Read 'Til You Drop

SF Novelists Post - Book Groups

2008-07-25T15:25:01Z

Today's my day to post on the SFNovelists blog. I wrote a piece about book groups and what they've meant to me, both as a reader and as a writer. Check it out: http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/07/25/bringing-together-authors-and-readers-book-groups-edition/

Mindy, posting like a posting fiend

Back to the Bookshelf...

2008-07-25T13:55:05Z

OK, more clearing off the bookshelf, listing other books I've read this year. (These aren't actually in order, given the scramble I needed to make to block Poppy-the-flying-cat from leaping from bookshelf to bookshelf in my office.) ::shrug:: Somehow, I think that the world will continue to rotate on its axis...

I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU, by Ally Carter. I heard the premise of this YA novel a while back (elite boarding school for girl spies), and I thought it was ridiculously silly, so I ignored it. The book, though, kept coming up in conversation, so I finally broke down and bought it - and I'm truly glad that I did. It's (relatively) light-hearted and (relatively) young in the current YA market (closer to a middle-grade book than so many of the faerie tales I've been reading. The characters are fresh and true to their setting, and the moral lessons are amusingly taught. Some of the details of the spy school are downright hilarious - I love the notion of choosing languages for each meal, so that the spy girls can practice their skills!
HEART OF STONE, by C.E. Murphy. I've written about this book elsewhere in this journal. The main character's incredulity about the magic around her is credible, and she converts to belief in realistic ways. The main character is one that I never would have written - she's much more of a fighter (literally and figuratively) than my characters tend to be. The romance thread was intriguing but not overwhelming.
EMPIRE OF IVORY, by Naomi Novik. See, here's the problem with the Temeraire books - they're reading candy to me. I know that I'll finish them in just a day or so, and I'll thoroughly enjoy that time. But I can't really justify buying EAGLES in hardcover.... That said, I really enjoyed IVORY, having saved it for a time when I needed just such a treat. I still love the characters of the dragons, and I'm still amused by the rigidity of the Regency morals (I haven't read widely in the traditional novels of the time period.) I thought that IVORY had a stronger plot than a couple of its predecessors, and the story had more directional drive. I was frustrated, though, by the cliffhanger at the end! (Not frustrated enough to buy the hardcover, though, book costs being what they are!)
SEND, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe. I bought this little non-fiction manual about email back when I was still a librarian; I intended to use it for part of the Librarians' Summit I planned (which, alas, never happened.) A lot of the book consisted of common-sense reminders about using email as a tool of communication; however, most of the information was a good, solid reminder of writing etiquette. (I took exception to a few of the authors' points, particularly their preference for synchronous communication, such as phone calls, in many more situations than I would use.)
BONK, by Mary Roach. I'd read a Mary Roach book on just about any topic, so a Mary Roach book about the scientific study of sex?!? This book was fun, and somewhat educational. I love Roach's tone, and I found her footnotes hysterical. Mark should be eternally grateful that I don't ask him to serve my writing process the same way that Roach's husband, Ed, assists hers!
DERYNI RISING, by Katherine Kurtz.
DERYNI CHECKMATE, by Katherine Kurtz.
IN THE KING'S SERVICE, by Katherine Kurtz.
CHILDE MORGAN, by Katherine Kurtz. Okay. I went on a Kurtz reading/re-reading binge, trying to capture the lost reading magic of my childhood. (I'd read RISING and CHECKMATE multiple times in junior high and high school; I'd never read the more recent books.) Reading the more recent books, I was truly disappointed. They felt like those long sections in NUMBERS and DEUTERONOMY, where we track through whoever begat whoever - it seemed like I was reading breeding records and heraldry roles, rather than real stories about credible people. Add to that one of my pet peeves - precocious children saying and doing things just to show their precocity (precociousness?), and I was sadly disappointed. Then, I went back to the original books, to see if I had misremembered my old loves. Picking up RISING, I felt like I was finally meeting up with an old friend. I remembered many of the specific phrases in the books; I truly loved revisiting beloved characters. The magic, though, faded a bit in CHECKMATE. In part, that's because nothing much happens in the book - it functions mostly as a bridge to the third volume in the trilogy, and the stuff that does happen involves a love story of relatively minor characters. I decided that I'd done enough re-reading - my to-be-read shelf is too well-populated to let me enjoy these returns to the past. I might work through HIGH DERYNI and the first set of Camber books, at some point, but they're not highest on my list.... But oh did I love Morgan, once upon a time.... :-)
HAL SPACEJOCK, by Simon Haynes. Simon is one of the SFNovelists, and he kindly sent me this copy of HAL, his first comic SF novel, all the way from Australia. I am not a fan of most comic novels, and I'm not even a big reader of SF (I'm mostly a fantasy girl...) I truly enjoyed this novel, though, mostly for the wry voice of Clunk (a robot) and the absolute un-flap-ability of the titular character. Simon has made this volume available as a free download so that other USian readers can enjoy his work, and his fourth HAL novel is now being carried by Powell's, online, without horrendous postage-from-Australian charges.
THE DEATH OF FAITH, by Donna Leon. A mystery-writing friend recommended Donna Leon to me last year, and then I suddenly saw Leon's name everywhere, in bookstores, on the subway, etc. Her novels aren't amazing mysteries, in the sense of whodunnit, but they're marvelous drawings of Venetian life. I adore the matter-of-fact way that Guido Brunetti navigates the world around him, balancing corruption and faith with a shrug and a glass of fine wine.
SKIN FOLK, by Nalo Hopkinson. I'm not a big short-story reader, but I've had this collection sitting around for - alas, literally - years. I was captivated by the different voices in the stories, some of which worked better for me than others. One recurring theme - the magic that penetrates our lives - resonated for me; the stories simultaneously felt "fantastic" and utterly mundane, as the people in them embraced the magic in their daily lives.
WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER, by Elizabeth Geoerge. I used to be an avowed George fan, but I swore off her several years ago, because her work became too wandering for me. I broke my vow to read WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS (the book preceding this one) and was thoroughly grateful that I did - those characters came alive for me again. Alas, this sequel, telling the story of some "small role but major impact" characters from WITNESS, was unremittingly grim. The entire novel, I knew the dire fate of the main character (as related in WITNESS), and the book consisted largely of horrific circumstances designed to get the characters where I knew they'd be. That, combined with a lot of the book being written in an urban patois unfamiliar to me, made this one a major challenge to finish. Sigh.
WICKED LOVELY, by Melissa Marr. This "fairy tale" is hauntingly beautiful, with very real characters in a contemporary setting, recognizing the reality of magic in the world around them. I was given this book with a strong recommendation to read it to advance my own writing; I enjoyed the storytelling all on its own, without any need for instruction. (The sequel has just come out!)
EYES OF CROW, by Jeri Smith-Ready. I've known Jeri for quite some time, but (shame-facedly) had not read any of her books. I loved the otherworldliness of this book; it reminded me in the best way of Zilpha Keatley Snyder's BELOW THE ROOT series, which I adored as a child. The worldbuilding, however, and the magic that people get from their animal spirits, is uniquely Jeri's. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a reluctant heroine...
SILENT IN THE GRAVE, by Deanna Raybourn. My editor gave me this mystery, plucking it from the shelves in her office when I last visited. I enjoy mysteries, but not so much the period pieces, so I wasn't overly eager to read Raybourn's debut novel. My interest was piqued, though, when I saw that Maria Snyder had blurbed the book (while I ignore most blurbs, I don't ignore *friends*!) I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly the believable iconoclasm of the heroine, who creates her own path, even as she conforms to her (Victorian) society's expectations.
PARASITE REX, by Carl Zimmer. This book languished on my to-be-read shelf for years, after Nancy Kress and I attended the author's lecture at the Smithsonian. Scott Westerfeld used this book as the source for his wonderful interstitial chapters in PEEPS, so I finally dug out my copy. I learned some interesting things, but I have to say that Scott's distillation (and the author's presentation, with slides!) was more entertaining than a lot of the gruesome details about how parasites rule the world.
BLUE BLOODS, by Melissa de law Cruz. Part of my reading project on YA vampire books. The tone of this book didn't quite resonate with me (the school was just a little too outrageous - coed students stripping in the halls for their gym classes?) but the underlying mystery of the vampires, and who they are, and how they fit into American history, was superb. I actually want to re-read a couple of history texts to figure out more about how these puzzle pieces could fit together.
VAMPIRE ACADEMY, by Richelle Mead. Another part of my reading project on YA vampire books. I want to be Richelle Mead when I grow up (or, at least, to write her books.) I loved the entire set-up for this novel, and the characters felt incredibly real to me. The romance works well, the narrator was smart, but realistically not-quite-adult.... The most successful of all the YA vamp boks I've read.

Mindy, saving one last burst of catch-up, for next week

Bone to Pick - SLINGS AND ARROWS Edition

2008-07-24T12:55:53Z

OK, LJ, I have a bone to pick with you. Why didn't anyone ever recommend SLINGS AND ARROWS to me?

(Before I go on, SLINGS AND ARROWS was a short-season Canadian TV show (originally airing on Movie Central and the Movie Network.) It's about the fictional New Burbage Shakespeare Festival, and it stars Paul Gross, Stephen Ouimette, and Martha Burns. The first season - the only one I've seen so far - is about a disastrous staging of HAMLET.)

I am absolutely, completely, 100% in love with this show.

I sort of feel like I've just learned a new word, and now I hear it everywhere. A couple of weeks ago, my editor sent me notes on THERE'S THE RUB (set in an imaginary theater in Minneapolis, starring people you've never heard of before, creating a disastrous staging of ROMEO AND JULIET.) At the top of the notes, she said, "I can tell you must have loved SLINGS AND ARROWS." (I'd never heard of it at that point.)

Then, two weeks ago, I went to dinner with our long-time usher friends, after a fantastic production of JULIUS CAESAR at the Shakespeare Theater. One of our dinner guests, a professional actress from Pennsylvania, said, "It must have been just like SLINGS AND ARROWS, as they worked out the details of running Caesar with ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA."

So, I finally talked to Netflix.

And now I'm a convert.

If you have a theater bone in your body, watch SLINGS AND ARROWS.

Mindy, back to editing RUB, and waiting for Season 2 to arrive...

Bookshelf - Partial List

2008-07-22T13:26:35Z

Well, it's, um, almost the end of July, and I haven't included "bookshelf" updates about what I've read for this entire year. Recently, I haven't included the updates because I am just too intimidated by the stack of read books on top of the bookshelf closest to my desk. (Also, those stacked books are an effective barrier to keep Acrobat Kitty from leaping the chasm to the bookshelves on the perpendicular wall...) At the risk of causing grievous bodily harm to Acrobat Kitty, here's the beginning of my reading from this year:

HAL SPACEJOCK, by Simon Haynes. Simon is one of the SFNovelists, and he kindly sent me this copy of HAL, his first comic SF novel, all the way from Australia. I am not a fan of most comic novels, and I'm not even a big reader of SF (I'm mostly a fantasy girl...) I truly enjoyed this novel, though, mostly for the wry voice of Clunk (a robot) and the absolute un-flap-ability of the titular character. Simon has made this volume available as a free download so that other USian readers can enjoy his work, and his fourth HAL novel is now being carried by Powell's, online, without horrendous postage-from-Australian charges.
THE DEATH OF FAITH, by Donna Leon. A mystery-writing friend recommended Donna Leon to me last year, and then I suddenly saw Leon's name everywhere, in bookstores, on the subway, etc. Her novels aren't amazing mysteries, in the sense of whodunnit, but they're marvelous drawings of Venetian life. I adore the matter-of-fact way that Guido Brunetti navigates the world around him, balancing corruption and faith with a shrug and a glass of fine wine.
SKIN FOLK, by Nalo Hopkinson. I'm not a big short-story reader, but I've had this collection sitting around for - alas, literally - years. I was captivated by the different voices in the stories, some of which worked better for me than others. One recurring theme - the magic that penetrates our lives - resonated for me; the stories simultaneously felt "fantastic" and utterly mundane, as the people in them embraced the magic in their daily lives.
WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER, by Elizabeth Geoerge. I used to be an avowed George fan, but I swore off her several years ago, because her work became too wandering for me. I broke my vow to read WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS (the book preceding this one) and was thoroughly grateful that I did - those characters came alive for me again. Alas, this sequel, telling the story of some "small role but major impact" characters from WITNESS, was unremittingly grim. The entire novel, I knew the dire fate of the main character (as related in WITNESS), and the book consisted largely of horrific circumstances designed to get the characters where I knew they'd be. That, combined with a lot of the book being written in an urban patois unfamiliar to me, made this one a major challenge to finish. Sigh.
WICKED LOVELY, by Melissa Marr. This "fairy tale" is hauntingly beautiful, with very real characters in a contemporary setting, recognizing the reality of magic in the world around them. I was given this book with a strong recommendation to read it to advance my own writing; I enjoyed the storytelling all on its own, without any need for instruction. (The sequel has just come out!)
EYES OF CROW, by Jeri Smith-Ready. I've known Jeri for quite some time, but (shame-facedly) had not read any of her books. I loved the otherworldliness of this book; it reminded me in the best way of Zilpha Keatley Snyder's BELOW THE ROOT series, which I adored as a child. The worldbuilding, however, and the magic that people get from their animal spirits, is uniquely Jeri's. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a reluctant heroine...
SILENT IN THE GRAVE, by Deanna Raybourn. My editor gave me this mystery, plucking it from the shelves in her office when I last visited. I enjoy mysteries, but not so much the period pieces, so I wasn't overly eager to read Raybourn's debut novel. My interest was piqued, though, when I saw that Maria Snyder had blurbed the book (while I ignore most blurbs, I don't ignore *friends*!) I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly the believable iconoclasm of the heroine, who creates her own path, even as she conforms to her (Victorian) society's expectations.
PARASITE REX, by Carl Zimmer. This book languished on my to-be-read shelf for years, after Nancy Kress and I attended the author's lecture at the Smithsonian. Scott Westerfeld used this book as the source for his wonderful interstitial chapters in PEEPS, so I finally dug out my copy. I learned some interesting things, but I have to say that Scott's distillation (and the author's presentation, with slides!) was more entertaining than a lot of the gruesome details about how parasites rule the world.
BLUE BLOODS, by Melissa de law Cruz. Part of my reading project on YA vampire books. The tone of this book didn't quite resonate with me (the school was just a little too outrageous - coed students stripping in the halls for their gym classes?) but the underlying mystery of the vampires, and who they are, and how they fit into American history, was superb. I actually want to re-read a couple of history texts to figure out more about how these puzzle pieces could fit together.
VAMPIRE ACADEMY, by Richelle Mead. Another part of my reading project on YA vampire books. I want to be Richelle Mead when I grow up (or, at least, to write her books.) I loved the entire set-up for this novel, and the characters felt incredibly real to me. The romance works well, the narrator was smart, but realistically not-quite-adult.... The most successful of all the YA vamp boks I've read.

OK, that's it for today - I'll get more of the shelf cleared off shortly!

Mindy, completing some housekeeping

Magic Trick: The Disappearing Weekend

2008-07-21T14:13:27Z

Well, another weekend disappeared on us. I swear to God, those days must be hiding out, along with the caps to Bic pens and the mates to my socks and all those other annoyances of modern life that go missing!

We went to see DARK KNIGHT on Friday. I don't have a lot to add to the general reviews floating around - I'll just note that there were two scenes (one involving a string-held trigger, and one involving a mouth-pressed knife) that I expected to be much more visually violent than they were. I realized after each that I had completely tensed up; after the first of those scenes, I actually forced myself to take a deep breath and relax.

On Saturday, we went to the Apple store and bought me a replacement for my beloved Sony VAIO. (After 4.5 years, the video cable loosened, so that the entire screen was always magenta; some pages were unreadable because of background colors that could resulted in lovely magenta on magenta text. The problem arose a year ago and phased in and out, but it had not phased out for over a month.) I am now the slightly astonished new owner of a MacBook Air. So far, it's incredible, amazing, overwhelmingly what *I* needed. (I don't play video games, I don't compile million-lines-of-code programs, etc.) I'm a happy writer. :-)

On Sunday, we did the usual scramble of clean-the-house, take-care-of-errands, nothing too exciting.

Somewhere in there, we mourned a Red Sox sweep (and were surprised by some great Nats ball.)

And that was the weekend that was...

Mindy, typing from Panera before heading home to edit, edit, edit the work in progress

Magnetic Rivers

2008-07-17T13:20:23Z

I rarely use these entries to point folks toward other people's entries. I generally believe (rightly or wrongly) that you all read the same pages that I do, and that you're all seeing the same blogs that I see.

This morning, though, Diana Pharaoh Francis (author of the Crosspointe novels, among other great traditional fantasy) has a post up at SFNovelists, explaining why she advises writers to "write every day." Her metaphor of a writing river that ices over if we don't keep chipping away is a great one, but the image that truly caught me was when she talks about an oppositional magnetic force that tries to keep her from her writing.

Take a look at what Di has to say: http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/07/17/write-every-day/

Mindy, still having trouble making links work through her LJ template, but confident that you can all cut and paste :-)

Donating Books

2008-07-16T13:48:44Z

In the comment thread on another one of my posts, clowe discussed the problems of a teeny, tiny local library that cannot adequately handle donated materials. In the past, others have noted similar problems in their communities.

Where do you donate used books? What organizations do you know about that serve a "good purpose" (for whatever value of good that you define)?

Mindy, who always *says* she's going to track down a shelter or other recipient, but generally ends up donating her used books to the library sale

Spa Food

2008-07-15T13:17:26Z

Well, it can't always be one writing glory after another...

When I started writing full time, I started cooking (close to) full time. Mark and I had gotten into the bad habit of eating nearly all of our meals out - not always at real restaurants (we live across the street from a mall, with a food court), but generally not sitting at our own table. I designated our new habits "spa food", in that we were going to eat in a relatively healthy manner, relatively low-fat, relatively low-cholesterol, and relatively whole-grain.

As a practical matter, that has meant eating a lot of Mexican-inspired foods - the onion/garlic/tomato base for chilis and similar foods boosts a lot of flavor without a lot of fat. We've found some keepers in the new recipes, and only one total reject (a corn and black bean salad that just didn't have enough *flavor* - but ended up working fine as a lunch salad topper for the rest of the week.)

In any case, this week's new recipes include chicken picadillo, red beans and rice (with a chicken and turkey andouille which a friend recommended), and shrimp arrabiata. We'll see which make it into the regular rotation...

On a related note, Mark successfully transferred all of my old MasterCook recipes over to MacGourmet for me. This was a particularly noteworthy accomplishment because my new MasterCook software (version 9, I think) didn't talk to my old MasterCook software (version 2), so I had started the laborious process of hand-entering those old recipes. Now, they're all in one handy, exportable place!

So - favorite summertime recipes anyone? (Don't tempt me with dessert extravaganzas! :-) )

Mindy, who also took a trip to Trader Joe's yesterday for the first time in well over a year!

Avoiding the Elf-in-the-Kitchen Problem

2008-07-14T14:58:51Z

I truly enjoy writing contemporary fantasy (whether it goes by the name of urban fantasy or paranormal romance or whatever...) But there's a real challenge in writing it - especially when an author has ordinary, everyday folks come in contact with the fantastic.

In the real world, most of us who encountered a true supernatural being would become gibbering idiots. If we told our friends or family, we would most likely be encouraged to seek immediate medical attention. Even if we convinced those closest to us that the phenomena we were observing were real, we'd still consistently question our senses.

To an author, the challenge lies in having a character realistically confront the "impossible" and then adapt to it, moving on with the story. Years ago, I started a novel where a character wakes up one morning to find an elf in her kitchen. She says, "Oh, what are you?" and he replies, "An elf." She goes on to offer him coffee, to chat with him about the weather, etc. I don't know what happened after that - I didn't read past page 30.

By contrast, mizkit does a great job with a real-world woman confronting a supernatural creature in HEART OF STONE. The woman questions her own perception. She recognizes that her roommates and her boyfriend are going to think that she's crazy. She tries to figure out other interpretations of what's happening. She *reacts* to the situation, in real and believable ways.

What books have you read where the author solves the elf-in-the-kitchen problem believably?

Mindy, digging in to a fresh week of writing work

Twin Citizens?

2008-07-11T18:41:08Z

Folks in or around the Twin Cities:

Is the newspaper east of the river still the ST PAUL Pioneer Press? Or did they drop the "St Paul" part?

Mindy, editing a manuscript set in her old hometown

MULTIREAL - David Louis Edelman

2008-07-11T15:01:19Z

David Louis Edelman is a writer friend of mine. He's the sort of guy who is great to talk to at a con and the sort of friend you can call the day before a book-based cocktail party and say, "I don't want to go to the party alone, wanna go?" Dave's debut novel Infoquake was released by Pyr in 2006. Barnes & Noble Explorations called the story of cut-throat software entrepreneurs in the far future "the love child of Donald Trump and Vernor Vinge" and later named it their SF Book of the Year. The book was also nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best Novel, and Edelman was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer on the strength of that novel. Infoquake has just been re-released in mass market paperback by Solaris Books with a fancy new cover by Stephan Martiniere.

This week, Pyr is releasing book 2 of David's Jump 225 trilogy, MultiReal. The book continues where Infoquake left off, and has already been called "a thoroughly-successful hybrid of Neuromancer and Wall Street" by Hugo nominee Peter Watts.

Here are a few questions and answers to give you a better idea of who Dave is and what his books are like. Enjoy!
Mindy

* * *

1) What was your inspiration for writing Infoquake and MultiReal?
Infoquake and MultiReal are two parts of a story I started writing in late 2000 about my dot-com experiences in the '90s. I'm a marketing guy and web programmer by trade, and I saw a number of crazy things during the dot-com bubble. Mostly I was interested in the personal dynamics -- how charismatic schemers like my protagonist Natch convinced so many people to invest in so many worthless companies.
So in 2000 and 2001, I wrote a novel titled Jump 225.7, which you might call a far-future satire of the dot-com era. I literally finished the first draft of it on September 10, 2001. Then suddenly the next day, satire seemed the wrong way to approach the story I was trying to tell. So when I started rewriting it, the story became much darker and more serious in tone. I tried to ask all the big questions about capitalism, about Western society, about human nature and greed and what the long-term prospects of the species were. The end result was the Jump 225 trilogy, starting with Infoquake and continuing with MultiReal.
2) Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?
Growing up, my favorite author had to be J.R.R. Tolkien (unless Stan Lee counts). I'm sure I read the whole Lord of the Rings saga (including The Hobbit and The Silmarillion) half a dozen times. Then in adolescence I fell in love with Kurt Vonnegut, with a special reverence for Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. College brought John Barth to my attention, and I've been running the biggest fan website for his books since about 1996 or so. If I had to name my favorite author since college, I'd have to pick either William Gibson or Thomas Pynchon.
3) What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?
I think for me it's the ability to rethink absolutely everything about the world, down to the smallest nanoparticle. I'm a worldbuilding addict, so I like being able to examine and reconfigure the politics, the history, and the sociology of my world to suit the story I'm trying to tell. For the Jump 225 trilogy, I considered all of those things and more -- I even got down to the level of thinking up new building materials and trying to invent ways that people would move goods from place to place in the absence of trucks and an interstate system. I can't really think of any other genre you can do that in.
4) Why did you decide to make Natch a software entrepreneur?
When I started writing the Jump 225 trilogy, I followed the axiom of writing what you know. I'd worked for several high-tech start-ups run by young, charismatic, slightly unhinged software entrepreneurs. And so that's who I started with.
The supporting characters are also based on character types I'd met in dot-coms. Horvil is the heavy-set, brilliant engineering guy who prefers to run things behind the scenes and leave the politics to the boss. And Jara is the serious, no-nonsense marketing woman who has something of a love/hate relationship with the company.
5) What (besides writing) do you do for fun?
I'm incredibly boring. I read. I putter around on the computer and tinker with my websites. I watch a lot of movies, and I keep up with the news. I'm looking forward to having children so I can have the excuse that I'm "spending quality time with my family."
6) What sort of research did you do to write these books?
Infoquake is heavily concerned with biologic software (or "wetware," as it's sometimes called). I know something about software, but I know very little about biology or physiology. So I certainly had to do some basic research into how the human body works. The main technology behind MultiReal also involves quantum physics, so I had to beef up on that a bit too. I admit that I don't tend to delve very deeply into the subjects that I research; mostly it's just your basic Wikipedia and Google searches, combined with long involved discussions with subject matter experts I know.
7) Natch is a compulsive workaholic. Are you that way too?
Absolutely not. I'm actually not very much at all like Natch or Jara, the two main protagonists of the novels. Although I suppose I do share certain characteristics with them. If I had to name a character who was closest to me in temperament, I'd have to say Horvil, the fat cheerful engineer who's always putting up with Natch's crap.
8) The political factions in the Jump 225 trilogy are divided between governmentalists and libertarians. If you were a character in the books, which would you be?
A lot of people who've read Infoquake assumed that my sympathies lie with the libertarians, because that's where Natch's sympathy lies. But I'm definitely more conflicted in my politics. I like to pick and choose among the different parties and philosophies. I have some definite liberal tendencies but a number of conservative ones as well.
You'll discover in MultiReal that the political situation is much more nuanced than Natch makes it out to be in Infoquake. The central government, which really seems like the epitome of evil in Infoquake, is a conflicted organization itself with some do-gooders working in the fringes. And the libertarians are full of self-interested schemers who'll stab you in the back.
9) What are you writing now?
I'm currently about 80,000 words into Geosynchron, the third and final book of the Jump 225 trilogy. I'm a very slow writer and I write a million drafts, but I'm hoping to finish the whole thing by the end of the year.
10) Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?
Yes, I always wanted to write, ever since I was a little kid. I wrote my first "novel" when I was about 6 years old, and I spent much of my childhood building up a pantheon of superheroes with my brother. I studied creative writing in college at Johns Hopkins, and tried to write a novel in my early 20s. It wasn't until I had given up on the writing and spent half a dozen years in the trenches of high tech that I came up with an idea that I could follow through on. And that was the Jump 225 trilogy.
11) What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?
I've never been very good about setting a concrete writing schedule. Maybe that's why it takes me so long to finish anything. I typically work about three days a week at my part-time web programming job, and then write whenever I have the free time and the inclination.
12) Where do you write?
I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I'm one of the guys you see sitting there at Starbuck's with his laptop for hours on end. For some reason, I find it easy to write with background chatter. But when I'm not writing there, I'm sitting on my couch at home with one dog on the back of the couch behind my head and one dog nestled between me and the armrest.
13) What is easiest/hardest for you as a writer?
The hardest thing for me as a writer is discipline. I have an easy time coming up with great ideas, and I find it very easy to sit down and start pecking on those first few paragraphs. But then I quickly burn out. If you're ever going to finish anything, you need to be able to batter your way through those burnout times, and I have a difficult time with that. And then I'm so rarely satisfied with what I write, it always takes me to forever to finish.

Book Trailer Follow-Up

2008-07-11T14:51:52Z

Thanks, all, who commented on book trailers. It was interesting to read how many of you (about 25% of those who commented) had never heard of book trailers. When we authors all get together to discuss what we can be doing and what we should be doing, we often forget that the Most Important Debate of the Year is news to a lot of our readers!

Mindy, who hasn't been inspired with any unique trailer ideas for her own work and doesn't plan on doing one. For now :-)

Book Trailers

2008-07-10T14:18:24Z

Yesterday, a friend sent me a trailer for her book (which will be released in November.) She asked me to watch the trailer and to critique it.

I explained that I don't completely buy into book trailers. I rarely watch them. I've never made a purchase decision based on them. I generally don't find them effective. (There was one, for a suspense novel that started with a kidnapping, which very effectively used the ringing of a phone to heighten tension, but I don't even remember the name of the book.)

There's been a lot of talk lately about book trailers, on a number of blogs (GalleyCat has embraced the topic, as have numerous individual authors.)

What are *your* thoughts? Do you watch trailers? Do you like them? Do you choose books to buy based on them? What is the best trailer you've ever seen?

Mindy, who had some *good* things to say about her friend's trailer, in addition to some more critical thoughts

Cover Art

2008-07-09T15:46:22Z

Readers often ask me about cover art - how I choose what goes on the cover of each of my books. The answer is very simple - I don't. I don't have any say in the cover art; it's created by a trained artist, coordinated by in-house-to-my-publisher art directors, all with careful input from my professional editor, subject to the recommendations of her professional marketing team.

I'm extremely lucky - I've loved all of the cover art for my books, and each of the covers has accurately represented the words within. (Okay, I wasn't thrilled about the leather bikini on the priestess in SEASON OF SACRIFICE, but I understood its purpose. And I hadn't known that Rani Trader was blonde until I saw THE GLASSWRIGHTS' APPRENTICE. Or that she had discovered the magic of the WonderBra in THE GLASSWRIGHTS' JOURNEYMAN. But each of those covers worked for each of those books.)

I've been particularly pleased with the Jane Madison book covers. Their "Bewitched" stylization accurately tells readers that the book is fun, flip, frothy - not deep thinking, by any stretch of the imagination - but also a bit stylized and intelligent. I also love the way that the three covers work together, creating a common look and feel (to borrow a term from copyright law.)

Yesterday, I completed the "Art Fact Sheet" for THERE'S THE RUB. I got to complete sheets for each of the Jane Madison books as well. My publisher's online form asks for a synopsis and for answers to five specific questions (mostly, about any symbolism in the title and the text.) I get to describe the major characters.

And then, I sit back and wait.

For the first time ever, I have a really clear idea about the covers for these books - I can picture a design that I think would be *perfect.* I sent a separate email to my editor, describing it in words (I can't draw stick figures....) I don't expect to see it on the final books - just because I write the books, and just because I read a lot of books, doesn't mean that I know what sells books.

But I'm eager to see what they come up with!

Mindy, waiting, likely for a few months....

Mystery of the White Plate

2008-07-08T13:52:08Z

I have always enjoyed a style of home decor that some might call ... eclectic. For years, I had a "set" of plates and bowls that were each-different-from-the-other, individuals that I'd bought at Pier One or other places because I liked the shape and/or the color. Mark, however, is a normal person, who enjoys eating in a kitchen that doesn't resemble a jumble shop. Our compromise, one that has worked perfectly? We got Fiestaware - a dozen place settings, two each of six different colors, with a few singletons thrown in. I make a point of never using the same color at the same meal.

Now, one of those place settings is white. There isn't anything wrong with white - it looks clean and neat and simple. But it's boring. Even Mark believes that it's boring.

And somehow, mysteriously, the white dinner plate, salad plate, and bowl get to the bottom of their respective stacks, so that they're the least used.

I've wondered about this for ages. What is it about the patterns of use that lead to white always getting to the bottom? Is it the way we load the dishwasher? The way we stack the dishes in the cabinet? Do we shuffle past the white, without realizing it, the way that the too-small dress or the too-tight pants get edged to the back of the closet?

I mentioned this perplexing problem to Mark the other day. He said, "I put the white on the bottom, each time that it gets used and washed."

Huh. Mystery solved. No mysterious powers of the universe to report, here in Klaskyville.

Mindy, who is starting to feel sorry for the white plate and will use it more often, so that its feelings don't get hurt

What a Great Editor Does for a Writer

2008-07-07T20:53:12Z

This afternoon, I spoke to my editor about THERE'S THE RUB (this is the first genie book - I've already drafted it and received editorial comments, but it won't be in stores until October 2009.) In reviewing my editor's comments, I'd had some questions about what she meant, and about how she'd read what I'd written, etc.

Suffice to say, half an hour later, I am brimming over with exciting ideas. I have character development to fold in! I have plot twists to add! I have magic tweaks to make!

And the best news of all? I have until September 1 to make the changes!

(That's just as well - I have a number of other writing irons in the fire. This is the first time that I'll be able to make novel edits without chewing in to sleep/weekend/day-job travel time - what an incredible, amazing luxury!)

Mindy, enjoying the life of a writer, today :-)

Meeting Obligations

2008-07-03T16:19:10Z

A lot of factors went into the timing of my career shift - tons of internal-to-the-law-firm politics, a careful study of books that I had under contract and proposals that I wanted to complete for new series, the heartfelt desire to preserve a long-scheduled vacation.... Ultimately, I was able to pick a Freedom Date (June 13) that met all of my goals and obligations, except for one: I was scheduled to speak at the American Association of Law Libraries annual meeting in Portland, OR, on July 13.

The cost of the trip made it prohibitive for me to go, once I was no longer employed. Not only was there the conference registration fee, but there was airfare (climbing higher, even as I checked the cost!), hotel, and meals. And there was the very real consideration that the time I'd be there was time that I wouldn't be advancing my writing goals.

But I was a speaker. And I had a co-speaker, J. When I contacted J and told her the bad news, she responded like any librarian would. First, she offered a practical solution, suggesting that I room with her, for free. (I was truly grateful, but the other costs were still too high.) Next, she proposed a technological solution - we could record my parts of the presentation, then update the Convention folks with our new tech needs. She would speak between my recorded bits.

So, yesterday, I drove up to Central Pennsylvania, to record my parts of the presentation. The trip was a bit long - 2.5 hours there and 3 hours back (given traffic.) But the drive was easy and a lot of the scenery was beautiful. J and I had a nice lunch, catching up on careers, love of reading and writing, and life in general.

One of J's coworkers helped us with the techie aspects of the recording. I did my best to wow and engage an absent room of 350 attendees. The recording worked flawless (mechanically).

I have felt guilty that my career choice had a negative impact on an innocent "bystander", but J rose to the occasion with a spirit to make every librarian proud. And now, I've discharged all of my library obligations...

Mindy, committing to spending six months on the writing career before building the library consultant career more.

Website Update

2008-07-01T17:20:36Z

I've updated my website - www.mindyklasky.com.

You can see the winner of the June Contest, and you can sign up for the July Contest. I've also added a link to the Book Groups Wiki, for all who want to play along!

Mindy, pleased to have made Dreamweaver do its job!

Antony and Cleopatra

2008-06-30T13:51:13Z

On Saturday, we attended the Shakespeare Theater's production of ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, part of their Roman Repertory. For some reason, we saw A&C before we see JULIUS CAESAR (which we'll see next weekend) - you'd think that they'd get the plays in order, for season's ticket holders!

I go back and forth with the Shakespeare Theater. I get frustrated that they perform the same handful of plays (R&J, HAMLET, MACBETH, RICHARD II and RICHARD III over and over and over again - in the 20 years I've had seasons' tickets, I've probably seen five productions of each.) At the same time, it can be frustrating watching a production that is bogged down by a frankly inferior script.

As always, the Shakespeare Theater's production values were high - a stunning set, with two major playing areas (stage level, and about fifteen feet in the air), with steep, swooping stairways to aid and abet dramatic entrances. Costumes were lush (and revealing) in Egypt, staid and restrained in Rome. Actors swept across the stage for entrances and exits, keeping the 44 separate scenes tumbling forward. The entire company understood the humor beneath some of the scenes, and they conveyed it well.

But the language isn't musical, as it is in many Shakespeare plays. There was only one line that leaped out as "Hey, I know that!" (Cleopatra, talking about her "salad days, when she was green with youth.") It took me a full fifteen minutes to settle into the Elizabethan cadence (something that I typically do within a few lines.) After the penultimate death in the final act, the utterly-inevitable ultimate death is preceded by at least fifteen minutes of dialog - mostly an extended speech by the soon to be dead character, which adds nothing to our understanding of the play.

This production did have the added ... spice of having an understudy play Antony. The lead tore his Achilles tendon a couple of weeks ago. The understudy did a *superb* job (and that's saying something, because I truly enjoy the original actor for the job.) Antony has a lot of lines, a lot of emotional see-sawing, and a fair amount of physical interplay (both as a soldier and a lover) - I never got the feeling that the understudy was lost.

So. Would you rather see the same play over and over (in different interpretations with different actors?) Or would you rather see some productions that fall down in script, if there's a chance that they'll soar in other areas of production?

Mindy, looking forward to seeing how the JULIUS CAESAR production fits into the mix

I Am Old (Card Catalog Edition)

2008-06-27T21:06:37Z

On the ground floor of my house, I have an old card catalog - a 72 drawer unit that fits *perfectly* into an alcove. (I received it from my boss at an old job, when the catalog had been deaccessioned, and the catalog was considered surplus, during a year when bonuses were considered surplus as well.) All of the cards were tossed long ago; the drawers are now labeled "pens and pencils" and "tickets" and "playing cards" and other necessary things for my comfortable existence.

Today, a friend came to visit, with her two pre-teen daughters. The older girl looked at the catalog and asked, "What is that?"

::wry grin::

I explained how catalogs used to be kept on cards, and how the cards were organized by author, title, and subject. I explained how the "subject" notes worked like hyperlinks, so that if you knew one on-topic book by title or author, you could find similar books by looking up the subject fields.

Not surprisingly, the girls were more interested in what trinkets I had stored in the drawers.

Man, I am old :-)

Mindy, taking her ancient carcass upstairs to finish reading mizkit's HEART OF STONE.

Book Groups

2008-06-26T13:15:31Z

In the past, I've been a member of various book groups. When THE GLASSWRIGHTS' APPRENTICE came out, I attended more than a dozen book group meetings where the members chose my book to read and discuss. It was a great way to meet new readers, and I enjoyed learning about how different groups conducted themselves. As a book group organizer, though, it's hard to know which authors will make themselves available for a meeting. As an author, it's hard to know which book groups read which genres and would be amenable to an author visit.

Technology to the rescue!

I've created the Book Groups Wiki, where book groups can enter information about their meetings and authors can enter information about their availability. The wiki is open to everyone for posting; it's free to use, and it's no more complicated than making a posting on a blog. The wiki is located here:

http://bookgroups.wikispaces.com/

If you organize a book group or if you're an author, jump in today. If you would know people in book groups or know authors, pass on the link to them. This project will only work if the wiki is accessed far and wide - please help me to spread the word today!

Mindy, hoping this wiki takes off, with your help

My New Day Job

2008-06-25T15:08:47Z

I've posted over at the SFNovelists group blog - the topic of my post is My New Day Job:

http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/06/25/my-new-day-job/

Mindy, glad to be back to regular sfnovelists posts!

Colorblind Writing

2008-06-24T13:18:59Z

I've been thinking about race, particularly the race of characters in books that I read and write. I was already sort of meditating on the subject, and then jimhines added his own meditation yesterday: http://jimhines.livejournal.com/378335.html Go ahead and read it, then come back.

I am a white woman.

I tend to identify the race of my characters early on in their introductions. I don't say, "Jane Madison was a Caucasian female of approximately twenty-five years of age." Instead, I say that she has brown hair with a lot of red it in, and she has hazel eyes, and she has skin that is pale enough that her easy blushes show through.

In my work in progress, I describe a werepanther as having mahogany skin and a tight cap of close-cropped curls. I don't explicitly say, "Michael is African American." I do describe an ala (a weather spirit) as being Asian; his first name is Ichiro, and he's initially seen wearing a punkish takeoff on Hello Kitty attire.

Last night, I was reading a book, and I got to page 90 before I realized the first-person-narration main character is mixed race (her father is white; her mother is African American.) There was a hint earlier (I guess) - her hair is curly. But nothing before page 90 told me her skin tone, or had her self-identify her race. That race turns out to be important - it has an impact on her job, on her love life, and on her family relationships. I felt ... surprised that she withheld her race from me for one fifth of the book.

Is it racist to disclose the race of one's characters - either explicitly "The ala was Asian" - or implicitly "Michael's mahogany skin glinted in the dim light"? Is it racist *not* to disclose the race of one's characters? If an author does not describe the race of a character, do you tend to picture the characters as a Benetton ad? Or as whatever race you are? Or as another race? (I firmly believe that "racist" is too loaded a word for this discussion, but I don't know how to water it down appropriately. I trust you all to understand what I'm trying to say.)

Play nice, folks.

Mindy, who *does* tend to assume that non-specified, non-delineated characters are white, unless there are other aspects of the characterization, plot, or setting that would indicate other racial identities...

Werewolf By Any Other Name

2008-06-23T19:26:56Z

A werewolf is a human who turns into a wolf under the full moon. Is there a word that describes a "wolf" in relationship to a "werewolf" (or a cat in relationship to a werecat...)

Totem?

Familiar?

Something else standard for the genre that I've just never heard?

Mindy, wondering whether she gets to make something up, or just needs to read more :-)

Appliances Know Things!

2008-06-23T13:44:43Z

First - and most importantly - thanks, all, for your kind words about the Twinstar option. I appreciate your sharing my excitement (and your casting suggestions - it's always interesting to me to see how you've construed the characters I've created!) :-)

Second - how do appliances *know* when their owners have made major life changes, including changes with regard to readily-available cash?!? Last night, we were watching a baseball game on TV when the screen shrunk down to a single white dot and disappeared. For just a second, I thought that the power had gone out, but then I realized that the lights were still on. And TiVo was still on. And the fridge was still humming away in the kitchen.

The television is dead. Long live the television.

We'd been talking about getting a new TV several months from now - probably HD, definitely letterbox aspect. Our purchase plans have now been escalated (on the theory that even if we can find someone to repair the old one, it'll cost more to fix than it's worth - ah, the disposable 21st century...) The old one is about 10 years old, but still...

So - anyone have any TV recommendations to make? Non-recommendations? We'll be looking for something that's still a TV, not a home movie center; our living room isn't large enough to support a mammoth set.

Mindy, waiting to see the next appliance shoe to drop :-)