K.M. Ruiz's Blog, page 3

Mind Storm: Contest at Topless Robot

Hey guys!

Topless Robot was kind enough to let me give away MIND STORM as a prize in their weekly contest. Go check it out if you want to win a copy and one of their T-shirts. Don't know how long it lasts but the contest is pretty easy. Just comment about what you'd do after the end of the world.

Ransack the nearest bank or jewelry store? Sleep in the White House? Take over the Empire State Building? Run from zombies? Anything's possible! (Including that last one and man, I hope you guys have z...

Mini-Update

Spent this holiday weekend seeing Transformers, getting a massage to unkink my back, and doing some writing. Transformers was awesome in all its explosive, popcorn-fest glory. Really, that was all I could ask for. You don't go see Michael Bay movies for plot. You go for the explosions.

Michael Bay = Shit Blowing Up.

Got my tickets for Harry Potter 7. Can't wait to see that movie! It's going to be a little weird when the Harry Potter madness is gone. I will have no more Harry Potter stuff to loo...

Transformers

Oh yeah. You know I'm watching that train wreck.

In IMAX 3D.

Because I have no shame.

None.

Look Away? Not Me

I have to be honest. I do read every review I come across for MIND STORM. I'm sure this isn't good for my mental health in the long run (what do you mean you didn't like it?! noooooo! contrasted with omg yay five stars!) but I can't help myself. It's my baby and I want to know what people think about it.

MIND STORM has been out for a little over a month now and so far most people seem to like it as opposed to hating its guts. I'm finding throughout these reviews that two things jump out at me....

Writers With Drinks (Belated)

So Saturday night I got to participate in Writers With Drinks, a literary event held in a bar that was just super fun. It's kind of like a spoken word variety show, but so much more than that. It was very crowded and I can't begin to tell you how much I hate talking in front of people. Mini-panic attacks aren't fun, but shots of Jameson sure do help pave the way.

I went on first (thank god), and was followed by Kevin Camia, Nick Krieger, Javier Grillo-Marxuach (!!!! he was so funny, he read a ...

My Icon Says It All. Also, New Book Reading!

No, seriously. I'm so exhausted from my day job, it's not even funny. The past six months have been kinda sort of hellish? Just a little? The OT has been bone-grinding on some days and being nervous about my book hasn't helped.

This is why I've got another book event lined up this weekend! Writers With Drinks at the Make-Out Room (yes, it's really called that and yes, it's a bar) has been kind enough to put me on stage with a microphone and introduce my deer-in-headlights game face to a crowd ...

Reviews, and How The Book Isn't Yours Anymore

So my little baby MIND STORM has been out in the world for over a week now and has been getting reviewed. The thing about writing is that once you've got a book out in the public domain, it's really no longer yours. As strange as that seems, after all the time and effort I've poured into my book, I can't lay sole claim to it anymore.

It's meant to be read, enjoyed, hated, liked, disliked (damn, I sounded like Facebook there for a second), and any other word a reader has for a book that they ch...

May 14, 2011 Book Signing

I SURVIVED!!!!!!

No, seriously, it was fun and nerve-wracking. People showed up which was awesome. In fact, a few people in my extended family showed up to support me, which I didn't know about, so that was surprising. Two of them being my great aunt and my great-great aunt. Both of whom are exceptionally Catholic.

So of course I'd already chosen to read from chapter two in Mind Storm where I COMPLETELY DISRESPECT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH!!!!

I started reading and was like oh shit goddamn I can't...

Facebook and Other Things That Drive Me Nuts

Here's the thing about self-promotion. I kind of feel awkward and pushy when I tell people about contests or posts or pages about my book. I have a signing on Saturday and I keep threatening my awesome agent that I will wear a shirt which says I AM THE WRITER and someone else will wear a shirt that says I AM THE READER and read from my book for me so I don't have to.

The introvert in me is dying a slow horrible death through this publishing process.

But the amazingly tech-savvy drowning_london ...

Mind Storm: Q&A Part 2

Here's the second half. Told you it was a bit long. We figured what the hell? Let's go all out!

12. Do you draw any character inspiration from the people you know or have known?

Karin Lowachee: Generally not at all. I might take tangential things and I've borrowed friends' names, but actual characterization where it counts, it is all my imagination.

KM Ruiz: Some of my friends have jobs relevant to my world building. I have a friend who is a nuclear engineer and I picked his brain from time to t...