lauraanne_gilman | Recent Entries

What situation, you ask? This one.

This Saturday I saw the New York Times article Barnes and Noble/Simon & Schuster Dispute Said to Hurt Sales. Later in the day, a high-up Simon & Schuster executive also linked to that post from his Facebook account, saying that yes, this is what's going on.

Another article about it was published in the Wall Street Journal: Barnes & Noble Cuts Back Simon & Schuster Titles.

Both articles are worth reading in full, but in brief: due to the dispute between Simon & Schuster and Barnes & Noble, B&N has cut their orders of S&S books drastically. According to the New York Times, "Industry executives, as well as authors of recently published Simon & Schuster books and their agents, say that Barnes & Noble has reduced book orders greatly, to almost nothing in the case of some lesser-known writers." This policy began in January, apparently.

Needless to say, the people getting hurt most badly by this policy are the S&S writers, especially the lesser-known S&S writers, whose new books...just aren't getting ordered.

http://www.stephanieburgis.com/blog/caught-in-the-middle-hard-publishing-news.php

As an S&S author myself who will probably be caught in the same net, I'm urging you to read Stephanie's blog, pass the word, and keep an eye out for your favorite writers...

Random playlist generator has decided that this is the hour-of-gutting-LAG. Thanks, RPG. Currently up: "Don't Talk to Her At Night."

Burn the blanket
Shoot the light
But don't talk to her at night

And oh, followed up with "Desperado Under the Eaves." We're going to be like that, are we? All right, some Huey Lewis an the News as a chaser, that's better.

I have made it to the halfway point in SOUL OF FIRE revisions, moving slow but steady, and cursing a lot when we have another timeline tangle. Some book I will learn not to run concurrent threads with different characters in different locations impacting each others' discoveries. This, once again, is not that book.

I think I'll make deadline without death (mine or anyone else's*), but no promises.

Meanwhile, it's pizza and RTEs until further notice. Bartender, the glass appears empty. Refuel, svp!

*except them as already dead in the manuscript

Having EARNED* a new toy this month, damn it, I now own an iThing Mini. Now to train it to be useful... (stop laughing! I know it can be done.)

I suspect I'll be using this much as I used to use my DayRunner - schedules and notes and thought-bits (and email!), with the additional plus of being able to sync it all to the laptop at the end of the day. But we'll see what else comes along...

Anyone have any (non-game) aps I should look at? (I already have Evernote up, and will load Scrivener as soon as they get the iOS version running)

And, since the laptop of hard-working is named Archie, I have decided to name the Mini Watson**. Clearly, I have a thing for cute-but-dangerous sidekicks. :-D

*mainly by not dying and/or killing anyone under extreme duress

**make your own short jokes

Word came today that horror writer Rick Hautala died of a heart attack.

I knew Rick via NECON, a convention that I haven't been able to get to in recent years, due to finances and scheduling, so likewise I haven't seen him in a while. But the idea that he's gone is just.... I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea. He can't be gone, because ...

because, damn it.

Rick Hautala. 1949-2013

c. 2006 Jill Bauman (via Nick Kaufmann)

For Gin&Tonic #3, I needed to name a puppy in the outline. The name I chose was Parsifal. No, I have no idea why I chose that name, except it seemed 'right.'

Fast forward months later, when I'm writing the actual scene wherein the puppy is found. I have the main character checking out what the owner of the house is reading. A Ludlum title, I think. The missing person seems like a Ludlum reader. So... not a Bourne title, something else, less obvious.

I go to Ludlum's bibliography, and halfway down the list, I see this:

The Parsifal Mosaic (1982)

Okay, you can't make this shit up and get away with it. But so help me, it's true. I named a dog for the book his owner was reading, before I even knew the owner had been reading it. :-)

http://www.lauraannegilman.net/this-is-not-a-book-post/ ;

When I spend All Day at the Office & then come home late, the housecats are Seriously Affectionate, each in their own way.... For Boomer, that involves trying to eat my hair and head-butting. Oaf. But it makes me wonder why cats and horses seem to think eating hair (not grooming, EATING) is a sign of affection. Should I be switching shampoo?

After several days among people, and a convention looming, and more interaction on the month's horizon, I am starting to develop that Introvert's Twitch, the one that says "I like you a lot but please stand over there and don't talk to me?" There are several friends who have perfected that art: alas, most of them are Not in NYC.

Due to scheduling issues (not mine) I'm juggling four different major projects this week. Two is optimal, three is manageable, four makes me cranky. The smaller projects are huddled in the corner, waiting their turn. Apologies to anyone waiting on one of those smaller/non-time-sensitive things...

My brain is utterly in mystery mode right now, not fantasy. Good, because I'm writing a mystery. Bad, because I'm also revising a fantasy.

Writing mysteries is actually both weirder and calmer for me: there's less fannish connection, less chatter in my daily life, so I'm not distracted from the Story by the Community. This is partially because I was a reader rather than a Fan of mysteries and so not hooked into that community the same way, and partially because there seems to be less online "noise" for mysteries the way there is F/SF. Pluses and minuses to both.

and now I have to go away and juggle some more. Feel free to use this thread to ask me anything. I reserve the right not to answer (or to lie like a rug if provoked/inspired) but I'll try to get to all questions...

So I have sent off my bio and photo, and will, I am assured, soon be up on the Client Board . Weirdly, even though we've signed a contract, and New Agent has already negotiated a new deal for me, that will be the moment I feel like I'm really Part of the Pack.

Soon enough, I'll be able to feel that way in person, too. My new agency, it turns out, has an Agency Retreat, where clients gather for the weekend and listen to our agents ~~blither~~ talk in an educated manner about the industry, and generally Get To Shmooze With Everyone. And, I presume, knowing writers (and agents) as I do, we all bond over much booze.

This is very cool, and I am very much looking forward to the experience. Hopefully, there's no New Kid Hazing....

*is suddenly nervous*

http://www.lauraannegilman.net/whats-in-print/cosa-nostradamus/

There should be a social media filter called "Things that will make you feel crap about your career," and all writers should be required to use it on a regular basis.

The website, that is.

lauraannegilman.net

We're still cleaning up some of the older pages for consistency, but feel free to go and wander! Excerpts! Covers! Links! Funny Stuff! Newsletter signup! Tour/Signing info! And more to come....

(and please note all the "buy now!" links on everything for your shopping convenience....)

The new television* is successfully set up. The new blu-ray player is successfully set up and hooked into the home network (after a mighty battle** skalds would not scorn to sing).

I am going to celebrate by wailing on a scene that needs to be revised and put to bed. Hey, you have your victory celebrations, I have mine***.

*my friends insisted I needed a 46-50 inch television for the lounge area. My friends are size queens. The 40" does the job perfectly well without overwhelming the space.
** seriously. It was a battle of wills and ice-cold hate and steely determination, and in the end, the player blinked.
*** and, at some point after that, I need to rearrange the artwork, because moving one piece meant everything else had to be reconsidered, too...

Some days, the Internet allows me to connect with people, to see another side, to experience outside my own comfort zone. And some days, it makes me think a good hard Flood is overdue.

(seriously: a little compassion, a little perspective, and a little less ego should not be so difficult, humanity...)

In other, I guess happier news, it is officially into March, which means my work schedule has kind of exploded. Some of that (writing the new G&T novel, working on the new proposal) I CAN talk about, some I CAN'T talk about, and some I can't talk about YET. (yes, I know, I'm a tease).

So far, the once-a-week-on-the-coworking-space office seems to be doing what it needed to do: shaking up my habits and giving me a different perspective on what I'm doing. I may up the time-split eventually...we'll see. I've never been a "working in my PJs type" anyway. I am going to try to keep the "less work on weekends" trend, but also reserve the right to go into full-on manic meerkat mode, as needed. You'll know when. :-)

So, relevant to the first bit of work, a question for those of you with household animals and technology:

do your animals ever pay the slightest bit of attention to the screen when you're skyping/otherwise involved in digital conversations? And if so, what form does that attention take?

All right, folks, the Daily Science Fiction March madness kicks off today - and my story "Mad Cats and Englishmen" is up. You know what to do.

Go here and vote! http://dailysciencefiction.com/

Go here if you haven't already read the story, or want to check out my opponent. http://dailysciencefiction.com/documents/dsf-madness-bracket-2013.pdf

This is utterly meaningless and carries nothing more than temporary bragging rights, and yet if I fail horribly in the first round, I will be crushed, CRUSHED, I tell you.

You wouldn’t want to be responsible for that, would you?

Okay, this is VERY IMPORTANT. I just learned that Daily SF March Madness starts on Friday (tomorrow). My story, "Mad Cats and Englishmen" is in the first round!

This is utterly meaningless and carries nothing more than temporary bragging rights, and yet if I fail horribly in the first round, I will be crushed, crushed, I tell you.

You wouldn't want to be responsible for that, would you?

The rules: http://dailysciencefiction.com/

The bracket: http://dailysciencefiction.com/documents/dsf-madness-bracket-2013.pdf

(yes, I will remind you again tomorrow, don't worry)

Normally my dreams are of the "ok, ok, thanks brain, I get it" sort. But last night involved, among other things, being part of an archeological SAR team (yeah, I don't know either) jumping (with a zipline, not a parachute) into France. But because I dithered about actually jumping out of the plane (until they gave me the zipline option), I ended up miles south of the target, and had to make my way back through an od mix of historical site and modern hotel. I dodged around a wedding party set-up (including someone I knew playing in the mini-orchestra, and a small yipping dog that didn't like the music) and went through service tunnels carved of stone, before ending in a broken lader over a gorge - I could SEE the monument that was my marker in the distance, but no way to GET there.

And then someone I knew (my brain wants to say it was Steven Gould, but I can't swear to that) showed up on a side rung of the ladder an starts giving me advice. The only part of any of this that makes sense is that yesterday I was deeply irritated by a (non)action of the current SFWA board, and Steven is running for SFWA president, so I guess that's why he showed up? I wish I could remember if the advice he gave was any good...

(I did eventually make it to the site, but I don't remember how, or what we did once there.)

Yeah. Brain, I'm sorry, but I've got no clue.

Woke up to last night's storm still blowing wet and fierce, and my desire to head downtown to the co-working site is very, very low. But there is.So. Much. Work to be done....

First note: the fitbit is easy to affix to either my bra strap or my waistband without a problem. Well, one problem: because of my, hrm, slightly built nature, clipping it to my front leaves a visible lump under fitted clothing, and to the side means I'm constantly aware of it brushing my arm when I type. So... that needs to be figured out.

Today was, as promised, a sluggish-writer baseline day. With the exception of running out to the store to pick up cat food (more or less around the block and down the street) and laundry, I didn't leave my apartment all day, nor did I exercise (except the usual mid-writing-session stretches, which I do to keep the blood moving).

As of 10:30pm, I've walked 5,200 steps (2 1/4 miles, more or less).

That's nowhere near the 10,000 steps/day they suggest, but not too bad considering the circumstances, and probably proof of my family's belief that even when I'm sitting still, I'm still moving.

Now I need to establish an "out and about" baseline, to figure out how active I am when I head downtown for work, and go from there...

The great sci-fi hunt: help us find the best independently published books
"The search is on for the best sci-fi, fantasy, horror – or just plain weird – books that might otherwise go unseen and unloved"

Take a look. Nominate your choices. And, y'know if anyone might want to mention DRAGON VIRUS (indie publisher), or FROM WHENCE YOU CAME (co-op publication), I would not take it amiss....

:-D

So today, in addition to other things (of which more in a few days), I joined fitbit nation. Or rather I will tomorrow, since I just got it set up.

My plan is to get a baseline of how much I actually move on a "regular" day, and then ramp up as needed. It will be interesting to compare an off day to an exercise day....

Oh ye fellow fitbitters, any helpful hints, clues or warnings to give?

For anyone who might care, the "don't bust your ass on the weekends, take some regular downtime" routine went something like this:

Saturday morning, the household didn't even start to stir until nearly 10am. Even the cats slept in (after ElderCat threw up at 4am, anyway). And then it was raining and I felt no urge or need to do...well, anything. So I sat on the sofa and rewatched both seasons of Sherlock, and knitted, and thought sort of idly about the things I needed to get done.

Knitting: the art of being productive while procrastinating.

Sunday I'd PLANNED to go downtown for brunch, but, well, that didn't happen. I did get to sleep in until 9, though! And no cats threw up (that I was aware of). A slightly less lazy day, in that I finished my MindMeld response (mainly, cutting my 1500 word response into something vaguely more on topic), and got the laundry done and read part of a Book Not Mine. I till nee to re-edit the response, though, because it still isn't quite saying what I wanted to, and it's due tomorrow, oh shit. It may end up becoming a full blog post, instead. In my copious spare time and braincells.

And then a call for dinner with my sister, in town for 24 hours, so that's what I did instead of the Oscars. :-)

OH in the House:

"...this chapter needs a better transition."
"Suddenly, a shot rang out?"
"...actually, that could work."

(some time later)

"I need an ingest / in jest pun."
"If I told you to let it pass, would you think I was kidding?"
"....marry me."

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A Meerkat's Bolthole

where personal and professional lives collide

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State of the meerkat, Saturday edition

Shiny!

Another friend gone

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So, this happened.

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New Kid on the Block

For those of you who have read the Cosa Nostradamus novels, a little tease of what’s coming later th

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WIKTORY!

Spring is coming in, but keep the scarf wrapped round your throat...

As Promised: Your Reminder!

Calling in all the Meerkat Minions!

My brain is often a scary place. Sometimes, though, it's just...WTF?

Fitbit, Baseline #2

they're looking for your input....

Fitbit in a wee bit

That Was the Weekend That Was