More Info on MOA signing, Satuday, Oct 6

Date: October 6, 2007
Time: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Place: Macy's Court, Mall of America

Booksigning and fundraiser.

Midwest Fiction Writers and Barnes & Noble come together to raise money for The Minnesota Literacy Council.

You'll want to take advantage of this rare opportunity to meet so many local authors and purchase autographed books with a portion of the sales going to The Minnesota Literacy Council. Join us on Saturday, October 6 at 5:30 in the Macy's Court of the Mall of America for this once-a-year event. Hear authors read excerpts from their books. Visit favorite authors and discover new authors. Signing will be Midwest Fiction Writers authors Judy Baer, Helen Brenna, Kathleen Eagle, Anne Frasier, Jay Gilbertson, Lois Greiman, Tate Hallaway, Michele Hauf, Emma Holly, Patti O'Shea. Joining them in this event will be local authors Sujata Massey and Kelly McCullough as well as author and creativity coach Eric Maisel.

The Sound of Writing

I posted a bit about my personal relationship with music and writing over at SF Novelists: The Sound of Writing.

So Many New Books...here's Tim Pratt's

Tuesday was a big release day in the paranormal/SF universe. My friend and colleague Tim Pratt (writing as T. A. Pratt) also has a new book out that I think y'all might like:

What was your inspiration for writing Blood Engines?

There were multiple inspirations. I’ve been writing stories about the main character, sorcerer Marla Mason, for years, and finally decided it would be tremendous fun to write a whole novel about her. The novel is also something of a love song to San Francisco, and I had a lot of fun exploring that city and its history. Plus, I’ve always been fascinated by Aztec mythology, so it was enjoyable to write a novel where the villain is a devotee of those bloody old gods. I managed to work in various other fascinations and obsessions, too: poison dart frogs, hummingbirds, Emperor Joshua Norton, snake gods, sex parties, oracles, and other nice things.

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

Stephen King is probably the biggest influence — I started reading his novels when I was eight years old! Charles de Lint and Jonathan Carroll are also huge influences. These days I like George R.R. Martin and Scott Lynch a lot.

What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?

While I enjoy reading some mimetic fiction, I get bored in my own writing if there are no gods, monsters, or miracles. I especially like contemporary fantasy, because I like the tension created by the juxtaposition of the familiar with the magical.

Why did you decide to make Marla the chief sorcerer of her own city?

In the early stories I wrote about her, Marla was dangerous because she had power without focus. In order to make her more vulnerable and sympathetic, I wanted to give her something to lose. Thus, I made her responsible for the well-being of her own city. The responsibility puts tremendous stress on her, but it also gives her a profound sense of purpose.

What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

I like to cook, read, play video games, spend time with my family and friends, take walks to the lake or the farmer’s market, and see movies. The usual things.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?/What kind of preparation do you do when you are writing?

For this book I read a lot about Aztec mythology (The Codex Chimalpopoca is no beach read, either, I’m telling you), and wound up reading a fair bit about San Francisco’s history, too (I would especially recommend Tom Cole’s A Short History of San Francisco — it’s smart, accessible, and, well, short.) The only preparation I do for writing is making sure I’m sufficiently caffeinated.

Marla loves kicking ass. Is that your favorite thing too?

I haven’t been in a fight since junior high. I’d rather have a war of words than fists anyway.

What are you writing now?

I’m working on the fourth book in the Marla Mason series, Grift Sense — having already written book 2, Poison Sleep, and book 3, Dead Reign. The books are being released six months apart, so getting all the books written in time is sort of a marathon that’s also a sprint, and sprinting a marathon? That’s hard on the system. But I’m still having tons of fun.

Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?

I always knew I wanted to be a writer, for as long as I can remember. (I wanted to be other things, too — an actor, a rock star, an artist, a chef.) But writing was always there, and I’ve been doing it steadily since at least third grade. (I think learning to write in cursive was a turning point for me!) As for how I got where I am now… sheer persistence. I write, I send stuff out, I write some more. Writing, at this point, is as necessary and familiar as eating and sleeping.

What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?

I have no typical day. I have one day a week off from my day job — Wednesdays — and tend to do most of my writing then. In the morning I spend a couple of hours doing freelance non-fiction work. Then I have lunch, take a walk, think about my story, and come home and write fiction for a few hours. Though if I’m up against a deadline, I just write pretty much every chance I get — before work, after work, on lunch breaks, late at night.

Where do you write?

Mostly at my desk in my office, which is in fact a tiny little nook just off the kitchen. If I’m feeling stir-crazy I’ll walk down to a cafe and write longhand there.

What is easiest/hardest for you as a writer?

I like writing first drafts, because that’s where the fun and excitement is, though in truth I’ve started to really enjoy revision in recent years — it’s not the white heat of creation, but it’s a fun and challenging exercise in craft. As for what’s hardest… all the business stuff. Copyedits. Proofreading a book I’ve already read ten times and am thoroughly sick of looking at.

What is the purpose of fantasy/science fiction, if any?

I’m not sure SF/Fantasy has a particular purpose that’s different from the purpose(s) of all literature, which are variously to edify, to entertain, and to illuminate the human condition. Though if pressed I might just quote G.K. Chesterton: “Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be defeated.”

Just Show Up

Last night in writing class at the Loft, I passed on this amazing bit of wisdom to make writing easier:

"Just show up."

The idea being that if you make a special time for writing (Stephen King in his book On Writing suggests that it be a consistant time, say: every night at 7:00 pm, for instance) writing becomes easier. King says that showing up at the same time and place helps your Muse "know where to find you." As silly as that might sound, I think he's got a point. If you know that the time you've set aside for writing is FOR WRITING and you get in the habit of doing it, it becomes easier and easier to get words down on paper/screen.

The big problem with this advice is that, lately, I can't seem to take it.

Oh, I show up, all right. I've got my laptop out, coffee in hand, and... then I surf the internet for an hour and a half. Plus, I don't know if it's something astrological or what, but I can't seem to get anything of substance done. Last few days have been a whole series of stupid, annoying events that have kept me from concentrating on anything, much less writing.

I'm also beginning to think that I'm going to have to start writing at home, away from an easy wireless connection. (The neighbors actually have wireless that I can often hop on to, but to get it, I have to sit in a particular room.)

I'm actually quite excited about the new novel (DEAD IF I DO) because... well, I don't want to spoil anything, but Teresa, Sebasitan's not-quite-dead wife/betrothed shows up. Hillarity ensues. And I love writing the funny, which is why this block is particularly frustrating.

*sigh*

What? I should go write? What, now?

Yeah....

Bargain Prices at B&N Again

I supect that anyone coming to this site has probably already bought a copy of my first novel, Tall, Dark & Dead, but in case you haven't (or you know someone you'd like to buy one for). They are on ridiculous mark-down at B&N again, selling for a mere $4.98.

There are shipping costs, of course, and these books are often scuffed or otherwise marked, but... well, it's a heckuva deal, as we say here in Minnesota.

Interview: Kelly McCullough

Full disclosure: Kelly McCullough is a fellow Wyrdsmiths. However, I think he's a great guy and a great author and he has a new book coming out today that I'd love y'all to check out, even though it's not especially romantic (though it is urban fantasy). Here's an interview with him to help get you interested:

What was your inspiration for writing Cybermancy?

There are a number of reasons I wanted to write this. First, I wanted to write something else in the WebMage universe (this was before WebMage sold) because I really like hanging out with these fun, funny characters, and I love the world. Second, there was unfinished business left over from WebMage, most notably Shara's injury/death which happens off screen. Finally, and maybe most important for the arc of this book, the Persephone myth has always made me terribly angry. Here is a young goddess who is condemned to be eternally bound to her abductor and rapist, Hades the god of the dead. It's appalling and the injustice of it something that I found that I really wanted to write about.

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

I was raised on Tolkien and Asimov and Shakespeare, and I still love them all, particularly the Lord of the Rings, Richard III and a Midsummer Night's Dream. I discovered Roger Zelazney and H. Beam Piper when I was a little older, and Zelazney is certainly one of my strongest influences. My favorite writer as a writer myself is probably Tim Powers. I always learn something when I reread him.

What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?

The fact that the genre puts no limits on my creativity. What I'm most drawn to as a writer is world. I love to invent whole worlds with their own internal logic and rules, and realistcally where else do you have to scope to do that? I also love both as a reader and a writer the sense of being taken completely out of the here and now.

Why did you decide to make Ravirn a hacker/sorcerer?

I started the WebMage series from the idea of a magical internet that tied worlds together like webpages and used code for spells. If I wanted to really explore that concept in depth I needed someone who could do more than just use the magical equivalent of web-browser, I needed someone who really understood how the coding worked. That meant a hacker and in the context of the world I was writing, that automatically made him a sorcerer too.

What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

Well, writing really is near the top of my list for play as well as being my job. I really enjoy sitting down to work every day. But I also love walking and biking with my wife. I'm an avid videogamer, mostly role-playing stuff like Final Fantasy, but also puzzle games and stuff like Ratchet and Clank, all of which I play with my wife. Like most writers, I'm an avid reader, though more non-fiction than fiction these days.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?/What kind of preparation do you do when you are writing?

I didn't need to do an enormous amount of new research for Cybermancy, since it's the second book in a series. I did do a refresher on my general Greek Mythology and especially on the details of Hades and the Persephone story. I also have to constantly update my computer knowledge base, but that's just part of my ongoing non-fiction reading. I really do more general research than I do specific stuff for any given book. As a part of being a writer I try to have at least a couple of serious non-fiction books going along with keeping up general and scientific news. That's probably a good two hours of every day, often more and part of what I think of as my job.

Ravirn loves hacking and cracking. Is that your favorite activity too?

Actually no, I'm aware of programming and hacking (my mother's a computer geek as are a number of my close friends), but I've never been much interested in the mechanics of how my computer works.

In Cybermancy, Ravirn finds himself breaking into Hades to bring back a dead friend in the mode of Orpheus. How do you put yourslef in situations like that as a writer to try to make them believable?

It's tough sometimes. Ravirn is stronger faster and more durable than I am. Many of the things he attempts would pretty much kill me. On the other hand, since he's a figment of my imagination and hence only a part of me, I like to think I'm smarter. I also get to manipulate the world he lives in to make things harder or easier as seems appropriate. The other thing to remember is that believable and real are not necessarily the same things. There are all sorts of things that happen in fantastic fiction that are completely unreal but believable in the context of the imagined world. There's a shorter answer and maybe I should have given this first: I really like playing make-believe.

What are you writing now?

Two things actively, with a third hovering off to one side. My main project is MythOS which is the fourth book in the WebMage series and will be out in 2009. I'm also writing the first book in a new contemporary fantasy series. I was really inspired by a recent trip to Halifax and this book is the result of that trip. I'm trying to get the first three chapters down while the experience is still fresh. It's kind of a reward. Once I've got my WebMage done for the day (never less than 1,000 words) it's kind of fun to play with some other characters. I've also got the second book in YA fantasy set in World War II that I've been playing with. The first book went to my agent a few months ago, and I really love the idea, but I promised myself not to start until I've finished MythOS.

Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?

No. If you'd asked me what I wanted to be when I was between the age of 11-22 I'd have said an actor or a stunt man or maybe set designer. My degree is theater and I grew up on and around the stage. But then I met the woman who I would later marry and realized that between the hours and the travel, theater wasn't entirely compatible with having a happy home life. At about that same time I got my first computer. One day I was kind of trying to figure out what I could do with my life if I gave up theater, and it occurred to me that it might be fun to writer a novel. So I did. I'm no working on 12th and 13th and I've never looked back.

What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?

On a good day I get up around 8:00, hop on the treadmill and use my laptop to read the news while I put in 3-5 miles. Then breakfast and a shower and off to my office for 5-8 hours of writing time. I do that five days a week with occasional variations for research days, editing, dealing with promotion, that kind of thing.

Where do you write?

In summer I work in a second floor screen porch overlooking a really lovely park in the small town where I live. In winter I sit in our south-facing TV room and soak up the sunshine reflecting off the wood floors. That's the routine, but I'll write anywhere and have, including tucked into a corner at the Air and Space Museum in D.C., on planes, in coffee shops, etc. My real office is my laptop.

What is easiest/hardest for you as a writer?

The easiest thing is world. My brain is really wired to create large-scale magical systems and the historical structures that go with them. Hardest is character. I'm not a natural character writer and I've really worked hard to get where I am with it.

This isn't you first book, tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

Right now, it's really only WebMage and some short stories in various magazines and anthologies-a couple of those are available for free reads at my website, kellymccullough.com. I've also got a collection of hard science fiction short stories in an illustrated collection called Chronicles of the Wandering Star, but that only available to teachers since it's part of a middle-school science curriculum. The funny thing about that is that since it's in a number of large school systems, probably more people have read that than all my other stuff combined despite the fact that you can't really buy it.

What is the purpose of fantasy/science fiction, if any?

Two things really. One is true of both F&SF and Fantasy, the other is true of SF alone. The first, to carry us out of ourselves. I think one of the greatest services fiction does is to allow you to be someone else someplace else for a while. It allows you to transcend the day-to-day and that's really important for the human psyche. The second, to explicate and advocate reason and science. The methodology that is science is one of humanity's most powerful tools and SF is the fiction of science. It can both generate a sense of wonder in the reader about subjects scientific and put those same subjects into story which can help a reader make sense of the ideas.

"Best Book Ever" Says Author's Mother

I used to have a silly fantasy about getting a cool cover quote from a really famous author that read, "Doesn't suck," Stephen King, author of LATEST NOVEL and "Couldn't get enough of it! By far the best book in the entire world," Rita Hallaway, Mother of Author. But, you know, my sense of humor doesn't sell books....

My question is: do cover quotes?

I will admit that sometimes a good cover quote will help put a book over the top for me. However, I've usually gotten pretty far with a book if I'm reading the cover quotes. I already have in my hand either because the title or the cover intrigued me or the book was shelved under "managers' hard SF picks!" or someone --usually my partner -- handed me the book and said, "Check this out."

I'm also on the look out for what I call "suspect" blurbs. You know the ones that don't really say anything or say things that could be construed as a subtle slam, ala (and this a real quote I found once) "No one writes quite like [blank]." My partner who read the book in question later said she figured what famous author must have meant was "No one writes quite as badly as [blank]." I'm also nervous of any quote that has too many ellipses, ala "This book... number one... fabulous!" Makes you wonder if the original read "This book [is no where near] number one; [it's so bad that I wonder why anyone would call it] fabulous!"

Yet, my editor gets really excited about cover quotes. I met MaryJanice Davidson (author of UNDEAD AND UNWED) at MBA, a booksellers' trade show and introduced myself as a fellow Berkley author with a new vampire book coming out. I asked her if it would be okay for my editor to send her my book for potential blurb. When I told my editor, she was thrilled -- and doubly so when a very positive quote came back. My editor also updated me weekly with the various paranormal romance superstars that agreed to blurb me. Clearly, for her, getting these kinds of quotes was extremely important to the selling of my book.

Personally, I'm a bit unconvinced, if only because people have used *me* to sell books. I read and blurbed a great book called WISH CLUB by Kim Strickland. But, given how new I am to the romance field, who on earth thinks anything I might say about a book would help sell it?

And what about that? Do you ever get turned off a book because you've never read the author who blurbed the book (or find out that the quote comes from a writing spouse)?

So You Finished DEAD SEXY...

...and you're looking for something like it to read next? May I make a suggestion? Why don't you try Mindy Klasky's Sorcery and the Single Girl?

Here's a short interview with her to whet your appetite:

What was your inspiration for writing SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL?

When I wrote GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT, my theme song should have been "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". That book was completely light and fluffy, a fun escape from a busy work week, family commitments, etc. When I had the opportunity to write another Jane Madison story, I wanted to dig a little deeper - to look at the decisions that we make with regard to friends and jobs, the tough calls that force us to decide what is important to us. (I wasn't willing to give up on the fun, though :-) )

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

When I was growing up, I read a lot of classic fantasy - J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and Anne McCaffrey?. I devoured Patricia McKillip?'s books, and I practically memorized every word of Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series.

Now, I read much more broadly, alternating between genre fiction for fun (my favorites in the past year have been Scott Westerfeld's UGLIES/PRETTIES/SPECIALS trilogy) and literary fiction for musing(most recently, Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN). I also read a lot of non-fiction, especially popular non-fiction on narrow topics, like COD and SALT.

What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?

I've always enjoyed the sense of possibility in speculative fiction, the ability to explore other ways of thinking, other ways of being. Even as my own writing has shifted from classic fantasy (SEASON OF SACRIFICE and the Glasswright Series) to paranormal romance, I've continued to draw on the Sense of Wonder that first addicted me to reading.

Why did you decide to make Jane Madison a librarian?

I work as a librarian in my day-job, managing seven libraries for a fourteen-office nationwide law firm. In the course of that job, I've met hundreds of librarians who live fascinating lives. Yet, in the eyes of the public, librarians are still the people who say "shhhhh". I wanted to write about Jane Madison to make people realize that there's a lot more out there beyond the stereotype.

What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

I spend a lot of time watching baseball - I married into Red Sox fandom. To justify the time I spend in front of the television, I quilt - entirely hand-pieced and hand-quilted wall hangings, with a bias toward traditional patchwork patterns.

What kind of preparation do you do when you are writing?

When I start a novel, I create a spreadsheet. One column lists, in a few sentences, what happens in each chapter. The other columns track the number of pages, the number of words, and the date that the chapter was last modified.

When I'm ready to start writing, I just roll up my sleeves and go. I conduct a fair amount of spot research as I'm working. My characters tend to be much more fashion conscious than I am; I often need to check the name of a designer or a color of make-up. I also find myself regularly tracking down the qualities of various crystals and plants -- the essential "props" for Jane's witchcraft.

Jane and her best friend, Melissa, quote Shakespeare to each other frequently. Are you a fan of Shakespeare?

For years, I've held season tickets to the Shakespeare Theater in Washington, D.C. They do a phenomenal job with their productions -- even when the plays are not my favorite (and they present a wide range of classical theater, not just Shakespeare), their sets, costumes, and lighting design are spectacular. I used to stage manage plays in college, and Jane's love of Shakespeare brings that avocation back to me.

If you were Jane Madison, and you discovered that you were a witch, what would you do?

I probably wouldn't handle the situation a whole lot more gracefully than Jane does. She reaches out to her best friend right away. I would probably try to keep my powers a secret for as long as possible, because I'd always sort of worry, in the very back of my mind, that I was absolutely, totally, completely insane.

What are you writing now?

I'm hard at work on the third novel in Jane's series, MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL (which will be in bookstores in October 2008). After that, I have a new series for Red Dress Ink, about a stage manager who discovers a genie in a magic lantern.

Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?

When I was in seventh grade, my best friend and I decided that we would spend our spring break writing a sequel to the LORD OF THE RINGS. (Oddly enough, we didn't get it finished in nine days.) I learned, though, that I loved creating characters, building their personalities and then tossing them into challenging situations. I wrote off and on all through high school but fell away from writing in college. When I started law school, though, I was desperate for something to balance the dry cases that I was reading. I wrote my first published novel while I was working as a trademark and copyright litigator at a major law firm. Eventually, I quit practicing law to become a librarian (in part, so that I would have more time to write!)

What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?

In a perfect world, I wake up each morning at 6:00, work out until 7:00, write until 8:00, then eat breakfast, shower, and get ready for work. (I have to be in the office by 9:30.)

In the real world, I travel a lot for my day-job, and publicity and promotion tend to sponge up my weekly writing time. I usually set aside one or both days of the weekend to write for three or four straight hours. When deadlines are approaching, I forfeit a week of vacation from the day-job, using the nine days (work-week, plus two weekends) to pound out around 35,000 words (approximately a third of a novel.)

Where do you write?

I have a home office on the ground floor of my three-story townhouse. I sit at a desk that I bought at IKEA about 15 years ago; it looks like leftover hardware from the space shuttle, but it has the best ergonomics of any computer desk I've ever used. I use a five-year-old Dell desktop computer, running Windows XP, and I write using WordPerfect? 10. I keep an Excel spreadsheet to track my story outline.

(When I'm traveling, all bets are off - I write on a hotel bed, on a couch, on a chaise lounge, wherever I can find a surface to balance the laptop I'm using -- which might be my own, a friend's, or a loaner.)

What is easiest/hardest for you as a writer?

I have a very difficult time starting a new chapter - the blank screen intimidates me, and I find a hundred and one excuses to keep from writing. (I have forbidden myself from playing FreeCell?, and I had to remove Tetris from my computer entirely.)

I love editing chapters that are already drafted - I truly enjoy reviewing the flow of the language. On my final pass of editing, I read everything out loud, so that I can make sure the sound is as close to perfect as I can make it.

This isn't your first book, tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

I have six traditional fantasy novels - SEASON OF SACRIFICE (a stand-alone novel about twins who are kidnapped from their medieval fishing village and taken to an inland town, where they are expected to participate in a terrifying religious ceremony) and the Glasswrights Series (GLASSWRIGHTS' APPRENTICE, GLASSWRIGHTS' PROGRESS, GLASSWRIGHTS' JOURNEYMAN, GLASSWRIGHTS' TEST, and GLASSWRIGHTS' MASTER.) The series tells the story of Rani Trader, an apprentice in the stained glass makers' guild who witnesses a murder and is accused of being the killer. She's forced to go under cover in her society's strict castes to unmask the true assassin.

I also have one other paranormal romance, the first of Jane Madison's stories, GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT. It's about a librarian who finds out that she's a witch. But you probably knew that already :-)

What is the purpose of fantasy/science fiction, if any?

Different genre publications have different purposes. Some are truly written to entertain, to take us away from the cares and worries of our daily lives. Others are written as cautionary tales, to warn us about the dangers of politics, of science, of society, of whatever. Still others are written as elegies, reminding us of great men and woman, of leaders who may have never lived. The best genre fiction combines many (or all) of these functions.

Part of the purpose of the Jane Madison books is to raise money for First Book - www.firstbook.org - a national charity with the mission of giving underprivileged children their first books to own. I donate 10% of my profits on both GIRL'S GUIDE and SORCERY to First Book.

Reality Check

If anyone is interested in hearing a no-nonsense approach to the realities of making money in science fiction, read Eleanor Arnason's post over at Wyrdsmiths', "Money."

October Events

My "mainframe" at home had a small meltdown, so it may be a while before I can update my webpage. So, I wanted to post a notice about my up-coming October events:

Saturday, October 6, 2007 starting at 5:30 pm at the Mall of America, I will be part of a mega-author signing which is part of the Midwest Fiction Writers' Fall Harvest Workshop. The precise venue has not been nailed down yet, so I would suggest calling the MoA's Barnes & Noble for further information: 952-854-1455

Friday, October 12, 2007 from 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm I'll be taking part in the Augsburg College Alumni/ea Reunion and Reading. The reading will be in Lindell 301 on the Augsburg College campus: 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454. For more information call: 612-330-1000. They will have copies of my recent books, including (I hope) Many Bloody Returns, as I'm currenly planning on reading an excerpt from the story that appeared in there, "Fire and Ice and Linguine for Two."

You Say Sci-Fi, I Say SF: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off...

My knee hurts this morning after having fallen out of bed last night. Sheesh.

Also, as I half promised my class last night, I thought of something I wanted to talk more about this morning. I alluded to the fact that the term "sci-fi" is considered derogatory by some science fiction fans and writers. I found a bit of a wikipedia article about the kerfuffle:

Forrest J. Ackerman publicly used the term "sci-fi" at UCLA in 1954, though Robert A. Heinlein had used it in private correspondence six years earlier. As science fiction entered popular culture, writers and fans active in the field came to associate the term with low-budget, low-tech "B-movies" and with low-quality pulp science fiction. By the 1970s, critics within the field such as Terry Carr and Damon Knight were using "sci-fi" to distinguish hack-work from serious science fiction, and around 1978, Susan Wood and others introduced the pronunciation "skiffy." Peter Nicholls writes that "SF" (or "sf") is "the preferred abbreviation within the community of sf writers and readers." David Langford's monthly fanzine Ansible includes a regular section "As Others See Us" which offers numerous examples of "sci-fi" being used in a pejorative seen by people outside the genre.

I grew up in an era (70s/80s) where using the term "sci-fi" was still considered gauche in the circle of "serious" writers and fans. I think, however, as I said in class, this is changing. This may be because of an influx of younger, media-savvy fans/readers. As this snippet from Scifipedia suggests...

"Over the years, Sci Fi's meaning in popular culture has changed to refer almost exclusively to movies and TV with science fiction genre-related themes. Among some in fandom, the term is often used in a derogatory and dismissive way. Some purposely mispronounce the term as "skiffy" and use it to refer to poor quality science fiction and fantasy. Many committed Science Fiction readers refuse to use the term at all, preferring the more generic initialism, "SF."

...the term has been co opted by the media, and thus has fallen into much more regular use. In my opinion, the use of "sci-fi" no longer stigmatizes the user as a "mundane" (non-initiate into science fiction fandom/prodom).

What do you think? Which term do you prefer or do you not have a preference? Is it a matter of po-tato, poh-tato to you?

Teachin' and Dreamin'

Do you ever have reoccuring dreams?

I have a lot of them. But, because I periodically teach writing at the Loft, I have a cyclical teaching dream. Usually, it involves what I would call classic dream tropes: I'm lost, I can't the classroom, I was supposed to be teaching months ago, the bus is late/my car has no brakes, etc., etc.

Last night, I had the weirdest twist on my usual teaching dream. In the dream, I showed up to class with my syllabus and a cheery attitude, but I quickly discovered that everyone taking the class knew each other from an on-line group. They had even appointed a specific woman to be the "moderator" for the class and she started handing out syllabus that the on-line group had created. Of course, the things on their list I knew nothing about... I specifically remember that I was supposed to lecture on the topic of "children in science fiction." Anyway, when I tried to gain some control over the class and suggest some compromises between my plans and their, the moderator woman got in a huff and basically organized a walk-out.

Am I worried about class tonight, Dr. Frued? What do you think?

Oh, and if you're local and you suddenly want to take my class, you can still sign up. Here's a link to the details: Mars Needs Writers.

Great Writing Resource

My fellow Wyrdsmith, Kelly McCullough painstakingly dug through the "snarkives" over at the now defunct "Miss Snark" literary agent blog for the good stuff. He's made an annotated index over on our site called: The Truly Gargantuan Miss Snark Index Post

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If you're serious about learning the business of writing, I think this is a great place to start.

Interview with Me

Romance Author Kelly Kirch interviewed both me and my alternate personality in Featured Author: Lyda Morehouse/Tate Hallaway on her blog.

Oh, and I just found out some amazing news.... MANY BLOODY RETURNS debuted at #30 on (drum roll, please) The New York Times Bestseller List. Hello? I, uh, could totally die happy now.

Quick Re-Direct: SF Novelist

My alter-ego posted over at SF Novelist about my theories that "writers live a solitary life" are a bunch of bunk. It's called "The Solitary Act."

Prologues and Epilogues

I wrote this in response to a conversation started over at Wyrdsmiths:

Generally, I would be classified as a lazy reader. I always skip poems, snippets of musical lyrics, famous or imaginary quotes, or anything in italics that isn’t a place name or a date in front of “the good stuff,” i.e. the beginning of the action/meat of the first chapter.

In addition to being lazy, I also have a relatively low threshold for a science fiction fan for those things that might distract or confuse me. Thus, I’m leery of anything that smacks of a prologue that takes place hundreds or thousands of years before the main story, especially if it goes on for more than a couple of paragraphs. (I make the distinction “for a science fiction fan,” because I will actually give a book a fair amount of time before I expect things to make sense -- even as many as fifteen pages -- which I think long outlasts a lot of “mundane” readers who are unfamiliar with our genre.)

When I teach, I warn my students that there are plenty of readers out there exactly like me. You can’t count on your readers’ patience, particularly if that reader is an editor. My advice is always to work what you can into the story as backfill or flashbacks.

That being said, it was my editor who suggested that I highlight the main source of personal conflict (a face off with secret Vatican witch hunters that resulted in our heroine calling down the goddess Lilith for some serious smack down) in a *gasp* prologue. I fought it, but, in the end, I think she was right. It was a very concise way of getting out the information without having to continually interrupt the flow of the narrative to explain, ala “previously on ER.” I still worry that people may have skipped it. I did my best to make it short and action-packed, but… well; you never can tell just how lazy some readers will be. Keeping my own personal capacity for laziness in mind, however, I did repeat the information in smaller bits throughout the narrative where it was appropriate to do that.

Epilogues are something I’ve also only ever committed once. Well, okay, technically twice, but as the first time was on a trunk novel of mine, I don’t think it should count. In that case, too, it was a wrap-up scene in a stand-alone novel. It made sense to do that sort of “where are they now” scene to show, well, where everyone had ended up after the dust had settled.

I put an epilogue at the end of my third Garnet Lacey book for a couple of reasons. The main reason was that I wanted a quick way for the reader to see just how serious Garnet was about the personal transformation she’d gone through in the novel. The chapter ending was a crescendo on a mega-level; the epilogue was an ending on a micro one. And, this being a romance, it was also the more personal resolution. The second reason was that I really wanted to bring back a couple of characters that I’d thrown in for fun and have their earlier appearance gain more resonance (so I could possibly have them show up in future novels in the series, too.) Plus, I wanted to end on a funny note, which I couldn’t do in the resolution of the final battle, as it were.

The epilogue was also my attempt to come up with a solution for my previous problem with endings, which I wrote about here. I have a tendency to get to the end of the action and screech to a full stop, forgetting that the reader needs time to process everything that happened. E. B. White (in Charlotte’s Web) taught me about the benefits of the long goodbye. I suspect, had I had more to say, I simply would have made that last bit its own chapter, but as it came out only a few pages long, I decided to label it an epilogue.

As a reader, I have mixed feelings. As lazy as I am, I *always* read epilogues. But do I like them? I do when they provide this kind of secondary good-bye that I refer to above, and/or where there’s extra or tangential resolution that needs to be addressed that just didn’t fit in the big final showdown/reveal/whatever. As a set up for a next book or as a kind of a teaser, ala, in a horror book, a final image of the mummy peering down at our heroes? Not so much. I like to know that the ending is the ending, even if it’s in a series, and I’d feel cheated by an ending that seemed to only be there as a teaser for more to come or as a Lady and the Tiger ending.

Just a note about endings in general: take heed, gentle writer. If you end a book in a cliffhanger there are readers, like my partner, who, after tossing the book across the room with a strangled war cry, will write your name down on a list of “authors never to buy again.” (My partner lives and dies by her lists. If you’re lucky enough to be on the alphabetized one kept in her wallet, she will buy everything she finds by you.) Yes, this is even in a book clearly labeled Book One of the Such-and-Such Series, because my partner reads fast enough that leaving a character in a life and death situation is only acceptable if the next book is already sitting on her bedside. Making someone wait a year just to "turn the page" is cruel and unusual punishment in her mind.

I guess my final word about epilogues and prologues is as simple as something my mother once told me: everything in moderation.

New Review: Many Bloody Returns

This one from Romance Reviews Today

MANY BLOODY RETURNS: Tales of Birthdays with Bite – Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner, Editors
Ace (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0-441-01522-1
September 2007
Anthology – Paranormal Fiction

I don’t know about the rest of you in reader land, but I’ve always had a fascination for vampires and other things that go bump in the night. Imagine my delight when I received an anthology about one of my favorite subjects – vampires. To make things even better, some of my very favorite authors are included in this anthology. Well, vampires, birthdays, and my favorite authors combined were guaranteed to make this a great read for me, but an unexpected bonus is that I was able to read short stories by authors I’ve long considered trying – such as Jim Butcher. Come along with me and get a glimpse of some of the dark, sexy and sometimes deadly creatures created by thirteen outstanding authors.

Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris takes place in the world of Sookie Stackhouse. In this little vignette, it’s Dracula’s birthday -- yes the original vampire -- and Eric Northman the big, bad and scary Viking vampire and one time lover of Sookie is throwing a birthday bash to end all bashes -- all with the hope that Dracula will show up. Eric is like a kid at Christmas, and his eager enthusiasm has Sookie a little worried. Dracula Night is classic Harris -- with all the angst, humor and…dare I say… blood her fans have come to love.

The Mournful Cry of the Owls is a tale brought to us by Chris Golden and is eerily entertaining. A little strange but completely fascinating tale of a young woman’s coming of age -- and the truth about herself that she is soon to learn. Readers are sure to want to read more from this author.

Told in the first person, I Was a Teenaged Vampire is a well written, if rather pointless tale by Bill Crider. It tells the story of how one young man’s quest to grant his sister’s birthday wish (so she won’t beat him up) changes his life in ways he could never have imagined.

Twilight by Kelley Armstrong takes place in the world of her Women of the Other World series and features the vampire Cassandra and the anniversary, or birthday, of her death and new life as a vampire. A somewhat sad tale that will have readers wondering what the future holds for Cassandra, Twilight is one of my favorite stories in the anthology.

From well know author Jim Butcher, we have a tale from the Dresden Files featuring the wizard Harry and his vampire brother Thomas. In It’s My Birthday Too, it’s Thomas’s birthday, and Harry has to track him down to give him his gift. Unfortunately, he finds more than just Thomas at the mall -- he finds a crazed vampire and a store full of innocent young people who need protection. Wow! This was an amazing little story that has made me decide I definitely want to read Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series -- now if I can only find the time!

In Grave-Robbed by P.N. Elrod, vampire Jack Flemming comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress, or the damsel’s sister at any rate. Jack is determined to stop the charlatan medium from tormenting the young widow -- and from robbing any more graves. A fast and short story set in the late 1930s, Grave Robbed is an entertaining piece of fiction.

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life by author Rachel Caine is the story of how Eve Rosser celebrates her eighteenth birthday and declares herself emancipated from the vampire protector of her family. Unfortunately, now she is just fresh meat and fair game for any vampire who can catch her. A terrific short story that is sure to wet readers' appetites for the other books by Ms. Caine -- I know I’ll be looking for them!

The Witch and the Wicked by Jeanne C. Stein is a very different tale about Sophie, a caterer who is also a witch. Sophie’s decision to change careers after her latest client goes up in flames is understandable. But her decision to mix the ashes of a recently deceased vampire (the candles on his birthday cake, made by Sophie, lit him up like a Christmas tree) in her face creams does more than just make her look twenty years younger. This tale could also be called “Be Careful What You Wish For.”

Blood Wrapped by Tanya Huff is the tale of a wizard and vampire who are experts at finding missing people. When a little girl is abducted from her yard, Henry and Tony are determined to find and save her before harm befalls her. A suspenseful tale by a very talented author.

The Wish by Carolyn Haines is the tale of one woman’s tragic loss and her battle with the spectra of death. After years of wishing for death, Sandra has changed her mind. Death has visited Sandra before with tragic consequences -- now Sandra is determined that her fate will not be decided for her -- she alone will determine her fate. A truly remarkable tale, The Wish will leave you wiping away a tear or two.

Fire, Ice and Linguini for Two by Tate Hallaway brings readers a brief glimpse into the lives of Garnet Lacey and Sebastian Von Traum, from the Garnet Lacey series. It’s Sebastian’s birthday, and even though Sebastian believes his birthday is a curse, Christmas Day, Garnet is determined to prove him wrong. Unfortunately, after their car breaks down on the highway and a storm blows in, Garnet and Sebastian find themselves in the clutches of a nasty weather demon. A fun and humorous tale with an edge of darkness, this little story is a treat.

In Vampire Hours by Elaine Viets, a woman, Katherine, knows that her marriage is over. But she doesn’t want to face it. If she confronts Eric about the affairs she knows he’s been having, she is afraid he’ll divorce her and she’ll end up like so many of her friends. With no skills and little education, she fears she’ll never make it on her own. But sometimes, a woman has no choice, and when a tall, dark and handsome stranger offers Katherine the gift of immortality and the opportunity for vengeance -- what do you think she will do? They say a woman scorned is a deadly enemy -- if that woman happens to also be a vampire, tarts and faithless husbands beware.

How Stella Got Her Grave Back by Toni L.P. Kelner is an intriguing tale about a woman searching for...well, her grave. But it’s more than that. Stella left home a vampire when she was eighteen years old and she’s never been back. But this year, for her birthday, she wants to visit her hometown and her grave. Imagine Stella’s surprise when she finds that her marker is missing and a Jane Doe is buried in her place. Stella and her vampire lover, Mark, decide to find out if they can discover the identity of the Jane Doe and have her removed from Stella’s grave. Stella wants her grave back, but she also wants to help Jane Doe get home. An intriguing tale by an author who is new to me, I enjoyed this short story very much and will be looking forward to reading more from Toni L.P. Kelner.

Thirteen tales, each with a birthday and vampire theme, MANY BLOODY RETURNS is an anthology no paranormal fan should miss. From the sad and poignant The Wish to the truly bizarre The Mournful Cry of Owls, each story is entertaining and engaging. Whether you’ve read these authors in the past, or they are new to you, I guarantee that this anthology is the perfect book to read while contemplating your “to be read pile,” Who knows, you may be just as inspired to search out new authors as I am.

Terrie Figueroa

New Review Dead Sexy

This is from Bibliogramma (LJ):

Dead Sexy, Tate Hallaway

This is the second of Tate Hallaway’s supernatural romance novels, featuring the adventures of Garnet Lacey, witch on the run with a penchant for getting tangled up with vampire lovers, vengeance goddesses, and just plain wonderfully weird shit.

Garnet is trying to live quietly in Madison, Wisconsin, following the murder of all the members of her coven by a Vatican hit squad, and Garnet’s overshadowing by the goddess Lilith – who promptly took out the Vatican assassins. But it’s hard to hide that many bodies forever, and now the FBI is looking for her for questioning. And if that wasn’t bad enough, suddenly the town is just crawling with zombies – and you know that’s always bad news.

Hallaway – who is actually the alter-ego of Lyda Morehouse, author of the Archangel Protocol books – has a delightfully light touch that carries the reader through twists and turns of plot as Garnet tries to keep the FBI agent from finding out too much, deal with the zombie invasion, and keep current lover Sebastian from finding out that she’s letting former lover Parrish crash in her storage locker.

Dead Sexy is quick-paced, cleverly tongue-in-cheek (what else can you call a book that opens with a zombie buying a copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Voodoo - with counterfeit cash?) and a hell of a fun read.

Embarrased by Romance... What?

Over at SF Novelists, there's a really interesting blog by Jackie Kessler about what happens when you discover that cool novel everyone is talking about is shelved in the (*gasp*) romance section called You Shelved it... Where?

I wrote a comment (actually my alter ego did) amounting to the fact that I understand why someone might have felt embarrassed to go into the romance section years ago, but I don't get it any more. I was just at my hometown B&N last weekend standing in the romance section looking at books. There was a surprising amount of erotica with some fairly racy covers, but they're not the kinds of covers that used to make me cringe -- you know the ones with, well, Fabio looking down some babe's cleavage. Now there's a lot more photographic covers (some that still make me blush, but in a TOTALLY different way, see the cover for VAMPIRE QUEEN'S SERVANT I posted here... yowch! HOT!!!) and the cartoonish, stylized ones like the ones I've got.

Plus, I think that a lot of what she's talking about comes from the fact that people like to have someone to look down on, and for a lot of my SF/F friends, that's romance. It's peer pressure based on misinformation. Romance gets the big dis because people still think writers are writing to a formula and that all the heroines are wall-flowers in pink sundresses waiting for a man to make it all right. Anyone whose read romance in the last decade knows better than that.

Romance is where some of the best writing is happening right now. I say, go to that section with pride, sister!

Another Review for Many Bloody Returns

I'm not mentioned in this one from Amy's Book Nook, but it's still fun to see:

Birthdays mean another year is behind you, that you are another year older. But what if you were an immortal creature, such as a vampire? How would a birthday’s significance affect you? That is the issue several best-selling authors tackle in "Many Bloody Returns" edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, who also contributed a tale for the anthology.

New York Times best-selling authors Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher and Kelley Armstrong all bring back well-known characters from their series to mark another year older — regardless of whether they age.

Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse attends the vampire holiday of Dracula’s birthday — the party is held on my birthday, which is a fun coincidence. But as all vampires gather around the world to hope the presumed dead Dracula will show up at one of the festivities — what would happen if he actually did? Hilarity and chaos, of course!

Armstrong’s Cassandra also must tackle her vampire birthday, a time at which all vampires must feed or start the process of dying. Cassandra is finding it hard to maintain interest in her immortal lifestyle — is it a sign of ennui or something more deadly? Armstrong proves what a talented writer she is in this short, heart-wrenching piece.

Butcher’s wizard detective Harry Dresden is looking to celebrate his vampire half-brother’s birthday. But when delivering his gift he stumbles upon a group of humans playing vampires - to the deadly delight of some real vampires. It is up to Harry to save the day again, in typical Harry fashion, by practically destroying the place!

"Many Bloody Returns" also invites readers to try stories from Christopher Golden, Bill Crider, P.N. Elrod, Rachel Caine, Jeanne C. Stein, Tanya Huff, Carolyn Haines, Tate Hallaway and Elaine Viets.

"Many Bloody Returns" is published by Berkley, a division of Penguin. It is $24.95 and 355 pages long.

New Review for Dead Sexy

Rambles.net has posted a new review of Dead Sexy. Here are the best parts:

I wasn't that crazy about the zombie portion of this story, as it seemed a little far-fetched to me (yeah, I know this is a vampire book!) and I had a really hard time buying into it. Otherwise, I think Hallaway really wrote a tale with a lot of feeling this time around. There is so much going on between Garnet, Sebastian, Parrish and Dominguez, emotionally, and she writes it beautifully on each page. Garnet must come to terms with and say goodbye to her past and there are several heartfelt moments that made me a little weepy.

This was an excellent followup to the first book. I really enjoyed Dead Sexy and it was a hard book to set down. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, leaving me hoping Hallaway is a fast writer and will be coming out with the third book -- soon

Oh, and P.S. today is the first official day MANY BLOODY RETURNS is out.

Saturday False Starts

Over at Wyrdsmiths, my alter ego posted her usual Saturday Mornings Funnies. This time I've chosen to embarass myself with something more recent -- from my college years. As I explain in my post, like most writers, I have a collection of these sorts of short beginnings that fizzle out and don't go anywhere. I've never "thrown them away" (read: deleted, as most of them are Word files of one sort or another), because I always secretly hope that inspiration will hit and I will find the perfect ending for them some day.

How about you? Do keep your scraps? Have you ever finished one of them?

Quick Re-Direct: SF Novelists

My alter-ego wrote a blog over at SF Novelist about her (and, secretly, my) titling process. It's called Something Clever or What I Usually Call My Novel. As you can probably guess from the title of this post our process is, as we say in the MidWest, "interesting."

Another Great Review (Bloody Returns)

A new Review! This one from Library Journal Many Bloody Returns: Tales of Birthdays with Bite. Ace: Berkley, dist. by Penguin Group (USA). Sept. 2007. c.368p. ed. by Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner. ISBN 978-0-441-01522-1. $24.95. FANTASY

In this anthology, 13 talented writers have found clever ways to intertwine two seemingly disparate themes, vampires and birthdays. Christopher Golden's "The Mournful Cry of Owls" tells of a mother who, on her daughter's birthday, must explain the strange truth of the girl's ancestry. In Kelley Armstrong's mesmerizing "Twilight," the rebirth date of the vampire Cassandra has arrived. Now she has one unpleasant task to perform. And in "Fire and Ice and Linguini for Two," Tate Halloway writes a funny, romantic piece about the vampire Sebastian reluctantly celebrating his birthday, although he believes it cursed. Some stories are better than others, but all are entertaining and worth reading. This excellent collection will appeal to the growing legion of paranormal fans. Recommended for public libraries.—Patricia Altner, BiblioInfo.com , Columbia, MD

Rituals of Beginning

I started DEAD IF I DO yesterday. I didn't actually write any words on the page mind you, but I started. You scoff, "How can you say you started when you didn't write any story?"

There are a certain number of things I do as part of my rituals of beginning. First, I have to create a folder under my "novels" directory with the title of the new novel. Then I have to create a document with my novel template (which has all the necessaries already in place like using Courier 12 pt, having my contact information, space for the title, my byline, etc.) and then I make space for the first chapter and rename the thing.

Then I closed my computer and watched "Little Ms. Sunshine."

So, see! I started.

What do you _need_ to do in order to start? Do you have to buy that special notebook or special pen?

Wyrdsmith Writing Meme

Kellyover at Wyrdsmiths posted a meme about writing and I thought I'd play along...

What do you find _______ about writing?

Hardest? Lately, starting. But, after I get over that initial hurdle, the hardest part is usually keeping the plot moving forward. I have a tendency to like just hanging out with my characters soap opera style. Fun for me, but hell on the plot.

Easiest? Character. A lot of people live in my head many of them fully-formed. Getting them out is easy. Figuring out what to do with them is hard.

Most fun?

Honestly? Seeing my name in print. It's a rush.

Most Tedious? Some days, depending on my mood it's the writing down of all the scenes in my head. Slowing down my inner play long enough to write it all out and have it make sense to someone other than me.

Coolest? Knowing that I make s**t up and people pay me for it (sometimes).

Least cool? Some of the business aspects. I wish the publishing climate was such that there was a place for all good stories, regardless of "the market."

Best? When inspiration strikes and I look up from my keyboard and realize it's 2 a.m. and I feel so pumped like I could write more.

Worst? Realizing my kid will be up at 5:30 am....

Caveman Appeal

This is new from Yahoo News: Chick Magnets Look Like Cavemen -- which actually explains the popularity of time-travel romance.

To be fair, TT romance is one of my biggest guilty pleasures. I really like the clash that happens when you combine a fiesty modern woman and a lunkheaded, knuckle-dragging alpha male from some backward society.

And, apparently, that's hardwired into my brain.

Oooooh, look! Pretty!

The Pumpkin That Ate St. Paul

This is a picture out of my second story window (facing our backyard). That's a pumpkin vine. This pumpkin has been slowly devouring our neighborhood. I found one tendril making its way into the yard of the neighbors to the south and another headed to the north. I curled both of those around back on themselves and now its headed for the roof. The cool thing is that this vine is sporting a pumpkin half way up the wall. That ought to be fun to harvest.

Too Much of A Good Thing

Here's a funny: My editor's comment after reading the revised manuscript of Romancing the Dead was that now there was too much sex.

Uh, is that even possible?

Writing Colorblind

As many of you know, I've had lots of rants here on this blog about this very thing: Why Writing Colorblind is Writing White (a rant) by Brutal Woman.

Her reaction is to something that John Scalzi said here.

Unlike Scazli, I intentionally identify my characters by race. In the AngeLINK books by my alternate personality I describe Jibril as a black African Muslim. Mouse is Arabic and Muslim, and he's brown enough that Rebeckah (an Israeli born American) misidentifies him as an Indian from India. Michael is an olive-skinned Mediterranean (his surname identifies him as Italian) and Ariel is Asian, though I never identify which specific country. I did this in my science fiction particularly because the future is so very often shown to be the purview of white people (specifically white males).

But more than that it seems unrealistic. Sure Americans and Europeans seem to dominate the political and economic landscape currently (at least from where I'm sitting), but that certainly wasn't always the case. And it only makes sense to me, particularly given the tendency, shall we say, for the U.S. to mismanage its economy, that some other ethnic/political/economic group could rise to a similar kind of dominance given the passage of time.

But those are the kinds of things you think about when you write SF. When it came time to write the Garnetverse books, I could have not bothered with race. The stories are all set in the pastoral (though not entirely rural) Mid-West, and a person could make the case that there just aren't a lot of people of color living in Wisconsin. Except, of course, that's a lie -- or at the very least a gross misrepresentation. Thus, I consciously identify Izzy as black.

I think that Brutal Woman is absolutely right when she says that when you don't overtly point out that someone is a person of color, the default in the majority of readers' minds = white. It's even a problem when you *do* it subtly, as I argue with Elizabeth Bear in the interview I did with her for the Internet Review of Science Fiction.*

Subtly doesn't get us anywhere. People like to say that race doesn't matter, but I think it does. I've admitted to "the default" when talking to Bear, and my partner and I have had long conversations how sometimes our "racial programming" will work pretty hard to ignore clues if they're too subtle. (She never imagined Poohka from Emma Bull's WAR FOR THE OAKS as black despite Bull's fairly overt, "He looked like Prince.")

I don't know what else to make of that except to say that this is just a really long-winded way of saying, "right on, sister" to Brutal Woman.

* You need to subscribe to Internet Review of Science Fiction to read this, but its free.

Wedding? I'd Rather Be With Rogers.

Wedding bells are in the air for Goddess-toting, now-immortal witch Garnet Lacey and her day-walking vampire lover Sebastian Von Traum. The caterers have been hired, flowers ordered, invitations sent, and Garnet is finally introducing Sebastian to her hippie, organic egg-ranching parents at Portabello’s, one of Madison, Wisconsin’s finer dining establishments. Of course, that’s when Téresa, the mother of Sebastian’s dhampyr son Mátyás, appears and ruins everything with her whole night-of-living-dead/raving-lunatic/he-was-mine-first shtick.

Sounds fun, right? Well, that's the beginning of the proposal for DEAD IF I DO (Book 4 in the Garnetverse), and I should be writing it RIGHT NOW. Instead, I've been diddling around reading comic books and dreaming about Captain America. (Makes you wonder though, doesn't it? Has someone done a superhero romance novel?)

I tell myself I'm allowed a little vacation. The revisions for ROMANCING THE DEAD kicked my butt into next week, so it's reasonable to want a little vegging time, right? Right? Thing is, I'm violating my own superstition, which is that I start writing the next book as soon as I get word from my agent that a deal has been struck. (Oh, if I haven't reported it, Berkley wants two more: DEAD IF I DO and HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD). I might just have to open up a Word Document tonight and do my initial formatting just to say I've started.

I dunno. I guess I'd rather be thinking about that dreamboat Steve Rogers....

When I Grow Up...

...I've decided I want to be Captain America.

Thing is, Steve Rogers? He's hot. When Mason starts school in September I plan to start hitting the gym in earnest. My plan is to have a body like Cap's by the time I'm forty-five. (Okay, yeah, minus the whole gender thing and the probably foot difference in our hieght.)

If you can't tell I've started reading comicbooks again. I blame Target, actually. When Mason and I were hanging out in the book section looking for new dot-to-dot books, I noticed that Marvel had what they were billing as "All-Ages" comicbooks. Mason instantly was attracted to the FANTASTIC FOUR. I was a big FF fan when I was a kid (and in those days, had you asked me, I would have said I wanted to grow up to be the Human Torch.) So, of course, I bought him all of the issues he wanted. While I was there, MY eye was drawn to Bendis' NEW AVENGERS.

It's been all downhill since then. I had to try to find the next collection of graphic novels after "Breakout" and have started branching out into other titles. I even picked up J. Michael Straczynski (of Babylon 5 fame) and Mike Deodato, Jr's AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: New Avengers (Vol 10) and CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER and CAPTAIN AMERICA: RED MENACE by Ed Brubaker. Goddess only knows where this will end.

It's strange, actually, but this is the sort of thing my mind craves right now: High action, high romance (there's a lot more sex in adult comicbooks these days, I've noticed. Hello, Kitty Pryde and Peter Rasputin in Joss Whedon's X-MEN! Phasing during the big "o"? We didn't do that back in my day.) But, what I'm particularly enjoying as a returning fan is how the current batch of writers seem to be deeply familiar with the storylines I followed feverishly in my youth (okay, and young adulthood. I didn't give up on comics until sometime in college). I was really happy when in SPIDER-MAN Peter Parker makes a reference to the time he grew six extra arms. I remember that issue! As an adult I probably should think it was lame, but instead I find a kind of nostalgic guilty pleasure in reading that its acknowledged as having happened, you know? It's like the new writers are willing to accept Marvel history warts and all. As a long time fan, this makes me very, very happy. And it's eased my transition back. I don't feel out of it. I know this stuff.

Also, can I say? My tastes have changed. Now that I'm an adult, burdened, apparently by more responsibility, etc., I find myself attracted to characters I used to think were hopelessly square: Captain America, Spider-Man, (god help me) Iron Man. Though I still love Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, the comicbook version doesn't do it for me the same way any more (although Whedon's "I had a beer" cure made me quite happy).

It surprises me that romance readers haven't embraced comicbooks. There are some seriously studly guys parading around in skin-tight spandex, a**-kicking women, and romantic sub-plots -- no, let's be honest, soap operas -- that have spanned decades. It's kind of too bad that comicbooks have been branded "boy's" lit because the best storylines, IMHO, have always had the elements that readers of either gender can appreciate: heart and soul.

Feeling It

Cross-posted from Wyrdsmiths:

R. J. Anderson has really interesting post over at Fangs, Fur & Fey today. S/he talks about how she used to write sceens that would make her cry or be otherwise emotionally entangled with her characters, but now she doesn't. She worries that this lack of empathy will affect her writing. She ends the essay with this:

And yet I know I'm not alone in this, and I feel sure that powerful, emotionally resonant stories have been written by authors in much the same situation -- people who for one reason or another just couldn't do the Method Acting thing. Maybe because, like me, they have young children or other needy family members to look after; or maybe because their brains just aren't wired that way, and they find it more natural to cook up a story intellectually than live it vicariously.

I would like to hear from those authors. How do you make your stories and characters come alive -- and what gives you confidence that they are working -- when you aren't "feeling it" yourself?

Or, if you believe that identifying closely with your story is essential to good writing, what techniques or tricks do you use to submerge yourself in the narrative atmosphere when your environment is full of distractions?

If I think about this question seriously, I am forced to admit that I, too, have written both ways. I've had stories that grab me by the throat and force their way out, and stories that I've been able to tell with an intellectual distance with an eye more on craft. It's hard to say if the ones I wrote full of passion and verve are more "alive" than the others. I am, however, reminded of the interview my alternate personality did with Neil Gaiman for Science Fiction Chronicle where he talked about how some days he felt like the Muse moved through him and some days it was like squeezing blood from a turnip (obviously I'm paraphrasing, even on the fly, Gaiman has much better metaphors than I.) His point, however, was that when he went back and read the whole manuscript, he couldn't tell the difference between the days that hurt to write and the days that it was a joy. It all read the same and with the same "magic" or passion, if you will.

I think a lot of people miss opportunities to write because they feel like they have to be in the mood to write, or that this kind of empathy that Anderson worries about has to be present in order to craft "the good stuff." I'm with Gaiman on this one: write when you can, even when writing is hard. It's the only way to get stuff done. In the end, you won't know the difference and neither will the reader.

I do think, however, the writer has to be passionate about the story s/he is crafting. The stories that I can't finish are often ones that I, as an author, have stopped caring about. This is different than the question of empathy, though, I think. I can care about a story that I just don't want to write TODAY. And usually, if I push through today, I get get back in the swing of things TOMORROW. Sometimes, too, I find that if continue writing even when I *think* I don't care about the storyline, my mind will invent something about one of the characters or the situation that I can get fired up about again and the story is saved.

Local Folks!

If anyone would like to hear my alternate personality read, tomorrow night I'm going to be at the cafe for writers: Nina's Cafe. Here are the details:

On Thursday, August 16, 2007 starting at 7:20 pm, my alter ego will be reading from her work-in-progress "The Second Coming of Emily" at Nina's Coffee Cafe with Lucie B. Amundsen, who will read from three humor essays culled from the everyday drama of family life; Sharon Chmielarz, who will read poems from her latest two books, The Rhubarb King and The Other Mozart and possibly some newer poems; and Sherry Roberts, who will read from a work in progress about a dyslexic woman who fights a small town in North Carolina that is trying to ban books. Nina's Coffee Cafe is located at 165 Western Avenue North, Saint Paul, MN 55102. For more information or directions call: (651) 292-9816

When Literary Allusions Go Bad

My partner and I were headed back from our friends' cabin in Siren, Wisconsin, when we had to make a pit stop at one of the many gas stations along 35. It just so happened that a whole slue of women all had the same idea, so I found myself standing in line. Next to the women's was a cork board full of people's business cards and advertisements and notices about lost dogs and cleaning services. My eyes wandered the list and came across this:

Needful Things: Antiques & Designs/Interior Design Consulting

And I thought to myself: Seriously? Has Ms. Andrea Aydt (proprietor) never read any Stephen King? Doesn't she know that everyone who shops at Needful Things dies a horrific death? Does she really mean to evoke that particular sensibility?

I just thought it was a strange choice on her part.

What's the worst book title you would name a store?

Also, next time we go up, I'm going to bring along our digital camera to capture some of the more amazing church billboard signs. There were some seriously funny (unintentionally so, I think,) ones this time. Of course, now I can't remember a word of them.

Amazon Obsession

The New York Times has an article about how authors obsessively check their Amazon.com sales rankings: The Highs and Lows of Rankings on Amazon.

I, of course, have NO IDEA what they're talking about.

Fairy Queens and Vampire Lords

Over at Fangs, Fur & Fey Jill Myles asked the question: What's the fantasy element that makes you steer away from what might otherwise be an excellent book?

My answer?

Fairies.

It's not that I object to books about faeries. I've read (and even written, though not published) books I've loved that center around the land of fey/fairy queens, etc. What I can't stand is when I'm reading an otherwise perfectly good vampire/urban fantasy book and some character introduces themselves as half-fairy or something similar. I can't explain it, but, for whatever reason, that makes my suspenders of disbelief go "BOOOOIIIINNGGG!" and, more often than not, snap completely.

What about you? What's your answer to Jill's question?

Locus Reviews

I couldn't wait for my subscription to come, so I picked up a copy of Locus at Dreamhaven yesterday. Here are the reviews by Carolyn Cushman:

Tate Hallaway, Dead Sexy (Berkley 978-0-425-21508-1, $14.00, 294pp tp) May 2007. Cover by Margarete Gockel

Murder comes back to haunt Garnet Lacey in this sequel to Tall, Dark & Dead. Garnet first went on the run after Vatican witch hunters killed her coven and the goddess Lilith possessed her and killed the Vatican agents. Now the bodies have been uncovered, and the FBI is on Garnet's trail, so she's forced to turn to her vampire ex-boyfriend for help, while trying to keep her current boyfriend, the vampire alchemist Sebastian, from finding out, not to mention trying to keep Lilith from reappearing and wreaking havoc. And then there are al those zombies turning up around town... Garnet's an engaging narrator, and while the plot occasionally seems a bit over the tope, it's also a consistantly fun, fast-paced romp.

Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner, eds., Many Bloody Returns (Ace 978-0-441-01522-1, $24.95, 355pp, hc) September 2007. Cover by Lisa Desimini.

What do birthdays mean to vampires? Thirteen authors come up with as many answers in this amusing original anthology, which tends to the lighter side of vampire fiction, with birthdays frequently tangential to the stories at best. Several stories are part of popular series; among the best are Jim Butcher's Dresden File story, "It's My Birthday, Too," in which Harry Dresden tries to get a birthday present to his vampire half-brother, only to run into some live-action roleplayers facing real vampires in an after-hours shopping mall; P. N. Elrod's lively Vampire Files story, "Grave Robbed," finds PI vampire Jack Fleming taking on a phony medium; in Tanya Huff's Smoke series, "Blood Wrapped" sets Tony and Henry searching for a kidnapped child and for an appropriate gift for Vicki Nelson's 40th birthday; and Tate Hallaway's "Fire and Ice and Linguini for Two" finds wiccan Garnet Lacey (of Tall, Dark & Dead and Dead Sexy) trying to convince her vampire boyfriend that his birthday isn't cursed, despite some chilling encounters. Charlaine Harris's own entry, "Dracula Night," is amusing but slight, a Sookie Stackhouse story that finds the human telepath fortunately on hand when things go wrong during the vampires' celebration of Dracula's birthday. Co-editor Toni L. P. Kelner, a mystery writer, presents a punchy, but touching, tale of a vampire who catches a serial killer while on a nostalgia trip to her own home town in "How Stella Got Her Grave Back." The remaining stories are a mixed bunch, mostly standalones, and some less than satisfying -- possibly because they don't have well-developed series backgrounds to draw on. For fans of the series represented here, however, this is an entertaining birthday party well worth checking out.

My Spaced Out

I decided to try to be one of the cool kids and put together the rudimentary bits necessary to have a my space page. If this sort of thing trips your trigger, go check it out at:

http://www.myspace.com/tatehallaway

Now, I expect I'll be up half the night "friending" people and whatnot. :-)

Revisions Done and New Book Deals!

Exciting news first: my agent just made a deal with my publisher for TWO -- that's right, count 'em, two -- more books in the Garnetverse! Book number four is tentitively titled Dead If I Do (thanks to Plaid Adder for the title suggestion) to come out in 2009, and book five will be Honeymoon of the Dead for 2010.

Whoot!

My 2008 book will be Romancing the Dead, and I'm also happy to report that I sent away the ginormous package containing two paper copies of the revised manuscript yesterday. After much wrestling, I'm actually quite pleased with the final version of Romancing, too. Huzzah!

Toni Kelner sent this along to the contributors of Many Bloody Returns:

First off is Harriet Klausner's review, which is on B&N.com and elsewhere on the web (http://www.alternative-worlds.com/2007/07/26/many-bloody-returns/):

Many Bloody Returns
Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner (Editors)
Ace, Sep 2007, $24.95
ISBN: 97804419015221

These thirteen new vampire tales focus on the theme of birthdays (and many happy returns). Although the theme is incredibly narrow and restrictive, the contributors provide fresh interesting tales with no losers and star some of the more famous series characters; this the collection serves as a great introduction (albeit limited) to heroes of the supernatural. The most innovative entry is “Twilight” by Kelley Armstrong in which she insists a vampire’s birthday is the day they convert as that is a rebirthing. The rest of the stories make for a fun compilation with the lively authors being superstars in the undead realm such as Jim Butcher (with Harry), P.N. Elrod (with Fleming), and Charlaine Harris (with Sookie), etc. Still singing happy birthday thirteen times even too many series favorites can become a bit long in the tooth and difficult to blow out the zillion candles for some of the recipients; this reviewer suggests leisurely enjoying the anthology over a few weeks.

Harriet Klausner

Then we've got this one from Romantic Times BOOKreviews

MANY BLOODY RETURNS
4 1/2 stars (Out of 4 stars, which makes this "FANTASTIC--Keeper")

In this highly readable and memorable anthology, 13 top fantasy writers tackle the subject of vampires and birthdays. This is a must-buy book for genre fans, and a fantastic introduction for new readers to some of the best-known writers in the field, including Harris, Jim Butcher, Tanya Huff, Kelley Armstrong, and P.N. Elrod.

SUMMARY: Thirteen authors have 13 very different takes on birthdays and vampires. Highlights include Harris' "Dracula Night," in which Sookie Stackhouse finds herself the only human in attendance at Dracula's birthday party; Elrod's Jack Flming striking a blow for honest mediums everywhere in "Grave-Robbed,; and Butcher's "It's My Birthday Too," where Harry Dresden finds himself in a sururban mall with a bunch of live-action role players and a few vampires out for revenge--and blood.

Natalie A. Luhrs

And from a web site reviewer I've never heard of (http://darquereviews.blogspot.com/2007/08/many-bloody-returns-anthology.html), but now revere because she liked the book:

Many Bloody Returns (Anthology)
Tales of Birthdays with Bite
Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner
ACE – The Berkley Publishing Group
September 4, 2007
ISBN# 978-0-441-01522-1

Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris shares a tense night at Fangtasia as Sookie Stackhouse and her supernatural friends celebrate with a birthday bash for Dracula.

The Mournful Cry of Owls by Christopher Golden is Donika’s sixteenth birthday and a night for revealing a past secret that leads to a surprising future.

I Was a Teenage Vampire by Bill Crider tells the tale of how Carlton’s young life changed the night of his sister’s birthday party.

Twilight by Kelley Armstrong takes Cassandra DuCharme on the yearly hunt she needs to extend her vampiric life.

It’s My Birthday Too by Jim Butcher follows Harry Dresden and his assistant to deliver a birthday present when things turn dark and dangerous.

Grave Robbed by P. N. Elrod has PI Jack Flemming intervening when a woman is desperate to contact her deceased husband and the séance appears to be a con.

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life by Rachel Caine is Eve’s eighteenth birthday in Morganville, and the night she’s expected to sign away her future.

The Witch and the Wicked by Jeanne C. Stein brings Sophie to the Deveraux home where she caters a vampire’s birthday filled with surprises.

Blood Wrapped by Tanya Huff has Henry on the hunt for Vicki’s birthday present when he’s influenced to do a good deed.

The Wish by Carolyn Haines shares Sandra’s forty-third birthday and the painful tale that leads her to live and die on her own terms.

Fire and Ice and Linguini for Two by Tate Hallaway celebrates Sebastian’s birthday with more surprises than Garnet had planned for the evening.

Vampire Hours by Elaine Viets is Katherine’s birthday to face the reality of her current life and make the decision to have the future she dreams of.

How Stella Got Her Grave Back by Toni L. P. Kelner travels along with Stella and Mark as they set out to solve the mystery of a Jane Doe.

Many Bloody Returns is a carefully crafted anthology that envelopes readers in the dark and often humorous world of the paranormal. A fabulously fun visit with the characters, both old and new, of some of the best paranormal fiction authors in print today.

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews

LOCUS Bestseller!

My agent just informed me that Dead Sexy is the Locus List #4 bestseller in the trade paperback catagory. Whoot!

Carolyn Cushman at Locus also did a review of both Dead Sexy and Many Bloody Returns (and, apparently, *GASP* she mentions my story!!) Those aren't available on-line, however, so I'll have to wait impatiently at my mailbox to see what she says.

Two New Reviews

First, my relatives in Indiana sent me a copy of a review from the Indiana Post-Tribune for Dead Sexy by Scheffie Sarver. It's HUGE. The nicest thing Sarver said might be this: "One of Hallaway's strengths is the way she weaves Garnet's tale. Garnet is human enough for the reader to sympathize with, but her circumstances are outrageous enough to give the reader a good chuckle. In one scene, hungry zombies chase Garnet into the confines of a garage. She vows to go on a diet when her hips get stuck in a window frame as she's escaping. We've all similarly vowed to start dieting, just perhaps not with a pack of zombies hot on our heels."

Second, Paula Chaffee Scardamalia reviewed Tall, Dark & Dead for BroadUniverse's BroadSheet. You can read it here: http://www.broaduniverse.org/broadsheet/0707pcsth.html

Okay

In case anyone is seeing the news about the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis, we're okay. If there are other Minneapolis/St. Paul SF/F writers or fans you're worried about, there's a check-in set up here:

http://community.livejournal.com/mnstf/

If anyone thinks someone might be worried about them, they are encouraged to post an OK with Mnstf. Oh, and if you don't have an LJ account the person managing the site has kindly offered her email address laurel@tvpicks.net for check-ins.

Cthulhu Origami

I think this is a whole lot of awesome. Thanks to Shawn for sending it along to me. Check out the instructions at http://spinflipper.com/blog/