Yes, YOU!
Thanks for coming to take a look at our humble - errr, arrogant blog. You may be here because of our current 20,001: A Steampunk Odyssey contest. Which is awesome, and we truly appreciate! Thanks for coming to look for a moment at what we do when we're procrastin - errr, busily planning our next novel. Leave a comment, say hi, tell us about your journey as a writer. Because that is REALLY awesome!
Or you may be here because you want to know where you can find us next (Orycon, Rustycon, Norwescon, etc) for signing and panels and such. Which is awesome, we would love to see you at any or all of our coming events! Come bug us about writing, about epub, about your next novel. We love to talk about stuff like that.
Or you may be here because you want to read what we have to say about Nanowrimo - in which case, check out the very next post - and yes, in that case you're completely awesome because you're a writer and you're considering that month of madness known to mere mortals as November. Hats off to you!
I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons you might be here, and those, too, are awesome. In fact, I'm planning to found an Awesome League of Awesome, and you will all be founding members. With t-shirts, and secret handshakes, and probably some kind of world domination agenda.
And cookies. Because that's how we roll around here.
So thanks again for coming by. We hope you enjoy, and come back soon. :)
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tapping the Zeitgeist III
Amazon announced the release of its new tablet / e-reader today.
The Kindle Fire.
Catchy, don't you think? To kindle, the verb, means to ignite something and set it aflame. Kindling, the noun, is small pieces of dry wood, useful for starting a much larger fire.
Kindle Fire. A fire, coming from small things - words - that set something much larger alight.
That is precisely what I was thinking of, just a few short months ago, when I came up with the idea for Kindling Press. We are small, but we're trying very hard to set our words on fire to make something much larger come of it. Our burning-page logo anticipated the Kindle Fire advertising campaign by just four months, and the release of the tablet by six.
It all makes me feel like I anticipated it, like I tapped into something - hmm, let's use the German here: Zeitgeistiche. Zeitgeisty.
The Kindle Fire.
Catchy, don't you think? To kindle, the verb, means to ignite something and set it aflame. Kindling, the noun, is small pieces of dry wood, useful for starting a much larger fire.
Kindle Fire. A fire, coming from small things - words - that set something much larger alight.
That is precisely what I was thinking of, just a few short months ago, when I came up with the idea for Kindling Press. We are small, but we're trying very hard to set our words on fire to make something much larger come of it. Our burning-page logo anticipated the Kindle Fire advertising campaign by just four months, and the release of the tablet by six.
It all makes me feel like I anticipated it, like I tapped into something - hmm, let's use the German here: Zeitgeistiche. Zeitgeisty.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tapping the Zeitgeist
If any of you have already read Full Fathom Five, the novella I wrote for 20001: A Steampunk Odyssey, you will no doubt have noticed the heavy Shakespearean references and - being clever sorts - will no doubt have clued in to the fact that the story is an homage to his play, The Tempest.
It seems I am not the only one who saw potential in that play.
San Francisco director Jon Tracy has just presented his vision of Shakespeare's classic - and the costuming and sets are pure Steampunk. The reviewer was rapturous over the "eye candy" and the successful translation of Prospero's magical accoutrements into the scientific paraphrenalia of the Steampunk oeuvre.
Tapped in to the Zeitgeist? Perhaps. To quote Prospero, "We are such things as dreams are made of," and the dream of the Steampunk genre is still unfolding.
It seems I am not the only one who saw potential in that play.
San Francisco director Jon Tracy has just presented his vision of Shakespeare's classic - and the costuming and sets are pure Steampunk. The reviewer was rapturous over the "eye candy" and the successful translation of Prospero's magical accoutrements into the scientific paraphrenalia of the Steampunk oeuvre.
Tapped in to the Zeitgeist? Perhaps. To quote Prospero, "We are such things as dreams are made of," and the dream of the Steampunk genre is still unfolding.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Where's Waldo?
Author sighting!
You'll find a couple of not so very flattering pics of Yours Truly in this photo gallery of the recent Steampunk Masquerade at Village Books in Bellingham, Washington. Images are courtesy of the Bellingham Herald.
You'll find a couple of not so very flattering pics of Yours Truly in this photo gallery of the recent Steampunk Masquerade at Village Books in Bellingham, Washington. Images are courtesy of the Bellingham Herald.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
WIP it good
As my cohort Jason mentioned earlier, it's been a whirlwind journey getting our 20,001: A Steampunk Odyssey anthologie done. We started it in June with a call for submissions, stopped taking new submissions July 31, and cranked out a pretty darned nice product just last week. For two authors just getting started in their careers, that's pretty fast work. Needless to say, we're very pleased.
Also needless to say, we're ready for the next Thing. Both of us put our own writing largely on hold in order to focus on the anthologie, and I think that paid off handsomely. But now it's time to return to our own writing with a focus on finishing off some existing works in progress - WIPs - and maybe kicking off a new one or two.
While Jason is doing the latter, I have a novel called Disbelief that is about 85% done that I am returning to. It's a new genre for me: Paranormal Romance. No, it's not Twilight, and not even vampire-related (well, mostly). I'm actually quite excited to be getting back to it, since I invested two writing retreats into the work this summer, and seeing the result of those wonderful experiences come to fruition is very satisfying. I'm planning to finish it up here in the next few weeks.
And after that? While I always have more ideas than time to work on them, I've been dreaming of a full-on fantasy trilogy. It's a long row to hoe, but having both a novel and an anthologie to my name, I think it's time to set my own bar that much higher. Excelsior!
Also needless to say, we're ready for the next Thing. Both of us put our own writing largely on hold in order to focus on the anthologie, and I think that paid off handsomely. But now it's time to return to our own writing with a focus on finishing off some existing works in progress - WIPs - and maybe kicking off a new one or two.
While Jason is doing the latter, I have a novel called Disbelief that is about 85% done that I am returning to. It's a new genre for me: Paranormal Romance. No, it's not Twilight, and not even vampire-related (well, mostly). I'm actually quite excited to be getting back to it, since I invested two writing retreats into the work this summer, and seeing the result of those wonderful experiences come to fruition is very satisfying. I'm planning to finish it up here in the next few weeks.
And after that? While I always have more ideas than time to work on them, I've been dreaming of a full-on fantasy trilogy. It's a long row to hoe, but having both a novel and an anthologie to my name, I think it's time to set my own bar that much higher. Excelsior!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Questioning Authors
If you could ask your favorite author any question just by highlighting a section of their ebook and sending them a Tweet straight from your Kindle...what would you ask?
That is what Amazon wants to know. Their newest program, @Author, features sixteen current authors who will, in fact, answer questions posed to them by readers through their Kindles.
There are some caveats, naturally: questions must be 100 characters or less, and yes, you have to have both a Kindle and a Twitter account for this to work. But those seem like fairly modest hurdles in this day and age; if you read ebooks, chances are good you have a Kindle, and likely have a Twitter (or aren't afraid to set one up). And if anything typifies this age of short attention spans, thinking in 100 characters would be it. (That last sentence was 99 characters including spaces, incidentally).
But what is really new and interesting about this program is not the ability to ask your favorite author a short question electronically. That is far from new. No, the innovative aspect of this is the immediacy of its accessibility. By making it easier than ever for readers and authors to engage one another, epublishing as a whole becomes a different and far more compelling experience than reading the same book in dead-plant-matter ("treebook") form. Remember when seeing a movie in the theater was a much more immersive experience than on a grainy VHS tape at home? As home entertainment technology advanced, the movie theater experience seemed less and less impressive - until the advent of 3D, which gave the movie-going public a reason to flock to theaters again. Notice how rapidly we've seen the signs of in-home 3D televisions coming our way!
Amazon is testing the epub waters with just that kind of strategy. The content is there, the technology is there, but the biggest question yet remains: if you could ask your favorite author a short question...would that affect your decision to buy their ebooks over those of other authors, and a Kindle over other e-readers? Amazon is betting it will.
That is what Amazon wants to know. Their newest program, @Author, features sixteen current authors who will, in fact, answer questions posed to them by readers through their Kindles.
There are some caveats, naturally: questions must be 100 characters or less, and yes, you have to have both a Kindle and a Twitter account for this to work. But those seem like fairly modest hurdles in this day and age; if you read ebooks, chances are good you have a Kindle, and likely have a Twitter (or aren't afraid to set one up). And if anything typifies this age of short attention spans, thinking in 100 characters would be it. (That last sentence was 99 characters including spaces, incidentally).
But what is really new and interesting about this program is not the ability to ask your favorite author a short question electronically. That is far from new. No, the innovative aspect of this is the immediacy of its accessibility. By making it easier than ever for readers and authors to engage one another, epublishing as a whole becomes a different and far more compelling experience than reading the same book in dead-plant-matter ("treebook") form. Remember when seeing a movie in the theater was a much more immersive experience than on a grainy VHS tape at home? As home entertainment technology advanced, the movie theater experience seemed less and less impressive - until the advent of 3D, which gave the movie-going public a reason to flock to theaters again. Notice how rapidly we've seen the signs of in-home 3D televisions coming our way!
Amazon is testing the epub waters with just that kind of strategy. The content is there, the technology is there, but the biggest question yet remains: if you could ask your favorite author a short question...would that affect your decision to buy their ebooks over those of other authors, and a Kindle over other e-readers? Amazon is betting it will.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Book News Roundup
There's stuff going on in the book world.
--Sony's got a new ereader for release. The only thing I see here that's notable is that when Pottermore goes live, they'll be getting a Harry Potter branded limited edition ereader, which is kind of cool and fanboyish.
--Barnes and Noble has 4 times the sales of Nook content over last year.
--Amazon has launched daily deals for the Kindle, with massive discounts on select titles. This isn't exactly new; they've often taken ebooks and made them free, but discounts instead of giveaways is something different. Further, these are daily deals, while the free books might be free for days or even weeks at a time. I like the urgency.
--DC relaunched their universe today. Reviews are in. I suppose I like that they're making everything very basic and introductory level, but even I, who know very little about comics, and less about DC, feel like it sounds maybe a bit slow out of the gate.
--Sony's got a new ereader for release. The only thing I see here that's notable is that when Pottermore goes live, they'll be getting a Harry Potter branded limited edition ereader, which is kind of cool and fanboyish.
--Barnes and Noble has 4 times the sales of Nook content over last year.
--Amazon has launched daily deals for the Kindle, with massive discounts on select titles. This isn't exactly new; they've often taken ebooks and made them free, but discounts instead of giveaways is something different. Further, these are daily deals, while the free books might be free for days or even weeks at a time. I like the urgency.
--DC relaunched their universe today. Reviews are in. I suppose I like that they're making everything very basic and introductory level, but even I, who know very little about comics, and less about DC, feel like it sounds maybe a bit slow out of the gate.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
L'Chaim, Richard Wagner
It's fair to say Richard Wagner was an avowed anti-Semite.
His 1850 pamphlet "Jewishness in Music" attacked many of his Jewish contemporaries in music, such as Felix Mendelssohn. He claimed Jews had no place in German music or culture, and even that most Germans were secretly repelled by them. Published first under a pseudonym and later openly, this pamphlet was joined in 1869 by a reprinted version - leading to protests at the opening of Der Meistersinger. Oddly, his private journals recount several strong friendships with Jews, including one he wrote of as "one of the most beautiful friendships of my life" (Samuel Lehrs of Paris).
What is undeniable is that his music and public anti-Semitism were both appropriated by Adolf Hitler. His operas in particular became the unofficial anthems of Nazi propaganda. There is even evidence that Wagner's music was used by the Nazis in an attempt to 're-educate' prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp.
And here the story takes a turn. Many survivors of the Nazi concentration camps of WWII emigrated to Israel, and since the formation of that nation, the operas of Wagner have never been performed there. The protests of Holocaust survivors were considered of greater gravity than the timelessness of Wagner's music - especially given his personal anti-Semitism.
But that changed on July 26, 2011. In a German town known as Bayreuth - home of the annual Wagner Festival - the Israel Chamber Orchestra performed the Siegfried Idyll by Wagner before an audience including Katharina Wagner, the composer's great-granddaughter and co-director of the festival. Conductor Roberto Paternostro said the orchestra's decision was unanimous, and that he hopes to carefully and respectfully present the music of Wagner to a new generation, unburdened by the weight of a deeply personal and even more deeply traumatic past.
Can music heal? When music itself is the reminder of painful experiences, perhaps that is too much to ask. But art transcends the artist, and can and should be judged on its own merits. Perhaps, in this case, it is not the music that heals the listener, but the listener who will heal the music.
His 1850 pamphlet "Jewishness in Music" attacked many of his Jewish contemporaries in music, such as Felix Mendelssohn. He claimed Jews had no place in German music or culture, and even that most Germans were secretly repelled by them. Published first under a pseudonym and later openly, this pamphlet was joined in 1869 by a reprinted version - leading to protests at the opening of Der Meistersinger. Oddly, his private journals recount several strong friendships with Jews, including one he wrote of as "one of the most beautiful friendships of my life" (Samuel Lehrs of Paris).
What is undeniable is that his music and public anti-Semitism were both appropriated by Adolf Hitler. His operas in particular became the unofficial anthems of Nazi propaganda. There is even evidence that Wagner's music was used by the Nazis in an attempt to 're-educate' prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp.
And here the story takes a turn. Many survivors of the Nazi concentration camps of WWII emigrated to Israel, and since the formation of that nation, the operas of Wagner have never been performed there. The protests of Holocaust survivors were considered of greater gravity than the timelessness of Wagner's music - especially given his personal anti-Semitism.
But that changed on July 26, 2011. In a German town known as Bayreuth - home of the annual Wagner Festival - the Israel Chamber Orchestra performed the Siegfried Idyll by Wagner before an audience including Katharina Wagner, the composer's great-granddaughter and co-director of the festival. Conductor Roberto Paternostro said the orchestra's decision was unanimous, and that he hopes to carefully and respectfully present the music of Wagner to a new generation, unburdened by the weight of a deeply personal and even more deeply traumatic past.
Can music heal? When music itself is the reminder of painful experiences, perhaps that is too much to ask. But art transcends the artist, and can and should be judged on its own merits. Perhaps, in this case, it is not the music that heals the listener, but the listener who will heal the music.
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