Martha Wells's Blog, page 48
September 3, 2019
WorldCon, Now Ireland, Report Day 6
Tuesday
This was our first big tour day. We had to get up early to be at the Molly Malone statue at 6:30 am to get on our bus to go see the Rock of Cashel https://www.cashel.ie/rock-of-cashel/, Blarney Castle https://www.blarneycastle.ie/, and then back to Cahir Castle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahir_Castle. So we got up early, ate some shortbread and buns in the room, then took a cab to the Molly Malone statue. It was cold in the morning but fortunately not raining.
Quite a few bus tours pick up there so you had to listen carefully make sure you weren't missing your bus. Finally it was our turn Aiden from Irish Day Tours came to herd us into the bus and we took off for the Rock of Cashel.
I hadn't had much/any free time before this, and also kind of wanted to be surprised and read up on what we had seen after we had been there, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It was about a two hour drive east, with stop at a gas station to go potty and get tea and coffee. (Aiden threatened us a lot about being left behind and having to live in the woods for weeks until another tour bus found us, which I did not believe. Later he told us about people getting on the wrong tour bus at a stop and getting lost, which I totally did believe.) Ireland is even more beautiful as it looks on TV. And there are a lot of ruins. Even just driving along the highway, we spotted towers and ruined abbeys. Aiden also talked about colonialism destroying the local language, culture, and religion (while explaining about the effort to bring back the Irish language).
As we got close Aiden pointed out a small ruined tower and told us that was Cashel. And literally most of the bus didn't get the joke because we don't come from places were medieval towers are scattered along the highway like defunct gas stations. Then a little later we pulled over to where we could get a distant view of Cashel up on its hill, and we got to see how jaw-droppingly beautiful it is.
After running around the side of the highway taking pictures, Aiden managed to shoo us all back into the bus and we drove the rest of the way up to Cashel.
To quote the web site:
Reputedly the site of the conversion of Aenghus the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century AD. Long before the Norman invasion The Rock of Cashel was the seat of the High Kings of Munster, although there is little structural evidence of their time here. Most of the buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries when the rock was gifted to the Church. The buildings represent both Hiberno-Romanseque and Germanic influences in their architecture.
To quote from the WIKI entry “The complex has a character of its own, unique and native, and is one of the most remarkable collections of Celtic art and medieval architecture to be found anywhere in Europe.” The Rock is the setting of the fictional “Sister Fidelma Mysteries” mediaeval whodunits from Peter Tremayne.
Standing under the vaults in the middle of the site is hard to describe. There's a town leading down from one side of it, with houses along the road leading up to it, but the part near Cashel is very quiet.
We had time to walk all around and go into the buildings, then run to the bathrooms across the road and then down to the store Aiden told us to go to, a hundred yards or so below the entrance, that sold local crafts and weaving and other cool stuff. (Aiden said at one point "People are worried about tourist traps! You're tourists! Go get trapped!") Everywhere our guides told us to go turned out to be worth it.
I like to get the official booklet for every site we visit and I managed to miss doing this at Cashel. I realized later it was probably up in the actual ticket office, which we didn't go into because that was taken care of through the tour company.
After the store we piled back on the bus and went to Blarney, which was, I think, about an hour drive through more beautiful countryside.
Blarney Castle https://www.blarneycastle.ie is a much bigger complex, with a large area of woods and formal gardens around it, and is in a busier area, and we couldn't really see it from where Aiden stopped the bus. He told us to go to the castle first, then to come out and go down a walkway to where there was a food place for lunch next to a giant store, and the bus would be parked there. There's a lot of stuff and parking around Blarney's entrance building, so I didn't see anything he was pointing at, but fortunately my friend did. (I'm bad at directions so spent most of the time in Ireland lost.) Then he made us all look at him and repeat "I'm with Aiden from Irish Day Tours" because apparently Blarney is a prime spot for losing people to other tour busses and that must be a nightmare to get sorted out. If they don't catch it in time you could end up in the wrong city at the end of the day. He also told us there were acres of gardens and to watch the time and not get lost.
Another good thing about being on a bus tour is Aiden was able to take us through a separate line to bypass all the people waiting to buy tickets. Then he turned us lose inside the complex.
Blarney Castle, as viewed by the visitor today, is the third to have been erected on this site. The first building in the tenth century was a wooden structure. Around 1210 A.D. this was replaced by a stone structure which had the entrance some twenty feet above the ground on the north face. This building was demolished for foundations. In 1446 the third castle was built by Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster of which the keep still remains standing.
Past the visitor's center we got our first good look at it and it is a big honking castle. Not as beautiful as Cashel, but wow, that's an actual awesome castle. And the grounds and gardens around it are really lovely. So we hiked up the walkway to it. My husband and my friend wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone, which is the big thing here, but we'd heard there could be a big line. But once we got to the entrance the line seemed to be short and moving fast, so we started up the stairs.
This is when I realized castles are basically Phobia Bingo. Whatever your phobias are, if you enter a mostly intact castle keep, you are probably about to encounter most of them. Also, I have rheumatoid and regular arthritis and though its controlled with medication, the narrow uneven tower stairs are murder on my knees. Not that I realize that until it's too late, since going up is easier for me than going down, and I don't realize I shouldn't have done this until I'm about five stories up on top of a giant evil stone jungle gym. But I'm not going to miss it, because it's a castle.
So we climb up and because the line is mostly nonexistent at this point we're able to stop and actually check out some rooms along the way. Then we get into the really hard part, up one of the narrow towers where the steps are in a spiral and are designed to be uneven and hard to climb to kill any invaders and you are trying not to fall and die. We finally reached the line and it was moving pretty fast, then it starts taking you outside on the battlements and holy shit, you are high up.
To kiss the Blarney Stone you have to lie down on the walkway below the parapet, two guys hold onto your legs, and sort of dangle you down between the wall and the walkway and I am not making that up. My friend and my husband did it, but by that point I don't think my knees were working well enough to get down on the walkway and also I didn't want to. Then we climbed all eighty-seven stories or whatever it was down and staggered out.
There was no way to see all the gardens so we chose a section near the castle that on the map had a lot of the cooler features like the Witch's Kitchen, and so on, and went through that. https://www.blarneycastle.ie/pages/the-gardens There were a couple of places to eat inside the castle-garden area, but we decided to do what Aiden said and go down to the place he pointed out. As we went back we saw the Blarney Stone line was now out the main castle door, so we lucked out there. We went through the official gift shop quickly then found the wooded path down to the bus parking and what turned out to be Blarney Woolen Mills https://www.blarney.com/.
This worked out well because there was a large cafeteria restaurant next door that was much better than the cafes inside the Blarney complex. It had clearly just had a big lunch rush but now didn't have that many people, so Aiden's timing continued to be spot on. We had lunch (I had a pork and black pudding pastry roll) and then we had time to look at the giant store.
We managed to find the right bus (Aiden was running around collecting people) and then took off for Cahir, which was on the way back to Dublin. https://www.irishtourism.com/historic-sites-buildings-in-ireland/cahir-castle/1459
Cahir Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Cathrach), one of the largest ancient castles in Ireland, was built in County Tipperary in 1142 by Conor O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, on an island in the river Suir. Standing tall, the castle appears to grow out of the rock, now situated in the town centre, Cahir castle is well preserved and has a guided tour and audiovisual show in multiple languages. The castle tour will take you down spiral staircases as well as into the deep dark prison dungeons. It is one of the best preserved standing castles of Ireland.
We didn't have much time there and only got the short version of the tour (no dungeons) but that was probably a good thing as my knees were pretty burned out on Blarney. And we had more touring to do for the rest of the week. It was extremely cool to see it, though it's more spread out and not as vertical as Blarney.
Then we piled back into the bus, got driven back to Dublin, and had dinner at a pub near the Molly Malone statue and then headed back to our hotel. Tomorrow, Newgrange.
ETA: Photos on Twitter, scroll down to see three photo posts https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1168876329770639360
comments
This was our first big tour day. We had to get up early to be at the Molly Malone statue at 6:30 am to get on our bus to go see the Rock of Cashel https://www.cashel.ie/rock-of-cashel/, Blarney Castle https://www.blarneycastle.ie/, and then back to Cahir Castle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahir_Castle. So we got up early, ate some shortbread and buns in the room, then took a cab to the Molly Malone statue. It was cold in the morning but fortunately not raining.
Quite a few bus tours pick up there so you had to listen carefully make sure you weren't missing your bus. Finally it was our turn Aiden from Irish Day Tours came to herd us into the bus and we took off for the Rock of Cashel.
I hadn't had much/any free time before this, and also kind of wanted to be surprised and read up on what we had seen after we had been there, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It was about a two hour drive east, with stop at a gas station to go potty and get tea and coffee. (Aiden threatened us a lot about being left behind and having to live in the woods for weeks until another tour bus found us, which I did not believe. Later he told us about people getting on the wrong tour bus at a stop and getting lost, which I totally did believe.) Ireland is even more beautiful as it looks on TV. And there are a lot of ruins. Even just driving along the highway, we spotted towers and ruined abbeys. Aiden also talked about colonialism destroying the local language, culture, and religion (while explaining about the effort to bring back the Irish language).
As we got close Aiden pointed out a small ruined tower and told us that was Cashel. And literally most of the bus didn't get the joke because we don't come from places were medieval towers are scattered along the highway like defunct gas stations. Then a little later we pulled over to where we could get a distant view of Cashel up on its hill, and we got to see how jaw-droppingly beautiful it is.
After running around the side of the highway taking pictures, Aiden managed to shoo us all back into the bus and we drove the rest of the way up to Cashel.
To quote the web site:
Reputedly the site of the conversion of Aenghus the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century AD. Long before the Norman invasion The Rock of Cashel was the seat of the High Kings of Munster, although there is little structural evidence of their time here. Most of the buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries when the rock was gifted to the Church. The buildings represent both Hiberno-Romanseque and Germanic influences in their architecture.
To quote from the WIKI entry “The complex has a character of its own, unique and native, and is one of the most remarkable collections of Celtic art and medieval architecture to be found anywhere in Europe.” The Rock is the setting of the fictional “Sister Fidelma Mysteries” mediaeval whodunits from Peter Tremayne.
Standing under the vaults in the middle of the site is hard to describe. There's a town leading down from one side of it, with houses along the road leading up to it, but the part near Cashel is very quiet.
We had time to walk all around and go into the buildings, then run to the bathrooms across the road and then down to the store Aiden told us to go to, a hundred yards or so below the entrance, that sold local crafts and weaving and other cool stuff. (Aiden said at one point "People are worried about tourist traps! You're tourists! Go get trapped!") Everywhere our guides told us to go turned out to be worth it.
I like to get the official booklet for every site we visit and I managed to miss doing this at Cashel. I realized later it was probably up in the actual ticket office, which we didn't go into because that was taken care of through the tour company.
After the store we piled back on the bus and went to Blarney, which was, I think, about an hour drive through more beautiful countryside.
Blarney Castle https://www.blarneycastle.ie is a much bigger complex, with a large area of woods and formal gardens around it, and is in a busier area, and we couldn't really see it from where Aiden stopped the bus. He told us to go to the castle first, then to come out and go down a walkway to where there was a food place for lunch next to a giant store, and the bus would be parked there. There's a lot of stuff and parking around Blarney's entrance building, so I didn't see anything he was pointing at, but fortunately my friend did. (I'm bad at directions so spent most of the time in Ireland lost.) Then he made us all look at him and repeat "I'm with Aiden from Irish Day Tours" because apparently Blarney is a prime spot for losing people to other tour busses and that must be a nightmare to get sorted out. If they don't catch it in time you could end up in the wrong city at the end of the day. He also told us there were acres of gardens and to watch the time and not get lost.
Another good thing about being on a bus tour is Aiden was able to take us through a separate line to bypass all the people waiting to buy tickets. Then he turned us lose inside the complex.
Blarney Castle, as viewed by the visitor today, is the third to have been erected on this site. The first building in the tenth century was a wooden structure. Around 1210 A.D. this was replaced by a stone structure which had the entrance some twenty feet above the ground on the north face. This building was demolished for foundations. In 1446 the third castle was built by Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster of which the keep still remains standing.
Past the visitor's center we got our first good look at it and it is a big honking castle. Not as beautiful as Cashel, but wow, that's an actual awesome castle. And the grounds and gardens around it are really lovely. So we hiked up the walkway to it. My husband and my friend wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone, which is the big thing here, but we'd heard there could be a big line. But once we got to the entrance the line seemed to be short and moving fast, so we started up the stairs.
This is when I realized castles are basically Phobia Bingo. Whatever your phobias are, if you enter a mostly intact castle keep, you are probably about to encounter most of them. Also, I have rheumatoid and regular arthritis and though its controlled with medication, the narrow uneven tower stairs are murder on my knees. Not that I realize that until it's too late, since going up is easier for me than going down, and I don't realize I shouldn't have done this until I'm about five stories up on top of a giant evil stone jungle gym. But I'm not going to miss it, because it's a castle.
So we climb up and because the line is mostly nonexistent at this point we're able to stop and actually check out some rooms along the way. Then we get into the really hard part, up one of the narrow towers where the steps are in a spiral and are designed to be uneven and hard to climb to kill any invaders and you are trying not to fall and die. We finally reached the line and it was moving pretty fast, then it starts taking you outside on the battlements and holy shit, you are high up.
To kiss the Blarney Stone you have to lie down on the walkway below the parapet, two guys hold onto your legs, and sort of dangle you down between the wall and the walkway and I am not making that up. My friend and my husband did it, but by that point I don't think my knees were working well enough to get down on the walkway and also I didn't want to. Then we climbed all eighty-seven stories or whatever it was down and staggered out.
There was no way to see all the gardens so we chose a section near the castle that on the map had a lot of the cooler features like the Witch's Kitchen, and so on, and went through that. https://www.blarneycastle.ie/pages/the-gardens There were a couple of places to eat inside the castle-garden area, but we decided to do what Aiden said and go down to the place he pointed out. As we went back we saw the Blarney Stone line was now out the main castle door, so we lucked out there. We went through the official gift shop quickly then found the wooded path down to the bus parking and what turned out to be Blarney Woolen Mills https://www.blarney.com/.
This worked out well because there was a large cafeteria restaurant next door that was much better than the cafes inside the Blarney complex. It had clearly just had a big lunch rush but now didn't have that many people, so Aiden's timing continued to be spot on. We had lunch (I had a pork and black pudding pastry roll) and then we had time to look at the giant store.
We managed to find the right bus (Aiden was running around collecting people) and then took off for Cahir, which was on the way back to Dublin. https://www.irishtourism.com/historic-sites-buildings-in-ireland/cahir-castle/1459
Cahir Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Cathrach), one of the largest ancient castles in Ireland, was built in County Tipperary in 1142 by Conor O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, on an island in the river Suir. Standing tall, the castle appears to grow out of the rock, now situated in the town centre, Cahir castle is well preserved and has a guided tour and audiovisual show in multiple languages. The castle tour will take you down spiral staircases as well as into the deep dark prison dungeons. It is one of the best preserved standing castles of Ireland.
We didn't have much time there and only got the short version of the tour (no dungeons) but that was probably a good thing as my knees were pretty burned out on Blarney. And we had more touring to do for the rest of the week. It was extremely cool to see it, though it's more spread out and not as vertical as Blarney.
Then we piled back into the bus, got driven back to Dublin, and had dinner at a pub near the Molly Malone statue and then headed back to our hotel. Tomorrow, Newgrange.
ETA: Photos on Twitter, scroll down to see three photo posts https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1168876329770639360
comments
September 2, 2019
WorldCon Report Day 4 and 5
Hugo Day (Sunday)
This was also a light day. I had to get over to the CCD at 11:00 to do an interview with my Russian editor, then I had fun hanging out with Tanya from the I Need Diverse Games organization in the autograph area, where we talked until about 1:00 when we both had to get going. Then I found my husband again and we went down to the Gibson hotel for a late lunch. Our friend was standing in line for a Hugo entry wristlet but was able to get one in time to join us. (You had to have wristlets for entry at a specific time to keep the crowding down in the foyers.) Then we ran back to the CCD to go to the auditorium for Hugo rehearsal. (It's a quick 30 minutes usually where you form up into groups and they show you all how to get onto the stage if you win, where to stand, where to go after that, and how to get back to your seat). Then it was time to get back and start getting ready.
I took my dress over to the CCD and after some time of being lost looking for the right rooms, I changed with some other people in a bathroom. Then we found the group doing hair and makeup and hung around there. This was organized by Alyshondra Meacham and I know Caitlin Starling was there helping and I'm not sure who else was. They all really went above and beyond, doing things like taking our bags to the CCD bag check for us so we didn't have to haul them around, and it made it so much easier on us.
Then we went to the reception, and had appetizers and drinks, and I didn't spill food on myself. They took photos, but I haven't seen them yet. It was a great fun reception, with so many people in gorgeous outfits.
I've already talked a bit about winning here: https://marthawells.dreamwidth.org/483743.html I was not as nervous as I was last year, so I think I enjoyed this ceremony more. There were some awesome speeches, like Jeannette Ng's and Ada Palmer's. It was a real honor to win, especially in a category with such an incredible list of nominees.
By the time we got to the Hugo Losers party, we were warned by other people who were leaving that the doors were shut and no one else was allowed in, invitation or not, and no one knew at that time that that might change. So we went back to the hotel and had room service pizza. I had talked the party up to other nominees because I had such a great time there in San Jose last year, and I feel bad for misleading them. If I ever end up at the Hugos again, now I know and I won't try to go to it.
Sometime I need to do a post about how in 35 plus years I've never felt particularly welcome in organized SFF fandom, beyond my friends and the people at my local conventions like ArmadilloCon or large friendly events like Houston's Comicpalooza. (I've also never felt welcome in media/fanfiction fandom beyond my friends in it, either, despite many years of trying to participate in it.) But I don't want to write that post today.
Monday
We got up again fairly early and went back to the con for the last time. After taking the Hugo back to the CCD so the committee could ship it, we went to check out the Raksura tree one more time, then took the train across Dublin to go to Kilmainham Gaol. http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/ We found out there were no tours available until 4:00, so we took a cab over to the Jameson Distillery. This turned out to be way more fun than I expected. Their marketing game was so on point it was bananas. https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en-US/visit-us/jameson-distillery-bow-st
The tour started upstairs in a little exhibit area. Then the guide came and took us into a room where he narrated a fast, dramatic audiovisual show about the history of the distillery, then they take you into another room with another presentation about how distilling worked, and how the process had changed over time. Your standing at this lab bench station with all these hands-on things like barley, malted barley, beakers of whisky at different times in the aging process, samples of the different barrels it's aged in and they go through all that with you. So you get a very good understanding of the history of Jameson and of distilling in general and how it all works. Then you go into another room where they do a tasting. You get three shots, one of Scotch, one of Jameson, and one of an American whiskey which is made in a slightly different way, and they teach you to tell the difference between them. Then you get to drink the shots. (And they did say you didn't have to drink if you didn't want to, it was voluntary, but if you didn't want your shots you should give them to someone else in the room.) After that you can stagger out through the gift shop and then into the large comfortable bar where you get the free glass of Jameson that comes with your tour. Though at that point I was about to die so we went across the tiny round courtyard to a lunch place and had another delicious meal (there were a lot of counter service places that were a bit cafeteria-like, which served some really good food). After that we went back and I tried Jameson and ginger ale for the first time and became addicted.
My husband was getting tired by this point, so he took a cab back to the hotel. My friend and I checked out a linen embroidery shop/exhibit next door, then walked back to Kilmainham in time for the 4:00 tour, which was excellent. (They had a choice of short or long tours, and we took the full hour tour.) Probably the best historical tour of the trip, and we had some great historical tours. They gave you a good overview of 1800s/1900s Irish political history, which was helpful for putting the other historical tours in context for the rest of the trip.
After that we made the mistake: Walking back to the train station, we thought the Guinness Storehouse was nearby, so we decided to go tour it.
First, the signs were deceptive and we had to walk about a mile and a half to get to it, then it was seven stories of basically really boring exhibits that mostly involved pictures of hops and water. The advertising exhibit up near the top was okay, but by that time we were tired and fed up and it was clear this just did not compare well to the other things we had done that day. We did get a free glass of Guinness but I didn't drink much of mine because it didn't have any beef or carrots and onions in it which is frankly how I prefer it.
Then we made it back to the hotel and collapsed. We wanted to be ready for Tuesday, which was our first big fun tour day out in the east of Ireland. I'll write that post up tomorrow.
comments
This was also a light day. I had to get over to the CCD at 11:00 to do an interview with my Russian editor, then I had fun hanging out with Tanya from the I Need Diverse Games organization in the autograph area, where we talked until about 1:00 when we both had to get going. Then I found my husband again and we went down to the Gibson hotel for a late lunch. Our friend was standing in line for a Hugo entry wristlet but was able to get one in time to join us. (You had to have wristlets for entry at a specific time to keep the crowding down in the foyers.) Then we ran back to the CCD to go to the auditorium for Hugo rehearsal. (It's a quick 30 minutes usually where you form up into groups and they show you all how to get onto the stage if you win, where to stand, where to go after that, and how to get back to your seat). Then it was time to get back and start getting ready.
I took my dress over to the CCD and after some time of being lost looking for the right rooms, I changed with some other people in a bathroom. Then we found the group doing hair and makeup and hung around there. This was organized by Alyshondra Meacham and I know Caitlin Starling was there helping and I'm not sure who else was. They all really went above and beyond, doing things like taking our bags to the CCD bag check for us so we didn't have to haul them around, and it made it so much easier on us.
Then we went to the reception, and had appetizers and drinks, and I didn't spill food on myself. They took photos, but I haven't seen them yet. It was a great fun reception, with so many people in gorgeous outfits.
I've already talked a bit about winning here: https://marthawells.dreamwidth.org/483743.html I was not as nervous as I was last year, so I think I enjoyed this ceremony more. There were some awesome speeches, like Jeannette Ng's and Ada Palmer's. It was a real honor to win, especially in a category with such an incredible list of nominees.
By the time we got to the Hugo Losers party, we were warned by other people who were leaving that the doors were shut and no one else was allowed in, invitation or not, and no one knew at that time that that might change. So we went back to the hotel and had room service pizza. I had talked the party up to other nominees because I had such a great time there in San Jose last year, and I feel bad for misleading them. If I ever end up at the Hugos again, now I know and I won't try to go to it.
Sometime I need to do a post about how in 35 plus years I've never felt particularly welcome in organized SFF fandom, beyond my friends and the people at my local conventions like ArmadilloCon or large friendly events like Houston's Comicpalooza. (I've also never felt welcome in media/fanfiction fandom beyond my friends in it, either, despite many years of trying to participate in it.) But I don't want to write that post today.
Monday
We got up again fairly early and went back to the con for the last time. After taking the Hugo back to the CCD so the committee could ship it, we went to check out the Raksura tree one more time, then took the train across Dublin to go to Kilmainham Gaol. http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/ We found out there were no tours available until 4:00, so we took a cab over to the Jameson Distillery. This turned out to be way more fun than I expected. Their marketing game was so on point it was bananas. https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en-US/visit-us/jameson-distillery-bow-st
The tour started upstairs in a little exhibit area. Then the guide came and took us into a room where he narrated a fast, dramatic audiovisual show about the history of the distillery, then they take you into another room with another presentation about how distilling worked, and how the process had changed over time. Your standing at this lab bench station with all these hands-on things like barley, malted barley, beakers of whisky at different times in the aging process, samples of the different barrels it's aged in and they go through all that with you. So you get a very good understanding of the history of Jameson and of distilling in general and how it all works. Then you go into another room where they do a tasting. You get three shots, one of Scotch, one of Jameson, and one of an American whiskey which is made in a slightly different way, and they teach you to tell the difference between them. Then you get to drink the shots. (And they did say you didn't have to drink if you didn't want to, it was voluntary, but if you didn't want your shots you should give them to someone else in the room.) After that you can stagger out through the gift shop and then into the large comfortable bar where you get the free glass of Jameson that comes with your tour. Though at that point I was about to die so we went across the tiny round courtyard to a lunch place and had another delicious meal (there were a lot of counter service places that were a bit cafeteria-like, which served some really good food). After that we went back and I tried Jameson and ginger ale for the first time and became addicted.
My husband was getting tired by this point, so he took a cab back to the hotel. My friend and I checked out a linen embroidery shop/exhibit next door, then walked back to Kilmainham in time for the 4:00 tour, which was excellent. (They had a choice of short or long tours, and we took the full hour tour.) Probably the best historical tour of the trip, and we had some great historical tours. They gave you a good overview of 1800s/1900s Irish political history, which was helpful for putting the other historical tours in context for the rest of the trip.
After that we made the mistake: Walking back to the train station, we thought the Guinness Storehouse was nearby, so we decided to go tour it.
First, the signs were deceptive and we had to walk about a mile and a half to get to it, then it was seven stories of basically really boring exhibits that mostly involved pictures of hops and water. The advertising exhibit up near the top was okay, but by that time we were tired and fed up and it was clear this just did not compare well to the other things we had done that day. We did get a free glass of Guinness but I didn't drink much of mine because it didn't have any beef or carrots and onions in it which is frankly how I prefer it.
Then we made it back to the hotel and collapsed. We wanted to be ready for Tuesday, which was our first big fun tour day out in the east of Ireland. I'll write that post up tomorrow.
comments
August 31, 2019
WorldCon Day 2 and 3
The next day, Friday, I had a similar schedule, so we staggered awake, had breakfast at the hotel, and crossed the bridge to the convention center. I think that day was even warmer, and this was the point I realized I had brought too many warm clothes and while I thought I had brought too many short sleeve shirts, I really hadn't.
As we went up through the convention center it was obvious there had been a massive reorganization of line areas, with tape on the floors and the whole bit. It was still crowded but it was more orderly crowded with people knowing where to stand for the most part and clear areas to get across the foyers and around the escalators. This took a lot of con staff volunteers and CCD staff.
(I never quite understood how they were organizing the ground floor registration area. It was too small for registering 5000-6000 people, so the main line area was outside, where, being Ireland, it would periodically turn cold and rain on people. But somehow everybody got registered. This system also involved the foyer with the women's restroom being locked so when you had to go to the bathroom down there, a CCD staff member had to help you get in.)
The Point site also got more organized. (I never understood why it was having a problem in the first place because it had much larger spaces and plenty of room for people yet somehow on the first day the staff acted like they had never seen audiences before. I mean, these were movie theaters?)
My first panel was at 10:00 am: Space opera: boldly going where no genre has gone before! with Rivers Solomon, Bo Balder, and Adam Whitehead as moderator. I got there a bit early and asked if people wanted any of the Murderbot badge ribbons "Murderbot Doesn't Love You, It Just Wants to Watch Its Shows" and it turned out a ton of people did, and I was almost out of them for the rest of the con. The room was packed again, with people standing in the back. I enjoyed this panel a lot, and I wish I could remember more of what we talked about. I'm pretty sure we touched on issues about empire and colonialism.
(The San Jose WorldCon also had issues with small rooms. I was fondly remembering the San Antonio convention center which had panel rooms that could hold 300 people and nobody seemed to have any trouble getting in to what they wanted to see.)
I think at this point after the panel I went to the dealer's room, which was low on dealers for a WorldCon, but the ones that were there had some great stuff. There were at least three or four or more publisher tables and the jewelry dealers were particularly good. There were a couple of local dealers selling handmade Celtic style jewelry, and I got a couple of bronze pieces, and one silver one. There was a dealer from I think maybe Iceland? She had some beautiful stuff and once people found her there was always a crowd around her table.
Then I had an autographing at noon, and I kept track of my signatures. I signed 72 books. This is pretty incredible to me. It doesn't seem that long ago that signing 10 books was a huge deal.
After that we had a lunch date with Caitlin Starling, who wrote The Luminous Dead (which is an excellent scary SF thriller about exploring caves on an alien planet which was different from anything I'd read before). We met up with Caitlin and her husband and another friend in registration and then headed off to the train station. We took it into the city (this was the first time we had a chance to see more of Dublin) and we went up to O'Connell street and found a brewpub in an old building that was very old and convoluted. We found our way upstairs to neat room with an old fireplace and had a great lunch. (Mussels and more cider.)
I had to get back by 4:00 to moderate my last panel, which was Expanding the storyverse with tie-in novels with Diane Duane (who was the guest of honor), Pat Cadigan and D.B. Jackson. Again, the room was full and we had a great time and a lot of good questions.
After that we had a date for a dinner with my editor Lee Harris, my publisher Irene Gallo, and her husband Greg Manchess (who is also an award-winning artist https://www.manchess.com/). We went to the Parnell Heritage Pub which had, again, really great food. (Cottage pie and more cider.) We took a cab to get there, then realized it was pretty close to O'Connell street, so we just walked there and found the train station, and took the train back to the CCD where we could walk to our hotel.
Saturday
Saturday I had a light day scheduling wise. I had to get to the CCD by 10:30 to meet up with the people who do the Spanish podcast Tryperion and do an interview for them. (The Murderbot Diaries are coming out in Spanish, translated by Carla Bataller Estruch with some pretty awesome covers https://www.amazon.es/Sistemas-cr%C3%ADticos-Aleth%C3%A9-Martha-Wells-ebook/dp/B07N955H7H/.)
The podcast was fun and we finished it up and then I had to go do my reading at 11:30. There was already a line and the room filled up fast (the CCD staff person actually said "You're quite popular."). There was standing room only with about 55-60 people in the room. Again, it seems like just a little while ago that having a few people come to my reading who weren't friends was a huge deal. I read a section from chapter 2 of Network Effect.
After that we met up with Naomi Novik and some friends at the Spencer hotel for lunch and catching up, then we went over to the art show at the Point, and visited the Raksura Colony Tree project again, which was looking very gorgeous by this time.
Then we took a bit of a break, then at 5:00 took a cab to the Hairy Lemon pub, where my agency (Donald Maass Literary Associates http://maassagency.com/) was having a cocktail party. Again, a very cool old convoluted pub. Donald Maass was there, (Jennifer Jackson is actually my agent, she's a VP at DMLA) and this was the first time I'd seen him in person since we met in New York at the Nebula Awards in like 1992, after I'd just sold my first novel. (We were sitting at the table in the very back where they put the people who didn't have seats at publisher tables.) I had a different agent at that point and had no idea I'd eventually end up at his agency.
Diane Duane and Peter Morwood were there, and I got to fangirl a little at P.C. Hodgell. Our friends author Patrice Sarath (her new fantasy is the excellent The Sisters Mederos series) and her husband were there, and after a bit we needed food and wandered off to look for a restaurant together. We totally lucked into La Maison (http://lamaisondublin.com/about/) a beautiful French restaurant that had just had a cancelled reservation for a table for five. The food was so delicious.
After that everyone went off in different directions and we took a cab back to the hotel and collapsed. Tomorrow, the Hugos.
comments
As we went up through the convention center it was obvious there had been a massive reorganization of line areas, with tape on the floors and the whole bit. It was still crowded but it was more orderly crowded with people knowing where to stand for the most part and clear areas to get across the foyers and around the escalators. This took a lot of con staff volunteers and CCD staff.
(I never quite understood how they were organizing the ground floor registration area. It was too small for registering 5000-6000 people, so the main line area was outside, where, being Ireland, it would periodically turn cold and rain on people. But somehow everybody got registered. This system also involved the foyer with the women's restroom being locked so when you had to go to the bathroom down there, a CCD staff member had to help you get in.)
The Point site also got more organized. (I never understood why it was having a problem in the first place because it had much larger spaces and plenty of room for people yet somehow on the first day the staff acted like they had never seen audiences before. I mean, these were movie theaters?)
My first panel was at 10:00 am: Space opera: boldly going where no genre has gone before! with Rivers Solomon, Bo Balder, and Adam Whitehead as moderator. I got there a bit early and asked if people wanted any of the Murderbot badge ribbons "Murderbot Doesn't Love You, It Just Wants to Watch Its Shows" and it turned out a ton of people did, and I was almost out of them for the rest of the con. The room was packed again, with people standing in the back. I enjoyed this panel a lot, and I wish I could remember more of what we talked about. I'm pretty sure we touched on issues about empire and colonialism.
(The San Jose WorldCon also had issues with small rooms. I was fondly remembering the San Antonio convention center which had panel rooms that could hold 300 people and nobody seemed to have any trouble getting in to what they wanted to see.)
I think at this point after the panel I went to the dealer's room, which was low on dealers for a WorldCon, but the ones that were there had some great stuff. There were at least three or four or more publisher tables and the jewelry dealers were particularly good. There were a couple of local dealers selling handmade Celtic style jewelry, and I got a couple of bronze pieces, and one silver one. There was a dealer from I think maybe Iceland? She had some beautiful stuff and once people found her there was always a crowd around her table.
Then I had an autographing at noon, and I kept track of my signatures. I signed 72 books. This is pretty incredible to me. It doesn't seem that long ago that signing 10 books was a huge deal.
After that we had a lunch date with Caitlin Starling, who wrote The Luminous Dead (which is an excellent scary SF thriller about exploring caves on an alien planet which was different from anything I'd read before). We met up with Caitlin and her husband and another friend in registration and then headed off to the train station. We took it into the city (this was the first time we had a chance to see more of Dublin) and we went up to O'Connell street and found a brewpub in an old building that was very old and convoluted. We found our way upstairs to neat room with an old fireplace and had a great lunch. (Mussels and more cider.)
I had to get back by 4:00 to moderate my last panel, which was Expanding the storyverse with tie-in novels with Diane Duane (who was the guest of honor), Pat Cadigan and D.B. Jackson. Again, the room was full and we had a great time and a lot of good questions.
After that we had a date for a dinner with my editor Lee Harris, my publisher Irene Gallo, and her husband Greg Manchess (who is also an award-winning artist https://www.manchess.com/). We went to the Parnell Heritage Pub which had, again, really great food. (Cottage pie and more cider.) We took a cab to get there, then realized it was pretty close to O'Connell street, so we just walked there and found the train station, and took the train back to the CCD where we could walk to our hotel.
Saturday
Saturday I had a light day scheduling wise. I had to get to the CCD by 10:30 to meet up with the people who do the Spanish podcast Tryperion and do an interview for them. (The Murderbot Diaries are coming out in Spanish, translated by Carla Bataller Estruch with some pretty awesome covers https://www.amazon.es/Sistemas-cr%C3%ADticos-Aleth%C3%A9-Martha-Wells-ebook/dp/B07N955H7H/.)
The podcast was fun and we finished it up and then I had to go do my reading at 11:30. There was already a line and the room filled up fast (the CCD staff person actually said "You're quite popular."). There was standing room only with about 55-60 people in the room. Again, it seems like just a little while ago that having a few people come to my reading who weren't friends was a huge deal. I read a section from chapter 2 of Network Effect.
After that we met up with Naomi Novik and some friends at the Spencer hotel for lunch and catching up, then we went over to the art show at the Point, and visited the Raksura Colony Tree project again, which was looking very gorgeous by this time.
Then we took a bit of a break, then at 5:00 took a cab to the Hairy Lemon pub, where my agency (Donald Maass Literary Associates http://maassagency.com/) was having a cocktail party. Again, a very cool old convoluted pub. Donald Maass was there, (Jennifer Jackson is actually my agent, she's a VP at DMLA) and this was the first time I'd seen him in person since we met in New York at the Nebula Awards in like 1992, after I'd just sold my first novel. (We were sitting at the table in the very back where they put the people who didn't have seats at publisher tables.) I had a different agent at that point and had no idea I'd eventually end up at his agency.
Diane Duane and Peter Morwood were there, and I got to fangirl a little at P.C. Hodgell. Our friends author Patrice Sarath (her new fantasy is the excellent The Sisters Mederos series) and her husband were there, and after a bit we needed food and wandered off to look for a restaurant together. We totally lucked into La Maison (http://lamaisondublin.com/about/) a beautiful French restaurant that had just had a cancelled reservation for a table for five. The food was so delicious.
After that everyone went off in different directions and we took a cab back to the hotel and collapsed. Tomorrow, the Hugos.
comments
August 30, 2019
WorldCon Report Day 1
I went to WorldCon with my husband and a friend of ours who had not only never been to WorldCon before, she had never been to an SF/F con. Also, none of us had ever been to Ireland. So this was going to be an adventure.
Getting there was pretty smooth. We took a shuttle to Houston Intercontinental, had to wait until Singapore Air opened their check-in desk, then after a couple hours wait were able to board the plane. Then it was food and movies on the little TVs and trying to sleep until we got to Manchester. Unlike on the way back, we got through the transfer part fine and though our Aer Lingus flight was an hour or so late, we got to Dublin missing only one suitcase. (It turned up the next morning.)
Our hotel was the Clayton Cardiff Lane, which turned out to be much closer than it looked on the map, just down a block and across the Samuel Beckett bridge (the one that looks like a harp lying on its side) from the convention center. We hurried over there and got registered (this was late in the afternoon on Wednesday and there was only a few people in line) and I picked up my programming packet and my Hugo certificate and pin. Then we went back to the hotel, ate in the bar, discovered Kopparberg Mixed Fruit cider, and then all fell asleep by 9:00 pm.
Our hotel came with a buffet breakfast and I got addicted to the white and black puddings, which I maintain taste like really good liver/giblet dressing if you formed it into patties and fried it a little.
(Sidebar: The food we had in Ireland was delicious. There were tons of restaurants, including Asian and Italian places (though we didn't see the variety of Thai and Vietnamese places that we see at home) and lots of pubs and every one we tried was great. And usually at cons I always have gastrointestinal issues, just because of the travel and nerves I get while being basically "on stage" at panels and etc. This time, I didn't have any problems at all. I don't know if it was the high quality of the food or the alcohol or what.)
(The weather was also warmer and sunnier than we expected, and though these brief rain showers would sweep through, and you really needed to always keep your rain jacket with you. We were very close to the sea, so that you could see the cruise ships docked when you looked down the river.)
We went over to the con, got a seven day train pass, and took the LUAS the short distance down to the Point, which was a large warehouse-like venue with theaters and large rooms where the art show was. The Raksura Colony Tree project was there in the community art area and I wanted to see it since I didn't think I'd really have time again until Saturday. It was just getting started and I got to meet some of the lovely people working on it. (https://raksuracolonytree.home.blog/blog/)
Then we went back to the convention center and it became really obvious there were going to be huge crowding problems. I was moderating the panel Writing Robot & Non-Human Intelligence with Charles Stross, Christopher Husberg, and Mika Koverola, and going up to the green room on the fourth floor, and then trying to get back down to the panel room, was just wading through a sea of people. The CCD could supposedly hold 5000-6000 people, but not while they were moving around trying to get from room to room. There were no line areas set up, and the foyers and halls on each floor were way too small. Some Con staff and CCD staff were yelling at people (my friend ended up in a line that got cut off when the room was full and the Con staff person was standing there yelling at them to disperse, but the foyer was so full of people they had nowhere to go until the people nearer the escalators moved. So there's like 50 people trapped against a wall who can't go anywhere being yelled at to leave.).
This was only Thursday and at that point I honestly didn't think this convention was going to happen, just because of the crowding. It had to be a nightmare for anyone with crowd issues, but the thing that kept it from getting worse was that there was no pushing or shoving on the crowd's part. Everyone was weaving their way along just hoping the person in front of them knew where they were going.
But anyway, the Writing Robot & Non-Human Intelligence panel seemed to go well and was standing room only and the other panelists were great and there were lots of good audience questions. I had an hour break after that and must have had something to eat but I can't remember what. (There was no con suite with food or snacks, and honestly, there was no room for it. There were food and drink counters on a couple of levels of the CCD.)
I went over to the Point for my next panel and the Con Staff person wouldn't let me go up to the green room where the other panelists were, and I never quite understood why, except that there were supposedly people who wouldn't let me go up there behind her somewhere. So I basically had to stand there until a few minutes before the panel when she finally let me go up, and found the rest of the panelists in the green room, but I missed most of the panel prep. It was AI and the myth of singularity with Klaus Æ. Mogensen as moderator, with Lettie Prell and Hadas Sloin.
The panel was in one of the movie theaters, with the table on a stage right in front of the screen. It was a 300 person theater, I think, and was about 2/3 full. There were no hand rails and Hadas and I almost fell down the steps getting to the stage which would not have been a great start to the con for either of us. (The most physically dangerous parts of a con are when they have to assemble a stage in a place where there isn't a stage, and it's very easy to fall and die.) Klaus was a great moderator, and though I was a little afraid the panel would be over my head, he kept it really interesting and at a level where everybody could participate and understand. Again, the other panelists were great and there was a ton of good questions from the audience.
Then I needed to run back to the CCD for my Kaffeeklatsch, which I couldn't find, but some nice people saw I was lost and sent me in the right direction. I had a full table and remember having a good time, so I hope the participants had a good time too.
After that, we went back to the hotel to drop off bags, and then back over to the Gibson hotel near the point to have a really nice relaxed dinner with Kate Elliott. (Even the pizza in Ireland was delicious.) (The restaurant in the Gibson was a couple of floors up with balconies and a view, and an open air atrium. I kind of wish we'd stayed there.) My husband, who actually really dislikes beer, started drinking Guinness, which tastes different from the bottled Guinness we get here. I thought it was okay but would have been much improved by the addition of some beef, carrots, onions, salt, pepper, thyme, basil, etc.
After that, I'm not sure what everyone else did but I think I staggered back to the hotel and fell asleep.
comments
Getting there was pretty smooth. We took a shuttle to Houston Intercontinental, had to wait until Singapore Air opened their check-in desk, then after a couple hours wait were able to board the plane. Then it was food and movies on the little TVs and trying to sleep until we got to Manchester. Unlike on the way back, we got through the transfer part fine and though our Aer Lingus flight was an hour or so late, we got to Dublin missing only one suitcase. (It turned up the next morning.)
Our hotel was the Clayton Cardiff Lane, which turned out to be much closer than it looked on the map, just down a block and across the Samuel Beckett bridge (the one that looks like a harp lying on its side) from the convention center. We hurried over there and got registered (this was late in the afternoon on Wednesday and there was only a few people in line) and I picked up my programming packet and my Hugo certificate and pin. Then we went back to the hotel, ate in the bar, discovered Kopparberg Mixed Fruit cider, and then all fell asleep by 9:00 pm.
Our hotel came with a buffet breakfast and I got addicted to the white and black puddings, which I maintain taste like really good liver/giblet dressing if you formed it into patties and fried it a little.
(Sidebar: The food we had in Ireland was delicious. There were tons of restaurants, including Asian and Italian places (though we didn't see the variety of Thai and Vietnamese places that we see at home) and lots of pubs and every one we tried was great. And usually at cons I always have gastrointestinal issues, just because of the travel and nerves I get while being basically "on stage" at panels and etc. This time, I didn't have any problems at all. I don't know if it was the high quality of the food or the alcohol or what.)
(The weather was also warmer and sunnier than we expected, and though these brief rain showers would sweep through, and you really needed to always keep your rain jacket with you. We were very close to the sea, so that you could see the cruise ships docked when you looked down the river.)
We went over to the con, got a seven day train pass, and took the LUAS the short distance down to the Point, which was a large warehouse-like venue with theaters and large rooms where the art show was. The Raksura Colony Tree project was there in the community art area and I wanted to see it since I didn't think I'd really have time again until Saturday. It was just getting started and I got to meet some of the lovely people working on it. (https://raksuracolonytree.home.blog/blog/)
Then we went back to the convention center and it became really obvious there were going to be huge crowding problems. I was moderating the panel Writing Robot & Non-Human Intelligence with Charles Stross, Christopher Husberg, and Mika Koverola, and going up to the green room on the fourth floor, and then trying to get back down to the panel room, was just wading through a sea of people. The CCD could supposedly hold 5000-6000 people, but not while they were moving around trying to get from room to room. There were no line areas set up, and the foyers and halls on each floor were way too small. Some Con staff and CCD staff were yelling at people (my friend ended up in a line that got cut off when the room was full and the Con staff person was standing there yelling at them to disperse, but the foyer was so full of people they had nowhere to go until the people nearer the escalators moved. So there's like 50 people trapped against a wall who can't go anywhere being yelled at to leave.).
This was only Thursday and at that point I honestly didn't think this convention was going to happen, just because of the crowding. It had to be a nightmare for anyone with crowd issues, but the thing that kept it from getting worse was that there was no pushing or shoving on the crowd's part. Everyone was weaving their way along just hoping the person in front of them knew where they were going.
But anyway, the Writing Robot & Non-Human Intelligence panel seemed to go well and was standing room only and the other panelists were great and there were lots of good audience questions. I had an hour break after that and must have had something to eat but I can't remember what. (There was no con suite with food or snacks, and honestly, there was no room for it. There were food and drink counters on a couple of levels of the CCD.)
I went over to the Point for my next panel and the Con Staff person wouldn't let me go up to the green room where the other panelists were, and I never quite understood why, except that there were supposedly people who wouldn't let me go up there behind her somewhere. So I basically had to stand there until a few minutes before the panel when she finally let me go up, and found the rest of the panelists in the green room, but I missed most of the panel prep. It was AI and the myth of singularity with Klaus Æ. Mogensen as moderator, with Lettie Prell and Hadas Sloin.
The panel was in one of the movie theaters, with the table on a stage right in front of the screen. It was a 300 person theater, I think, and was about 2/3 full. There were no hand rails and Hadas and I almost fell down the steps getting to the stage which would not have been a great start to the con for either of us. (The most physically dangerous parts of a con are when they have to assemble a stage in a place where there isn't a stage, and it's very easy to fall and die.) Klaus was a great moderator, and though I was a little afraid the panel would be over my head, he kept it really interesting and at a level where everybody could participate and understand. Again, the other panelists were great and there was a ton of good questions from the audience.
Then I needed to run back to the CCD for my Kaffeeklatsch, which I couldn't find, but some nice people saw I was lost and sent me in the right direction. I had a full table and remember having a good time, so I hope the participants had a good time too.
After that, we went back to the hotel to drop off bags, and then back over to the Gibson hotel near the point to have a really nice relaxed dinner with Kate Elliott. (Even the pizza in Ireland was delicious.) (The restaurant in the Gibson was a couple of floors up with balconies and a view, and an open air atrium. I kind of wish we'd stayed there.) My husband, who actually really dislikes beer, started drinking Guinness, which tastes different from the bottled Guinness we get here. I thought it was okay but would have been much improved by the addition of some beef, carrots, onions, salt, pepper, thyme, basil, etc.
After that, I'm not sure what everyone else did but I think I staggered back to the hotel and fell asleep.
comments
August 28, 2019
Catching Up
So last night was the first night since getting back from Ireland that I actually managed to mostly sleep through to 6:00 am. Living a nocturnal lifestyle where I get up at 1:00 am was not doing anything good for me, so I have a lot to catch up on.
* This is what I posted to Twitter sometime in the early morning on Sunday: I'm awake at 4:00 am and I still have the cold but feel better after a night's sleep. Yesterday we were awake for 24hrs coming back from Dublin. Things I learned: Aer Lingus is as terrible as everyone says. We only had a short flight between Dublin and Manchester with them, and if we hadn't been protected by the fact that we bought our tickets on Singapore Airlines and they were our primary carrier, we would still be in Dublin with no where to stay. Singapore Airlines is a precision machine. They were very nice when Aer Lingus decided to take the international passengers who were supposed to transfer to other carriers and just dumped us all in the domestic arrivals baggage claim area. Did we enter the UK illegally for a bit? We're not sure. There was no one to answer questions, so we just went on a long stressful odyssey to the other terminal. We found other confused people on the way, so we didn't think we were the only ones who had this problem. We passed two reps for Virgin Atlantic searching for their passengers in the connecting tunnel for the terminals and they told us to keep going. Luckily my friend spotted the Singapore Air desk when I almost passed it. We told them what happened and they said "however you got here, you're in the right place now," while another person was on the phone telling someone, "Yes, we found three of them." They crossed our names off a list which I suspect was of other lost passengers. The rest of the trip was a lot more uneventful than that, it just took a long time.
I'm going to do more of a post about the con and our trip to Ireland later, but we saw the Rock of Cashel, Blarney Castle, Cahir Castle, Newgrange, the Hill of Tara, and Trim Castle. In Dublin we saw the Jameson Bow Street Distillery, the Long Room at Trinity Library and the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, the National Archeology Museum, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christchurch, and Dublin Castle. We did that in four days by taking a big bus day tour, a private day tour, and walking around Dublin until our feet fell off.
* I'm on this podcast by the Modern War Institute, talking about Murderbot! https://mwi.usma.edu/mwi-podcast-sci-fi-can-help-us-think-artificial-intelligence-future-war/
* Good news! The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer has been renamed to The Astounding Award for Best New Writer, after Astounding Science Fiction Magazine, which was the magazine Campbell edited, and which is now known as Analog. The change seemed to happen so quickly because the award is owned by Dell Magazines, and is not a Hugo, so the name can be changed without having to go through the complicated two-year process to vote for a change to the WorldCon constitution.
It looks like people have been asking for this change for a while, especially after the publication of Alec Nevala-Lee's book Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, which showed Campbell was a lot worse than most people were aware. (Like in this twitter post by Scott Edelman, quoting Philip Klass https://twitter.com/scottedelman/status/1164276576231579658) Though I think Jeannette Ng's speech at the Hugo Awards was the catalyst to make Dell decide it was time to go ahead and make the decision.
So, that's one fascist kicked to the curb.
https://theastoundinganalogcompanion.com/2019/08/27/a-statement-from-the-editor/
comments
* This is what I posted to Twitter sometime in the early morning on Sunday: I'm awake at 4:00 am and I still have the cold but feel better after a night's sleep. Yesterday we were awake for 24hrs coming back from Dublin. Things I learned: Aer Lingus is as terrible as everyone says. We only had a short flight between Dublin and Manchester with them, and if we hadn't been protected by the fact that we bought our tickets on Singapore Airlines and they were our primary carrier, we would still be in Dublin with no where to stay. Singapore Airlines is a precision machine. They were very nice when Aer Lingus decided to take the international passengers who were supposed to transfer to other carriers and just dumped us all in the domestic arrivals baggage claim area. Did we enter the UK illegally for a bit? We're not sure. There was no one to answer questions, so we just went on a long stressful odyssey to the other terminal. We found other confused people on the way, so we didn't think we were the only ones who had this problem. We passed two reps for Virgin Atlantic searching for their passengers in the connecting tunnel for the terminals and they told us to keep going. Luckily my friend spotted the Singapore Air desk when I almost passed it. We told them what happened and they said "however you got here, you're in the right place now," while another person was on the phone telling someone, "Yes, we found three of them." They crossed our names off a list which I suspect was of other lost passengers. The rest of the trip was a lot more uneventful than that, it just took a long time.
I'm going to do more of a post about the con and our trip to Ireland later, but we saw the Rock of Cashel, Blarney Castle, Cahir Castle, Newgrange, the Hill of Tara, and Trim Castle. In Dublin we saw the Jameson Bow Street Distillery, the Long Room at Trinity Library and the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, the National Archeology Museum, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christchurch, and Dublin Castle. We did that in four days by taking a big bus day tour, a private day tour, and walking around Dublin until our feet fell off.
* I'm on this podcast by the Modern War Institute, talking about Murderbot! https://mwi.usma.edu/mwi-podcast-sci-fi-can-help-us-think-artificial-intelligence-future-war/
* Good news! The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer has been renamed to The Astounding Award for Best New Writer, after Astounding Science Fiction Magazine, which was the magazine Campbell edited, and which is now known as Analog. The change seemed to happen so quickly because the award is owned by Dell Magazines, and is not a Hugo, so the name can be changed without having to go through the complicated two-year process to vote for a change to the WorldCon constitution.
It looks like people have been asking for this change for a while, especially after the publication of Alec Nevala-Lee's book Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, which showed Campbell was a lot worse than most people were aware. (Like in this twitter post by Scott Edelman, quoting Philip Klass https://twitter.com/scottedelman/status/1164276576231579658) Though I think Jeannette Ng's speech at the Hugo Awards was the catalyst to make Dell decide it was time to go ahead and make the decision.
So, that's one fascist kicked to the curb.
https://theastoundinganalogcompanion.com/2019/08/27/a-statement-from-the-editor/
comments
August 26, 2019
WorldCon!
* So big news first, I won another Hugo Award! Artificial Condition won for Best Novella! I wasn't expecting it and was pretty darned pleased.
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165368097416601600/photo/1
https://twitter.com/kellyoyo/status/1163227933751808002/photo/1
https://twitter.com/kellyoyo/status/1163227933751808002/photo/2
Also, now that the long list and voting stats have been released (https://dublin2019.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/201Hu@o%5Efulre@su@lt@s.pdf) I can say that Exit Strategy and Rogue Protocol also got enough nominations to be in the top 5 of the ballot, but Rogue Protocol was automatically declined because no more than two stories are allowed per author on the final ballot, and I declined the nomination for Exit Strategy because frankly I don't think any one person should have more than one story per category.
(If you scroll down on that PDF, you'll see the long list of nominated works that didn't quite make the ballot, which I also think is the most interesting part.)
* And you should really read the awesome Jeannette Ng's John W. Campbell was a fucking fascist speech:
video clip: https://twitter.com/angryrobotbooks/status/1163371003935973376
* Second: the Raksura Colony Tree Community Art Project!
It was glorious. It was installed in a section next to the art show and people came and worked on it throughout the convention. Here are some links to photos:
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165364975122227200/photo/1
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1163531534663639040/photo/4
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162737828712914944/photo/1
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165366127599468545/photo/1
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165366127599468545/photo/3
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165364975122227200/photo/2
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165366127599468545/photo/4
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165366127599468545/photo/2
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162738298349137920/photo/1
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165364975122227200/photo/3
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1163531534663639040/photo/3
From earlier in the process:
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162737828712914944/photo/2
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162737828712914944/photo/3
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162737828712914944/photo/2
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162738298349137920/photo/4
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165364975122227200/photo/4
I just got back on Saturday, so I'll be doing some more posts about the convention and our trip later.
ETA: I arranged all those pictures so carefully and Twitter is not allowing a direct link, just a link to the posts, augh.
comments
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165368097416601600/photo/1
https://twitter.com/kellyoyo/status/1163227933751808002/photo/1
https://twitter.com/kellyoyo/status/1163227933751808002/photo/2
Also, now that the long list and voting stats have been released (https://dublin2019.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/201Hu@o%5Efulre@su@lt@s.pdf) I can say that Exit Strategy and Rogue Protocol also got enough nominations to be in the top 5 of the ballot, but Rogue Protocol was automatically declined because no more than two stories are allowed per author on the final ballot, and I declined the nomination for Exit Strategy because frankly I don't think any one person should have more than one story per category.
(If you scroll down on that PDF, you'll see the long list of nominated works that didn't quite make the ballot, which I also think is the most interesting part.)
* And you should really read the awesome Jeannette Ng's John W. Campbell was a fucking fascist speech:
video clip: https://twitter.com/angryrobotbooks/status/1163371003935973376
* Second: the Raksura Colony Tree Community Art Project!
It was glorious. It was installed in a section next to the art show and people came and worked on it throughout the convention. Here are some links to photos:
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165364975122227200/photo/1
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1163531534663639040/photo/4
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162737828712914944/photo/1
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165366127599468545/photo/1
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165366127599468545/photo/3
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165364975122227200/photo/2
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165366127599468545/photo/4
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165366127599468545/photo/2
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162738298349137920/photo/1
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165364975122227200/photo/3
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1163531534663639040/photo/3
From earlier in the process:
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162737828712914944/photo/2
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162737828712914944/photo/3
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162737828712914944/photo/2
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1162738298349137920/photo/4
https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1165364975122227200/photo/4
I just got back on Saturday, so I'll be doing some more posts about the convention and our trip later.
ETA: I arranged all those pictures so carefully and Twitter is not allowing a direct link, just a link to the posts, augh.
comments
August 7, 2019
Book Rec Wednesday
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Short story: Blood is Another Word for Hunger by Rivers Solomon
* Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: A Clash of Fate by Zoraida Cordova
Izzy and Jules were childhood friends, climbing the spires of Batuu, inventing silly games, and dreaming of adventures they would share one day. Then, Izzy's family left abruptly, without even a chance to say goodbye. Izzy's life became one of constant motion, traveling from one world to the next, until her parents were killed and she became a low-level smuggler to make ends meet. Jules remained on Batuu, eventually becoming a farmer like his father, but always yearning for something more. Now, thirteen years after she left, Izzy is returning to Batuu. She's been hired to deliver a mysterious parcel, and she just wants to finish the job and get gone. But upon arrival at Black Spire Outpost she runs smack into the one person who still means something to her after all this time: Jules.
* The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda
Only in Tananen do people worship a single deity: the Deathless Goddess. Only in this small, forbidden realm are there those haunted by words of no language known to woman or man. The words are Her Gift, and they summon magic. Mage scribes learn to write Her words as intentions: spells to make beasts or plants, designed to any purpose. If an intention is flawed, what the mage creates is a gossamer: a magical creature as wild and free as it is costly for the mage. For Her Gift comes at a steep price. Each successful intention ages a mage until they dare no more. But her magic demands to be used; the Deathless Goddess will take her fee, and mages will die. To end this terrible toll, the greatest mage in Tananen vows to find and destroy Her. He has yet to learn She is all that protects Tananen from what waits outside. And all that keeps magic alive.
* The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
Rin’s story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War—an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vice, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix—the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power.
* Pale Kings by Micah Yongo
For centuries the Five Lands have been at peace, but now a nameless enemy is tearing apart their borders. When a young assassin, Neythan, is summoned to Súnam, he expects to help uncover the enemy, but is instead confronted with secrets from his forgotten childhood, all somehow linked to the ancient scroll he has always carried. As the invasion continues, and the supernatural forces responsible are unveiled, Neythan must learn the truth about the power that lies in his blood... before it is too late.
* Short Story: Ten Excerpts From An Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen
* A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney
For generations, the marsh-surrounded town of Shimmer, Maryland has played host to a loose movement of African-American artists, all working in different media, but all utilizing the same haunting color. Landscape paintings, trompe l’oeil quilts, decorated dolls, mixed-media assemblages, and more, all featuring the same peculiar hue, a shifting pigment somewhere between purple and pink, the color of the saltmarsh orchid, a rare and indigenous flower. Graduate student Xavier Wentworth has been drawn to Shimmer, hoping to study the work of artists like quilter Hazel Whitby and landscape painter Shadrach Grayson in detail, having experienced something akin to an epiphany when viewing a Hazel Whitby tapestry as a child. Xavier will find that others, too, have been drawn to Shimmer, called by something more than art, something in the marsh itself, a mysterious, spectral hue.
* Preorder Upright Women by Sarah Gailey
Esther is a stowaway. She’s hidden herself away in the Librarian’s book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her—a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.
* Enchanted Ever After by Shanna Swendson
Katie Chandler's wedding day is coming soon, and she and Owen Palmer have a lot to do to make sure the event is magical. That makes this a very bad time for rumors about magic to be hitting the general public, even the television news. The secret about magic has been safe for centuries, but can it survive an era of cell phone cameras and the Internet? As Katie delves deeper into an online anti-magic underground movement, she starts to suspect that there's something more going on. Someone in the magical world is trying to expose magic to ordinary people. The fallout for the magical world could be devastating, and without the restrictions to keep magic out of the public eye, unscrupulous wizards might run amok. Worst of all, the culprit is trying to pin it all on Owen, who makes a handy scapegoat.
comments
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Short story: Blood is Another Word for Hunger by Rivers Solomon
* Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: A Clash of Fate by Zoraida Cordova
Izzy and Jules were childhood friends, climbing the spires of Batuu, inventing silly games, and dreaming of adventures they would share one day. Then, Izzy's family left abruptly, without even a chance to say goodbye. Izzy's life became one of constant motion, traveling from one world to the next, until her parents were killed and she became a low-level smuggler to make ends meet. Jules remained on Batuu, eventually becoming a farmer like his father, but always yearning for something more. Now, thirteen years after she left, Izzy is returning to Batuu. She's been hired to deliver a mysterious parcel, and she just wants to finish the job and get gone. But upon arrival at Black Spire Outpost she runs smack into the one person who still means something to her after all this time: Jules.
* The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda
Only in Tananen do people worship a single deity: the Deathless Goddess. Only in this small, forbidden realm are there those haunted by words of no language known to woman or man. The words are Her Gift, and they summon magic. Mage scribes learn to write Her words as intentions: spells to make beasts or plants, designed to any purpose. If an intention is flawed, what the mage creates is a gossamer: a magical creature as wild and free as it is costly for the mage. For Her Gift comes at a steep price. Each successful intention ages a mage until they dare no more. But her magic demands to be used; the Deathless Goddess will take her fee, and mages will die. To end this terrible toll, the greatest mage in Tananen vows to find and destroy Her. He has yet to learn She is all that protects Tananen from what waits outside. And all that keeps magic alive.
* The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
Rin’s story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War—an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vice, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix—the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power.
* Pale Kings by Micah Yongo
For centuries the Five Lands have been at peace, but now a nameless enemy is tearing apart their borders. When a young assassin, Neythan, is summoned to Súnam, he expects to help uncover the enemy, but is instead confronted with secrets from his forgotten childhood, all somehow linked to the ancient scroll he has always carried. As the invasion continues, and the supernatural forces responsible are unveiled, Neythan must learn the truth about the power that lies in his blood... before it is too late.
* Short Story: Ten Excerpts From An Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen
* A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney
For generations, the marsh-surrounded town of Shimmer, Maryland has played host to a loose movement of African-American artists, all working in different media, but all utilizing the same haunting color. Landscape paintings, trompe l’oeil quilts, decorated dolls, mixed-media assemblages, and more, all featuring the same peculiar hue, a shifting pigment somewhere between purple and pink, the color of the saltmarsh orchid, a rare and indigenous flower. Graduate student Xavier Wentworth has been drawn to Shimmer, hoping to study the work of artists like quilter Hazel Whitby and landscape painter Shadrach Grayson in detail, having experienced something akin to an epiphany when viewing a Hazel Whitby tapestry as a child. Xavier will find that others, too, have been drawn to Shimmer, called by something more than art, something in the marsh itself, a mysterious, spectral hue.
* Preorder Upright Women by Sarah Gailey
Esther is a stowaway. She’s hidden herself away in the Librarian’s book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her—a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.
* Enchanted Ever After by Shanna Swendson
Katie Chandler's wedding day is coming soon, and she and Owen Palmer have a lot to do to make sure the event is magical. That makes this a very bad time for rumors about magic to be hitting the general public, even the television news. The secret about magic has been safe for centuries, but can it survive an era of cell phone cameras and the Internet? As Katie delves deeper into an online anti-magic underground movement, she starts to suspect that there's something more going on. Someone in the magical world is trying to expose magic to ordinary people. The fallout for the magical world could be devastating, and without the restrictions to keep magic out of the public eye, unscrupulous wizards might run amok. Worst of all, the culprit is trying to pin it all on Owen, who makes a handy scapegoat.
comments
August 5, 2019
ArmadilloCon!
So I was at ArmadilloCon this weekend and it was awesome! Even more awesome than it usually is.
I was Special Guest this year and had a lot of programming, especially on Saturday, including an hour interview (conducted by the lovely Jessica Reisman) and an hour reading (I read from Network Effect and then answered questions), plus panels and an autographing. That kept me pretty busy so I didn't get to see hardly any of the other great stuff going on.
For the last few years the ArmadilloCon writers workshop has been sponsoring several seats for writers of color, and sponsoring guest teachers and panelists who wouldn't otherwise be able to come to the convention. (This year the guests were K. Tempest Bradford and Suyi Davies Okungbowa, whose novel David Mogo, Godhunter was just published.) I think this has opened up and revitalized the convention, and brought in so many great new attendees and panelists. If you want to donate to the workshop to help writers of color attend, or if you just want more info, the website is here: http://www.turkeycity.org/
A couple of highlights of the convention:
Toastmaster Marshall Ryan Maresca did a wonderful opening ceremonies speech about acknowledging the problematic past of fandom and SF/F and moving into the future, and how ArmadilloCon and the writers workshop give us the chance to pay forward to the next generations:
...this isn’t just a place that celebrates what’s happening now in all the tremendously geeky and fannish things we love. Nor is it a place that just looks to the fascinating and problematic past of those things. It is a place that fosters the people who will make those things tomorrow. We do that with our writers workshop, with the multiple panels on craft and business. We do that by filling the room with people who want to share, who want to pay it forward, who want to hold out a hand to the person behind them and say, “Hey, let’s go.”
If you are a person who ever whispered to yourself, “Maybe I could do that. Maybe I could write that. Maybe I could make that. Maybe I could be that.”
This is a place that opens its doors to you.
You are seen.
You are heard.
You are believed in.
And he also said nice things about me and the other guests. I'm going to excerpt what he said about me here because it was really nice and made me cry.
There’s a question that writers get asked all the time, and it’s one we usually have some sort of canned answer for. It’s a question so fundamental to digging at the roots of any artist, Jimmy Rabbit used it as his opener for musicians auditioning for his band in The Commitments. “Who are your influences?” But the question we do not get asked, which is just as important, is, “Who are your heroes?” Because for me, the answer to that question is Martha Wells.
The publishing industry is one that, quite frankly, will grind you up and spit you out. And Martha has spent the last twenty-five years—if you’ll pardon the metaphor—refusing to be spit out. We’ve had the privilege to have her be a part of this convention many, many times, including as the Guest of Honor in 2002. And to bring it back to my own experience here, she was one of the instructors at the writers workshop the first year I attended, and the year after that, almost all the years that followed. She’s paid forward to this community again, and again. I’ve personally had the privilege to share several panel discussions with her, on a wide range of topics of both business and craft, and every time I’ve walked out a little wiser thanks to her presence. And I’ve been thrilled in the past few years to see her Murderbot Diaries—available in the dealer’s room—get accolade after accolade, because her talent, her intelligence and her generosity have shown us how very deserving she has always been.
You can read the whole thing here: https://curiousfictions.com/posts/2435-marshall-ryan-maresca-armadillocon-41-toastmaster-speech
Among the stuff I missed: presentations by the science guest of honor Moriba K. Jah from UT Austin. Jah's research interests are focused upon the detection, tracking, identification, and characterization of resident space objects. The goal is to quantify, assess, and predict the behavior of all resident space objects, both natural and human-made. Jah's published works span the areas of space situational awareness, space traffic management, spacecraft navigation, space surveillance and tracking, multi-source information fusion, and more recently the intersection with space security and safety.
And I missed getting to see Robin R. Murphy again, (who I met before at TAMU CRASAR, the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue). She specializes in human-robot interaction and human-centered AI for ground, air, and marine robots. She brought one of the boat-robots that helps life guards save drowning people.
And I didn't get to see enough of Patrice Caldwell, an agent, editor, and author, who is the founder of People of Color in Publishing, a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting, empowering, and uplifting racially and ethnically marginalized members of the book publishing industry.
I missed the panel called The Female Monk Description: Why is it so hard for us to accept and love a female character whose raison d'etre is not a romance or children, but some other engagement with life, some other struggle or calling? Where is our female character like Caine from Kung Fu?
Here's a few links to photos on Twitter:
Opening ceremonies: https://twitter.com/longpromises/status/1157445216556802048
Me at my reading: https://twitter.com/davedwelling/status/1158172178778451968
Guest of honor Rebecca Roanhorse: https://twitter.com/davedwelling/status/1158046848709472256
The Award Winners panel: https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1157986859118731264
Suyi's reading: https://twitter.com/curiousworlds/status/1157691324130312192
Growing the Next Generation of Readers panel with Patrice Caldwell: https://twitter.com/Mexicanity/status/1157684982745374720
Dr. Robin Murphy and a robot: https://twitter.com/amber_royer/status/1157773015406534658
The swordfight: https://twitter.com/BlackOnBlues/status/1157694206510546949
comments
I was Special Guest this year and had a lot of programming, especially on Saturday, including an hour interview (conducted by the lovely Jessica Reisman) and an hour reading (I read from Network Effect and then answered questions), plus panels and an autographing. That kept me pretty busy so I didn't get to see hardly any of the other great stuff going on.
For the last few years the ArmadilloCon writers workshop has been sponsoring several seats for writers of color, and sponsoring guest teachers and panelists who wouldn't otherwise be able to come to the convention. (This year the guests were K. Tempest Bradford and Suyi Davies Okungbowa, whose novel David Mogo, Godhunter was just published.) I think this has opened up and revitalized the convention, and brought in so many great new attendees and panelists. If you want to donate to the workshop to help writers of color attend, or if you just want more info, the website is here: http://www.turkeycity.org/
A couple of highlights of the convention:
Toastmaster Marshall Ryan Maresca did a wonderful opening ceremonies speech about acknowledging the problematic past of fandom and SF/F and moving into the future, and how ArmadilloCon and the writers workshop give us the chance to pay forward to the next generations:
...this isn’t just a place that celebrates what’s happening now in all the tremendously geeky and fannish things we love. Nor is it a place that just looks to the fascinating and problematic past of those things. It is a place that fosters the people who will make those things tomorrow. We do that with our writers workshop, with the multiple panels on craft and business. We do that by filling the room with people who want to share, who want to pay it forward, who want to hold out a hand to the person behind them and say, “Hey, let’s go.”
If you are a person who ever whispered to yourself, “Maybe I could do that. Maybe I could write that. Maybe I could make that. Maybe I could be that.”
This is a place that opens its doors to you.
You are seen.
You are heard.
You are believed in.
And he also said nice things about me and the other guests. I'm going to excerpt what he said about me here because it was really nice and made me cry.
There’s a question that writers get asked all the time, and it’s one we usually have some sort of canned answer for. It’s a question so fundamental to digging at the roots of any artist, Jimmy Rabbit used it as his opener for musicians auditioning for his band in The Commitments. “Who are your influences?” But the question we do not get asked, which is just as important, is, “Who are your heroes?” Because for me, the answer to that question is Martha Wells.
The publishing industry is one that, quite frankly, will grind you up and spit you out. And Martha has spent the last twenty-five years—if you’ll pardon the metaphor—refusing to be spit out. We’ve had the privilege to have her be a part of this convention many, many times, including as the Guest of Honor in 2002. And to bring it back to my own experience here, she was one of the instructors at the writers workshop the first year I attended, and the year after that, almost all the years that followed. She’s paid forward to this community again, and again. I’ve personally had the privilege to share several panel discussions with her, on a wide range of topics of both business and craft, and every time I’ve walked out a little wiser thanks to her presence. And I’ve been thrilled in the past few years to see her Murderbot Diaries—available in the dealer’s room—get accolade after accolade, because her talent, her intelligence and her generosity have shown us how very deserving she has always been.
You can read the whole thing here: https://curiousfictions.com/posts/2435-marshall-ryan-maresca-armadillocon-41-toastmaster-speech
Among the stuff I missed: presentations by the science guest of honor Moriba K. Jah from UT Austin. Jah's research interests are focused upon the detection, tracking, identification, and characterization of resident space objects. The goal is to quantify, assess, and predict the behavior of all resident space objects, both natural and human-made. Jah's published works span the areas of space situational awareness, space traffic management, spacecraft navigation, space surveillance and tracking, multi-source information fusion, and more recently the intersection with space security and safety.
And I missed getting to see Robin R. Murphy again, (who I met before at TAMU CRASAR, the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue). She specializes in human-robot interaction and human-centered AI for ground, air, and marine robots. She brought one of the boat-robots that helps life guards save drowning people.
And I didn't get to see enough of Patrice Caldwell, an agent, editor, and author, who is the founder of People of Color in Publishing, a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting, empowering, and uplifting racially and ethnically marginalized members of the book publishing industry.
I missed the panel called The Female Monk Description: Why is it so hard for us to accept and love a female character whose raison d'etre is not a romance or children, but some other engagement with life, some other struggle or calling? Where is our female character like Caine from Kung Fu?
Here's a few links to photos on Twitter:
Opening ceremonies: https://twitter.com/longpromises/status/1157445216556802048
Me at my reading: https://twitter.com/davedwelling/status/1158172178778451968
Guest of honor Rebecca Roanhorse: https://twitter.com/davedwelling/status/1158046848709472256
The Award Winners panel: https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1157986859118731264
Suyi's reading: https://twitter.com/curiousworlds/status/1157691324130312192
Growing the Next Generation of Readers panel with Patrice Caldwell: https://twitter.com/Mexicanity/status/1157684982745374720
Dr. Robin Murphy and a robot: https://twitter.com/amber_royer/status/1157773015406534658
The swordfight: https://twitter.com/BlackOnBlues/status/1157694206510546949
comments
August 1, 2019
ArmadilloCon this weekend
There was an article today about ArmadilloCon in Austin with an interview with me:
https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20190730/armadillocon-41-reminds-austin-sci-fi-fans-field-is-in-great-shape
The convention is this weekend, and memberships and day passes are sold at the door: http://armadillocon.org/d41/
comments
https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20190730/armadillocon-41-reminds-austin-sci-fi-fans-field-is-in-great-shape
The convention is this weekend, and memberships and day passes are sold at the door: http://armadillocon.org/d41/
comments
July 30, 2019
Tuesday Book Recs
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
I'm Special Guest at ArmadilloCon in Austin this weekend, so I want to mention a few recent books by ArmadilloCon authors:
* Fog Season by Patrice Sarath
A web of secrets and hidden identities ensnare two sisters and their family, in this delightful historical fantasy sequel to The Sisters Mederos
* Temper by Nicky Drayden
In a land similar to South Africa, twin brothers are beset by powerful forces beyond their understanding or control in this thrilling blend of science fiction, horror, magic, and dark humor.
* Preorder The Arcana of Maps and Other Stories by Jessica Reisman
This first collection of Jessica Reisman’s stories roves the liminal spaces between now and not-quite-now, dream and waking, futures far flung and fantastic. (I wrote the introduction for this.)
* David Mongo: Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Nigerian God-Punk - a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.
* Tropic of Kansas by Christopher Brown
Acclaimed short story writer and editor of the World Fantasy Award-nominee Three Messages and a Warning eerily envisions an American society unraveling and our borders closed off—from the other side—in this haunting and provocative novel.
And these authors are not at ArmadilloCon but it would be awesome if they were:
* Preorder Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question--How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?
* The Apple Tree Throne by Premee Mohamed
It is the turn of the century in an England that never was. Bright new aqua-plants are generating electricity for the streetlights; news can be easily had on the radio-viz; and in Gundisalvus' Land, the war is over and the soldiers are beginning to trickle home. Amongst these is Lt. Benjamin Braddock, survivor of the massacre that ended the war, and begrudgingly ready to return to a world that, well, doesn't seem to need him any more than it did in peacetime. His friends have homes and families to return to, while he's got nothing but his discharge papers and a couple of unwanted medals. Oh, and one new thing: the furious ghost of his commanding officer
* Magical Women edited by Sukanya Venkatraghavan
A weaver is initiated into the ancient art of bringing a universe into existence. A demon hunter encounters an unlikely opponent. Four goddesses engage in a cosmic brawl. A graphic designer duels with a dark secret involving a mysterious tattoo. A defiant chudail makes a shocking announcement at a kitty party. A puppet seeking adventure discovers who she really is. A young woman's resolute choice leads her to haunt Death across millennia. . . A compelling collection of stories that speak of love, rage, rebellion, choices and chances, Magical Women brings together some of the strongest female voices in contemporary Indian writing. Combining astounding imagination with superlative craft, these tales will intrigue and delight in equal measure.
* Non-fiction Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others?
* The Hound of Justice by Claire O'Dell
Dr. Janet Watson and covert agent Sara Holmes, introduced in the acclaimed A Study in Hour, continue their dangerous investigation into the new American Civil War with the help of fresh allies, advanced technology, and brilliant deduction in this superb reimagining of Sherlock Holmes.
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(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
I'm Special Guest at ArmadilloCon in Austin this weekend, so I want to mention a few recent books by ArmadilloCon authors:
* Fog Season by Patrice Sarath
A web of secrets and hidden identities ensnare two sisters and their family, in this delightful historical fantasy sequel to The Sisters Mederos
* Temper by Nicky Drayden
In a land similar to South Africa, twin brothers are beset by powerful forces beyond their understanding or control in this thrilling blend of science fiction, horror, magic, and dark humor.
* Preorder The Arcana of Maps and Other Stories by Jessica Reisman
This first collection of Jessica Reisman’s stories roves the liminal spaces between now and not-quite-now, dream and waking, futures far flung and fantastic. (I wrote the introduction for this.)
* David Mongo: Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Nigerian God-Punk - a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.
* Tropic of Kansas by Christopher Brown
Acclaimed short story writer and editor of the World Fantasy Award-nominee Three Messages and a Warning eerily envisions an American society unraveling and our borders closed off—from the other side—in this haunting and provocative novel.
And these authors are not at ArmadilloCon but it would be awesome if they were:
* Preorder Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question--How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?
* The Apple Tree Throne by Premee Mohamed
It is the turn of the century in an England that never was. Bright new aqua-plants are generating electricity for the streetlights; news can be easily had on the radio-viz; and in Gundisalvus' Land, the war is over and the soldiers are beginning to trickle home. Amongst these is Lt. Benjamin Braddock, survivor of the massacre that ended the war, and begrudgingly ready to return to a world that, well, doesn't seem to need him any more than it did in peacetime. His friends have homes and families to return to, while he's got nothing but his discharge papers and a couple of unwanted medals. Oh, and one new thing: the furious ghost of his commanding officer
* Magical Women edited by Sukanya Venkatraghavan
A weaver is initiated into the ancient art of bringing a universe into existence. A demon hunter encounters an unlikely opponent. Four goddesses engage in a cosmic brawl. A graphic designer duels with a dark secret involving a mysterious tattoo. A defiant chudail makes a shocking announcement at a kitty party. A puppet seeking adventure discovers who she really is. A young woman's resolute choice leads her to haunt Death across millennia. . . A compelling collection of stories that speak of love, rage, rebellion, choices and chances, Magical Women brings together some of the strongest female voices in contemporary Indian writing. Combining astounding imagination with superlative craft, these tales will intrigue and delight in equal measure.
* Non-fiction Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others?
* The Hound of Justice by Claire O'Dell
Dr. Janet Watson and covert agent Sara Holmes, introduced in the acclaimed A Study in Hour, continue their dangerous investigation into the new American Civil War with the help of fresh allies, advanced technology, and brilliant deduction in this superb reimagining of Sherlock Holmes.
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