Jim C. Hines's Blog, page 197
March 9, 2010
Butt Kicking
When I was a kid learning Tae Kwon Do, I hated sparring. I don't like to fight. Being small for my age didn't help. It was my least favorite part of the lessons.
Jump ahead 20 years to the present. Sanchin-Ryu, the style my daughter and I have been studying, has been a very different experience for me. Take last night. We had a session of fighting practice. I was the lowest ranked, least experienced student in the group. Among other things, I took a punch to the groin (thankfully, the ...
March 8, 2010
Reporting Rape
When writing about rape in fandom two weeks ago, I included the following:
"I'm not saying there's never a time to talk about criminal prosecution of rape and why people might choose not to endure the ugliness of a rape trial. I'm saying this is not the time."
Thank you to everyone for not derailing the conversation. So often when someone talks about rape, the immediate response is some form of "You have to report it!" I saw this at a few other blogs: "You have to get the asshole...
March 5, 2010
Janet Kagan
Janet Kagan was the author of, in my humble opinion, one of the best Star Trek novels out there: Uhura's Song [Mysterious Galaxy | B&N | Amazon]. She also wrote the original SF novel Hellspark [Mysterious Galaxy | B&N | Amazon] as well as a collection called Mirabile [Mysterious Galaxy | B&N | Amazon] and a Hugo-winning story "The Nutcracker Coup." There's a warmth to her writing that I absolutely love.
Janet was the first professional writer I talked to when I began trying to break in. I'm ...
March 4, 2010
Why Advances Matter
With 11 days to go, the First (Pro) Novel Survey is up to more than 200 responses, which is wonderful! But it's also generated some interesting feedback in comments and e-mails. Some people are upset that small press, self-published, and e-book authors can't participate. Others say advances are part of a dying publishing model. There's been worry that advances can actually harm an author who doesn't earn out. To top things off, I'm told I'm completely out of touch with the current state ...
March 3, 2010
Diabetes Details 7: Doing the Math
Previous diabetes posts are available by clicking the diabetes tag.
People often make assumptions about what I can and can't eat as a type 1 diabetic. Here's the thing: I can eat anything I choose … as long as I take the correct dose of insulin to go with it. Therein lies the trick.
Diabetes Math 100: Introduction to D-Math
I try to keep my blood sugar goal between 70 and 140. I've discovered that one unit of insulin drops my blood sugar about 60 points, so if my blood sugar is 200, I'll...
March 2, 2010
Book Review Policy
A few things have happened over the past week that made me I need to figure out my book review policy, for my own sake if nothing else. So I came up with Jim's Rules of Reviewing.
If I've asked for a review copy, I'll do my best to review the book. I figure if I'm the one asking for a free book, then I've made a commitment to review it.If you want to ask me to review your book, please contact me for details on sending a review copy. Review copies tend to get bumped toward the top of my...March 1, 2010
Cats vs. Dogs
A few follow-up links to last week's post about rape in fandom:
RAINN: They offer an online hotline for rape survivors and significant others, and calling their free 800-656-HOPE (4673) number in the U.S. will connect you to the closest rape crisis center.A list of international centers for survivors of sexual assault and harassment, via the University of Minnesota.The Back Up Project on LJ "…aims to make help against harassment visible and available, to create safer environments, to help...February 26, 2010
Rape in Fandom
Earlier this week, logansrogue shared a letter to her rapist in order to warn others in fandom about this individual.
A number of people have responded to express their support. To say "I've got your back," and that those who would commit rape are not welcome in this community. To which I can add only, "Hell, yes." So often we as a society ignore rape. We make excuses. We pretend not to notice, and by doing so, we allow it to continue.
I'm bracing myself for the backlash. For the...
February 24, 2010
Another New Book
Today was my day to blog at SFNovelists. I'm pleased with today's entry, a helpful1 glossary of publishing terms. Here's an example:
Page Proofs - 1. Your chance as an author to review the typeset pages of your book and correct any typos. 2. Your chance as an author to discover all of those larger changes you'll wish you'd made before, but now it's too damn late.
Full post is at http://www.sfnovelists.com/2010/02/24/writing-terms-defined/
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So yesterday I went on about Diana Rowland's book. W...
February 23, 2010
Mark of the Demon, by Diana Rowland
A quick follow-up thought on yesterday's post on Author Entitlement. I said the world doesn't owe us a publishing contract, and that griping about not getting the success I "deserve" is tacky. On the other hand, confidence is a must. You have to have enough faith in yourself and your work to keep writing and keep submitting.
It feels like a balancing act, trying to find just the right amount of self-confidence and ego. Too much and it's easy to slip into entitlement. Too little and you...
