Category Archives: Appearances

Readings, workshops, conventions–if I’ll be there, it’ll be here.

Orycon ahoy!

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This weekend I will be at Orycon 32, meeting up with many wonderful people, reading, speaking, and generally saying hello to anyone who’s greetable. My finalized schedule is here:

Saturday, November 13
11:00 am Reading – 30 minutes of Blue Magic
12:00 pm The unique challenges of urban fantasy
3:00 pm Later Afternoon Autograph Session
5:00 pm To Outline or Not to Outline, that is the question
8:00 p.m. Broad Universe Rapidfire Reading, with M.K. Hobson, Jessica Reisman, Camille Alexa, Cat Rambo, and other wonderful Broads! (I’m thinking I’ll read the opening of “The Cage.”)

Sunday November 14
2:00:pm Does writing speed matter?
5:00 pm Sci Fi AuthorFest IV at the Beaverton Powell’s

If you cannot be there and want to hang out with me in a more virtual fashion, my Quantum Leap rewatch of M.I.A. is now live at Tor.com.

Dipping a toe into e-books

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kelly-yoyoKelly bought herself a Kindle not long ago, and one of the first things I learned as a result is that a Kindle account comes with the assumption that you may have more than one e-reader in the house. If one or two of those happen to be, say, an iTouch, there are unexpected benefits. For example, once I’d downloaded the Kindle ap, either of us could buy a book and then we could both read it at the same time.

I’d have thought reading on the iTouch screen wouldn’t be all that appealing, but I gave it a try, and absolutely ripped through the latest Connie Willis book. Was it the novelty, or do I really like reading this way? I’ve bought a history book, Bloody Crimes, to put it to the test. So far, I’m halfway through.

It is also nifty knowing that, what with the Kindle version of Indigo Springs being out, I can essentially carry a copy of my book with me everywhere I go.

On a completely different and more toobalicious note, my Quantum Leap rewatch of “Catch a Falling Star” went up on Tor.com last week.

Gleeful about Glee, puckish about Puck

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My contributor’s copies of Filled with Glee have arrived, and they look very fine indeed, packed with interesting articles like “You think this is hard? Try being an Antagonist, That’s Hard!” by Jennifer Crusie, (Quote: “Aristotle would have loved Sue Sylvester”), “Musical Promiscuity” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Diane Shipley’s “Not Just a River in Egypt.”

Editor Leah Wilson’s introduction is here: it’s all about the brilliant imperfections of the show, and how it rises above them.

And, of course, I’m in it too, with “Who’s the Real LIMA Loser? The Curious Friendship of Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman,” in which I say, among other things:

Cheating, lying, and competing for the affections of women are all ancient human behaviors, of course, and if he were called upon to explain himself, it seems more than likely that Puck would say he was letting his groin make his choices for him. But on Glee, nothing is ever so simple. Fans of Puck’s bad-boy mystique have to ask whether poor impulse control is the whole story.

If you’d like a chance to Gleek out more than once a week, check it out. All articles should be entirely spoiler-free for S2, as the deadline for the book was just after the S1 finale. Enjoy!

Building your dream book

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Little bits of me are scattered across the internet: SF Signal asked a number of SF writers to put together a dream anthology, and I went with a series of my favorite time travel and alternate history stories, here at SF Mind Meld. Meanwhile, Tor has the goods on my second Quantum Leap rewatch, “Double Identity.”

Moving on to flesh and blood appearances, here’s my tentative Orycon schedule:

Sat Nov 13 11:00:am Reading

1:00:pm The unique challenges of urban fantasy
Increasingly, stories are being placed in modern times or locales but with fantasy elements to them. Whether it is wizards in Walla Walla or vampires in Vancouver, how does one effectively blend these very different elements? Alternatively, what are some examples of how NOT to accomplish this?

Sat Nov 13 3:00:pm Afternoon Autograph session

Sat Nov 13 5:00:pm To Outline or Not to Outline, that is the question
Some authors were taught to draw up outlines of their entire story arc before fleshing out their writing. Others have developed different methods which serve them well. Experienced authors discuss what works for them, when, and perhaps, why.

Sun Nov 14 2:00:pm Turtle or Bunny: Does writing speed matter?
Should anyone care about writing speed? Where should writers spend their time? Are fast writers always hacks? When to spend a lot of time editing, when to write ‘raw,’ when to slow down and when to speed up, and why.

Sing for Life

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This morning I, along with the rest of my beloved Out in Harmony choir peeps, can be found bright and early at the Vancouver incarnation of the Walk for Life. This is a fundraiser, whose proceeds go to direct programs and services for Canadians living with HIV/AIDS in their communities. It is also an annual outreach for us, but due to route changes on the walk, we will be singing as the participants all head out, as opposed to midway through the route.

I want to wish all the walkers good weather and a pleasant time… and to note that if you meant to sponsor someone and didn’t get a chance, you can still do so directly on their site. Or hey, come on down and we’ll sing as you write ’em a cheque!