Cool Stuff Friday
Friday is inadequately caffeinated this morning.
Friday is inadequately caffeinated this morning.
Only 14 days until Terminal Peace arrives in the world!
Today, I’ve got a brief guest post on Mary Robinette Kowal’s “My Favorite Bit” feature, talking about a minor piece of the book that just made me happy to write about 🙂
Some of you will have seen that my author copies arrived a few days ago, which means the printing delays have been overcome and the book really does physically exist! Which is reassuring.
This also means you should be able to pre-order the book from your favorite local bookstore. Or if online works easier, we’ve got you covered there as well:
I’m hoping this book will mark a turnaround from a bit of a slump for me these past few years, writing-wise. Between my wife’s illness, the pandemic, and changes at my publisher, I’d love to get any sort of sense of security or stability on the writing front. But we’ll see what happens. I’ve got one new book sitting with my publisher, one that may become a 2023 Kickstarter project, and one that’s about 25% of the way through a very rough first draft.
In the meantime though, I’m counting down the days to this one, and really hoping you like it! I think it wraps up the trilogy pretty well, but now that it’s in print, your opinion matters a lot more than mine does 🙂
Update #1: The release date for Terminal Peace has been pushed back two weeks, from August 9 to August 23. This is because of printing delays that are affecting a number of Penguin Random House titles. (My publisher, DAW, is distributed by Penguin Random House.)
I’m 97% sure this will apply to the ebook and audio book release as well.
Update #2: Remember a while back (two paragraphs) when I mentioned DAW Books was distributed by Penguin Random House? Well, that’s changing too. A press release went out today announcing that my publisher has been acquired by Astra Publishing House.
Let’s start with a quote from the press release:
DAW co-publishers Betsy Wollheim and Sheila Gilbert said, “We are extremely pleased by Astra’s enthusiasm, and thrilled that we will be the sole SFF imprint of their company (a first for DAW!). We think this is the perfect fit for us, and it’s exciting and refreshing to be an integral part of a new and growing company. It speaks volumes about Astra’s respect for our company that they have included our entire staff. We’re very happy.”
So it sounds like current DAW staff will continue in their positions. This shouldn’t impact anything for Terminal Peace, or for other books scheduled for a 2022 release.
Links:
So what does this mean? I’m not sure. I hope it’s good news, both for DAW and for me.
Terminal Peace was my last contracted book with DAW. We submitted a new fantasy novel to them earlier this year. If they want it, it will be interesting to see if and how things change with the acquisition process.
For the moment, I’m cautiously optimistic and hoping for the best. And one way or another, the core of my job remains unchanged: sit my butt down and write the next book.
Got my absentee ballot for the August primaries, and I was curious about the five Republican candidates for governor. So I checked out an article on Bridge. And now I’m depressed.
Tudor Dixon: “…criticized Whitmer’s COVID-19 policies as a form of “tyranny” and aligned herself with Trump, who appeared at a recent fundraiser she threw at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.”
Ryan Kelley: “…protested removal of a Confederate statue in his hometown and organized a large anti-Whitmer protest at the Michigan Capitol that resulted in armed demonstrators entering the building … urged federal authorities to “arrest” Whitmer for her COVID-19 policies … called for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 election and was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots.”
Ralph Rebandt: “…appeared at rallies demanding a “forensic audit” of the 2020 election … supports a no-exception ban on abortion.”
Kevin Rinke: …wants to “repair the state’s education system and stop “indoctrination” of kids … said he “had not seen anything to indicate there was fraud” in the 2020 presidential election but has since run television ads making the false claim that “dead people always vote” for Democrats.”
Garrett Soldano: “…built his campaign around support for personal freedoms and opposition to pandemic policies like vaccine mandates … made national news in February when he said he thinks women who are raped should not have abortions because “that little baby inside them might be the next president.””
Ryan Kelley and Ralph Rebandt have also said they want to ban same-sex marriage.
I’ve written and deleted several paragraphs, so I’ll just say this. I know that “just vote” isn’t enough. But please do vote this fall. Preferably for candidates who aren’t spreading repeatedly-debunked lies, fanning the flames of violence, and salivating at the chance to strip away other people’s rights.
Friday is gonna be sending out a newsletter soon — and probably giving away a free book to a random subscriber.
Friday needs all the positive stuff it can find this week!
I started donating blood in 2016, when I realized I could donate despite being diabetic. (I’d misunderstood or been misinformed about that.) I’ll get my 4-gallon pin with my next donation.
This is personal to me. Donated blood and platelets helped my wife survive nine months while she was fighting cancer.
I’m O-, which is the universal donor. Which means the Red Cross REALLY wants my blood. I get plenty of reminder calls, texts, and emails. Donors also sometimes receive gift cards, T-shirts, and other goodies, all to encourage us to give.
What they don’t do is come to my house, pin me down, and take my precious O- blood by force. That would be ridiculous, right? Not to mention criminal. Even in the midst of the first-ever National Blood Crisis, they can beg for donations, but I always have the right to say no.
Even if my donation would make the difference between a patient living and dying — I have the right to say no, and to let that patient die. (See McFall v. Shimp)
“But what if it’s an innocent child, or a helpless baby?”
Legally, it doesn’t matter. I have the right to say no. Even if it means that child or baby will die.
Would I say no? I would not. I plan to keep donating for as long as I’m physically able to do so. I’m also registered as an organ donor. Because that’s what I choose to do.
Even if I caused an accident, and the victim is bleeding out, and only my blood can keep them alive — I still have the right to say no. I have the right to choose whether or not to donate my blood.
17 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. (Source) But–living or dead–you have the right to refuse to donate your organs. The rights of your corpse trump the “right to life” of those people waiting for transplants.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer knowing the Red Cross or the government can’t force me to donate blood. That I can choose to donate, but that nobody is allowed to violate my bodily autonomy.
Think about it. Do you really want the Red Cross kicking down your door to collect a quarterly donation from you and your kids?
(I exaggerate. The RC people I’ve worked with are great people. I’m sure they’d knock first.)
“But what about the rights and bodily autonomy of that helpless baby?”
I don’t think the Red Cross or the government should be able to force babies to donate blood and organs either. But, again, I can’t be forced to violate my own bodily autonomy to save that baby’s life.
Let’s say, hypothetically, I somehow became pregnant. If my unborn child is a person, you can’t force me to violate my bodily autonomy to save that person. If they’re not — if they’re a part of my body — I have the right to choose what to do with my own body.
Of course, if people really cared about reducing abortions, there are ways to do it without violating bodily autonomy. For example, “[P]roviding birth control to women at no cost…cuts abortion rates by 62 to 78 percent compared to the national rate.” (Source)
The push to criminalize abortion isn’t about protecting life. It’s about power and control over other people.
Just like every other abusive relationship.
Friday would like to be a Pepper too.