Category Archives: Writing

Advance praise for The Daedalus Incident

Not many folks have read The Daedalus Incident yet, but those that have, including a couple of extraordinarily talented authors, have liked it — so much so, they’ve even said nice things about it. To wit:

“A clever blend of genres that builds up to a fantastic, adventure filled ending.” — Jason M. Hough, author of The Darwin Elevator

And:

The Daedalus Incident is Master & Commander by way of Spelljammer smashed into an effortlessly believable 22nd century Martian mining project. Tremendous fun.” — Michael R. Underwood, author of Geekomancy and Celebromancy

Naturally, I find this amazingly cool and quite humbling. Thank you both, gentlemen, for the kind words and encouragement!

In other news, I’m back on The Night Bazaar today, and since we didn’t get a preassigned topic, I took on an article discussing the difficulties men have writing compelling female characters. Check out the post here.

Also, my SupaFi64 interview is now up on iTunes, and I expect the podcast archive online to be updated soon.

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Best of the blog so far

More than two years into my authorial and blogging career, I’ve seen a few blog posts on here continue to get a steady stream of readers, often months after the fact. Most of my most-visited blog posts have to do with writing, which is pretty understandable. But there are a few in there that kind of leave me wondering.

The following is a list of the most highly trafficked “evergreen” blog posts — unrelated to newsier items like getting my book published. Note that in some of the earlier posts, The Daedalus Incident went by the working title Spacebuckler before Night Shade Books wisely encouraged me to revisit the name.

Anyway, these are the ten most popular items based on visits by you, the readers. Because, hey, everbody likes a clip show, right?

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This book just got real

20130220-090956.jpgWell, look what we have here, gang.  Three beautiful (uncorrected galley proof) copies of The Daedalus Incident, fresh off the presses! They’re so very, very pretty. Up to now, this whole let’s-publish-a-novel thing has been somewhat academic. There’s been a lot of pixel pushing and e-mailing on computer screens, but nothing truly material except for my red-marked drafts. But this…this is a book. A very real book that has heft in your hand and pages to turn. It’s a beautiful thing.

So…want one? If you head on over to Con or Bust, you can bid on one of these, and I’ll sign it and personalize it for you if you win. Proceeds go to helping people of color attend SF/F conventions when they might not otherwise afford to go. Diversity is a good thing. So go bid — the auction ends Sunday. As of now, this is the only way you’re going to read this thing before it hits shelves May 7!

Also, if you want to read about religion in SF/F, hop on over to The Night Bazaar. We’ve had some really great, thoughtful stuff on the topic, and I hope my two cents is worthy. Check it out.

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Blogging at the Night Bazaar again

I’m traveling for work this week, but I’m still doing my thing over at the Night Bazaar. This week, they’ve asked us to discuss sexuality in SF/F, and I did my very best to keep it classy. Check it out!

Also, let’s not forget the Con or Bust auction. Click here to bid on a signed galley of The Daedalus Incident. You have until Feb. 24. Proceeds go to helping people of color attend SF/F conventions and enjoy the great community of SF/F fans.

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The monkey and the panda in all of us

A dish simply called Beans! (Photo by Katrina Woznicki)

Last Wednesday, Kate, Anna and I went to a great little restaurant in the East Village called Dirt Candy. It’s a vegetarian place and, while I am most certainly an avowed carnivore, the food was truly awesome. As in go-back-in-a-heartbeat awesome. Seriously, if you plan to be in New York, get on Open Table and get a reservation now. Not just ’cause it’s awesome, but also because it’s tiny and really well reviewed, and tables go faster than the Jets’ chances of winning a Super Bowl any time soon.

The chef, Amanda Cohen, not only does great veggies, but she also has a fantastic cookbook, one that she did in collaboration with graphic artist Ryan Dunleavy. Yes, it’s a cookbook/graphic novel, with all the greatness that implies. Chef Cohen, who once took on Morimoto on Iron Chef America, was kind enough to personalize Kate’s signed copy for her, and also served us dessert. I mean, seriously, that’s cool.

So why am I mentioning this?

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Now blogging at The Night Bazaar!

Today’s my debut blog post over at The Night Bazaar, Night Shade Books’ group author blog. We’ll be tackling all kinds of juicy topics over the next several weeks, and I’m excited to participate alongside so many outstanding scribes. I’ll be there every Wednesday until they basically tell me to stop.

Today’s topic is dealing with reviews. Although a bare handful of souls have read The Daedalus Incident thus far, I’m no stranger to having my writing out there for folks to critique. How do I deal? Check out the blog post.

Also, as a handy reminder, if you want to be one of the bare handful of souls to read The Daedalus Incident before it comes out May 7, get on over to Con Or Bust and bid on a signed galley of the book. Proceeds go to helping people of color attend SF/F conventions when they might not otherwise be able to afford it. The auction starts Saturday!

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Signed galley of Daedalus up for auction!

Want to be the first on your block — perhaps the first in your broad regional area — to read The Daedalus Incident? Want to help promote diversity at SF/F conventions? Here’s your chance!

A signed galley copy of The Daedalus Incident is up for auction at Con or Bust. Proceeds help people of color attend future SF/F cons when they might not otherwise afford it. Seriously, only a dozen or so souls have read this book so far, so your geek bragging rights are all but assured. Get it months before it comes out, complete with my illegible morass of a signature.

Click here for more information. The auction starts Feb. 9 and runs until Feb. 24. Bid early, bid often!

 

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Can writing be taught?

The answer is yes.

All right, I imagine you’re expecting more.

I recently got asked to be interviewed by a college literary journal, which led me to this question. I’ve seen a lot of heated words bandied about with regard to whether writing is something that can be taught, or whether it is purely based on God-given talent. What the question boils down to is:  Can you really learn how to produce good art?

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Melding minds and anticipating Daedalus

Too many books, too little time.

A couple of quick notes: I’m back over at SFSignal today, participating in a Mind Meld on the merits and drawbacks of re-reading your favorites versus exploring new work. (Spoiler alert: I’m a re-reader.) They put me in with some really outstanding writers, which is quite gratifying. Many thanks to the crew at SFSignal for giving newbies a shot. They do great stuff.

Also, The Daedalus Incident is now officially one of the most anticipated books of 2013, at least according to one (immensely thoughtful and perceptive) book blogger. Many thanks to the Angels of Retribution blog for all the kind words.

I expect to be popping up around the Internet with some frequency in the coming months, so check out the Media page for the latest. Also, I’m working with a very talented designer on revamping this blog, which includes a new Beer Fridge page that should make it easier to search for individual beer reviews.

Because, really, I think SF/F and beer go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

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Here’s to an exciting new year!

You know, 2012 was a pretty good year, all things considered. My family is healthy and happy, I had a great time at my job, I traveled fairly extensively. It was fun.

Oh, and I got a book deal on my 40th birthday. You know, little things like that.

Of course, this year could prove to be just as exciting, if not more so. The Daedalus Incident hits stores in a little more than four months, which will be the fulfillment of a pretty major dream and ambition. You’ll likely run into me at a couple of conventions over the course of 2013, and I’ll be updating the blog and Twitter as to my whereabouts. I’m also going to be popping up across the Internet on blogs and podcasts, too. I’m pretty jazzed about it all. It’s going to be fun.

But, as they say in the infomercials, THAT’S NOT ALL.

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