket's sales force did not like that title, so the anthology has now been rechristened SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH. Got a great line up of writers for that one, including Diana Gabaldon, Jim Butcher, M.L.N. Hanover, Peter S. Beagle, Marjorie Liu, Jacqueline Carey, Carrie Vaughn, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, and many more.
Everybody's talking about AVATAR, which I haven't seen yet... but I have been going to movies. While the crowds queue up for Cameron, I've been catching up on some of the other films now in release. I enjoyed THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, and liked INVICTUS as well, but the one that really impressed me was ME AND ORSON WELLES. The guy who plays Welles should get an Oscar nomination for that performance.
As usual, I am way behind on my Xmas shopping.
Where does the time go?
1 Comment | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
Today was the official publication day for the latest Wild Cards book, SUICIDE KINGS.
Run, don't walk, to your favorite bookstore and getcha copy now. And hell, while you're there, get copies for all your friends as well. All you Xmas shopping in one swell foop.
Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
 |
|
I leave for Arizona tomorrow!! I leave for Arizona tomorrow!! I leave for Arizona tomorrow... at 4:50 AM. The price I pay for living on the opposite coast of my destination. The actual flight doesn't leave until 8:20 AM, but I am not taking ANY chances. Much like my dad, who insists on getting to the airport at least two and a half hours early for ANY flight, I get EXTREMELY nervous if I'm not at the airport at least two hours in advance. I'm not really nervous when I get on the plane (though I have had some truly scary moments), but the thought of missing a flight inevitably makes me think of this ordeal, Arby's sandwiches, and Booth getting shot on Bones. I'm still not really sure why I took that so hard, but I can honestly say that it's the only time I've ever sat down and wept--literally wept.
Anyway, today is also a great day because some TRULY fantastic books are being released. So, so happy for the first wave of Spring 2010 books to hit the shelves. Please do yourself a favor and check out these wonderful Tenner books--you will NOT be sorry!
   Happy Book Birthday, ladies! On another, completely different note: did I tell you guys that I got to see Up in the Air with the roomies this weekend? It really deserves ALL of the buzz it's been getting, even though Roommate J and I aren't completely convinced we liked the ending.
 More later--so much work to finish up today before vacation!!
2 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
Goals for today:
Clean off table
Do a little Christmas baking
Do laundry (ongoing)
Make dinner and dispensatory casseroles
Mail last round of DNDGGD* gifts
Work on The White City**
Pick up ornament hooks someplace
In the category and occasional series of Things That Actually Work As Advertised, at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tanaise's urging, and due to a really good sale, I ordered myself a cotton henley from Lands' End. It came yesterday, I am wearing it, and it is awfully nice. Warm and thick and long enough even for my very long torso and broad shoulders. That is all and I thought you might like to know. (This is not a paid promotion. They also have turtlenecks.)
Tea today: gunpowder green
Teacup today: thatpotteryguy's medieval mug
Now, about those cookies... oh, right, I should eat something first.
The wonderful P. D. James on NPR.org
*December Non-Denominational Gift-Giving Day. They were supposed to go out yesterday, but, well, baby! **Oh, lord, what a mess. Well, soonest begun is first ended. And other pithy Yankee sayings.
6 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
 |
|
Well, that was fun. If only every game was like this...
(Maybe it is, if you're a Colts fan).
These were the Giants I remember. The swarming aggressive D, the sacks, the knockdowns, the hurries, the interceptions, runners tackled at the line of scrimmage. And on offense, long time-consuming drives ending in touchdowns. Eli looked terrific, spreading the ball around. Nicks, Smith, Manningham, and Boss all had big catches, and even Derek Hagan scored a touchdown. The running game was back, especially when Ahmad Bradshaw had the ball. The O line opened gaping holes, and the D line was so relentless that our wafer-thin secondary was never threatened.
Yeah, these were the real G-Men.
I have no idea who those clowns in the Redskins uniforms were.
That fake field goal the Skins tried at the end of the first half had to be one of the most bizarre plays I've ever seen. Watching Steve Young talk about it in the postgame was hilarious.
I do feel sorry for Jim Zorn, whose postgame press conference was... well, obviously, no one ever taught the guy Coachspeak. Poor guy is not long for D.C.
But it was a great win.
Now we need two more like it, coupled with a Cowboys loss.
(Or a Packers loss, maybe... but while I know the G-Men have the tiebreaker over Dallas, no one has ever mentioned who wins a tie between New York and Green Bay).
Next week, the Panthers. Who beat the Vikings yesterday. Let's hope the real G-Men show up.
34 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
Naveen Alexander Shipman was born today at 2:50 pm. 6 lb, 13.7 ounces, mom and baby doing fine.
ashacat is inexpressibly relieved; netcurmudgeon is ecstatic.
I'm going over in a few minutes to take care of his brother so dad can go back to the hospital for a few hours.
17 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
You may remember this post I did a while back about writing while in college. I’ve noticed, over the past few months, that people have been responding to it (though they never link back to my original post–if you have an opinion, stand up for it and for yourself). I knew going into it that the post was probably going to be torn apart and ripped to shreds by the same set that it was addressed to, but I still stand by what I was saying then. I just feel like I need to elaborate.
My opinion on this changes all the time depending on how “homesick” I feel for college at the time. But I just want to clarify that I would never, never, NEVER discourage anyone from writing at any age. The only reason I was able to publish was because I began writing at an early age and haven’t stopped since. What it comes down to is really this: if you know in your heart that what you want to be is a writer, then you will always find the time to write. There is never going to be a “the best time” to write in your life, though you arguably have a lot of free time to write while you’re in college–once you graduate you’re hit with a whole new set of concerns. Grades, exams, life decisions fade into finding a job, paying for groceries and rent, and even harder life decisions. Writing will always entail some kind of sacrifice, because it can be a very lonely, emotional, stressful profession. But you should never regret that you didn’t start writing early, or that you weren’t published at a “young” age. There is no expiration date. You have not failed if you were not published in your teens, your twenties, or your thirties. If publishing is meant to happen for you, it will–everyone just needs to get there on their own time, when they’re ready. All of these life experiences have, or will, play into developing your view of the world and your writing voice. You have not “wasted” time not writing, not under any circumstances.
I know that the original post comes across as very negative–it was never my intention to discourage anyone. But at the same time, I think it would be incredibly unfair of me to sugar coat my publication experience for you. And that’s exactly what I was sharing–my experience. My experience with being published while in school included the following: eating most of my meals by myself or getting them to go so I could make revision deadlines, trying to balance extracurriculars and a horrible reading load with writing, staying up until 4 or 5 AM, getting four styes on my right eye from stress:
… I think you get the picture. That’s not to say that the hard work isn’t worth it, but realize that being published does involve sacrifice. And being published in college is NOT a guarantee that you can come out of college with the ability to support yourself on your writing alone, regardless of the first advance you get. Write because you love it and when you feel ready–when you feel that your writing is also ready–then seek out publication. But please, please, PLEASE do not feel like you have somehow failed if you do not land an agent by the time you’re eighteen, or if your book isn’t on the shelf by the time you’re twenty-five. It happens for all of us at different times and for different reasons, and no one’s experience is more valid than anyone else’s. Life is all about balance, and it’s very easy to become obsessed with the idea of being published or miss out on life because you want to spend every free moment you have writing.
I’m very, very, very hard on myself. If you couldn’t tell from the other post, I feel a sense of failure that I wasn’t more social (in the “traditional” sense) in school, and that I didn’t walk out of there with five thousand best friends. But also know that part of the reason I cut a lot of “traditional” social activities out of my life was because I was busy balancing a zillion other things: double majoring in reading-intensive subjects, student government, a sorority, yearbook, being an RA, interning my senior year, volunteering, etc. Not everyone is going to be like Scary Overachiever Alex, not everyone will feel the same intense, perfectionist desire that I did to succeed (and really succeed). That was my experience, and I want nothing but to be completely honest with you about it. A large part of the reason I originally posted the first post was to say that I wish I hadn’t been so hard on myself, and that I wish others wouldn’t be so hard on themselves because we live in a society where it’s no longer enough to succeed–you have to super-succeed. I managed, I spent most of my four years very happy, but OF COURSE I still wish I could have had my cake and eaten it, too.
Publishing is a commitment, and if you really want it, you WILL get there, but don’t lose sight of your life and having fun in the process. 
And for those of you who think that I’m unhappy or miserable because I’m published, or that I’m an ungrateful wretch when it comes to the opportunities I’ve been blessed with–this IS the extent of my negativity on the subject. I don’t post about how happy, amazed, or proud of myself I am for doing it because it’s not really in my personality to do so. I love being a writer, I have hopes to one day be in the position to write full time, but I also need to manage my expectations. This is all part of the great wheel of ups and downs that come with being published. Some days you love it passionately and you’re sure you’ll never love anything more, others you want to stick a pen through your eye.
Originally published at alexandra bracken. You can comment here or there.
Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
Bella Pagan, Commissioning Editor of Orbit UK, has acquired two new novels by British SF author Philip Palmer. The agent was John Jarrold, and the deal was for World rights.
These novels – the first is entitled HELLSHIP – are both due for delivery in 2010, and will see a concerted push by Orbit on both sides of the Atlantic in 2011.
Philip’s first novel, DEBATABLE SPACE, was published in 2008, with RED CLAW following earlier this year. His work has drawn praise from the Guardian, SFX magazine and many other sources, both in print and on-line. The latter novel features in the Top Twenty SF novels published in 2009 in leading genre website SF Crowsnest’s reader poll. His third SF novel, VERSION 43, comes from both Orbit UK and Orbit US in 2010.
Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
Thank you so much to everyone who entered the KidBuzz giveaway. I randomly selected five winners (I have to double check with my publisher to make sure that I can’t give away five more…) and they are:
1. Liyana
2. Michelle/GalleySmith
3. Natasha Goodall
4. Yan
5. Deb Lester
I probably could have done that with a lot more flourish, but thank you so much again to everyone who entered!! I’ll be emailing the winners later this afternoon to notify them again in case they didn’t see this posted and to double check addresses.
Originally published at alexandra bracken. You can comment here or there.
Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
 |
|
When we were little, one of our Christmas traditions was going to the Kellerhaus to pick out an ornament. The Kellerhaus (owned by my dad's step-uncle) was this very fancy store that had all kinds of beautiful ornaments, candies and an ice cream parlor where you could make your own sundaes. It also had incredible toys you never saw anywhere else. There was one room that had just ornaments and we three kids would stand there and turn in circles, studying each one before we made a choice.
This is the earliest choice I can remember:
She's pretty faded and not very fancy-looking now, but I remember loving her the moment I saw her. I have other ornaments from those years hanging on our tree, too. And each year when I hang them up, I think about those days when my mom took us on that special annual excursion. I can smell the store—scented candles and newly made fudge and ribbon candy. I can feel the excitement as we got closer to the ornament room, and the longing as we browsed the toys we couldn't afford but loved dreaming about anyway. And getting a sample of fudge from our uncle Seth if he was there. And the box of ribbon candy my mom always bought, that we'd have to wait to eat at our Christmas Eve party as we tried to stay up until midnight to hear the animals talk. So many memories. So many.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Write about a holiday tradition you remember from your childhood. If you have a photo, share! :-)
9 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
#51.) Kelly Gay, The Better Part of Darkness
[redacted pending review elsewhere]
#52.) Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
Brilliant. Go read it now.
Lovely evening today stacking wood and eating food with friends and family. Mmm, food.
Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
Life is meaningless and full of pain.
I saw this one coming. Three missed field goals will always come back and bite you in the ass.
Great D, but Mark still has a lot of maturing to do.
With the Colts and the Bengals yet to come, I think we can kiss the playoffs goodbye.
And I'm not feeling good about the Giants game tomorrow either.
34 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
And is the reason why I could never write about vampires. It would take too long.
See? When it gets cold, Sam turns into a . . . Why yes those are cabinet knobs, why do you ask? ETA: Sam lasted the day without meltage. He looks a little forlorn now; I think I should've had him facing the house.  
107 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
I've been watching the storm warnings and footage of winter storms all over the east coast. It makes me jealous. This is the time of year for snow! The guesses from our weather masters say there's no chance of snow this week. This week's the big holiday. "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas."
Brody doesn't really like the snow so I'm sure he's okay with the current dryness, but he has a sweater and a coat if necessary. I'm still on the hunt for some kind of boots. During the deep freeze of the last two weeks, he really could've used them.
Here's this week's shout-outs:
- To stores being opened earlier and staying open later for the holidays. Haven't started my shopping, so I'm going to need every last second. >:D
- To holiday parties. There's nothing like them to make the long dark nights seem not so dark.
- To the work week being over. Next week is only 3 days!
- To the end of the year drawing nigh. Lists are forthcoming.
- To my most recent dreams. Taking notes. Thinking of how to work it into the novel.
- To good friends and good cheer. Everyone seems to be in such a light mood.
Peace out!
7 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist is doing one of their famous contests, for two Advanced Reading Copies of SUICIDE KINGS signed by all of the contributors.
For details as to how to enter, go to
http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2009/12/win-autographed-advance-reading-copy-of.html
Good luck to all.
2 Comments | Post A Comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend | Link
|
|
|
|
|
busy
chipper
crazy
bouncy
amused
tired
sick
crushed
thankful