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Weekend reading

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I didn’t spend much time just surfing around this week, but Warren Ellis tweeted this article about Hong Kong’s effort to put certain city buildings underground: http://bldgblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/burying-bits-of-city-hong-kong.html
And I loved this Michael Swanwick story: The Woman Who Shook the World-Tree.

The Windowman Cometh

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The window guys are slated to be back today and Friday, so I may not be around all that much. If they finish (they’re supposed to) I can reassemble the curtains and put the plants back. Not to mention wiping up the fine layer of grit that construction inevitably leaves behind. They’re very tidy people, I should mention, and swept up after their first day in the house. In fact, they swept up a whole pile of grime I’d discovered when I pulled the furniture away from the walls. I had figured hey–wait until they’re done to clean up the cobwebs and cat hair and the crumbly shoe dirt in the foyer. So all that got done for me. Bonus!
Vancouver had a glorious sunny stretch of weather this past weekend, so I got out to Queen Elizabeth Park Friday and chased birds around, both outside and in the Bloedel Conservatory.

All Imported-11

On Saturday, Kelly and I hit Gastown and the Sun Yat Sen gardens with the camera. I didn’t score anything spectacular, but we saw snow geese flying overhead… that’s only about the third time ever for me.
Sunday was one of those rare leisurely days with the true pace of a vacation, with lots of lying around and, in my case, not one but two naps. The house, disassembled as it was for the window job, had a bright and oddly spacious feel.

Food for brain and belly

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I am slowing down on To Each Their Darkness, because it’s less about writing so far, and more about a whole lot of films I haven’t seen. I plan to keep inching through it–so far, it’s had two absolutely harrowing anecdotes that do genuinely touch on the subject of darkness–but I’ll move at a slower pace.
I will also slip away, behind its back, to start up with a book I’ve been waiting for forever, even before I knew it was finally getting written. It’s called Remote, it’s by Donn Cortez, and speaking of darkness, it’s the sequel to a truly horrific novel called The Closer, which in addition to being one of the spookiest thrillers I’ve ever had the privilege to read, is set in East Vancouver, and features big parts of my backyard terrain, including Bon’s Cafe and the annual Parade of Lost Souls.
The Closer has one of the best final lines of any novel I’ve ever read. I won’t excerpt it… it only makes sense in context. But I assure you, it’s killer.
I don’t know anyone else who’s read it… it’s so dark, it falls outside what most of my friends prefer. It’s like Dexter dialed up. Anyone know it?
So I am keen to see where the story goes next.
And while I’m talking books, Elizabeth Bear’s Range of Ghosts is out! I reviewed it extensively here, and recommend it wholeheartedly.

In food news, I’ve finally made the pumpkin peanut soup recipe posted by Badger, from Vegan on the Cheap. It was nummy delicious.

Sekrit Project Unveiled!

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I’m extremely pleased to announce that Jim Frenkel of Tor Books has bought the first three books in my next ecofantasy series. We haven’t quite settled on a title for the series yet, but the first book’s working title is CHILD OF STORMS and it takes place on Stormwrack, the same world as my story “Among the Silvering Herd,” which features adventuress Gale Feliachild and a handsome young sailor named Garland Parrish.

The first book is tentatively scheduled for release next year. I’m revising it right now.

In Tuesday Tor news, my Buffy rewatch this week is “A Very Unhappy Birthday, Take One.” Tor.com, as I’ve mentioned, also has the first chapter of Blue Magic up, if you want a peek. (The giveaway of five copies of Indigo Springs and Blue Magic ARCs ended Friday, I’m afraid, but I think you can safely expect other opportunities to win copies.)