Marvel/Disney seeks to forbid the creator of the comic character Ghost Rider from publicly identifying himself as the creator, from doing sketches of the character for money at conventions, and is seeking $17,000 in “damages.”
Boing-boing has the story
1. A Literary Agent talks about royalties, and which sales are better for the author — ebook or paper? — here
2. Don’t be a Victim! Jim Hines talks about self-defense and self-control.
3. Women with clean houses don’t write epic fantasy.
4. For those who missed it yesterday, the Interactive Map of Entitlements. You can sort by year, and by program. Pay particular attention to the slideshow.
5. The Hugo Administrators want you to know that the Hugo Nominations deadline is March 11. Here are the rules. Here’s a list of eligible Lee-and-Miller, and Miller, titles (yes, it’s the same old list that you’ve seen before).
The weatherbeans are calling for minus 1F (-18C) tonight, which I think is as cold as it’s been all winter. Fierce wind blowing, too.
*cue WC Fields*
So, the redlining is over. Tomorrow, I need to make the changes in the manuscript. I did take a slightly wrong turn at the very end of the pages I have written, so I’ll be fixing that, and then zooming on toward the finish line.
Uh, yeah.
In other news, The Galveston Daily News reviews Carousel Tides, and Steve is proposing a fun new project for Splinter Universe. His Facebook post is reproduced below, for those who don’t FB:
Coming attractions …
I have, these last few days, been going over a curiosity we may be sharing on Splinter Universe starting in a day or two — and possibly stretching out over a couple weeks.
To explain —
We’ve discovered some old “exercises” of mine that grew into a number of strands of a story that never quite got finished, and for good cause. If I recall the period properly I’d been working on this when my job got crazy and I’d ended up working 10 to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for some months. That ended when I had back problems so bad I spent over a week flat on my back with muscle relaxants making motion possible ….
And what I was fiddling with was Miri, and Ichliad Brunner, and Klamath. The pages we have are, alas, not exactly numbered — and there were tries and retries, and angles. At this distance I can’t recall which were first and second ….
So my idea is that I’ll scan the apparent strands in, one by one, and post the strands on Splinter Universe, and we can all take a look (perhaps you more than me since I also have Jethri on the line) and see if we can work out what might have been the proper story line … and who knows, maybe we’ll see if something more should be done with what’s there, given that, in effect, we’ve already finished some of the story through the joys of Misfits.
If you want to know what a work in progress can look like from the wrong side of the lens, this will be your chance, assuming anyone is interested.
How say ye?
Everybody stay warm.
Well, now, where was I?
Right. Seem to have run right out of “rest,” with the result that my ankle has started to swell up again. Spent yesterday on the couch, redlining Necessity’s Child. Today will be more of the same, and that should see the end of that part of the project. Then, I really do need to get with the desk-top, do the changes, and the text-block moves. And, yanno, write the final third of the book.
Happily, my backbrain has forked over with An Idea regarding the future of one of the characters. Sadly, it would involve a sequel that would entangle with the sequel to Dragon Ship.
Perhaps the backbrain will kindly produce some more information on this subject some time soon. After all, it has all the time in the world, here.
* * *
We have thus far collected $89.24 for the Planned Parenthood breast cancer screening program. Our thanks to everyone who has purchased a copy of The Cat’s Job in February. For those who came in late, we are contributing the February proceeds (that means, the money that we get, after the bookstores get their piece of the action)of the eChapbook edition of The Cat’s Job to Planned Parenthood. Complete explanation, with links, here
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Speaking of Amazon (note that smooth transition, baby) — If you are an author who sells Kindle editions of your work, it is worth your while to check the catalog pages of your books to ascertain whether Amazon has arbitrarily marked your book down to $0.99US
Pinbeam Books has five titles that have been marked down. On the publisher page, the list price still shows at $2.99US. It is on the catalog page (i.e. the page that people Actually Buy The Book From) that the discounted price is displayed (You! Save! $2.00!)
At least one other author has noticed this, regarding his own books, that I know of. I suspect that there are more, because the answer to my inquiry to KDP support is: We wanted to write you to confirm that we received your recent email to KDP Support and will be responding to you as soon as possible. Unfortunately, our response time is taking a bit longer than the usual 24 hours we normally reply within.
And, yes, before someone says it — Amazon does indeed have the power to do whateverthehell they want to do with any book they list. Says so in their manifesto contract. However, Amazon is trying very hard to position itself as The Author’s Friend; the guy who’ll cut authors a fair deal and give them 70% royalties.
Only?
Books that are sold at $0.99US earn 35% royalties.
* * *
We watched Source Code Friday night — it was, I thought, very well done, even riveting. Even Mozart was riveted, and his taste in film runs almost exclusively to vintage musicals.
Recommended.
* * *
And for those who have been jonseing for an eArc of Dragon Ship, we have word from a proactive reader who enquired of Baenebooks that “Assuming the book stays on schedule, we should be publishing the eARC sometime between May and June…”
. . .and that’s all the news.
How’s your weekend coming along?
Friday’s Child, Georgette Heyer (read aloud with Steve)
Dragon Ship manuscript, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
Kim, Rudyard Kipling (e)
Regency Buck, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Pollyanna, Eleanor H. Porter (e)
Chimera, Rob Thurman (e)
Lest I forget, the Locus Poll for best Everything SFnal of 2011 is now online here.
You do not have to be a Locus subscriber to take part in this poll. You do not have to vote for one of the suggested works or persons. There are plenty of write-in spaces provided.
Yes, we have cats in this race, too.
Short Stories:
“Guaranteed Delivery,” published at Splinter Universe on September 12, 2011 (Now available in eChapbook Courier Run, available from the Kindle Store, the Nook Store and from Smashwords)
“Russians in My Head,” by Steve Miller. Published at Splinter Universe on October 31, 2011; available to be read for free
Novelettes:
“Kin Ties,” published at Splinter Universe, August 12, 2011 (Now available in eChapbook Courier Run, available from the Kindle Store, the Nook Store and from Smashwords)
“The Space at Tinsori Light,” published at Splinter Universe on November 10, 2011. Collected in Legacy Systems: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 19 and available at the Nook and Kindle stores.
“Intelligent Design,” published on the Baen Website in July 2011. Compilation of all the free Baen stories here (free download). Also collected in Legacy Systems: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 19 and available at the Nook and Kindle stores.
Novella:
“Skyblaze,” published by SRM Publisher, Ltd., February 2011 (Now available in eChapbook Skyblaze, available from the Kindle Store, the Nook Store and from Smashwords)
Novel:
Ghost Ship, Baen Books, August 2011.
Please vote responsibly, and only once. Mr. Kelly abhors ballot-box stuffing, as he should. Please be truthful about your gender.
*
IN OTHER NEWS, I broke down and ordered in a micro-sd card for the new Galaxy Tab, which now rejoices in a name!
Cygnus.
*
I’m about a third of the way through the line edit of the first 70,000-odd words of Necessity’s Child. Because of the long time that I’ve been away from the story, due to finishing Dragon Ship and then haring off to Chattanooga, I have declared that same 70,000-odd A Draft. It’s a little shorter than I’d’ve liked for a draft, and I didn’t get all the way to the end, but I am within shouting distance of the end, and I might as well true up everything in the first seven-tenths before I go running downhill with my arms windmilling, and screaming at the top of my lungs.
I’ve done a teensy structural change, the result of which pleases me inordinately, and makes the story feel much stronger. Funny how sometimes it’s just one little thing…
Liaden Universe® InfoDump #94
Just returned from being Guests of Honor at the delightful ChattaCon 37, Lee & Miller are still going places and doing things in 2012, with their next road trip coming real soon now, a few more in the spring, and another in early summer.
Publishing news:
Dragon Ship was turned in to Baen Books just before Lee & Miller left for Chattacon. Still set for September release in hardcover, watch for details, including a special signed edition.
Carousel Tides – Sharon’s ocean side urban fantasy — is now in mass market from Baen, wherever fine books are sold.
Legacy Systems, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® #19 was just published by Pinbeambooks.com as an ebook for Nook and Kindle. It’s available at Barnes & Noble and at Amazon, and will soon be at Smashwords in other formats.
Details: “Intelligent Design” – When a spaceship’s inquisitive cabin boy finds a surplus crate of spare parts at a warehouse, all he knows is that he wants it very much. His older cousin’s willing to see him buy it, but not quite so understanding when it comes time to connect the dots.
“The Space at Tinsori Light” – Sometimes in chaotic moments the panic button is all that’s left. Sometimes it saves you, and sometimes it takes you to the Space at Tinsori Light.
In other Pinbeam Books news, all February proceeds from the sale of the Cat’s Job ebook will be donated to Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer screening program – see see details at: http://www.pinbeambooks.com/
On the Internetz:
The annual SF Site Readers Choice Awards nomination period is open! until March 9. Nominate the best books of 2011 (And remember, Ghost Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller was published in August, 2011). Details are at http://www.sfsite.com/columns/neil360.htm ….
Travel News:
February 16, 2012 – Sharon and Steve will be signing at Pandemonium Books & Games 4 Pleasant St. Cambridge, MA 02139 , 7 to 9 PM – our first time is this location.
February 17-19, 2012 – Sharon and Steve will be appearing at the classic Boston regional SF convention, Boskone, Westin Boston Waterfront. The prime hotel is sold out but you can see where there are rooms locally by visiting the Boskone website – http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/ Preliminary scheduling shows that we will be hosting a Friends of Liad breakfast on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. at Saucity, which is in the hotel. We’re assuming that they will still be offering the Saturday morning buffet breakfast with your choice of made-on-the-spot omelets. We hope to see lots of early risers. Do remember, the FoL breakfast is an informal gathering of friends; we are each responsible for paying our own check. We have a reading scheduled for 10 a.m., Sharon and then Steve is the official plan, but we may well switch off. We are also at the moment scheduled for a Literary Beer on Saturday at 4 p.m. Sign-up at the con. Also on Saturday, we’ll be talking Liaden Universe® and Matters Astronomical with Brother Guy Consolmagno at 1 p.m.
Stop the presses! The almost-final Boskone schedule is now live here: http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/schedule.html
March 16, 2012 – Lee & Miller visit the the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone, Maine to discuss writing (and reading) science fiction. This event is open to the public. 12:30 p.m.
April 5, 2012 – Rockland Public Library, 80 Union Street, Rockland, ME 04841 6:30 PM. Lee & Miller do a reading, talk, and signing at one of the fine coastal libraries.
Memorial Day Weekend — May 25-27, 2012 ConQuest 43, Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center, Kansas City, MO. We’d like to have the usual – a Friends of Laid breakfast and perhaps a friends of Liad party as well – will you be there?
WorldCon 2012 – yes, Lee & Miller are members of the Chicago Worldcon this summer. No, as things now stand, we will not be attending. This doesn’t mean Friends of Liad shouldn’t get together, but the chance of the authors stopping by is pretty low at the moment.
Miscellanea:
SRM Publisher’s leftover refrigerator, bookcases, and assorted boxes have huddled in the basement since the move out of Steve’s in town office last year as a bunch of piles. Those piles have given up a box marked “Sept – December files” that actually had some books in it… which will go to auction in the coming week or so on EBAY. Among them 2 First Edition Partners in Necessity hardcovers. 2 First Edition hardcover Liaden Universe Companion Vol , 1 of the Mass Market sized Liaden Universe Companion Vol 1. Watch Steve’s Twitter (*: http://twitter.com/bechimo ), Facebook, and blog for start dates for these sales.
Where on Earth are Lee and Miller?
Boskone 49 (http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/), February 17-19, 2012, Boston, MA.
Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Limestone ME, Friday, March 16
Rockland Public Library, Rockland ME, Thursday, April 5, 2012
ConQuest 43 (www.conquestkc.org), May 25-27, 2012, Kansas City, MO. Lee and Miller Guests of Honor
Support Your Local Bookstore:
Uncle Hugo’s: http://www.unclehugo.com/
University Bookstore: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/services.taf?dept=about&category=loca
Pandemonium Books: http://www.pandemoniumbooks.com/
Missing Volume: http://www.themissingvolume.com/
Borderlands: http://www.borderlands-books.com/
Flights of Fantasy: http://www.fof.net/
Mysterious Galaxy: http://mysteriousgalaxy.booksense.com/
Constellation Books: http://www.constellationbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp
Children’s Book Cellar: http://www.indiebound.org/stores/childrens-book-cellar
All of the above folks do mail order and take want lists.
Blogs and Other Webly Things of Note:
Theo_Waitley is the discussion group for readers of Fledgling and Saltation: http://community.livejournal.com/theo_waitley/
Where Dragons Rest: http://community.livejournal.com/liaden_readers/
Steve Miller’s blog, Journeyman: http://kinzel.livejournal.com/
Sharon Lee’s blog, Eagles over the Kennebec: http://rolanni.livejournal.com/
SRM Publisher blog: http://srmpublisher.livejournal.com/
Sharon Lee’s “Professional” blog: http://sharonleewriter.com
Splinter Universe Discussion List: http://splinterverse.livejournal.com
Facebook Connections — please feel free to add us!
http://facebook.com/kinzel — Steve Miller
http://facebook.com/rolanni — Sharon Lee
Liaden Interest Groups on Facebook
Clan Korval: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38719490864&ref=ts
Friends of Liad: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=16280839259&ref=ts
Flaran chamenthi: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=2213414696&ref=ts
GoodReads
Sharon’s Author Page:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/57980.Sharon_Lee
*Steve’s on Twitter*: http://twitter.com/bechimo
*Sharon’s on Twitter, too*: http://twitter.com/ClanKorval
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, to unsubscribe from the Liaden Universe® email list, or to change your delivery email address, go here: http://www.fireopal.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/liadenuniversenews
–30–
The full and complete Boskone Schedule, as of February 9, is now available for your perusal here
The Lee and Miller bits are as follows:
Thursday
Pre-Boskone Warm-Up Book Signing, Pandemonium Books, 7-9 p.m.
Saturday
Friends of Liad Breakfast, Saucity, 8 am
Reading, Lewis, 10-10:30: Sharon Lee
Reading, Lewis, 10:30-11: Steve Miller
Liaden Universe® Panel, Burroughs, 1-2: Guy Consolmagno (M), Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Autographing, Galleria, 2-3: Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Literary Beer, Galleria, 4-5: Steve Miller and Sharon Lee
Sunday
Entitlement: What Makes a Good Title?, Griffin, 10-11: Debra Doyle, Claire Eddy, Steve Miller, Priscilla Olson, Toni Weisskopf (M)
The Art of the Sequel, Harbor II, 2-3: Elizabeth Bear, Sharon Lee
So! Exciting doin’s here at the Confusion Factory.
Yesterday, my Galaxy 7″ Tab arrived. After letting it warm up, and charging it, I turned it on and was immediately freaked out to find that! it had found the photo that I use as background on my phone and imported it for its own use. These things are getting ‘way too smart. While it was rustling around inside the phone’s brain, it also imported all of my Usual Apps, while finding the Cat Farm’s wireless network, and updating its own firmware. I still haven’t figured out how to move my elibrary over to it (part of the point of this was to be able read ebooks on it); that’ll be for today, in-between sessions with Necessity’s Child. Also definitely need to get a screen protector, else I won’t be able to see the beautiful screen through the forest of my fingerprints. Not to mention Mozart’s nose prints. He? Is convinced the new! shiny! belongs to him.
Attention Boskone Attendees!
We have received our preliminary schedules, and unless timing changes radically, we will be hosting a Friends of Liad breakfast on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. (yes, yes; but I have a reading scheduled for 10 a.m.) at Saucity, which is in the hotel. We’re assuming that they will still be offering the Saturday morning buffet breakfast with your choice of made-on-the-spot omelets. We hope to see lots of early risers. Do remember, the FoL breakfast is an informal gathering of friends; we are each responsible for paying our own check.
We are also at the moment scheduled for a Literary Beer (or, in my case, wine) on Saturday at 4 p.m. Sign-up at the con.
Also on Saturday (unless things change), we’ll be talking Liaden Universe® and Matters Astronomical with Brother Guy Consolmagno at 1 p.m.
We will of course post our final schedule when that arrives.
* *
In other news, Netflix has sent along Source Code for our viewing pleasure, since Puss ‘n Boots isn’t available yet. What other recent movies did I miss that I really ought to catch up on? Remember that my tastes run to such things as: UP, Adventures in Babysitting, Second Hand Lions, Earth Girls Are Easy, Cowboys and Aliens, Pride and Prejudice, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Thin Man, and similar uplifting cinematic experiences.
This morning, I donned the little air bladder cast and drove myself to town to do errands. I hit Staples, and the post office, and Framemakers, and the grocery store. I am now exhausted, my foot aches and has swollen a bit to register its outrage. I’ll call that a balanced outcome, I guess.
What I dislike most is that the fall, and subsequent combined zoo and circus of the sprain, has made me very, very, very timid of ice and snow. Living in Maine as I do, this is not a good thing. But the reality of things is that I cannot afford to fall again, and knowing that makes me tense. And, yanno, more likely to fall.
Have to work on that, I guess.
In other news, “Intelligent Design,” and “The Space at Tinsori Light,” have been collected into eChapbook Legacy Systems: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 19, now available from the Nook store and the Kindle store . A Smashthing edition has to wait (with The Day they brought the Bears to Belfast) until I have a chunk of time to do the conversion.
We will be adding some more splinters to Splinter Universe, so watch the skies.
And now? I’m hitting the sofa with a manuscript, a red pen, a glass of ice tea and some aspirin.
What’re you doing today?