Kate Elliott's Blog, page 48

I Am Back; Cold Magic is Out

I went to Oz and returned safely, my life much enhanced by meeting a number of really fabulous people, readers and writers, and by being able to spend time with friends I don't see often.

My latest novel, Cold Magic, is available all over the place. I haven't posted for a while because I am trying to 1) finish book 2, titled Cold Fire, and 2) sort out my brain, and 3) get better at this time management thing.

I am thinking about a lot of things these days. I have a lot of posts I would like t...

kateelliott @ 2010-09-09T08:39:00

L'Shana Tova

(to those who celebrate/observe/know what that means/etc)

Worldcon AussieCon4 Schedule Changes

Sorry for this on the fly post. More later that is of more interest, and I am sorry I haven't had time to thoroughly read through and respond to the comments on my Authorial Intent post. Soon!

Not at Worldcon:

Borders South Wharf Thursday 2 Sept 530 pm (1730), signing, with Karen Miller, Marianne de Pierres & Trent Jamieson

Saturday (4 Sept) 3 pm (1500) Informal get together, if you'd like to meet me (I'll likely get there a bit earlier, by 2:30 pm) No membership to convention necessary. at I...

Authorial Intent

For the purposes of this discussion, I suppose I will define Authorial Intent as the idea that the author of a work (let's say a novel) writes with intentionality and that intent can be found within and as part of the text.


For a while now, critical theorists have argued that "the author's intent is irrelevant to understanding a piece of literature." (that's from Wikipedia, because I am lazy; also, I am not an academic and my understanding of critical theory is, shall we say, sparse; so if y...

Australia Book Signing Dates & Worldcon

I apologize if you have seen this material before. No doubt you will see it again. It has been my experience that if I only post events information once, then people miss it.

Book signings are free and open to the public. Only events at Worldcon (listed below) need a convention membership.


Sydney, Australia

Galaxy Books
Thursday 26 August
with Karen Miller and Charles Stross
5:30 pm

Infinitas Books
Monday 30 August
5:30 pm (will include short reading and Q&A, if there are any Qs)

(I think it is poss...

Cold Magic Arrives, and the Progress of Cold Fire

My Orbit US author's copies of Cold Magic arrived, which means it will hit the bookstores in a few weeks (official date Sept 2 in UK/Commonwealth and Sept 9 USA/Canada). I have been told that copies will be available for my late August signings in Australia, whose dates and times I will reiterate in a post before I leave for Down Under.

This leads me to reflect on Cold Fire, still under construction.

I had really hoped to have the basic first draft of Cold Fire done before I left for Sydney, M...

Update, Last ARC Winner, Australia Trip, iPad Question

Long week. Wrestling with Cold Fire. Bored my spouse to tears--no, I think into a veritable stupor would be more accurate--when I tried to explain the entire plot to him in the hope talking it through would help me figure out the chronological problem that is plaguing me, but in fact I am pretty sure I know what and where the problem lies, and although there is a chronological issue, the real issue is somewhat different and once I solve it I will fly to the end. Haha. I always say that. ...

I have one more ARC of Cold Magic: Contest

Unexpectedly, I have one more copy of the ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of Cold Magic, which is Book 1 of The Spiritwalker Trilogy. It will be available in bookstores in early September 2010 in the USA/Canada, UK, and Australia markets, and most likely in English language bookstores elsewhere in the world.

The winner will receive my last (signed and personalized if you wish) ARC of Cold Magic.

An ARC is a copy of the uncorrected proof, which means there will be a few typos and a very few changes i...

A Brief Comment on Revisions & Review Linkage

Because I hit a roadblock about 2/3rds or 3/4rds of the way through COLD FIRE (not sure of length yet), I was forced to go back and do a revision from the beginning forward to make sure my ducks were all in a row.

Interestingly, I have done nothing major structurally, just detail and set up work. So this either means I am totally on the right track, or else I am headed for a hugely major rewrite. Who knows? Me, at this stage, I know nothing. And the only person who has read the first draft ...

kateelliott @ 2010-08-04T22:51:00

In the words of Judge Vaughn Walker:


The right to marry has been historically and remains the right to choose a spouse and, with mutual consent, join together and form a household. Race and gender restrictions shaped marriage during eras of race and gender inequality, but such restrictions were never part of the historical core of the institution of marriage. Today, gender is not relevant to the state in determining spouses' obligations to each other and to their dependents. Relative gende...