Martha Wells's Blog, page 119
February 20, 2014
Let's see. Yesterday while I was in the bathroom, Jack (...
Let's see. Yesterday while I was in the bathroom, Jack (the cat), removed two keys from my laptop keyboard. After a frantic search (looking under the furniture with a flashlight and finding lots of lost kitty toys and a large angry Siamese cat (Tasha)) I finally found them under the laptop. This was a relief, since it meant they weren't working their way through Jack's intestines. Also they just snapped back on. (They were the arrow keys at the end of the first row. I guess he was planning to work his way through the whole keyboard.)
I've still been waking up at 4:00 or 5:00 am, just from anxiety issues. Bleh.
A friend let me watch True Detective on her HBO, and wow, I see what everybody means. I've got episodes four and five left, then the three which haven't aired yet. I think my brain may explode waiting to find out what happens.
I've still been waking up at 4:00 or 5:00 am, just from anxiety issues. Bleh.
A friend let me watch True Detective on her HBO, and wow, I see what everybody means. I've got episodes four and five left, then the three which haven't aired yet. I think my brain may explode waiting to find out what happens.
February 19, 2014
I've been waking up early with anxiety issues lately. Tod...
I've been waking up early with anxiety issues lately. Today was 4:00 am, augh.
***
The Con-or-Bust fundraiser auction is still going on, and a lot of new items have been added. The auction raises money for fans of color/non-white fans to attend SFF conventions.
The auction is really cool, and includes tons of books, signed books, knitted things, custom made items like jewelry and a puppet and TARDIS laptop bag, manuscript critiques and a ton more. It's like a really cool craft market with signed books, basically.
I have two auctions this year, for signed copies of all three Books of the Raksura and both Emilie and the Hollow World & Emilie and the Sky World.
You have until February 23 to bid.
***
The Con-or-Bust fundraiser auction is still going on, and a lot of new items have been added. The auction raises money for fans of color/non-white fans to attend SFF conventions.
The auction is really cool, and includes tons of books, signed books, knitted things, custom made items like jewelry and a puppet and TARDIS laptop bag, manuscript critiques and a ton more. It's like a really cool craft market with signed books, basically.
I have two auctions this year, for signed copies of all three Books of the Raksura and both Emilie and the Hollow World & Emilie and the Sky World.
You have until February 23 to bid.
February 17, 2014
Monday Again
I did get a lot done this weekend, involving house cleaning, getting taxes ready to go to the tax person, laundry, discovering the squirrels have pulled the covers off our gutters and thrown them down into the yard, and doing a lot of clean-up work on the yard so the house looks less like it belongs on an "abandoned places" tumblr. Also writing. But I'm kind of tired.
I posted my ConDFW Schedule here. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to read -- probably a bit from one of the Raksura novellas.
I also updated my appearances schedule and updated the web site with the note Emilie and the Sky World, Tales of the Raksura Vol. I, and the paperback edition of Star Wars: Razor's Edge are available for preorder now on the Buy Books Online section. Emilie and the Sky World will be available in (some) stores on March 4.
Nominate for an Award
* DetCon1, the North American Science Fiction Convention in Detroit, is giving out a special award for YA and MG SF/F. Anyone can nominate for it. You don't have to be a member of the con. Nominations close on February 28. (The NASFiC is only held when the WorldCon is outside the US, and this year WorldCon is in London.)
Links:
The 100,000 Homes Project
100,000 Homes communities believe this traditional approach is backwards, and the data agrees with them. Countless studies have now shown that we must offer housing first, not last, if we want to help people out of homelessness. An immediate connection to permanent supportive housing can ensure that over 80% of homeless individuals remain housed, even among clients with severe substance abuse and mental health conditions.
I'd heard about this before the report on 60 Minutes but didn't know how many places were already having big successes with it. The site has a map where you can see what cities are participating and how far along they are.
This Indegogo needs some help: New Orleans is a food desert
It's weird, I know, because we have a huge reputation for our food—but our soil can't grow it, not after the storm. Everything comes through the port, down the river, on the highway. Other people bring food to New Orleans to sell. They build grocery stores in Metairie, downtown, Uptown, on Magazine.
But they don't build in the Lower 9th Ward.
There's no grocery store there. There hasn't been one since Katrina in 2005. It's an extreme low-income neighborhood that depends on a problematic inconvenient public transit systems to cross the city to get any fresh food.
Our School at Blair Grocery wants to change that.
Here is their IndieGogo.
I posted my ConDFW Schedule here. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to read -- probably a bit from one of the Raksura novellas.
I also updated my appearances schedule and updated the web site with the note Emilie and the Sky World, Tales of the Raksura Vol. I, and the paperback edition of Star Wars: Razor's Edge are available for preorder now on the Buy Books Online section. Emilie and the Sky World will be available in (some) stores on March 4.
Nominate for an Award
* DetCon1, the North American Science Fiction Convention in Detroit, is giving out a special award for YA and MG SF/F. Anyone can nominate for it. You don't have to be a member of the con. Nominations close on February 28. (The NASFiC is only held when the WorldCon is outside the US, and this year WorldCon is in London.)
Links:
The 100,000 Homes Project
100,000 Homes communities believe this traditional approach is backwards, and the data agrees with them. Countless studies have now shown that we must offer housing first, not last, if we want to help people out of homelessness. An immediate connection to permanent supportive housing can ensure that over 80% of homeless individuals remain housed, even among clients with severe substance abuse and mental health conditions.
I'd heard about this before the report on 60 Minutes but didn't know how many places were already having big successes with it. The site has a map where you can see what cities are participating and how far along they are.
This Indegogo needs some help: New Orleans is a food desert
It's weird, I know, because we have a huge reputation for our food—but our soil can't grow it, not after the storm. Everything comes through the port, down the river, on the highway. Other people bring food to New Orleans to sell. They build grocery stores in Metairie, downtown, Uptown, on Magazine.
But they don't build in the Lower 9th Ward.
There's no grocery store there. There hasn't been one since Katrina in 2005. It's an extreme low-income neighborhood that depends on a problematic inconvenient public transit systems to cross the city to get any fresh food.
Our School at Blair Grocery wants to change that.
Here is their IndieGogo.
February 15, 2014
ConDFW Schedule
I'll be at ConDFW in the Dallas area next weekend (Feb 21-23), and here's my schedule:
FRIDAY:
Friday, 5pm: Historical Warfare: Writing Realistic Combat
Panelists: Taylor Anderson, Adrian Simmons (M), J. Kathleen Cheney, Martha Wells
Do you know the difference between an arquebus and a flintlock pistol? Do you know what types of first aid were used in different times of history? What were the four humours of the body? There are many questions which can trip you up if you cover combat in historical fiction. Our authors talk about the research they’ve done and what to look out for when writing for this type of background.
SATURDAY:
READING (Trinity VIII)
Saturday, 12pm: Jaye Wells, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Martha Wells
PROGRAMMING 3 (Trinity VII)
Saturday, 2pm: The Return of Heroic Fantasy!
Panelists: C. Dean Andersson (M), Martha Wells, J. Kathleen Cheney, Chris Donahue, Christopher Fulbright
Ever wonder what George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones would be like if Conan were in it? So much for winter, by Crom! Bringing heroic fantasy back to the writing world one sword at a time, our panelists discuss how to write in this genre, and what separates it from Epic Fantasy such as Middle Earth and Westeros.
AUTOGRAPHS (Dealers Room)
Saturday, 4pm: Martha Wells, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, Lou Antonelli
SUNDAY:
MAIN PROGRAMMING (Addison Lecture Hall)
Sunday, 11am: Alternate Worlds in Epic Fantasy
Panelists: Taylor Anderson, Martha Wells, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, Ethan Nahte, Jeff Dawson
The RPG world of Midnight has been described as “Middle-Earth where Sauron beat up Frodo, reclaimed the One Ring, and has ruled for a hundred generations”. Taking an idea and going a different direction with it is a valuable tool to use in any epic fantasy. Our panelists discuss methods and pitfalls to watch out for.
FRIDAY:
Friday, 5pm: Historical Warfare: Writing Realistic Combat
Panelists: Taylor Anderson, Adrian Simmons (M), J. Kathleen Cheney, Martha Wells
Do you know the difference between an arquebus and a flintlock pistol? Do you know what types of first aid were used in different times of history? What were the four humours of the body? There are many questions which can trip you up if you cover combat in historical fiction. Our authors talk about the research they’ve done and what to look out for when writing for this type of background.
SATURDAY:
READING (Trinity VIII)
Saturday, 12pm: Jaye Wells, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Martha Wells
PROGRAMMING 3 (Trinity VII)
Saturday, 2pm: The Return of Heroic Fantasy!
Panelists: C. Dean Andersson (M), Martha Wells, J. Kathleen Cheney, Chris Donahue, Christopher Fulbright
Ever wonder what George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones would be like if Conan were in it? So much for winter, by Crom! Bringing heroic fantasy back to the writing world one sword at a time, our panelists discuss how to write in this genre, and what separates it from Epic Fantasy such as Middle Earth and Westeros.
AUTOGRAPHS (Dealers Room)
Saturday, 4pm: Martha Wells, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, Lou Antonelli
SUNDAY:
MAIN PROGRAMMING (Addison Lecture Hall)
Sunday, 11am: Alternate Worlds in Epic Fantasy
Panelists: Taylor Anderson, Martha Wells, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, Ethan Nahte, Jeff Dawson
The RPG world of Midnight has been described as “Middle-Earth where Sauron beat up Frodo, reclaimed the One Ring, and has ruled for a hundred generations”. Taking an idea and going a different direction with it is a valuable tool to use in any epic fantasy. Our panelists discuss methods and pitfalls to watch out for.
February 11, 2014
Today we're waiting for freezing rain and ice pellets. I...
Today we're waiting for freezing rain and ice pellets. I have to take a cat to the cat vet this afternoon and a car to the car vet tomorrow morning, and I hope the weather doesn't screw that up, because those are two things I've been putting off that I really need to get done. But at least we're getting some precipitation, which we really really need. I'm also just feeling kind of depressed and very anxious and just tired. Hoping it will pass soon, when the weather changes.
Link
Cheryl Morgan has a great essay in the Women Destroy Science Fiction kickstarter for Lightspeed Magazine.
Upcoming Books
It looks like there is going to be a paperback edition of my Star Wars book, Razor's Edge. It's up for preorder on Amazon with a release date of October 28. (And if you've read it already, I'd really appreciate some more reviews on Amazon, good, bad, indifferent, etc. It really does help the books get recommended and show up more in their system.)
The collection of the first two Raksura novellas, Stories of the Raksura Vol. I is showing up for preorder at more places now: Amazon US, Barnes and Noble, Mysterious Galaxy, Powells, Book Depository, Book Depository UK, Amazon Canada, Chapters Indigo, Books-a-Million, Amazon UK, Amazon.de, Amazon Spain, or look for it in an independent bookstore in the US through Indiebound.
Link
Cheryl Morgan has a great essay in the Women Destroy Science Fiction kickstarter for Lightspeed Magazine.
Upcoming Books
It looks like there is going to be a paperback edition of my Star Wars book, Razor's Edge. It's up for preorder on Amazon with a release date of October 28. (And if you've read it already, I'd really appreciate some more reviews on Amazon, good, bad, indifferent, etc. It really does help the books get recommended and show up more in their system.)
The collection of the first two Raksura novellas, Stories of the Raksura Vol. I is showing up for preorder at more places now: Amazon US, Barnes and Noble, Mysterious Galaxy, Powells, Book Depository, Book Depository UK, Amazon Canada, Chapters Indigo, Books-a-Million, Amazon UK, Amazon.de, Amazon Spain, or look for it in an independent bookstore in the US through Indiebound.
February 10, 2014
Con-or-Bust Fundraiser Auction
The Con-or-Bust fundraiser auction has started today, and goes until February 23. The auction raises money for fans of color/non-white fans attend SFF conventions.
The auction is really cool, and includes tons of books, signed books, custom made items like jewelry and a puppet and TARDIS laptop bag, manuscript critiques and a ton more. It's like a really cool craft market with signed books, basically.
I have two auctions this year, for signed copies of all three Books of the Raksura and both Emilie and the Hollow World & Emilie and the Sky World.
You have until February 23 to bid.
The auction is really cool, and includes tons of books, signed books, custom made items like jewelry and a puppet and TARDIS laptop bag, manuscript critiques and a ton more. It's like a really cool craft market with signed books, basically.
I have two auctions this year, for signed copies of all three Books of the Raksura and both Emilie and the Hollow World & Emilie and the Sky World.
You have until February 23 to bid.
February 8, 2014
Just Some Links
I usually try to take Saturday off and just read, but I didn't finish what I needed to yesterday, so more work today. And the weather's been lousy, freezing and borderline icy, with sleet and a little snow on Thursday morning. It's supposed to be in the 60s this weekend, but then it'll go right back to freezing, icy, etc.
* Teresa Frohock: being a woman and writing dark fiction--it's complicated
Beverly's question made me think of the time I surfed through some posts on Reddit about year ago. Someone once commented that women don't write complicated novels like [insert list of male fantasy authors here].
And be sure to read the first comment, by M.L Brennan:
I think the toughest incident I've had (beyond endless people asking, "How on earth did you write a male protagonist?" -- as if gender was more trouble than a change in species) was when I was at NYCC and there was a fantastic book signing set up where Myke Cole, Benedict Jacka, and I sat in a row and signed 100 free copies of the first books in our series for anyone who got in line. It was very cool, but I'll say this -- it was really hard to see male readers who were happy to have their books personalized by Myke and Benedict, but the moment (the *moment*) they laid eyes on me, they said, "Oh, why don't you address it to my mother/sister/aunt". Because my gender was enough to convince them that they wouldn't enjoy it, even though I was writing in the exact same genre and with most of the themes as the man beside me.
* Con or Bust is starting up on Monday, February 10. It's a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction, and the auction will raise money for con memberships. Some memberships have already been donated by WorldCon and other conventions, and there are plenty of great items up for auction this year, like tons of signed books, knitted goods, and gorgeous jewelry. I've got a signed set of the Books of the Raksura and a signed set of the two Emilie books in it.
* Teresa Frohock: being a woman and writing dark fiction--it's complicated
Beverly's question made me think of the time I surfed through some posts on Reddit about year ago. Someone once commented that women don't write complicated novels like [insert list of male fantasy authors here].
And be sure to read the first comment, by M.L Brennan:
I think the toughest incident I've had (beyond endless people asking, "How on earth did you write a male protagonist?" -- as if gender was more trouble than a change in species) was when I was at NYCC and there was a fantastic book signing set up where Myke Cole, Benedict Jacka, and I sat in a row and signed 100 free copies of the first books in our series for anyone who got in line. It was very cool, but I'll say this -- it was really hard to see male readers who were happy to have their books personalized by Myke and Benedict, but the moment (the *moment*) they laid eyes on me, they said, "Oh, why don't you address it to my mother/sister/aunt". Because my gender was enough to convince them that they wouldn't enjoy it, even though I was writing in the exact same genre and with most of the themes as the man beside me.
* Con or Bust is starting up on Monday, February 10. It's a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction, and the auction will raise money for con memberships. Some memberships have already been donated by WorldCon and other conventions, and there are plenty of great items up for auction this year, like tons of signed books, knitted goods, and gorgeous jewelry. I've got a signed set of the Books of the Raksura and a signed set of the two Emilie books in it.
February 5, 2014
Cold Tuesday
I'm working on the fourth Raksura novella now, and am a little less than a fourth of the way into it. It's going to be set in the present day of Indigo Cloud, and there might finally be a clutch for Jade and Moon.
* I am in this SF Signal Mind Meld talking about "What's 'Wrong' with Epic Fantasy?"
* This family could really use some help: Olson Family needs Help This is a situation where if a lot of people were able to donate even a little bit, you could do a lot of good.
Book Rec
* Black Dog by Rachel Neumeier is out now.
This is from Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry, the same publisher who does my Emilie books.
Natividad is Pure, one of the rare girls born able to wield magic. Pure magic can protect humans against the supernatural evils they only half-acknowledge—the blood kin or the black dogs. In rare cases—like for Natividad's father and older brother—Pure magic can help black dogs find the strength to control their dark powers. But before Natividad's mother can finish teaching her magic their enemies find them. Their entire village in the remote hills of Mexico is slaughtered by black dogs. Their parents die protecting them. Natividad and her brothers must flee across a strange country to the only possible shelter: the infamous black dogs of Dimilioc, who have sworn to protect the Pure.
* Also, coming out in May, Bad Luck Girl by Sarah Zettel
This is book three of the American Fairy trilogy, set during the Depression. I really love the covers on these, and you should check out the first two: Dust Girl and Golden Girl
links
* NYT Not All Monuments Men Were Men
Rose Valland, whose role is depicted briefly by Cate Blanchett in the film, was a French Resistance operative who spied on the Nazis and showed herself able to shoot and drink with the boys. Edith A. Standen was a captain in the Women’s Army Corps who went on to a career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And Ms. Hall was a Smith College graduate who came to the task from a career focused on the study of Asian art.
* Older than oldest of 7 Wonders: 4,600 yo step pyramid uncovered in Egypt
* I am in this SF Signal Mind Meld talking about "What's 'Wrong' with Epic Fantasy?"
* This family could really use some help: Olson Family needs Help This is a situation where if a lot of people were able to donate even a little bit, you could do a lot of good.
Book Rec
* Black Dog by Rachel Neumeier is out now.
This is from Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry, the same publisher who does my Emilie books.
Natividad is Pure, one of the rare girls born able to wield magic. Pure magic can protect humans against the supernatural evils they only half-acknowledge—the blood kin or the black dogs. In rare cases—like for Natividad's father and older brother—Pure magic can help black dogs find the strength to control their dark powers. But before Natividad's mother can finish teaching her magic their enemies find them. Their entire village in the remote hills of Mexico is slaughtered by black dogs. Their parents die protecting them. Natividad and her brothers must flee across a strange country to the only possible shelter: the infamous black dogs of Dimilioc, who have sworn to protect the Pure.
* Also, coming out in May, Bad Luck Girl by Sarah Zettel
This is book three of the American Fairy trilogy, set during the Depression. I really love the covers on these, and you should check out the first two: Dust Girl and Golden Girl
links
* NYT Not All Monuments Men Were Men
Rose Valland, whose role is depicted briefly by Cate Blanchett in the film, was a French Resistance operative who spied on the Nazis and showed herself able to shoot and drink with the boys. Edith A. Standen was a captain in the Women’s Army Corps who went on to a career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And Ms. Hall was a Smith College graduate who came to the task from a career focused on the study of Asian art.
* Older than oldest of 7 Wonders: 4,600 yo step pyramid uncovered in Egypt
February 3, 2014
I didn't do anything this weekend except work, so...that'...
I didn't do anything this weekend except work, so...that's about it.
If you missed it last week, I had a post about the Raksura Novellas coming out in paperback, a post with a snippet of The Dead City, and a post about Emilie and the Sky World coming out on March 4.
Book Deals
Miserere by Teresa Frohock is $2.99 on Kindle and The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams is $3.93.
And there's been a $1 or so price drop on the Kindle editions of The Wizard Hunters, The Ships of Air, and The Gate of Gods. I don't know if it's permanent or what.
links
* BBC History: The Missing Tudors: black people in 16th-century England
* Mirrors may have worked magic in ancient Japanese rituals
* Kameron Hurley: Surprise! I Have No Idea Your Book is Coming Out
The truth is that when it comes to awards season, or the week or month your book comes out, if you haven’t been talking about it in some way – on Twitter, in blog posts, even fucking Facebook – then chances are MIGHTY that other people don’t fucking know about it. And if other people don’t know – book bloggers, others writers, fandom in general – then NOBODY knows.
(And the problem with Facebook is that it doesn't show your friendslist all your posts. So even the people who are friended to you on there in order to see when your next book is coming out may not see your posts talking about when your next book is coming out. Facebook wants you to pay them to "promote" your posts, but people who have done this say it had either no effect or their posts were shown to even fewer people that way. Posts that have likes and comments are sometimes shown to more people, but it's still a crapshoot.)
If you missed it last week, I had a post about the Raksura Novellas coming out in paperback, a post with a snippet of The Dead City, and a post about Emilie and the Sky World coming out on March 4.
Book Deals
Miserere by Teresa Frohock is $2.99 on Kindle and The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams is $3.93.
And there's been a $1 or so price drop on the Kindle editions of The Wizard Hunters, The Ships of Air, and The Gate of Gods. I don't know if it's permanent or what.
links
* BBC History: The Missing Tudors: black people in 16th-century England
* Mirrors may have worked magic in ancient Japanese rituals
* Kameron Hurley: Surprise! I Have No Idea Your Book is Coming Out
The truth is that when it comes to awards season, or the week or month your book comes out, if you haven’t been talking about it in some way – on Twitter, in blog posts, even fucking Facebook – then chances are MIGHTY that other people don’t fucking know about it. And if other people don’t know – book bloggers, others writers, fandom in general – then NOBODY knows.
(And the problem with Facebook is that it doesn't show your friendslist all your posts. So even the people who are friended to you on there in order to see when your next book is coming out may not see your posts talking about when your next book is coming out. Facebook wants you to pay them to "promote" your posts, but people who have done this say it had either no effect or their posts were shown to even fewer people that way. Posts that have likes and comments are sometimes shown to more people, but it's still a crapshoot.)
January 31, 2014
Emilie and the Sky World
This is the book I have coming out on March 4, from Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry. It’s YA, steampunkish-fantasy adventure. First chapter is here. The first book in the series is Emilie and the Hollow World, but they’re both standalone stories.
