Laura Anne Gilman's Blog, page 16
March 28, 2016
Quick Updatery....
Despite Life Happening, I managed to get episode 3 of "The Case of the Tom in Trouble" written! In which and old flame appears, and poor Duchess (and her new sidekick) finds themselves in more trouble than they'd planned......
(the episode will go up today or tomorrow, depending on my connectivity)
https://www.patreon.com/LAGilman
(the episode will go up today or tomorrow, depending on my connectivity)
https://www.patreon.com/LAGilman
March 24, 2016
Final (no, really!) Norwescon Schedule
AKA "Where I will be this weekend."
(all rooms subject to last-minute change at the whim of whim)
Fri 11:00 AM-12:00 PM - Cascade 3&4
So You've Finished a First Draft
Django Wexler (M), Rhiannon Held, Randy Henderson, Frances Pauli, Laura Anne Gilman
Fri 1:00 PM-2:00 PM - Cascade 9
Fanfic Fears
Minim Calibre (M), DameRuth, Dee Wright, Laura Anne Gilman
Fri 3:00 PM-4:00 PM - Cascade 13
More Than Just Scorned Victims
H.M. Jones (M), Laura Anne Gilman, John (J.A.) Pitts, Spencer Ellsworth
Fri 7:00 PM-8:00 PM - Cascade 7&8
Adding Realistic Details to Your Fantasy Writing
Adrienne Carlson (M), Alan Paulsen, Nina Post, Laura Anne Gilman
Sat 2:00 PM-3:00 PM - Grand 2
Autograph Session 1
Amber Bariaktari , Caroline M. Yoachim, Dave Bara, Dean Wells, Erik Scott de Bie, G. Willow Wilson, James C. Glass, Jennifer Brozek, John (J.A.) Pitts, Kristi Charish, Django Wexler, Frog Jones, Rhiannon Held, Sonia Orin Lyris, S. A. Bolich, Morgue Anne, Robert J. Sawyer, Spencer Ellsworth, Steven Barnes, Tori Centanni, Cat Rambo, Don Maitz, GregRobin Smith, Jeremy Zimmerman, Laura Anne Gilman
Sat 3:00 PM-4:00 PM - Cascade 2
Characters Bearing Witness
Cat Rambo (M), John (J.A.) Pitts, Laura Anne Gilman, Lillian Cohen-Moore, Sonia Orin Lyris
Sat 6:00 PM-6:30 PM - Cascade 1
Reading: Laura Anne Gilman
(yes, you will get to hear from THE COLD EYE. And possibly a bit from "The Case of the Tom in Trouble")
Sat 8pm-> I will probably be barconning. Feel free to stop by and say hi if you see me!
Sun 12:00 PM-1:00 PM - Cascade 7&8
The Forgotten (Forbidden) Room
Bill Gruner (M), Adrienne Carlson, Ann Shilling, Laura Anne Gilman
Sun 1:00 PM-2:00 PM - Cascade 10
Location: Horror's Unsung Character
Laura Anne Gilman (M), Lisa Bolekaja, Arinn Dembo, K. M. Alexander, Logan L. Masterson
(all rooms subject to last-minute change at the whim of whim)
Fri 11:00 AM-12:00 PM - Cascade 3&4
So You've Finished a First Draft
Django Wexler (M), Rhiannon Held, Randy Henderson, Frances Pauli, Laura Anne Gilman
Fri 1:00 PM-2:00 PM - Cascade 9
Fanfic Fears
Minim Calibre (M), DameRuth, Dee Wright, Laura Anne Gilman
Fri 3:00 PM-4:00 PM - Cascade 13
More Than Just Scorned Victims
H.M. Jones (M), Laura Anne Gilman, John (J.A.) Pitts, Spencer Ellsworth
Fri 7:00 PM-8:00 PM - Cascade 7&8
Adding Realistic Details to Your Fantasy Writing
Adrienne Carlson (M), Alan Paulsen, Nina Post, Laura Anne Gilman
Sat 2:00 PM-3:00 PM - Grand 2
Autograph Session 1
Amber Bariaktari , Caroline M. Yoachim, Dave Bara, Dean Wells, Erik Scott de Bie, G. Willow Wilson, James C. Glass, Jennifer Brozek, John (J.A.) Pitts, Kristi Charish, Django Wexler, Frog Jones, Rhiannon Held, Sonia Orin Lyris, S. A. Bolich, Morgue Anne, Robert J. Sawyer, Spencer Ellsworth, Steven Barnes, Tori Centanni, Cat Rambo, Don Maitz, GregRobin Smith, Jeremy Zimmerman, Laura Anne Gilman
Sat 3:00 PM-4:00 PM - Cascade 2
Characters Bearing Witness
Cat Rambo (M), John (J.A.) Pitts, Laura Anne Gilman, Lillian Cohen-Moore, Sonia Orin Lyris
Sat 6:00 PM-6:30 PM - Cascade 1
Reading: Laura Anne Gilman
(yes, you will get to hear from THE COLD EYE. And possibly a bit from "The Case of the Tom in Trouble")
Sat 8pm-> I will probably be barconning. Feel free to stop by and say hi if you see me!
Sun 12:00 PM-1:00 PM - Cascade 7&8
The Forgotten (Forbidden) Room
Bill Gruner (M), Adrienne Carlson, Ann Shilling, Laura Anne Gilman
Sun 1:00 PM-2:00 PM - Cascade 10
Location: Horror's Unsung Character
Laura Anne Gilman (M), Lisa Bolekaja, Arinn Dembo, K. M. Alexander, Logan L. Masterson
March 23, 2016
Proof of Work, Mid-March
from the copyedits of THE COLD EYE (October 2016)
Gabriel had been born in the Territory, his father the son of settlers, his mother the daughter of a Métis woman.... He had grown up seeing Métis cousins and the occasional Anishinabeg or Dakota come through, either hunting or trading. He had grown up learning hand language, picking up words here and there, had learned what certain markings and attire meant, and when it was a time to speak, and when he should remain silent, and his time with the Hochunk had taught him how to admit that he did not understand a thing.
(Gabriel has his flaws, and a bad case of self-directed denial, but he adults pretty damn well)
Gabriel had been born in the Territory, his father the son of settlers, his mother the daughter of a Métis woman.... He had grown up seeing Métis cousins and the occasional Anishinabeg or Dakota come through, either hunting or trading. He had grown up learning hand language, picking up words here and there, had learned what certain markings and attire meant, and when it was a time to speak, and when he should remain silent, and his time with the Hochunk had taught him how to admit that he did not understand a thing.
(Gabriel has his flaws, and a bad case of self-directed denial, but he adults pretty damn well)
March 21, 2016
Reminder of (Digital) Things Available...
Since I haven't done a run-down of things recently...
You can get new fiction (not available anywhere else!) when you support my Patreon
You can pick up all four Sylvan Investigation novellas at Book View Cafe! (plus, "From Whence You Came," the companion novella to the Vineart War trilogy)
You can also pick up my SFnal horror project, DRAGON VIRUS, there.
Most of these are also available via Amazon, or B&N.
(also: you can buy these books as gifts for other people - BVC makes it easy! And it's all DRM-free. You bought it, you keep it.)
There's also an anthology with my work available via Book View Cafe, plus the ever-handy Practical Meerkat’s 52 Bits of Useful Info for Young (and Old) Writers
You can get new fiction (not available anywhere else!) when you support my Patreon
You can pick up all four Sylvan Investigation novellas at Book View Cafe! (plus, "From Whence You Came," the companion novella to the Vineart War trilogy)
You can also pick up my SFnal horror project, DRAGON VIRUS, there.
Most of these are also available via Amazon, or B&N.
(also: you can buy these books as gifts for other people - BVC makes it easy! And it's all DRM-free. You bought it, you keep it.)
There's also an anthology with my work available via Book View Cafe, plus the ever-handy Practical Meerkat’s 52 Bits of Useful Info for Young (and Old) Writers
March 17, 2016
Copyedit Slogging
Normally, I’m all about digital. Hitting “send” on a manuscript is a hell of a lot better than printing it out and slogging it to the post awful, hoping against hope that nothing eats it en route to NYC. But when it comes to copyedits, I admit, I miss the days of paper edits, post-its, and red pen STETs.
Digital queries are just, somehow, more annoying.
And of all the elements of making a book, there is nothing glamorous about a writer going through a copyedit.
You start with a fresh cup of coffee and maybe something healthy to munch on, and by the end of the first day you’re surrounded by two empty coffee mugs, a half-full mug of tea, a water glass, a wine glass, the remains of your re-heated dinner shoved to one side, and increasingly snarky retorts in the margins, feeling like someone ran over your brain with a snowplow, and wishing dreadful fates on the copyeditor* who wants you to adhere strictly to Strunk & White, even in dialogue…
And there’s still another 240 pages to go.
Rinse and repeat, tomorrow.
*not all copyeditors, obviously. But enough of the breed prize conformity and rules over creativity and voice to make conflict inevitable.
Digital queries are just, somehow, more annoying.
And of all the elements of making a book, there is nothing glamorous about a writer going through a copyedit.
You start with a fresh cup of coffee and maybe something healthy to munch on, and by the end of the first day you’re surrounded by two empty coffee mugs, a half-full mug of tea, a water glass, a wine glass, the remains of your re-heated dinner shoved to one side, and increasingly snarky retorts in the margins, feeling like someone ran over your brain with a snowplow, and wishing dreadful fates on the copyeditor* who wants you to adhere strictly to Strunk & White, even in dialogue…
And there’s still another 240 pages to go.
Rinse and repeat, tomorrow.
*not all copyeditors, obviously. But enough of the breed prize conformity and rules over creativity and voice to make conflict inevitable.
March 14, 2016
Devil's West Q&A
Life is kinda crazy right now and I have no original content to share. So you guys need to generate it for me. Got Qs about SILVER ON THE ROAD, "Crossroads," "The Devil's Jack," or the world as a whole?
Now's the time and here's the place to ask!
Now's the time and here's the place to ask!
March 10, 2016
I try things so you don't have to (unless you really want to)
InnovAsian Cuisine General Tso's Chicken.
So yeah, I saw it in the supermarket and figured "hey, for when I have a craving, having something in the freezer won't be too bad, right?"
Last night was the trial. There are two packets - the chicken, and the sauce. You are supposed to defrost the sauce ina bowl of war mwater, whcih I did. The chicken bits were of various sizes, some barely a bite, others like smallish chicken fingers. I threw away the directions that suggested baking it, and microwaved the chicken for 2 minutes to defrost, then cooked it in a skillet, adding shredded carrots and yellow pepper. I only used half the sauce they supplied, adding just enough to coat the chicken in the final minutes of cooking.
It was spicy, which surprised me, in a good way, and the breading was actually lightly done, for frozen packaged chicken. I'll give them kudos for that. And it reheated well for lunch, too - not heavy or stucky. Without the added vegetables, though, it would have been a lot more, eh - sauced protein.
Overall, I'll rate it Acceptable, but not to be preferred over a halfway competent take-out joint. (sadly, currently, I have no halfway decent takeout joint. This should change soon, huzzah)
So yeah, I saw it in the supermarket and figured "hey, for when I have a craving, having something in the freezer won't be too bad, right?"
Last night was the trial. There are two packets - the chicken, and the sauce. You are supposed to defrost the sauce ina bowl of war mwater, whcih I did. The chicken bits were of various sizes, some barely a bite, others like smallish chicken fingers. I threw away the directions that suggested baking it, and microwaved the chicken for 2 minutes to defrost, then cooked it in a skillet, adding shredded carrots and yellow pepper. I only used half the sauce they supplied, adding just enough to coat the chicken in the final minutes of cooking.
It was spicy, which surprised me, in a good way, and the breading was actually lightly done, for frozen packaged chicken. I'll give them kudos for that. And it reheated well for lunch, too - not heavy or stucky. Without the added vegetables, though, it would have been a lot more, eh - sauced protein.
Overall, I'll rate it Acceptable, but not to be preferred over a halfway competent take-out joint. (sadly, currently, I have no halfway decent takeout joint. This should change soon, huzzah)
March 9, 2016
Goings-Ons
Back in the Steady Writing Mode - 1K on the days when I have the side gig, ~2K other days. Running hot and fast over the outline, and well-aware that every bit of research I do tweaks things slightly, but with book 3 there's no chance to sit back and spend three months on nothing but research. *sob* So a-multitasking we go.
The advantage to writing outside your educational comfort zone is the shit you learn. The disadvantage is the shit you have to unlearn. Also, I now have an entire sideline story set just outside the Devil's West I need to write. Some day when I have time, or someone offers me money that buys that time...
And this weekend I am off to FOGcon in SanFrancisco, where I will be lightly scheduled but heavily socializing networking Friday through Sunday, and then Sunday night I shed my professional skin, slip into the weather-appropriate concert shirt, and head out with fellow fans to see Bruce Springsteen in Oakland.
And then home on Monday, and start the ride all again.
Meanwhile, with permission, I share with you evidence that yes, reviewing a book (on a retail site, via a book blogger, or even just a tweet) can make a difference...
The advantage to writing outside your educational comfort zone is the shit you learn. The disadvantage is the shit you have to unlearn. Also, I now have an entire sideline story set just outside the Devil's West I need to write. Some day when I have time, or someone offers me money that buys that time...
And this weekend I am off to FOGcon in SanFrancisco, where I will be lightly scheduled but heavily socializing networking Friday through Sunday, and then Sunday night I shed my professional skin, slip into the weather-appropriate concert shirt, and head out with fellow fans to see Bruce Springsteen in Oakland.
And then home on Monday, and start the ride all again.
Meanwhile, with permission, I share with you evidence that yes, reviewing a book (on a retail site, via a book blogger, or even just a tweet) can make a difference...
March 8, 2016
AN INTERRUPTED CRY is live!
Oh. Oh, hey. Lookit that! The 4th Sylvan Investigations novella, AN INTERRUPTED CRY, is up at Book View Cafe!
And remember, not only are books at BVC DRM-free, so you can read them anywhere, on any device you like, but 95% of all monies go directly to the authors (5% goes to support BVC, which is _kind_ of like it all going to the authors).
(this edition has been slightly and carefully revised from the Kickstarter edition.)
Danny Hendrickson — ex-cop turned PI — and his partner Ellen could be any low-rent private investigators trying to make a difference, and a living, in New York City.
Except Danny’s father was a faun, and Ellen is a storm-seer.
Which means that they bridge the line between human and fatae, between Talent and Null — and specialize in helping people who fall into the dangers between…
In “An Interrupted Cry,” a blackout hits New York City. Talent — cut off from the current that fuels their abilities — are at a disadvantage. Already reeling from one of her visions, Ellen discovers that her partner/mentor, Danny Hendrickson, has gone missing, leaving a violent scene behind…
…and the city is in the dark about what’s coming, in more ways than one.
And remember, not only are books at BVC DRM-free, so you can read them anywhere, on any device you like, but 95% of all monies go directly to the authors (5% goes to support BVC, which is _kind_ of like it all going to the authors).
(this edition has been slightly and carefully revised from the Kickstarter edition.)
March 7, 2016
Deleted Bits and Actual Bits...
for the first time, I actually kept file of deleted bits from THE COLD EYE. Hey, waste not, want for something to post, not. Or something.
She was reminded suddenly of old Abraham, who had taught them how to find trouble at the table. “A player too focused on the game has too much to lose,” the old ex-slave had said, stern as a judge. “You be wary of anyone who won’t look up and meet your eyes.”
Gabriel had looked into her eyes, first off.
And now you can look at a snippet of what IS in the book...
She was reminded suddenly of old Abraham, who had taught them how to find trouble at the table. “A player too focused on the game has too much to lose,” the old ex-slave had said, stern as a judge. “You be wary of anyone who won’t look up and meet your eyes.”
Gabriel had looked into her eyes, first off.
And now you can look at a snippet of what IS in the book...
