Jeff Somers's Blog

I'm not a Luddite – really – despite the fact that I continue to resist the lure of eBooks in general and Kindles and Nooks in specific. I started thinking about this again today because Fimoculous brought these "choose your own adventure" eBooks to my attention. That's probably loads of fun, as I recall loving those kinds of books as a kid. Of course, computer games have really taken over that niche of infinite possibilities, but I think pick-a-path books are probably still  loads of fun...

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

It can't always be about me. Soon everyone will be talking about this:

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

When I appeared on that panel last week as a last-minute replacement, I had occasion to contemplate the fact that my prose is littered with foul language. Once again I shared a stage with folks whose writing was glaring in its lack of expletives, making me feel like a dirty boy when I read. As often happens when I am shamed publicly, I decided to make a video about it, so I give you CURSING WHILST READING:

Enjoy!

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

Tim Quirk, former singer for my favorite band Too Much Joy, wrote a piece about his most recent royalty statement from Warner Brothers. All I can say is at least as an author your chances of owing your publisher three hundred thousand dollars (technically) is pretty remote. (Thanks to my pal Jeof Vita for the link).

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

Suddenly, I will be here tonight, sitting on a panel. From their web site, "The Center for Fiction, founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, is the only organization in the United States devoted solely to the vital art of fiction."

My panel is: The Evolution of Sci-Fi and Fantasy: a panel with Musharraf Ali Farooqi, Michael Kandel, and N.K. Jemisin.  Presented in collaboration with Words Without Borders.

When: Tuesday, December 1st at 7pm (that's TONIGHT)

Where: The Center for Fiction, 17...

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

And. . .we're back. Hope no one died from food-related injuries.

Whenever I have some time off like that I make grandiose plans about how I'm not going to waste my vacation this year. These plans usually involve immense home improvement projects ("I can have that roof off and another floor roughed-out in three days, why not?"), immense self-improvement projects ("I will go 36 hours without taking a drink. . .starting right after this bottle."), and serious writing goals ("Three days. 90,000...

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

Yup, a new video, because The Duchess went to The Ancestral Home for Thanksgiving, leaving me alone with four cats and a bar stocked full of booze. I'm not responsible for my actions under these circumstances, so I made a video about cats. Apologies in advance.

Yes, I am ashamed.

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

The fantabulous cover for The Terminal State is up against two other books in a Book Cover smackdown over at SF Signal. I want to win, because I assume there is a large cash payment and some sort of trophy. I suppose I could confirm that by reading the entry, but I will just assume. Go get me that trophy!

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

Well lookie here: My publisher has a nifty little post up about the mass market covers they've designed for the re-releases of The Electric Church, The Digital Plague, and The Eternal Prison, as well as the debut of #4 in the Avery Cates series The Terminal State. Lauren Panepinto rocks; I love the work she's doing with these, and I love the fact that Orbit posts stuff like this, giving a glimpse into the process. Rock on.

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »

Per the deliriously entertaining IO9.com, author Lynn Viehl has posted one of her royalty statements on the web for all to see. This is balls, if you ask me. This is America, for god's sake, and what we earn at our vocations or avocations is sacred privacy, because that way the secret lizard aliens who secretly run the world can keep us down through collusion. Doubt me? Then you've been hit by the lizards' brainwash ray.

Author earnings are strangely fascinating to folks. I think this is...

View full post on Jeff Somers's website »