David Lubar's Blog, page 44

Finnish him! (Enviromentalism in a nutshell)

So, I was reading an interview with a game-design house from Finland. Or maybe it was Iceland, but "Ice him!" isn't as cool a subject phrase. In a section on their likes and dislikes, one of the designers stated that he hated environmentalists. When I read that, I was hit by the following thought, which I hope ends the whole debate:

Do you piss in your drinking water? If not, you are an environmentalist. The rest is just a matter of degree.

Chewbooka

So the reporter from the Allentown Morning Call came over yesterday to do a feature on the new book. The Call is very supportive of local writers. Then a photogrpaher came by. We talked about doing something campy. I staggered around my front yard a bit like a zombie. (At this point in my life I have very little shame or pride.) Then, during the headshot portion of the photo session (headshots being the best way to deal with zombies, of course) when he asked me to pick up a copy of the boo

Irk and Ire, as in (K)irk(us) and Ire(land)

No -- I didn't get a bad review from Kirkus. This post isn't about me. Really. (Yeah, I'm taking a break from endless mentions of my new book, which releases August 4th. And Kirkus actually praised the new book in their special BEA/ALA thingee.) So, anyhow, every month or two, I get an email from someone who has been trashed by a snarky, mean review in Kirkus. They write to me because, upon Googling the term "Kirkus," along with other terms I can only guess at, they arrive at one of the pi

Second sight

In a typical example of bone-headed inept self promotion, I'm using this space today to show the cover of the second book of my series, even though book one doesn't even come out until next week, and I have all sorts of excellent news about it. But I just got this art the other day, and it's pretty cool. The flames allude to hot wings. It's a tasty tale.

The unfortunate events of a series

Here's a cool publishing fact. If your novel is a week late, there's a bit of pressure to deliver it. If your novel is two years late, nobody seems to worry. (Sadly, I speak from experience.) From what I've seen, most publishers don't schedule a novel (i.e., put it in the catalog, give it a pub date, etc.) until it goes into copy editing. With a series, the game changes. That's why I spent part of my vacation revising a manuscript. (I'm not complaining or whining. I got to revise it whil

The awful truth about ARCs

Last week, I got the galleys of Dead Guy Spy, the second book in the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series. Two days later, I got a package in the mail, containing a couple advance reading copies (aka ARCs). For those of you who don't already know this, the timing of these events should illuminate a publishing fact that probably scares and surprises every author when it dawns on him. The ARC is made from the first-pass galleys. To show why this is scary, here's a quick look at the pro

Unvacated

Back from vacation. Too happy to post.

Vacated

On vacation. Too happy to post.

The good book

The other day, I asked my wife how she'd like a book she'd recently read. She said, "It got good about halfway through." Which raises an interesting question -- is a book that doesn't get good until midpoint a good book? Do you stick with a book, no matter what? At what point do you give up? In my youth, I finished every book I started (except Under the Volcano, which bested me three different times). I think I was in my mid 20's the first time I decided to put a book aside because I wasn'

Getting the nuts out of politics

I've think I just solved a major problem plaguing our political system. I propose that from now on only eunuchs should be allowed to run for office. This will prduce two immediate benefits: no more distracting infidelity, and no more multi-generational political dynasties. Perhaps we could even apply the solution retroactively to members of congress.