Martha Wells's Blog, page 140
February 8, 2013
Some More Things
We were planning to go to the Sherwood Forest Faire this weekend, but Troyce fell in the grocery store parking lot and borked his knee, so we're not sure if we can go or not. Hopefully we'll still be able to.
* Next weekend, February 15-17, I will be at ConDFW in Dallas, Texas. Jo Walton is the guest of honor.
* If you're looking for a paperback copy of The Cloud Roads, there's a few used/nearly new ones available on Abe Books.
* Also, if you read The Cloud Roads from your public library and they haven't gotten The Serpent Sea or The Siren Depths yet, you may need to request that the library get them. Most libraries will have a little form you can fill out, either at the desk or online, or you can ask the librarian. The last two books weren't reviewed in Library Journal, and The Siren Depths wasn't reviewed by Publishers Weekly either, so while lots and lots of libraries got The Cloud Roads, very few got the other two books. Even if the library can't order them, it may be able to borrow them from another library so you can read them.
* The Con or Bust Fundraiser auction starts tomorrow, February 9. Con or Bust helps people of color/non-white people attend SFF conventions. There are now tons of cool fun things to bid on. Signed books, ARCs, role-playing games, pretty knitted things, baked goods, jewelry, critiques, etc. I've entered Signed copies of the three Books of the Raksura in trade paperback: The Cloud Roads, The Serpent Sea, and The Siren Depths Go forth and bid (tomorrow, February 9, when the auction starts!)
Have a lovely Doctor Who vid for the weekend: Tenth Doctor: The Musical
* Next weekend, February 15-17, I will be at ConDFW in Dallas, Texas. Jo Walton is the guest of honor.
* If you're looking for a paperback copy of The Cloud Roads, there's a few used/nearly new ones available on Abe Books.
* Also, if you read The Cloud Roads from your public library and they haven't gotten The Serpent Sea or The Siren Depths yet, you may need to request that the library get them. Most libraries will have a little form you can fill out, either at the desk or online, or you can ask the librarian. The last two books weren't reviewed in Library Journal, and The Siren Depths wasn't reviewed by Publishers Weekly either, so while lots and lots of libraries got The Cloud Roads, very few got the other two books. Even if the library can't order them, it may be able to borrow them from another library so you can read them.
* The Con or Bust Fundraiser auction starts tomorrow, February 9. Con or Bust helps people of color/non-white people attend SFF conventions. There are now tons of cool fun things to bid on. Signed books, ARCs, role-playing games, pretty knitted things, baked goods, jewelry, critiques, etc. I've entered Signed copies of the three Books of the Raksura in trade paperback: The Cloud Roads, The Serpent Sea, and The Siren Depths Go forth and bid (tomorrow, February 9, when the auction starts!)
Have a lovely Doctor Who vid for the weekend: Tenth Doctor: The Musical
February 7, 2013
Many Things
* If you missed it yesterday, I posted a new short story to the Three Worlds Compendium: Trading Lesson Sunset Water comes to Indigo Cloud to trade.
* There is a GoodReads Giveaway for three Arcs of Emilie and the Hollow World (which is also available for preorder in paperback and ebook, and will be out April 2.)
* There is a great article on the Raksura books on Bohemia Reads.
* Review Barn: a review of The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells and The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
Book recs:
* There's a new epic fantasy out by Robert V.S. Redick: The Night of the Swarm, the fourth book of the Chathrand Voyage Quartet the story has at its heart a bunch of strong, smart, female characters who are not in orbit around men.
* Juliet E. McKenna's The Swordsman's Oath is now out in ebook.
* Marianne de Pierres' YA series Night Creatures will now be available in the US (it was out first in Australia and NZ).
* There is a GoodReads Giveaway for three Arcs of Emilie and the Hollow World (which is also available for preorder in paperback and ebook, and will be out April 2.)
* There is a great article on the Raksura books on Bohemia Reads.
* Review Barn: a review of The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells and The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
Book recs:
* There's a new epic fantasy out by Robert V.S. Redick: The Night of the Swarm, the fourth book of the Chathrand Voyage Quartet the story has at its heart a bunch of strong, smart, female characters who are not in orbit around men.
* Juliet E. McKenna's The Swordsman's Oath is now out in ebook.
* Marianne de Pierres' YA series Night Creatures will now be available in the US (it was out first in Australia and NZ).
February 6, 2013
New Story on Web Site
Just posted a new short story to the Three Worlds Compendium:
Trading Lesson Sunset Water comes to Indigo Cloud to trade.
Trading Lesson Sunset Water comes to Indigo Cloud to trade.
February 4, 2013
News:* I'm working on a short Raksura story to put on my ...
News:
* I'm working on a short Raksura story to put on my web site, sparked by a couple of suggestions in blog comments.
* I'm planning to release the ebook of The Death of the Necromancer on February 19.
* And the Arcs of Emilie and the Hollow World showed up in the Strange Chemistry offices:
***
The Indiegogo for the Oglala Lakota Healthy Start Program for Pine Ridge Reservation is open again! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/268593 Please share.
***
I had fun with the Pulp-o-Mizer and the Books of the Raksura
***
links:
* The Revenge of Margaret Brundage, 'The Queen of the Pulps'
* You, Too, Can Make It Work: Teaching Tips from Tim Gunn
* Timbuktu's art of saving its manuscripts
* Book rec: The Crow God's Girl by Patrice Sarath is available in ebook again on Smashwords. In this standalone novel of the Gordath Wood series by Patrice Sarath, a 21st century teen navigates the dangers of a treacherous fantasy world.
* I'm working on a short Raksura story to put on my web site, sparked by a couple of suggestions in blog comments.
* I'm planning to release the ebook of The Death of the Necromancer on February 19.
* And the Arcs of Emilie and the Hollow World showed up in the Strange Chemistry offices:
***
The Indiegogo for the Oglala Lakota Healthy Start Program for Pine Ridge Reservation is open again! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/268593 Please share.
***
I had fun with the Pulp-o-Mizer and the Books of the Raksura
***
links:
* The Revenge of Margaret Brundage, 'The Queen of the Pulps'
* You, Too, Can Make It Work: Teaching Tips from Tim Gunn
* Timbuktu's art of saving its manuscripts
* Book rec: The Crow God's Girl by Patrice Sarath is available in ebook again on Smashwords. In this standalone novel of the Gordath Wood series by Patrice Sarath, a 21st century teen navigates the dangers of a treacherous fantasy world.
February 1, 2013
Friday Blues
I think it's going to be one of those Fridays.
I finally remembered the other thing I was going to post but forgot to:
I added the Raksura from The Siren Depths to the List of Known Raksura in the Three Worlds Compendium
Does anyone have any suggestions for more extras I could add to the Compendium?
Links:
* Young Adult Library Services Association: The 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults List is out.
* The Other Half of the Sky Anthology has its own website now.
I finally remembered the other thing I was going to post but forgot to:
I added the Raksura from The Siren Depths to the List of Known Raksura in the Three Worlds Compendium
Does anyone have any suggestions for more extras I could add to the Compendium?
Links:
* Young Adult Library Services Association: The 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults List is out.
* The Other Half of the Sky Anthology has its own website now.
January 31, 2013
Yesterday turned out a little more stressful than I expec...
Yesterday turned out a little more stressful than I expected. In the morning, the foundation guy came because we've been having issues with interior wall cracking. All houses here have cracks because of the soil, but cracks were starting to form in a more scary way around the guest room windows (like the windows were planning to fall out) and there was a low spot in the floor in the middle of the upstairs that has been getting steadily worse. With the drought we had a couple of summers ago (when the whole state was on fire and most of Bastrop burned down) a lot of people I know were having foundation issues, so I decided to go ahead and get it looked at.
The result was actually reassuring. The low spot is actually a piece of badly installed subfloor that can be easily corrected whenever the carpet gets torn up. The foundation problem is normal for a 46 year old house on this soil, and can be corrected with some digging and piers inserted around one side and the back of the house. No floors or anything need to be torn up inside. It'll still be expensive, in the 1000s of dollars expensive, but not nearly as expensive as it could be.
(Relevant to this, here's a link The Financial Reality of a Genre Novelist. Basically, if you were ever considering buying one of my reprint ebooks, now would be a good time.)
Then in the afternoon the heating and cooling guys came for the heater's annual checkup. They were replacing a couple of small parts, then they found a gas leak in the attic. Not sure how long it's been there. The attic is vented, so it could possibly have been there for a very long time. It might still be there, because one of the guys couldn't smell it. The other apparently had Gus from Psych's super-sniffer, and convinced him that they should test for leaks, for which I am extremely grateful.
After they left, I ate a bowl of chocolate cake batter. Now I'm waiting for my foundation estimate.
Links:
* American Indian Youth Literature Award List
* Book View Cafe: His Majesty's Elephant by Judith Tarr, now in ebook!
* The Lorem Ipsum Bookstore Fundraiser
* On David Anthony Durham's blog: No Return by Zachary Jernigan I also blurbed this book, and I highly recommend it.
Meant to link to this to: A short CBS news video about a man who risked his life to save someone who fell in front of a subway. Seriously, holy crap this guy was brave.
The result was actually reassuring. The low spot is actually a piece of badly installed subfloor that can be easily corrected whenever the carpet gets torn up. The foundation problem is normal for a 46 year old house on this soil, and can be corrected with some digging and piers inserted around one side and the back of the house. No floors or anything need to be torn up inside. It'll still be expensive, in the 1000s of dollars expensive, but not nearly as expensive as it could be.
(Relevant to this, here's a link The Financial Reality of a Genre Novelist. Basically, if you were ever considering buying one of my reprint ebooks, now would be a good time.)
Then in the afternoon the heating and cooling guys came for the heater's annual checkup. They were replacing a couple of small parts, then they found a gas leak in the attic. Not sure how long it's been there. The attic is vented, so it could possibly have been there for a very long time. It might still be there, because one of the guys couldn't smell it. The other apparently had Gus from Psych's super-sniffer, and convinced him that they should test for leaks, for which I am extremely grateful.
After they left, I ate a bowl of chocolate cake batter. Now I'm waiting for my foundation estimate.
Links:
* American Indian Youth Literature Award List
* Book View Cafe: His Majesty's Elephant by Judith Tarr, now in ebook!
* The Lorem Ipsum Bookstore Fundraiser
* On David Anthony Durham's blog: No Return by Zachary Jernigan I also blurbed this book, and I highly recommend it.
Meant to link to this to: A short CBS news video about a man who risked his life to save someone who fell in front of a subway. Seriously, holy crap this guy was brave.
January 30, 2013
We're having our house foundation looked at today, becaus...
We're having our house foundation looked at today, because of some new scary cracking around the upstairs windows. This area specializes in wet clay soil, so scary cracking is normal, but this cracking is a little too scary. But he's already been reassuring about the dip in the middle of the second floor, which is actually caused by a badly installed piece of subfloor, and not the house sinking.
If you missed it, I added another old story to my web site. It's Archeology 101, a short SG-1 story which was written for Stargate Magazine #8, in 2006.
***
New Statesman: Take Back The Net: it's time to end the culture of online misogyny
Peerbackers: The World SF Travel Fund To bring over Csilla Kleinheincz, from Hungary; and Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, from The Netherlands, to the 2013 World Fantasy Convention.
ALA: American Library Association announces 2013 youth media award winners
Cracked: Six Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person
If you missed it, I added another old story to my web site. It's Archeology 101, a short SG-1 story which was written for Stargate Magazine #8, in 2006.
***
New Statesman: Take Back The Net: it's time to end the culture of online misogyny
Peerbackers: The World SF Travel Fund To bring over Csilla Kleinheincz, from Hungary; and Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, from The Netherlands, to the 2013 World Fantasy Convention.
ALA: American Library Association announces 2013 youth media award winners
Cracked: Six Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person
January 29, 2013
Just a couple of links
We're supposed to get violent thunderstorms today, so I'm glad I went to aerobics and got to the grocery store before any of that started. Yesterday I finished proofing the text of The Death of the Necromancer. I'm hoping to be able to release the ebook on February 19.
I think for dinner tonight it will be skirt steak tacos.
pentapus
did some excellent chibi icons of Moon and Jade and then Moon and Chime in groundling form.
On my tumblr I posted my new author photo (not the film noir one, but from that same photo shoot).
And a re-post from 2011: Frances Marion, the most famous woman you've never heard of
I think for dinner tonight it will be skirt steak tacos.
pentapus
did some excellent chibi icons of Moon and Jade and then Moon and Chime in groundling form.On my tumblr I posted my new author photo (not the film noir one, but from that same photo shoot).
And a re-post from 2011: Frances Marion, the most famous woman you've never heard of
January 28, 2013
Monday Links
I feel like I'm forgetting something. I'm sure I'll remember it as soon as I post this.
I added another old story to my web site. It's Archeology 101, a short SG-1 story which was written for Stargate Magazine #8, in 2006.
Katie Cowden, who is doing my new author photo, posted this film noir style photo of me for her 52 Mondays project.
***
* Nnedi Okorafor: Worldreader and the Girl with the Magic Hands
My story is available for purchase on Amazon for $2.99. The proceeds go directly to Worldreader. They also have the book available to readers in Africa and India through a phone app they've created.
* I've put up a set of the Books of the Raksura for the Con-or-Bust auction. The auction starts February 9.
* Wired: Jonathan Coulton Explains How Glee Ripped Off His Cover Song — And Why He’s Not Alone
* Black Gate: Kiini Ibura Salaam on Advice Received in the Bathroom from Octavia Butler, Selling Books at the Green Market, and Holding Five Jobs When Life Only Has Room for Two: An Audio Interview by Emily Mah
* George Takei: An Unsung Hero How a Japanese Diplomat, and one of my personal heroes, Saved 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust
* BBC News: Victims of Nazi anatomists named
I added another old story to my web site. It's Archeology 101, a short SG-1 story which was written for Stargate Magazine #8, in 2006.
Katie Cowden, who is doing my new author photo, posted this film noir style photo of me for her 52 Mondays project.
***
* Nnedi Okorafor: Worldreader and the Girl with the Magic Hands
My story is available for purchase on Amazon for $2.99. The proceeds go directly to Worldreader. They also have the book available to readers in Africa and India through a phone app they've created.
* I've put up a set of the Books of the Raksura for the Con-or-Bust auction. The auction starts February 9.
* Wired: Jonathan Coulton Explains How Glee Ripped Off His Cover Song — And Why He’s Not Alone
* Black Gate: Kiini Ibura Salaam on Advice Received in the Bathroom from Octavia Butler, Selling Books at the Green Market, and Holding Five Jobs When Life Only Has Room for Two: An Audio Interview by Emily Mah
* George Takei: An Unsung Hero How a Japanese Diplomat, and one of my personal heroes, Saved 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust
* BBC News: Victims of Nazi anatomists named
January 27, 2013
Had a very anxiety-ridden day yesterday, for no good reas...
Had a very anxiety-ridden day yesterday, for no good reason. Then late in the afternoon went to a party, met up with a friend, and went into downtown Bryan to take photos. There are a lot of old battered and restored, and partially restored buildings, so there are a lot of good backgrounds. Especially if you want to take film noir style photos. (Though at one point it was like, watch out for the train! And the fireants! And the machine making the hissing noise!)
We went into the lobby of the La Salle and asked if we could take photos, and they said, "Sure!" As we walked around downtown, we found group after group taking photos. It must have been a good day for it, or something. Anyway, we had a good time.
This is the view of the Carnegie Library from the La Salle
Once Katie the photographer sends them to me and we pick out which ones we like, I'll post them here.
We went into the lobby of the La Salle and asked if we could take photos, and they said, "Sure!" As we walked around downtown, we found group after group taking photos. It must have been a good day for it, or something. Anyway, we had a good time.
This is the view of the Carnegie Library from the La Salle
Once Katie the photographer sends them to me and we pick out which ones we like, I'll post them here.
