Martha Wells's Blog, page 182
June 15, 2011
Went to my first ever physical therapy appointment yester...
Went to my first ever physical therapy appointment yesterday. It was interesting; it's basically a big gym with massage tables and treatment rooms along the sides. It looked a lot more fun than I was expecting and it was a lot more upbeat environment than most sections of the hospital.
One fun thing that I found out is that while I'm pretty much in the low middling end of strength and flexibility for my aerobics class, the therapist said I'm pretty good for a normal person. I aced all the tests where they have you hold your leg in an awkward position and then they try to force it down. (For someone who was labelled as a weak little girl for most of her life, that's kind of a big deal.) At one point she was waving my leg around and asking if I was this flexible all over, and I was thinking well, yeah, but this is not that flexible compared to the other people I work out with.
The good news is I got a diagnosis that was pretty good. My left leg is slightly curved from the knee down, and it's causing my foot to turn in in a weird way, which is pulling the knee over to the right side. (Your kneecap should actually be able to move around from side to side, diagonally, etc, which my right one (the one with patellar tendonitis) can do fine. My left kneecap sits to the right, though you can still push it if you try.) I think when I hurt my knee last summer, it made it less able to resist the pull to the right, which is why it's been hurting. I got a list of exercises to do, and need to buy new shoes with pronation control for aerobics, though we compromised on letting me keep my barefoot shoes for walking, since they do keep my feet from hurting.
The bad news is, I can't afford any more regular appointments. Even with insurance, they would be $186.00 a pop until I meet the deductible, and the deductible is far, far away. I have a re-evaluation appointment scheduled for three weeks from now, and hopefully I'll be pain-free or pain managed by that point, because otherwise I can't afford much more than this.
I've got some errands this morning, so I'll do another answering questions post tomorrow.
Links:
PW: There will be an auction to help with L.A. Banks' medical expenses
CoolVibe: Superconductor a flying island that reminds me of The Cloud Roads
Evil Sunday: Paris' 19th Century Hell's Cafe Now this looks like something from Ile-Rien.
Writer Beware: Book Marketing Methods that Don't Work
Galveston.com: Galveston's Juneteenth Events Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Galveston Island and the Juneteenth Coalition remember this holiday with a series of celebrations held June 11 - June 18.
One fun thing that I found out is that while I'm pretty much in the low middling end of strength and flexibility for my aerobics class, the therapist said I'm pretty good for a normal person. I aced all the tests where they have you hold your leg in an awkward position and then they try to force it down. (For someone who was labelled as a weak little girl for most of her life, that's kind of a big deal.) At one point she was waving my leg around and asking if I was this flexible all over, and I was thinking well, yeah, but this is not that flexible compared to the other people I work out with.
The good news is I got a diagnosis that was pretty good. My left leg is slightly curved from the knee down, and it's causing my foot to turn in in a weird way, which is pulling the knee over to the right side. (Your kneecap should actually be able to move around from side to side, diagonally, etc, which my right one (the one with patellar tendonitis) can do fine. My left kneecap sits to the right, though you can still push it if you try.) I think when I hurt my knee last summer, it made it less able to resist the pull to the right, which is why it's been hurting. I got a list of exercises to do, and need to buy new shoes with pronation control for aerobics, though we compromised on letting me keep my barefoot shoes for walking, since they do keep my feet from hurting.
The bad news is, I can't afford any more regular appointments. Even with insurance, they would be $186.00 a pop until I meet the deductible, and the deductible is far, far away. I have a re-evaluation appointment scheduled for three weeks from now, and hopefully I'll be pain-free or pain managed by that point, because otherwise I can't afford much more than this.
I've got some errands this morning, so I'll do another answering questions post tomorrow.
Links:
PW: There will be an auction to help with L.A. Banks' medical expenses
CoolVibe: Superconductor a flying island that reminds me of The Cloud Roads
Evil Sunday: Paris' 19th Century Hell's Cafe Now this looks like something from Ile-Rien.
Writer Beware: Book Marketing Methods that Don't Work
Galveston.com: Galveston's Juneteenth Events Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Galveston Island and the Juneteenth Coalition remember this holiday with a series of celebrations held June 11 - June 18.
Published on June 15, 2011 06:06
June 14, 2011
Answering Questions
First off,
yukinakid
wrote I was wondering if Cloud Roads is a stand alone or if there will be a series. =)
Yes, there's a second book, The Serpent Sea, which should be out from Night Shade next year. It starts a short while after The Cloud Roads ends. I don't know the exact release date yet, but I'll post it when I do. And I'm working on a third book, but the publisher hasn't bought it yet.
daisan
asked In light of the post you linked to a few days ago (fantasy genres) what is your advice to someone who wants to write epic fantasy? Since it's unlikely to be published, are we just wasting our time?
Epic fantasy is harder to publish right now (everything is harder to publish) but I don't think it's dying out. Epic fantasy has been popular for a long time, and with the Game of Thrones TV series and The Hobbit in production, it's not going out of style anytime soon. And writing something (like urban fantasy or paranormal romance) just because it's popular, can really backfire on you if the market changes before you finish the book. Or if you're writing something you don't care for just because you think it will be more likely to sell.
(And one thing that is changing the market is the popularity of YA fiction. As pointed out in the #yasaves discussion, YA is an age range, not a genre, and it encompasses every genre out there, including epic fantasy.)
The big thing is, you have to write what you really want to write, or there's no point in doing it. There are a lot of vanity press places that paint writing as a get rich quick scheme, and it isn't. I could make more money as the assistant manager of a McDonald's than I am as a professional writer right now, and I wouldn't face nearly as much rejection, bad reviews, and people telling me I suck.
Committing your time and energy to writing any kind of book is a risk. There are always a few people who beat the curve and become bestsellers or self-published kindle millionaires, but those are very few compared to the hundreds and hundreds of people who write professionally. So the only point in doing this is because you love it, and writing what you want to write, what you feel called upon to write, is part of that. And if you are happy with what you're writing, you aren't wasting your time, even if it never sells.
sorka42
also asked a question, but I'm going to answer that one tomorrow. I've got my first physical therapy appointment this morning so I'm a bit short on time.
Still taking writing questions on this post.
![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380451598i/2033940.gif)
Yes, there's a second book, The Serpent Sea, which should be out from Night Shade next year. It starts a short while after The Cloud Roads ends. I don't know the exact release date yet, but I'll post it when I do. And I'm working on a third book, but the publisher hasn't bought it yet.
![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380451598i/2033940.gif)
Epic fantasy is harder to publish right now (everything is harder to publish) but I don't think it's dying out. Epic fantasy has been popular for a long time, and with the Game of Thrones TV series and The Hobbit in production, it's not going out of style anytime soon. And writing something (like urban fantasy or paranormal romance) just because it's popular, can really backfire on you if the market changes before you finish the book. Or if you're writing something you don't care for just because you think it will be more likely to sell.
(And one thing that is changing the market is the popularity of YA fiction. As pointed out in the #yasaves discussion, YA is an age range, not a genre, and it encompasses every genre out there, including epic fantasy.)
The big thing is, you have to write what you really want to write, or there's no point in doing it. There are a lot of vanity press places that paint writing as a get rich quick scheme, and it isn't. I could make more money as the assistant manager of a McDonald's than I am as a professional writer right now, and I wouldn't face nearly as much rejection, bad reviews, and people telling me I suck.
Committing your time and energy to writing any kind of book is a risk. There are always a few people who beat the curve and become bestsellers or self-published kindle millionaires, but those are very few compared to the hundreds and hundreds of people who write professionally. So the only point in doing this is because you love it, and writing what you want to write, what you feel called upon to write, is part of that. And if you are happy with what you're writing, you aren't wasting your time, even if it never sells.
![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380451598i/2033940.gif)
Still taking writing questions on this post.
Published on June 14, 2011 06:08
June 13, 2011
Taking Writing Questions
Having one of those mornings where it's extremely difficult to get started. I think it's a combination of too much hot weather plus too much weekend.
I've got some new friended people lately (hi, new friended people!).
Taking writing questions again: Ask me questions about writing in general, about publishing in general, about The Cloud Roads, about whatever, and I'll try to make some coherent answers, either here or in a later post.
I've got some new friended people lately (hi, new friended people!).
Taking writing questions again: Ask me questions about writing in general, about publishing in general, about The Cloud Roads, about whatever, and I'll try to make some coherent answers, either here or in a later post.
Published on June 13, 2011 06:28
June 12, 2011
Having a good weekend. We went to eat again at the shish...
Having a good weekend. We went to eat again at the shish kabob place, and I had pomegranate stew and baba ganoush. Doctor Who was awesome.
quick links:
FB: Author L.A. Banks is gravely ill
It is with profound sadness that we have to inform you that our beloved sister and friend, Leslie Esdaile, ("L.A. Banks") is most gravely ill. She is facing an uphill battle in her struggle with serious illness. Please know that as Leslie needs all of her energy in this fight, she is absolutely not able to receive visitors, answer emails, texts or phone calls, or receive flowers. What she is able to receive is your continued prayers.
Also, Leslie's medical expenses are mounting at an astronomical rate. If you wish to assist Leslie, a fund has been established to help with these ever increasing expenses. The post has info about how to send donations.
Shimmerzine: Selling Fiction is Not For Wimps by Jay Lake
SF Signal: What's Missing From the Union of Urban and Epic Fantasy by Courtney Schafer
The Art of Pablo Palomeque
quick links:
FB: Author L.A. Banks is gravely ill
It is with profound sadness that we have to inform you that our beloved sister and friend, Leslie Esdaile, ("L.A. Banks") is most gravely ill. She is facing an uphill battle in her struggle with serious illness. Please know that as Leslie needs all of her energy in this fight, she is absolutely not able to receive visitors, answer emails, texts or phone calls, or receive flowers. What she is able to receive is your continued prayers.
Also, Leslie's medical expenses are mounting at an astronomical rate. If you wish to assist Leslie, a fund has been established to help with these ever increasing expenses. The post has info about how to send donations.
Shimmerzine: Selling Fiction is Not For Wimps by Jay Lake
SF Signal: What's Missing From the Union of Urban and Epic Fantasy by Courtney Schafer
The Art of Pablo Palomeque
Published on June 12, 2011 06:18
June 10, 2011
I have a friend coming in to stay this weekend, and a bun...
I have a friend coming in to stay this weekend, and a bunch of stuff to get through today, so here's some links for the weekend:
This is a subject I find particularly frustrating, and it's driven me out of a few online communities over the years: L.A. Noir: Crap is Not the Same as Stuff You Don't Like
Like pizza? Broccoli? Pegging your boyfriend? Okay. Whatever works for ya. It's all subjective. Your taste is yours and ain't nobody can tell you you're wrong.
Not that people won't try.
Malinda Lo: What I learned on the Diversity Tour
Last month I traveled across the country with Cindy Pon for our Diversity Tour, which made stops in San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, Boston, and New York. In each city we had panel discussions (along with several other local authors) at bookstores or libraries about diversity. I've been thinking back over the tour because I wanted to note down some of the things I learned from these discussions. It's not that often that I get to talk about these things in person, repeatedly. In fact, it hardly ever happens, so this was a pretty neat opportunity. Here are a few things I gleaned from the tour:
Black Gate: Goth Chick (International) News: Iranian Ghost Stories For Real
Publishers Weekly: Are Teen Novels Dark and Depraved — or Saving Lives?
Cox Gurdon's story failed to recognize "the good part of what literature does for everybody," said Jacob Lewis, co-founder and CEO of the teen literary site Figment. "Movies and books and TV all deal with millions of subjects that are sometimes uncomfortable to deal with. It's the way we deal with and introduce subjects into the consciousness.... We can use those resources in art and literature as ways of understanding them."
Sherman Alexie: Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood Alexie talks about the terrible abuse he suffered as a teenager, and how books were a lifeline for him.
Jeff VanderMeer: If You Were Here: The Top 30 All Time Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds
As some of you may know, I'm writing a nonfiction book for Victoria Blake's Underland Press entitled If You Lived Here: The Top 30 All Time Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds. That book now has a recommendation site where you can submit your own favorites, with your explanation, and perhaps even be quoted in the book. Victoria will also be contacting booksellers for their thoughts.
Cool Vibe art: Jungle Palace
This is a subject I find particularly frustrating, and it's driven me out of a few online communities over the years: L.A. Noir: Crap is Not the Same as Stuff You Don't Like
Like pizza? Broccoli? Pegging your boyfriend? Okay. Whatever works for ya. It's all subjective. Your taste is yours and ain't nobody can tell you you're wrong.
Not that people won't try.
Malinda Lo: What I learned on the Diversity Tour
Last month I traveled across the country with Cindy Pon for our Diversity Tour, which made stops in San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, Boston, and New York. In each city we had panel discussions (along with several other local authors) at bookstores or libraries about diversity. I've been thinking back over the tour because I wanted to note down some of the things I learned from these discussions. It's not that often that I get to talk about these things in person, repeatedly. In fact, it hardly ever happens, so this was a pretty neat opportunity. Here are a few things I gleaned from the tour:
Black Gate: Goth Chick (International) News: Iranian Ghost Stories For Real
Publishers Weekly: Are Teen Novels Dark and Depraved — or Saving Lives?
Cox Gurdon's story failed to recognize "the good part of what literature does for everybody," said Jacob Lewis, co-founder and CEO of the teen literary site Figment. "Movies and books and TV all deal with millions of subjects that are sometimes uncomfortable to deal with. It's the way we deal with and introduce subjects into the consciousness.... We can use those resources in art and literature as ways of understanding them."
Sherman Alexie: Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood Alexie talks about the terrible abuse he suffered as a teenager, and how books were a lifeline for him.
Jeff VanderMeer: If You Were Here: The Top 30 All Time Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds
As some of you may know, I'm writing a nonfiction book for Victoria Blake's Underland Press entitled If You Lived Here: The Top 30 All Time Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds. That book now has a recommendation site where you can submit your own favorites, with your explanation, and perhaps even be quoted in the book. Victoria will also be contacting booksellers for their thoughts.
Cool Vibe art: Jungle Palace
Published on June 10, 2011 05:20
June 9, 2011
I haven't been posting book recs lately because I haven't...
I haven't been posting book recs lately because I haven't had much time to read, haven't bought anything new in a while, and my last three library books were unsatisfying.
Here's a few books I'm looking forward to:
Cold Fire by Kate Elliot, second book in the Spiritwalker trilogy, there's magic, steampunk, and an ice-age locked Europe colonized by Africa.
Sup With the Devil by Barbara Hamilton/Barbara Hambly, next Abigail Adams mystery.
Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch
Plus links:
Jim Hines Genre Bashing Dumbassery
When you criticize a genre without really understanding that genre or recognizing it's range, you're probably going to come off as a dumbass. If your GBD score is high enough, you might even get a dedicated Twitter hashtag where thousands of people will chime in to explain exactly why you're full of crap.
Linda Nagata on The Wounded Man type of character (with Moon from The Cloud Roads) as an example.)
Here's a few books I'm looking forward to:
Cold Fire by Kate Elliot, second book in the Spiritwalker trilogy, there's magic, steampunk, and an ice-age locked Europe colonized by Africa.
Sup With the Devil by Barbara Hamilton/Barbara Hambly, next Abigail Adams mystery.
Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch
Plus links:
Jim Hines Genre Bashing Dumbassery
When you criticize a genre without really understanding that genre or recognizing it's range, you're probably going to come off as a dumbass. If your GBD score is high enough, you might even get a dedicated Twitter hashtag where thousands of people will chime in to explain exactly why you're full of crap.
Linda Nagata on The Wounded Man type of character (with Moon from The Cloud Roads) as an example.)
Published on June 09, 2011 06:48
June 8, 2011
I'm going to try outlining the rest of the book today. N...
I'm going to try outlining the rest of the book today. Normally I don't outline, or if I do it's only for a chapter or two. I usually like to wing it as I go along, and I feel like that helps keep the story spontaneous for me, and makes room for elements that I didn't know when I started but figure out along the way. On the opposite end of the spectrum are people like to do very detailed outlines, to the point where they're almost doing a prose story board for the book before they write it.
There are a lot of writing advice blogs and books that talk about how you should plot and outline and the right way and the wrong way etc. I think everybody writes differently and whatever produces a finished piece of work at the end of the process is the right way for you.
And I got super glue on my fingers this morning trying to fix a broken bottle stopper, go me.
If you didn't see my update yesterday, I have patellar tendonitis, which is much, much better than a lot of things I could have had. I don't have to stop aerobics but do have to go to physical therapy for three weeks, and take a lot of aleve for a while.
links:
Texas movie theater makes an example (and a PSA) of a texting audience member an article on the Alamo Drafthouse's PSAs, including an older one with Ann Richards.
There are a lot of writing advice blogs and books that talk about how you should plot and outline and the right way and the wrong way etc. I think everybody writes differently and whatever produces a finished piece of work at the end of the process is the right way for you.
And I got super glue on my fingers this morning trying to fix a broken bottle stopper, go me.
If you didn't see my update yesterday, I have patellar tendonitis, which is much, much better than a lot of things I could have had. I don't have to stop aerobics but do have to go to physical therapy for three weeks, and take a lot of aleve for a while.
links:
Texas movie theater makes an example (and a PSA) of a texting audience member an article on the Alamo Drafthouse's PSAs, including an older one with Ann Richards.
Published on June 08, 2011 05:51
June 7, 2011
Getting ready to go to the doctor this morning, to see ab...
Getting ready to go to the doctor this morning, to see about the pain I've been having in my knees. I'm really hoping it isn't arthritis, or anything else that requires expensive medication, because what there is of our insurance is not that great at paying for expensive medication. I'm also afraid he'll basically tell me to stop my aerobics classes, and I really don't want to do that.
The good news was that it rained last night, really rained. We had a brief rain on Sunday that looked impressive for a few minutes but didn't really get enough into the ground to water the potted plants. This time, the ground is actually damp this morning. I've been seeing dying trees all over town, so hopefully this will help a little.
ETA: I think I lucked out with the knees. It looks like I have patellar tendonitis, don't have to stop aerobics but do have to go to physical therapy for three weeks. I don't have rough or crackly cartilage which is what I was afraid of.
The good news was that it rained last night, really rained. We had a brief rain on Sunday that looked impressive for a few minutes but didn't really get enough into the ground to water the potted plants. This time, the ground is actually damp this morning. I've been seeing dying trees all over town, so hopefully this will help a little.
ETA: I think I lucked out with the knees. It looks like I have patellar tendonitis, don't have to stop aerobics but do have to go to physical therapy for three weeks. I don't have rough or crackly cartilage which is what I was afraid of.
Published on June 07, 2011 05:53
June 6, 2011
And one more article:Young Adult Fiction Is Not All Doom ...
And one more article:
Young Adult Fiction Is Not All Doom and Gloom Great response to the Wall Street Journal's YA article.
We had a young man walk six miles round trip to our store once a week several summers ago. Why was he walking to our store? Because he felt safe at our store, and he was exploring his sexuality through our book recommendations. We suggested some Alex Sanchez books, and suddenly this kid didn't feel so alone, so hopeless. Several years later his mother called us and tearfully told us that we had saved his life because he was feeling suicidal until he started reading those books. We didn't save his life; reading about other gay teens saved his life.
Young Adult Fiction Is Not All Doom and Gloom Great response to the Wall Street Journal's YA article.
We had a young man walk six miles round trip to our store once a week several summers ago. Why was he walking to our store? Because he felt safe at our store, and he was exploring his sexuality through our book recommendations. We suggested some Alex Sanchez books, and suddenly this kid didn't feel so alone, so hopeless. Several years later his mother called us and tearfully told us that we had saved his life because he was feeling suicidal until he started reading those books. We didn't save his life; reading about other gay teens saved his life.
Published on June 06, 2011 09:00
Got some stuff done this weekend. Re-watched some Doctor...
Got some stuff done this weekend. Re-watched some Doctor Who episodes to refresh my memory for an essay I'm writing, plus made a little advertising booklet for The Cloud Roads to hand out as a freebie at the conventions I'm going to. It's got the first chapter, plus the description, some blurbs, etc. The printing was expensive (would have been more expensive without the helpful Office Depot coupon) but I'm hoping it'll be a more effective promo item than just a bookmark or a card with the cover and book description on it.
Still working on the third Cloud Roads book, and I'm now back to the point where I like it again, and really hope the first two do well enough that the publisher will want to publish it, too.
Couple of articles:
From Bill Crider: Boston.com After Ike, a deluge of reinvention
Hotel employees whose homes were uninhabitable were invited by owner George Mitchell to move into the Galvez, with meals and lodging free of charge. After all, the luxury hotel still had to prepare for weddings and cruise passengers later that fall, while an $11 million renovation geared for the centennial was already underway.
"We could have said, "We're gone," and started over somewhere else, but we stayed," said chef concierge Jackie Hasan, 60, whose apartment building was condemned because of Ike damage. "We are the stewards of the people who came before us, who went through that terrible 1900 storm but said, we're going to stay, rebuild, and withstand the forces of nature thrown at us."
Jackie Kessler: Making the Darkness Visible
Heads up, WSJ: Life isn't always beautiful and joyous. That's not the real world; it never was. We just know more today about the issues that have been around for a long time — and we've come to a point where we're not afraid to talk about these issues.
Speaking of conventions, here's my schedule for the rest of the year:
June 24-26. I'll be Guest of Honor at ApolloCon 2011, in Houston, Texas.
August 17-21. Renovation, the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention, in Reno, Nevada.
August 26-28. ArmadilloCon 33, in Austin, Texas.
November 11-13. I'll have a table at the Austin ComicCon, in Austin, Texas.
Still working on the third Cloud Roads book, and I'm now back to the point where I like it again, and really hope the first two do well enough that the publisher will want to publish it, too.
Couple of articles:
From Bill Crider: Boston.com After Ike, a deluge of reinvention
Hotel employees whose homes were uninhabitable were invited by owner George Mitchell to move into the Galvez, with meals and lodging free of charge. After all, the luxury hotel still had to prepare for weddings and cruise passengers later that fall, while an $11 million renovation geared for the centennial was already underway.
"We could have said, "We're gone," and started over somewhere else, but we stayed," said chef concierge Jackie Hasan, 60, whose apartment building was condemned because of Ike damage. "We are the stewards of the people who came before us, who went through that terrible 1900 storm but said, we're going to stay, rebuild, and withstand the forces of nature thrown at us."
Jackie Kessler: Making the Darkness Visible
Heads up, WSJ: Life isn't always beautiful and joyous. That's not the real world; it never was. We just know more today about the issues that have been around for a long time — and we've come to a point where we're not afraid to talk about these issues.
Speaking of conventions, here's my schedule for the rest of the year:
June 24-26. I'll be Guest of Honor at ApolloCon 2011, in Houston, Texas.
August 17-21. Renovation, the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention, in Reno, Nevada.
August 26-28. ArmadilloCon 33, in Austin, Texas.
November 11-13. I'll have a table at the Austin ComicCon, in Austin, Texas.
Published on June 06, 2011 08:32