Lou Anders's Blog, page 22

Next Stop: The Page & Palette Bookstore

The Frostborn tour rolls on. Next up, catch me at the Page & Palette bookstore in Fairhope, AL on Wednesday, September 10th at 4pm.

The Frostborn Tour Begins!

The Frostborn Tour begins this week. Here are the tour dates currently scheduled. Note some changes from earlier versions.

Wednesday September 03, 2014 5:30 PM
Barnes and Noble Reading/Signing
Crossroads Commons
2999 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO 80301
303-444-0349
(daytime visit to the Platt Middle School)

Thursday September 4th, 2014 
(daytime visits to the Harris Bilingual School and the Rivendell School)

Friday September 5th
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S. McClinktock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283
480-730-0205
*school visits only

Saturday September 6th, 2 PM
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S. McClinktock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283
480-730-0205*daytime event with the Changing Hands Kids Book Club (and general public)

Wednesday Sept. 10th, 4:00 PM
Page & Palette32 S. Section St.
Fairhope, AL 36532
251-928-5295
(daytime visit with Fairhope Intermediate School and J. Larry Newton School)

Thursday Sept. 11th, 6:00 PM
Little Professor Book Center
2717 18th St. S.
Homewood, AL 35209
205-870-7461
(daytime presentation at the Homewood Public Library for the Our Lady of Sorrows and Creative Montessori schools)

Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 6:30 PM-8PM
Young Authors Program
Vickery Creek Middle School 
6240 Post Road
Cumming, GA 30040
Event and location details forthcoming. Time subject to change.
Open to any student in Forsyth County and their families.

Thursday, September 18, 2014 7:00 PM
Books-a-Million
757 Brookwood Village, Birmingham, AL 35209
Phone:(205) 870-0213

Tuesday, September 23, 2014 4:00 PM
Avid Bookshop
493 Prince AveAthens, GA 30601
Phone:(706) 352-2060(daytime presentations for Clarke Middle School and Double Helix)
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Tweens Read Book Festival
South Houston High School
3820 Shaver St, South Houston, TX 77587
713-740-0350

Thursday, October 9, 2014 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM
New York Comic Con
Panel Name: Coffee Talk with Dragons and Monsters
Description: What makes a monster something to be feared? To become a force to be reckoned with? To be bigger than life? Are its eyes too big, teeth too sharp and does it have a tail? Is it Human? A Creature? Supernatural? Powerful? Diabolical? Insane? Or Maybe just misunderstood? Join R.L Stine (Party Games), Caitlin Kittredge (Black Dog), Lou Anders (Frostborn), Brandon Sanderson (Steelheart and Firefight), Paul Pope (The Rise of Aurora West), Ethan Reid (The Undying), Ransom Riggs (Hollow City; Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children) and moderator Thomas Sniegoski (Walking in the Midst of Fire) as they discuss the “monsters” in their books and what makes them truly something or someone you would not like to meet alone in a dark alley...or a dark forest, or a dark cave....

Friday, October 10, 2014 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
New York Comic Con
Title: Geek Geek Revolution
Description: GEEK GEEK REVOLUTION is a no-holds-barred geek culture game show featuring six science fiction/fantasy authors competing for the chance to be TOP GEEK. In addition the audience members will be asked to 'write-in' questions in hopes of stumping the authors and winning a prize pack of books. Hold onto your hats, nerf herders, this might get ugly. Featuring authors: Peter Brett, Maureen Johnson, Django Wexler, Rachel Caine, Lou Anders, and Lev Grossman

Saturday, October 12, 2014
wik'14: Writing & Illustrating for Kids*
Spain Park High School (Birmingham)
4700 Jaguar Drive
Hoover, AL 35242
* Not a Frostborn-specific event. I am teaching a two part lecture "ScripTips: Hollywood Screenwriting Techniques from 10am-11:45am, but I will happily sign books.

Friday-Sunday, November 14-16, 2014
Windycon 41*
Westin Lombard Yorktown Center
70 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard, IL 60148
630-719-8000

*Not a Frostborn-specific event. I'm Editor Guest of Honor, but will happily sign books.

Additional dates in other cities are being added. I'll update this list as they are confirmed.

Frostborn Giveaway and Interview

The magnificent Marjorie Liu, talented author and comic book scribe and all around wonderful person, kindly interviewed me over the weekend for her blog. We talk about POV, travel, and she gets me to list a number of potentially surprising facts about myself you may not have heard before. What's more, Marjorie is hosting a GIVEAWAY CONTEST. Leave your name in the comments of her blog to win a copy of Frostborn!The contest ends September 5th and has to be restricted to US residents, but please drop by her blog, read the interview, and enter!

Sit, Write, Bleed... Talk!

Today, Sit.Write.Bleed posts a review of Frostborn (Thrones and Bones).I'm very gratified by the
words, which, though not without criticism, say:

This isn't my Hobbit, but after reading it twice through, I am almost certain it would have been if I was eleven in 2014. Anders has crafted a tale filled with ages-old themes and lessons that I think are often missing from a lot of today's fantasy, be it Middle-Grade or Adult. Friendship, Courage, Intelligence, and Trust--these are things that are often assumed to be in the background of every children's novel, but rarely are they talked about openly and pursued passionately, let alone done well. I believe this to be a major reason why I dislike Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series so much--when it is done out in the open it is too campy to my taste, and when it hidden in the background I just don't care. Anders falls more in with JK Rowling and Lloyd Alexander, so much so with the latter that I almost felt like I was reading The Book of Three (another classic everyone should read.) To put a point on it, I was taken on a great adventure and learned something.

Meanwhile, I'm interviewed on Adventures in SciFi Publishing. I used to be a frequent guest of the show, though haven't been on since host/founder Shaun Farrell stepped away. Now Shaun has returned (yay!) and I join him, Moses Siregar, and Brent Bowen for a discussion of:
Worldbuilding with the help of modern technology;Gaming culture and how that works in medieval societies;The distinction between YA and middle grade writing;Traveling to Norway to research the setting and cultural inspiration for Norrengard;Working with Robert Lazzarreti;The incredible video game found on the Thrones and Bones website, not mention other media tie-in products and experiences!Fractal Terrains 3, which Lou used to design his world;Shooting Vikings (context in the interview!);How important gaming can be to developing world-building skills. Lou loves Skyrim, by the way;Testing the module for the Thrones and Bones game with Howard Andrews Jones, Howard Tayler, Scott Lynch, Dave Gross, and Saladin Ahmed.

Two Personal Pieces

Today, oddly, sees two different guest posts for me; odd because both of these pieces are rather personal. One is about the challenges I faced during the process of revising   Frostborn (Thrones and Bones) , and the other is about some of my reasons for writing it.

First, I'm on speculative fiction magazine Bull Spec's blog, the latest author to accept the challenge of their "The Hardest Part" series, in this case writing about what it was like for the editor to be edited.

Then, thanks to Ellen Oh, I am a guest on The Enchanted Inkpot, talking about writing for my biracial children as relates to Frostborn's half-giant, half-human character.

Writing for My Kids... And Yours

This week, I'm a guest on Random House Kids' Random Acts of Reading blog, where I contribute a piece called "Writing for My Kids... And Yours." In it, I talk a little bit about my influences, a little bit about the process that lead me to conceive of Frostborn,and a little bit about my own children. Please check it out.

Dragon Con Schedule

Dragon Con is right around the corner. Held in Atlanta, Georgia from August 29th to September 1, this is a massive convention that is always one of the highlights of my year.

Here is where I, and a ton of other awesome authors, can be found. See the bottom for Frostborn (Thrones and Bones) signing information. Additionally, I'll be manning the Pyr booth in the exhibit hall throughout the con when I am not needed elsewhere (booth # 424,425).

Title: Dragons, Magic, & Mystical Lands: High Fantasy in YA 

Description: The orphan of uncertain heritage, the talisman discovered, a kingdom under siege... how YA is putting its stamp on fantasy tropes.

Time: Fri 10:00 am Location: A707 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Leigh Bardugo, Susan Fichtelberg, Lou Anders, Kat Zhang, A. J. Hartley, Todd McCaffrey)

-------------------Title: Strategies for the Catastrophes of Publishing 
Description: Learn what options exist for authors if a publisher bankrupts or a editor quits midstream, among other catastrophes.

Time: Fri 11:30 am Location: Embassy D-F - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Lou Anders, Janny Wurts, Chesya Burke, Laura Anne Gilman, Elizabeth Moon, James A. Moore)

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Title: Pyr Rising!Description: Lou Anders returns to Dragon Con to tell fans what Pyr is planning.

Time: Fri 04:00 pm Location: Regency V - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel (Tentative Panelists: Lou Anders, Jon Sprunk, Clay and Susan Griffith, Mike Resnick, Joel Shepherd)

-------------------
Title: The Young Nerd Life
Description: There are many shows families watch together! Let's discuss those shows & how kids fit into the world of fandom.
Time: Fri 07:00 pm Location: A708 - Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)(Tentative Panelists: Lou Anders, Davey Beauchamp, Ronald Thomas Garner)

-------------------
Title: Whadya Wanna Know?Description: This roundtable discussion will address questions from the audience about all aspects of writing.

Time: Sat 10:00 am Location: Embassy D-F - Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)(Tentative Panelists: Nancy Knight, Georgia McBride, Claire M. Eddy, Lou Anders)


-------------------Title: I Have This IdeaDescription: How to develop an idea into a novel. Basic tools to take an idea from that little germ into a full-blown blockbuster.

Time: Mon 10:00 am – 11:00am (Length: 1 Hour) Location: Embassy D-F – Hyatt
(Tentative Panelists: Jim Butcher, Lou Anders, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Janny Wurts, Peter David, Gene Wolfe, Nancy Knight)


Additionally, I will be doing a signing at the Missing Volume booksellers booth, on Saturday at 12 noon, along with Frostborn (Thrones and Bones) cover and interior artist Justin Gerard. Come see us and get your copy of Frostborn signed by both the author and the artist at booth location 328, 329, & 330.

Kirkus Reviews: Q&A

Today, I am on Kirkus Reviews, in a Q&A with Lou the Editorial Director of Pyr, where I talk about trends in SF/F publishing, things I look for, things I avoid, and the joy of working with fabulous artists. Please check it out.

SFF180's Mailbag Monday (on Tuesday)

Thank you SFF10 of the very nice Frostborn (Thrones and Bones) shout out and kind words on yesterday's edition of Mailbag Monday!

The Jon Sprunk Interview

My friend, and awesome fantasy author, Jon Sprunk interviewed me for his blog. We talk about RPGs, Norway, cartography, world building, and wearing too many hats! Please check it out. Here's a sample:
Frostborn,

Lou: Music is always a big influence on me, whatever I’m working on. For this series, I’ve made a playlist that mixes Howard Shore’s score for The Fellowship of the Ring and his The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (extended versions of both of course), with Jeremy Soule’s Skyrim soundtrack, and, in preparation for book three, I’ve just added John Powell’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 and two versions of Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna,” (which you may remember from its use in the climax of the film Excalibur). Also, I blasted “O Fortuna” on the way to my first reading/signing to help get in the mood.