Our robot overlords are one step closer to world domination -- or if not a step, a wheel-rotation or something. are now a real thing. You can even rent them, at an hourly rate less than you’d have to pay a real live human. Here they are in all their Dalekian glory:
I don’t know if they actually say, “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!” Maybe you have to pay extra for that. However, these definitely don’t look like cute R2D2ish buddies, do they? More like a disconcerting hybrid of warhead and rectal suppository.
At least they have the great weakness of the original Daleks: I don’t think these things can climb stairs.
Daughter of the Sword collected its latest review, this time from Bookworm Blues. It’s a good one:
“It knocked my socks off. I couldn’t put it down…. Daughter of the Sword is an urban fantasy novel that is absolutely different than any other urban fantasy novel I’ve read before, written with an infectious passion, a soft touch, and an understanding that transcended its pages. This is a series to watch out for.”
“At its heart, this isn’t a book about swords and history, but about people. Shockingly real, incredibly alive, very captivating people in a country I really want to learn more about now.”
Thanks so much, Bookworm Sarah! Everyone else, you can read the complete review here.
P.D. James died yesterday at the ripe old age of 94. In the UK she’s best known for her many detective novels, but in the US I think she’s best known for her novel Children of Men, the basis for the absolutely brilliant film. Here’s her obituary from the BBC.
The holiday season must be upon us, because Anthony Herrera has just posted this year’s Star Wars-themes DIY paper snowflake patterns. My personal favorite is the Wampa, because nothing says Christmas like a giant snow monster. The Jabba and X-Wing patterns are really cool too.
How many days do you get to say you shook hands with one of your role models? Today I met one of mine: William Gibson, author of Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Count Zero, all books that set me on the path to writing science fiction.
He spoke at Book People today, Austin’s oldest indie bookstore. I got a shiny new copy of The Peripheral, his latest novel, and I also brought my shabby, yellowed, old-book-smelling copy of Neuromancer. Now I’ve got both of them autographed, the first-edition hardcover and the tattered paperback from 1986 that I’ve read and re-read more times than I can remember.
I don’t know whether it was my obsession with Japan that made me latch on to Gibson’s work, or whether it was Gibson’s novels that turned my Japanese fascination up to eleven. Either way, I was hooked. Now, the more I think about it, the more I come to understand what an influence he had on me. I’ve always credited Tolkien and Herbert for making me think seriously about world-building, but now I realize I was reading Gibson before I ever picked up Dune.
There’s this tiny throwaway line in Neuromancer that has always stayed with me: “Rent me a gun, Shin?” Case, the protagonist, asks this out of nowhere. That little line got me thinking: how many things would have to go wrong in a culture for unregistered gun rentals to become commonplace? It’s clear from the context that what Case is asking for isn’t legal, but it’s equally clear that this is no big deal. You need to shoot someone, you rent a gun for a few hours.
It’s a throwaway line, totally inessential to the plot, but what it does for the setting is enormous -- or it was for me, anyway. And today I got to shake hands with the guy that wrote it, and that makes today pretty good.
Looks like I’m in at Austin Comic Con too!
I’m doing a panel similar to the one I did with Doug Hulick at Minneapolis Comic Con, on martial arts and the art of writing fight scenes. (That one was a big hit, so I figured why reinvent the wheel?) That’s Friday night, October 3, at 7:00 in room 8. I’m looking forward to meeting new fans in Texas!
As usual, Wizard World is bringing lots of star power, but for me the highlight is unquestionably The Great One, Bruce Campbell. Army of Darkness remains one of my all-time favorite films; I can’t wait to meet Ash himself in person.
That’s the name of my panel at New York Comic Con!
This happened very quickly. My publicist emailed me and asked if I was a Dr. Who fan. I said, of course, they had me as soon as they cast British Me as the Doctor. Christopher Ecclestone’s hairline has receded a bit more than mine, but otherwise we’re similar enough that I can pass for him at his own birthday party.
So now I’m on a panel called “Trust Me, I’m the Doctor.” That’s Sunday, October 12, at 2:00 at NYCC. I’ll post final details, photos, and follow-up on Facebook as soon as I have them.
Well, I’m back. It’s been three months since I’ve posted anything here, and let me tell you, this summer has been one hell of a roller coaster ride.
First things first: I finished Disciple of the Wind! My agent says this is the best one yet. My editor got to the book right away, and her editorial letter was very short, which is another way of saying she thinks the book is pretty damn good.
As with Daughter and Demon, the comments from my agent and editor made the book much stronger. One of the unexpected turns in developing this book is that it looks like Kaida is going to get her own stand-alone novella. (At least one, maybe more!) I’ll have more to say about that later, once plans firm up.
Apart from writing, the big news is that I’ve moved to Austin, to take up a teaching position at TExas State University. Everything really is bigger in Texas: one of the first things I saw here was a 99-can case of beer.
Anyhow, when I wasn’t spending time writing Disciple, I was packing, unpacking, selling one home, finding another one -- you know, the kind of chores that make it tough to update a site’s newsfeed on a regular basis.. Sorry ‘bout that. Now that my life is settled in one place, I plan on getting back to posting twice a month.
Last thing: tomorrow is another Happy Pub Day! The mass market edition of Year of the Demon hits shelves tomorrow. Cover price is eight bucks cheap, so you can buy one for all your friends and family.
Look for another post soon about New York Comic Con and Dr. Who!
Okay, so I just got this photo from Chris McGrath, who does the cover art for the Fated Blades. The beautiful woman with the mischievous grin is Sayuri Oyamada, a model and actress from Niigata, Japan, who is the cover model for Year of the Demon. Isn’t she great?
I have been sitting on this for months! It feels like forever ago that I got a sneak peek at the cover art for Disciple of the Wind. I loved it. Not long after that, I got my signed print from Chris McGrath, which I loved even more. (I have a growing collection of art associated with my work. Chris is the most illustrious* contributor. He and I exchange autographs, his on prints, mine on novels.)
Anyway, ever since I saw it, I’ve been holding my breath, waiting for the green light from Penguin so I could share the cover art with you. And here it is! Shoot me a reply on Facebook and let me know what you think!
* See what I did there?