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Amazon has The Horns of Ruin in stock. This is very exciting to me, for obvious reasons.

This is a con. Where is the bar.

My WindyCon experience this year was kind of perfunctory. My only scheduled events were on Saturday, but I didn't know that until I already had Friday off. This is good, because I have a lot of writing to do, so I stayed home Friday and wrote. Unfortunately, that went terribly and I'll probably have to throw out the lot, but that's not the point. Sometimes you have bad writing days.

On to the Con!

I was able to convince Jen to attend with me this year, which was fun. She doesn't usually come out to these things, but we haven't seen much of each other recently because of my writing schedule, so it was nice. Plus she got to see me be an author.

My first event was a reading at 11am. In the past my readings have been poorly attended, simply because no one knows who I am and I always get an early slot. These things go hand in hand. But my usual retinue of people came out (four or five folks who come out to a lot of my stuff because they know me. If just they show up I have trouble getting the reading off, because we just sit and talk. It's weird to just read to your friends) and we had two others show up. After the reading one of these two had me sign a shirt from last year's convention (It was a steampunk theme. Jason Blaylock had signed. Scary.) and the other gentleman had a copy of Heart of Veridon to sign.

I think that's the first time someone has gone out of their way to get a signature on HoV. I mean, people brought copies to my signing last year, but again those were people I know. People I refuse to think of as fans.

Readings are tricky. It's the one time authors actually perform their work, and I don't think most authors put enough thought into it. I'm not the best at it yet (next year I will read while standing) but I do what I can. Rather than just present a chapter and then take questions, I pulled three selections from the first three chapters and read them, with some explication and packaging in between. I hadn't practiced the in between bits, though, so I kept remembering things I meant to say before, or explaining the bit I just read after I read it. Imperfect. But I think the form is good and I'm going to stick to it, probably with some more practice ahead of time. I was worried about the clock and then ended up with all sorts of time. There was Q&A, and then it was off to lunch.

Sat in the bar for a couple hours, ate lunch, drank with some friends. Emptiest con bar ever.

Second event was a panel called "Writing Despite the Day Job." I am qualified to be on this panel. I don't know what to say about it, other than it went well, I feel that the audience was engaged and entertained. Some difference of opinion on how to go about getting better. I think that you need to write your way out of writing groups, but that's something I've come to later in my career. Also, none of us are Thomas Wolfe or Stephen King. That doesn't make sense unless you were there. So be there next time.

Other stuff. Uh, there's a worldcon bid for London in 2014. I find that exciting, but in a very distant sort of way. And I had corn beef hash, scrambled eggs and hash browns for breakfast, then came home and took a long nap. Still recovering.

Windycon is set

Windycon is this weekend, and I finally have my schedule. It's light:

1) I'll be reading from The Horns of Ruin on Saturday at 11am, in the Walnut Room

2) Writing Despite the Day Job - Saturday at 4pm, in Lilac D

So it's a light weekend. Which is good, because re: item #2 up there, I have a book to write. And a day job.

I will be Old + 1

A quick post to let you know that The Horns of Ruin will be part of a front of store promotion in Barnes & Noble facilities across the country from November 30th through December 13th. It is also important to note that one of those days is my birthday.

Buy me a present. Specifically, buy a copy of the book on one of those days. Pretend that whatever day you pick is my birthday. If you already have a copy (OMG THANK YOU!) then buy a second copy and give it to a friend. Or you could just archive the second copy, and when I come to your pathetic town on my eventual world tour (dates pending and largely imaginary) you can have me sign this pristine first edition of The Horns of Ruin, and tell me Happy Birthday. You may even sing Happy Birthday, if you feel it is necessary.

Bringing me cake might be taking it too far. But I will allow it.

Kind of a Roundup

Do you like my random capitalizing in the titles of these things? I do what feels good, man.

Apparently I'm all over the internet. I didn't realize it until I tried to compile all the guest posts I've done. I have two more coming, maybe three if I can think of something clever to say in the next week or so. But I thought I'd take this opportunity to direct you to the wise things I've said online in the last couple weeks. Also, there have been reviews of the book, and I might as well point you to those as well. Work those tabs.

Guest Posts:

Literary Escapism

TorDotCom

Madhatter Interview

The interview is actually with Eva Forge, the main character from The Horns of Ruin, but I had to write it, so I'm comfortable calling that a guest post.

Like I said, there are two or three others coming up in the next few months, but I'll point you to those as they become relevant.

Excerpt:

The Horns of Ruin

Reviews:

Rob Will Review

Alternative Worlds

Madhatter

Goodreads (which includes both positive and negative reviews)

New Jedi Order


There are probably more, but that's what I've been able to find. Most are good, some are so-so, at least one is openly dismissive. And that's okay. I can't please everyone.

Anyway. That's what I've been up to. If I missed your review or post about the book, let me know in the comments and I'll add it. Even if it's negative. These things don't offend me, which was something it took a while to develop, but I've learned.

**edited to add**

Check out the Banner ad!

Columbus is where the cool girls sing all night

So. WFC 2010. Good time.

I'm not going to give your typical con report, listing names and panels and whatnot. Mostly because I'm terrified of leaving people off, but also because I wasn't keeping a running checklist in my head and I'm kind of tired. Not firing on all cylinders. But I'm worried that if I don't get this report out there I'm going to start forgetting things. It took me forever last night to remember what I did on Saturday night for dinner, not because it wasn't an interesting meal, but because I had just gotten out of my car and was just pacing around the house trying to remember how to be a normal person. (Dinner was with Amy and Yonni and Richard, at the brewpub. I did remember eventually.)

I nearly didn't go this year. Horrible idea, not going. I've finally figured out that WFC isn't a business con for me anymore. There was stage where, professionally, WFC was the only convention that mattered. No longer true. But socially? Vital. Without WFC I'd be a hermit all year long, rather than all year minus four days. And those four days matter. Tremendously.

So, generally speaking, it was a great con. There are ways in which it was my best WFC yet, in the sense that I think I'm finally getting into the mode of being a writer. This is the first con in which people recognized me. Not just people whose job it is to know who I am, but completely random attendees stopping me in the hallway to ask questions about Heart of Veridon. This doesn't happen to me. Only, now it does.

On top of that, I feel like I'm getting to a point of recognition among the professionals in the industry. Two different people stopped me in parties to ask if they could take my picture, including Liza from Locus magazine. LOCUS. It's surreal. While walking through the Dealer Room, a lady from the next Worldcon handed me an invitation. It had my name on it? I realize it's just a sticker and a database, but it's a database that I'm in. It's all very strange.

People who know me know that I maintain a pretty low level of respect for my own work. It has something to do with standards, or just pushing myself to get better, but someone asked me to read something from the book that I liked, and I did, and my god. I liked doing that. I liked thinking, even briefly, that I was good at what I do. I'm not looking for compliments or affirmations or anything. I'm just saying. It was important to me.

So that's your con report. There were meetings in bars and at parties. I went to two panels and walked out of both of them because I would rather be talking to my friends. I have a bruise from shaking too many hands. I drank enough to not freak out socially, and little enough to not freak out socially, and never had a hangover. Every night I was up until 3:30.

And now I'm home, and I'm feeling pretty good. So thank you, everyone. And see you next year. In a bar.