So, this is basically more or less random musings triggered by this post by John Scalzi about doing readings. Now, I completely agree with him on the value of being prepared, and knowing that at a reading (or on a panel, or some other sort of public appearance), you’re performing. I have also noticed the […]
So, the other day–nearly a week ago–I was in one of those situations where I was asked a question that really needed a long answer, but I didn’t have unlimited time in which to do so. The question was, given that I never expected any editor to even buy Ancillary Justice but that I had […]
This is mostly for the St Louisans who read my blog, because I don’t imagine it will do anyone else much good. I found a place in St Louis that sells kouign-amann! That place is Nathaniel Reid Bakery. Nathaniel Reid himself–who is a very personable young man, he was behind the counter when I was […]
There’s a lot of contradictory information going around about contacting representatives (by which I mean both Senators and Congresspersons–the term “representatives” is unhelpfully ambiguous at times because it can mean just Congresspersons, or it can mean them and Senators who also do represent us, but anyway) there is, as I said, a lot of contradictory […]
Last year I was GoH at Vericon. It was a fabulous time! And while I was there, I gave a GoH speech. It’s the only one I’ve given so far, because usually organizers say something like “you can give a speech, or someone can interview you” and I go “INTERVIEW yes please interview me.” But […]
So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. And, uh, do you know about what’s happening in North Dakota? Dakota Access pipeline: the who, what and why of the Standing Rock protests What is the Dakota Access pipeline? The Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) is a $3.7bn project that would transport crude oil […]
What? I’ve never done writing prompts before! But, friends, times are no longer normal. Here’s the deal–it’s time to be politically engaged, if you can. It’s time to make phone calls, if you can, and send letters, if you can. If you can’t, if there’s something else you can do, do that. If the best […]
So, I just got back from France! I spent about five days in Nantes, at Utopiales. Which I hadn’t heard of before I was invited. But hey, I’d never been to France before, and the festival sounded fun, so off I went. It was a fabulous time. Utopiales is very well-run. Everything went so smoothly, […]
Every now and then, someone will ask me about what my guilty pleasures are. But I don’t actually have any. Not because my taste is pure sophisticated perfection, no. I like pop tarts and velveeta and happy bubblegum pop songs (some of them, anyway) and popcorn read-em-once adventures just fine. And I have no difficulty […]
A while ago, I ran across someone talking about a book that, the speaker asserted, you could tell just by reading it that the author expected to get some serious award action out of. The writer obviously was out there trying hard to write super fancy prose and showing off. Where, on the other hand, […]