Books
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 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 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 MoreGetting rekindled, and no, not in the e-book way
Feeling a little stuck lately with the writing. There, I said it. Also: Not feeling it at all with the writing. Which, I'm sure most people would say is a signal to take a breather. Thing is, I've been breathing a while. The fiction just isn't coming as easily these days, which makes me extremely…
Read MoreReading all the words
I'm juggling a lot at the moment, but two of the things I'm juggling at least give me a significant amount of pleasure: I'm in the middle of two books at once. "Earth Abides" by George Stewart is possibly one of the first of the modern postapocalyptic novels; it came out in 1949 and is…
Read MoreIt's probably not a good sign when, during the big mutual declaration of love scene in "Jane Eyre," the audience starts chuckling. Went to a screening of the film last night, met some of the stars and the director (who eerily resembled Hugh Grant and insisted he'd never heard that one before). It's … all…
Read More2007: Colorado Backcountry Hiker Trip (July 15-20)
“I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done my share of eating too. I am not washed and beautiful, in control of a shining world in which everything fits, but instead am wondering awed about on a splintered wreck…
Read MoreAn interview with Dave Eggers – The Harvard Advocate (2000)
This is an interview from 2000 that was originally printed in The Harvard Advocate. I did not conduct the interview; I’m just presenting it here in whole so there is an internet presence for what is an amazing piece of writing that thoroughly inspired me. It is all worth reading but gets more salient about…
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