Sarah Monette's Blog, page 84

yes, no, always, never

elisem is committing art again. I have bought a pendant, "Yes, No, Always, Never," because it is absolutely an illustration for Corambis. Which is freaky, because Elise hasn't read Corambis yet.

Also, for those of you optimistically playing along at home, this means that it is suddenly much more likely that the story about Cardenio Richey, the Principia Caeli, and a serial killer in the Lower City will (a.) be written, (b.) feature the Kalliphorne and her husband, and (c.) be titled "Yes, No, ...

Sunday morning in my head

So between the insomnia and the anxiety dreams (all clothing related, for some bizarre reason I wot not of), I think we can conclude that I'm stressed about something. No, don't ask me what. I DON'T KNOW. But it means that my thought processes have gotten simultaneously weirder and slower, so I can sort of watch my brain work. Like the Glass Cat's.

So, as I have been for several years now, I am thinking about getting a tattoo. I almost got one at Fourth Street, but bailed on account of the tat...

Submachine 6, plus a nested digression on bats

Since the foul fiend Insomnia continues to maul me in its batrachian* paws and slobber down my neck, many thanks and a tip of the hat to kate_nepveu , who pointed out to me that there is a new Submachine installment: Submachine 6: The Edge .

N.b., the game will make marginally more sense if you have a passing acquaintance with the previous Submachine games. But only marginally. Nevertheless, for your point-and-click pleasure:
Submachine 1: the Basement
Submachine 2: the Lighthouse
Submachine 3...

I R SRS CAT. THIS R SRS POST.

As brisingamen says, Ursula K. Le Guin is a very bad woman.

A Pillow-Book for Cats.

(Now that Ursula has distracted you from your Very Serious Business,* check out Cat T'ai Chi as well.)

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* oursin has some remarks on Very Serious Business which arise from her discussion of the idea that women make science fiction all icky and sissified when they write it. (WE R IN UR GENRE, TOUCHIN ALL UR THINGZ.)

MacGuffins and the art of storytelling

So Charlie Stross made a post recently about Ron Moore's description of the writing process on Star Trek: The Next Generation. (It's a short post--go read it and come back. I'll wait.) Now, I disagree with almost all of Charlie's conclusions--which isn't surprising--and I even disagree with half of his premise. He objects to Moore's process because it's bad science fiction. While I agree entirely that Moore's process isn't very good (o.O, I said on reading it and also O.o), I don't think scie...

Storytellers Unplugged for October

It's a Q&A post, and it's up.

Lovecraft Unbound

Today, the mail brought me my contributor's copies of Lovecraft Unbound, in which matociquala and I appear in the excellent company of Caitlín R. Kiernan, Michael Chabon, Joyce Carol Oates, Laird Barron, Amanda Downum, and many other excellent persons, all under the aegis of Ellen Datlow. Our story, "Mongoose," is set in the same universe as "Boojum" (because that universe is seriously the Best Toy Ever) although it is not a sequel or otherwise related.

Also, I love the book design and its cun...

slicette of life

ME: [grubs about in side yard:]
BEAGLE NEXT DOOR: [staring between the slats of the fence:] Ahem.
ME: [looks up:]
BEAGLE NEXT DOOR: Made you look! WIKTORY!
[Beagle Next Door begins triumphal rendition of the 3,972nd verse of "Lord, It's Hard to be a Beagle":]
[Puggle Next Door joins in on harmony:]
[both dogs careen around their yard like fools, awoowoowoo-ing their heads off:]
[I go back to gardening:]

peanut butter & chocolate: literacy & the freedom to read

This is Banned Books Week. Banning books seems to me so self-evidently wrong that I don't actually have anything to say on the subject. Except, hey. Support intellectual freedom. Read a banned book.

Last Drink Bird Head, a collection of flash fiction, the proceeds of which go to ProLiteracy, is available for pre-order. I'm in Last Drink Bird Head, along with a really astonishing plethora of cool people (Gene Wolfe! Peter Straub! the full list of contributors is on the ordering page); my contri...

Waterlog

TIME: 43 min.
DISTANCE: 5.4 mi.
TOTAL DISTANCE: 275.6 mi.
DISTRACTION: Dead Zone, "Shaman"
NOTES: Johnny's psychic powers make less and less sense as the series goes on. But they sure are narratively convenient.
SHIRE RECKONING: No change.