![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Just a little something for all the gadget lovers out there...
July 8th, 2009
June 30th, 2009
I went to a reading last night by Jacqueline Carey, promoting her new book Naamah’s Kiss, at the University of Washington bookstore. She read a bit from the next book in line after Naamah’s Kiss, much to the delight of a very devoted audience. What I liked most was that, during the Q & A session that followed, she described her writing process, which is much like mine (outline all the way…). Sometimes it seems I’m surrounded by organic writers and it gets rather lonely… :o)
Also, while I was there, I snapped a picture of all my books on the store shelf, complete with shelf talkers. It’s a nice feeling to see your books all lined up in a row…
And just a reminder for anyone in the local area, I’ll be doing a reading at the UW Bookstore too, on July 15th.
Also, while I was there, I snapped a picture of all my books on the store shelf, complete with shelf talkers. It’s a nice feeling to see your books all lined up in a row…
And just a reminder for anyone in the local area, I’ll be doing a reading at the UW Bookstore too, on July 15th.
June 23rd, 2009
Of the few blogs I regularly read, one of the best is from an agent, Pub Rants, in Colorado. She always has lots of good info about the business from the perspective of the agent. In a recent posting, she linked to the blog of a bookseller (Kash's Book Corner). What I found particularly interesting about this one was that it confirmed all the things I've read about the process by which booksellers make their buying and inventory decisions. As we've always heard, it's the big name stuff that gets all the attention, since that's what is going to draw people into the store; and that anything else, particularly anything new, is almost an afterthought.
Part of the post concerns the store owner's interaction with a publishing rep. Here's a snippet of what the bookstore owner says to the rep: "I'll tell you what, Ron, why don't we use Dan Brown's book as a bank. If I buy three from an unknown author, we will just lower my order on The Lost Symbol by three. So let's take three on Trofimuk and only 489 on Brown." So the stories we small fry authors hear, about the publishers or their reps basically using the big names as leverage to move in the new writers, seems to hold true. And its a good thing they do, since clearly the store owner has to be convinced to do this; otherwise it's Dan Brown all the way. But it also underscores the vast gulf between the "haves" and the "have nots" in the business, and that there seems to be little middle ground. You're either Dan Brown (or equivalent), or you're not. And if not, you're just a "flyer" for the bookstore. You'd better hope those three copies sell out real quick, or it'll be some other unknown who gets the leavings from the next book order...
Part of the post concerns the store owner's interaction with a publishing rep. Here's a snippet of what the bookstore owner says to the rep: "I'll tell you what, Ron, why don't we use Dan Brown's book as a bank. If I buy three from an unknown author, we will just lower my order on The Lost Symbol by three. So let's take three on Trofimuk and only 489 on Brown." So the stories we small fry authors hear, about the publishers or their reps basically using the big names as leverage to move in the new writers, seems to hold true. And its a good thing they do, since clearly the store owner has to be convinced to do this; otherwise it's Dan Brown all the way. But it also underscores the vast gulf between the "haves" and the "have nots" in the business, and that there seems to be little middle ground. You're either Dan Brown (or equivalent), or you're not. And if not, you're just a "flyer" for the bookstore. You'd better hope those three copies sell out real quick, or it'll be some other unknown who gets the leavings from the next book order...
June 9th, 2009
June 4th, 2009
June 3rd, 2009
I've got my first bookstore reading lined up for The Pool of Shikama: July 15th at the University of Washington Bookstore. The UW Bookstore has always been a stalwart supporter of local Pacific Northwest authors - I've done readings there for my first two books as well. For any of you in the neighborhood (just north of Seattle) on that day, feel free to stop by and pick up a signed copy of the book. I'm always eager to meet and talk to my readers!
June 2nd, 2009
May 29th, 2009
May 26th, 2009
We're speaking of bookcases, here... Some while back, my wife and I committed to making a library in the house - an honest-to-goodness library with built-in shelves lining all the walls. Because books belong on shelves and not in boxes, or stacked on the floor. So first we checked into buying bookcases (too pricey for anything that looks decent, and not tall enough anyway), and then decided to go for rolling our own. After picking a plan, we started with the tool accumulation (this from the guy who cringes whenever a power tool starts up - hey, I'm a writer not a mechanic!).
Anyway, given that this was going to be a big project (probably 36' of eight foot high shelves) we figured we'd better buy decent tools for the job, and so bought a table saw, and a router, and a circular saw, and a sander, and various other bits (so to speak) and pieces. Then we bought some wood, mostly 4 x 8 sheets, from which to cut the uprights and the shelves, etc. We're starting with one section of three bays, and if all goes well we'll start on the rest of it.
This past weekend was the first stab at actually cutting things, hopefully without stabbing ourselves. I am happy to say that no fingers or toes were sacrificed in the course of this project (so far, at least). Our sheets of plywood are now impressive looking piles of shelves and case standards, although they're only impressive if you don't actually line them up and notice that some shelves are a wee bit short, and a few other parts perhaps a little less than square. But hey, that's what gives the home built stuff distinctiveness, yes? :o)
So the next round will be cutting dado's (sounds like an extinct bird of some kind), rabbets (are you sure this is not just drunken Darwin talk?), and all them little bitty holes for shelf pegs. Then - lots and lots of sanding.
With any luck by the time the summer is over we'll have our three-bay section up and holding books. And then we can put all the power tools away, pour ourselves a celebratory drink, and think over the fall and winter about building the next batch.
And the books will be very happy to have an upright home.
Anyway, given that this was going to be a big project (probably 36' of eight foot high shelves) we figured we'd better buy decent tools for the job, and so bought a table saw, and a router, and a circular saw, and a sander, and various other bits (so to speak) and pieces. Then we bought some wood, mostly 4 x 8 sheets, from which to cut the uprights and the shelves, etc. We're starting with one section of three bays, and if all goes well we'll start on the rest of it.
This past weekend was the first stab at actually cutting things, hopefully without stabbing ourselves. I am happy to say that no fingers or toes were sacrificed in the course of this project (so far, at least). Our sheets of plywood are now impressive looking piles of shelves and case standards, although they're only impressive if you don't actually line them up and notice that some shelves are a wee bit short, and a few other parts perhaps a little less than square. But hey, that's what gives the home built stuff distinctiveness, yes? :o)
So the next round will be cutting dado's (sounds like an extinct bird of some kind), rabbets (are you sure this is not just drunken Darwin talk?), and all them little bitty holes for shelf pegs. Then - lots and lots of sanding.
With any luck by the time the summer is over we'll have our three-bay section up and holding books. And then we can put all the power tools away, pour ourselves a celebratory drink, and think over the fall and winter about building the next batch.
And the books will be very happy to have an upright home.
May 20th, 2009
May 18th, 2009
This past weekend my wife and I went to see Fleetwood Mac in concert. The only hair on stage that was not white or gray belonged to Stevie Nicks, and that only thanks to Lady Clairol. Despite these folks all being in their sixties, they still know how to rock and roll, and they do it well! It was a good show, with Lindsey Buckingham in particular putting his all into the effort, as he usually does. This was the first time we got concert tickets for seats on the arena floor, which while interesting to do once is not a good choice for short people, since mostly we could only see the overhead monitors. But even though it took several hours for our hearing to return after the show, we had a good time, and it was nice to finally see one of the iconic bands.
May 16th, 2009
May 14th, 2009
An important step in creating or editing any story is continuity. It can range from simple things, like making sure a character’s eye color stays the same throughout the story, to more complex things (“If I blow up this building now, my characters couldn’t get picked up from the roof by helicopter, but if they don’t there’s no realistic way they could ever get to this other scene in time…”) One example of this comes from the new Star Trek film (spoiler alert here, if you haven’t seen it yet). In the first half of the film, Kirk is being reprimanded in front of the entire Starfleet Academy Corp of Cadets for cheating on the Kobiyashi Maru test, when a distress call sees the entire Corp packed off onto five starships and heading for Vulcan. The Enterprise is late due to Sulu not knowing his helm buttons, and when they arrive the other four ships have been destroyed. However, at the end of the film, Kirk is in the same large hall being congratulated for saving the day, and the room is again full.
Now, I can’t recall specifically if the movie folks were smart enough to dress these people not as cadets (since 4/5th’s of the Corp was wiped out at Vulcan); but whether they were or not almost doesn’t matter. From a story perspective, it would only make sense to show this scene, in this same room full of people, if it *were* the same people, since the whole point is to vindicate the “reckless” Kirk from his earlier behavior. If this a room full of different people, from a story perspective it really loses its impact. Now in a fast paced movie maybe this doesn’t matter so much, since we don’t start second-guessing things like this until later. But in a book, where readers spend a great deal more time invested in the process, you don’t want anomalies like this creeping in and detracting from the experience. So if that building has to go down, you either need to invent a new way for your characters to travel fast, or move that later scene in ‘time’ so that they could reasonably get there. Otherwise, some wise-ass writer is likely to read it and say, “Hey! Gotcha!” :o)
Now, I can’t recall specifically if the movie folks were smart enough to dress these people not as cadets (since 4/5th’s of the Corp was wiped out at Vulcan); but whether they were or not almost doesn’t matter. From a story perspective, it would only make sense to show this scene, in this same room full of people, if it *were* the same people, since the whole point is to vindicate the “reckless” Kirk from his earlier behavior. If this a room full of different people, from a story perspective it really loses its impact. Now in a fast paced movie maybe this doesn’t matter so much, since we don’t start second-guessing things like this until later. But in a book, where readers spend a great deal more time invested in the process, you don’t want anomalies like this creeping in and detracting from the experience. So if that building has to go down, you either need to invent a new way for your characters to travel fast, or move that later scene in ‘time’ so that they could reasonably get there. Otherwise, some wise-ass writer is likely to read it and say, “Hey! Gotcha!” :o)
May 12th, 2009
May 11th, 2009
Warning, spoiler alert in case you haven’t seen it yet!
So, what’s good and what’s bad about the new movie?
First let me say that I liked the movie. I had intentionally not read anything about it, aside from knowing that it was “young Kirk and Spock” since I didn’t want to have any surprises ruined. But knowing just that was enough for me to doubt that they could pull it off. However, I was pleasantly surprised that they did. There was just the right mix of stuff for us old farts who watched the Original Series when it was original, and stuff for the new crowd to make the film feel contemporary. So all in all I think it was a good flick.
Random evaluations -
Character development: It’s all about the story, and even though we already know these characters inside and out, the backstory we were presented was entertaining and informative.
Casting: Somewhat mixed bag, but I felt McCoy and Spock were spot on perfect. The actor playing Kirk, well a little too contemporary type for me but he did a pretty good job. The other characters I felt were only fair.
The ship: I agree with other commentators in that the ship was mostly only okay. The primary hull was fine, but I don’t know that messing with the nacelles was an improvement. I think they could have actually used the original classic ship and just given it a modern day tart-up and it would have been just fine.
Camera work: There was some pretty stupid herky jerky stuff in parts. But when the camera wasn’t being flung around like somebody had ants in their pants, it was fine.
Toasting Vulcan: I think this was actually a pretty smart idea. Not only was it dramatic and a nice sci-fi sorta thing, it allows them to re-tell these characters’ stories in future movies without having to follow the canon line from what went before. I think they boldly went where no Star Trek had gone before with that one.
Two Spocks: The old Spock now has more knowledge than anybody else in his new timeline, which ought to make the Federation top dog in the whole dang galaxy now. Which, as one person I spoke to today said, may mean that this timeline becomes the “mirror” universe and all this advanced know-how causes the Federation to go bad…
Imax: It’s playing at an Imax theater here in town. I think I’ll need to go see it again there - ought to be a mind blower!
So, what’s good and what’s bad about the new movie?
First let me say that I liked the movie. I had intentionally not read anything about it, aside from knowing that it was “young Kirk and Spock” since I didn’t want to have any surprises ruined. But knowing just that was enough for me to doubt that they could pull it off. However, I was pleasantly surprised that they did. There was just the right mix of stuff for us old farts who watched the Original Series when it was original, and stuff for the new crowd to make the film feel contemporary. So all in all I think it was a good flick.
Random evaluations -
Character development: It’s all about the story, and even though we already know these characters inside and out, the backstory we were presented was entertaining and informative.
Casting: Somewhat mixed bag, but I felt McCoy and Spock were spot on perfect. The actor playing Kirk, well a little too contemporary type for me but he did a pretty good job. The other characters I felt were only fair.
The ship: I agree with other commentators in that the ship was mostly only okay. The primary hull was fine, but I don’t know that messing with the nacelles was an improvement. I think they could have actually used the original classic ship and just given it a modern day tart-up and it would have been just fine.
Camera work: There was some pretty stupid herky jerky stuff in parts. But when the camera wasn’t being flung around like somebody had ants in their pants, it was fine.
Toasting Vulcan: I think this was actually a pretty smart idea. Not only was it dramatic and a nice sci-fi sorta thing, it allows them to re-tell these characters’ stories in future movies without having to follow the canon line from what went before. I think they boldly went where no Star Trek had gone before with that one.
Two Spocks: The old Spock now has more knowledge than anybody else in his new timeline, which ought to make the Federation top dog in the whole dang galaxy now. Which, as one person I spoke to today said, may mean that this timeline becomes the “mirror” universe and all this advanced know-how causes the Federation to go bad…
Imax: It’s playing at an Imax theater here in town. I think I’ll need to go see it again there - ought to be a mind blower!
May 10th, 2009
May 8th, 2009
May 6th, 2009
My experience so far with my Daily Deviation (see previous post) underscores the importance of what we probably all think of as the "big break" - that thing that serves as a trigger to catapult us up into another "layer" of audience awareness. Prior to today, my presence at deviantArt has been fairly consistent. Over the course of a little under two years, I had accumulated about 200 "watchers" (people who would get notices of new art I posted) and would receive maybe half a dozen comments a day. In just one day, with this single piece of art being on the front page of the site, I've had over 1200 comments and have gained almost 70 more watchers. The picture that was selected had previously been marked as a "fave" by about 80 people; now it has been faved by over 700.
To me (aside from the thrill of having it happen), what's interesting is how it seems that one needs to "get that lucky break" to cause things to really kick start into motion. My art today is the same art as yesterday, but it was this event that pushed me up into some much larger numbers and expanded my audience. I suspect this is the real "secret" that everyone wishes they could learn. You have to have a good "product" to start with, but you also need to have the gods smile on you...
To me (aside from the thrill of having it happen), what's interesting is how it seems that one needs to "get that lucky break" to cause things to really kick start into motion. My art today is the same art as yesterday, but it was this event that pushed me up into some much larger numbers and expanded my audience. I suspect this is the real "secret" that everyone wishes they could learn. You have to have a good "product" to start with, but you also need to have the gods smile on you...
No, this is not me having a periodic abnormality. One of the places I post my art is at deviantArt, a general art posting community. This is a very high-traffic site with millions of pieces of art of all types. One of the features they have is something called a Daily Deviation, in which selected works are chosen to be featured on the main page of the site. Given the volume of people there, this generates a copious amount of attention and is thus something to be coveted.
I received my first Daily Deviation today for my work Courage My Sister. Typically each day I'll receive between five and ten comments for my work. Today I already have 362 and the number keeps growing even as I type. So this has created an exponential increase in my exposure (and, of course, to my books, since they are prominently featured on my deviantArt page).
A good start to the day... :o)
I received my first Daily Deviation today for my work Courage My Sister. Typically each day I'll receive between five and ten comments for my work. Today I already have 362 and the number keeps growing even as I type. So this has created an exponential increase in my exposure (and, of course, to my books, since they are prominently featured on my deviantArt page).
A good start to the day... :o)
