A big fat Stephen King novel? Thanks, I’ll have another
Right now, there's nothing I'd really rather be doing than reading my current book. (Okay, maybe something involving a hot fudge sundae and a white sandy beach while getting a backrub might come out on top.) But when you've gotten your hooks into a book that just makes you keep turning the pages until you…
Read MoreGood news: My writing group is preparing to start meeting again. Bad news: I haven't done any fresh writing since we last met. This should be an incentive, but it keeps feeling like the last Jenga piece you pull before the whole tower collapses in. More later today, possibly.
Read MoreHow to get lost, on purpose, in your own head
Went hiking yesterday, did about 6 or 7 miles in very light patchy snow up towards Gertrude's Nose in the Mohunk Preserve. Went with a small group of people I didn't know and had some light conversation along the way, but mainly I like to go hiking to be in my own head, and I…
Read MoreWhy ‘American Idol’ has nothing to fear from me
Singing has a checkered past with me. I love singing, I love music, but put me in front of people to do it and things haven't always gone so well. (As a kid I was at a summer camp where we were all asked to perform in a pseudo talent show; I thought I could…
Read MoreSize doesn’t matter (or) how I sold a book to a total stranger
So what if you gave a reading and nobody came? Not the highlight of Arisia for me, but it happens. The programmers ask if you're an author, and if you are, they'll generally slate you in with a couple of other people to sit behind a table and read some of your work for 20…
Read MoreSci-fi/fantasy will eat itself (or) HBO’s bid for literary success
Just returned from the sci-fi convention Arisia, up in the surprisingly temperate zone of Boston, in which I spent several hours on panels talking about sci-fi/fantasy films and TV. (I also sold a book, but that's for another post.) Lesson learned: It is possible to get about 20 people in a room to talk about…
Read MoreSomething for the weekend
Off to the Arisia con up in Boston this weekend; stop on by if you're in town. Will be doing a reading from some piece of fiction (not totally decided yet), moderating and appearing on panels and, if I'm very lucky, selling a few books at the Fantastic Books booth (thanks, Ian!) Yes, there will…
Read MoreTalking with De Niro, and what you leave at the door
And then, sometimes, the interviews you expect to be the toughest are — if not, say, the easiest — at least go more easily than you expect. Interviewing someone is exciting, but I recognize it's a challenge for the person being interviewed, unless they're on autopilot. The one time I was interviewed was fairly stressful,…
Read MoreOn Stone Roses and other teachers: Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you
Having done this journalism thing since high school — and now for over 25 years beyond — it's probably safe to say I've done thousands of interviews. In the recent vast cleaning out prior to a move I finally dumped most of the old ones, recorded on 90 and 120-minute cassette tapes, into the bin,…
Read MoreSeem a little off this morning; forgot to put on my FitBit (long story there) to work out, and haven't had caffeine. Will try and post a little later once the brain is back up to running speed. That said, watched a segment (while working out) on free divers. Amazing stuff, holding your breath over…
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