2008 March at SF Novelists

Archive for March, 2008

Lyda Morehouse March 31st 2008

When Writers Don’t Write

Hello, my name is Lyda Morehouse. I haven’t written in five days. Am I still a writer? Maybe it seems like a stupid question, but it’s one that seriously plagues me from time to time. I’ve always been very generous when it comes to defining who gets to call themselves a writer or an author. In [...]

Jim C. Hines March 24th 2008

Racing Along at the Speed of Publishing

Publishing is not a fast business. I’ve been submitting my work since 1995. I once had a publisher make an offer on my novel after 2.5 years. I have short stories which sat at magazines for over a year before being rejected. Even now that I’m a big, fancy, egotistical author with three books in print, [...]

Kate Elliott March 18th 2008

The Plot Synopsis Project – and why I didn’t participate

Check out this excellent post for your fabulous entry into the Plot Synopsis Project, in which a number of authors have joined together to make today National Post About Writing The Synopsis Day. I was invited to participate, but after some reflection I decided I couldn’t participate because, you see, I’ve never learned how to [...]

Diana Pharaoh Francis March 17th 2008

Digging Into Taboo

So in my last post, I talked about rape as a potential taboo topic for writers. And even though I used taboo in that post under the definition of”oughtn’t do,” the taboo I want to talk about here is cultural taboo. Okay, small step into Freud by yours truly, Ph.D. in lit prof. In very [...]

Marie Brennan March 16th 2008

Stars in our eyes

Why do writers want to see their books made into movies? Not everybody does, of course. Many novelists, if not most, will express deep reservations about the thought — after all, they’re only going to screw up your book, right? They’ll cut things, and dumb it down, and turn the black lesbian private investigator into [...]

Daryl Gregory March 15th 2008

Cover Story: A First-Timer’s Education

So after about six months of a drum roll playing nonstop in my head, I finally got to see the cover for my book that’s coming out this August (you’ll have to click the thumbnail to see a clearer, larger version). For the first-time novelist, this is a bit like seeing a sonogram of your [...]

S.C. Butler March 15th 2008

What’s Your Favorite Con?

No, I’m not talking about Locke Lamorra’s best swindles, but conventions. You know the gig: panels, filking, masquerades, parties, the bar. As a writer I find myself going to quite a few and, though most are great, there are a few I’d just as soon not return to. Generally, I divide conventions into two sorts: [...]

Mike Brotherton March 14th 2008

The Thinking Person’s Seven Deadly Sins

Recently the Catholic Church has been talking about updates to their original list of the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. The updates stress communal rather than individual sins, and specifically target scientific endeavors, including “genetic manipulation.” I guess we’re back to the theme of Frankenstein: Man is not meant [...]

David B. Coe March 13th 2008

Revisions

Last week I received comments back from a short story editor who is interested in buying a story of mine. He likes the piece, but feels that it still needs a bit of work before it’s ready to go in his publication. Yesterday I received the first 200 manuscript pages of my next book, book II in [...]

Catherynne Valente March 12th 2008

The Care and Feeding of the North American SF Novelist

I wrote this shortly after finishing my most recent novel a month or so ago, and it was suggested by several that I post it here, as a signpost for everyone else who goes through this particular wringer. I aim to please. I finished Palimpsest on deadline by utilizing my usual superpowers of procrastination, panic, [...]

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Author Information

Lyda Morehouse

Lyda Morehouse is the author of the science fiction AngeLINK series. She's won the Shamus and the Philip K. Dick Special Citation for Excellence (aka 2nd place). Her books have also been nominated for the Romantic Times Critics' Choice and preliminary Nebula ballot. She lives in the deep-freeze of Saint Paul, MN with her partner of twenty-odd years, their son, and lots and lots of cats (and fish!) Visit site.

Jim C. Hines

Jim C. Hines' latest book is THE SNOW QUEEN'S SHADOW, the fourth of his fantasy adventures that retell the old fairy tales with a Charlie's Angels twist. He's also the author of the humorous GOBLIN QUEST trilogy. Jim's short fiction has appeared in more than 40 magazines and anthologies, including Realms of Fantasy, Turn the Other Chick, and Sword & Sorceress XXI. Jim lives in Michigan with his wife and two children. He's currently hard at work on LIBRIOMANCER, the first book in a new fantasy series. Visit site.

Kate Elliott

Kate Elliott is the author of multiple fantasy and science fiction novels, including the Crown of Stars series and the Novels of the Jaran. She's currently working on Crossroads; the first novel, Spirit Gate, is already out, and Shadow Gate will be published in Spring 2008. Visit site.

Diana Pharaoh Francis

Diana Pharaoh Francis has written the fantasy novel trilogy that includes Path of Fate, Path of Honor and Path of Blood. Path of Fate was nominated for the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award. Recently released was The Turning Tide, third in her Crosspointe Chronicles series (look also for The Cipher and The Black Ship). In October 2009, look for Bitter Night, a contemporary fantasy. Diana teaches in the English Department at the University of Montana Western, and is an avid lover of all things chocolate. Visit site.

Marie Brennan

Marie Brennan is the author of more than thirty short stories and the Onyx Court series of historical fantasy novels, concluding in the upcoming With Fate Conspire (due out September 2011). Visit site.

Daryl Gregory

Daryl's a science fiction writer who lives in State College, PA. Several of his short stories have appeared in "Year's Best" anthologies, and his first novel, PANDEMONIUM, will appearing in Fall 2008 from Del Rey Books. Visit site.

S.C. Butler

Butler is the author of The Stoneways Trilogy from Tor Books: Reiffen's Choice, Queen Ferris, and The Magician's Daughter. Find out what Reiffen does with magic, and what magic does with him... Visit site.

Mike Brotherton

Professional astronomer, science fiction novelist (Star Dragon, Spider Star). Visit site.

David B. Coe

David B. Coe is the author of eleven fantasy novels, including the books of the LonTobyn Chronicle, Winds of the Forelands, and Blood of the Southlands. He has also written the novelization for the Ridley Scott production of ROBIN HOOD, starring Russell Crowe, that is due out in May 2010. In 1999 he received the Crawford Fantasy Award, given annually by the IAFA to the best new author in fantasy. He has a Ph.D. in United States environmental history and lives on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with his wife and daughters. Visit site.

Catherynne Valente

Visit site.