Greg Van Eekhout's Blog: Writing and Snacks - Greg van Eekhout's blog, page 18

Pavel's squid

A few months back I did a signing at the Barnes and Noble in Oceanside, California and met a cool dude named Pavel and his family. Pavel, it so happened, had a reputation among his family and teachers as quite an artist, and I asked him to send me Kid vs. Squid art, should he be so inclined. And look at what his mom emailed me today! Check out the teeth on that squid, will ya? Check out those tentacles! And look at the way it's totally mangling that kid!

Thanks to Pavel and Pavel's mom for making my day.

Mirrored from Greg van Eekhout. You can comment there or here.

Dozer's home

We've had Dozer for two weeks now. He's pretty cool.

Tenners 55-book Library Giveaway LAST CHANCE!

Tomorrow (Feb. 15, 2011) is the last day for librarians to enter the Tenners 55-book Library Giveaway. Check out the details here. I may be biased, but here's my favorite entry so far, featuring Laura Oosting, librarian assistant at Brownsburg … Continue reading →

Tenners 55-book Library Giveaway LAST CHANCE!

Tomorrow (Feb. 15, 2011) is the last day for librarians to enter the Tenners 55-book Library Giveaway. Check out the details here.

I may be biased, but here's my favorite entry so far, featuring Laura Oosting, librarian assistant at Brownsburg Public Library in Brownsburg, Indiana. The page Laura's reading probably features something gross. Odds are.

Mirrored from Greg van Eekhout. You can comment there or here.

Appearances in March and April

A couple of upcoming appearances:

Wednesday, March 09, 2011, 4:30 PM
Barnes and Noble
El Camino North Shopping Center
2615 Vista Way, Oceanside, CA 92054
760-529-0106

I'll be appearing with Mariela Kleiner, author of Meet Einstein. Percentage of proceeds of all merchandise sold during the signing go to support California Virtual Academies.

More info.

Saturday, April 16, 2011, 7:30 PM
Barnes and Noble
Lennox Town
1739 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH, 43212
614-298-9516

C'mere, dog, I need a can opener.

Dozer conveniently folds up like a Swiss Army knife.

From Dozer

Locus Recommended Reading List & Dog

Locus is a magazine covering news of the science fiction and fantasy publishing industry, and their editors and reviewers put Kid vs. Squid on their 2010 Recommended Reading List in the Young Adult category (which, for their purposes, includes middle … Continue reading →

The Long Way Home

My cousin Ellen sent me the link to The Long Way Home, an LA Times article by Elisabeth Greenbaum Kasson, about Dutch Indonesians in Southern California. We're such an odd ethnic group, and not a lot of people know much about us. I don't know that much about us, the brown ones, the white ones, the Van Halens ...

The article hits the highlights: Dutch colonization of Indonesia, intermarriage with the already-diverse Indonesians, Japanese war-time occupation, the Bersiap revolution and expulsion of the Indos, chilly reception in Holland, opportunity in the US (particularly Southern California) ... I feel like I've known or at least met every Indo interviewed for the piece.

Good article, if you're interested.

Writing advice, the Yegg, and the pillow is snoring

Anne Lamott is famous among other writers for her "shitty first drafts," motto. First drafts are always shitty, she argues, and the best thing to do is stop worrying about it and just get the first draft written. Revising is the real art, and that can come later. Stephen King, on the other hand, has said that writing is like archeological excavation, and once you've broken the artifact you're uncovering, it's likely to stay broken forever.

My conclusion: Not only is there no "right" way to do it, but there is no right way to do it. So we should all quit. Right now. Give it up. It's hopeless.

Oh, you're going to keep on writing?

Fine.

Whatever.

I have to keep writing because when my fingers stop typing I stick them in beehives and electrical sockets. So, I have no choice. But the rest of you are just a bunch of suckers.

***

I am legitimately surprised that Kid vs. Squid made the Locus 2010 Recommended Reading List, which also places it on the longlist ballot for the Locus Award, Young Adult category. And great company to be among.

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In the heist book, I've set up a very difficult safe to crack, and I have no idea how my safe-cracking character (or my can-opener, or Peterman, or boxman, or Yegg) is going to manage. Conventional safe-cracking techniques won't work, because it's not a conventional safe. And, actually, the most common safe-cracking techniques are stealing the entire safe to disassemble at leisure, or else just blowing it up. Not what I'm after here.

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In other news, Dozer continues to earn his name.

From Dozer

Ups and downs

Yes, the up-down ear thing is adorable, but I'm still not thrilled I have to collect a stool sample for his first checkup at the vet.

From Dozer