Jim C. Hines's Blog, page 193

Piracy Thought

Thank you to everyone who commented and e-mailed about my ASD post on Friday.  I tried to keep up and respond to everything, but there was just no way.  I read and appreciated them all.

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So on Saturday, Google Alerts brought up an individual who had reposted my entire First Novel Survey on his blog.  Then on Sunday, someone posted a heads up link to an e-book "lending" site.

I'm not a rabid pirate-hunter, nor am I terribly fond of or impressed by DRM.  That said, I spent a month working on...

Autism Spectrum Disorder

So a little while back, I was pondering how much to publicly share about family, particularly my children.  There was a reason for this.

Today we received confirmation from my son's school that he meets their criteria for ASD — Autism Spectrum Disorder.

It's not completely unexpected.  My wife is a practicing counselor.  I've got a degree in psych.  Both of us had noticed certain behavioral issues.

Jackson1 is a brilliant little kid, and he's very high functioning.  He is who he is.  A note...

Responding to Various Outrages

Outrage the First: Supermodel Tyra Banks has signed a multi-book deal to write a YA series, the first of which will be called Modelland.

The outrage: It's not fair that these celebrities wander along and decide to "write" a book, usually with huge advances, when real writers work for years to try to break in, and those that do are lucky to get a $5000 advance.

My response: She's a celebrity.  People will buy her book, whether it's good or not.  Of course she's going to get an obscene advance.  ...

8 Books in 8 Weeks

[image error]Red Hood's Revenge [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] comes out in exactly eight weeks.  As the excitement builds and we all eagerly count down the days — you are eagerly counting down the days, aren't you? — I wanted to try something a little different.

So every week from now until Red Hood comes out, I'll be giving away an autographed copy of one of my books.  The rules will change from week to week, depending on what I'm in the mood for.  One week I might give a book to a random Twitter

Writerly Ambition and a Secret Project

Last Wednesday, I received an e-mail about a potential writing project. I haven't had a Secret Project in quite some time, but if I were to do this one, it would certainly qualify. I've already signed a nondisclosure agreement and everything.  (So don't ask me about the details.)

To say I'm torn would be an understatement.  I'm already working on The Snow Queen's Shadow, which is due October 1.  I've also got a short story for an anthology due in a week.  The deadline for this new book would b...

Pseudonyms: A Chat with "Benjamin Tate"

Each year, Brenda Novak runs an auction to raise money for diabetes research.  Last year, she raised more than a quarter of a million dollars.  Among the items and services up for bid are a short story/chapter critique by yours truly, as well as an autographed copy of The Stepsister Scheme.

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Jon Gibbs recently interviewed Jig the goblin for the Find a Writing Group blog.  The interview is posted here.  I enjoy this sort of thing, and it was fun to get into Jig's voice again.

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Benjamin Tate's...

The Obesity "Epidemic"

So Michelle Obama is launching the Let's Move Campaign to eliminate the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.  "[O:]ne in three kids are overweight or obese, and we're spending $150 billion a year treating obesity-related illnesses. So we know this is a problem, and there's a lot at stake."  (Source)

I applaud the idea of encouraging health.  I do karate 2-3 times each week, and do eight-mile stints on the exercise bike when I can.  My daughter does karate and soccer.  My son does a...

Why Con?

While I was at Penguicon this weekend, I posted a quick Twitter update: "To think I used to come to conventions for the panels…"  (I also Twittered about Howard Tayler taking a picture of my crotch, but that's probably best left for another time.  Or never.)

I went to my first con not as a fan, but as a wannabe writer, because that's what you're supposed to do, right?  You go to sell books (once you have books to sell), and to get your name out there, and to network with editors and other...

Friday LEGO

Quick blog post today before setting off for Penguicon this afternoon.  Hoping to see some of you there!

Assuming the schedule doesn't change, I'll be doing a five-hour panel block Saturday afternoon.  If I crash the author signing at 6:00, it'll be six hours nonstop.  Should be interesting to see how coherent I am by the end of the day!

I'm also doing a reading on Sunday with Sarah Monette and Pat Rothfuss, which should be fun.  I'm still trying to decide which bit to read out of Red Hood's...

Day Off

Sigh.  So I missed at least two more of my friends' books that were out this week.  I plead squirrel brain.

David B. Coe's novelization of the new Robin Hood [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] movie is first up.  Coe posted at SF Novelists about the challenges of doing a work like this.

Also out is Janni Lee Simner's latest YA title Thief Eyes [B&N | Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon].  Icelandic fantasy for those tired of traditional pseudo-European settings.  Read an excerpt here.

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So yesterday I...