Archive for June, 2008
June 25th 2008
My New Day Job
On Friday, June 13, I left my old day-job, as the National Library Manager for an international law firm with 14 offices, managing 26 employees and supporting 700 attorneys across seven time zones.
On Monday, June 16, I started my new day-job, as a full time novelist and freelance writer, managing, um, me. As with any […]
June 24th 2008
Who do you write for?
Am I the only one who doesn’t have a clue how to answer this question? Whenever someone finds out I’m an author and starts asking me about my work, it’s a decent chance they’ll want to know who I write for. Who’s my audience? Who would enjoy my books?
I hate these questions, in large part […]
June 23rd 2008
The Book I Love and Can’t Sell
The best book I’ve ever written hasn’t been published yet. It hasn’t even been contracted.
This isn’t some lame attempt at metaphysics or inspirational tripe. I mean this literally. The book is written, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. But I can’t sell it, and it’s driving me nuts. Let me back up briefly […]
June 18th 2008
Incubation
Incubation is, in my writing definition, like pregnancy: the amount of time a story and/or world gestates within you before you really start work on it. Some scrap of emotion, character, movement, imagery, or a glimpse of a scene or angry conversational exchange: any of these, or one of a hundred other things, might snap […]
June 18th 2008
The Process of Finishing Up a Book
As I write this post, I am in the process of trying to finish up a draft of a book. There have been some potholes and speedbumps in the process involving health and life issues, but it’s almost done and I’m feeling relatively good about it (relatively because usually at the end of a book […]
June 17th 2008
Giving it all away
Earlier this year I was casting around for some way to publicise the fourth novel in my ongoing SF/Humour series before the launch. The books are doing fairly well in Australia, but there’s a huge chasm between ‘fairly well’ and where I’d like them to be, and so I got talking to the publisher.
Like I […]
June 16th 2008
The writer at play
Back in May, Clarkesworld Magazine published a piece by Justin Howe and Jason S. Ridler, Of Dice and Men, a mind-meld of SF/F writers on the topic of role-playing games and their writing careers.
My first thought on reading it was, “they stole my blog post idea!” My second was that it’s easy to come […]
June 15th 2008
Getting Things Write
I’m primarily a writer of what’s referred to “hard sf,” which of course means what I write is really difficult science fiction.
That’s baloney. Ok, something a little harder than baloney. Salami, or a nice summer sausage.
What I write is science fiction with plausible science. I try to get all the science right, and while I […]
June 11th 2008
Whistling in the Dark-Or More On The Pace of Publishing
As a writer, part of my job is to answer questions about my current, past, and future works and what I was thinking when I wrote this or that. We do this for interviewers, classrooms, talk audiences, and fans. If you happen to notice that I or another writers pauses a moment before answering questions, […]
June 10th 2008
Hurry Up And Wait
That’s what they say in the army, but it applies to publishing as well. It’s the idea that you, the writer (or the soldier), have to do everything you’re supposed to by yesterday at the very latest, while your officers (or your publishing company) get to take as long as necessary (or as long as […]
Author Information
Mindy Klasky
Mindy Klasky is the author of eight novels, including the popular paranormal romances GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT and SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL. Mindy also wrote the award-winning, best-selling Glasswrights series and the stand-alone fantasy novel, SEASON OF SACRIFICE. Visit site.
Jim C. Hines
Jim C. Hines is the author of THE STEPSISTER SCHEME, the first book in a new series that blends the old fairy tales and Charlie's Angels. He also wrote the humorous goblin trilogy, from DAW Books. He made his first professional fiction sale in 1998 with "Blade of the Bunny," an award-winning story that appeared in Writers of the Future XV. His short fiction has since appeared in over 30 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 RED HOOD'S REVENGE, the third book in his princess series. Visit site.
David B. Coe
David B. Coe is the author of nine fantasy novels, including the books of the LonTobyn Chronicle, Winds of the Forelands, and Blood of the Southlands. 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.
Kate Elliott
Kate ElliottKate 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 Cipher, first of The Crosspointe Chronicles, which will be followed by The Black Ship in November 2008. Diana teaches in the English Department at the University of Montana Western, and is an avid lover of all things chocolate. Visit site.
Simon Haynes
Simon is the author of the Hal Spacejock series, featuring intergalactic loser Hal and his junky sidekick, Clunk. His website contains a number of articles on writing and publishing, and he's also the programmer of several freeware apps including yBook, BookDB and yWriter. In his spare time(!) he helps to run Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. Visit site.
Marie Brennan
Marie Brennan is the author of several fantasy novels and short stories, including the Elizabethan faerie spy fantasy Midnight Never Come. Visit site.
Mike Brotherton
Professional astronomer, science fiction novelist (Star Dragon, Spider Star). Visit site.
Kelly McCullough
Kelly McCullough's first novel in the WebMage series, WebMage, was released by Ace in 2006 to considerable critical praise. Cybermancy, and CodeSpell followed in '07 and '08. His 4th, MythOS, is slated for late May '09. His short fiction has appeared in numerous venues including Weird Tales, Writers of the Future, and Tales of the Unanticipated. His illustrated collection, The Chronicles of the Wandering Star, is part of a National Science Foundation-funded middle school science curriculum, Interactions in Physical Science. 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.
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