First, a few housekeeping items. I’m confirmed as a guest at Phoenix Comicon and as an attending professional again at DragonCon in Atlanta. (I even have my very own Phoenix Comicon guest page, which is very awesome.) This will be my first time at the Phoenix event, but I know many of the authors going and they recommend it highly, so I’m quite looking forward to it. And I had a most excellent time at DragonCon last year, and can’t wait to go back.
Now, for some bad news. I missed out on reading at Borderland Books in San Francisco last summer due to the passing of my mom. Jude was, of course, very understanding and completely awesome, and I was able to stop in and sign some stock this past December while in town for day-job work. It’s such a cool store, and I was looking forward to returning this summer to read and sign The Venusian Gambit.
Sadly, Borderlands is closing. Charlie Jane Anders put it best:
I e-mailed Jude and asked if there was anything I could do, or if there was an effort underway to try and save the store. And there yet may be such an effort. However, it seems like the folks who run the place are very much in the acceptance phase of things, whereas many of us are still surfing through anger and denial. So unless the store itself comes up with a new plan — or if someone with deep pockets comes in and offers to buy the joint outright — I’m going to work on the acceptance thing on my end.
If you’re in the San Francisco area, please consider stopping by the store on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. to learn more and see what they need — and buy as many books as your wallet can manage. They’re also selling shelves and fixtures, too.
If you’re not local, I recommend you to check out the store’s site and, if you can, make some purchases between now and closing time. They’re also going to make some commemorative hoodies, and I certainly plan on buying one if I can.
Finally, I’d simply urge you to support your own local booksellers, whether they’re focused on SF/F or not. Bookstores are great for communities, and indie stores are such amazing places, run by people with passion for the written word. Go buy some books. Become a regular customer. Yeah, it’s a few bucks more per book, but it’s totally worth it.
#SFWApro
, 
Michael J. Martinez 
Always support independents. There are so few, and they’re so great at building a local community.