In your opinion, what is the:
Darkest Liaden book?
Lightest Liaden book?
Please show your work, by which I mean, explain your choice.
NOTE: Since the eArc of Dragon in Exile is available and some folks have read it, it may be nominated for either of the above categories. HOWEVER, since the official publication date is not yet upon us, please, if you do nominate DiE, leave a spoiler space before your explanation, out of compassion for those who wait for the retail release. Thanks.
. . .this may become relevant later.
So, I have a funny problem, which is that I can’t wear wristwatches — can’t really abide anything close around my wrists, anymore, including button-down sleeves and tight jerseys. The wristwatch thing, though, that’s been a problem for years, which I had long ago solved by purchasing clipwatches, which I would then clip to the right-hand-front-hip belt loop of my jeans/slacks.
This has, as I said, worked for many years. Except not anymore. I’ve managed to smash the face crystal on my last two watches in record time — and I don’t even know how I’m doing it. I’ll clip the watch on, go about my business, look down, the watch is fine, look down again, maybe a couple hours later, and the glass is cracked.
The first watch I did in by this magic process had been with me for some while, and was a cheap watch when I bought it. I was sad, because I liked the watch, but it’s not like it owed me anything.
The watch I just defaced, though, was barely a year old — an expensive Dakota clip with a light, that I bought on clearance, so instead of $60, it was — what? $40? I figured it would last me a good long time, being rugged and all, and, to be fair, its crystal isn’t smashed anywhere near as comprehensively as the glass over the first watch. But, still, hardly the sort of thing you want to wear out in company — and it happens that I’m going to be out in company at the end of next month, so. . .
Does anyone have a line on a clipwatch with a blast-glass crystal, or, I dunno, a cover? Any tips on how to generally protect a watch on a clip from getting smashed while in the line of duty?
In other news, Trooper has apparently decided to make a push to be Boss Cat. Let’s just say that Scrabble is not on-board with this game plan.
Thunderstorms rolled over the Cat Farm on the overnight, which meant No Eclipse for Us, but we have a consolation prize — my favorite kind of day: cloudy, blowy, damp, and oceany. Windows are open all over the house.
And, now, it’s time to get back to work.
Over in another part of the internet, a question, in several parts, has arisen, to which I used to know the answer, but it seems, like so very much else, that the Wisdom of the Internet has produced a new, and startling, answer. This happens a lot, as we get older, that what worked for us no longer works for anyone else, so this is in the nature of a reality check.
So, first, the meta-question, with my own response beneath, in parenthesis.
1. Do you need an agent?
(Well, no. You don’t need an agent. We’ve variously had agents and didn’t. When we have had representation, I’ve found it to be worth the 15% commission. In my experience, agents not only vet contracts, but they’re also on hand to make those Awkward Phone Calls, such as: “In the most recent contract, X Rights are reserved to the author, and yet you, the publisher, have now exercised those rights. We assume, of course, that this is an honest error, but, still, it needs to be addressed. How would you like to proceed?” Also, we often ask our agent for advice regarding situations we haven’t faced, and which she likely has, by reason of representing many authors. So, that.)
2. Is it “better” (as in “more cost effective”) to have a lawyer go over your contract, as opposed to an agent?
(My received wisdom is that lawyers look at publishing contracts and their heads explode, because they simply don’t know what the words mean.)
3. Will the publisher get angry with you, the author, if, after they’ve offered you a contract, you hire an agent (or a lawyer) to go over it?
(Myself, I think that a legitimate publisher would be delighted to have a pro going over their contract and dealing with the writer’s questions, rather than having to cope with that, themselves. I also think that, in the probable case of the agent/lawyer finding nothing amiss, that this finding would be the beginning of a foundation of trust between author and publisher.)
4. Would you ever not read a contract because you know that the publisher would never, ever act against your interest as an author?
(Myself, I think that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Also that good fences make good neighbors. Mistakes happen. Somebody new in the Contracts Department might send the wrong contract, for instance. It’s a pain, but — just better, all around, to read the thing and reassure yourself that your publisher loves you.)
5. I addressed this somewhat in my answer to #1 above, but — Do you feel that having an agent is actually cost-effective? Why or why not? Examples are encouraged.
. . .actually, that’s history at the boat landing.
Yesterday afternoon, for reasons too convoluted to go into here in full, save they included an exploration of the town of Gardiner, and the local grocery facilities, as well as a lightning tour of downtown, where I am pleased to report the Blue Sky Bakery bakes on. Years ago, I thought they’d last five minutes. Shows what I know.
From Gardiner, it being a gorgeous day, we drove down to Bowdoin, and came to rest, as one does, at the public boat launch. There we found large placards on easels, and large swaths of grass and parking lot marked out in orange paint.
We got out to inspect one of the placards and found it be a history of a large sailing vessel, the name of which escapes me now, which was built at Bowdoin in the 1800s, when Bowdoin had been a notable ship-building town. About that time, a gentlemen came up to us and introduced himself as being from the Bowdoin History House, and explained that the display was to illustrate Bowdoin’s history in the shipbuilding industry; the orange lines were there to demonstrate the size of each of the ships described on the placards. So, we spent a pleasant half-hour with the gentleman, learning about the ships, and how the need for ships knees had just about deforested Bowdoin and the surrounding countryside by the end of the 1800s. . .and how, yes, Maine has always survived by selling pieces of itself until there are no more pieces to sell — forests grow back eventually, and the ice industry was perfectly sustainable, but they ain’t growing any more granite on those islands we took down to the tideline. . .
Anyhow, a pleasant afternoon, and I’m glad we played hookey, even though that means doing some Serious Catch Up today.
On another topic: It transpires that we have Too Much Stuff. This isn’t actually a surprise; writers as a breed tend to accumulate books and papers at a rate that regular people find. . .rather horrifying. But we also have things. Things that people gave us; things we brought for ourselves because Reasons; stones and shells and pinecones, because I’m One of Those People who pick up rocks and pinecones and seashells and then become attached to them, and. . .long story short, we’re going to have to reduce the things.
Back in the Dark Ages, before I met Steve, I moved every year. Every. Year. And it transpires that may have been a Coping Mechanism, because you really don’t tend to accumulate much when you know you’re going to have to box it all up and shift it in 12 months. Living 23 years in one place gives one the illusion of permanence and we take on more than we need.
So, how-to questions:
I know some of my friends have had to weed their books — and of you I ask: How did you go about it? Had you a system? I also know that some of my friends have had to cull their Stuff, in some cases very quickly. I’d be interested in hearing how you decided what to keep and what to let go.
And now, I’m off to play Catch-Up.
Catch y’all later.
I’ve got a lot to do today, and I thought maybe you’d like something to do, too!
So, here you are — an essay question.
Who is your favorite character in the Carousel books so far — and why?
Remember to insert spoiler space, if you need to discuss specific scenes from the books.
See y’all on the flip side.
This is a continuation and expansion of a discussion started over on Facebook, which was kickstarted by this summary of Carousel Sun:
Urban fantasy novel, sequel to Carousel Tides (2010), about a woman who returns to a small town in Maine and becomes involved in a faerie war. (Locus Monitor — New Books, 4 February)
There are a couple of things wrong with the above. Most notably, Carousel Sun isn’t Urban Fantasy, because it takes place in Maine, and it does not take place in Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn, or Portland, which are the three “urban” areas in the whole state, according to the Federal Government.
I’m also wondering where they got this “faerie war.”
We thought we’d be OK by calling the Carousel books “contemporary fantasy,” but apparently “contemporary fantasy” means something Very Definite to some people. (To me, “contemporary fantasy” means “a fantasy story that takes place Right Now.”)
So, I’ve been giving some thought to how best to describe these books, as much in order to guide readers who would like this kind, as warn away those readers who come in thinking they’re getting A Specific Thing that the books don’t deliver. (Like, oh, “faerie wars.”)
Now, the best I can come up with as a sub-genre is “mundane fantasy.” Kate, after all, doesn’t get a free pass on anything for being Guardian — it’s Added Responsibility for which she goes uncompensated (cue Superman’s Song). Fercryinoutloud, Gaby collects returnables, and I don’t see Borgan flyin’ no yacht. Felsic’s crew — wait, do you guys have Felsic yet? Anyhow, it’s not like any of these folks are living high in the fancy condos; they’re working people, doing their jobs.
So, like I said: “mundane fantasy” or maybe “blue collar” fantasy, though there has been some concern expressed that, while these come close, they don’t quite Nail It.
Summing up, the points for discussion are:
1. What are your expectations of “contemporary fantasy”
2. If you had to tighten the classification for the Carousel books (Tides and Sun), what phrase would you use? Please try to avoid spoilers for the books.
Have at it!
AsyouknowBob, Steve and I write Space Opera, starting when it was neither popular nor profitable, and continuing to, oh, Right Now. Along the way, we’ve heard our novels described as “Military SF*,” which is where Space Opera goes to take cover when it’s out of fashion; “Adventure SF;” “Romantic SF;” “SF Romance;” “SF Lite;” and “What Do You Call This, Because it’s Not SF, Really, Is It?”
Happily, Space Opera has come ’round again on the guitar as being a recognized, if not exactly lauded, sub-genre of SF. Unhappily, there are a lot of odd ideas about what Space Opera is, which do seem to arise whenever it surfaces again as a sub-genre.
I recall, for instance, when Mr. Feintuch was still with us and writing his version of Space Opera, which was Very Bleak, and some readers (and editors, too) wouldn’t touch any thing calling itself Space Opera, because Enough With the Bleak, Already.
My personal definition of Space Opera has always been that, on some level — though, yes, we are Saving the Universe and All Like That — at some level, I say, Space Opera needs to be fun.
And, yanno, just like Real Operas, Space Opera is a place where any old unlikely thing can happen (so long as the authors make it believable, which, to be fair, isn’t always the case with Real Opera), including telepathy and all the other Psi skills, if you want them; Giant Turtles; FTL drives; Deathless Wanderers of the Star Lanes; True Love, and whatever yer havin’ yerself.
So, anyway. . .in another part of the InterTubes, someone has put forth the observation that Space Opera has drifted away from including aliens, in order to focus of the diversity of human cultures. It’s an interesting observation, and certainly we here in the Liaden Universe® celebrate the richness of human cultures. But we also celebrate the strangeness of Clutch Turtles, and of Korval’s Damned Meddling Tree. And while we didn’t exactly celebrate them, the Iloheen were certainly aliens.
However, as mentioned above, we started down this path more than a quarter-century ago.
What about newer Space Operas? Have we moved away from aliens, in favor of more human-centric stories? Or is it all in what you’re reading? And, if that’s the case, what are you reading?
Have at it.
_______
*I had the. . .surreal. . .experience of standing in an elevator with two young men at the Chicago WorldCon-but-one. And the first young man was describing this Really Cool Military SF Book he had just read. The plot, as he short-formed it, sounded Awfully Familiar, and just before they got off at their floor, the second young man asked after the title, and the first young man said, “Conflict of Honors.”
#SFWAPro
I’ve gotten a note from a long-time reader, who says that they “bought something” from Audible, expecting that they would get discs, which they could use in a CD/DVD player, and was disappointed to find that they had to listen at the desktop.
So the question for the assembled multitudes is: Is there a way to copy the Audible book to (I assume) many discs? And, if so, would you lay out the steps here so this reader can follow them?
Many Spanish Aunts.
One of the questions Laura Haywood-Cory asked us during our podcast interview the other day was, “Are there any questions that your fans would like to have answered?”
That was a good question, but, sadly, we didn’t know the answer. So! Here’s your chance to ask me, at least, that question about Liad, Archers Beach, Lee and Miller’s writing process, the upcoming book tour, &c that you’ve always wanted answered.
Post your question here (in theory, all questions will be screened, so only I will see them), and I will pick (at least) three to answer. I reserve the right to answer more, if I have the time and/or inclination.
I’ll let the questions pile up until about 6 p.m. EDT tonight, then pick my first victim.
Go!
If you’re reader of this blog (by which I mean either Eagles Over the Kennebec, on LJ, or The Blog Without a Name, at sharonleewriter.com), you obviously read at least one author’s blog.
My question to you today is: Why?
Why do you read writer’s blogs?
. . .and, Special Bonus Question:
Of the author blogs that you do read, which is your favorite — and why?
Have at it.