Yes, I have a new computer. Here’s a pic of the old G4 Mac Mini and monitor.
And here’s the 24″ iMac that replaced it.
Jeez, it even gave me a shave!
reasons i suck
Getting published
StandardLet’s say you’ve got Reggie Jackson willing to give away hitting tips, answer questions about breaking into the Major Leagues. And someone says, “Hey, Reg! I want to be a pro ballplayer — but my local Thrifty doesn’t carry batting gloves. Where can I buy a pair?” I think most people would recognize that question as a waste of time for all parties involved.
— Quote from here.
I wasn’t really planning to write this post, but my editor suggested it. (Or did she? I remember that she did, but I was getting a lot of input at the time, so maybe I misremember.) Here’s the story behind that suggestion:
I had just finished the “Escapist Fantasy” panel at San Diego Comic-Con, and I knew I had stammered and lost the thread once or twice, but I’d also made a decent point or two. While I’d been up there at that long, long table, I’d seen my editor out in the audience. We’d never met, but thanks to the power of Google, I knew what she looked like. Hey, no pressure, right?
Also, during the panel, the moderator mentioned her by name, saying something like: “We have Betsy Mitchell, editor-in-chief at Del Rey, in the audience today. What do you think, Betsy, about…” and outed her to the whole room.
After the panel ended, I thanked folks and made my way down to the floor. I was meeting my editor face-to-face for the first time–and I hadn’t done as well as I’d have liked on the panel, so I was all set to apologize, plus I was on my way to my first signing, and I was trying not to be a complete goof–but before we could get past the pleasantries, a guy butted in to say “Hi, I’m an aspiring writer and I’d really like to be published with your company. I’d really appreciate any advice you could give me.” Or whatever.
Now, I was sorta annoyed by this, because that was not the conversation I needed to be having at the moment. Betsy gave him a brief answer, stating that they only accept agented submissions, then she turned to me and said: “You broke into publishing recently. Do you have any advice?” Continue reading
Oh, fer…
StandardI can not understand why the characters in this book insist on chatting so much. Can’t we just jump straight to the violence? Please?
Also, I can not make the links on the right sidebar (on my blog, for those reading this on LiveJournal) rearrange themselves into the order I want.
I attribute both problems to a sleepless night and really awful dreams.
While you folks are thinking about Worldcon
StandardAnd arguing about Hugo winners, I will continue with my lifelong quest to be behind the times by posting… San Diego Comic Con photos!
Most people see a person in costume and ask them to pose for the picture. Which they do. Me, I liked taking pictures of them while they were looking at their watches, impatiently waiting for a pal, or sitting in a corner for a rest. What I wanted most was a picture of a cosplayer eating one of those sandwiches out of the plastic clamshell, or maybe a hot dog, but it was not to be.
Candid!
But here’s one picture that’s not candid:
Yeah, that’s me posing beside a poster for the book
You can see pictures of my panel, my signing, and the people at the con by skimming through the set.
I’ve been writing for 45 minutes
StandardAnd my wordcount on Man Bites World is currently lower than when I started. ::sigh::
In happier news, my email was correctly backed up, and I haven’t lost any of it. Yay!
Also, my website needs many changes. Many. Good thing I have so much free time. X___X
Five things for a Friday
Standard1) For those who missed it, I posted the first chapter of Child of Fire on my site yesterday. You can read it here. If you like it, tell your friends. If you hate it, tell your enemies.
2) Woman getting married to fairground ride. According to the article, she says she has “objectum sexuality, a condition that makes sufferers attracted to inanimate objects.” I avert my gaze as I hurry past the obvious joke there.
3) “Nurse of the Year” in Connecticut, who gave injections and dispensed medical advice, not actually a nurse. Remember, all failures of private industry are individual cases, but all failures within a government program reflect badly on every government program.
4) Drug buyers call the cops on their own dealers. Not because they were ripped off or because the drugs were bad. It was because the dealers were setting up squirrel traps in the park where they operated, and taking the fresh meat home at the end of the day. The drug buyers didn’t like that and dropped the dime on them. Fun note: When I first moved to Seattle, I lived very, very close to that park. It’s a beautiful place. via matt-ruff
5) I’ve always had trouble remembering faces and recognizing people, but man, I have nothing on Ryan O’Neal.
Mementos
StandardI brought some things back from the San Diego Comic-Con that I probably shouldn’t have: the folded cardboard name “plate” (what are those things called, anyway?), the program, the souvenir book, and so on. I couldn’t just toss them away, so I packed them in my luggage and now… here they are.
Thing is, I don’t have a place for them. And I won’t look at them again later, not really. At the moment they’re just sitting near my desk, getting in the way.
I couldn’t just throw them out, but now that I brought them home I resent them a little.
More pages to be done today.
Books I have read. Books I will read.
StandardFirst things first: I’m not usually a fan of Megan McArdle’s political blogging, because it often seems like a triumph of preconceptions over evidence.
However! This interview with Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth, is pretty interesting stuff. I wish I’d seen it before I hit the bookstore today.
What’s that, you say? Bookstore? That’s right. I was about 12 pages from the end of The Patriot Witch by C.C. Finlay and it was so freaking good that I had to rush out and buy the next two, just in case they vanished from the bookstores or something. Now that I own them, I can read them at leisure (which means: right away).
I also bought Breakthrough Rapid Reading and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Speed Reading (because I’m a complete idiot). I’d tried to read the former once before, but I borrowed it from the library and I had to–no joke–return it before I was done. No, really, I’m not kidding.
I think, in an effort to embarrass myself into learning to read faster, I will blog about my attempt to learn speed reading. Nothing like a little humiliation to goad the lazy.
You know what I need?
StandardOrganization.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been writing a book and I had to stop myself with a Wait a minute. What car is [protagonist] driving?
Because he has his own, but sometimes he’s forced to leave it somewhere and “borrow” someone else’s. Has he gone back for his little Ford or is he still driving that stolen Land Rover?
And what about cell phones? I know he ditched his early in the book, but he stole one, didn’t he? And his boss gave him a new one. Has someone else taken it from him since then?
I don’t even want to start on guns.
I need a simple way to keep track of the things Ray carries in his pockets. I could leave a separate file open on my desktop with a running tally of the things he’s picked up and discarded, but I know myself: I’d forget. What I need is bookmarks or footnotes or something.
Also, I’m planning to write an essay for John Scalzi’s “Big Idea” series, centering on Al Held’s painting “The Big N”. Lots to do and so little time.
I return
StandardMy plane got in last night, and far from the cool summer of the Pac NW I was expecting, we had temps in the 90s. Today we’re supposed to be in the triple digits, which is rare stuff for this part of the world. Sitting around the table with my family last night at 10 pm, sweat was running down my face.
Luckily I’m currently at work, where we have “air conditioning.”
And! To commemorate my return, I give you a pair of links: Maker Time and Manager Time and the Freakonomics blog entry on the article. Personally, I think you can train yourself to enter maker time in short bursts. It’s not easy and it’s not optimal, but it works (and has worked for me).
I’ll never catch up with my whole friend’s list, but I’m reviewing it. If there’s something you think I should know about, let me know.
Finally, my weirdest moment at Comic-Con: I was signing books at the Del Rey booth, and a father brought his son to the table for a signed copy of my book. I’m terrible at guessing ages, but I’d say he was 8-10 years old–imo, way to young for the book I wrote.
His father had a copy of his own, though. Would he read it himself first? It’s not really my place to make that decision for them. I just signed the book and handed it over. Still, it felt wee erd.