Final Arisia Schedule

Arisia is January 14-17, 2011. I am going to be on several panels, trying to pretend I know what I am talking about. There are a lot of panels throughout the weekend that look interesting, so I will be pretty busy running from room to room, when not in the book dealer’s space or the blessedly faux Irish bar. I hope to see you there!

UPDATE: I have added another panel on Monday.

Friday 6:30 PM   —   Boston as Setting

The subway line to Cambridge inspired H.P. Lovecraft to visions of subterranean Antarctic horror; Hal Clement drowned Beantown under dozens of feet of water. Why Boston? Who’s writing about here lately? What scenic SFnal and fantastical possibilities do our fair city present?

Panelists: Cecilia Tan, Margaret Ronald, Steve E Popkes, Alexander Jablokov, Rob Davies

Friday 9:30 PM    —     Not Your Parents’ Zombies!

These days, zombies come in many shapes, sizes, and speeds. From Shaun of the Dead to Fido, what zombie works break the mold and set new standards? Which writers got it right and made the best use of their BRAAAAAAINNNS?

Panelists: Tony Finan, Gayle Blake, Santiago Rivas, Chris Denmead, Rob Davies

Saturday 11:00 AM  —   Book Club: The Windup Girl/The City and the City

The 2010 Hugo Award for best novel went to two very different novels: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi and The City and the City by China Mieville. Let’s read both books and discuss them here!

Panelists: Bey Woodward, Jack Dietz, Marlie Philiossaint, Rob Davies

Sun 12:30 PM   — Reading – Davies, Doyle, Feinman

Authors Robert Davies, Debra Doyle, and Alex Feinman read selections from their works.

(I will be reading an excerpt from my novel-in-progress The Bitter Taste of the World Snake’s Tail or a short story “Bruise for Bruise” or “India Pale Angel”. )

Sunday  6:30 PM — No Capes! Non-superhero Comics

Come and discuss some of the best non-superhero comics.

Panelists: Little Mel, Donna Martinez, Mark Waks, René Walling, Rob Davies

Sunday 9:30 PM    —    The City and Science Fiction

From the planet-spanning urbs of Trantor or Coruscant to the steampunk precincts of New Crobuzon — what’s your favorite SF megalopolis? Would you move there tomorrow? Would it actually work as a technological/societal/economic artifact? In an advanced, post-scarcity society, would people even want to pig-pile together? What will cities be like in the future? And what would you prefer them to be?

Panelists: Adam Lipkin, Meredith Schwartz, Toni Lay, Shira Lipkin, Rob Davies

Monday 11:00 AM  —     Book Signing – Davies & Shawl

Book signings with me & Nisi Shawl. I will have unexpurgated copies of Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist with me, along with magic Chimp-Head buttons that ward off ague!

Monday 12:30 PM  —  Genius Loci: Setting and Story

How do the vast arc of the Ringworld, the snug hills of the Shire, and the treeless plazas of Trantor shape their stories’ characters and events? Does local color bewitch or bore the reader? Are real places easier to evoke than imaginary ones? What SF/F/H settings do you find unforgettable? Vikki Ciaffone, Rob Davies, Greer Gilman, Shira Lipkin (m).

Latest Books #1

I’ve picked up a few books lately. I joined the Cemetery Dance Collectors Club, so I got several books in the intro package deal. Got a lifetime subscription to CD, too.

• Futile Efforts, Tom Piccirilli. Short stories by the master.
• Last Exit for the Lost, Tim Lebbon. More masterful short tales.
• British Invasion, ed. Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, James A. Moore. Some great British horror stories.
  
• Got to Kill Them All and Other Stories, Dennis Etchison
• Sims, Book Five: Thy Brother’s Keeper, F. Paul Wilson. Got this in a grab bag; wish it were Book One.
• Legacies, F. Paul Wilson. Repairman Jack!
• Wireless, Charles Stross. I’ve read a lot of these stories already, but I am really looking forward to “Palimpsest”
• The Audran Sequence, George Alec Effinger. An SFBC edition of the three cyberpunkish noir Audran novels, starting with the phenomenal When Gravity Fails.
• Kraken, China Miéville . Really looking forward to this.

I’ve been on a John Le Carré kick lately, busily reading through the Karla Trilogy. Picked up some older cheap HCs at Brattle Book Shop.

• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• The Honourable Schoolboy
• The Russia House
• The Perfect Spy
• The Secret Pilgrim

Comics

• The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill
• The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, Gerard Way. Phenomenal debut comic.
• Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic, Volume 1. First collection of the much maligned 90s’ Spidey event that I still have a fondness for. Yes, it spiraled out of control, but no worse than Brand New Day. Be forewarned, this collects issues in a weird reading order, revealing several key points immediately to the unwary.

Mimsymonger

I have been on pins and needles waiting for Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist to come out, and now it is out in the wild. Some good reviews so far. It has been a long time coming. (I will have a much longer, unexpurgated post about the writing of the Hiram Grange novella soon.)

There are all kinds of exciting plans for promoting the Hiram books, including book signings, videos, readings, absinthe, conventions, etc. I will also try to set some things up locally. If you have already had a chance to read the book, feel free to post a review on Amazon or B&N; at this stage of the game, word of mouth really helps a lot.

Some exciting news on the Hiram front: I am working on a flash Hiram story submission for the upcoming digital version of Shroud Magazine, tentatively titled “Hiram Grange and the Dessicates of Marrakech.” I have a cool concept for it, but I haven’t sat down to work on it yet, so I have no idea if it will fit into 500 words.

I have started work on a new horror novel, tentatively titled The Firstborn (at 20K words now, 60K more to go.) I am also finishing a space opera novella that I have been batting around for a few years. I have started actively sending out short stories again, so hopefully I can place a few here and there.

I will be at Context in Ohio in August, after a week in San Diego for work. The best-case scenario will have me on a red-eye flight Friday night and in Ohio Saturday morning exhausted but raring to go for all the Shroud/Hiram Grange festivities.

I am also planning on being at World Horror Con in Austin, TX, next April, and I think most (perhaps all!) of the Hiram folks will be there. I have always wanted to go to Austin, as I have heard great things about the food and music scene there. Also, I am looking forward to the chance to meet Joe Hill, Brian Keene, Sarah Langan, and one of my writing idols Joe Lansdale.

Somewhere in between all this, Sara and I are trying to figure out if we can manage another trip, most likely in late December, when I get a week off from work. We are considering Marrakech again because we both feel that we barely scratched the surface the first time there. This time we will definitely go out into the desert and see Ouarzazate. But as is always the case when we start thinking about the next trip, other places keep popping up, and now we are also considering Mexico City, mainly for the food, Aztec ruins, and bullfights. We won’t know until later in the year if we are going anywhere, but it is always fun to plan.

Hoodoo Gurus – New Album

One of my favorite bands, The Hoodoo Gurus, has a new album coming out on Friday in Australia. It won’t be released in the U.S. until April, but I have heard a few songs so far. Really nice.  Here’s a video from their first album Stoneage Romeos (1983) to whet your appetite…

If you are not familiar with the Gurus, Ampology is their greatest hits album, and as a double disc it has the essential songs. Mars Needs Guitars is a great one. Magnum Cum Louder is also a great album.

ONCE upon a time…

ONCE upon a time…. Here is a post from Sara about the locavore lobster dinner we went to on Friday night.

Hugo Awards Announced

The Hugos were awarded last night. I was happy to see Weird Tales and Electric Velocipede win. I have no complaints about any of the winners, but I was hoping Kij Johnson’s “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” won the short story category, because it is a great story and, well, monkeys! Congratulations to all the winners.

• Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
• Best Novella: “The Erdmann Nexus”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)
• Best Novelette: “Shoggoths in Bloom”, Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008)
• Best Short Story: “Exhalation”, Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
• Best Related Book: Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)
• Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
• Best Editor Short Form: Ellen Datlow
• Best Editor Long Form: David G. Hartwell
• Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola
• Best Semiprozine: Weird Tales, edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
• Best Fan Writer: Cheryl Morgan
• Best Fanzine: Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
• Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu
• The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines): David Anthony Durham

Ronnarong

Over at Culture Bitch, Sara (Wine Bitch) reviews the new Thai place in Union Square.

After Readercon

Readercon was rather good this year, but we missed Thursday night and Sunday. There were a lot of great panels, and some

I was able to have Gene Wolfe sign my three Book of the Short Sun volumes. Now, I just need to get the Book of the Long Sun volumes signed and I will be content. I got my Easton Press copies of Book of the New Sun signed at Balticon a few years ago. (Not funny story: I carried all of my Gene Wolfe books to Baltimore  in a suitcase (20 or so), only to learn that there was a 3-book limit at the signing. My joy was not full.)

Samuel R. Delany signed my copies of Nova, Fall of the Towers, and Babel-17/Empire Star. I now have my entire Delany collection of books signed, except for an old SFBC copy of Driftglass.

I didn’t buy many books because we took the bus and I was already carrying 10 books with us, but I did pick up Catherynne M. Valente’s In the Night Garden and I got it signed shortly thereafter. Sara got Elizabeth Hand’s Generation Loss and got it signed.

I met some new folks, including Chris Furst, who wrote the phenomenal “The Last Great Clown Hunt” in Weird Tales.

There is a new restaurant at the hotel called Summer Winter, which was really nice. The food was excellent and the beer and wine selection was not too bad. Unfortunately, they seem to have neutered their existing “Irish” pub so it wouldn’t compete, severely slashing the offerings on the menu. But Smithwick’s on tap is never a bad thing.

Overall, another enjoyable weekend.

UPDATE:

I just learned the sad news that Charles N. Brown, the publisher of Locus, died soon after Readercon. I didn’t know him, but have been an avid reader of Locus since my teens, which, before the Internet, was the only place I knew of to get info on what books my favorite writers were working on.

To Do List

I’ve been very busy with work lately, so I haven’t been updating the blog much and have fallen behind on several projects. I have a few stories coming out in the coming weeks, eagerly waiting for the mailman with my contributor copies.

On the agenda for the remainder of the year:

• Finish Hiram Grange novella. I am really unforgivably late with this. I was blocked and written into a corner until I realized a very simple fix, which I think lets everything fall into place. I should be done in a week or two (5000 words or so left after some vicious cutting of little darlings).
• Get through the first 2 modules of Arabic in Rosetta Stone by December.
• Finish horror novel (LBB)  for DP’s contest by the end of September.
• Finish “First Will of Barnabas Crake” story, with more monkeys, real and imagined.
• Finish “Crucifixion” story and send to Interzone. (4 years and counting on this 9000 word opus. Egads!)
• Join the gym to regain my eternal mastery over flesh and steel and mind
• Finish John Crowley’s Aegypt Cycle, Moorcock’s Pyat books plus Del Rey reprints of the Elric stories, and a few more of Steve Erikson’s Malazan books (I am up to Book 5 now). Other reading will be more freeform. I am a flibbertigibbet when it comes to books, so I never know what I am reading next.
• Plan out trip to Marrakech at end of December.

Long Time, No Post…

Been a bitch of a few months, but things are settling down. New stories coming out soon. More info coming up…