Congratulations all around!
June 10, 2008
I owe a belated congratulations to two splendid people:
Fellow Clarion classmate and wicked-talent Catherine Cheek has just joined forces with Secret-Agent Exemplar Kate Schafer-Testerman to rock the world of adult speculative fiction. Catherine (Kater to those in the know) is a multi-talented writer and graduate of the Clarion Class of 2007 (as is yours truly) and Kate is the owner of KT Literary (of which yours truly is a client).
It’s nice when good things happen to good people.
Superheroes.
June 1, 2008
John Hodgman wrote a great review for today’s New York Times on comics. Though it still irks me that the Times tends to lump all genre material together for these kind of group reviews, it is nice to see them get some respected ink. The best part of his essay was the review of Jack Kirby’s reprinted Fourth World Omnibus - a psychedelic, epic space opera about warring gods and superheroes.
Superheroes.
What tickled me so much about Hodgman’s review was the focus a classic superhero story. It’s become trendy, if not yet fashionable, to praise comics as a medium while ignoring the slightly awkward, pimply-faced gorilla in the room wearing tights. I wholeheartedly agree that comics is much more than men-and-women-in-capes, it’s a platform for telling all sorts of stories.
But I love superheroes. I love the history, the legacy of decades worth of stories written drawn by hundreds of writers and artists. Most of those writers faded into obscurity, and a few achieved a certain level of fame, but they all contributed to the greater whole, this enormous shared world mythology. There’s really nothing else like in popular culture. We meet these characters when we are young and they stay with us forever. Batman. Superman. Spider-man. How many different hands have touched their stories? And how long will their stories go on?
Plus, I mean, c’mon. Admit it - Batman’s just cool.
Obviously my baby wants a Kindle
June 1, 2008
This weekend was spent mostly hanging out with Baby Will, and we had a grand old time together reading, giggling and making spit bubbles. (I’m a slightly better reader but Will has got the giggling and spit bubble parts down pat).
It is remarkably hard to tear myself away from that little sprout and write. I often walk around the apartment moaning that “if I only had an office, I’d get so much more done” but I suspect that this is a bit of bunk. If I had a room down the hall, I would just be that much closer to the cute and therefore more easily tempted by it’s spit-bubble making trickery. The only thing the office would be good for would be displaying all of my geeky stuff. Comics, books, statues . . . on second thought the office is a fine idea. I’m back on the office train!
It’s a thing, I suppose. Time spent with Will is probably the most important job I have right now, but it’s a slippery balancing act. You’d think they would have licked this family/career thing long ago. Someone needs to get back to work on that, please.
A Long Time Coming
May 19, 2008
Sorry I’ve been off the radar for a while but I’ve been . . . er . . . off the radar.
So a here are a few things that I’ve been neglectful in mentioning some Salooners during my surprise hiatus:
Justin Howe has co-authored a great article on the influence of role-playing games on fantasy writers over on Clarkesworld. Included are interviews with Jeff VanderMeer, Jay Lake, Paul Witcover, Tim Pratt, Tim Waggoner, Catherynne Valente, John O’Neill, Howard A. Jones, and China Mieville. That’s a lot of talent rolling them 20-sided dice.
Also, if it’s not too late pick up the April/May issue of Asimov’s for Nick Wolven’s story “An Art, Like Everything Else”. I saw an early draft of Nick’s story at last year’s Clarion Workshop and lemme tell you - it’s good. Heartbreaking, but good. If you can’t find a print copy you can get an e-book of the issue at fictionwise.
Check this stuff out. These guys are good.
The Saloon is Open for Business!
March 22, 2008
Miracle of miracles - I left the house the other night for beers and burgers with friends. Trust me, between deadlines and dirty diapers this is an event worth marking.
To sweeten the deal, the friends were some buddies from my old writing group, The Fantastic Saloon, and I’m happy to say that the band (as they say) is getting back together.
Writing groups are a unique thing - I can’t really picture groups of painters, for example, huddling together over coffee and suggesting changes to each other’s works - “You know the yellow bit really works for me, but I just don’t buy the brushstrokes in the bottom corner there. But maybe that’s just me.”
And in New York the various groups of speculative writers have taken on a certain prestige. There are hard-to-get-into groups, boasting memberships of hot published writers and influential junior editors, as well as the countless groups of passionate unknowns.
The Saloon definitely belongs to the latter category. But just look out, because we’re taking our vitamins.
How do you write?
March 6, 2008
So how do you write? I mean this literally - do you write at a keyboard, pecking away at your stories in the dead of night? Or are you a cafe writer, pen and journal in hand? Or are you a papyrus and peacock-quill sort of chap?
I ask because for the new book I am trying something new, myself. I’ve always been glued to my laptop and in some ways I think I am addicted to the glow of the computer screen. So to shake things up, I’m trying the new book longhand. I know several writers who work this way and they swear by it.
Plus, I can always use the practice in penmanship. My handwriting has a palsy-like quality to it . . .
So my question is - How do you write?
I’ve just blown my first deadline! Now I’m a REAL writer!
February 16, 2008
So February 15th has come and gone and the first round of editorial revisions on Powerless are still not done. Granted, my editor Joan is terrifically understanding person and therefore the Feb. 15th date was always sort of a soft deadline, but still it’s kind of frustrating.
I’ve decided that books are like babies - you expect them to conform to tidy little schedules and work around the important things in your life, but they have an uncanny tendency to surprise you with all-nighters and painful growth spurts.
Baby Will has decided that sleep is for the weak, and Powerless has somehow grown by nearly two thousand words in the editing process, even though I’ve cut two chapters nearly in half.
I love them both dearly, but . . . c’mon! If anyone knows any great nannies who do freelance copy-editing on the side, send them my way.
Now this is a cool idea
February 16, 2008
You might have already come across this since it’s been Boing Boinged and bounced about the blogopshere, but I think it’s cool enough to repost here:
A convention for middle-grade and YA sci-fi and fantasy only. Tamora Pierce and Julie Holderman are trying to get just such a convention off the ground, and they are looking for volunteers.
Conventions are the one place where strict genre labeling doesn’t bother me - it’s a shorthand way of people of like-interests to get together. Science Fiction and Fantasy aren’t just emerging in the young adult market - they are flourishing, and I think it would be a terrific opportunity for readers and writers alike.
So if you’re interested, click on the above link and offer to help out. I did.
Read a Good Book - Help a Writer in Need
February 9, 2008
I just picked up from Ecstatic Days that that there is yet another freelance writer who needs a little help paying the medical bills. This time it’s Caitlín R. Kiernan, the popular writer of dark fantasy and horror. I don’t know Caitlín personally, but I do know plenty of other writers and artists who’ve ended up in the same predicament. It’s disturbing to see how many successful freelancers are forced to go without health insurance in this country. Too many Americans have to roll the dice against their health - forced to choose between insurance and the other necessities such as rent. Here’s to hoping that whichever party takes over the White House in January ‘09, the two sides can finally sit down and do something about this national disgrace.
In the meantime, scoot over to Caitlín’s site and buy a book. A good read for a good cause.
A Short Rant (the best kind!)
February 3, 2008
An article in today’s New York Times book review got me thinking. Alright, it got me hopping mad. Dave Itzkoff was reviewing China Mieville’s Un Lun Dun as well as Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves’ collaboration Interworld, and both reviews were mostly good.
Basically, Itzkoff’s praise focused on the daring, genre-defying boldness of the books. Itzkoff’ applauds the subversion of expectations and can’t help but aim swipe at what he sees as the Potter franchise’s predictable formula. He even goes so far as to ask, “I sometimes wonder what self-respecting author of speculative fiction can find fulfillment in writing novels for young readers.”
Them’s fighting words! To say that speculative fiction writers are somehow above YA writing, is like the band geek throwing spit wads at the mathlete. Just sad.
The truth is that writers of YA are working in all genres - literary, sci-fi, fantasy, crime, romance - and the only difference is that we are trying to create a product that will excite the youth of today. We are building readers by building good, fun stories. We want them to like our books, sure, because we want them to LOVE reading (something that Itzkoff leaves out of his critique - whether the kids will actually like the stories).
Don’t get me wrong - I’m not commenting on either of the books being reviewed. Both are on my bookshelf. And I’m thrilled that the Times is giving ink to genre titles these days, but Mr. Itzkoff’s offhand slam against the entire YA genre made me nearly spit coffee.
Young Adult writing is a net good. End of debate.
