Cover art for my novelette "Faster Gun," (Working title: "John Henry Holliday is Sick of the These Time-Traveling Assholes") forthcoming on Tor.com this summer.
The artist is Richard Anderson.
- there will always be a faster gun. but there'll never be another one like you.
-
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92)
matociquala- May 24th, 12:21
pleased
Cover art for my novelette "Faster Gun," (Working title: "John Henry Holliday is Sick of the These Time-Traveling Assholes") forthcoming on Tor.com this summer.
The artist is Richard Anderson.
- My tweets
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- kristine_smith
- May 24th, 12:01
- Wed, 12:09: World Goth Day http://t.co/DWzavo5H
- Wed, 13:07: Mayonnaise: Oil, Egg and a Drop of Magic http://t.co/JmSJEQ1L
- Wed, 19:24: Outside on the deck. Jacket cool. Going to try to stay out long enough to see the bats. I think there are enough bugs to bring them out.
- Wed, 21:12: Doom. I found a brownie recipe at the Recchiuti website. There will be baking this weekend! http://t.co/PxCvqa04 #bestbrowniesever
- Thu, 01:12: Progressives are feminists or they’re not Progressives. http://t.co/kGTUobsd via @wordpressdotcom
- Thu, 07:45: Krugman: Was Greed Good?: http://t.co/Ad7txrPc
- Hummus
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- otterdance
- May 24th, 9:59
hungry
If there is anything in the culinary world messier to work with than tahini, I have yet to find it. Join me for lunch!
Hummus Light
2 cups canned chickpeas (pref. organic)
2 lrg. cloves garlic
4 to 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tahini
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low fat yogurt
I can't eat raw garlic, so I sauté it in the olive oil. Process everything until smooth in food processors or blender. Chill for a few hours to combine flavors. Serve with pita bread, or carrot sticks.
- Happy birthday!
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- carbonel
- May 24th, 11:49
- (no subject)
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- barbara_hambly
- May 24th, 9:04
The head of the history department is retiring, and getting rid of 42 years of accumulated books. (He started as an adjunct there 50 years ago, but has only had the office for 42). I looted a lovely little booklet of "Royal Faces," portraits of the Royal Family of England, including death-masks of medieval monarchs (who knew we could really see how Edward III looked? And Henry VII, it rots my socks to say, was a VERY good-looking man, the stingy murdering jerk).
Last day of class was yesterday. I have a giant stack of research papers, to be succeeded by a giant stack of finals. As always, these last few weeks I've finally felt that I've gotten to know the students: we relax, and talk... and then they go away.
Beautiful warm windy evening; tiny fingernail moon in a sky still faintly light.The DMZ at the center of campus - where construction was going on until the contractors were fired, and which is now a fenced and lifeless semi-ruin - appears to be the local safe house for a colony of rabbits, who are glimpsed slipping under the fence.
I have fantasies about spending the next 12 weeks sewing, writing, cleaning my house (finally!) and playing video-games, but much of that time I'll have to be fluffing up my knowledge of Women's History and Latin American History, as those are the TWO full-time positions for which I've applied. I've had the material, and can certainly teach the classes, but it needs to be front-and-center in my mind for the interviews, if I even GET interviews. I'm sure the competition will be fierce.
- More Question Answers
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- marthawells
- May 24th, 10:18
The Cloud Roads is on this list at Kirkus Reviews of Top 10 Fantasy Novels by Female Authors Yay!
From yesterday:
I'm in Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who The sister book to the 2011 Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords. My essay is "Donna Noble Saves the Universe" about Donna's differences from the other companions, and basically being an older woman who is also a hero.
And I did the All About Books meme questions on the Strange Chemistry Blog.
Question answer:misslynx asked:
1. I've heard a number of people talking about getting stuck in the "murky middle" of a story where it feels like you're losing your way, or at least like things are getting a bit out of control, and it's hard to see how you're going to rein it in and push it toward an ending. So I already know it's not just me.... But I'm still not sure how to get out of it. Do you ever find yourself hitting this point with your books? Any advice on how best to push through it, when it's starting to feel like trying to nail jello to a wall?
If your enthusiasm for the book is flagging in the middle, then you may have structural problems. Generally I feel that if the book is not exciting for me, it's not going to be exciting for the reader, either. You may want to get some feedback from a few trusted beta readers and try to see if something's wrong, if you need to add some plot complication or make other changes or cut out some plot complication that just isn't working.
If it's just a fatigue or concentration problem, feedback (especially good feedback) can also help rekindle your interest in the book. And sometimes, you just have to force yourself to push through. (This is basically why agents and publishers don't want to look at unfinished novels from first authors -- some people have great ideas but aren't able to get through the middle and finish.)
2. I know fantasy as a genre is famous for spawning some really long novels, but how long is too long? Especially for a first novel? How worried should I be that I'm closing in 100,000 words and am nowhere near finished with the story?
Fantasy novels for adults can generally be longer, but 100,000 words and not near the end may be a problem. The Raksura books have all been between 120,000 and 135,000 words. It really depends on the book and the publisher, though. I'm sure The Name of the Wind is quite a bit longer than 135,000 words, for example.
- Darkness notice
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- aliettedb
- May 24th, 17:00
OK, so I’ve given it a try, but it’s not working out. Clearly the novel thing needs a little more of my focused attention, and I can’t do this while managing a blog and a twitter and a facebook. Accordingly, I’m having a mini-darkness notice: I’ll still post about the important stuff, and do a few things, but I’m cutting back on my internet consumption.
Cross-posted from Aliette de Bodard
Leave a comment at original post, or comment here.
- Files
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- james_nicoll
- May 24th, 10:09
- Eight Years Around Saturn
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- james_nicoll
- May 24th, 9:59
- Concourse room for transfer
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I have an extra room for Friday check in, Monday check out. Standard room at con rate.
Email jef AT geekradical.org
First come, etc
- Tangfastics
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heleninwales
- May 24th, 14:13
I have just finished the final essay (3000 words!) for the OU children's literature course.
I'm old enough to remember dolly mixtures, ju-jus and pear drops, so I'd never tried these Haribo sweets before because I think they even post-date the offspring's childhood. But the other students were eating them and so I tried a packet.
As a result, my essay was fuelled by Tangfastics and as I still had some left at the end, I thought they might make a good subject for this week's alphabet theme of "Kaleidoscope". This was the original picture, turned into a kaleidoscope at www.tuxpi.com.
- Tangfastics Kaleidoscoped
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- May 24th, 13:59
21/52 for the group T189ers weekly alphabet challenge.
This week's theme was: K for kaleidoscope
I'll post the original separately, but it was edited using www.tuxpi.com's kaleidoscope filter.
I did two and it was hard to choose between them, but I think this reminds me more of the kaleidoscopes I played with as a child.
- True Stories
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- james_nicoll
- May 24th, 8:30
Seen via Kate Nepvue:
An unbiased review of the Marvel “Thor” Movie
An Unbiased Review of the Marvel “Avengers” Movie
Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there arecomment(s); comment here or there.
- [personal] Miscellaneous this and thattery
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- jaylake
- May 24th, 5:08
I am off to Detroit this morning for World Steam Expo. My thanks to the good folks there for the invitation and the support. I did learn something while packing: Don't leave your top hat until last, after you've filled the suitcase. I hope this will be a relaxing weekend, but, heck, I don't know. I do know it will be a fun weekend.
A bunch of Dad time yesterday, including homework as well as watching the first episode of Sherlock [ imdb ] with![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=1)
the_child
Life stuff going on otherwise which I need to process. Also, I had a recent severe bout of Impostor Syndrome, which is unusual for me. Still trying to frame that in my head, and whether it's worth discussing in detail here on the blog. More than one close friend was surprised that I have episodes of that very common writerly affliction.
I've drafted a blog post about male sexuality and chemotherapy that I'm wrestling with how to put online. Of necessity it's very explicit, not to mention somewhat personally revealing. I don't have any particular discomfort in talking about that sort of thing publicly, but the editorial voice of this blog is usually PG-13 at most, plus or minus a few choice expletives. Even putting it under a cut won't keep me from being indexed by Google, for example, and I don't really want to show up in searches on certain sexual terms.
I am torn between what I see as a critically important need to talk about rarely-discussed aspects of the cancer experience, and not wanting to alienate my audience by what will doubtless be seen by some as an over-the-top sexually explicitly discussion. So, thinking and editing. If I take too much out, it won't be as useful or impactful. If I leave too much in, it will violate the voice of this blog.
Hmm.
Meanwhile, I fly.
- [photos] Some people aren't like you and me
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- jaylake
- May 24th, 4:59
Sign in room at the Lazy R Motel in Scott City, Kansas. © 2012, M. Bryant, reproduced with permission.
- [photos] Your Thursday moment of zen
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- jaylake
- May 24th, 4:59
Your Thursday moment of zen.
The Niece about age 2, 2006. © 2006, 2012, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.
The current photo series is from my 'favorites' file, hence the dates jumping about
This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
- [links] Link salad flies back to Detroit
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- jaylake
- May 24th, 4:52
Naked Cavorts the Emperor — Scrivener's Error on the political and legal realities of author's organizations.
Dragon to rendezvous with the space station — Another candidate for headline of the week.
Top Ten Things I Would Do if I Were Jesus — Hahahah. From that vile apostate
Charles L. Worley seems to be training others to be just a awful as he is — Slacktivist Fred Clark on that North Carolina Christianist rant against the gay community.
Did the Catholic organizations have to sue over the health care mandate? — Objectively, no. This is religious meddling in politics. I've always believed that freedom of religion rests on freedom from religion. Millions of Americans obviously think otherwise.
American Airlines Rejects Female Passenger Because Political Pro-Choice T-Shirt is "Inappropriate" — Or possibly because of the presence of the word "Fuck" on the shirt. Still, come on. (Snurched from Meg Turville-Heitz.)
White Resentment, Obama, and Appalachia — Ta-Nehisi Coates on race and politics.
Lunatics, Imbeciles and Saboteurs — Bruce Arthurs on the Arizona birthed idiocy. Of course, modifying the noun "birthed" with "idiocy" is wholly redundant. WaPo with more on this: In Arizona, more birther buffoonery.
An Obama Spending Spree? Hardly — A dominant theme of the national political discourse has been the crushing spending spree the U.S. has ostensibly embarked on during the Obama presidency. That argument, ignited by Republicans and picked up by many elite opinion makers, has infused the national dialogue and shaped the public debate in nearly every major budget battle of the last thee years. But the numbers tell a different story. Your Liberal Media, of course, enables and abets the counterfactual conservative position on this question.
Why Mitt Romney won't get specific — Simple answer: Because nobody likes conservative policies when applied to them personally. Not even conservatives. Ie, "Cut spending on all those lazy, entitled people over there, but not my essential social service." If he gets specific, he loses votes all over the political spectrum.
?otd: Steampunk much?
5/24/2012
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (travel logistics, dad time)
Body movement: n/a (airport walking to come)
Hours slept: 5.25 (solid)
Weight: 239.6
Currently reading: Lightbreaker by Mark Teppo
- what Loki was really doing
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- kate_nepveu
- May 24th, 7:50
An unbiased review of the Marvel “Thor” Movie and An Unbiased Review of the Marvel “Avengers” Movie (much longer, but worth it) (comprehensive spoilers in both).
From Ex Urbe, which also includes treasures like the Spot the Saint series, discussions of mask culture in Venice and porphyry, and a visit to Roman Legionary reenactors, plus lots and lots of stuff about Florence.
comment(s) (how-to) | link
- thursday musings....
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- beth_bernobich
- May 24th, 7:50
Two days ago, I tweeted:
Yet another male writer interviewed about "why he writes strong female characters." Um, okay. But where are...the interviews of female writers who write strong female characters? Or strong male characters? Is it that no one cares...or is it that men really, really need those cookies? #womenareinvisible
To which @rachelswirsky replied, "Man bites dog" situation.
That's part of the explanation, sure. It's the same reason so many stories and movies fail the Bechdel Test: our culture is male-centric. Straight white male centric, to be specific.
Today, I came across an article that expands on the subject, which sums up the situation well:Writing from a female point of view seems to be generally regarded as something more like writing from the perspective of a deer: you might get points for novelty, but it'd be impossible to get right, and who really wants to hear a deer narrate a story, anyway?
Good article, thoughtful comments (at least, as of posting this entry). Depressing, too, if you consider that fewer people will listen to her just because she's female. It's not conscious, but it's real. I see it happen in the workplace, on SFF panels, in LJ blogs, all over. Women are invisible (especially older women, but that's another rant.) We are making progress, sure, but we won't make real progress until books about women are seen as just as important as those about men, until the words of women are valued as much as those written by men.
- Miss P and UK cats
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- fjm
- May 24th, 12:02
According to my Polish vet UK cats live longer than anyone else's. Including the US (where he as worked). Apparently it is now very common for UK cats to reach 20.
Miss P will be 20 in 2014. She is on all sorts of pills; her blood pressure needs controlling, her creatine (sp?) is raised but her thryoid is fine and her kidneys are coping with the protein and not wasting it. She's a skinny little thing but her whiskers quiver and at 3pm she is as lively as lively can be.
She may yet be including a Worldcon in her con-going activities.
- Page Summary
-
- matociquala — there will always be a faster gun. but there'll never be another one like you. — 5 comments
- kristine_smith — My tweets
- otterdance — Hummus — 3 comments
- carbonel — Happy birthday!
- barbara_hambly — (no subject) — 3 comments
- marthawells — More Question Answers — 4 comments
- aliettedb — Darkness notice — 2 comments
- james_nicoll — Files — 5 comments
- james_nicoll — Eight Years Around Saturn — 2 comments
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92)
wiscon — Concourse room for transfer - james_nicoll — True Stories — 16 comments
- jaylake — [personal] Miscellaneous this and thattery — 3 comments
- jaylake — [photos] Some people aren't like you and me — 5 comments
- jaylake — [photos] Your Thursday moment of zen
- jaylake — [links] Link salad flies back to Detroit — 1 comment
- kate_nepveu — what Loki was really doing
- beth_bernobich — thursday musings.... — 2 comments
- fjm — Miss P and UK cats — 2 comments
