Today, Outpost Gallifrey (http://www.gallifreyone.com/) effectively ended. The home of Doctor Who Fandom for the last decade has become merely a portal to a diminished news page, links, the Forum, an archive, and the Gallifrey One Convention. It’s a bittersweet thing.
I salute Shaun Lyon and all of the hard work that he did for us during the wilderness years. I’m not sure how he did it, but he did a magnificent job. Over 27 million visitors since 1996 agree with me. Let’s see if those shippy, young whippersnappers can hold a candle to his legacy.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Dungeons and Dragons
I am done with Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons. This week, Scalzi pointed out the screw job that they are doing to SF authors for their revamped Dragon Magazine (http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=159). The gist is that they are paying bare minimum for original short stories, and then they keep the copyright to the work in perpetuity. That is not cool.
I realize that this is their response to screwing up on writers’ royalties for their CD-Rom project of past Dragon issues, but this is ridiculous. If you want to do work-for-hire, then pay real rates. Otherwise, you are just going to be the official publisher of amateur Forgotten Realms fanfic. I’m pretty sure that this is not what the paying subscribers want to be reading.
Look, I understood why WoC made the move to 4th Edition. They were running out of interesting book ideas for third edition, and I’m sure that it was reflected in their sales. There just isn’t a world ready for the Complete Kobold or The Expanded Grappler. Unfortunately, I just don’t buy into 4th Edition as a consumer.
Much of 4th Edition seems to be predicated on paying for online services in addition to shelling out hundreds of dollars for books. Much of this online stuff is for Internet play. That’s a great idea in 2002, but ridiculous now. The technology they are planning on using is pathetic if compared to World of Warcraft. There simply is not a compelling reason for me or anybody else to move to the new system.
Overall, this seems like the last desperate gasps of a dying division of a major toy company (Hasbro). As a gaming consumer, I’m unimpressed. As an aspiring writer, I’m insulted. They will not be getting my money anymore, and I doubt that I’m alone in this. I would not be shocked if D&D is dead in four years.
I realize that this is their response to screwing up on writers’ royalties for their CD-Rom project of past Dragon issues, but this is ridiculous. If you want to do work-for-hire, then pay real rates. Otherwise, you are just going to be the official publisher of amateur Forgotten Realms fanfic. I’m pretty sure that this is not what the paying subscribers want to be reading.
Look, I understood why WoC made the move to 4th Edition. They were running out of interesting book ideas for third edition, and I’m sure that it was reflected in their sales. There just isn’t a world ready for the Complete Kobold or The Expanded Grappler. Unfortunately, I just don’t buy into 4th Edition as a consumer.
Much of 4th Edition seems to be predicated on paying for online services in addition to shelling out hundreds of dollars for books. Much of this online stuff is for Internet play. That’s a great idea in 2002, but ridiculous now. The technology they are planning on using is pathetic if compared to World of Warcraft. There simply is not a compelling reason for me or anybody else to move to the new system.
Overall, this seems like the last desperate gasps of a dying division of a major toy company (Hasbro). As a gaming consumer, I’m unimpressed. As an aspiring writer, I’m insulted. They will not be getting my money anymore, and I doubt that I’m alone in this. I would not be shocked if D&D is dead in four years.
SFWA
As all of you know, I’m an aspiring SF writer. As such, it is my goal to publish and then one day joining SFWA, The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (www.sfwa.org). It is the professional organization of SF authors and has been around since 1965.
It is a problematic organization at the moment. SFWA has recently had some serious problems with determining its role in disputes over online copyright. There are also many things that it could be doing in other areas that it simply isn’t, such as promoting SF literature in general. From the outside, it seems like a dying organization lacking in funding or enthusiasm. It is an organization of “futurists” who have a web design that is over a decade old. They are a reactionary, conservative organization that seems obsessed about how the interweb is stealing their monies, a “problem” that arguably does not yet exist. Those in charge seem to be older authors who have a sporadic publishing history.
I’ve been reading the blogs of my generation of authors, and it seems that many are being driven away from SFWA. They are not joining, or they are simply letting their memberships expire. I find this very troubling. This organization should be growing and changing. If it loses the younger members, it will die without anything there to replace it.
I hope that my generation of authors reconsiders. Change must happen from within, and the only way to do that is to have younger, more dynamic voices in the organization. The change will not come overnight, but that is the best way to initiate it. I have seen this play out in my special children’s organizations. It is nearly impossible to start a successful new organization, and it is unnecessary to do so if one already exists.
So please, be patient and loud. Eventually, SFWA will evolve into a wonderful organization like the Romance Writers of America (http://www.rwanational.org/).
It is a problematic organization at the moment. SFWA has recently had some serious problems with determining its role in disputes over online copyright. There are also many things that it could be doing in other areas that it simply isn’t, such as promoting SF literature in general. From the outside, it seems like a dying organization lacking in funding or enthusiasm. It is an organization of “futurists” who have a web design that is over a decade old. They are a reactionary, conservative organization that seems obsessed about how the interweb is stealing their monies, a “problem” that arguably does not yet exist. Those in charge seem to be older authors who have a sporadic publishing history.
I’ve been reading the blogs of my generation of authors, and it seems that many are being driven away from SFWA. They are not joining, or they are simply letting their memberships expire. I find this very troubling. This organization should be growing and changing. If it loses the younger members, it will die without anything there to replace it.
I hope that my generation of authors reconsiders. Change must happen from within, and the only way to do that is to have younger, more dynamic voices in the organization. The change will not come overnight, but that is the best way to initiate it. I have seen this play out in my special children’s organizations. It is nearly impossible to start a successful new organization, and it is unnecessary to do so if one already exists.
So please, be patient and loud. Eventually, SFWA will evolve into a wonderful organization like the Romance Writers of America (http://www.rwanational.org/).
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sekrit Project = Fluid Links
My first sekrit project for Mad Norwegian press has finally announced at Chicago TARDIS. Here is the ad that appears at the back of About Time 6:
************************************************************************
Coming Soon... Mad Norwegian Press debuts Fluid Links- the successor to I,Who, and a multi-volume guidebook series to the Doctor Who novels and audios.
Designed to benefit from the experience Mad Norwegian has gained since I, Who first published in 1999, Fluid Links starts from scratch and vigorously examines the Doctor Who books and audios in lavish, comprehensive detail. It’s a project so ambitious, it requires four authors (Lars Pearson, Robert Smith?, Michael Thomas and Anthony Wilson) and strives to become the definitive guidebook to the material in question.
The initial Fluid Links installments (likely two volumes) will cover the whole of BBC’s Eighth Doctor Adventures- from its inception in The Eight Doctors straight through its conclusion in The Gallifrey Chronicles. Essays in these volumes include “How Much Occurs in the Vampire Science Gap?” , “Is There Any Point to Parallel Universes?” and “Was Miranda the Doctor’s Biological Daughter?”
**************************************************************************
It’s a massive project, and I’ve been working on it for over a year. My own main niche is that I’ve accumulated everything for the Lore sections of each novel. This has meant hundreds of hours of research as I poured through interviews, the Usenet, mailing lists, and forums for every scrap of information about the novels.
The book should see publication next year, but there is still a ton of work that needs to be done.
In addition to this, Lars has asked me to participate in a new sekrit project once we are done with this one.
I am so thankful for these opportunities. I am living out my dream, and that’s something that I never expected to happen. It sure as hell beats corporate finance.
************************************************************************
Coming Soon... Mad Norwegian Press debuts Fluid Links- the successor to I,Who, and a multi-volume guidebook series to the Doctor Who novels and audios.
Designed to benefit from the experience Mad Norwegian has gained since I, Who first published in 1999, Fluid Links starts from scratch and vigorously examines the Doctor Who books and audios in lavish, comprehensive detail. It’s a project so ambitious, it requires four authors (Lars Pearson, Robert Smith?, Michael Thomas and Anthony Wilson) and strives to become the definitive guidebook to the material in question.
The initial Fluid Links installments (likely two volumes) will cover the whole of BBC’s Eighth Doctor Adventures- from its inception in The Eight Doctors straight through its conclusion in The Gallifrey Chronicles. Essays in these volumes include “How Much Occurs in the Vampire Science Gap?” , “Is There Any Point to Parallel Universes?” and “Was Miranda the Doctor’s Biological Daughter?”
**************************************************************************
It’s a massive project, and I’ve been working on it for over a year. My own main niche is that I’ve accumulated everything for the Lore sections of each novel. This has meant hundreds of hours of research as I poured through interviews, the Usenet, mailing lists, and forums for every scrap of information about the novels.
The book should see publication next year, but there is still a ton of work that needs to be done.
In addition to this, Lars has asked me to participate in a new sekrit project once we are done with this one.
I am so thankful for these opportunities. I am living out my dream, and that’s something that I never expected to happen. It sure as hell beats corporate finance.
Back from Chicago TARDIS
My brain can finally cope with blogging. The con trail is finally at an end. I am definitely getting too old for this “three cons in three weekends” thing.
This was an odd Chicago TARDIS for me. It was a low key, but pleasant convention. Many of our regular friends were unable to attend this year (Bill, Shaun, Robert, Michael L., Gary, etc.), so we were pretty much in a clump with the Mad Norwegians. This was also not a convention where I was very interested in the Guest of Honor, Eric Roberts. Finally, the Sekrit Project was revealed. The end result of all of this is that I am slowly transforming from pure fanboy to fan semi-pro. It’s a bit unsettling.
Thursday night, Lars and Christa stopped by on their way from Iowa to Chicago. It was awesome. They got to meet Caitlin, see the house, and we got to generally catch up. It was nice to see them after a year of emails and phone calls. Lars brought copies of AHistory (2nd Edition) and About Time 6. Both look great. I was one of the Associate Editors for both, so it was extremely cool to see the transformation from manuscripts to real books. The best part was the back of About Time 6. Lars and Christa created an ad announcing the Sekrit Project, now entitled Fluid Links. It’s a guidebook to the Doctor Who novels and audios. I will go into more details about it in a later blog
The next day we dropped the girl off at grandma’s apartment. My mom has been phenomenal for the last few weekends. We couldn’t have done it without her. Then we entered the convention at the new hotel. The Crowne Plaza was very nearly the hotel for the Aicardi Conference, so I knew it well. It’s a nice hotel, but it is very much about nickel and diming you to death. We ended up sharing a room with Lars and Christa, which was fun. It was like a high school sleepover.
Lynne and I spent most of the convention socializing with old friends and meeting new ones. We were able to see and hang out with Tara, Bohus, Ed, Jenny, Michael Z., Steve M., Steve J., Rob, Jason, Arnold, Stephanie, Steve, Scott, Nick, Karen, Kathryn, Jennifer, and Allan. We also got to meet and befriend the wonderful squee girls of Iowa, Heather, John, Heather, and Laurel, They are full of awesome and we really wish that we were closer to their fan club.
The events of the weekend are a blur of geek and drink. I bought toys and books. We went to Gibson’s with a clump that included all of the UK guests. We drank in the bar and in rooms. Lynne became a voice for fangirl squee after being on about six squee panels. Lars and I talked about the book to about 20 people at 10 a.m. on Saturday. I got some books signed by David. My panels went fine. Eric Roberts is what you would expect.
I want to thank everybody working the con for all of their work. It’s not an easy job.
Next year, Colin Baker returns and I should have a co written book in the dealers’ room.
Yikes!
We already miss everybody. We’ll see you next year.
This was an odd Chicago TARDIS for me. It was a low key, but pleasant convention. Many of our regular friends were unable to attend this year (Bill, Shaun, Robert, Michael L., Gary, etc.), so we were pretty much in a clump with the Mad Norwegians. This was also not a convention where I was very interested in the Guest of Honor, Eric Roberts. Finally, the Sekrit Project was revealed. The end result of all of this is that I am slowly transforming from pure fanboy to fan semi-pro. It’s a bit unsettling.
Thursday night, Lars and Christa stopped by on their way from Iowa to Chicago. It was awesome. They got to meet Caitlin, see the house, and we got to generally catch up. It was nice to see them after a year of emails and phone calls. Lars brought copies of AHistory (2nd Edition) and About Time 6. Both look great. I was one of the Associate Editors for both, so it was extremely cool to see the transformation from manuscripts to real books. The best part was the back of About Time 6. Lars and Christa created an ad announcing the Sekrit Project, now entitled Fluid Links. It’s a guidebook to the Doctor Who novels and audios. I will go into more details about it in a later blog
The next day we dropped the girl off at grandma’s apartment. My mom has been phenomenal for the last few weekends. We couldn’t have done it without her. Then we entered the convention at the new hotel. The Crowne Plaza was very nearly the hotel for the Aicardi Conference, so I knew it well. It’s a nice hotel, but it is very much about nickel and diming you to death. We ended up sharing a room with Lars and Christa, which was fun. It was like a high school sleepover.
Lynne and I spent most of the convention socializing with old friends and meeting new ones. We were able to see and hang out with Tara, Bohus, Ed, Jenny, Michael Z., Steve M., Steve J., Rob, Jason, Arnold, Stephanie, Steve, Scott, Nick, Karen, Kathryn, Jennifer, and Allan. We also got to meet and befriend the wonderful squee girls of Iowa, Heather, John, Heather, and Laurel, They are full of awesome and we really wish that we were closer to their fan club.
The events of the weekend are a blur of geek and drink. I bought toys and books. We went to Gibson’s with a clump that included all of the UK guests. We drank in the bar and in rooms. Lynne became a voice for fangirl squee after being on about six squee panels. Lars and I talked about the book to about 20 people at 10 a.m. on Saturday. I got some books signed by David. My panels went fine. Eric Roberts is what you would expect.
I want to thank everybody working the con for all of their work. It’s not an easy job.
Next year, Colin Baker returns and I should have a co written book in the dealers’ room.
Yikes!
We already miss everybody. We’ll see you next year.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Chicago TARDIS
Chicago TARDIS (http://www.chicagotardis.com/) is almost upon us. It is taking place November 23-25 at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. Here is the guest list:
Eric Roberts
"The Master"-- the Doctor Who TV-Movie and "Thompson" on Heroes
Eliza Roberts
"Miranda"-- the Doctor Who TV-Movie
Robert Shearman
Writer for both the new series and Big Finish
Jason Haigh-Ellery
Big Finish Head
Scott Alan Woodard
Big Finish Writer
Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg
Howe's Transcendental Toy Box, Zombiemania!
Lars Pearson and Christa Dickson
Mad Norwegian Press
Nicholas Briggs
Dalek and Cyberman voices, Big Finish Producer
David J. Howe
Howe's Transcendental Toy Box, Telos Publishing
Cynthia Cummens
Illustrator, Doctor Who Trilogy Cards (Saturday Only)
My book project with Lars and some others will be announced at the convention. Here is my panel schedule:
SATURDAY
10 a.m. Mad Norwegian (Main)
3 p.m. We Love the JNT 80's (Main)
And here is Lynne’s panel schedule:
SATURDAY
11 a.m. Ongoing Squee 3 (alt)
2 p.m. Torchwood (alt)
SUNDAY
1 p.m. Gender Differences (alt)
Please drop by if you’re in town and have any interest in Doctor Who.
Eric Roberts
"The Master"-- the Doctor Who TV-Movie and "Thompson" on Heroes
Eliza Roberts
"Miranda"-- the Doctor Who TV-Movie
Robert Shearman
Writer for both the new series and Big Finish
Jason Haigh-Ellery
Big Finish Head
Scott Alan Woodard
Big Finish Writer
Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg
Howe's Transcendental Toy Box, Zombiemania!
Lars Pearson and Christa Dickson
Mad Norwegian Press
Nicholas Briggs
Dalek and Cyberman voices, Big Finish Producer
David J. Howe
Howe's Transcendental Toy Box, Telos Publishing
Cynthia Cummens
Illustrator, Doctor Who Trilogy Cards (Saturday Only)
My book project with Lars and some others will be announced at the convention. Here is my panel schedule:
SATURDAY
10 a.m. Mad Norwegian (Main)
3 p.m. We Love the JNT 80's (Main)
And here is Lynne’s panel schedule:
SATURDAY
11 a.m. Ongoing Squee 3 (alt)
2 p.m. Torchwood (alt)
SUNDAY
1 p.m. Gender Differences (alt)
Please drop by if you’re in town and have any interest in Doctor Who.
Overextended
I am getting a bit overextended.
I found out last night that the Aicardi Syndrome Family Conference got more complicated again. I’m stressing out trying to come up with a solution.
Here are my current commitments:
Co-chair of the 2008 Aicardi Syndrome Family Conference
Co-chair DeKalb County Local Interagency Networking Council (LINC)
Member City of DeKalb Advisory Commission on Disabilities (a job that’s growing)
Member of an Easter Seals Committee
The Disability Commission’s representative on The Access to Recreation Committee
I do all of this while being Caitlin’s caregiver, coordinating her school, therapies, doctors, and insurance issues.
Oh, and I’m co writing a guidebook for Mad Norwegian Press.
And I’m writing a novel.
Somewhere in there I also clean the house, do laundry, and try to have time with my wife.
I’m beginning to think that I need to start saying no to things.
I found out last night that the Aicardi Syndrome Family Conference got more complicated again. I’m stressing out trying to come up with a solution.
Here are my current commitments:
Co-chair of the 2008 Aicardi Syndrome Family Conference
Co-chair DeKalb County Local Interagency Networking Council (LINC)
Member City of DeKalb Advisory Commission on Disabilities (a job that’s growing)
Member of an Easter Seals Committee
The Disability Commission’s representative on The Access to Recreation Committee
I do all of this while being Caitlin’s caregiver, coordinating her school, therapies, doctors, and insurance issues.
Oh, and I’m co writing a guidebook for Mad Norwegian Press.
And I’m writing a novel.
Somewhere in there I also clean the house, do laundry, and try to have time with my wife.
I’m beginning to think that I need to start saying no to things.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Back from Fantasy Matters
Wow.
Just wow.
Lynne and I have had an amazing year of conventions and events, but the Fantasy Matters Conference was maybe the best.
We dropped Caitlin off at my mom’s apartment on Thursday night. I can’t explain how weird it was to spend the night in our house without her. No coughs, no calling for Lynne at 3 a.m. for a diaper change, and no gentle grinding sounds from her feeding pump. We’ve been in hotels without her, but never the house. It was a bit unsettling.
Friday morning we left at the crack of dawn in an NIU Prius Hybrid. My wife is now in love with this car. The drive was long and mostly uneventful. We’re starting to get used to this drive through rural Wisconsin. The biggest weirdness was the number of road-killed deer on the way.
We arrived in Minneapolis with time to spare. The hotel was off of the highway and couldn’t have been easier to find. We arrived just in time for a business lunch for Lynne with one of her Popular Culture Association colleagues, Randy. He’s a sweet, retired librarian from St. Olaf College and is an internationally recognized scholar of Dime Novels. He is also the editor of Dime Novel Round-Up, the peer-reviewed journal that publishes Lynne’s papers about cross-dressing girls. It was a lovely and productive lunch for my wife.
We then plunged into the conference. It took place in U of Minnesota’s Mondale Law School. It was a nice space, though the seating was a bit formal. There were almost no SF fans at the conference. Everybody was an academic or and author. It was a little strange since we ended up hanging out a lot with the authors. We spent time with some recently made friends like Pat Rothfuss and Jim Hines. We also met a slew of other authors like Jackie Kessler, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, Drew Bowling, Bryan Thao Worra, Caitlin Kittredge, and David Anthony Durham. They were all smart, funny, and fascinating. We ended up having coffee with most of them on Friday, Lynne worked her charms, and I learned a lot about writing.
Friday night we went out for Indian food with our friends Jenni and Perrin. We had a great time swapping behind-the-scenes convention stories. We then made our first pilgrimage to Mall of America so that Jenni and Lynne could go to Lush. We met our other friends Christopher and Michael there. The boys talked much about Doctor Who while the girls looked at smelly soaps and shoes. We all ended up back at Christopher’s house where Alicia joined us to watch Time Crash, the Doctor Who Children in Need special.
Time Crash was very charming. It was definitely a love letter by Tennant, Moffat, and RTD to Davison and the 80’s. As I child of that time, I ate it up. There was also much squeeing from the ladies.
The next day was filled with a ton of programming. We went to many panels and readings. Jackie Kessler’s, David Anthony Durham’s Pat Rothfuss’s readings particularly blew us away. We then had another business lunch with authors Kelly McCullough and Naomi Kritzer. It was Indian again, and the meeting went very well.
That afternoon I mostly hung out with our friend Jody and a variety of authors. The afternoon also had Neil Gaiman’s keynote reading. He was amazing. He read the unpublished first chapter of The Graveyard Book. Neil described it as a retelling of The Jungle Book, but with a child in a graveyard. It was exceptionally good, and I’m looking forward to its publication. He then talked about why fantasy lit is important and signed some things.
Lynne had a meeting with Neil Gaiman where she was apparently as spazzy as everybody else around him. She had to wait a while, but apparently got talk to Steve Bissette, the comic book artist, while waiting. She then talked to Neil and even got a hug.
That night was the reception where we ate and drank with our peeps. It was bloody brilliant. I was outed as an aspiring writer, and Pat, Jim, Kelly, Drew, David, Caitlin, and Jackie did a fair amount of mentoring. I learned so much about the craft and business of SF writing that my head is ready to explode. I can’t tell them how much I appreciated it.
The next day Lynne gave her paper on Lois McMaster Bujold’s Paladin of Souls. It went very well. We also attended a reading by Jim Hines that blew our socks off. We are now anxiously awaiting the publication of his first princess book, The Stepsister Scheme.
We said our goodbyes, and then hit the road. It was slow going, and we saw a disturbing number of hunters returning with dead deer strapped onto their cars. It was about 9 ½ hours of driving before we returned home with the girl.
I hope that this conference happens again next year.
Just wow.
Lynne and I have had an amazing year of conventions and events, but the Fantasy Matters Conference was maybe the best.
We dropped Caitlin off at my mom’s apartment on Thursday night. I can’t explain how weird it was to spend the night in our house without her. No coughs, no calling for Lynne at 3 a.m. for a diaper change, and no gentle grinding sounds from her feeding pump. We’ve been in hotels without her, but never the house. It was a bit unsettling.
Friday morning we left at the crack of dawn in an NIU Prius Hybrid. My wife is now in love with this car. The drive was long and mostly uneventful. We’re starting to get used to this drive through rural Wisconsin. The biggest weirdness was the number of road-killed deer on the way.
We arrived in Minneapolis with time to spare. The hotel was off of the highway and couldn’t have been easier to find. We arrived just in time for a business lunch for Lynne with one of her Popular Culture Association colleagues, Randy. He’s a sweet, retired librarian from St. Olaf College and is an internationally recognized scholar of Dime Novels. He is also the editor of Dime Novel Round-Up, the peer-reviewed journal that publishes Lynne’s papers about cross-dressing girls. It was a lovely and productive lunch for my wife.
We then plunged into the conference. It took place in U of Minnesota’s Mondale Law School. It was a nice space, though the seating was a bit formal. There were almost no SF fans at the conference. Everybody was an academic or and author. It was a little strange since we ended up hanging out a lot with the authors. We spent time with some recently made friends like Pat Rothfuss and Jim Hines. We also met a slew of other authors like Jackie Kessler, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, Drew Bowling, Bryan Thao Worra, Caitlin Kittredge, and David Anthony Durham. They were all smart, funny, and fascinating. We ended up having coffee with most of them on Friday, Lynne worked her charms, and I learned a lot about writing.
Friday night we went out for Indian food with our friends Jenni and Perrin. We had a great time swapping behind-the-scenes convention stories. We then made our first pilgrimage to Mall of America so that Jenni and Lynne could go to Lush. We met our other friends Christopher and Michael there. The boys talked much about Doctor Who while the girls looked at smelly soaps and shoes. We all ended up back at Christopher’s house where Alicia joined us to watch Time Crash, the Doctor Who Children in Need special.
Time Crash was very charming. It was definitely a love letter by Tennant, Moffat, and RTD to Davison and the 80’s. As I child of that time, I ate it up. There was also much squeeing from the ladies.
The next day was filled with a ton of programming. We went to many panels and readings. Jackie Kessler’s, David Anthony Durham’s Pat Rothfuss’s readings particularly blew us away. We then had another business lunch with authors Kelly McCullough and Naomi Kritzer. It was Indian again, and the meeting went very well.
That afternoon I mostly hung out with our friend Jody and a variety of authors. The afternoon also had Neil Gaiman’s keynote reading. He was amazing. He read the unpublished first chapter of The Graveyard Book. Neil described it as a retelling of The Jungle Book, but with a child in a graveyard. It was exceptionally good, and I’m looking forward to its publication. He then talked about why fantasy lit is important and signed some things.
Lynne had a meeting with Neil Gaiman where she was apparently as spazzy as everybody else around him. She had to wait a while, but apparently got talk to Steve Bissette, the comic book artist, while waiting. She then talked to Neil and even got a hug.
That night was the reception where we ate and drank with our peeps. It was bloody brilliant. I was outed as an aspiring writer, and Pat, Jim, Kelly, Drew, David, Caitlin, and Jackie did a fair amount of mentoring. I learned so much about the craft and business of SF writing that my head is ready to explode. I can’t tell them how much I appreciated it.
The next day Lynne gave her paper on Lois McMaster Bujold’s Paladin of Souls. It went very well. We also attended a reading by Jim Hines that blew our socks off. We are now anxiously awaiting the publication of his first princess book, The Stepsister Scheme.
We said our goodbyes, and then hit the road. It was slow going, and we saw a disturbing number of hunters returning with dead deer strapped onto their cars. It was about 9 ½ hours of driving before we returned home with the girl.
I hope that this conference happens again next year.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The Fantasy Matters Conference
And so ends our “rest.” Today Lynne and I are organizing the massive logistical process of getting Caitlin to grandma’s apartment for the weekend. It ranks slightly below Hannibal’s trip over the Alps. We have it down to a science, but it’s a lot of work to get her medical stuff and normal packing all together.
Tomorrow, we leave for the Fantasy Matters Conference in Minnesota (http://www.fantasymatters.org/index2.html). It’s a big work weekend for Lynne. She is giving a paper on Lois McMaster Bujold’s Paladin of Souls, we’re meeting with some authors who have said yes to her archiving pitch, and she is accosting a whole bunch of new authors. It should be a hoot. It’s part SF con, part academic conference. The best part for me is that I get to sit back a bit and enjoy it.
For all of our Minnesota peeps, the conference is free except for the keynotes and receptions. So please, come on down and hook up with us. Lynne is working the room, but I would love to hang with you.
Fantasy Matters Conference
Nov. 16-18
University of Minnesota
Walter Mondale Hall (Law School)
Keynote Speakers:
Neil Gaiman
Jack Zipes
Attending Authors:
Pamela Dean
Patrick Rothfuss
Naomi Kritzer
Jim C. Hines
David Anthony Durham
Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
Kelly McCullough
Barth Anderson
Alan Deniro
Jackie Kessler
P.C. Hodgell
Theodora Goss
Peg Kerr
Drew Bowling
Haddayr Copley-Woods
Marissa Lingen
David J. Schwartz
Caitlin Kittredge
Lynne’s Schedule:
Women and fantasy literature panel discussion, Saturday at 5:00 in Room 40. What role do women play in the field of fantasy literature, both as characters and as authors? Led by Theodora Goss, Lynne Thomas, Jim Hines, and Lauren Lacey.
“A Mother's Madness: Reconstructing Womanhood in Paladin of Souls.” Presenting
at 8:30 am Sunday in Room 35.
We hope to see you there.
Tomorrow, we leave for the Fantasy Matters Conference in Minnesota (http://www.fantasymatters.org/index2.html). It’s a big work weekend for Lynne. She is giving a paper on Lois McMaster Bujold’s Paladin of Souls, we’re meeting with some authors who have said yes to her archiving pitch, and she is accosting a whole bunch of new authors. It should be a hoot. It’s part SF con, part academic conference. The best part for me is that I get to sit back a bit and enjoy it.
For all of our Minnesota peeps, the conference is free except for the keynotes and receptions. So please, come on down and hook up with us. Lynne is working the room, but I would love to hang with you.
Fantasy Matters Conference
Nov. 16-18
University of Minnesota
Walter Mondale Hall (Law School)
Keynote Speakers:
Neil Gaiman
Jack Zipes
Attending Authors:
Pamela Dean
Patrick Rothfuss
Naomi Kritzer
Jim C. Hines
David Anthony Durham
Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
Kelly McCullough
Barth Anderson
Alan Deniro
Jackie Kessler
P.C. Hodgell
Theodora Goss
Peg Kerr
Drew Bowling
Haddayr Copley-Woods
Marissa Lingen
David J. Schwartz
Caitlin Kittredge
Lynne’s Schedule:
Women and fantasy literature panel discussion, Saturday at 5:00 in Room 40. What role do women play in the field of fantasy literature, both as characters and as authors? Led by Theodora Goss, Lynne Thomas, Jim Hines, and Lauren Lacey.
“A Mother's Madness: Reconstructing Womanhood in Paladin of Souls.” Presenting
at 8:30 am Sunday in Room 35.
We hope to see you there.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
HOW WE GO OUT VERSION 2
I got this Leslie Hall video from my friend Sarah who got it from Feministing.com (http://www.feministing.com/). It is a joyous thing.
Adventures in Caregiving
I’ve been handling some more sensitive stuff recently for Caitlin, and it’s been extremely stressful. Even when you are in the right, the system is set up to save money, not to necessarily help people. Luckily, I have the support of RAMP for this headache. As most of you remember from Caitlin’s fundraising Grand Marshall gig a few weeks ago, RAMP is an advocacy agency for people with disabilities. They have been a lifesaver. It seems that I have finally stood my ground, and Caitlin will get what she needs to thrive. I just wish that people didn’t actively work against families like mine when we have so many normal difficulties to conquer each day.
Otherwise, Caitlin has been doing well. She is weaned off of Topamax and is on only one anti-epileptic for the first time since she was 3 months old. Unfortunately, it’s the expensive Vigabatrin that is approved everywhere else the world except the US. Everything seems to be working, though, with the current Vigabtrin/Ketogenic Diet/no-nap combination. During the summer, Caitlin was up to two strong spasms a day that lasted up to seven minutes each with the occasional blockbuster that went over 10 minutes until Diastat was administered. As of today, Caitlin has been seizure free since October 26. We’ll take it.
This has made her much more aware and with it. Caitlin had an awesome day at school doing very well with her vision therapy and physical therapy. She really is starting to stand for longer periods of time with minimal assistance. We’re so proud of her.
Things seem to also be going well with her and her little boyfriend. He and his mother have been arriving at school at the same time as us. The last two mornings he has insisted on holding her hand as I wheel her into class. This makes for a happy Caitlin. There is nothing quite like five-year-old love.
Last night I had my City of DeKalb Advisory Commission on Disabilities meeting. It went very well. We have finally started the process of networking with the similar committees at Northern Illinois University. It was great to share information and plant the seeds for future projects. The town/gown divide is ridiculous. This way we will combine our resources and ideas to hopefully make the community as a whole better for all of the people with disabilities. The only downside is that I think that I increased my workload again. Just call me Ado Annie....
Otherwise, Caitlin has been doing well. She is weaned off of Topamax and is on only one anti-epileptic for the first time since she was 3 months old. Unfortunately, it’s the expensive Vigabatrin that is approved everywhere else the world except the US. Everything seems to be working, though, with the current Vigabtrin/Ketogenic Diet/no-nap combination. During the summer, Caitlin was up to two strong spasms a day that lasted up to seven minutes each with the occasional blockbuster that went over 10 minutes until Diastat was administered. As of today, Caitlin has been seizure free since October 26. We’ll take it.
This has made her much more aware and with it. Caitlin had an awesome day at school doing very well with her vision therapy and physical therapy. She really is starting to stand for longer periods of time with minimal assistance. We’re so proud of her.
Things seem to also be going well with her and her little boyfriend. He and his mother have been arriving at school at the same time as us. The last two mornings he has insisted on holding her hand as I wheel her into class. This makes for a happy Caitlin. There is nothing quite like five-year-old love.
Last night I had my City of DeKalb Advisory Commission on Disabilities meeting. It went very well. We have finally started the process of networking with the similar committees at Northern Illinois University. It was great to share information and plant the seeds for future projects. The town/gown divide is ridiculous. This way we will combine our resources and ideas to hopefully make the community as a whole better for all of the people with disabilities. The only downside is that I think that I increased my workload again. Just call me Ado Annie....
Monday, November 12, 2007
Back from Windycon
We are back from Windycon. It was a profitable weekend for all of us. Lynne was able to talk to about a dozen authors. One of the authors there and then placed their papers with her. Hooray! Many of the other authors also made positive noises. I am very proud of my wife. She is making NIU a true SF research center. Years from now, this is going to benefit posterity, future academics, and the entire genre. This is one of the ways SF literature will survive into the future and get the respect it deserves.
I was on three panels. The “A Distant Backwater of the Internet” panel was fantastic. We had a lot of fun with our fellow panelists, John O’Neill from Black Gate (http://www.blackgate.com/) and Dawn Kuczwara. It went well, though we were all a little surprised that so many people were unaware of sites like LJ and IMDB.
The Buffy panel was fine, and the Doctor Who panel was feisty. It was interesting to have a bunch of panelists who were eloquent and passionate about their differing opinions. Even with strong disagreement, everybody kept it polite and thoughtful. Jody Lynn Nye in particular made some compelling arguments about the problems of the new series as a family show due to how it relates to children.
Unfortunately, all of our meal plans fell through on Saturday. Still, we were able to have some nice conversations with many people over the course of the two days. We spent some moments with E.E. Knight, I had a great conversation about SFWA and copyright with Jim C. Hines and Steven Silver, and we had good chats with Tobias Buckell and our new friend Allan.
Lynne and I are exhausted, but satisfied.
Caitlin also had a great weekend with her grandma. The highlight was a trip to the circus on Sunday. Caitlin loved it. She was especially happy with the horses.
We finished the weekend with a big family dinner at my aunt’s house. It was nice to see everybody.
Today I was plunged back into reality. I had to wear my caregiver/advocate hat for most of the day. I have plenty of fires to put out before we leave for the Fantasy Matters conference on Friday.
I was on three panels. The “A Distant Backwater of the Internet” panel was fantastic. We had a lot of fun with our fellow panelists, John O’Neill from Black Gate (http://www.blackgate.com/) and Dawn Kuczwara. It went well, though we were all a little surprised that so many people were unaware of sites like LJ and IMDB.
The Buffy panel was fine, and the Doctor Who panel was feisty. It was interesting to have a bunch of panelists who were eloquent and passionate about their differing opinions. Even with strong disagreement, everybody kept it polite and thoughtful. Jody Lynn Nye in particular made some compelling arguments about the problems of the new series as a family show due to how it relates to children.
Unfortunately, all of our meal plans fell through on Saturday. Still, we were able to have some nice conversations with many people over the course of the two days. We spent some moments with E.E. Knight, I had a great conversation about SFWA and copyright with Jim C. Hines and Steven Silver, and we had good chats with Tobias Buckell and our new friend Allan.
Lynne and I are exhausted, but satisfied.
Caitlin also had a great weekend with her grandma. The highlight was a trip to the circus on Sunday. Caitlin loved it. She was especially happy with the horses.
We finished the weekend with a big family dinner at my aunt’s house. It was nice to see everybody.
Today I was plunged back into reality. I had to wear my caregiver/advocate hat for most of the day. I have plenty of fires to put out before we leave for the Fantasy Matters conference on Friday.
Friday, November 9, 2007
I Drink a Lot of Coffee
There are reasons that I drink gallons of coffee. The last couple of days have been frickin’ exhausting. Wednesday was a doctor day for Caitlin. As most of you know, we live out in the cornfields of DeKalb. Since Caitlin has many rare medical problems and we want to get her the best care, all of her doctors are at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. This means that her regular appointments with her five doctors are all-day undertakings.
We left the house at 8 a.m. and ventured through traffic and construction to the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Traffic was reasonable so we were there exactly in time for our 10:15 a.m. appointment. Mapquest says that this is 1 hour and 15 minutes trip. Mapquest lies.
By the time we got there, my eyeballs were floating from all of the coffee. It wasn’t pleasant. We were in theory seeing Caitlin’s Rehabilitative Specialist and Orthopedist. We checked in and discovered that someone had messed up her scheduling and put one of the appointments on next Tuesday. Luckily, this was fixed immediately. Caitlin then got her hip x-rays. That was fine, and we started waiting. It was at that point that Caitlin started to cry from something. After about 15 minutes I soothed her. By 11:30 we were finally called in for the first doctor.
The appointment went well. The Rehabilitative Specialist was impressed by Caitlin’s physical gains with sitting and standing. There was also this exchange:
DOCTOR: Caitlin, can you use your words and talk to me?
CAITLIN: No.
DOCTOR LAUGHS
DOCTOR: I see that your daughter has discovered irony.
That’s my girl.
That appointment was over at about 12:05. Then we waited. And we waited. My hopes of getting out of there by a reasonable time quickly evaporated. By 1:30, I was flagging down nurses to find the doctor. I also had to start Caitlin’s tube feeding since she was supposed to start at noon. By 2 p.m., he sent a resident in to ask some questions for no particular reason. By 2:15, he swept into the exam room, apologized, poked Caitlin, told me that her scoliosis and hips were about the same, and swept out again three minutes later.
By three I finally ate lunch in a Burger King parking lot, and then we were back on the road. We got home, ate dinner, and then the whole family went to the public library’s SF reading club so that we could deconstruct I Am Legend.
The next day was about as hectic. I woke up, did some writing, got Caitlin to school, handled some business with the school district, talked to Lars about the MNP project, did some emailing for the City of DeKalb Disabilities Commission, picked up Caitlin, and then headed off to chair a LINC meeting.
The meeting went fine. We finally came to a decision about how to spend some funds left to us after a tragic accident. A teen mother and her child with disabilities died in a car accident a couple of years ago. Our organization received the memorial fund. We are working with a continuing education program for teen parents that is going to use our funds to buy some teen parent advocacy supplies.
We also continued to work with Easter Seals to try and get a satellite office placed in our community. Currently, people have to drive 45 minutes to get center-based pediatric therapies at Easter Seals. There used to be a center here, but it closed a couple of years ago due to staffing problems. I have been agitating for a while to get them to reopen as our community has a great need. We are finally making some progress. After the LINC meeting, I was asked to serve on the exploratory committee by the Easter Seals representative. Being me, I was unable to say no.
I also agreed to rewrite the LINC bylaws this month because I have sucker written on my face. Caitlin and I then got home and worked with her Physical Therapist.
Today is just watching Caitlin, some speech therapy, and packing for Windycon.
Did I mention that I drink a lot of coffee?
We left the house at 8 a.m. and ventured through traffic and construction to the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Traffic was reasonable so we were there exactly in time for our 10:15 a.m. appointment. Mapquest says that this is 1 hour and 15 minutes trip. Mapquest lies.
By the time we got there, my eyeballs were floating from all of the coffee. It wasn’t pleasant. We were in theory seeing Caitlin’s Rehabilitative Specialist and Orthopedist. We checked in and discovered that someone had messed up her scheduling and put one of the appointments on next Tuesday. Luckily, this was fixed immediately. Caitlin then got her hip x-rays. That was fine, and we started waiting. It was at that point that Caitlin started to cry from something. After about 15 minutes I soothed her. By 11:30 we were finally called in for the first doctor.
The appointment went well. The Rehabilitative Specialist was impressed by Caitlin’s physical gains with sitting and standing. There was also this exchange:
DOCTOR: Caitlin, can you use your words and talk to me?
CAITLIN: No.
DOCTOR LAUGHS
DOCTOR: I see that your daughter has discovered irony.
That’s my girl.
That appointment was over at about 12:05. Then we waited. And we waited. My hopes of getting out of there by a reasonable time quickly evaporated. By 1:30, I was flagging down nurses to find the doctor. I also had to start Caitlin’s tube feeding since she was supposed to start at noon. By 2 p.m., he sent a resident in to ask some questions for no particular reason. By 2:15, he swept into the exam room, apologized, poked Caitlin, told me that her scoliosis and hips were about the same, and swept out again three minutes later.
By three I finally ate lunch in a Burger King parking lot, and then we were back on the road. We got home, ate dinner, and then the whole family went to the public library’s SF reading club so that we could deconstruct I Am Legend.
The next day was about as hectic. I woke up, did some writing, got Caitlin to school, handled some business with the school district, talked to Lars about the MNP project, did some emailing for the City of DeKalb Disabilities Commission, picked up Caitlin, and then headed off to chair a LINC meeting.
The meeting went fine. We finally came to a decision about how to spend some funds left to us after a tragic accident. A teen mother and her child with disabilities died in a car accident a couple of years ago. Our organization received the memorial fund. We are working with a continuing education program for teen parents that is going to use our funds to buy some teen parent advocacy supplies.
We also continued to work with Easter Seals to try and get a satellite office placed in our community. Currently, people have to drive 45 minutes to get center-based pediatric therapies at Easter Seals. There used to be a center here, but it closed a couple of years ago due to staffing problems. I have been agitating for a while to get them to reopen as our community has a great need. We are finally making some progress. After the LINC meeting, I was asked to serve on the exploratory committee by the Easter Seals representative. Being me, I was unable to say no.
I also agreed to rewrite the LINC bylaws this month because I have sucker written on my face. Caitlin and I then got home and worked with her Physical Therapist.
Today is just watching Caitlin, some speech therapy, and packing for Windycon.
Did I mention that I drink a lot of coffee?
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Hooray Writing!
Today I reached 46,000 words on the novel. I am made of awesome. Not really, but it feels good. I would almost be done if this was for NaNoWriMo, and everybody pretended that I’ve been working on the novel for 6 days instead of a few months. It’s going slower than I hoped, but I think that I’m doing well scratching out time to write while keeping up with all of my commitments to Caitlin, her therapy, her doctor appointments, the Aicardi Conference, the City of DeKalb Advisory Commission on Disabilities, LINC, and the Mad Norwegian Press books. And somehow I still sleep. :)
I’m pretty happy with what I’ve done on the novel. I’m confident that this is good work. Most importantly, I’m writing nearly every day. I’m really starting to believe that I’m a writer. My current goal is to have a complete and revised manuscript by WisCon. I’m confident that I can do that.
I am so jazzed about the upcoming SF Cons. I’ve spent the last week jealous about all of the folks who went to World Fantasy Con in Saratoga. The next two weekends I will be listening to dozens of authors doing panels and readings. It should be a lot of fun. I learn a lot from these events.
I’m pretty happy with what I’ve done on the novel. I’m confident that this is good work. Most importantly, I’m writing nearly every day. I’m really starting to believe that I’m a writer. My current goal is to have a complete and revised manuscript by WisCon. I’m confident that I can do that.
I am so jazzed about the upcoming SF Cons. I’ve spent the last week jealous about all of the folks who went to World Fantasy Con in Saratoga. The next two weekends I will be listening to dozens of authors doing panels and readings. It should be a lot of fun. I learn a lot from these events.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Not a Good Start
Well, just as I thought the dreary year was on an upswing, Lynne called. She was in a minor traffic accident on the way to work. Everybody is fine, but it’s still an unpleasant start to a week. She was riding in to work with our friend Sarah when they ended up getting hit by a car ricocheting off of another accident. I am still getting the details, but the front of Sarah’s car was smooshed. I was in the middle of getting Caitlin to school when I got the call, but luckily Sarah’s husband David was working from home today and was able to pick them up. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it’s still very unpleasant.
On the plus side, Caitlin is finally getting over her cold. Today should be a normal day of school and therapy at Easter Seals. That means that I have a chance to get some writing done this week. I actually got a decent amount of writing done last week. I am very happy with the shape of the novel, though I am currently writing a chapter that is fighting me.
Otherwise, we are gearing up for convention season. This weekend is Windycon. It should be fun. The next weekend is the Fantasy Matters conference in Minnesota. This will be my first opportunity to go to a Neil Gaiman reading, and Lynne will be giving her paper on Paladin of Souls. And finally, Thanksgiving is Chicago TARDIS. I’m going as a forthcoming writer for the first time. That is going to be awesome. It will be nice to see so many friends in the next few weeks.
The weekend was nice and quiet. We got some tasks done, our good friends Leanne and Drew had their baby shower, and all of us got some rest. Barring any more accidents, I think that November should be a great month.
On the plus side, Caitlin is finally getting over her cold. Today should be a normal day of school and therapy at Easter Seals. That means that I have a chance to get some writing done this week. I actually got a decent amount of writing done last week. I am very happy with the shape of the novel, though I am currently writing a chapter that is fighting me.
Otherwise, we are gearing up for convention season. This weekend is Windycon. It should be fun. The next weekend is the Fantasy Matters conference in Minnesota. This will be my first opportunity to go to a Neil Gaiman reading, and Lynne will be giving her paper on Paladin of Souls. And finally, Thanksgiving is Chicago TARDIS. I’m going as a forthcoming writer for the first time. That is going to be awesome. It will be nice to see so many friends in the next few weeks.
The weekend was nice and quiet. We got some tasks done, our good friends Leanne and Drew had their baby shower, and all of us got some rest. Barring any more accidents, I think that November should be a great month.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Joss Is Back!
Hey, kids, there’s going to be a new Joss Whedon show! It’s official!
It’s called Dollhouse, and it stars Eliza Dushku. Hooray!
And Tim Minear will be involved. Huzzah!
And it’s on Fox...
Okay, that’s not good. But hey, we get at least seven episodes
It sounds like some weird mash-up of Quantum Leap, Fantasy Island, and every conspiracy theory show ever. It should be good.
“Echo (Eliza Dushku) [is] a young woman who is literally everybody's fantasy. She is one of a group of men and women who can be imprinted with personality packages, including memories, skills, language—even muscle memory—for different assignments. The assignments can be romantic, adventurous, outlandish, uplifting, sexual and/or very illegal. When not imprinted with a personality package, Echo and the others are basically mind-wiped, living like children in a futuristic dorm/lab dubbed the Dollhouse, with no memory of their assignments—or of much else. The show revolves around the childlike Echo's burgeoning self-awareness, and her desire to know who she was before, a desire that begins to seep into her various imprinted personalities and puts her in danger both in the field and in the closely monitored confines of the Dollhouse.”
http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=972f7d73-e0a2-43ea-abad-0abf6afba1f3
It’s called Dollhouse, and it stars Eliza Dushku. Hooray!
And Tim Minear will be involved. Huzzah!
And it’s on Fox...
Okay, that’s not good. But hey, we get at least seven episodes
It sounds like some weird mash-up of Quantum Leap, Fantasy Island, and every conspiracy theory show ever. It should be good.
“Echo (Eliza Dushku) [is] a young woman who is literally everybody's fantasy. She is one of a group of men and women who can be imprinted with personality packages, including memories, skills, language—even muscle memory—for different assignments. The assignments can be romantic, adventurous, outlandish, uplifting, sexual and/or very illegal. When not imprinted with a personality package, Echo and the others are basically mind-wiped, living like children in a futuristic dorm/lab dubbed the Dollhouse, with no memory of their assignments—or of much else. The show revolves around the childlike Echo's burgeoning self-awareness, and her desire to know who she was before, a desire that begins to seep into her various imprinted personalities and puts her in danger both in the field and in the closely monitored confines of the Dollhouse.”
http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=972f7d73-e0a2-43ea-abad-0abf6afba1f3
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