Jeff VanderMeer's Blog, page 121
October 21, 2009
Jeff VanderMeer's Endurance Tour: 36 Days, 27 Events, 14 States, 2 Books, 1 Writer, No Breaks (well, ok, one break)
I'm finally able to unveil the full-throttle intensity of my Endurance Tour in support of Booklife and my new novel Finch. Yep, that's correct–it's 27 events in 36 days, not including classroom visits, getting a tattoo, gigs like covering the National Book Awards for Omnivoracious, and adventures at meerkat farms. I've also arranged to team up with the following writers for selected events, something I'm really looking forward to:
- Cherie Priest and Cat Rambo in Seattle
- Jay Lake, Cat Rambo...
October 20, 2009
The Rising
It exists. It raises its beak to the world. You know you want one.
And coming soon, the end of the world:
Tuesday Linkage: Booklifenow on Doctorow and Vertical/Horizontal Learning, Reviews, and More
(The remains of writers who never did understand the lifecycle of a book. Photo by the highly recommended Jeremy Tolbert.)
I won't inflict Booklifenow links on you every day (although I may run an update in the sidebar), but will be informing you of new content during this, our launch week.
Cory Doctorow vs Booklifenow: Vertical vs Horizontal Learning:
"Complaining about someone's visibility is as pointless as complaining about someone's shadow being too long. Further, he's taking a big risk...
Reading the Readers of VanderFiction
Over the years, I've begun to see patterns in my readership–or think I have, at least. I've set out some gross generalizations below. I've thought about this a lot with Finch coming out, because for those who buy into the novel's plot but are indifferent to the setting, they may be better off first sampling the two other novels I indicate as preferences for Direct Readers.
DIRECT READERS (want structure/trad plot indicators): Trend toward enjoying Veniss Underground, Predator South China...
October 19, 2009
Alice in Wonderland, John Coulthart Style!
It's no secret that I think John Coulthart is a genius. I've known him now for about seven years and in that span he's done some amazing work for my books, from City of Saints to the limited Shriek, the fake disease guide, and the interior of Last Drink Bird Head, the Booklife design…the list just goes on and on. And that's just the least bit of what he's been up to during that time.
Now he's come up with a Psychedelic Alice in Wonderland Calendar that's absolutely awesome. Check it out!
Booklifenow.com Goes Live: Supporting Sustainable Creativity and Careers
(Thanks to John Coulthart for the great cover.)
This morning Booklifenow.com went live with a welcome message and a breakdown of the book's table of contents. Please drop by and "sign" the first post with a comment if you're so inclined. We'll be offering new content every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Initially, most of it will come from the book or expand on themes from the book, but we'll also have guests like Colleen Lindsay dropping by. Every Friday my partner on Booklifenow.com, Matt S...
October 18, 2009
Reaching a Point of Rest
Readers of this blog and Facebook friends might've noticed that the frenetic pace of my creative and professional life hasn't really let up in over two years. Vacations have helped a little, travel for business has even helped in terms of getting me out of the house, but in general my brain hasn't been able to turn off for a long time. It didn't help that the beginning of this year I was supposed to be able to take a break, and then couldn't because a NY publisher whose passive-aggressive...
October 17, 2009
World Fantasy Convention 2009: Renouncing Squid, Celebrating Last Drink, Gator Heads, and Embracing Phantasmagorical Noir
Yes, it is true, I have chosen to renounce squid, and figure being a GoH with Ann at World Fantasy means that's as good a place as any to formally go through with the related procedures and documentation, as noted below.
I've also posted my schedule and Ann's below. I haven't listed other participants on panels or the descriptions since I don't know if there might be changes in those areas. But this should be our schedule. (Will post changes should any occur.)
Note: If the Finns later force me ...
LA Times Off the Shelf Feature: Reality, Fantasy, and the Imagination
(What if you looked through the hole in the pipe and saw this?)
The Los Angeles Times ran my essay about Finch on Friday. Very happy with how it turned out. An excerpt:
When I was growing up, my dad had a family heirloom that fascinated me: a small tobacco pipe with a glass-covered pinhole in the side. If you looked through the hole you could see a microfiche-like photograph: four rows of stern-looking men and women, along with names and other information in German or Dutch. My dad explained...
Revolution SF: Interview, Review, and ***SQUID DRAWING CONTEST***!!!!!!!!!!
I think you can tell from the image above that you can draw a better squid than me, and that you should enter Revolution SF's awesome "Draw a Squid, Win All Three Ambergris Novels (plus soundtracks)" Contest. Go check out the rules. Please note that these are the three trade paperbacks, and that you will get all three soundtracks–by Robert Devereux, The Church, and Murder by Death–even though it says on that page just the Finch one. So…YOU ALL DAMN WELL BETTER DRAW SQUID, BECAUSE IT'LL BE...
