Martha Wells's Blog, page 159
April 19, 2012
Cover Art for The Siren Depths
Just got this today! This is the cover art for The Siren Depths, the third Raksura book, set after The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea. It's by Steve Argyle, the same artist who did The Serpent Sea art.
K.D. Wentworth
I just heard this morning that SF/F author K.D. Wentworth passed away yesterday from complications due to cervical cancer. Anyone who met her knows what a wonderful person and a wonderful writer she was.
She was an elementary school teacher for many years, had several novels out and was a Nebula finalist at least four times for her short fiction. She had just had a new novelet "Alien Land" in the last (Jan/Feb) issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. We hung out at Nebula awards in 1998, when my book The Death of the Necromancer and her story "Tall One" were on the ballot, and didn't win together.
www.kdwentworth.com.
***
I promised garden pictures today, and feeling now that life is really short, here they are:
That's tomatoes, squash, okra, eggplant, spinach, shallots, and carrots.
Tiny squash
Tiny tomatoes
Herb pots. That should be rosemary, oregano, basil, and cilantro.
The water feature with dwarf papyrus and baby bull rushes, and herbs sage, curry, and thyme.
and here's the pond.
And thanks so much again to everybody who posted reviews yesterday. I really, really appreciate it.
She was an elementary school teacher for many years, had several novels out and was a Nebula finalist at least four times for her short fiction. She had just had a new novelet "Alien Land" in the last (Jan/Feb) issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. We hung out at Nebula awards in 1998, when my book The Death of the Necromancer and her story "Tall One" were on the ballot, and didn't win together.
www.kdwentworth.com.
***
I promised garden pictures today, and feeling now that life is really short, here they are:
That's tomatoes, squash, okra, eggplant, spinach, shallots, and carrots.
Tiny squash
Tiny tomatoes
Herb pots. That should be rosemary, oregano, basil, and cilantro.
The water feature with dwarf papyrus and baby bull rushes, and herbs sage, curry, and thyme.
and here's the pond.
And thanks so much again to everybody who posted reviews yesterday. I really, really appreciate it.
April 18, 2012
I feel like I've been in one of those stupid doom spirals...
I feel like I've been in one of those stupid doom spirals over the past couple of weeks. The ones where you have a few things go wrong in various ways, and it rattles you, and you start making mistakes and doing dumb things to augment the usual crap the universe throws at you, and it just feels like everything is going wrong. It seems to have slowed down a little this week so far :knock on wood:
I actually have tiny little proto-tomatoes and proto-squashes forming in my garden. I need to take pictures.
***
I'm in an SF Signal Mind Meld What Places Inspire Your Worldbuilding?
Remember the Book Fair for Ballou SR High School Library. There's a lot of manga and paperback YA on the list for 7.95 and 8.95. If you can only afford to contribute one book, that's still one book that is going to be read by a lot of kids.
***
Begging: I wanted to ask, if you've read The Serpent Sea (or The Cloud Roads) please consider leaving a review on Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or GoodReads, or LibraryThing. (I don't read the reviews, so if it's a bad review I won't see it.) On Amazon especially, it's the number of reviews that help and can actually cause the book to show up on more searches. So if you have a chance to do that, I'd really appreciate it. The difference between the sales of a normal midlist book (not a bestseller) being considered a success or being considered a failure can be incredibly small, as in around 25 copies small. So any little bit helps. And if you've already left a review somewhere, I appreciate you a lot.
Also, I've added some more buy links to the online ordering page for my website for the trade paperbacks and ebooks, including Waterstones UK and Whitcoulls NZ and WHSmith, so if you were having trouble finding the books somewhere with cheaper shipping, you might check those out.
I actually have tiny little proto-tomatoes and proto-squashes forming in my garden. I need to take pictures.
***
I'm in an SF Signal Mind Meld What Places Inspire Your Worldbuilding?
Remember the Book Fair for Ballou SR High School Library. There's a lot of manga and paperback YA on the list for 7.95 and 8.95. If you can only afford to contribute one book, that's still one book that is going to be read by a lot of kids.
***
Begging: I wanted to ask, if you've read The Serpent Sea (or The Cloud Roads) please consider leaving a review on Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or GoodReads, or LibraryThing. (I don't read the reviews, so if it's a bad review I won't see it.) On Amazon especially, it's the number of reviews that help and can actually cause the book to show up on more searches. So if you have a chance to do that, I'd really appreciate it. The difference between the sales of a normal midlist book (not a bestseller) being considered a success or being considered a failure can be incredibly small, as in around 25 copies small. So any little bit helps. And if you've already left a review somewhere, I appreciate you a lot.
Also, I've added some more buy links to the online ordering page for my website for the trade paperbacks and ebooks, including Waterstones UK and Whitcoulls NZ and WHSmith, so if you were having trouble finding the books somewhere with cheaper shipping, you might check those out.
April 17, 2012
I just got back from the dentist for my non-insured filli...
I just got back from the dentist for my non-insured filling replacement, so my tongue is still numb.
***
Nalo Hopkinson has a new book out today: The Chaos! It's a fantasy YA and is at B&N here.
Neat Thing: Felicia Day recommended Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series on the Flog yesterday! It's here on YouTube.
Mur Lafferty: Dear Daughter
You should know that you are hated.
I’m not sure why they hate you. You didn’t do anything to them. You don your princess crown, take up your sword, and pretend at Pokemon. You read your books and you learn how to draw comics and dragons and you play piano and practice kung fu. You delight in pretty dresses and weaponry. You love me when I nurture you as a mom, train with you as a warrior, and play video games and card games with you.
***
Nalo Hopkinson has a new book out today: The Chaos! It's a fantasy YA and is at B&N here.
Neat Thing: Felicia Day recommended Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series on the Flog yesterday! It's here on YouTube.
Mur Lafferty: Dear Daughter
You should know that you are hated.
I’m not sure why they hate you. You didn’t do anything to them. You don your princess crown, take up your sword, and pretend at Pokemon. You read your books and you learn how to draw comics and dragons and you play piano and practice kung fu. You delight in pretty dresses and weaponry. You love me when I nurture you as a mom, train with you as a warrior, and play video games and card games with you.
April 16, 2012
GuysLitWire Book Fair For Ballou High School
The GuysLitWire review blog is doing their Book Fair for Ballou SR High School:
Between our spring book fair and a small holiday fair last November we have helped Ballou move from a library that had less than one book for each of its 1,200 students at the beginning of 2011 to a ratio now of two books per student. While this is an impressive achievement and something we are quite proud of, the American Library Association advocates ELEVEN books for each student. It's obvious that Ballou is still operating at a serious literary deficit and because of that we have decided to commit ourselves to the long haul and stay with this school library until they have everything they need.
The link to the library's wish list at Powell's Books and the address for the school library is in the post. There are all kinds of books on the list, fiction, nonfiction, SF/F, mystery, romance, YA, graphic novels, everything.
I can't afford to donate this time, so I'd really appreciate anyone who does or who passes the word along.
Between our spring book fair and a small holiday fair last November we have helped Ballou move from a library that had less than one book for each of its 1,200 students at the beginning of 2011 to a ratio now of two books per student. While this is an impressive achievement and something we are quite proud of, the American Library Association advocates ELEVEN books for each student. It's obvious that Ballou is still operating at a serious literary deficit and because of that we have decided to commit ourselves to the long haul and stay with this school library until they have everything they need.
The link to the library's wish list at Powell's Books and the address for the school library is in the post. There are all kinds of books on the list, fiction, nonfiction, SF/F, mystery, romance, YA, graphic novels, everything.
I can't afford to donate this time, so I'd really appreciate anyone who does or who passes the word along.
April 15, 2012
Sunday
Someone told me this on Facebook and I wanted to share it: My younger grandson (6) was looking at The Cloud Roads cover & assumed Moon was a monster. We had a good talk about how you can have wings, scales, & a tail & still be a perfectly good guy.
There must have been more things going on in town this weekend than just the Chili cookoff, because some places were weirdly deserted and others weirdly crowded. We went to the Texas Roadhouse to eat and even before 5:00 it already looked like it had been attacked by pirates. Then we rented the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy movie with Gary Oldman, and it was excellent. It's very quiet and very complicated, but gripping, and you have to watch it carefully to follow it, if you haven't read the book or seen the much older miniseries.
***
I have a story in a kickstarter which is in its last hours countdown: Tales of the Emerald Serpent Shared World Anthology. We made the amount for the first anthology, but it doesn't look like we'll make enough for a second one.
Night Shade Books is still having a 50% off sale of all their books until April 19. There is a four book minimum. Their catalog has tons of great books, like The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea by me, the Foglios' Agatha H and the Airship City and Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess, God's War and Infidel by Kameron Hurley, and books by Jay Lake, Joe Lansdale, Glen Cook, Stina Leicht, J.M. McDermott, Elizabeth Bear, Charles Saunders, Catherynne M. Valente, and a bunch of others.
Here's another book kickstarter: THE WARLOCK'S CURSE: #3 in the Veneficas Americana series by M.K. Hobson.
There must have been more things going on in town this weekend than just the Chili cookoff, because some places were weirdly deserted and others weirdly crowded. We went to the Texas Roadhouse to eat and even before 5:00 it already looked like it had been attacked by pirates. Then we rented the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy movie with Gary Oldman, and it was excellent. It's very quiet and very complicated, but gripping, and you have to watch it carefully to follow it, if you haven't read the book or seen the much older miniseries.
***
I have a story in a kickstarter which is in its last hours countdown: Tales of the Emerald Serpent Shared World Anthology. We made the amount for the first anthology, but it doesn't look like we'll make enough for a second one.
Night Shade Books is still having a 50% off sale of all their books until April 19. There is a four book minimum. Their catalog has tons of great books, like The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea by me, the Foglios' Agatha H and the Airship City and Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess, God's War and Infidel by Kameron Hurley, and books by Jay Lake, Joe Lansdale, Glen Cook, Stina Leicht, J.M. McDermott, Elizabeth Bear, Charles Saunders, Catherynne M. Valente, and a bunch of others.
Here's another book kickstarter: THE WARLOCK'S CURSE: #3 in the Veneficas Americana series by M.K. Hobson.
April 12, 2012
I have a dental appointment this morning so this is kind ...
I have a dental appointment this morning so this is kind of a quickie post.
Some things:
Night Shade Books is having a 50% off sale of all their books There is a four book minimum. Their catalog has tons of great books, like The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea by me, the Foglios' Agatha H and the Airship City and Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess, God's War and Infidel by Kameron Hurley, and books by Jay Lake, Joe Lansdale, Glen Cook, Stina Leicht, J.M. McDermott, Elizabeth Bear, Charles Saunders, Catherynne M. Valente, and a bunch of others.
Jim Hines has a fundraiser for Rape Crisis Centers. The more donations recorded, the more books will be added to the drawing for prizes.
Some things:
Night Shade Books is having a 50% off sale of all their books There is a four book minimum. Their catalog has tons of great books, like The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea by me, the Foglios' Agatha H and the Airship City and Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess, God's War and Infidel by Kameron Hurley, and books by Jay Lake, Joe Lansdale, Glen Cook, Stina Leicht, J.M. McDermott, Elizabeth Bear, Charles Saunders, Catherynne M. Valente, and a bunch of others.
Jim Hines has a fundraiser for Rape Crisis Centers. The more donations recorded, the more books will be added to the drawing for prizes.
April 11, 2012
I Have Links
I don't know why I'm so tired this morning. It's not like I ran a marathon or dug ditches yesterday. I wrote a bunch of words and did laundry and took the recycling in and dropped off the last of the signed tax forms and went to the grocery store. There's no heavy lifting in there. I need to wake up. I will make myself go to aerobics class whether I like it or not.
links:
The second episode of Felicia Day's show The Flog is up: The Flog: Streets of Rage
Anne R. Allen: 12 Myths About Being a Writer
2) Genre fiction is easy to write
People will tell you to start out with something "easy" like a romance/mystery/kid's book. Don't even try. If you don't love a genre and read it voraciously, you'll never write it well enough to publish.
Fantasy Mistressworks is looking for reviews of fantasy novels by women published before 2000.
Kate Elliott: The Narrative of Women in Fear and Pain
We're constantly being asked to identify with inflicting pain on others.
Of course we are. You don't just take over the other person's life and body; you also take their voice, their dreams, their perspective. You take their right to speak and leave them with only the power to suffer, a suffering that can be lifted from them by death or by rescue but always by an agency outside themselves. You take their eyes and turn them into your eyes, your gaze, your way of looking at the world. When such stories are told in this way, they reinforce the perspective of the person who is watching the voiceless have no voice.
links:
The second episode of Felicia Day's show The Flog is up: The Flog: Streets of Rage
Anne R. Allen: 12 Myths About Being a Writer
2) Genre fiction is easy to write
People will tell you to start out with something "easy" like a romance/mystery/kid's book. Don't even try. If you don't love a genre and read it voraciously, you'll never write it well enough to publish.
Fantasy Mistressworks is looking for reviews of fantasy novels by women published before 2000.
Kate Elliott: The Narrative of Women in Fear and Pain
We're constantly being asked to identify with inflicting pain on others.
Of course we are. You don't just take over the other person's life and body; you also take their voice, their dreams, their perspective. You take their right to speak and leave them with only the power to suffer, a suffering that can be lifted from them by death or by rescue but always by an agency outside themselves. You take their eyes and turn them into your eyes, your gaze, your way of looking at the world. When such stories are told in this way, they reinforce the perspective of the person who is watching the voiceless have no voice.
April 10, 2012
Book Recs
Books coming out soon, or just out:
The Shape of Desire by Sharon Shinn. It's a modern day story of a woman who loves a shapeshifter, but becomes afraid that he has transformed into something that is attacking people. Publishers Weekly said Shinn's frequent comparisons of humans and animals are subtle, quietly building the question of whether the true monsters are those who change shape or humans with the capacity to hurt those they love.
The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin. This is her new fantasy novel that should be out in May. PW said Jemisin's gripping series launch immerses readers in an unfamiliar but enthralling world as well as a rousing political and supernatural adventure.
The Straits of Galahesh by Bradley Beaulieu. This is a secondary world fantasy, sequel to The Winds of Khalakovo.
Blue Magic by A.M. Dellamonica. This is her second book, the sequel to Indigo Springs.
Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal. This is a sequel to Shades of Milk and Honey, set in a magical version of Regency England.
Casket of Souls by Lynn Flewelling. This is a new fantasy in the Nightrunners series.
Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis. This is the sequel to Kat, Incorrigible. These are also set in Regency England with magic, but with a young girl heroine who kicks serious ass. The covers look like children's books (and technically they are children's books) but they're written so that adults can enjoy them too.
Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch. The sequel to Rivers of London/Midnight Riot, and Moon over Soho. Set in modern-day London, about wizards who work for Scotland Yard. This series is funny, it's a suspenseful mystery, it's an original take on urban fantasy.
Chicks Dig Comics In Chicks Dig Comics, editors Lynne M. Thomas (Hugo-Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords) and Sigrid Ellis bring together essays by award-winning writers and artists who celebrate the comics medium and its creators, and who examine the characters and series that they love.
Last Breath by Rachel Caine. The latest in the Morganville Vampires series.
The Shape of Desire by Sharon Shinn. It's a modern day story of a woman who loves a shapeshifter, but becomes afraid that he has transformed into something that is attacking people. Publishers Weekly said Shinn's frequent comparisons of humans and animals are subtle, quietly building the question of whether the true monsters are those who change shape or humans with the capacity to hurt those they love.
The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin. This is her new fantasy novel that should be out in May. PW said Jemisin's gripping series launch immerses readers in an unfamiliar but enthralling world as well as a rousing political and supernatural adventure.
The Straits of Galahesh by Bradley Beaulieu. This is a secondary world fantasy, sequel to The Winds of Khalakovo.
Blue Magic by A.M. Dellamonica. This is her second book, the sequel to Indigo Springs.
Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal. This is a sequel to Shades of Milk and Honey, set in a magical version of Regency England.
Casket of Souls by Lynn Flewelling. This is a new fantasy in the Nightrunners series.
Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis. This is the sequel to Kat, Incorrigible. These are also set in Regency England with magic, but with a young girl heroine who kicks serious ass. The covers look like children's books (and technically they are children's books) but they're written so that adults can enjoy them too.
Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch. The sequel to Rivers of London/Midnight Riot, and Moon over Soho. Set in modern-day London, about wizards who work for Scotland Yard. This series is funny, it's a suspenseful mystery, it's an original take on urban fantasy.
Chicks Dig Comics In Chicks Dig Comics, editors Lynne M. Thomas (Hugo-Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords) and Sigrid Ellis bring together essays by award-winning writers and artists who celebrate the comics medium and its creators, and who examine the characters and series that they love.
Last Breath by Rachel Caine. The latest in the Morganville Vampires series.
April 9, 2012
Podcast and Interviews
I'm beginning to worry about my laptop overheating. It's about a year past the warranty, which is about when they usually conk out on me. I'm hoping to be able to afford one this month, which means backburnering my attempt to get new glasses.
There's a lot of good new books coming out, so I'm going to try to do a book rec post tomorrow.
***
I have a post on Fantasy Cafe's Women in SF/F Month: Women in SF&F Month: Martha Wells It's about the Raksura, their culture and the gender role reversal.
I was also interviewed on the /slashreport podcast this Sunday, but that link isn't coming up right now. For future reference, it's slashreport episode 206 Martha Wells
***
I'm involved in a kickstarter which only has around 9 days left to go: Tales of the Emerald Serpent Shared World Anthology. You can buy in at $5.00 for an ebook copy of the anthology, but some of the more expensive buy-ins have cool rewards. Like for $140.00 you get all the previous rewards listed, plus Juliet McKenna will make you a cross-stitch smart phone cover with an image from the anthology's art.
I posted a teaser snippet of my story here
***
Past couple of interviews:
Interview at the Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review Blog: Martha Wells, author of The Serpent Sea March 6, 2012
Interview by Chuck Wendig at the Terrible Minds Blog: Martha Wells: the Terrible Minds Interview February 9, 2012
There's a lot of good new books coming out, so I'm going to try to do a book rec post tomorrow.
***
I have a post on Fantasy Cafe's Women in SF/F Month: Women in SF&F Month: Martha Wells It's about the Raksura, their culture and the gender role reversal.
I was also interviewed on the /slashreport podcast this Sunday, but that link isn't coming up right now. For future reference, it's slashreport episode 206 Martha Wells
***
I'm involved in a kickstarter which only has around 9 days left to go: Tales of the Emerald Serpent Shared World Anthology. You can buy in at $5.00 for an ebook copy of the anthology, but some of the more expensive buy-ins have cool rewards. Like for $140.00 you get all the previous rewards listed, plus Juliet McKenna will make you a cross-stitch smart phone cover with an image from the anthology's art.
I posted a teaser snippet of my story here
***
Past couple of interviews:
Interview at the Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review Blog: Martha Wells, author of The Serpent Sea March 6, 2012
Interview by Chuck Wendig at the Terrible Minds Blog: Martha Wells: the Terrible Minds Interview February 9, 2012
