Welcome!

So you’ve found my blog. Good for you! Hopefully you intended to find the blog of N. K. Jemisin, author. I have a number of short stories out, and my first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, is due out in February of 2010. It’s the first of a trilogy; just finished Book 2, and am well into Book 3. Just one note: to prevent spam and the like, I have comments set to moderate. The first time you post here, your comment must be approved, but after that you’re golden. If, uh, you were looking for some other blog and […]

Welcome! KEEP READING

Prospective cover photos

So, I had to get author photos, for possible use on the cover and other promo of the books. Since I hate hate hate taking photos, this represented a significant source of stress for me. -_- During the retreat a few weeks back, fellow writing-group mate Tempest took some photos of me using my digital camera. One of them’s a good “candid moment” photo; the rest I hate (no fault of T’s, but I was in a funky mood that day). But I wanted at least one professionalish, me-looking-at-the-camera headshot. At which point other fellow writing-group mate Eugene stepped up,

Prospective cover photos KEEP READING

Random observation of the day

My multiculturalism, let me show you it! Conversation in my office: Boss (who is from Australia): Would you like a crumpet? Me: What the hell is a crumpet? Oh, those English muffin-looking things. I’ve seen them at Trader Joe’s. Boss: Those aren’t crumpets. Me: Yes they are! It says so on the package. Boss: Biscuit, then. Do you want a biscuit? ::offers:: Me: COOKIE. COOKIE, DAMMIT. SPEAK AMERICAN. (I’m not really like this. Was just feeling silly today. He laughed.) I’m going to miss this job.

Random observation of the day KEEP READING

Sale, progress report

Occurs to me I haven’t talked about writing as much as I should have, lately. =) Woke up this morning to an acceptance on “Red Riding-Hood’s Child”, which has been on hold with PodCastle for several months. Yay! Ought to be interesting, the feedback on that one. I’m liking Podcastle more and more, though; they’re starting to take some risks. Good for them. Writing wise, all is well. I’m pretty much done with the revisions to 100K; have added about 5K to the story overall. Now need to go back and do some smoothing and polishing to make sure it

Sale, progress report KEEP READING

The goods, the bads, and the irrelevancies

GOOD: – Auction to help KGB Fantastic Fiction! The Fantastic Fiction readings were my introduction to New York’s dynamic spec fic community; each month two different established and up-and-coming writers read their work to an audience of fans and their fellow pros. It’s a great place to meet people and best of all hear good stuff. (I got to hear an excerpt from Naomi Novik’s fifth Temeraire novel last year! I’m still squeeing over that one.) So help the organizers keep bringing cool people… and while you’re at it, bid on some truly awesome stuff. (Seriously. Awesome. Go look.) –

The goods, the bads, and the irrelevancies KEEP READING

Clarion West laptop theft — please help!

I’ve never been to any of the Clarions — too poor to quit my job, and never got more than 2 weeks’ vacation — but I can’t imagine what it would be like to get in and then have this happen. Please help by donating: here if you have money, and here if you actually have a spare machine. ::shudders in empathetic horror, pets own computer Ichigo for self-comfort::

Clarion West laptop theft — please help! KEEP READING

Con contemplation; the art of the schmooze

I’m thinking about going to World Fantasy Con. I’ve never gone before, mostly because I’ve always thought of that particular con as being primarily for pros. And though last year I finally became a pro by SFWA standards via short stories, I still didn’t think I was pro “enough” for WFC. I mean, what if the halls were filled with published novelists all standing around and asking each other, “So, when’s your next book out?” …Yeah, OK. I didn’t really think that. Well. Maybe a little.

Con contemplation; the art of the schmooze KEEP READING

Octavia Butler’s birthday is today (June 22)

And in honor of her memory, I and other members of the Carl Brandon Society are posting about her. That link, BTW, will take you to the Carl Brandon Society’s scholarship page, which helps pay for one writer of color to attend a Clarion workshop. Clarion, as you know Bob, is the premier writers’ workshop in the speculative fiction field, and in its various iterations has been running for more than 30 years now. Clarion is also where Octavia Butler was “discovered”, so to speak; she sold her first story there. And while I myself never went to Clarion or

Octavia Butler’s birthday is today (June 22) KEEP READING

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