Postmodern Epic Fantasy?

/ 26 Comments / On Writing, The Industry / By

Spotted an intriguing line in io9’s Power List of 20 people who rocked SF/F in 2010. I’m not one of them, alas, though I noted a great blurb there about Orbit’s publishing director Tim Holman. Tim rightly deserves the spotlight in that article, but, well, I’m just gonna own my narcissism here. What caught my eye was this: Looking at Orbit’s 2010 titles, too, you’re struck by their range, from hard science fiction icon Greg Bear to space opera master Iain M. Banks, and from postmodern epic fantasy author N.K. Jemisin to steampunk innovator Gail Carriger. So now I’m thinking,

Postmodern Epic Fantasy? KEEP READING

2010: The Year We Make Contact

/ 7 Comments / Natter / By

And by “we,” I mean me and any of you who are reading this post, not aliens. (Of course, it’s possible aliens might be reading this. Interstellar voyages probably get really boring. Gotta pass the time somehow.) It’s been… a weird year. The goods — my first and second novel published! a Hugo and Nebula nomination! the sale of two more novels! — have been very good. The bads — un(der)employment! a batshit roommate I had to sue! and one very scary family health situation — were pretty damn bad. I didn’t talk much about the bads in public because

2010: The Year We Make Contact KEEP READING

My secret is out

/ 4 Comments / silliness / By

Yes, it’s true. ::weeping:: I’m not the author of the Inheritance Trilogy. I stole the idea… from… from her! All-Purpose Cultural Cat NukuNuku! Since her full name is unpronounceable by human vocal apparati and impossible to render in any printed language — plus really long — for legal purposes she requires me to act as her interlocutor. I knew I should’ve acknowledged her as the real writer from the beginning, but… but… the temptation was just too great. The riches… the fame… it all just got to me! But now, at the close of the year in which my first

My secret is out KEEP READING

Walkin in a winter WTF

/ 5 Comments / WTF World? / By

Local, writing-irrelevant griping here; all who are disinterested in the mundanities of my daily life please move along. You may have heard that the northeast US got smacked with a massive snowstorm a couple of days ago. It’s the northeast; it happens. But this particular Snowpocalypse has been exacerbated by the worst snow-emergency response I’ve seen since I moved to this part of the country. The snow isn’t the problem; the problem is the complete failure of New York’s administration to send snowplows, etc. into the non-Manhattan boroughs of the city. A few main streets have reportedly been plowed, yes.

Walkin in a winter WTF KEEP READING

A slightly-belated Christmas gift

/ 4 Comments / Fan Fun / By

Apologies for the silence, folks. Like many of you, I’ve had relatives in town this week, and the sheer bombardment of family demands plus holiday demands and work demands and oh yeah writing demands, has pretty much eaten me alive. But I’ll have some enforced free time in the next few days because holy crap, Snowpocalypse 2: Brooklyn Boogaloo, has begun. We’re expecting 10-15 inches in the next day or two. I don’t have to go to work, though, and I’ve got plenty of apple cider and a snuggly cat to keep me warm, so I think it’s time to

A slightly-belated Christmas gift KEEP READING

Women, Warriors, and Gender Policing

/ 17 Comments / Natter, Thinkythoughts / By

I’ve avoided addressing this topic for awhile now, mostly because I think it’s the kind of subject that someone, somewhere, could write a book on. (Actually there are a few.) And since I’m busy writing fantasy books, I don’t have the time. Still, I’ve noticed that a lot of readers of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms have shown a persistent interest in Darr and its warrior women. I love this, by the way; it feels incredibly cool to have written something that gets people so engaged. But I’m also aware that it’s not necessarily my Darre, but the idea of a

Women, Warriors, and Gender Policing KEEP READING

Character Study: Enefa, part one

/ 11 Comments / Thinkythoughts / By

I was hesitant to do a character study of this member of the Three, since her entire story is pretty much a spoiler for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Still, 100K has been out for over 6 months now, and the mass market has been out for three, so I’m going to chance it. If you haven’t read the first two books of the trilogy yet, and you’re really, really anti-spoiler, look away now! I mean it!

Character Study: Enefa, part one KEEP READING

Weird Tales a-comin’

/ 2 Comments / Shorts / By

Ooo, lookee!! Click to embiggen: My short story “The Trojan Girl” will be out in this issue. Not only will it have this gorgeous issue cover — designed by fellow author Mary Robinette Kowal, who clearly has a good eye — but they’ve given my story phenomenal interior art too! The folks at Weird Tales tell me the issue will hopefully be on sale by the end of the month. Wanna make sure you don’t miss it? Subscribe now! Of course, I’ll let you know when the single issue is available, too.

Weird Tales a-comin’ KEEP READING

Now it can be told: DREAMBLOOD!

/ 21 Comments / Sales / By

HOMG, ya’ll, I thought I was gonna pop trying to keep this one in. Remember that really fantastic, utterly cool thing I’ve been hinting at for the last two weeks? Couldn’t tell you about it ’til it became official? Well, it’s official: I’ve sold the Dreamblood duology to Orbit! The first book’s description: In the city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Along its ancient stone streets, where time is marked by the river’s floods, there is no crime or violence. Within the city’s colored shadows, priests of the dream-goddess harvest the wild power of the sleeping mind as

Now it can be told: DREAMBLOOD! KEEP READING

Keeping Up (Guest) Appearances

/ Appearances / By

Do you love me? Do you really love me? Well, that’s good, because I’m going to be all over the place in the next couple of weeks. Tonight, for example, I will be on the inimitable radio show Hour of the Wolf, hosted by the equally inimitable Jim Freund. You can either tune in, if you happen to be up between 1:30 and 3:00 in the (Thursday) morning EST; it’ll be on WBAI 99.5 FM in the New York area, or streamed live online. Or if you prefer your beauty rest, you can listen to a recording of the ep

Keeping Up (Guest) Appearances KEEP READING

Scroll to Top