Jay Lake: Writer

[conventions|travel] Epic ConFusion Day Three, going home

Day three of Epic Confusion was very abbreviated for me, as I had to leave the hotel at 10:30 am in order to make my flight home. Still, I managed to attend a very nice breakfast, courtesy of cathshaffer and various concom folks, and say good-bye to a bunch of people by virtue of loitering in the lobby while my airport transportation ran 40 minutes late.

Which, yes, gave me a bad case of the “oh crap”s.

Nonetheless, I made it into DTW in a timely fashion. The flight down to DFW was uneventful, and I got the first part of what would eventually be 2.75 hours of editing on Sunspin done. I spent the rest of my time divided between Charlie Stross’ Laundry books and Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon, both of which I’m enjoying immensely. I don’t normally split my attention between two books, but I have Stross in eBook and Ahmed in dead tree, and the exigencies of air travel caused me to have to switch modes periodically.

In Dallas, we took a long time landing due to the 50 mph cross-winds on the runway slowing air traffic down severely. That also slowed down the arriving flight that would become the equipment for my Portland connection, to the degree of being almost two hours late. So much for my plan of flying through Dallas to avoid winter weather delays in Chicago or Denver. So much for a good night’s sleep, as well.

Anent Sunspin, I got through the first revision pass of the first half of Calamity of So Long a Life, and began embedding the comments for an initial pass through the second half. Right now, I’m actually a bit ahead of schedule for what I expected on this book. I think that’s a good thing, but it might also mean I have been skimming work when I should be digging deeper. We shall see…

Also, I forgot to mention that at Epic Confusion adelheid-p gave me a very nice gift. I need to thank her, and will post photos and a description some time in the net few days as time permits.

This afternoon is another girls’ basketball game, though the_child has been down with a respiratory infection the last few days, so it’s not clear if she’ll be able to play. She gets sick so rarely, this is unusual.

And of course, now that I’m home, Day Jobbery.

Tags: Books, Calamity, Child, Conventions, Sunspin, Travel, work, Writing

Posted: 6:42 am Mon January 23 2012 | Comments(0) |

[conventions] Epic ConFusion Day One

Yesterday was another fun day. I got up, worked out, blogged, but didn’t have time to write before my 10 am reading with Howard Andrew Jones. We were very lightly attended, but still had fun. Then I was loose for a while until a lunch date with Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch, which we took offsite and spent a bunch of time catching up. The afternoon brought the panel on the trilogy as a base unit of fantasy, with Joe Abercrombie, Saladin Ahmed, Bradley Beaulieu, Michelle Sagara West. (That’s a heck of a panel crew, by the way.)

After that it was barcon, hanging out with all kinds of folks including the delightful Amy Sundberg, except for a break for the mass signing, which I spent most of chatting with Cat Rambo and, well, signing things. Dinner in the bar, and later I hit Saladin Ahmed’s book launch party before packing it in. I also managed to score a copy of his new book, Throne of the Crescent Moon [ Powells | BN ], which I am excited about reading.

Photo credit to theferrett. Shot on my iPhone.

This morning I am packing and leaving too early to really have any Con time to speak of. To my chagrin, I found that I left the 9VDC adapter clip of my MacBook Air’s airline/car charger in the socket of the plane I flew out on. I sure hope Apple will sell me that as a replacement part, otherwise I’m going to have to spring for a whole new one. My shuttle for the airport leaves in a couple of hours. I’m sorry to miss the last day of Epic Confusion, as I’ve had a great deal of fun here.

Tags: Books, Conventions, Tech, Travel, Writing

Posted: 6:24 am Sun January 22 2012 | Comments(0) |

[conventions|personal] At Epic Confusion

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I got up stupid early, cabbed it to the airport, got checked in and settled and eventually on my plane. The flights were easy and uneventful, and I managed both some fairly serious napping and 2.5 hours of revision work on Sunspin, as well as some pleasure reading. I’ve got Charlie Stross’ The Atrocity Archives on the iPad, and Christopher Moore’s The Stupidest Angel in dead tree edition for those times when the iPad isn’t practical (or, on the airlines, allowed).

The lovely and talented cathshaffer was kind enough to meet me at DTW, and drive me to the con hotel. We made it just in time for the GoH dinner, where we sat with some of the entertaining and interesting folks who run Confusion.

Afterwards I hung out in the bar for several ours with Joe Abercrombie, Peter Brett, Myke Cole, Jim C. Hines, Yanni Kuznia, Patrick Rothfuss and and Brent Weeks. They were rolling up first edition AD&D characters for an author’s game today, I was kibitzing. (As it happens, I may wind up sitting in on the game this afternoon, as Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch may not arrive in time to take up their arms and do battle.) That was a pretty hilarious evening, and gave many high school flashbacks. Plus Doselle Young bought us all pizza around 11 pm. Here is a Peter V. Brett photo of us.

I have also taken advantage of the fact that I’m three time zones away from home to allow myself some natural time shifting. Staying up til midnight isn’t so draining when your body still thinks it’s 9 pm.

This morning I’ll be working on Sunspin some more, then down to the convention to get my reg sorted out. The author’s D&D game is at 2 pm, so I’ll be there, then I have a panel at 7 pm this evening. It’s a good day.

Tags: Books, Conventions, Personal, Sunspin, Travel, Writing

Posted: 8:46 am Fri January 20 2012 | Comments(0) |

[travel|conventions] Off to Epic Confusion

It’s early and I’m hitting the road for Michigan to attend Epic Confusion, thanks to the good offices of a number of folks who are sponsoring my trip. I’m looking forward to spending time with rarely-seen friends, and meeting many new folks from Midwestern fandom and writerdom.

As an FYI, here is a repost of my schedule there:

I will otherwise be in the bar, the dealer’s room or at parties. Find me and visit a while. Unfortunately, due to my needing to be at the airport midday Sunday, I won’t be able to make any Sunday programming. See some, all or none of you there.

Tags: Conventions, Travel

Posted: 5:49 am Thu January 19 2012 | Comments(0) |

[personal|writing] Updatery and revisions

Yesterday I hied me off to check on the venue for JayCon. The date will be June 9th, 2012, and I’m still confirming the logistical details. Watch this space for a full announcement soon.

After that, I went to Fireside Writers, which met this week at a place called The Hazel Room. There I spent 2.25 hours booting up the revisions to Sunspin. I am into the project now, and making progress, though I’m already running into some fairly serious “kill your darlings” issues. I also confess to being daunted by the scale of my ambitions and the scope of the changes my agent and first readers want to see. That won’t stop me, of course.

Then I went to OMSI Science Pub, for the first time in months. This week the topic was urban landslides and forensic geology, which given the location of Nuevo Rancho Lake would require a major seismic event before they became a personal issue for me, but still fascinating. The speaker was energetically entertaining, and the slides were pretty cool. Fun to be out among friends, having my brain stretched.

It’s kind of like being a real boy again. And tomorrow I’m off to Epic Confusion, which is also likely to make me feel like a real boy. (Due to travel and so forth, expect light and/or irregular blogging service through the weekend.)

Damn is it nice waking up from chemo and getting out in the world.

Tags: Books, Conventions, JayCon, Personal, Portland, Science, Sunspin, Travel, Writing

Posted: 6:10 am Wed January 18 2012 | Comments(2) |

[travel] Flying back to PDX

Today I travel back to Portland. A few errands this afternoon, some time with nobr>the_child, then I’m off to a housewarming party this evening.

It’s been a tiring but manageable week. My body seems to be (largely) cooperating with my intentions, and the writing is firing up. In fact, more of that on the plane today.

Whatever you’re doing today and this weekend, have fun and be well.

Tags: Child, Portland, Travel, Writing

Posted: 3:54 am Fri January 13 2012 | Comments(1) |

[personal] Miscellaneous Updatery

No writing time yesterday. I had a full day at the office, then we had an after hours holiday party at my boss’s home, so that pretty much filled the day. I did bring some Époisses cheese to the party, thanks to the rather excellent cheese department at the Whole Foods here in Omaha.

I also dropped by a Barnes and Noble to pick up a couple of Charles Stross books for my reading pleasure, and was amusingly mistaken for Mr. Stross by the store manager when I inquired about signing my stock. I did manfully refrain from signing Charlie’s books for him.

Workie bits today, and unless something expected crops up, writing time this evening. I’m not pressing myself on this story, just letting it come to life in my head and on the page. We shall see.

Anent yesterday’s hair rant, it occurred to me when I woke up this morning that although I miss my flowing tresses, as a practical matter it would be nice to have my eyelashes and nose hairs back. Trust me, being nasally bald is annoying and slightly indecorous. The eyelash thing is just sad.

I’ll be home Friday afternoon, off to a housewarming party Friday evening if I haven’t collapsed from exhaustion. I expect to spend much of the weekend working with the_child on some homework issues, but also hoping to finish the story-in-progress this weekend, so that next week I can fire up Sunspin revisions.

And of course, next Thursday, a week from tomorrow, I’m off to Michigan for Epic ConFusion. See some, all or none of you there.

Tags: Books, Cancer, Child, Conventions, Funny, health, Personal, stories, Sunspin, Travel, work, Writing

Posted: 5:39 am Wed January 11 2012 | Comments(4) |

[links] Link salad is chilly

A reader reacts to Mainspring — Including a comment on my author photo.

Mid-career surgeons ‘are safest’

Alone Again, Naturally — Some good stuff in this article. Also some pretty annoying generalizations about male behavior.

Gaming Tablet Suggests New Form Factor

Where the Trees Are — You can actually see Oregon’s Willamette Valley in this image, if you know what you’re looking for.

The TSA Posts Its ‘Top Good Catches Of 2011′ List, Not One Of Which Is An Actual Terrorist — Sigh. (Via danjite, who also sent along the sigh.)

Businessmen and Economics — Really, business and economics are not the same thing.

Appeals court affirms order blocking Oklahoma sharia law ban — A federal appeals court upholds a 2010 ruling preventing the implementation of an Oklahoma constitutional amendment that would bar judges from considering international or Islamic law in decisions. Hey, look, a brief moment of sanity from our court system! I’m sure the Supremes will smack this down in due time, unfortunately.

Huntsman would pose big threat to prez, experts say

Why Rick Santorum Can’t Just Say: God Doesn’t Want You To Be Gay — Gay rights and the collapse of pseudo-secularism. An interesting analysis of the religiously-sanctioned bigotry of Senator Frothy Mix. (Via scarlettina.)

Can Romney be more than an opening act? — He’s not actually pulling a lot of votes yet, he has the advantage of a split opposition.

Romney’s Dreadful Inevitability: How Did It Come To This? — Conservative commentator Daniel Larison mulls Romney.

?otd: Is it cold where you are?

1/11/2012
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (work related evening social function)
Body movement: 30 minute suburban walk
Hours slept: 7.25 (fitful)
Weight: n/a
Currently reading: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

Tags: Books, Culture, healthcare, Links, Mainspring, nature, Oregon, Personal, Politics, Religion, reviews, Tech, Travel

Posted: 5:26 am Wed January 11 2012 | Comments(0) |

[travel|writing] Heading back to Omaha

Heading back to Omaha today for a week in the corporate office. This is my first trip to Omaha since last July (normally I go once every four to six weeks), and except for the November trip to San Jose, my first business trip since then. Part of a return to normalcy for me. Normalcy in 14 degree weather, of course.

This is a big step for me. A big piece of recovery from chemotherapy. A big piece of reclaiming my normal life.

And in terms of reclaiming, I’ll be taking a stab at first draft fiction during my downtime on this trip. I often use airplane and hotel time for writing, so we’ll see if the writing brain lights up this week. I’m a little fearful and lot optimistic. Wish me luck.

Tags: Cancer, health, Omaha, Travel, Writing

Posted: 4:42 am Mon January 09 2012 | Comments(2) |

[conventions] Epic ConFusion schedule

Once more with thanks to the generous folks who are sponsoring me to Epic ConFusion, here is my schedule.

I will otherwise be in the bar, the dealer’s room or at parties. Find me and visit a while. Unfortunately, due to my needing to be at the airport midday Sunday, I won’t be able to make any Sunday programming. See some, all or none of you there.

Tags: Conventions, Travel

Posted: 7:56 am Sat January 07 2012 | Comments(0) |