Marie Brennan's Blog, page 220
November 5, 2011
Thanksgiving Advent, Day Four: Role-playing Games
Almost forgot today's post! Well, I'll take my inspiration from the thing I'm about to run off and do, and say I'm thankful for role-playing games.
Yeah, you heard me; I'm about to go spend my Friday night being a gamer. (This is not at all a surprise to some of you.) RPGs are awesome, man! The way I approach them, they're collaborative storytelling, and let me tell you -- it is freaking amazing when stuff comes together, totally unplanned, into the perfect bit of story. Emergent narrative, to don my academic hat againt for a moment. I loves me a well-written novel, too, but when that stuff happens half by accident, it's extra cool.
And playing gives me a chance to explore different kinds of characters, in ways I can then bring back to my writing. So aside from the benefit to me, there's a benefit to you.
Now if you'll pardon me, I have go to pretend to be someone else. :-)
Yeah, you heard me; I'm about to go spend my Friday night being a gamer. (This is not at all a surprise to some of you.) RPGs are awesome, man! The way I approach them, they're collaborative storytelling, and let me tell you -- it is freaking amazing when stuff comes together, totally unplanned, into the perfect bit of story. Emergent narrative, to don my academic hat againt for a moment. I loves me a well-written novel, too, but when that stuff happens half by accident, it's extra cool.
And playing gives me a chance to explore different kinds of characters, in ways I can then bring back to my writing. So aside from the benefit to me, there's a benefit to you.
Now if you'll pardon me, I have go to pretend to be someone else. :-)
November 4, 2011
Books read, October 2011
Two cons ate into my reading time a fair bit, but I still made it through a decent number of books.
Freedom and Necessity, Steven Brust and Emma Bull. A historical novel set in 1849, about (at least to begin with) a man thought to be dead, who has no memory of what happened to him. The novel is epistolary -- that is, told via letters, and the occasional newspaper excerpt or such -- and although it takes a little while to build up momentum, from the start the characterization is superb. All four of the main letter-writers are very vivid and distinct, with complexity that unfolds beautifully as the novel goes on. I particularly loved Susan (which will surprise no one); she says things at various points which struck me as addressing the issue of feminism in the nineteenth century from an angle that is not the same one I've seen over and over again in other books. A sample quote:
Two cons ate into my reading time a fair bit, but I still made it through a decent number of books.
<lj-cut text="Diana Wynne Jones, Brust and Bull, Lukyanenko, and a new graphic novel series. A LOT of Diana Wynne Jones."><strike><b><i>A Natural History of Dragons</i>, Marie Brennan.</b></strike> As usual, my own work doesn't count. (But this was for editing purposes, if you're curious.)
<b><i>Freedom and Necessity</i>, Steven Brust and Emma Bull.</b> A historical novel set in 1849, about (at least to begin with) a man thought to be dead, who has no memory of what happened to him. The novel is epistolary -- that is, told via letters, and the occasional newspaper excerpt or such -- and although it takes a little while to build up momentum, from the start the characterization is <i>superb</i>. All four of the main letter-writers are very vivid and distinct, with complexity that unfolds beautifully as the novel goes on. I particularly loved Susan (which will surprise no one); she says things at various points which struck me as addressing the issue of feminism in the nineteenth century from an angle that is not the same one I've seen over and over again in other books. A sample quote:
<blockquote><i>I'm doing this mostly because it's opened wide a door to a room inside me that before I could only guess at by the light along the sill and through the keyhole. It's a room in which all those things in me that, living the normal life of a well-bred woman, I could never use -- strength and speed and hardiness; command over my mind and body; respect for the language of my senses; a certain ferocity of the spirit -- are not only useful but essential. In that place life is lived as if in mid-air over an obstacle, between leap and landing, with everything committed and nothing certain.</i>
Her life is infinitely more dangerous once she gets involved with the plot, but the sense that she is truly <i>living</i> for the first time is striking.
(Also, if you tell me Brust and/or Bull imprinted hard on the Lymond Chronicles, I will be not at all surprised. James bears many interesting resemblances to him -- and this book has a similar-ish Richard, too.)
The only reason I am not head-over-heels in love with this book is that I felt a little bit let down at the end. Some of that, I think, is the fault of the cover copy, which promised me "a magical conspiracy," and didn't quite deliver the way I wanted. I'm fine with the book being largely mundane, but there came a point where I really expected fantasy to break through much more strongly than it did, and the lack disappointed me. Related to that, the plot strand involving the Trotter's Club never integrated with the rest in the way I really wanted. Saying more would involve spoilers, though, so if you want to know what I mean, e-mail me or ask me in person.
Still and all -- a very, very good book. My complaints above keep it from being perfect (for my tastes); they don't make it bad. Not by a long stretch.
<b><i>A Sudden Wild Magic</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/494...
<strike>another book of mine, but I'm not going to tell you which one or why</strike> Yeah, I'm being mysterious. Deal with it.
<b><i>House of Mystery: Room and Boredom</i>, Jill Thompson et al.</b> First volume of a graphic novel series, about a place I almost want to call the Hotel California -- which may well have inspired it. There's a bar in a house that can be accessed from many different places, but not everyone who comes to it is allowed to leave again. It's hard to properly judge a comic on this small of a dose, but I liked how it began.
<b><i>Hexwood</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/495...
<b><i>Wild Robert</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/495...
<b><i>Believing Is Seeing: Seven Stories</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/496...
<b><i>Last Watch</i>, Sergei Lukyanenko.</b> Russian urban fantasy, and final volume of the series that began with <a href="http://www.swantower.com/recs/2006/oc... Watch</i></a> (also made into a very attractive movie). It's been long enough since I read the first three volumes that I had to refresh my memory on Wikipedia, but it made for a pretty solid ending. The biggest weakness, I would say, is that each "novel" is more like three novellas, some more loosely connected than others, which somewhat undermines the sense of forward momentum. But it does a decent job of finding a transformative note to end on, which is something I really look for in the ending of a series like this.
<b><i>Castle in the Air</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/497...
Freedom and Necessity, Steven Brust and Emma Bull. A historical novel set in 1849, about (at least to begin with) a man thought to be dead, who has no memory of what happened to him. The novel is epistolary -- that is, told via letters, and the occasional newspaper excerpt or such -- and although it takes a little while to build up momentum, from the start the characterization is superb. All four of the main letter-writers are very vivid and distinct, with complexity that unfolds beautifully as the novel goes on. I particularly loved Susan (which will surprise no one); she says things at various points which struck me as addressing the issue of feminism in the nineteenth century from an angle that is not the same one I've seen over and over again in other books. A sample quote:
I'm doing this mostly because it's opened wide a door to a room inside me that before I could only guess at by the light along the sill and through the keyhole. It's a room in which all those things in me that, living the normal life of a well-bred woman, I could never use -- strength and speed and hardiness; command over my mind and body; respect for the language of my senses; a certain ferocity of the spirit -- are not only useful but essential. In that place life is lived as if in mid-air over an obstacle, between leap and landing, with everything committed and nothing certain.[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<a [...] novellas,>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]
Her life is infinitely more dangerous once she gets involved with the plot, but the sense that she is truly living for the first time is striking.
(Also, if you tell me Brust and/or Bull imprinted hard on the Lymond Chronicles, I will be not at all surprised. James bears many interesting resemblances to him -- and this book has a similar-ish Richard, too.)
The only reason I am not head-over-heels in love with this book is that I felt a little bit let down at the end. Some of that, I think, is the fault of the cover copy, which promised me "a magical conspiracy," and didn't quite deliver the way I wanted. I'm fine with the book being largely mundane, but there came a point where I really expected fantasy to break through much more strongly than it did, and the lack disappointed me. Related to that, the plot strand involving the Trotter's Club never integrated with the rest in the way I really wanted. Saying more would involve spoilers, though, so if you want to know what I mean, e-mail me or ask me in person.
Still and all -- a very, very good book. My complaints above keep it from being perfect (for my tastes); they don't make it bad. Not by a long stretch.
A Sudden Wild Magic, Diana Wynne Jones. Discussed elsewhere.
another book of mine, but I'm not going to tell you which one or why Yeah, I'm being mysterious. Deal with it.
House of Mystery: Room and Boredom, Jill Thompson et al. First volume of a graphic novel series, about a place I almost want to call the Hotel California -- which may well have inspired it. There's a bar in a house that can be accessed from many different places, but not everyone who comes to it is allowed to leave again. It's hard to properly judge a comic on this small of a dose, but I liked how it began.
Hexwood, Diana Wynne Jones. Discussed elsewhere.
Wild Robert, Diana Wynne Jones. Discussed elsewhere.
Believing Is Seeing: Seven Stories, Diana Wynne Jones. Discussed elsewhere.
Last Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko. Russian urban fantasy, and final volume of the series that began with
Two cons ate into my reading time a fair bit, but I still made it through a decent number of books.
<lj-cut text="Diana Wynne Jones, Brust and Bull, Lukyanenko, and a new graphic novel series. A LOT of Diana Wynne Jones."><strike><b><i>A Natural History of Dragons</i>, Marie Brennan.</b></strike> As usual, my own work doesn't count. (But this was for editing purposes, if you're curious.)
<b><i>Freedom and Necessity</i>, Steven Brust and Emma Bull.</b> A historical novel set in 1849, about (at least to begin with) a man thought to be dead, who has no memory of what happened to him. The novel is epistolary -- that is, told via letters, and the occasional newspaper excerpt or such -- and although it takes a little while to build up momentum, from the start the characterization is <i>superb</i>. All four of the main letter-writers are very vivid and distinct, with complexity that unfolds beautifully as the novel goes on. I particularly loved Susan (which will surprise no one); she says things at various points which struck me as addressing the issue of feminism in the nineteenth century from an angle that is not the same one I've seen over and over again in other books. A sample quote:
<blockquote><i>I'm doing this mostly because it's opened wide a door to a room inside me that before I could only guess at by the light along the sill and through the keyhole. It's a room in which all those things in me that, living the normal life of a well-bred woman, I could never use -- strength and speed and hardiness; command over my mind and body; respect for the language of my senses; a certain ferocity of the spirit -- are not only useful but essential. In that place life is lived as if in mid-air over an obstacle, between leap and landing, with everything committed and nothing certain.</i>
Her life is infinitely more dangerous once she gets involved with the plot, but the sense that she is truly <i>living</i> for the first time is striking.
(Also, if you tell me Brust and/or Bull imprinted hard on the Lymond Chronicles, I will be not at all surprised. James bears many interesting resemblances to him -- and this book has a similar-ish Richard, too.)
The only reason I am not head-over-heels in love with this book is that I felt a little bit let down at the end. Some of that, I think, is the fault of the cover copy, which promised me "a magical conspiracy," and didn't quite deliver the way I wanted. I'm fine with the book being largely mundane, but there came a point where I really expected fantasy to break through much more strongly than it did, and the lack disappointed me. Related to that, the plot strand involving the Trotter's Club never integrated with the rest in the way I really wanted. Saying more would involve spoilers, though, so if you want to know what I mean, e-mail me or ask me in person.
Still and all -- a very, very good book. My complaints above keep it from being perfect (for my tastes); they don't make it bad. Not by a long stretch.
<b><i>A Sudden Wild Magic</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/494...
<strike>another book of mine, but I'm not going to tell you which one or why</strike> Yeah, I'm being mysterious. Deal with it.
<b><i>House of Mystery: Room and Boredom</i>, Jill Thompson et al.</b> First volume of a graphic novel series, about a place I almost want to call the Hotel California -- which may well have inspired it. There's a bar in a house that can be accessed from many different places, but not everyone who comes to it is allowed to leave again. It's hard to properly judge a comic on this small of a dose, but I liked how it began.
<b><i>Hexwood</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/495...
<b><i>Wild Robert</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/495...
<b><i>Believing Is Seeing: Seven Stories</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/496...
<b><i>Last Watch</i>, Sergei Lukyanenko.</b> Russian urban fantasy, and final volume of the series that began with <a href="http://www.swantower.com/recs/2006/oc... Watch</i></a> (also made into a very attractive movie). It's been long enough since I read the first three volumes that I had to refresh my memory on Wikipedia, but it made for a pretty solid ending. The biggest weakness, I would say, is that each "novel" is more like three novellas, some more loosely connected than others, which somewhat undermines the sense of forward momentum. But it does a decent job of finding a transformative note to end on, which is something I really look for in the ending of a series like this.
<b><i>Castle in the Air</i>, Diana Wynne Jones.</b> Discussed <a href="http://swan-tower.livejournal.com/497...
Thanksgiving Advent, Day Three: My Friends
There is, of course, some overlap between this and the previous post, as I count a number of writers among both my colleagues and my friends. But my non-writer friends very much deserve a nod, too. I know a lot of very cool people, some of them living nearby, some of them in other cities or even other countries -- which makes those latter hard to hang out with, but on the other hand, it often means I know somebody in the places I travel to. And that's pretty nifty.
Friends are especially a thing to be grateful for given how isolating my job can be. If it weren't for you guys, I would have gone insane(r) a long time ago.
Friends are especially a thing to be grateful for given how isolating my job can be. If it weren't for you guys, I would have gone insane(r) a long time ago.
Thanksgiving Advent, Day One: My Friends
There is, of course, some overlap between this and the previous post, as I count a number of writers among both my colleagues and my friends. But my non-writer friends very much deserve a nod, too. I know a lot of very cool people, some of them living nearby, some of them in other cities or even other countries -- which makes those latter hard to hang out with, but on the other hand, it often means I know somebody in the places I travel to. And that's pretty nifty.
Friends are especially a thing to be grateful for given how isolating my job can be. If it weren't for you guys, I would have gone insane(r) a long time ago.
Friends are especially a thing to be grateful for given how isolating my job can be. If it weren't for you guys, I would have gone insane(r) a long time ago.
November 2, 2011
Thanksgiving Advent, Day Two: My Colleagues
Continuing the post-WFC theme: I don't exactly work with anybody, per se -- writing being a fairly solitary task and all -- but man, my fellow writers are pretty damn cool people.
Sure, not all of them; some are boring blowhards or unrepentant jerks. But the percentage of them with whom I can have cool conversations is remarkably high. It's a function of the job, really: writers in general, and sf/f writers in particular, are prone to knowing random nifty things, and "random nifty things" is one of my favorite things to talk about. As![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380451598i/2033940.gif)
mrissa
and
alecaustin
and
zellandyne
and I were commenting at lunch on Sunday, we don't do the small talk thing very well; introduce us to somebody new, and if we get our way, within five minutes we'll be riffing on archaeology or exoplanets or historical methods of smallpox vaccination.
I may go months at a time without talking to any of them in person, but I look forward to those occasions when we all get together.
Sure, not all of them; some are boring blowhards or unrepentant jerks. But the percentage of them with whom I can have cool conversations is remarkably high. It's a function of the job, really: writers in general, and sf/f writers in particular, are prone to knowing random nifty things, and "random nifty things" is one of my favorite things to talk about. As
mrissa
and
alecaustin
and
zellandyne
and I were commenting at lunch on Sunday, we don't do the small talk thing very well; introduce us to somebody new, and if we get our way, within five minutes we'll be riffing on archaeology or exoplanets or historical methods of smallpox vaccination.I may go months at a time without talking to any of them in person, but I look forward to those occasions when we all get together.
The DWJ Project: Castle in the Air
I remember picking this book up when it hit the shelves, and being delighted when I saw that it was a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle.
I also remember being really, really confused as to how it could possibly be a sequel. For more than half the book, the only visible connection is a couple of passing references to Ingary. (There's much more than that going on, of course, but it doesn't become obvious until fairly late.)
For that first half or so, the real connection is more a matter of style. Just as Howl's Moving Castle played around a bit with fairy-tale tropes -- eldest of three, setting out to seek one's fortune, etc -- Castle in the Air plays around with tropes from the Arabian Nights. Abdullah is a very different character from Sophie, and his conflict is likewise different; the story is more centrally about him solving his problem (and dealing with a larger one in the process), rather than Sophie solving a larger problem (and getting her own resolved in the process). But there's a similar feel to the two stories, and I'm quite fond of Castle in the Air, if not so fond as I am of the original.
On to the spoilers!
Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer are all there, of course, for quite a lot of the story. I made an effort, this time through, to keep that at the forefront of my mind; normally I get more swept up in Abdullah's perspective, and lose sight of the underlayer. Turns out that if you pay attention, Howl sounds very obviously like himself -- to the point where maybe people who weren't ten the first time they read it made him after two pages. Calcifer, of course, is harder to spot, and Sophie spends a decent portion of her page time being herself. (I love the touch about Morgan being so hugely upset at not being able to do anything, after getting around as a kitten.)
Oddly, I'm not sure I ever consciously noticed that the soldier doesn't get a name until after everybody gets sorted out. It's the style, I think: in folktales, often only the central character gets a name. It never seemed odd to me that the soldier remained "the soldier" for so many pages.
I like Flower-in-the-Night. Abdullah's response to her ignorance is charming, and her own reaction makes clear the distinction between ignorance and stupidity. She has the former (and mends it), not the latter. And I really appreciate the proactive way she and the other princesses deal with their captivity, playing an active role in their own rescue. Just because the one-sentence description of a plot sounds cliche doesn't mean the execution of it has to be.
It isn't the most graceful of sequels, in the sense that Abdullah's situation doesn't have a whole lot to do with Howl and Sophie. Hasruel's entire plot could have been carried off without stealing the moving castle, and then it would have just been a story about Abdullah, which would have worked fine. But I like the random connection. It's like the "Love and Monsters" episode of Doctor Who, where you get an outside angle on the Doctor's life. As much as I crave more Actual Howl and Sophie, this is fun in its own way.
House of Many Ways next, to finish off the Howl-related stuff.
I also remember being really, really confused as to how it could possibly be a sequel. For more than half the book, the only visible connection is a couple of passing references to Ingary. (There's much more than that going on, of course, but it doesn't become obvious until fairly late.)
For that first half or so, the real connection is more a matter of style. Just as Howl's Moving Castle played around a bit with fairy-tale tropes -- eldest of three, setting out to seek one's fortune, etc -- Castle in the Air plays around with tropes from the Arabian Nights. Abdullah is a very different character from Sophie, and his conflict is likewise different; the story is more centrally about him solving his problem (and dealing with a larger one in the process), rather than Sophie solving a larger problem (and getting her own resolved in the process). But there's a similar feel to the two stories, and I'm quite fond of Castle in the Air, if not so fond as I am of the original.
On to the spoilers!
Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer are all there, of course, for quite a lot of the story. I made an effort, this time through, to keep that at the forefront of my mind; normally I get more swept up in Abdullah's perspective, and lose sight of the underlayer. Turns out that if you pay attention, Howl sounds very obviously like himself -- to the point where maybe people who weren't ten the first time they read it made him after two pages. Calcifer, of course, is harder to spot, and Sophie spends a decent portion of her page time being herself. (I love the touch about Morgan being so hugely upset at not being able to do anything, after getting around as a kitten.)
Oddly, I'm not sure I ever consciously noticed that the soldier doesn't get a name until after everybody gets sorted out. It's the style, I think: in folktales, often only the central character gets a name. It never seemed odd to me that the soldier remained "the soldier" for so many pages.
I like Flower-in-the-Night. Abdullah's response to her ignorance is charming, and her own reaction makes clear the distinction between ignorance and stupidity. She has the former (and mends it), not the latter. And I really appreciate the proactive way she and the other princesses deal with their captivity, playing an active role in their own rescue. Just because the one-sentence description of a plot sounds cliche doesn't mean the execution of it has to be.
It isn't the most graceful of sequels, in the sense that Abdullah's situation doesn't have a whole lot to do with Howl and Sophie. Hasruel's entire plot could have been carried off without stealing the moving castle, and then it would have just been a story about Abdullah, which would have worked fine. But I like the random connection. It's like the "Love and Monsters" episode of Doctor Who, where you get an outside angle on the Doctor's life. As much as I crave more Actual Howl and Sophie, this is fun in its own way.
House of Many Ways next, to finish off the Howl-related stuff.
A perfectly competent example of a subgenre I'm bored with
I'm not going to list all the books I brought home from World Fantasy, because I don't intend to keep all of them.
It isn't meant as an insult. Normally I fly to WFC, and that necessitates strict limitations on what I bring home. This time we drove, though, and so I grabbed copies of things I knew I would never read, because I can (and will) donate them to the library.
The thing is, "I'll never read this" isn't necessarily a judgment of quality. We did the traditional thing of reading the opening page out loud, and I described one of the books from my bag as "a perfectly competent example of a subgenre I'm bored with." Other people still enjoy it, and that's fine; more power to them. Or take the Pathfinder novels I received: I didn't even bother with the opening page, because I know I'm not interested in the first place. But somebody at the library book sale might very well snatch it up.
If I really thought a given book was bad, I wouldn't even donate it to the library. Like approximately 93% of the con attendees, I dumped one book on the swap table, and thought "good riddance." I won't name and shame the author, but it was self-published and rampagingly full of the stalest cliches, including one that I find offensive. I'm not inflicting that on the library.
So I won't list all the books I brought home, because I don't want to imply a major criticism when I don't keep them. But there were some really good-looking ones in there (including Guardian of the Dead! Which was on my wish list!), so look for those to show up in my "books read" posts later.
It isn't meant as an insult. Normally I fly to WFC, and that necessitates strict limitations on what I bring home. This time we drove, though, and so I grabbed copies of things I knew I would never read, because I can (and will) donate them to the library.
The thing is, "I'll never read this" isn't necessarily a judgment of quality. We did the traditional thing of reading the opening page out loud, and I described one of the books from my bag as "a perfectly competent example of a subgenre I'm bored with." Other people still enjoy it, and that's fine; more power to them. Or take the Pathfinder novels I received: I didn't even bother with the opening page, because I know I'm not interested in the first place. But somebody at the library book sale might very well snatch it up.
If I really thought a given book was bad, I wouldn't even donate it to the library. Like approximately 93% of the con attendees, I dumped one book on the swap table, and thought "good riddance." I won't name and shame the author, but it was self-published and rampagingly full of the stalest cliches, including one that I find offensive. I'm not inflicting that on the library.
So I won't list all the books I brought home, because I don't want to imply a major criticism when I don't keep them. But there were some really good-looking ones in there (including Guardian of the Dead! Which was on my wish list!), so look for those to show up in my "books read" posts later.
Thanksgiving Advent, Day One: My Job
I'm going to take a page from John Scalzi's book (or rather, site), and try to do a "Thanksgiving Advent," where I post each day about something I'm thankful for.
Given that I just came back from World Fantasy, it seems appropriate to start with my job. It has its downsides, but at the end of the day (which is usually when I go to work...) -- man, I get paid to make stuff up. And not just any stuff, but fantasy worlds packed as full of wonder as I can make them.
That's pretty goddamned amazing, that is, and I hope never to lose sight of that fact.
Given that I just came back from World Fantasy, it seems appropriate to start with my job. It has its downsides, but at the end of the day (which is usually when I go to work...) -- man, I get paid to make stuff up. And not just any stuff, but fantasy worlds packed as full of wonder as I can make them.
That's pretty goddamned amazing, that is, and I hope never to lose sight of that fact.
October 31, 2011
*is ded*
The crappy internet access situation at the WFC hotel means I am irretrievably behind on LJ; as such, I will not be attempting to retrieve it. If you posted something since last Tuesday, I haven't seen it; if you want me to be aware of it (e.g. you have good news you want to brag about again, or a charity thing you want to promote, or whatever), then please do comment here. Because my brain, it is oatmeal, and needs help being turned back into a brain again. :-)
(Oh, and WFC was a blast. I almost managed to see and spend time with everybody I wanted to. Not quite -- since that is an unreachable target -- but I gave it a pretty good try.)
(Oh, and WFC was a blast. I almost managed to see and spend time with everybody I wanted to. Not quite -- since that is an unreachable target -- but I gave it a pretty good try.)
October 26, 2011
World Fantasy, here I come
Off stupidly early tomorrow morning for World Fantasy. I forgot to mention it before, but I'll be doing the event at Mysterious Galaxy, starting at (I think) 6:30 p.m. My panel, in the meanwhile, is at 11 on Sunday. Hope to see some of you there!
