Author: Sharon

If you’re coming to Oasis and want to be sure to see (or avoid) us, our schedule is below.  We’ll probably also be findable in the art show, the dealers room, and any conveniently placed sofa.  The full program schedule is here.

Friday 03:00 PM What is the Future of Publishing?
E-publishing, self-publishing, The I-pad, the Nook, the Kindle. What will we be reading and how in 10 years?
Balder, Cowden, Fielding, Gittens, Miller, Roen(m), Wilson

Friday 04:00 PM Writers You Have Never Heard of, But Should Have Your favorite SF writers discuss who they are reading and recommending.
Byers, Lee, Miller, Wilber(m)

Friday 07:00 PM Opening Ceremonies and Cthulhu Chili Contest
Meet our guests and taste some great chilis.
Balder, Hinman, Lee, Miller

Friday 08:00 PM Favorite Characters, Favorite Books
Hear our panel of writers talk about some of their favorites from their own books.
Bova, Lee, McDevitt, Miller

Friday 09:00 PM Alien Artifacts
Our intergalactic archeologists evaluate rare objects from around the galaxy. They have all the answers; they just never agree.
Balder, Caldwell(m), Conrad, Lee, Miller, Mitchell

Saturday 09:00 AM Friends of Liad Breakfast in the Livingston Street Cafe (inside the convention hotel)  Join us for coffee! and breakfast!  and coffee!  and good company!  Did I mention coffee?

Saturday 01:00 PM Writer Guests of Honor — Steve Miller and Sharon Lee
Our writer guests of honor discuss their work and answer questions.

Saturday 02:00 PM Signings
Bova, Lee, McDevitt, Miller

Saturday 05:00 PM Science Fiction and Comedy: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
Come discuss your favorite SF comedies.
Balder, Finkelstein, Finkelstein, Hinman, Lee, Ranson

Sunday 10:00 AM Romance in SF and Fantasy
How is a work of fiction defined? What about a story classifies it as a romance as opposed to SF or fantasy. Was “Gone With the Wind” just another romance novel?
Dolamore, Lee, Low, Wilson(m)

Sunday 01:00 PM How to Make Sure Your Manuscript Gets Rejected
Authors discuss how they got published and what you shouldn’t do if you want to be published.
Dolamore, Lee, McDevitt(m), Miller, Roen, Wilson

Sunday 03:00 PM Closing Ceremonies
Balder, Hinman, Lee, Livingston, Miller

Next Tuesday, we begin our journey to Orlando for Oasis 23.  We expect to have a good time, and we’re really looking forward to seeing everybody.  The packing — eh.  But packing will happen on Monday, after work.

The first order of this weekend’s business is Ghost Ship, which, with one thing and another, has languished long enough.  In and around will be house-cleaning, so that Mary can find her way from the kitchen to the living room, and laundry, so we’ll have clothes to wear in Orlando, and a Serious Consultation with Steve regarding which plushy should accompany us on the trip.

That last is a tough choice.  For a good, long time, Hassan the Assassin was our default traveling companion.  Then Harwil the platypus entered our service at the KC Nebulas, and he became the companion of choice, mostly due to being much flatter than Hassan.  Steve’s Lord Black Cat has accompanied us on a couple of trips.  [Here’s a picture of Steve and Lord Black Cat and me and Hassan (and a host of others) at the Stuffed Animal Tea Party hosted by Alison Looney at Penguicon 4.0]

I feel a little for the other plushies, of which we own a ridiculous number.  There’s Sly the Fox, the day-job office plushy, who may be even flatter than Harwil and is certainly deserving of a vacation, and at least one of the hedgehogs is small enough to tuck into a traveling bag, not to mention the stuffed lizard (though that one’s stuffed with sand, and quite heavy, so maybe not).  The Looney Bloom Kristin Looney gave us (also at Penguicon 4.0; I think the idea was that Hassan needed someone at his back) can certainly fit in a bag.

It’s a puzzle, it is.

Which stuffed animal do you take with you when you travel?

This is the fifth and final day of Mouse and Dragon Snippet Week, sponsored by Baen Books. Snippets to follow.

Aelliana: What would you be willing to do, in order to salvage Mizel?

Daav: On my honor, I will wait here until my brother comes.

Aelliana: You are delm of Low Port. I ask safe passage.

Daav: Stipulate that we are idiots of the first water, polished and ready to be set.

Aelliana: Daav, I think we should have another child.

Daav: I can scarcely argue with a lady who has a plan.

One week of snippets is now concluded. Thank you for your kind attention. Remember, Mouse and Dragon hits bookstores on June 1, from Baen.

* * *

The above are snippets from Mouse and Dragon, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, for Friday, May 21.

Now beginning the penultimate day of the Mouse and Dragon Tweetathon! Snippets of Interest to follow.

Daav: Come out now, rogue, and show yourself to the pilot. I can do nothing if she decides to space you. She is the final authority here.

Aelliana: But how unhandsome! You leave me no words to say at all.

Daav: Torn from virtuous industry by a ravishing temptress; all — all! to be done over!

Aelliana: Did you know that a ship must be inspected and certified before a third-party lien may be set against it?

Daav: We will find the route, Pilot. I swear it.

Aelliana: One would welcome a cat, if possible.

* * *

The above are snippets from Mouse and Dragon by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller for Thursday, May 20.  One more day of Mad Snippeting remains!  In the meantime, if you’re interested in what you’ve seen so far, please consider asking your favorite bookstore to order it in for you, or pre-order from IndieBound or from Amazon

This is third day of the Mouse and Dragon Tweetathon, sponsored by Baen Books. Street date is June 1. Mark your calendars!

Daav: My brother is enjoying himself far too much.

Kareen: Pilot, you are a mouse among raptors. Your best chance of survival is to be small, and to feast upon whatever crumbs fall your way.

Aelliana: Does this tree speak to you?

Daav: If I measured each of my loves against what I feel for you, it would seem that I had never loved anyone at all.

Aelliana: Certainly, any error should be rectified. I regret, however, that I am unable to continue my contract.

Daav: Every toasted cheese sandwich is unique unto itself. Like art, there are no mistakes.

* * *

The above are snippets for Wednesday, May 19, 2010.  There are two more days of snippage this week, and one of them is tomorrow!  Please join us then. Snippets are delivered throughout the day via Twitter from BaenBooks and ClanKorval, then collected at the end of the day as a blog posting, for the convenience of those who do not tweet.

Day Two of Mouse and Dragon Snipathon! Watch the skies.

Aelliana: If you will cast blame, Balance, and doom, then I am your proper target, ma’am! Daav did only as he ought!

Daav: My sister sees a hundred-year scandal in a teacup misaligned in a formal setting. You must not take Kareen too seriously, Aelliana.

Aelliana: Daav. What else have the Healer’s done?

Daav: We are a broken set, van’chela. I could wish your brother still alive, that I might thank him fitly for his care of you.

Aelliana: If you will be Anne, then I will be Aelliana. I hope I have not disrupted your whole day.

Daav: You may not defame my lady or call her craven! She pressed on and did was was needful, with courage and generosity.

* * *

The above are snippets for Tuesday, May 18, 2010.  Snippeting resumes tomorrow, via Twitter from BaenBooks and ClanKorval, at the Same Early Hour(tm).  Please join us then.

Yes!  An interview.  With us.

And! A Special Companion Piece — Love Letters to Liad.

Plus a whole buncha other really good stuff that you should totally read.

Why are you still here?  Go — read!

Today, I am tweeting an upcoming book, doing clerical work and minor carpentry, and giving a talk that will be taped for cable.

Is my life weird?

Hexapuma has lost the last of his hearing.  Mostly, he seems good with this, but every so often, he’ll set in to declaiming and when he hears no response, he tends to get a little crazy.  So Steve was suggesting that we get him a robot playmate — maybe a robotic tank.  I don’t mind the idea, as long as we can get one that charges off of house power, but wonder how the treads would function on the carpeting.  Since the lack of hearing makes Hex utterly fearless in terms of Cat Eating Machines, maybe a Roomba is the answer.  Does anybody have a Roomba?  What can you tell me, good and bad?  Also, how much to get this upgrade?

The first day of Mouse Tweets is done.  Tomorrow, we start up again where we left off, and so on and so forth, until Friday sees an end.

On my way home today, I stopped by the shoe store and am now the proud owner of a pair of Skecher’s men’s sport shoes.  I am Very Tall.  Also, bouncy.  There on the shelf were Skecher’s “Shape Ups” guaranteed to help me tone and lose weight just by walking.  Allll right, then.  Hunnert buck shoes are not in this week’s budget.  Neither, to tell the truth were the forty dollar pair, but one needs must…

Shoes accomplished, I stopped at Day’s Jewelers to perform a commission on behalf of the day-job, and while I was there arranged to have my wedding ring resized.  I can pick it up tomorrow after work.  In the meantime, my hand feels weird.

And suddenly!  It’s almost time to leave for Oasis!  Um, eek.