[awards] Final Hugo pimpage
We’re near the end of the Hugo nominations window, so I thought I’d a last updated pimpage here.
My favorite picks are in bold with *.
2009 Published Science Fiction:
* “On the Human Plan“; Lone Star Stories; February, 2009 [short story]
* “Rolling Steel: A Pre-Apocalyptic Love Story“ (with Shannon Page); Clarkesworld; April, 2009 [short story]
* “To Raise a Mutiny Betwixt Yourselves”; The New Space Opera 2, ed. Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, Eos, April, 2009 [novelette] [in Sunspin continuity]
“Leopard“; Jim Baen’s Universe, June, 2009 [short story]
“Black Heart, White Mourning”; Grant’s Pass, ed. Jennifer Brozek and Amanda Pillar, Morrigan Books; August, 2009 [short story]
* “Chain of Stars“; Subterranean, October, 2009 – [novella] [In Mainspring continuity]
“Last Drink Bird Head”; Last Drink Bird Head, ed. Jeff vanderMeer; Ministry of Whimsy Press, October, 2009 [flash]
* Death of a Starship; MonkeyBrain Books, November, 2009 [novel]
2009 Published Fantasy:
* “Golden Pepper“; Flash Fiction Online; February, 2009 [flash]
“The True Secret of Magic”, as Joe Edwards; Crime Spells, ed. Martin H. Greenberg and Loren Coleman, DAW; February, 2009 [short story]
“Witness to the Fall”; Crime Spells, ed. Martin H. Greenberg and Loren Coleman, DAW; February, 2009 [short story]
“To Stone” (with Shannon Page); Morrigan eZine, May, 2009 [short story]
* Green; Tor Books, June, 2009 [novel]
“People of Leaf and Branch“; Fantasy; June, 2009 [short story] [in Green continuity]
“Tale of the Poet and the Dog”; Japanese Dreams, ed. Sean Wallace, Prime Books; Summer, 2009 [short story]
“An Elderly Pirate Recalls the Death of Love”; Electric Velocipede Issue 17/18 [short story]
* “Red Dirt Kingdoms”; Realms of Fantasy, October, 2009 [short story]
Madness of Flowers; Night Shade Books, November, 2009 [novel]
“Bone Island” (with Shannon Page); Interzone, Fall, 2009 [novelette]
“Shedding Skin; Or How the World Came to Be”; Shimmer (Clockwork Jungle Issue), Fall, 2009 [short story]
I also note immodestly that ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
calendula_witch is Campbell-eligible this year.
Tags: Awards, Books, convention, Green, stories, Writing
Posted: 7:09 pm Tue March 09 2010 | Comments(0) |
[writing] Endurance, and future projects update
Woke up at 2:30 today. Yeah, really. That’s what happens when you fall asleep around 7:45 and only sleep a little over six hours. So I got up and worked on Endurance for a couple more hours. The draft is out to first readers now, hooray! I’ve asked for it back by 3/30 so I can get it into casacorona and arcaedia before the end of April. Chemo or no chemo, I can still kick a deadline’s ass.
This afternoon I plan to write the initial outline of Kalimpura (the third Green book, following closely on Endurance). The voice is fresh in my head, in some perfectly obvious ways. And as previously mentioned, the plot and structure of the book largely fell together in my head on Sunday afternoon whilst talking to calendula_witch on the drive back from the Rain Forest Writers Village. So I will capture all this, then set it aside for a while, as I have a contracted novella due Real Soon Now as part of a Sekrit Projekt, as well as a spec novella that is grumbling hard to be written.
Can’t tell you about the Sekrit Projekt of course, on account of it being Sekrit and all, but the spec novella is a take on a lost colony story that I haven’t seen done before involving religion, science and cultural self-awareness. I’m sure it’s been done, as virtually everything has, but I’m approaching it ab initio. In considering this piece, it’s also become clear to me that I need to write it steampunk for a variety of good reasons which I mostly blame on Maureen McHugh. So, erm, lost colony steampunk religious fiction. Go, me!
In truth, I suspect this is a novel-sized idea, but as I have my next five novel projects mapped out, I am not writing an unplanned spec novel. Especially in the middle of chemo. For those wondering, those next five projects are:
- Kalimpura, the third Green book
- Sunspin, a high concept space opera trilogy
- Original Destiny, Manifest Sin, my magical Old West book of long lost fame
It is of course possible that contracted work will intervene, and I will probably tackle another collaborative novel or two in the midst of all this, but if I get Kalimpura drafted by the end of the summer, I can take the autumn and winter to tackle Sunspin, which I currently believe will clock in between 600,000 and 750,000 words in first draft. I can then revise Kalimpura for a spring, 2011 delivery to Tor, and still be a year ahead of my next contract book, which gives me loads of time to write Original Destiny, Manifest Sin. So fie on you, lost colony steampunk religious fiction novel, you will be a novella for now and you’ll damned well like it.
I love being a writer. And cancer can kiss my ass.
Tags: Books, Cancer, Endurance, Green, Kalimpura, Original Destiny, Personal, Process, stories, Sunspin, Writing
Posted: 5:53 am Tue March 09 2010 | Comments(1) |
[sale] “Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors” to PostScripts
I am pleased to announced that PostScripts has accepted my new story “Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors” for publication later this year.
Written while on chemo, sold while on chemo. I am still a writer, even now.
Booyah, damn it.
Tags: Cancer, health, Personal, Sale, stories
Posted: 6:06 am Wed March 03 2010 | Comments(5) |
[process] Rules of Writing (meme)
Because all the cool kids are doing it.
I only have one rule of writing. Everything else is a guideline. Sort of like the Pirate Code.
- Write more.
Which is to say, whatever you’re doing, do more of it.
I do have several strong guidelines.
- Write something every week. (A story, a chapter, something discrete and measurable.)
- Finish everything you start. (I suspect more nascent careers fail here than anywhere else. How many unfinished stories and novels do you have? If you don’t finish it, you can’t revise, market and sell it. Period.)
- Don’t self-critique while you’re writing. (For a lot of folks, this may be the root cause of the previous issue. It doesn’t matter if the piece is crap. You’re probably wrong, as the writer is the worst judge of their own work. And besides, you can always revise.)
- Work on one thing at a time. (In my case, a novel, a short story, a collab and a nonfiction project can all run in parallel. But if I work on two of the same thing, the voice bleeds over and I lose track of continuity.)
That’s all I got. What would you add?
Tags: Books, meme, Process, stories, Writing
Posted: 5:26 am Tue March 02 2010 | Comments(9) |
[writing] A story, this morning
Right brain woke me up at 3 am (after seven hours’ sleep, so this was okay) and demanded to write a story. The idea was an offshoot of a conversation between calendula_witch and I yesterday. So from 3 to 5 am, I wrote 3,500 words and finished a draft of “Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors”, a story about cancer and faerie. Gee, much on my mind?
The part I’m happiest about is this is only the second time I’ve tried to write from scratch since the surgery in November. Gotten a lot of productive revision and rewriting done, but that’s a different process for me. I have no idea if this piece is any good, I’ll let my first readers tell me that.
But damn me, I wrote something. And I feel good about it. Fuck cancer.
Tags: Calendula, Cancer, health, Personal, stories, Writing
Posted: 5:52 am Tue February 23 2010 | Comments(5) |
[links] Link salad gets up early to write fiction
SF Signal reviews Interzone 226 — Including my story “Human Error.”
A Personalized Tumor Tracker — DNA changes could help doctors see if stray cancer cells remain after treatment. Interestingly, the test cases here almost precisely fit my cancer profile.
Paul Krugman on starving the beast — Will my conservative friends please explain to me how this is good for the country?
Coburn takes aim during McAlester stop — GOP the party of “No”? Republican Senator Coburn says, “I love gridlock. I think we’re better off when we’re gridlocked because we’re not passing things.”
Jobs Bill Passes Major Hurdle After 5 GOPers Join Dems — Department of credit where credit is due. Much to my frank amazement, several Republican senators apparently grew a conscience and voted policy over politics on cloture for the jobs bill. Will be curious to see how the smear campaign goes.
?otD: Did you write today?
2/23/2010
Writing time yesterday: 0 minutes
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.0 (slept solid)
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a (forgot)
Yesterday’s chemo stress index: 4/10
Currently reading: [between books]
Tags: Cancer, health, Links, Personal, Politics, reviews, stories
Posted: 5:32 am Tue February 23 2010 | Comments(2) |
[links] Link salad with a literary Monday
calendula_witch with the YogurtFail caption contest poll — Vote early and often!
My Lone Star Stories short story “On the Human Plan” makes its third Year’s Best appearance — Also receives Hugo nomination love from Rich Horton. Slightly oddly, this reviewer notes the unusual double Locus recommended list appearance of the story without noting the three Year’s Best appearances (though he mentions other stories with two Year’s Best appearances), then goes on to say, but I won’t read the story unless it [gets nominated], since I have yet to read anything of [Lake's] I understand, much less like. To each their own, but it makes me sad that a story with that much recognition isn’t even worth even a click-through to such an otherwise careful reviewer. Just reinforces my rubric that the story always belongs to the reader, even when it doesn’t. For my own part, I’d love to see some Hugo love for this one.
Speaking of would-be Hugo love, a reader reacts to Green — I believe this is an older review, but I can’t sort out the original appearance, so I’m linking here.
Another rather interesting review of Green
eldritchhobbit Podcasts and the Hugo Awards — An article about bringing podcasts such as StarShipSofa: The Audio Science Fiction Magazine into the Hugo fold through the Best Fanzine category.
Geologists find a way to simulate the great Missoula floods — This is cool. (Thanks to my Dad.)
Study Examines Family Lineage of King Tut, His Possible Cause of Death — Some cool archaeogenetics. (Courtesy of e_bourne.)
George Will is as usual intellectually dishonest about climate change again — More conservative thought leadership in a difficult world. Also, sun rises in east.
?otD: Is it just another manic Monday?
2/22/2010
Writing time yesterday: 0 minutes
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 9.5 (slept solid)
This morning’s weigh-in: 226.6
Yesterday’s chemo stress index: 6/10
Currently reading: [between books]
Tags: audio, Awards, Books, Contests, Cool, Links, Personal, Politics, reviews, Science, stories
Posted: 5:37 am Mon February 22 2010 | Comments(0) |
[links] Link salad for a chemo Sunday
Reviews of Tor.com Story Podcast January 2010 — Including joint stories by me and kenscholes, “The Starship Mechanic” and “Looking for Truth in a Wild Blue Yonder”.
10 rules for writing — And 10 more, and 10 more. Interesting reading.
You can’t resolve away climate change — More conservative political idiocy, fisked in detail by Bad Astronomy.
Losing The Future — Daniel Larison on voter demographics.
The 1956 Republican Party Platform — Fascinating reading, to see how the GOP thought in the “good old days” of American Conservatism. Not that the 1956 Democratic platform is probably any less entertaining.
?otD: Where in the hell is Carmen Sandiego? (Only Dante knows.)
2/21/2010
Writing time yesterday: 0 minutes
Body movement: (forthcoming suburban walk)
Hours slept: 9.5 (slept solid)
This morning’s weigh-in: 227.4
Yesterday’s chemo stress index: 6/10
Currently reading: [between books]
Tags: audio, Links, Personal, Politics, Process, stories, Writing
Posted: 9:40 am Sun February 21 2010 | Comments(0) |
[links] Link salad says it’s just desserts
A review of Forbidden Planets — Including my story “Lehr, Rex”.
Yesterday’s post on fantasy and politics has spawned fascinating comment threads on both sides of my blog [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ] — I draw special attention to otterdance’s screamingly funny riff on Hansel and Gretel as a political fable.
truepenny on fantasy, politics, epistemology — An interesting riff on a number of things, in which she tangentally explains a lot of about the Know Nothingism of the contemporary Bush-Palinite conservatism that has come to dominate both the GOP and the rightward end of the public discourse.
Non Sequitur on the magic of reading — Yes. This.
A Softer World on fairy tales — Um, yes.
Publishers fear the bite of Apple’s revenue model — Financial Times on the iPad and iBooks. (Via @DigiBookWorld.)
What Patients Really Want — (Thanks to deborahjross.)
1938 Japanese poster: Second Sino-Japanese War Exhibition at Osaka — This is eerie on a number of levels, not the least of which is the visual design.
The country on the second floor — The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta.
GOP demands White House post health care proposal online, then attacks WH for doing exactly that — Dept of why the rest of us think Republicans are idiots. This doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, except in terms of scoring political points in the day’s news cycle. Which is neither policy, nor governance.
Senate Woes Flag Wider Disease — The Wall Street Journal manages to describe the current dysfunction in the Senate without a single sentence referring to the fact that the GOP has single-handedly driven the filibuster problem to the forefront. =
Centrists can’t win as insurgents — Daniel Larison on Evan Bayh, but far more interesting are his remarks about centrism and party bases.
Sarah Palin should run for president on the Dunning-Kruger ticket
?otD: Cake, pie or tarts?
2/16/2010
Writing time yesterday: 0 minutes (bitching headache during my writing time slot, then
fjm arrived)
Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk
Hours slept: 6.5 (mediocre)
This morning’s weigh-in: 227.2
Yesterday’s chemo stress index: 3/10
Currently reading: [between books]
Tags: Art, Culture, Funny, healthcare, Links, Personal, Politics, Process, Publishing, reviews, stories, Writing
Posted: 3:50 am Tue February 16 2010 | Comments(1) |
[links] Link salad, at first just ghostly, turns a whiter shade of pale
jimvanpelt on Nebula nominations, and my novella “America, Such as She Is” — If you’re a SFWA member, today is the last day to send in your dollar. If you’re interested in my novella, please contact klingonguy (who published it) for a .pdf reading copy.
The case against banning the word ‘retard’ — Some fascinating cultural and legal analysis, including a reference to the famous (and deeply stupid) ‘niggardly’ incident in DC politics.
Lots of snow! — Dark Roasted Blend tortures you all. And since it can’t be said enough, weather is not climate. Those of you who claim it is either need to get educated or stop lying. Looking ta you, FOX News.
Lack of Medicare Chief Is a Strike Against Reform — Interesting discussion of policy and governance. (Thanks to danjite.)
If You Could See America Through China’s Eyes — A fascinating look at American power. In a larger sense, a strong reminder how Bush administration incompetence and the conservative obsession with Islamic terrorism have weakened American global might and credibiity. Not news, exactly, unless you’re a purblind “America firster”, but then it’s the purblind America firsters who got us into this mess in the first place.
Empathic Myopia — Digby on conservative failures of empathy. She’s talking about the Haiti orphan story, but I see the same problem in the healthcare reform debate. It’s a point I’ve been reaching for a way to usefully discuss for a while — that at a fundamental level, contemporary American conservatism can be analyzed as a near-socipathic failure of empathy. Digby does a pretty good job of laying out a good part of the case about how conservatives simply don’t see other people who are unlike them as being real. Tribalism on the hoof.
The Trial: Eric Holder and the battle over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — Or how terrorism continues to make our nation crazy. You want to know when the terrorists win? When politicians and the press panic. The GOP started this round to score political points, but the Congressional Dems ran hard with the toss once it came their way.
?otD: Was it later, when the waiter brought his tray?
2/15/2010
Writing time yesterday: 60 minutes (revisions on
Endurance)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 8.25 (soundly, yay!)
This morning’s weigh-in: 227.2
Yesterday’s chemo stress index: 6/10
Currently reading: [between books]
Tags: Awards, Culture, healthcare, Language, Links, Personal, Politics, stories
Posted: 5:34 am Mon February 15 2010 | Comments(0) |
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