Category Archives: Travel

August 10, 2015 · 6:15 pm

About to hit the road for a big heap of travel

Those who follow my blog or Twitter know that Kate and I get around a fair amount, but the next four weeks or so are going to be unusually intense — but mostly fun!

This Wednesday I head off to St. Louis for roughly 48 hours. That’s very much a day-job work trip, but I’ve not spent any quality time in St. Louis before, aside from an airport layover, so I hope I get to see a little bit of it. I hear tell they do some spareribs there that I believe need sampling.

I get back Friday, then turn around and go to San Francisco on Saturday for a couple weeks. That’s also largely for work, but Kate’s coming with me and I’m also doing a reading/signing thing on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Borderlands Books. If you’re around, stop by! After that, it’s primarily work, but we’re doing a few days in Big Sur as well. Because…well, heck, it’s Big Sur.

We get back home after two weeks of West Coast adventures, and then…well, I spend about three days in the office before heading out to Atlanta for DragonCon! I have my tentative schedule already, and it’s pretty neat. There will be some alternate history and some worldbuilding, but also some homebrewing advice and some Cthulhu thrown in. If all goes well, I’ll also be doing a rather large-ish giveaway for the DragonCon crowds; stay tuned for that if you’re going.

Long story short: If you’re in San Francisco or Atlanta, I hope you’ll come out to Borderlands or DragonCon and say hi. And when I travel, the blog tends to be a bit quieter, but my Twitter feed really ramps up as I post pictures and beers and all kinds of fun stuff, so be sure to check out that, too.

And then, well…I get a couple weeks at home before the next thing. It’s been quite the year for day-job travel, and combined with cons, I’ve really gotten around. By the time I get back from DragonCon, it’ll only be mid-September. And the autumn won’t really let up….

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July 4, 2015 · 12:57 pm

Catching up post-vacation

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll already have seen some photos and tidbits from my vacation, which took me from Philadelphia to Burlington, VT, to Quebec City and back. It was an awesome week, full of great family time, much-needed relaxation, good food and beer, and a chance to get some writing done, too.

Some of the highlights:

On the quarterdeck prior to setting sail.

My Father’s Day gift was a cruise around the Delaware River aboard the privateer Lynx, a replica of an early 19th century schooner, as part of the Tall Ships Philadelphia-Camden festival. It was a fantastic ship with a great crew, and I even got to help hoist the foresail. My daughter gamely came with me, though admittedly it wasn’t her cup of tea. But having written three Napoleonic Era space opera novels with sailing ships, I was in full geek-out mode. And lo, my family is awesome for getting me such a great gift.

A goodly crowd at the Vermont SF Writer’s Series.

From there, we went north to Burlington, where I was one of six writers in attendance at the monthly Vermont SF Writer’s Series at the Fletcher Free Library, organized by Andrew Liptak. We had a great crowd, as you can see here, and the readings were all fantastic. Afterward, I walked over to Phoenix Books with assistant manager Kari Meutsch to sign some books and chat with the staff. It’s a great store, and if you’re in the area, it should be your go-to spot for all your book-buying needs!

This art installation in Quebec City resulted in my favorite photo from the trip.

We also spent time with family in the Burlington area, which was lovely, then took off for the Great White Francophone North. This was our second time visiting Quebec City, and this time we stayed outside of town in a tiny chalet in the woods. Perfect writing spot. It was cooler, of course, and we did have one rainy day, but overall it was amazing. I totally recommend biking around Quebec City’s parks, as we did, and stopping frequently for beer and poutine. (Despite the biking and general exercise on the trip, I’m still five pounds heavier, though. Fair warning.)

So what happened while I was gone? Well, here’s a quick roundup:

The Skiffy and Fanty Torture Cinema podcast, featuring our takedown of the movie Krull, went live on Monday. It’s a fun and funny listen, and while I picked the film, it turns out Shaun Duke loved it more than any of us, and now he hates us all for destroying it.
The second chapter of “Crisis of Faith,” my Pathfinder Web serial, hit the Web on Wednesday. The reception from Pathfinder fans has been really gratifying, especially regarding the treatment of one of the setting’s iconic deities.
Amy J. Murphy did a guest post here on her novel Allies and Enemies-Fallen, which is in the Kindle Scout program and needs your vote. Click here to give it a read and vote before July 15.

Finally, I wanted to mention again that I’ll be the guest at the monthly meeting of the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County on Saturday, July 11, starting at 8 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in Hackensack, NJ. I’ll be reading from The Venusian Gambit and generally chatting about my work. If you’re in the area, come say hello!

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February 21, 2015 · 5:01 pm

Post-vacation roundup of fun stuff

I’ve been away for a bit, busy with day-job work, some very good flashes of creative writing and, well…vacation. We were originally heading for the Bahamas, but winter weather here and stormy, rainy, cool weather there made us rethink the trip at the last minute.

So we went to Vermont, which is always lovely. (For a post on the last time I visited, click here.) We did some skiing, caught up with family and friends, ate and drank exceptionally well, and wistfully plotted our retirement to the Green Mountains at some point. For a nifty take on our adventure, head over to Kate’s blog for some great pictures and thoughts.

When I returned, I found a care package from Night Shade Books waiting for me:

Aw, yeah. The Venusian Gambit is looking pretty sweet. In addition to these ARCs, I just signed off on the front-and-back cover copy — including a new blurb from an outstanding author that I can’t wait to tell you about, along with a really nice review, too.

At some point soon, I’ll likely do an exclusive blog-and-Twitter giveaway for one of these bad boys. I’m also saving one or two for charity as well — the Con or Bust auctions are coming in April, after all. So stay tuned for opportunities to win and/or donate to get an early copy. And I’ll note that the Goodreads giveaway of The Daedalus Incident goes until March 10, and there are 10 copies up for grabs there — signed, no less! Sign up to grab one.

On another note, it looks like there may be a chance to save Borderlands Books in San Francisco! This is great news — it’s such an awesome store, and San Francisco will be poorer for its absence. They’ve decided to see if they can sell paid sponsorships to people to keep the store going, and it seems to have worked really well. They needed to sell 300 sponsorships, at $100 each, to keep their doors open. As of yesterday, they sold 230. I’m just getting up to speed on this now, but the sponsorship seems like a great idea. So if you’re in the area, or really just want to support a great institution, get a sponsorship! Click here for how to do it.

UPDATE:

We're still accepting sponsorships, but we have hit goal of 300! THANK YOU!We would be speechless if we weren't so busy talking to everyone!

— Borderlands Books (@borderlands_sf) February 21, 2015

You should still get a sponsorship, though. Every bit helps!

That’s about it for now. I’ll be traveling again in the coming week — this time to Los Angeles for day job stuff — so I probably won’t be blogging a heap. But when the May 5 release date for Gambit gets closer, you’ll be inundated with stuff, no doubt. We have a lot of great, cool things planned to celebrate.

And as for Vermont, well…I’ll be back for the Vermont SF Writer’s Series in June up in Burlington. If you’re around, hope to see you there!

#SFWApro

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December 6, 2014 · 10:07 pm

Inspired by the Winchester Mystery House

Imagine you lost your child, your spouse and your parents in the span of a few short years. You also inherited a massive fortune as a result. What would you do? How would you avoid sinking into a spiral of depression?

On top of all that, what if you thought you were cursed, haunted by all the people who died in the course of creating that family wealth?

Sarah Winchester was the heiress to the Winchester firearms fortune, and faced exactly that. Her response was…unique, shall we say.

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, Calif., started out as a simple1860s farmhouse, purchased by Sarah in 1884. She began renovating – and renovating some more. When she died in 1922 and construction finally ceased, there were 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms, two ballrooms, 47 fireplaces, 17 chimneys, two basements and three elevators.

Plus, the architecture is haphazard at best. There are skylights in floors, staircases that go nowhere, cabinet doors that open onto bare walls, windows that were built over so they don’t allow in any light or air…it’s a crazy quilt of crazy.

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July 13, 2014 · 8:29 pm

Signing in San Francisco, plus a new review of Enceladus

I’ve re-emerged from the wilds of Idaho mostly intact, though rather exhausted after a long work retreat. I had a flight cancelled out from under me, requiring a five-hour drive to get to my final destination. That was followed by three short, somewhat uncomfortable nights, then a red-eye. Yet I did have a lot of fun, mixing both hard work and hard play. And Idaho is really a pretty piece of country. I’m a lucky guy when it comes to day jobs.

I have a few notable items to throw out here. On Saturday, July 26, I’ll be at Borderlands Books in beautiful San Francisco starting at 3 p.m. to do a reading, Q&A, signing, whatever. I know there’s some Night Shade Books fans in San Francisco, so I hope to see you there. It’ll be a lot of fun. (And then I’m going to Mission Chinese Food, because it’s nearby and I hear it’s the best, but I digress.)

Secondly, while I was off in Idaho and well out of cell phone range, the Qwillery offered up reviews of both The Enceladus Crisis and The Gravity of the Affair by TrinityTwo. On Enceladus, she writes:

The Enceladus Crisis … packs an astounding wallop of adrenaline. This is a smart, well-written and outstanding series; no sophomore slump here, Book Two is even more exciting than the first one.

And on Gravity, she says:

I must admit, I didn’t care for Horatio Nelson overmuch; he’s too pompous. But the author’s depiction of this historical figure rings true … It’s an excellent companion to Martinez’s series and gives readers a glimpse into events that shaped Nelson’s destiny before he became renowned as Britain’s most heroic sailor.

She pretty much nailed Nelson — he was brilliant and a true English patriot and hero, but he was most definitely pompous and not an easy guy for modern readers to like. Many thanks to TrinityTwo for her kind words, and to Sally at the Qwillery for her most excellent blog and the hard work all involved put into it.

Now that I’m back, I’ll be putting the finishing touches on The Venusian Gambit over the next three to four weeks or so, and perhaps blogging a little more regularly. The finale of the Daedalus series is coming along quite nicely, and the ending is deeply satisfying to me in terms of where the characters end up and how the worlds have changed. It’s also one heck of a ride. I was writing a particularly fun scene a few weeks ago on a plane, when my wife Kate looked over and saw me grinning as I wrote.

I consider this a very good sign.

It looks like Gambit will launch next May. The reception to these books has definitely exceeded any reasonable expectation, and for that I’m grateful to all the folks who’ve read it. I hope you enjoy the conclusion as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it!

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July 7, 2014 · 4:34 pm

Going offline this week

Even though I’m freshly returned from my beer/bike/book adventures in Colorado, I’m off once again this week, this time for a retreat as part of my day job. It’s up in Idaho, and I do believe cell coverage will be spotty at best. So if you’re looking for me here or on Twitter, or you’ve sent me an e-mail, well…I’ll get back to you Friday-ish, most likely.

A few things before I go: My thanks once again to the awesome people at Boulder Book Store, and everyone who came out, for a great event last week with Sara Megibow and I. We had a good crowd and good questions about publishing, and I signed many books and met new fans. Thank you, one and all.

And if you missed me in Boulder, you can catch me in a few weeks in San Francisco. I’ll be doing a reading/signing/Q&A at Borderlands Books on Saturday, July 26 at 3 p.m. PDT. I’ll bring bookmarks. It’ll be fun.

Finally, I expect to show up on a couple of fresh podcasts soon, and although I don’t have direct links, I figured I’d throw them out there. I did a roundtable on Skiffy and Fanty where we dissected the first season of BBC’s Sherlock. (I generally love the show, others less so.) And I did a quick interview on the Reading and Writing Podcast, where I discussed my books and how they came to be. Totally unsure as to the exact dates for these, so keep an eye out.

Of course, if I’m able to get a signal out in the sticks, I might have a few fun Tweets or posts later this week. But otherwise, I’ll be back at you on the weekend. Have fun and be kind to one another.

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July 3, 2014 · 10:20 am

Notes from the Rockies

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon in Colorado.

If you’ve been following my Twitter feed at all, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been in Colorado this week, and also that I’ve been having fun. If you haven’t been following that, I’ll do my best to catch you up.

I’m here visiting family, including my 4-month-old first-cousin-once-removed, who is now tied with my daughter for Cutest Baby Ever and don’t you dare tell me otherwise. This being Colorado, there’s also been hiking and biking and a goodly amount of beer, including a tasting of 22 different beers on Tuesday as part of a bike-tour of various Fort Collins breweries. Thankfully, tastings are in tiny glasses, which means over several hours, I wasn’t unduly wrecked.

Author and agent: Talking books in Boulder.

Last night’s discussion and Q&A at Boulder Book Store with my agent, Sara Megibow, went really well. Ben and the rest of the store crew were awesome. We had a great crowd and lots of good questions about the writing life and publishing and getting your stuff out there in to the big wide world. I also saw a lot of copies of The Daedalus Incident and The Enceladus Crisis head out the door, so thank you to everyone who bought them, and for supporting a fantastic independent bookstore as well.

And speaking of that support, Boulder Book Store still has autographed copies of both my books in stock, so if you’re around the Denver-Boulder-Fort Collins area, go grab a copy!

The fermenters at Walnut Brewery, full of great beer.

Knowing that I’m both a beer aficionado and a home-brewer, Sara arranged a tour of Walnut Brewery‘s brewhouse before the signing last night. Brewmaster Rodney Taylor himself took us around the brewpub’s facilities, explaining his process and how he comes up with Walnut’s excellent brews. Rod has a pretty sweet 14-barrel brewhouse going, and he’s very into the art of brewing. It was a huge treat for me to see it. Many thanks to Rod for taking the time, and Sara for making it happen.

So yeah, when you’re done picking up my books at Boulder Book Store, go down the block and around the corner and have one of Rod’s beers (and some excellent food, too) at the Walnut Brewery!

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July 1, 2014 · 10:57 am

A new excerpt of The Enceladus Crisis out today in Apex Magazine

Happy July! And given that it’s the first Tuesday of the month, today is when Apex Magazine comes out with their newest monthly issue. In this month’s issue 62, you can catch a brand new excerpt from The Enceladus Crisis in there, full of late 18th century sailing ship action. I don’t think this bit of the book has been put out there yet, so enjoy!

And do check out the rest of the magazine, which has brand new stories from Laura Davy, Victor Fernando R. Ocampo, Gillian Conahan and others. Plus poetry, interviews, essays and more. Apex is a 2014 Hugo nominee for best semiprozine, after all, so you know it’s good. You can buy individual copies on Kindle or Nook, or via the Apex site and at Weightless Books. Or you could subscribe, which is a great deal and supports a great magazine and darn it, just makes you a better person thanks to all the great, thoughtful fiction and commentary you’ll be reading.

Many thanks to Apex for the opportunity. Keep on being awesome.

While I’m here, a reminder: Tomorrow (July 2) at 7:30 p.m., I’ll be at Boulder Book Store with my agent, Sara Megibow, to talk about my books, getting them published, and a variety of other writing-and-publishing things. There’s a $5 voucher to attend, but you get to use it as a coupon to buy books at the store, including The Enceladus Crisis. So if you’re around, say, Colorado, and you want to come out, I’d love to see you! Here’s the event page with all the details.

Speaking of Colorado, it really is nice here. Exhibit A:

That was from a great hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Today, it’s bikes-and-breweries touring here in Fort Collins. If you follow me on Twitter or Untappd, you may see a lot of beer-related stuff today. You’ve been warned. (And don’t worry…if you see me logging a dozen beers today, it’s because I’m doing small tastings, not because I’m torturing my liver!)

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June 23, 2014 · 5:45 pm

Home away from home in Vermont

When folks ask me where I’m from — pretty common in New York, which is a very transient city — I say Vermont. Now, I only spent three full years of high school and all four summer breaks from college in the Green Mountain State, but I claim it anyway. There’s more of Vermont in me than any of the other places I’ve lived.

So when I get to return, such as this past weekend to visit my mom, I get a little blissed out. And this time, Vermont laid out a bit of a welcome mat. The picture here is of the Local Authors shelf at the Bennington Bookshop, where I bought many a book in my youth. Even though I’m not technically local anymore, you can see both The Daedalus Incident and The Enceladus Crisis there on the second shelf. And that brought me joy.

There are also copies in the SF/F section, and all my books there are now signed. As further incentive, my 10-year-old daughter signed the photo credit she received in the back for taking my headshot. Rare collectables, y’all. So if you’re in the Bennington area, stop by and support a great local bookseller!

Bennington gave me my start as a pro writer; I interned at The Bennington Banner, the local daily. And below is a picture of the Silk Road covered bridge outside town. It’s an awesome bridge, dating to 1840. Twenty-four years ago, I took almost this exact photo for the paper. Now, I was never a great 35mm photographer, and it was in B/W film on top of that. It took a good hour of developing to get a usable image for the paper. The photo below happened in one click with my iPhone 5s, and came out fantastic:

If I were in the darkroom (or Photoshop, I suppose), I’d dodge in a bit more of the other side of the bridge, but really, I was pleasantly surprised at how well this came out, especially when I remembered just how stubborn my first attempt was more than two decades ago.

So there’s my bit of Vermont. Enjoy your moment of zen.

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April 14, 2014 · 9:00 pm

Iceland is freakin’ gorgeous

As promised, after yesterday’s stupid Twitter pics, I thought I’d share some of my better photos from our Iceland trip. These are all nature shots, because frankly, this island is gorgeous and it’s the best thing to share with you since I can’t shove Icelandic food through the Internet for you to try.

Iceland is volcanic, and it’s also being pulled apart by the North American and European tectonic plates. So you have mountains and volcanoes and geothermal goodness, along with some beautiful springs and falls and streams.

What you don’t have is trees. Before the island was settled around 870 A.D., it was much more forested. A millennium of settlement, along with the need for shelter and warmth, pretty much decimated the forests. They’re working on reforesting the place, but it’s going to take time. Right now, most forests are barely taller than I am. A common joke here goes: