Marie Brennan's Blog, page 177
December 31, 2013
Interview on Sword and Laser; also, looking back at 2013
I think I mentioned before that Sword & Laser chose A Natural History of Dragons for their book club this month, and that they were also planning on interviewing me. That's gone live now, so you can listen to me in all my rambling ridiculousness. :-)
I have to say . . . 2013 has been a pretty good year for me, and A Natural History of Dragons deserves a lot of the credit for that. It's done really, really well: good sales, good reviews, multiple hardcover printings, made some year-end "Best Of" lists (NPR! Slate!). I think what's made me the most happy, though, is the number of people who seem to have gotten the book -- by which I mean, they're picking up on the stuff I tried very hard to put in there. Things like the effect of contrasting Isabella's older perspective with her younger actions, or the way in which the book is kind of science fiction, or the finer points of the gender commentary (like how those expectations constrain Jacob as well as Isabella). Every time I read a review that calls out an aspect like that, I glow a little, because really: as an author, that's pretty much what you hope to achieve. And this time, I seem to have done it.
I hope The Tropic of Serpents does equally well. And whether 2013 was a good year or a bad one for you, I hope that 2014 treats us all even better.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/605715.html. Comment here or there.
I have to say . . . 2013 has been a pretty good year for me, and A Natural History of Dragons deserves a lot of the credit for that. It's done really, really well: good sales, good reviews, multiple hardcover printings, made some year-end "Best Of" lists (NPR! Slate!). I think what's made me the most happy, though, is the number of people who seem to have gotten the book -- by which I mean, they're picking up on the stuff I tried very hard to put in there. Things like the effect of contrasting Isabella's older perspective with her younger actions, or the way in which the book is kind of science fiction, or the finer points of the gender commentary (like how those expectations constrain Jacob as well as Isabella). Every time I read a review that calls out an aspect like that, I glow a little, because really: as an author, that's pretty much what you hope to achieve. And this time, I seem to have done it.
I hope The Tropic of Serpents does equally well. And whether 2013 was a good year or a bad one for you, I hope that 2014 treats us all even better.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/605715.html. Comment here or there.
Yuletide!!!!!
Travel and working on the book have kept me busy (and quiet) around here, but I should say something about Yuletide!
I got a lovely gift this year: "Ninth Life," which is a Chrestomanci filling in the details of how Christopher stole his life out of Gabriel's safe before the events of Conrad's Fate.
On the writing side, I produced four full-length stories -- my assignment, two pinch hits, and a treat -- and four stocking stuffers for Yuletide Madness. If anybody wants to try and guess what they are, I can offer the following hints:
1. Two of the full-length stories were for books; one was for a video game; and one was for a play.
2. Three of the stocking stuffers were for movies; one was for a comic book.
3. I'd written for one of the full-length fandoms before, but the other three were new.
4. The same is true of the stocking stuffers.
Any guesses?
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/605514.html. Comment here or there.
I got a lovely gift this year: "Ninth Life," which is a Chrestomanci filling in the details of how Christopher stole his life out of Gabriel's safe before the events of Conrad's Fate.
On the writing side, I produced four full-length stories -- my assignment, two pinch hits, and a treat -- and four stocking stuffers for Yuletide Madness. If anybody wants to try and guess what they are, I can offer the following hints:
1. Two of the full-length stories were for books; one was for a video game; and one was for a play.
2. Three of the stocking stuffers were for movies; one was for a comic book.
3. I'd written for one of the full-length fandoms before, but the other three were new.
4. The same is true of the stocking stuffers.
Any guesses?
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/605514.html. Comment here or there.
December 26, 2013
Half-Off PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING
Okay, I exaggerate -- but only a little.
Did you get an e-reader for Christmas? Or a little extra cash to blow where you please? Or are you just hungry for new things to read? Book View Cafe is having an ENORMOUS sale from now through January 6th. No, seriously: there are five pages of things on sale right now, in genres ranging from fantasy to science fiction to romance to mystery to nonfiction.
Including three titles of my own! Lies and Prophecy , Deeds of Men , and Writing Fight Scenes are all half-off right now -- that's half off the price listed on those pages, as the way we're handling the back end of the sale is just to apply the discount at checkout, rather than changing every book page.
As mentioned before, this lasts through January 6th, so you have plenty of time to browse the whole slate. (Nice thing about ebooks is, we don't run out of stock.) There are things to cater to many tastes in there; you might find more things to enjoy.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/605261.html. Comment here or there.
Did you get an e-reader for Christmas? Or a little extra cash to blow where you please? Or are you just hungry for new things to read? Book View Cafe is having an ENORMOUS sale from now through January 6th. No, seriously: there are five pages of things on sale right now, in genres ranging from fantasy to science fiction to romance to mystery to nonfiction.
Including three titles of my own! Lies and Prophecy , Deeds of Men , and Writing Fight Scenes are all half-off right now -- that's half off the price listed on those pages, as the way we're handling the back end of the sale is just to apply the discount at checkout, rather than changing every book page.
As mentioned before, this lasts through January 6th, so you have plenty of time to browse the whole slate. (Nice thing about ebooks is, we don't run out of stock.) There are things to cater to many tastes in there; you might find more things to enjoy.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/605261.html. Comment here or there.
December 24, 2013
light against the darkness
I'm not very religious. Growing up, I remember my family going to church occasionally; I was confirmed Methodist, for all the good it did.. Then it became Christmas, Easter, and whenever my grandparents were in town. Then my grandparents stopped traveling, and it became Christmas and Easter. Then Easter fell by the wayside and it was just Christmas. These days, I'm pretty much just an agnostic . . . but Christmas has stayed.
Because the Christmas Eve service is sacred to me, in a way that has nothing to do with Christianity or even necessarily with religion. Not the whole service, really -- just the end. Where they light the candles from the central one and come down the aisles to light yours in turn, and then you light your neighbor's candle and they light their neighbor's and so on, and the sanctuary goes dark except for those little flickering flames, and everyone is singing.
That's sacred. Sharing light in the midst of darkness.
(The only way it could be more perfect is if it happened on the winter solstice.)
So I'll keep going to Christmas Eve service, because I need that moment in the depths of winter. I need the candles and the darkness and the sharing and the singing. I will keep resenting the church we go to in Dallas, where they don't turn off the stupid LCD screens at the front of the sanctuary that advertise upcoming events or what hymn you're supposed to turn to next, because dammit, I want the only light around me to be the little flickering flames. I will keep sharing that flame in the depths of night.
Whatever religion you celebrate -- or lack thereof -- I wish you light in the darkness, and the company of neighbors.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/605145.html. Comment here or there.
Because the Christmas Eve service is sacred to me, in a way that has nothing to do with Christianity or even necessarily with religion. Not the whole service, really -- just the end. Where they light the candles from the central one and come down the aisles to light yours in turn, and then you light your neighbor's candle and they light their neighbor's and so on, and the sanctuary goes dark except for those little flickering flames, and everyone is singing.
That's sacred. Sharing light in the midst of darkness.
(The only way it could be more perfect is if it happened on the winter solstice.)
So I'll keep going to Christmas Eve service, because I need that moment in the depths of winter. I need the candles and the darkness and the sharing and the singing. I will keep resenting the church we go to in Dallas, where they don't turn off the stupid LCD screens at the front of the sanctuary that advertise upcoming events or what hymn you're supposed to turn to next, because dammit, I want the only light around me to be the little flickering flames. I will keep sharing that flame in the depths of night.
Whatever religion you celebrate -- or lack thereof -- I wish you light in the darkness, and the company of neighbors.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/605145.html. Comment here or there.
December 19, 2013
Now's your chance . . . .
Bit of a belated announcement, but in an hour and a half (4 p.m. PST), I'll be interviewed on the Sword & Laser podcast. If you have a question you'd like me to answer, you can post it here! (A Natural History of Dragons is the general topic, but there are already questions about other things, too, so I don't think you're confined to only that book.)
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/604806.html. Comment here or there.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/604806.html. Comment here or there.
December 16, 2013
odds and ends
I'm still face-down in the book, plus trying to get ready for Christmas travel. In the meantime, have some random stuff!
Like this month's SF Novelists post: "I'm not allowed to tab away until this post is done," in which I talk about distractions.
Or a very wise post from Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith, on "Who Gets to Escape?"
Or some frickin' amazing tattoos.
Or an explanation of this poll. My family and I had been speculating that guys were more likely to have scars on the underside of their chins, due to exactly the kinds of hijinks various people described in the comments. But it turns out the data, at least as collected from my readership, does not support the anecdata; a slightly higher percentage of the women who responded have such scars than men.
Or, um . . . okay, I don't have a fifth thing. Feel free to suggest #5 in the comments!
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/604510.html. Comment here or there.
Like this month's SF Novelists post: "I'm not allowed to tab away until this post is done," in which I talk about distractions.
Or a very wise post from Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith, on "Who Gets to Escape?"
Or some frickin' amazing tattoos.
Or an explanation of this poll. My family and I had been speculating that guys were more likely to have scars on the underside of their chins, due to exactly the kinds of hijinks various people described in the comments. But it turns out the data, at least as collected from my readership, does not support the anecdata; a slightly higher percentage of the women who responded have such scars than men.
Or, um . . . okay, I don't have a fifth thing. Feel free to suggest #5 in the comments!
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/604510.html. Comment here or there.
December 12, 2013
'Tis the season of good news, after all . . . .
I've been scarce around here because I'm head-down in the third book of the Memoirs, but I do feel compelled to brag a little bit more. :-)
The big thing is the Sword and Laser podcast (also posted here), which gives a brief but glowing review of A Natural History of Dragons. Why is this a big thing? Well, apart from the fact that they'll be interviewing me soon, check out the URL on that first link. They're partnered with BoingBoing, which means that for a little while yesterday, their review was posted on the front page of BoingBoing.
I don't know what that did to my sales, but I bet it was pretty good. ^_^
And then you've got Mary Robinette Kowal saying exceedingly nice things over on Book Smugglers, and Liz Bourke singled it out as one of her favorite books of the year, and so did Juliet Kincaid, and y'all, this is so totally the best thing I could have when we're nine days from the solstice and I'm in the Middle of the Book and everything is conspiring to make me have no energy and just want to sleeeeeeeeep. (Well, that and caffeine. Of which I have some in the fridge.)
Now if you'll pardon me, I have to go chop a character's hand off.
(No, I'm not telling you whose.)
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/604179.html. Comment here or there.
The big thing is the Sword and Laser podcast (also posted here), which gives a brief but glowing review of A Natural History of Dragons. Why is this a big thing? Well, apart from the fact that they'll be interviewing me soon, check out the URL on that first link. They're partnered with BoingBoing, which means that for a little while yesterday, their review was posted on the front page of BoingBoing.
I don't know what that did to my sales, but I bet it was pretty good. ^_^
And then you've got Mary Robinette Kowal saying exceedingly nice things over on Book Smugglers, and Liz Bourke singled it out as one of her favorite books of the year, and so did Juliet Kincaid, and y'all, this is so totally the best thing I could have when we're nine days from the solstice and I'm in the Middle of the Book and everything is conspiring to make me have no energy and just want to sleeeeeeeeep. (Well, that and caffeine. Of which I have some in the fridge.)
Now if you'll pardon me, I have to go chop a character's hand off.
(No, I'm not telling you whose.)
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/604179.html. Comment here or there.
December 6, 2013
in which the author is quite chuffed
A number of you probably know about this by now, but: NPR has included A Natural History of Dragons in their Best of Year . . . Venn diagaram . . . Oort cloud . . . not-actually-a-list . . . thingy.
Basically, although it looks like a list, what they've done is go the tag route. That's the "science fiction and fantasy" tag, but if you click on ANHoD there, you'll find it's also tagged "love stories," "for history lovers," and "it's all geek to me." (You can also read Annalee Newitz' recommendation.) Anyway, this is pretty awesome -- like, "it has apparently had a measurable effect on sales" levels of awesome.
Plus there's also this: A Natural History of Dragons was picked as one of the top 15 books of the year by Slate.com's book editor Dan Kois. Put that together with the Goodreads semifinalist thing, and the fact that there are still new reviews coming in at a steady pace, and, well, see the title of the post. Quite chuffed. Quite, quite chuffed. It's good encouragement to have as I tackle the dreaded Middle of the Book for #3.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/604026.html. Comment here or there.
Basically, although it looks like a list, what they've done is go the tag route. That's the "science fiction and fantasy" tag, but if you click on ANHoD there, you'll find it's also tagged "love stories," "for history lovers," and "it's all geek to me." (You can also read Annalee Newitz' recommendation.) Anyway, this is pretty awesome -- like, "it has apparently had a measurable effect on sales" levels of awesome.
Plus there's also this: A Natural History of Dragons was picked as one of the top 15 books of the year by Slate.com's book editor Dan Kois. Put that together with the Goodreads semifinalist thing, and the fact that there are still new reviews coming in at a steady pace, and, well, see the title of the post. Quite chuffed. Quite, quite chuffed. It's good encouragement to have as I tackle the dreaded Middle of the Book for #3.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/604026.html. Comment here or there.
December 5, 2013
Books read, October and November 2013
What with the travel and the diving headfirst into writing the next book, I didn't get around to posting October's report, and I'm even a bit late on November's.
The Book of Water. L5R sourcebook, proofread prior to publication. AEG continues to put out solid material, and this one, like The Book of Fire, contains some wonderfully detailed information on a thematically-appropriate topic -- in this case, sake brewing.
Thieftaker, D.B. Jackson. Historical fantasy in the pre-revolutionary colonial U.S. I kept grinning while reading this, because I recognize a lot of the maneuvers Jackson is making, in terms of research and how it fits into the story. Ultimately I wasn't really hooked by the protagonist, but if the time period is your, well, cup of tea, then you might enjoy this.
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold. I enjoyed reading this . . . which is, in the end, unfortunately not quite the same thing as saying I liked the book. It was fun while it lasted, but once I put it down, I couldn't help thinking about the structural flaws that kept it from being really great. I don't much expect to revisit this one -- which is a pity, given how much I was looking forward to it.
Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch. Speaking of recognizing the games the author is playing! In this case the overlap is London geekery rather than historical fantasy, and oh, the London geekery. The two major strands of the plot ultimately didn't tie together the way that I wanted them to (and thought for a time that they would); instead it felt more like they were just happening to co-exist in the same book. Plus, I would have liked more denoument. But there was much entertainment to be had, and Aaronovitch sometimes exhibits a knack for the really well-crafted descriptive touch that evokes the whole scene. I will definitely be reading the sequel, probably soon.
The Sorcerous Sea, Carol Severance. Last of the trilogy. This one disappointed me a little, possibly because the point of view got split among so many people -- although I appreciated getting the perspective of a Losan character, especially given that in many respects she stayed a Losan character, rather than abandoning everything about her birth culture. But the threat at the core of this one didn't really get developed enough for me to care about it: the sea ghost seemed kind of like an afterthought, and the villain didn't do a lot for me either. (Though props to him for a couple of really diabolical schemes.)
The Apology Chapbook, China Mieville. Small thingy distributed at World Fantasy because Mieville had to withdraw from being Toastmaster at extremely short notice. Contains some flash and one short story. None of them did a lot for me, but that isn't surprising; I often bounce off Mieville in general.
Jesus and the Eightfold Path, Lavie Tidhar. Nutshell description: what if the three wise men from the East were the three companions of the Tripitaka from Journey to the West? In other words, kung fu Jesus. I love the concept, but this novella felt too indecisive about which of three or four different kinds of story it wanted to be. I probably could have enjoyed any of them; it was the waffling between them that really weakened it.
Naishou Province. Another L5R supplement, but this one I didn't proofread, so I actually read it when it came out. (An ordering of events that will be pretty rare for as long as I remain a freelancer.) It's a setting book and adventure hook, and I prefer this one to the Second City; you have to do a lot of hacking to make SC work if you don't want to incorporate the Spider Clan, and I make no secret of the fact that I think the elevation of the Spider to Great Clan status is one of the worst ideas in the history of the game line. But that's neither here nor there. Naishou Province, being in the Empire, is much easier to use in other kinds of campaigns, and the writers did a good job of incorporating little anthropological details that bring it to life. I will probably yoink various portions of this if I ever run an L5R game.
Not listed here: the eighty gabillion guidebooks, pamphlets, and informative signs I read on my trip. Also more of Quicksilver. Because I have always been reading Quicksilver, and I will always be reading Quicksilver.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/603782.html. Comment here or there.
The Book of Water. L5R sourcebook, proofread prior to publication. AEG continues to put out solid material, and this one, like The Book of Fire, contains some wonderfully detailed information on a thematically-appropriate topic -- in this case, sake brewing.
Thieftaker, D.B. Jackson. Historical fantasy in the pre-revolutionary colonial U.S. I kept grinning while reading this, because I recognize a lot of the maneuvers Jackson is making, in terms of research and how it fits into the story. Ultimately I wasn't really hooked by the protagonist, but if the time period is your, well, cup of tea, then you might enjoy this.
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold. I enjoyed reading this . . . which is, in the end, unfortunately not quite the same thing as saying I liked the book. It was fun while it lasted, but once I put it down, I couldn't help thinking about the structural flaws that kept it from being really great. I don't much expect to revisit this one -- which is a pity, given how much I was looking forward to it.
Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch. Speaking of recognizing the games the author is playing! In this case the overlap is London geekery rather than historical fantasy, and oh, the London geekery. The two major strands of the plot ultimately didn't tie together the way that I wanted them to (and thought for a time that they would); instead it felt more like they were just happening to co-exist in the same book. Plus, I would have liked more denoument. But there was much entertainment to be had, and Aaronovitch sometimes exhibits a knack for the really well-crafted descriptive touch that evokes the whole scene. I will definitely be reading the sequel, probably soon.
The Sorcerous Sea, Carol Severance. Last of the trilogy. This one disappointed me a little, possibly because the point of view got split among so many people -- although I appreciated getting the perspective of a Losan character, especially given that in many respects she stayed a Losan character, rather than abandoning everything about her birth culture. But the threat at the core of this one didn't really get developed enough for me to care about it: the sea ghost seemed kind of like an afterthought, and the villain didn't do a lot for me either. (Though props to him for a couple of really diabolical schemes.)
The Apology Chapbook, China Mieville. Small thingy distributed at World Fantasy because Mieville had to withdraw from being Toastmaster at extremely short notice. Contains some flash and one short story. None of them did a lot for me, but that isn't surprising; I often bounce off Mieville in general.
Jesus and the Eightfold Path, Lavie Tidhar. Nutshell description: what if the three wise men from the East were the three companions of the Tripitaka from Journey to the West? In other words, kung fu Jesus. I love the concept, but this novella felt too indecisive about which of three or four different kinds of story it wanted to be. I probably could have enjoyed any of them; it was the waffling between them that really weakened it.
Naishou Province. Another L5R supplement, but this one I didn't proofread, so I actually read it when it came out. (An ordering of events that will be pretty rare for as long as I remain a freelancer.) It's a setting book and adventure hook, and I prefer this one to the Second City; you have to do a lot of hacking to make SC work if you don't want to incorporate the Spider Clan, and I make no secret of the fact that I think the elevation of the Spider to Great Clan status is one of the worst ideas in the history of the game line. But that's neither here nor there. Naishou Province, being in the Empire, is much easier to use in other kinds of campaigns, and the writers did a good job of incorporating little anthropological details that bring it to life. I will probably yoink various portions of this if I ever run an L5R game.
Not listed here: the eighty gabillion guidebooks, pamphlets, and informative signs I read on my trip. Also more of Quicksilver. Because I have always been reading Quicksilver, and I will always be reading Quicksilver.
This entry was also posted at http://swan-tower.dreamwidth.org/603782.html. Comment here or there.
