Jim C. Hines's Blog, page 206
October 19, 2009
Why Doesn't She Leave?
Patrick Rothfuss is raffling a character name in his second book to raise money for Heifer International. Details on Pat's blog.
Mermaid's Madness discussion still going on over at my blog, and another on DAW's LiveJournal.
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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. One of the questions I hear most often in talking about DV is why victims don't just leave? If you're in a bad situation, you get out of it, right? Leaving an abusive partner is common sense, as basic as coming in out of the...
October 16, 2009
Mermaid Discussion Post
As requested, here is your more-or-less official discussion thread for The Mermaid's Madness [Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy].
Because my blog mirrors to different places, I'd suggest going either to LiveJournal or http://www.jimchines.com/2009/10/mermaid-discussion-post/ for the liveliest discussion.
Spoilers ahoy, obviously.
If you haven't read the book and don't want to know what happens, stay the heck out of the comments. Otherwise, all discussion, speculation, and questions* are welcome.
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*I...
October 15, 2009
Ooh, Awkward…
• Would folks be interested in a discussion post for The Mermaid's Madness [Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy]?
• While at ConClave, Al Bogdan did an impromptu video session of Merrie Haskell and I interviewing one another. I can't watch, 'cause I cringe to see myself on camera, but I had a good time chatting with Merrie. Interview is posted here.
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I stopped by the local B&N today to sign stock, and as I was browsing the shelves, it struck me how many of these authors I've come to know either in...
October 13, 2009
Quotas in the ToC
I came across a post yesterday telling folks who complain about the lack of gender/racial/etc. balance in anthologies and 'zines to shut the hell up. The author has since removed the post and apologized, but the whole thing got me thinking and trying to understand where this reaction comes from.
So imagine you're a reader, and you're enjoying your copy of The Year in Zombies, Volume XCVIII, when someone goes online and complains that of the 20 stories in that anthology, only 2 were written...
October 12, 2009
Book Biting Day
1. It's official. Comparing my web stats to my royalty statements, it looks like more people have read my list of 20 Neil Gaiman Facts than have read my actual books. (Thanks in no small part to a link from StumbleUpon last week.) This is why Red Hood's Revenge shall include the following cover text: "From the author of Goblin Quest 20 Neil Gaiman Facts!"
2. I'm going to be chatting over at Bitten By Books today. This is not a fixed time event. Stop by any time during the day or evening and...
October 10, 2009
Quick Updates
Got back from ConClave late last night. Crashed, only to be awakened by my son, who was in the midst of the nastiest asthma attack he'd had in a very long time. He's doing better this morning, but we're operating on about 3 hours of sleep. Whee…
Contest Winners: The caption contest was close, but the winner by a handful of votes was tygerversionx. I also drew a winner from the one-question interviews, and the random number generator came up with b_writes to win a copy of Strip Mauled. Could...
October 8, 2009
State of the Jim
Well, I'm surviving Mermaid Week pretty well. The whole week has been a bit of a blur. Book stuff, family stuff, work stuff … it's the perfect storm of craziness! Here are some of the highlights.
Not Related to Jim, but Read it Anyway: At one point, I was asked to talk about how to get an agent. I still plan to do this, but in the meantime author Kat Richardson has beaten me to it.
Radio Interview: I did an interview last night with the Michigan Literary Network and didn't make a complete f...
October 7, 2009
How to REALLY Help an Author Out
So The Mermaid's Madness [Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy] is one day old. At this point, a lot of authors will talk about the things readers can do to support the book. You've probably seen lists like:
Review the book in your blog, at Amazon, at GoodReads, or wherever, because word of mouth is the biggest factor in a book's survival in this cold, cruel world.Buy books right after they come out, because the publisher and the bookstores pay attention to those early sales.Ask your library to get a...October 6, 2009
Happy Mermaid Day
[image error]It's here! Today marks the offical release of The Mermaid's Madness [Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy]! Which means I'll be pretty much useless for the next few days, as I go through the hyperactive bipolarity of book launch insanity, checking Amason rankings, Googling reviews, preparing for the book launch party (Thursday evening at Schulers-Eastwood in Lansing), and so on.
This is going to be a crazy week. I'll do my best to avoid getting carried away pointing out awesome reviews or linking to ...
October 5, 2009
Contest Voting
Thanks to everyone who entered the latest caption contest with me, Vader, and the Stormtrooper. It's been a stressful few weeks, and I very much appreciate the laughs.
I meant to open voting up on Saturday, and it completely slipped my mind. I blame the zombie raccoons. But I've gone back and picked my favorites, and threw in a few randomly selected wild cards just because. Please vote for as few or as many as you like, and I'll contact the winner later this week after the voting has died...
