Tate Hallaway's Blog, page 52
July 13, 2009
Me, Elsewhere
Today, I'm guest blogging at Victoria Janssen's blog and talking about World-building. Come by and check it out if you get a chance.
July 9, 2009
A Tradition of Reading
In the years B.C. (before child), my partner and I had this wonderful habit of reading to each other during the performance of arduous chores, particularly she would read to me while I was doing the dishes. We recently resurrected this tradition. Now, not only is the kitchen cleaner on a more regular basis, but I also get the pleasure of hearing various horror short stories in collection (the book we chose for this time.)
A couple of days ago, she read me "Sredni Vashtar" by Saki (H. H. Munro.)
July 8, 2009
More Comic Book Talk
Over the CONvergence weekend, I house sat the kitties of a fellow Wyrdsmith, Bill Henry. He's also a comic book fan, and on his living room table was a set of steampunk graphic novels: Freak Angels by Warren Ellis.
I have to say, I haven't read much steampunk but I rather enjoyed this, though I only got through the first volume and a half before Bill returned from his trip, and I had to leave them behind. The world isn't your typical (from what I understand, anyway,) steampunk, in that it's a fan
July 7, 2009
666th Post
I feel like I should probably say something vaguely EVIL since this is my 666th post, but really I just wanted to say: "Whoot!" because I wrote 2,000 words today. Yay! Go me! Hip, hip-horray!
I'm particularly pleased since I decided to skip working out today to try to get a jump on my writing, since I'm going out tonight. There's a reading group that's going to be discussing one of my alter ego's books tonight at 7:00 pm at Turtle Bread, 4762 Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis, and I'm going to list
Yesterday the mail carrier delivered Mason's Marvel Adven...
Yesterday the mail carrier delivered Mason's Marvel Adventures All-Ages SPIDER-MAN #52, "No Substitutes" (Mark Sumerak).
As usual, I brought it to school and Mason devoured it in the back seat. The nice thing about this routine? On the days I bring comics, Shawn and I can have a mostly-interruption free conversation about her day. Mostly because Mason will still sometimes blurt out with, "Shhhh, I'm trying to read!"
I ended up reading the issue myself, and I want to make one comment about it.
July 6, 2009
The Con and Stuff
I had a great time at CONvergence. If you didn't see me, it was because I was in disguise as my alter ego. If you're so inclined, I wrote a bit about my experiences (and other stuff) over at her LJ.
I forgot to mention that on Sunday, Lynne Thomas and her husband Michael came over to our place to finally pick up a box of my papers for her manuscript collection at the Northern Illinois University. I sent a long a box of unpublished writing, including some dorky stuff I wrote in high school that I'
July 2, 2009
Conventions 101
I'm off to CONvergence this weekend, and that got me thinking...
When I occasionally talk about self-promotion there's usually a very quick, off-hand, "Oh, and go to conventions."
Most of the time, that's excellent advice. But not all science fiction conventions are created equal, and what you get out of a convention is really dependent on what you're looking for and, potentially, what you're willing to put into it.
You have to ask yourself: what am I looking for?
If you're looking to connect to
July 1, 2009
Scottish History On-Line (For Writers)
WORKSHOP: Highland Clans from Medieval Times through the Clearances
Date: July 13-Aug 31, 2009
Workshop Title: Highland Clans from Medieval Times through the Clearances
Instructor: Cindy Vallar, author of The Scottish Thistle and an associate editor for Solander magazine (http://www.cindyvallar.com/)
Workshop Dates: Tuesday, 7 July through Friday, 28 August
REGISTER: www.celtichearts.org
Description: We often assume the Highland clans of Scotland have always been. In reality, they evolved. This wor
June 26, 2009
Buffy vs. Edward
This is a must see (sent to me by my friend and fellow writer, Naomi Kritzer):
June 25, 2009
More Good Advice
I actually cribbed this from Kelly's post over at Wyrdsmiths today. It's from Lilith Saintcrow's blog and I found this article in particular very... illuminating, and a little bit nerve-wracking.
It's not that I've ever (to my knowledge) been "Z" (in her second example of hard sell: fail), but I can totally understand the desire. When you first sell, there's a huge shift in your mind that goes something like this -- I am now legitimate. Which is to say, it's hard not to fall into the trap of bein
