Author: Sharon

Roll down the window and let the wind blow through your hair

Ghod, what a terrible day.  The problem with being gone a day from the day-job is that the email stacks up and then I’ve got a dozen people needing something right now. Even if everyone is being Perfectly Polite, which the majority were, the sensation is too very much like being stuck in a crowded party where everybody is yelling to be heard over their neighbor, and all you (or at least, I) want to do is get out and find a quiet corner.

Well.

I didn’t kill anybody; I didn’t cry in public; and I didn’t quit.

Guess that counts as a victory.

Brief stop at the grocery store, then home.  Steve was watching anime — he told me which one, but I forgot.  I retired to my room and did not do anything of the serious tasks that need doing for the closing out of SRM’s fiscal year.  Instead, I opened up my file and wrote a few words — just some conversation, that’s all.

I feel better now.

Time to go into the kitchen and wash me some dishes.

Progress on Ghost Ship:

42,254 words, not-necessarily-in-order, for about 42.25% done

Nope, still haven’t figured out how to make the progress meter display properly in WordPress.

Everybody have a good evening.

Liaden Universe® InfoDump No. 82

The authors wish you a happy spring in this busy year in the Liaden Universe® … thanks for taking time out of your busy day to read this.

Fledgling: So far this year Fledgling has come out in mass market paperback and is finding new readers (you have yours, right?) and we have more happening in the next few months, including books and multiple convention appearances by the authors.

Saltation: If someone’s needing convincing to order or buy, there a new review of Saltation:  http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=9518

And speaking of Saltation, a reminder that Saltation is due in stores in less than two weeks; Powell’s says merely April, as does Indiebound (http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781439133453), but Amazon.com says April 13…

And the page here shows the Publishers Weekly review featured at Powell’s

But we’d like to see more, wouldn’t you? If you do see a review please drop a note to Steve or Sharon on their blogs, facebook, or Steve’s twitter account — see bottom of Infodump for those contact details! And remember, you ebook fans should check in on webscriptions so you can load up on Liaden goodness for spring.

The pre-supporting Saltations due to be signed by the authors are not yet in house, or even in Maine. If you were a Saltation pre-supporter and haven’t yet recieved an email address confrimation, please contact saltation_verifyATkorval.com (where @ replaces AT). Once the books arrive it will take some time for us to sign, pack, and ship them, complicated by Steve’s foot surgery. Please be patient; once the books are in there will be an announcement.

More books coming

Due in June in paper from Baen: the newest Liaden adventure, Mouse and Dragon, properly in the Fledgling story arc, and the premium-trade thre- novel edition The Dragon Variation (including Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, and Conflict of Honors) which will act as a good starter book for newcomers. Various webscription arrangements can be found here:

SRM Publisher

Meanwhile, SRM Publisher is in the midst of a Contusion Sale to help make way for incoming books — a sale including reduced prices on select SRM cover hardbacks (like Liaden Universe® Companion Volume One!) and clearance pricing on some low-stock Meisha Merlin books and SRM chabpooks as well. You can find some of the details here:  now’s your chance!

Other Lee and Miller stuff:

The Lee & Miller dark fantasies Duainfey and Longeye are still available from most bookstores as well as webscription and now there’s a brief YouTube trailer for them:

Where in the World are Lee and Miller?

Sharon and Steve will be Writer Guests of Honor at Oasis 23 May 28 – 30, 2010 in Orlando, Florida! In addition to stellar programming, planning is going forth for a Friends of Liad breakfast and other goodies. This is Sharon’s first time in Flordia and helps meet the authors’ goals of expanding their convention range. If you’re within range, please be part of this rare trip south.

June 18 – 20, 2010, Steve and Sharon will be Literary Guests of Honor at DucKon 19 in Naperville, Illinois! In addition to exciting program items, there is a rumor (as yet unsubstantiated) of a Liaden High Tea! Also, a rare extra is planned — so watch the skies, join the convention, meet the authors and other Friends of Liad as well.

Please remember to tell the registration folks that we sent you!

We will also be attending ReConStruction, the 10th Occassional North American Science Fiction Convention, in Raleigh, NC, August 5-8, 2010.

Yes, You can Read Lee and Miller on Your Ebook Reader!

All of the published Liaden Universe® books, the Fey Duology, and The Tomorrow Log are available from Baen Webscriptions

There are instructions on the Webscription site for downloading their books to your Kindle, iPhone, iTouch, Sony EReader, and other devices (just click the link on the upper left-hand side of the page)

Several Sharon Lee short stories, and the Jennifer Pierce Maine novels, Barnburner and Gunshy, are available from Fictionwise

Support Your Local Bookstore

Uncle Hugo’s

University Bookstore

Pandemonium Books

Missing Volume

Borderlands

Dream Haven

Flights of Fantasy

Mysterious Galaxy

Constellation Books

Children’s Book Cellar

All of the above folks do mail order and take want lists — let them know you’re a Friend of Liad, please.

Blogs of Note

Theo_Waitley is the discussion group for readers of Fledgling and Saltation

Where Dragons Rest

Steve Miller’s blog, Journeyman

Sharon Lee’s blog, Eagles over the Kennebec

Sharon Lee’s new blog site now being developed, Sharon Lee, Writer

SRM Publisher blog

Sharon Lee’s “Professional” blog, Look Up, the Stars are Dancing

Facebook Connections — please feel free to add us!

Steve Miller

Sharon Lee

Liaden Interest Groups on Facebook

Clan Korval

Friends of Liad

Flaran chamenthi

GoodReads

Sharon’s Author Page

Steve’s on Twitter

DISCLAIMER STUFF

This InfoDump is a product of the Liaden Universe®, accept no imitations. You have received this message because you asked for it. If you wish to subscribe to the Liaden Universe® email list, go here

Was a sunny day

…and a warm one.  Suddenly!  It’s summer, forget about spring.  My daffodils are ready to burst forth in song and it’s only April 3.

This morning’s adventures included a trip to the local hospital’s women’s health fair, which was pleasant, and informative, and left me with a burning desire to learn to dance Zumba.  Unfortunately, it happens that there is a Zumba class taught at the Blue Wave Studio right in downtown Waterville on Thursday evenings.  This could be bad. I can only hope that tuition costs the earth.

I happened to be at the Senior Spectrum table, looking at their display Wii when I heard the woman behind the counter tell a prospective client about the range of activities open to Senior Spectrum members, including trips, and talks by experts, including Maine Authors.  When the spiel was done and the customer gone, I stepped up and offered a card — “My name is Sharon Lee and I’m a Maine Author” —  leading to much laughter.  P’rhaps a gig will come of it.

Back home, I dealt with lunch and retired to the corner of the couch with The Leewit to get some writing done.  What I’m doing right now is writing the bits I know, which means that I have medium-to-large chunks of stuff that has to happen, story-wise.  This will enable me to figure out what needs to happen, plot-wise, since transitions will have to be built to all of these scenes.  So, progress, in a sort-of sideways direction.

Tomorrow is more writing, interleaved with laundry.  Monday, Steve is wanted early at the hospital for outpatient surgery, and I’m his designated driver.

The fun, it never stops.

Hope you — yes, you! — are having a lovely and relaxing weekend, wherever you are.

For those keeping score at home, progress on Ghost Ship is 40,007 out of a projected 100,000 words — about 40% done.

Maybe I’ll figure out how to make the little progress meter work in WordPress some other day.

G’night.

Tweets for the Tweetless Part 4

Last day…

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: Theo laughed slightly. “I said the same thing. It turns out he’s out in his resignation and he had to give the academy seven days’ notice.”

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: “But wait!” Theo cried. “What kind of ship? What kind of space? What -“

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: “I’m suspended,” Theo’d told him bleakly, knowing that someone should have given him a clue that she wasn’t a top scholar type of pilot.

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: “Your plans are to get there as quick as you can. We’ll do that. Can’t make the second Jump first though. Confirmation please, Second.”

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: Theo Waitley nodded. “It’s kind of complicated,” she began …


Tweets for the Tweetless Part 3

Theo’s Guest Twitterer at BaenBooks this week.  Below are her Tweets for today

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: “This is good, ” Theo said then. “So far this is my favorite spot in a flight. The spot where weightless is normal.”

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: “Yes, Pilot;” Theo replied serenely as she glided to a stop in front of the door “my first time to the guild. I’m expected. I’m Theo Waitley.

From the Baenbooks twitter feed: With some effort Theo rolled and sealed the firegems away in their pouch.

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: Theo let her hands say: always have a backup plan. “I see,” she said quietly. “Thank you. I’ll put in for space at DCCT next year.”

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: “Nexus of — ” Theo’s temper flared. “Someone brings a riot to DCCT and it’s your fault? And I’m the nexus? I’m the nexus of violence? “


Tweets for the tweetless Part Two

Starting with Theo’s first whisper to all words on Wednesday, March 31, 2010.

from the BaenBooks twitter feed: “Yeah…” she whispered, and raised a hand to the yellow toggle. “Tower, this is Theo Waitley, sitting second on Torvin…Out of Solcintra.”

from the BaenBooks twitter feed: “My Scout,” Theo said carefully, “Win Ton. He’s on his way to Liad, to be married.”

from the BaenBooks twitter feed: These guys were playing bloodball, the usually happy crew of the Club scattered. “Take him, Theo!” The encouragement was Bova at full voice.

from the BaenBooks twitter feed: Shaking her head to settle her hair as best as could be done, Theo spread the chain between her two hands, and put it over her head.

from the BaenBooks twitter feed: “Second,” Theo said to yos’Senchul, “is there a reason the ship that just showed up without Jump glare isn’t tagged with name or ID number?”



Tweets for the Tweetless

Some of you may know — and some others of you may not know — that Theo is a Guest Tweeter at Baen Books this week.  Theo’s entries are mirrored on Steve’s Facebook account, but he hesitates to post them to his LJ for fear of setting up a loop, as Facebook also mirrors his LJ account.

So!  For those of you who neither tweet nor FB, the following are Theo’s tweets thus far, starting with Tweet The First.  I’ll append the new ones as I can, but Theo’s going off at a rate of five a day, so there will be lag…

from the BaenBooks twitter feed: Theo Waitley says: Snickiots! Anyone smart enough to be landing at the academy ought to know not to jostle the pilot!

from the Baenbooks twitter feed: Theo Waitley laughed, engulfed by blue sky and billowing clouds. They hadn’t outlawed happy at the Academy, and flying was a happy thing.

from the Baenbooks twitter feed: Theo felt her face warm, but she’d earned the sarcasm. After all, it wasn’t very advertent to be discovered doing needlework in math class.

from the BaenBooks twitter feed: Theo’s Father had pointed out, more than once, that the more noise you made, the more likely it was that you were using too much force.

From the Baenbooks twitter feed: Ahem, student. This object has traveled light years to reach us. It ought go to the person it was meant for. Erkes, Suite 302. Theo Waitley.

From the Baenbooks twitter feed: Academy note – Saltation: That which proceeds by leaps rather than by smooth and orderly progression. See details: http://alturl.com/zhjf

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: It was blood, but not much of it, and the game had still been going strong when Theo left.  “Not dripping.  I’ll clean it,” she promised Asu.

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: After she’d been pushed into Advanced Power, she’d hear mock-cloned “Not good, Theo,” half-whispered or louder as she walked the airfield. . .

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: “Key,” Theo said around a growing coldness in her stomach, adding “You can’t find current flight time because my father is a retired pilot.”

From the BaenBooks twitter feed: “I don’t have an attitude problem,” Theo told him, but Chelly only laughed again.

Things that make no sense

So, a co-worker today asked me how my weekend had been.  I confessed that while I had made progress, I hadn’t gotten as much writing done as I had hoped to, which is sort of always the case, really.

She stared at me.  “Are you writing another book?”

Well, yeah; that’s what I do.

“When’s it due?”

August.

“Do you feel under pressure?”

Not so much pressure as I would just like to get the damn’ draft done so I can see what I have and what I don’t have.  Right now, it’s all sorta roiling around in my head and I can’t really see what’s missing.

“How do you do that?  Write, I mean.  Do you just make it up?”

Well, mostly.  I mean, the characters have history, and you have to respect that, plus it’s a complex book because it’s the elbow book that joins two parallel tracks of story.  Some of the setting’s been used in a previous book, so  I need remember where things are, and I have an idea of where it’s all going to wind up, but most of the time I’m wrong about that, so I expect that’s the case this time, too. . .

“But I mean, how do you do it?”

Damned if I know.  How do you not do it?

She laughed, and I did and we got on with the day.

But that got me thinking about all those things that other people seem to master so easily, which make no sense whatsoever to me.

Minesweeper, for instance.

Sudoku, for another.

Any arithmetical function higher than simple bookkeeping.

How to figure out how much will fit in what space.  And how.

There are more, but you get the idea.

It occurs to me that everybody must have these mental twitches; these easy, everday things that make no sense.

What’s yours?

Traveling the World

Asyouknowbob, Steve and I will be Writer Guests of Honor at Oasis 23 in Orlando, from May 28 to 30, which we’re really looking forward to, and if you’re in the area, or close to in the area, you should come on by.  We get south so seldom, and we want to meet everybody!

In an excess of optimism, we scheduled several days in town after the convention in order to do things like booksignings and/or library talks, as is our pleasant habit, and also to play the tourist a little.

Alas, the store that seemed most likely to host a book-signing — Urban Think — is going out of business at the end of this month (*mourns the loss of yet another independent bookstore*).  The Orlando area seems to be well-served by used bookstores, but if there’s a new bookstore inside the city limits, I don’t find them.

So — appeal Number One for on-the-ground assistance.  Anybody local have a favorite bookstore we could contact in hopes of setting up a signing?

Appeal Number One, part A:  Anybody have contact with a local public library?  We like to talk at libraries.

Appeal Number Two:  There is so dern much to do in Orlando that I can’t figure out a way to filter it.  I very much doubt that Magic Mouse Land is my cup of tea, but Epcot Center seems like it would be interesting.  People who have been there — and you are legion! — what’s to do in Orlando for two middle-aged fuddy-duddies who will be in from Maine and doubtless wilting with the heat?  We don’t have much money, but it would be a shame to spend what’s likely to be my one and only visit to Florida in a hotel room.