Holiday Bookplates and a Book Giveaway

Part I: Each year, I offer free autographed bookplates for anyone who plans on giving one (or more) of my books as presents.  This year is no different.  If you’ll be tucking goblins or princesses into somebody’s stocking–

Wait, let me rephrase that.  If you’re giving goblin or princess books this year, and would like signed bookplates, please contact me.  I have different bookplates for the two series, so let me know which books you’re giving, and how many.  I can squeeze a name in too, so if you want it autographed to someone, tell me that too.

U.S. residents only, I’m afraid.

Part II: One of the books I received at World Fantasy was The Secret History of Moscow [B&N | Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy] by Ekaterina Sedia.  It’s a beautiful book, but I already own a copy.  So it’s time for a book giveaway!

You can read my thoughts on the book here.  If this sounds like the kind of story you’d enjoy, leave a comment, and I’ll draw a winner in a week or so.  (Make sure I have a way to reach you if you win.  If you’re on LJ or DW, I can contact you through your user ID.)

No geographic restrictions on this one.  Everyone can enter.

Part III: Dang it, I’m going to visions of have stocking-clad goblins stuck in my head all day…

No More Disney Fairy Tales?

Back in 2004 or so, I started toying with the idea for a different kind of fairy tale retelling, one which went back to the original stories and put the princesses squarely in charge of their own stories, kicking ass and saving princes and all of that. This was, in part, a response to the princess phase my daughter went through, wherein the house was invaded by Disney princess merchandise.

I’m currently finishing up final revisions on the fourth book in my series, and I just learned that Disney is getting out of the fairy tale game.

I’m not sure, but I think this means I win!

ETA: Or maybe not.  According to a quote from Ed Catmull on the Disney Animation Studios Facebook Page, the LA Times is wrong, and Disney has a number of (unnamed) projects in development.  Hm … I think they’re bluffing.  But hey, if anyone at Disney is looking for new fairy tale twists for upcoming movies, give my agent a call!

First Book Friday: Diana Pharaoh Francis

Welcome to First Book Friday!

Today we have Diana Pharaoh Francis (difrancis on LJ), author of several different fantasy series.  Her book  Crimson Wind [B&N |  Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] comes out later this month, and–

Wait, what???  She does what in that book?  I’m sorry, just give me a minute.  I’ll be all right.  I just … I never thought … How could she?

I think I need a hug.

Just read her story.  Or go read my review of her book The Cipher from a few years back.

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Hello there everyone!!! I’m delighted to be here and want to thank Jim for having me.

My first book was Path of Fate [B&N |  Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon], the first in a traditional fantasy trilogy. It began as a Book In a Week. That’s a sort of a precursor to Nanowrimo, in which you take a week and try to do nothing else but work on a book in the hopes of really jump starting it. By the end of the week, you have either created a real foundation, or you’ve found out that the book isn’t something you want to spend time with. Luckily, I did want to spend time with it and so I was off and running.

I wrote the rest of it over the next 7 months, at which time I wanted to immediately send it out. Luckily, I wrestled myself down and instead sent it out to some beta readers who gave me fabulous feedback. I revised and then put together a query letter and synopsis (which took a couple of months all by themselves. But I wanted to get this right.)

In the meantime, I had started making a list of agents and editors I wanted to submit to. On the top of the list was Roc Books. They were publishing a lot of the novels that I was reading at that point and I thought I would be a great fit in their house. Coincidentally, they had recently published a short story of mine in a collection for the Best of Dreams of Decadence. I thought that would give me a great connection and a reason to be elevated above the slush pile. (That story is called “All Things Being Not Quite Equal” and you can read it on my website.)

When I thought I was ready, I sent query packages out to my top four agents. I sent a quick query to Laura Anne Gilman, at that time senior editor at Roc, asking about the submission procedure as Roc’s guidelines had been changing and I wanted to be sure of them. I included most of my query letter so that I could show that I knew what I was doing. She quickly got back with me and said she’d forwarded my query to her fellow editor, Jennifer Heddle, and I would hear from her soon.

Jen soon requested the entire manuscript, which I sent off immediately, and that meant I couldn’t send it anywhere else until I had a reply. So I promptly sat by the phone like a sixteen year old waiting for someone to call and ask me to the prom. That got old fast. And then the agent rejections started rolling in. That got old too. Imagine that.

Skip forward a couple of months. I had made plans to go to World Fantasy Con. I daringly (for me anyhow) decided to contact Jen and ask if she’d have time to meet for a few minutes. I told her I totally understood that she probably hadn’t read Path of Fate yet, but that I would love a chance to just talk to her. Shockers! She agreed. So we met and I had a chance to pitch the novel along with the rest of the trilogy. Two weeks later, she bought all three.

And that, kind gentlefolk, is the story of my first book, and thank goodness, because how else would you be able to read about the murder of Jim Hines in my forthcoming book, Crimson Wind?

Distilling the Blogosphere into its Purest Form

Yes, I’m totally laughing at myself here.  But I take comfort from the fact that I’m laughing at all the rest of us, too.

(Official copyright notice: feel free to do whatever the heck you want with this one.  Credit would be nice if you decide to repost, but I’m not about to go all DMCA on your ass over a cartoon that took me a half hour to throw together.)

Responding to the TSA

Amidst the discussions about the new TSA “security” procedures (the scare quotes are both deliberate and, in my opinion, appropriate), I’ve seen some responses that made me uncomfortable.  I’ve been working on putting into words exactly why they bother me.

1. Let’s make the politicians watch while we put their kids through the grope-downs and naked scanners. I understand the thinking here — that we need to force the people in power to recognize exactly what they’re signing off on.  However, I just the other week wrote about how these new “security” procedures are far too close to sexual assault for my comfort.  If you’re so opposed to these procedures, how can you advocate inflicting them on children while their parents watch?

2. I’m going to groan in pleasure/fake an orgasm while getting patted down. The point being, I presume, to try to make TSA staff as uncomfortable as they’re making others.  I get that people are feeling sexually harassed/violated/assaulted by this process … but I don’t see how turning the tables and sexually harassing the screeners is going to help.

3. Every TSA employee should refuse to have anything to do with this. Because it’s so easy to quit your job, particularly in a recession?  I’m also seeing a number of folks talking about how, if they were working for the TSA, they’d never do this.  Which, to me, suggests that they’ve never heard of the Milgram experiment.

4. TSA screeners are a bunch of Nazi thugs. It’s easy to imagine evil TSA screeners hidden away, masturbating to our backscatter scans (that particular story is apparently false, by the way).  There have certainly been many horrific stories of poor treatment at security checkpoints.  But while there will always be evil individuals, my sense is that the larger problem is not malice, but ridiculous policies combined with lack of training.  I’m not saying it’s okay for TSA screeners to grope the groin of a menstrating Army vet and rape survivor. But rather than villainizing all TSA employees, it seems like some of our anger could be better directed at the people who a) thought these policies were a good idea and b) implemented them without making sure people were properly trained.  (Though the more I read, the more I wonder where the TSA is finding some of these people.  School janitors in Michigan get better background checks than TSA employees do.)

5. We should just adopt Israel’s techniques! Consider that “surveys of Palestinian Arab citizens, who comprise one-fifth of Israel’s population, show that most have suffered degrading treatment when flying with Israeli carriers.”  Is racial profiling a “solution” we really want to try?  Another article points out issues of scale and training.  While I believe there are good lessons we could learn from Israel, and from other nations with more experience dealing with terrorist threats, I don’t think simply adopting Israel’s processes is a good or feasible solution.  (Thanks to Saladin Ahmed for the links.)

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On that note, here are some responses I’ve seen suggested here and elsewhere:

  • Write to your airline, letting them know how you feel.  (And if you will not be flying as a result of these policies, tell them.)
  • Let the TSA know what you think of their new policies at tsa-contactcenter@dhs.gov.  (Apparently, they claim to have received very few complaints.  Thanks to Lynn Flewelling for this one.)
  • Contact your elected officials.
  • Talk about this.  Many newspapers are taking the “Shut up and be groped” viewpoint, quoting studies that claim the majority of Americans don’t mind these new processes. I wonder how many of those people simply don’t fly, and/or don’t know the new procedures.  After all, look at the response on Capital Hill when folks there actually saw a demonstration of the new TSA patdowns.  (To quote one staffer, the TSA “shot themselves in the foot” with their demonstration.)
  • pixelfish linked to an ACLU petition to the DHS and Janet Napolitano.  (If you sign, a copy is also sent to your senate and house representatives.)

First Book Friday: Rachel Aaron

Welcome to First Book Friday!

Rachel Aaron‘s post makes an interesting point.  A lot of authors, myself included, stress how important it is for beginning writers to finish what they start.  Otherwise, you never learn how to actually finish a book.  Rachel brings up the counterpoint — that sometimes you have to let one project go in order to get to the really good stuff.

Her first book came out on October 1 of this year.  Book two came out at the start of this month, and number three will be out next week.  Having begun her career with this schedule, we should all naturally assume that Rachel will be continuing to write and publish a book a month…

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I didn’t get serious about writing until I graduated from college. I’d just landed my first job, a dead end phone jockey position with low expectations, lots of down time, and a computer, and I knew this was it. If I couldn’t write a book now, I never would. So I did, a 220,000 word fantasy epic, in fact. For those of you having trouble wrapping your brain around that, both Game of Thrones and Harry Potter 7 are around 180,000 words. I couldn’t even find a published novel that was 220k when I was trying to put this example together.

So book 1 flopped, never got past the query stage even after a major rewrite, but I’d shown myself I could write a book. So I started writing another fantasy epic. By this time I had a real job and couldn’t write at work, but I pressed ahead valiantly until, about midway through, I started losing steam. I tried to keep going, but a new idea had popped into my head, a wizard thief. I had no story for him, just a name (Eli), a voice, and the rough outline of a magical system, a world where everything had a spirit and an opinion, and a charming man could be a very powerful force.

Now, I’d sworn that I would not go starting new stories just because the old one was getting hard, because that’s the surest way to a computer full of half-finished books, but Eli simply would not leave me alone. Then one morning, facing down a new chapter in the epic that I’d been putting off writing for two days, I realized I wasn’t just losing steam. Epic #2 really was going nowhere. After a few moments of despair at my lost months, I said screw it, opened a new document, and let Eli go.

I got two thousand words that morning, most of which remains largely unchanged as the first chapter of The Spirit Thief [B&N |  Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon], and I KNEW this was it. I wrote the entire book in less than 6 months and ended up with a 55,000 word mess, but it was the best mess I’d ever made. Several edits later I declared the novel done enough and started sending out queries, absolutely sure that I’d have a contract by the end of the month.[1. Jim’s note: I laughed at this … mostly because I’ve totally been there.]

It didn’t exactly work out that way, but there was a lot of interest, way more than for my first book. I still got tons of rejections, but several were personalized and some even had suggestions. And then I got a reply from Lindsay Ribar, assistant to to Matt Bialer of Stanford Greenberger, for a query I didn’t even remember sending. This began a harrowing 9 month odyssey of waiting, writing, and waiting some more. The partial became a full, which became an extensive rewrite (expertly guided by Lindsay, who really is amazing), and a resubmission of the full manuscript to Lindsay, and then to Matt, and then came The Call.

Everyone who’s ever tried to get an agent knows about The Call, the mythical phone call from New York that someone wants your book. I was at work when my cell rang, and I got to it on the last ring. I checked the missed call list, and my heart nearly stopped when I saw the 212 area code. I called back instantly and got an answering service. So I checked my messages and there was Matt, my now agent, saying Hey, I’d like to represent you, call me.

I think I actually had a heart attack at that point. My vision went dark, I had trouble breathing, but I managed to dial the number. Lindsay picked up and smugly asked how I was doing. I told her, “I think I just had a heart attack.” That was when Matt picked up and said “Don’t have a heart attack! We want you to write more books!”

The day I got The Call was the happiest day of my life, including the day I got married and the day my son was born. I signed with Matt at once, and he sold The Spirit Thief and two sequels to Orbit about 3 months later.

So that’s the story of how I went from slushpile to published author. Not the most glamorous ascent, but I wouldn’t trade the end result for anything.

You can read sample chapters, reviews, and my blog, such as it is, at http://www.rachelaaron.net

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T-Day

Thanksgiving in the U.S. bugs me.  I love the idea of taking time to recognize and appreciate the things we have, but the holiday has some troubling history and associations.  I winced when Jackson came home from Kindergarten wearing a paper bag “Indian vest” and headband.  Of course, he’s also convinced the Pilgrims’ feast included Crescent Rolls, because that’s what we had with our meal.  We’ll work with him and his sister on their history.

This has been a rough month.  My wife had her seventh knee surgery on Friday, so I’ve been going non-stop as caretaker and mostly-single parent for about a week now.  Work has been rather hellish; I’m sometimes taking more than 100 e-mails and phone calls a day.  The writing … well, it’s been a lot harder to make the time I need to get everything done (which is why I’m falling behind yet again on blog comments and e-mail and such).  Add in two conventions in three weeks, along with several other signings and appearances, and I’ve been burnt out pretty good.

This is where I really appreciate the reminder to step back and recognize the good.  It’s too easy to get caught up in the stress and the frustration.  I’ve got a wonderful family, even if the kids have been a little overtired and cranky today.  I’ve got a steady job, one which lets me support my family (not to mention providing benefits to pay for those seven knee surgeries).  As for the writing, it is stressful … but it’s also the best job in the world.  I may not be able to make a living at it (not in this country, at any rate), but I’ve been remarkably successful, and I love it.

So yes, I’ve got an awful lot to be grateful for, and I am.  Despite the stress of the past weeks, life is pretty darn good.  And of course, on top of everything else I’ve got going, I have a wonderful online community of friends, colleagues, random passers-by, and fans.

Especially fans who do wonderful art like this.  Thanks, Richi!  And thanks to everyone who’s read and enjoyed the books and stories.  Heck, thanks to those who didn’t enjoy them, too — I appreciate you giving them a try.

Happy turkey day to those celebrating.  And to everyone else, have a happy Thursday!

Open Book Thread

I’ve fallen behind in book reviews, so I’m going to do a multibook post, starting with Mainspring [B&N |  Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon], by Jay Lake.  Lake envisions a clockwork universe where the Earth orbits the sun on a great track, with an equatorial gear twenty miles wide … and the Mainspring of the world is winding down.  Apprentice clockmaker Hethor Jacques must find the Key Perilous and rewind the Earth’s mainspring.

I loved the “What if?” of this book, the central idea and the exploration of how a clockwork universe would work, both the mechanics and the implications for the inhabitants of that world, their beliefs and ideas.  (Though I still don’t understand how such a world would have seasons.)  The characters … Hethor took a while to grow on me.  And there’s an underlying noble savage thing going on with the southern “correct people” that makes me uncomfortable.  Overall, I think the idea was stronger than the story, but the story wasn’t bad, and the idea was fascinating.  I’m interested in checking out Escapement, the sequel.

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Next up is MythOS [B&N |  Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon], by Kelly McCullough.  This is the fourth of McCullough’s books about magical hacker Ravirn/Raven and his webgoblin Melchior.  I’ve enjoyed this series a lot.  They’re fast-paced, interesting, page-turners with just the right amount of humor.  Or maybe I just have a weakness for all things goblin.

This time around Raven finds himself in an alternate universe, one which runs on a Norse mythology OS instead of the Greek system he’s used to.  It’s an interesting switch, and livens up the series as Raven gets drawn into new conflicts and has to figure out a whole new system of magic.  The second book remains my favorite, but I’d put this one as runner up.

This is the fourth book in a series.  If you liked the others, you’ll like this one.  If you didn’t, why are you still reading the series?  Really, people…

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I mentioned Laura Resnick‘s Doppelgangster [B&N |  Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] in her First Book Friday post — this is book two in a series that started with a Luna title, then jumped to DAW.  You can tell it’s a second book, but Doppelgangster stands alone pretty well.  The most fascinating thing to me about this book is that it’s urban fantasy in which the protagonist is pure human.  No magic, no mixed genetics, no nothing.  That’s something I haven’t seen much of, and I enjoyed it.

Esther Diamond is a struggling actress and waitress in New York.  Her restaurant gig happens to be a popular mobster hangout, and the mobsters are starting to die from magical means.  Diamond and her friend Max the Magician need to figure out what’s going on and stop it.  To complicate things, her potential boyfriend Lopez is also a New York detective — and he doesn’t believe in magic.  The mobsters sometimes felt a little over-the-top, but overall it was a fun adventure.

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Finally, there’s Dog Days [B&N |  Mysterious Galaxy | Amazon] by John Levitt.  Our hero Mason is a gifted magician, though he appears to lack the discipline to fulfill his potential.  He’s currently making a living as a jazz magician.  More importantly, he has a magical companion named Louie, an ifrit who takes the form of a small dog.  For everyone who’s gotten tired of fantasy authors and their cat-loving ways, this is the book for you.

The magic system was fairly loose and undefined, but this worked with Mason’s improvisational style, which fits well with his jazz background.  But that may not be enough when a powerful enemy decides he wants Mason dead, for reasons that would spoil the whole book if I shared them.  I appreciated the mystery and revelation, though the bad guy felt a bit flat.  But sometimes evil, nasty villains make for fun reading.  Plus, magic dog!

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So there’s some of what I’ve been reading over the past few months.  What about you?  If you’ve read any of these, what did you think?  If you’ve been reading something else, feel free to share.  I need to build up my wish list for the holidays 🙂

TSA Follow-up

I blogged about the TSA’s new “security” procedures earlier this week.  Among other things, I pointed out the parallels between their “enhanced pat-down” and the legal definitions of criminal sexual conduct.

Here’s a follow-up.  The gentleman is the father of a friend of mine.

TSA Pat-down Leaves Traveler Covered in Urine.

Sawyer is a bladder cancer survivor who now wears a urostomy bag, which collects his urine from a stoma, or opening in his stomach … “One agent watched as the other used his flat hand to go slowly down my chest. I tried to warn him that he would hit the bag and break the seal on my bag, but he ignored me. Sure enough, the seal was broken and urine started dribbling down my shirt and my leg and into my pants.”

Click the link for the full story.

Anyone still want to argue that what the TSA is doing is in any way acceptable?

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