Jim C. Hines's Blog, page 213

Roundup & Potentially Obnoxious Publicity

1. In less than 24 hours, the Mermaid's Madness auction for NCADV is up to $65.  Y'all are awesome.  That is all.

2. [image error]My friend Pearl North has a new YA novel out from Tor Teen called Libyrinth [Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy].  I think I want to live in this world:

For as long as she can remember, Haly has heard the voices of the books.  Growing up in the Libyrinth, a library so large that people sometimes get lost in it and never come out, she has been surrounded by words and stories her entire life.

Mermaid's Madness Auction to Benefit NCADV

Last year, I auctioned off an autographed Advance Review Copy of The Stepsister Scheme to raise money for National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  With ARCs in hand for The Mermaid's Madness [Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy], I'm doing the same thing.  The themes of the series in general and this book in particular make NCADV a perfect recipient for this fundraiser.

Rather than using eBay again (and letting them take a portion of the funds), I'm going to try hosting the auction on my own site. 

Vacation Wrapup

My wife laughs at me for ripping open all of the mail the instant we get home from vacation.  Sure, some people might want to get some sleep at midnight after a seven-hour drive.  I am not those people.  I mean, come on!  After a week and a half away, the pile o' mail included:

Advance Review Copies of The Mermaid's Madness [Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy]A review copy of James Van Pelt's forthcoming short story collection The Radio Magician and Other Stories Contracts for my short story "Heart of Ash

On Turning a Blind Eye

Before I left on vacation, I was planning to do a post about the sexist aspects of Transformers 2.  I enjoyed the movie, but it has some seriously problematic aspects, from our opening shot of Megan Fox on the motorcycle to the Decepticon pantybot* to the Infinite Dorm of Gorgeous Girls.

But as I was reading other reviews and commentary, I kept coming across the same reactions.  "It's just a summer action flick.  What did you expect from a Michael Bay movie?  Stop analyzing and just have fun!  Wh

Vacation and LOLPrime

Tomorrow morning we head off on vacation.  I'll be away from cellphone signals, wireless … not even reliable land lines to dial out and connect.

I'm sure I'll be sneaking out with the laptop to hunt the Wild Wireless Signal of Northern Michigan from time to time, but there will be little blogging for the next week and a half, and if you e-mail me, don't expect an instant response.

In the meantime, negative reviews or other complaints should be directed to my friend Optimus.

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Bookscan

Busy day, so this is gonna be quick.

Agent Andrew Zack blogged the other day about Bookscan, a service to track and report book sales: The Lie that is Bookscan.

My own agent, Joshua Bilmes, has posted his own thoughts, disagreeing with Zack's assessment: A Bookscanner Darkly

Personally, I tend to agree with Joshua, and not just because he sells my books.  As far as I know, most writers, publishers, and agents know perfectly well that Bookscan represents a percentage of total sales, and that percent

Transformers 2: The Defacing

Amy and I snuck out yesterday to see Transformers 2 while the kids were at their cousins' place.  (Please note - this was Amy's suggestion, not mine.  Because my wife is that cool.)  Currently, the movie is getting trashed in the reviews.  21% at Rotten Tomatoes as of this morning.

But you know what?  I liked it.  It's silly, over-the-top, with problems ranging from a cartoon plot to Prime's face fetish, but like the first movie, that's not the point.  You go in with low expectations, turn off yo

Day in the Life

I talk about wanting to quit the day job some day and write full time.  Every once in a while I get a weekend with nothing planned, and I get to see what that might look like.  It ain't pretty, folks.

Done so far:

Wake up to a little boy crawling into the bed with us.Take care of dogs and cats.Quick home repair job, thanks to dog's chewing habit.  Grumble.Front lawn mowed.  Back lawn procrastinated until tomorrow.Lunch for kids.  Lunchtime already?  Dang.Finally, some actual writing!  3000 more wo

Taunting the Internets

Two quick reminders first:

1. BSC Review will be giving away a set of Goblin Quest miniatures on June 29.  Enter now!  You know you want ‘em.

2. I’m giving away a copy of Stepsister over at SF Novelists.

Dear Anton Strout  - I seem to have sold a werejaguar story. With zombies in it (sort of). You wish you were as cool as me.

Dear John Scalzi - Cherry Coke Zero is far superior to regular old Coke Zero.

Dear Catherine Shaffer - Didn’t I ever tell you I was polycatherous?

Dear Alethea Kontis - You think

SF Novelists & Electronic Goblins

Today is my day at SF Novelists, where I wax not-so-eloquently on what makes a story. I also offer another free book, ’cause I like giving away books

http://www.sfnovelists.com/2009/06/24/whats-a-story/

Oh, and before I forget, it looks like Goblin Quest is going to be released in Kindle and other e-book formats on July 7.  I’m excited, since this means the entire goblin trilogy will finally be available in electronic format.

Finally, I’m told I should be getting page proofs for The Mermaid’s Mad