Brenda Cooper's Blog, page 23

Worldcon Report – Belated

I came back from the convention to be swept immediately into busy days and a visit from family. So here is a rather belated and short Worldcon report.  I'm usually by myself at Worldcon, but my long-time friend Gisele from Florida (I met her over half my life ago!) and my partner Toni joined me this time.

Special moments:

I got to meet Alliette deBodard. I love her writing in the Aztec world. She is gracious and quiet in person. I also got to meet N.K. Jemisin and see Patty Briggs. Even established writers get their fan girl time at Worldcon.

Speaking of fan girl time, I am now lusting after Kim Stanley Robinson's next book. I heard him read from it, and it's going to be gorgeous. I don't know if it has a pub date or even a name, but he is one of my favorite writers, and his next book is a return to science fiction.

I had a lovely dinner with Greg and Astrid Bear, the three of us (me, Toni, and Gisele), and Louise Marley.  We got to celebrate Greg's birthday.  The Bear's are some of the most gracious and brilliant people is the SF community, and I always feel blessed when I get to spend time with them.  I also saw many people from the Starry Heaven/Wellspring writing workshop community.

The Hugos were particularly well-done this year. A shout out to Jay Lake and Ken Scholes for that.  I know them both, and this was surely not easy for either of them.  Jay is busy winning his cancer fight and Ken is more shy than he appears.  They did great.

Special thanks:

The joint book launch for Mayan December and The Brahm's Deception went incredibly well, and I needn't have worried about it at all (I did, lots, but I'd never thrown a party at any con, much less a Worldcon). Food and drink were acquired easily and more passed to us from a Nightshade authors party, which we then passed to a George R.R. Martin fan party. People did come, and they even bought books. Mayan December is apparently hard to find in the wild, so I'm glad I had some there, thanks to my hugo-winning publisher, Sean Wallace (the Hugo was for the excellent work he does over at Clarkesworld). I do have to shout out huge thanks to my partner Toni and my friend Gisele who greeted and shlepped and decorated and organized and kept me functioning even though I was tired by then. Also a big thanks to Kay Kenyon for bartending.

The con was really well run.  The communication was great, the volunteers all fabulous, and the programing excellent.

The only bad thing:

The con was very mixed up with casino people (expected, based on location).  But twice I saw other casino guests of the young white male variety poking fun at con-goers.  They didn't seem to appreciate the beanies of first-fandom very much, nor really much of the costuming in general.  There were a two times I really wanted a handy nearby Klingon.

Mayan December Launch Party and Trailer

I am a bit nervous about the book launch party at Worldcon tomorrow.  It's the first time I've done a book party of any kind (much less at Worldcon).  Louise Marley and I are co-hosting a book launch – for her excellent Brahm's Deception (Kensington) and for Mayan December (Prime).  Since it's a year for "firsts" I'm also doing a "first" book trailer.  Credit for the trailer goes to my son, David Cooper.  The party will be in the Atlantis in Reno, in Suite 1552. Wish me luck, and if you're around, drop by.  Louise and I would love to see you.

Reading Recommendation: Heart of Iron, by Ekaterina Sedia

Just finished Heart of Iron last night.  Part steampunk, part penny dreadful, part alternate history, and all fun.  I decided I loved Ekaterina's writing when I read The Alchemy of Stone, and so I picked this up shortly after it came out.  The two books are very different, but both are full of voice.

I particularly liked Ekaterina's heroine, Sasha. I won't say much more lest I drop spoilers.  I suspect it is available here at Worldcon.

By the way, the cover is very beautiful. The art is by Marcin Jacubowski.  The book is published by Prime Books.

In which I receive a precious birthday gift

This is Raffy.  Raffy started out white and un-decorated, and KT the marvelous painted it with galaxies and stars and other bright splashes of multimedia color.  I believe – given the blond hair – that Raffy is supposed to be me clothed in imagination.

The eBook conversation happens everywhere!

Toni and Katie and I spent the day on horseback riding above the rim of the Wai'pio valley on Kona.  The lunch stop was a lovely spot with a waterfall, a lovely pool, and benches to sit on.  There were only three family groups on the ride – us, a Japanese family who did not speak English, and a father and daughter.  It turns out the daughter is in school in NYC studying publishing and is an assistant editor for a popular magazine.  So we got into the eBook talk, and the self publishing talk.  I shared that all of my books are available electronically but that none are self-published.  We talked about whether I might or might not do that (I definitely will fro my short stories, and expect I will for novels).  She was very nice, and I enjoyed the talk.  Of note – she stated that she thinks this is a lovely time to be a writer because there are so many options available.

I agree.

We traded cards.  After all, publishing a small small world.

Clarion West Write-a-Thon Final Update

Just wanted to close the loop on this one.  Clarion West – and the write-a-thon – are both finished now.  In total, the write-a-thon raised over $20,000 for the program, which is fabulous.  So no matter whether you sponsored me or another writer, thanks for the support!  It will go to a great cause.

I mostly met my goals.  I did do the two stories and two poems, and got half-way through the novel re-draft rather than all of the way through.  But at the time I set the goal, I expected less work needed to be done than I'm doing.  I've added two whole new chapters and made significant changes to 14 others so far.  So now I'm hoping it will be all the way done by the end of August rather than the end of July.

The extra bonus the write-a-thon gave me was the poems.  They're not brilliant, but they're done. And sometimes as a writer, that's what you get.  Finished.  I expect them to have a home (and maybe a re-draft of their own).

I hope to do it again next year!

Just wanted to close the loop on this one. Clarion West ...

Just wanted to close the loop on this one.  Clarion West – and the write-a-thon – are both finished now.  In total, the write-a-thon raised over $20,000 for the program, which is fabulous.  So no matter whether you sponsored me or another writer, thanks for the support!  It will go to a great cause.

I mostly met my goals.  I did do the two stories and two poems, and got half-way through the novel re-draft rather than all of the way through.  But at the time I set the goal, I expected less work needed to be done than I'm doing.  I've added two whole new chapters and made significant changes to 14 others so far.  So now I'm hoping it will be all the way done by the end of August rather than the end of July.

The extra bonus the write-a-thon gave me was the poems.  They're not brilliant, but they're done. And sometimes as a writer, that's what you get.  Finished.  I expect them to have a home (and maybe a re-draft of their own).

I hope to do it again next year!

Worldcon 2011 Schedule

I'm pretty happy with the 2011 Worldcon schedule.  Lots of Mayan December launch activity, a reading for No Man's Land, a party, and some great topics to discuss.  I hope to see many of you there.

Thu 13:00 – 14:00, The Amish Approach to Changing Technology: The Error of Presumed Neutrality of Technology (Panel), D05 (RSCC)

The Amish do use technology, but they reject the idea that technologies are value-free tools, and they acknowledge that they can change social order, so all technology must be evaluated before being allowed into the community. Would we be wise to adopt this cautious approach?

Thu 16:00 – 17:00, Autographing (RSCC)

Fri 11:00 – 12:00, Social Media for Writers, A03 (RSCC): Writers know the Internet, but not all writers take advantage of its full potential. With the evolution of Social Media, potential readers are only a click away. But what exactly is Social Media? At this panel, you will pick up the vocabulary and background of exactly what Social Media is, what it can do, and what it cannot do.

Fri 12:00 – 13:00, Reading: No Man's Land, A15 (RSCC) Defending the Future: No Man's Land is an anthology of military SF, written entirely by women. Come and hear them read.

Friday 8:00 PM: PARTY!  Atlantis Suite 1552 Come on by – Dual Launch Party for Mayan December and for Louise Marley's The Brahm's Deception.

Sat 11:00 – 11:30, Reading A14 (RSCC)  I'll give away at least one copy of Mayan December….

Sat 16:00 – 17:00, KaffeeKlatsch: KK1 (RSCC)

Sun 11:00 – 12:00, How I Learned the Craft: Three of My Favorite Books on Writing (Panel), D03 (RSCC)

Authors share and discuss three books on the craft of writing that they recommend to aspiring writers and tell why these works are so helpful.

Contest to Celebrate early e-release of Mayan December

I got an unexpected gift today from Prime Books. Perhaps it will cause a few of you to get gifts, too. Mayan December can now be purchased in eBook for Kindle and Nook. So here's how this might benefit you. The first three people who review the book in either platform and contact me via email (which can be done from this site) will win. That will be 6 winners. So the six prizes will be:

2 hardcovers of "The Silver Ship and the Sea,"
1 ARC for "Building Harlequin's Moon" (written with Larry Niven)
2 copies of "Year's Best SF 16″ which has a story by me and a lot of other great stories in it; and
1 copy of the military SF anthology "Defending the Future IV: No Man's Land," which also has a story by me and a lot of other great stories in it.

Winners can pick in the order they win — so the first person to post a review gets their first pick! Etc.  Etc.  You get the idea….and they are true prizes.  I will pay the shipping to anywhere in the US.

Here are the links for the eBooks:

Mayan December at Amazon.com (Kindle)

Mayan December at Barnes and Noble (Nook)

Note:  The physical book will not be available until August 23rd.

There's no advantage for more or less stars, and no advantage for liking the book.  I'm hoping reviews will be genuine.  They must show that the reviewer has read the book!  There is a time limit:  Reviews need to be up by the time the physical book comes out…so the contest ends whenever all six prizes have been claimed or August 23rd, 2011, whichever is sooner.

And since we're still climbing out of the great recession, any people who want a FREE chance at a physical book can email me, and I'll draw for one to three winners on release day.  No cost to entrants at all.

Just to tease you a bit, here's what a recent reader said about the book:

"A brilliant mix of culture, history, science fiction and fantasy, Cooper has written a delight for the senses. A fun read with interesting characters, surprising twists, and interesting ideas. A departure for her, it will also carry readers away to a new place and a new time in a fun way they're sure to enjoy." – Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Science Fiction And Fantasy Writer's Chat www.bryanthomasschmidt.net/sffwrtcht and author of the forthcoming novel "The Worker Prince."

Readings, Columns, and Interviews

I got to read at Tuesday Funk while in Chicago week-before-last.  This is thanks to Bill Shunn.  One the web now:  recordings of most of the readers.  I highly recommend dropping in to watch a few – and don't miss Bill's poem.  It's short and sweet and he reads very well.  If you want to hear my work, I read all of the short story "In Their Garden" which first appeared in Asimov's and then in David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer's "Year's Best 15."  It's a fun story to read.

For my most recent Futurismic column, I spent about a half day researching the current state of stem cell therapy.  I was pleasantly surprised by how many ways it is being used and by how there is a lot less vitriol and fear out there now.  I suspect that's mostly because most of the work is being done with adult stem cells, so the moral ground is a little less questionable.  Notice almost no comments – I get more attention when I rant.  But I still found this fascinating and hopeful.

Two interviews have also come out.  One is over at MilSciFi.com where I talk about "Cracking the Sky" and how a gal who hates war ends up in a military science fiction anthology.   The other is at Heidi Ruby Miller's blog, where I answer six questions.