New Audio Interview With Scott Lynch

There is a new audio interview with Scott Lynch available on the Orion Publishing Group website. The author talks about the upcoming The Republic of Thieves (Canada, USA, Europe) and a whole lot more.

Here's the blurb:

After their adventures on the high seas, Locke and Jean are brought back to earth with a thump. Jean is mourning the loss of his lover and Locke must live with the fallout of crossing the all-powerful magical assassins the Bonds Magi.

It is a fall-out that will pit both men against Locke's own long lost love. Sabetha is Locke's childhood sweetheart, the love of Locke's life and now it is time for them to meet again. Employed on different sides of a vicious dispute between factions of the Bonds Sabetha has just one goal - to destroy Locke for ever.

The Gentleman Bastard sequence has become a literary sensation in fantasy circles and now, with the third book, Scott Lynch is set to seal that success.

To listen to the Q&A, simply follow this link and click on the "Extras" tab.

Steven Erikson contest winners!

Thanks to the generosity of the folks at Tor Books, our winners will get their hands on a copy of Steven Erikson's The Crippled God! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

The winners are:

- Brian McCullogh, from Kirkland, Québec, Canada

- Lauren Hersey, from Washington, DC, USA

- Bryan Flood, from Nepean, Ontario, Canada

Many thanks to all the participants!

Something a little different, but empowering

Okay, this isn't a design post, but the message is one I felt worth sharing. And, I think it relates to the world of blogging and design - the concept that we can do anything with a little help from others. My friend, and fellow business mastermind group member, Stacey Shipman is a motivational speaker around the topics of stress management and self-empowerment. She has a post on her blog called What Happens When People Help People that I thought was especially wonderful.

Here's the video that's part of the post. I'd also like to give a little shoutout to Lois Wood, graphic designer and also a member of my business roundtable group, who is the participant in Stacey's experiment. Lois designed my IFDA chapter's website this year.



I so agree with Stacey's sentiment that we can all go far with some help from other women, friends and colleagues. No man is an island, as the man said.

If you would like my help on your design project, I would love to chat with you! Please email me. Thanks!

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New Game of Thrones trailer

Christ, only a couple more weeks left!!!

M. L. N. Hanover contest winner!

Thanks to the kindness of Daniel Abraham, our winner will receive a complete set of The Black Sun's Daughter series! The prize pack includes:

- Unclean Spirits (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Darker Angels (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Vicious Grace (Canada, USA, Europe)

The winner is:

- Riva Laughlin, from Pearland, Texas, USA

Many thanks to all the participants!

eye candy

less words, a lot photos.. enjoy girls!

Taylor Lautner (with a great youtubeclip, notice his laugh all the time (l): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ILdicPQ7k&feature=related)

Or Chace Crawford?

He looks crazy, isnt he?

At least: Ed Westwick? Mancandy, mandy?



<3

New extract from Richard Morgan's THE COLD COMMANDS

I was still in Argentina when this was originally posted on Richard Morgan's website, so I just found out about it. The author is very close to being done with The Cold Commands (Canada, USA, Europe). A matter of weeks now, or so it seems. . .

Meanwhile, Morgan rewarded our patience with a new excerpt from the book. Follow this link to read it.

New England Finery

My friend, designer and blogger Yvonne Blacker, along with business partner Linda Smith, have launch a lovely new addition to the burgeoning bookshelf of digital publications. New England Finery is just as advertised, a great collection of decor and inspiration of all things New England!  The ladies were also kind enough to include several New England bloggers in their first publications - I was honored to be asked to contribute!

I think the cover, photographed by Elizabeth Wertz, is really beautiful in it's elegant simplicity. As I said on a recent Skirted Roundtable podcast, editing is difficult and editing oneself is truly hard!

So, brava ladies on the release of your first issue - looking forward to more!

If you would like my help on your design project, I would love to chat with you! Please email me. Thanks!

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Sam Sykes on "the genre"

Sam Sykes, author of Tome of the Undergates (Canada, USA, Europe) and Black Halo (Canada, USA, Europe), wrote an interesting piece on the genre. Following in the wake of Leo Grin's article, I found myself agreeing with basically everything Sykes wrote. Which, in an of itself, is a bit scary! :P

Here's a teaser:

No. I don’t think “genre” is a dirty word.

Rather, I think it’s getting slightly too revered. It’s becoming my least favorite phrase in the sense that we can’t seem to have a conversation about a book without involving “the genre.” Is steampunk good or is it not part of “the genre”? Is “the genre” being destroyed by the nihilism of today? What is the work of today doing for “the genre”? Is my author more “the genre” than your author? How can I best feed “the genre”?

I write genre fiction. Specifically, I write fantasy fiction. I write fantasy fiction because I like to write fantasy fiction. I like exploring new worlds, meeting new peoples, finding out how things work on a world not my own. I wrote a book in which a dragonman beat the tar out of a wizard and fought the urge to urinate him. I wrote a character that uses the phrase “round-ear.” I don’t say I’m writing objectivist morality. I don’t scoff at the notion that I write fantasy. I don’t mind being called a nerd. Some of my favorite authors write fantasy. Some don’t. I am a fantasy writer.

And I don’t really care about “the genre.”

[...]

Rejection is a part of art. It’s not part of the creation, as creation based on rejection tends to be (but isn’t always) flimsy and unfounded. But rejection is important in that it sets us apart and makes our work unique. Most of that comes after the book is published, of course, but it can factor in prior and during the creation, as well. And that’s where “fuck” comes in.

Fuck the influences, fuck the traditions, fuck the hallmarks. Fuck the way things are done. Fuck the things that tell you what to write. Fuck the definition of what is and isn’t genre, true genre or the genre. Fuck the cries for more of the same. Fuck the laments that there isn’t another Established Author Name Here. Fuck not reading something because it’s outside your comfort zone. Fuck not writing something because it’s never been done. Fuck everything.

[...]

Don’t be afraid of the influences, don’t be afraid of the traditions, don’t be afraid of the hallmarks; they aren’t yours. Don’t be afraid of protocol; you don’t have to follow it. Don’t be afraid of things that tell you what to write; they aren’t writing it. Don’t be afraid of the definition of the genre; your work will occupy its own space. Don’t be afraid of people crying for the same thing they’ve always read; you aren’t writing for them. Don’t be afraid of reading and writing outside of your comfort zone; you’re never at a loss for having experimented. Don’t be afraid of anything.

Follow this link to read the full piece.

Excerpt from Mark Charan Newton's THE BOOK OF TRANSFORMATIONS

Mark Charan Newton, author of Nights of Villjamur (Canada, USA, Europe) and City of Ruin (Canada, USA, Europe), just posted an extract from the forthcoming The Book of Transformations (Canada, USA, Europe) on his website.

Here's the blurb:

A new and corrupt Emperor seeks to rebuild the ancient structures of Villjamur to give the people of the city hope in the face of great upheaval and an oppressing ice age. But when a stranger called Shalev arrives, empowering a militant underground movement, crime and terror becomes rampant.

The Inquisition is always one step behind, and military resources are spread thinly across the Empire. So Emperor Urtica calls upon cultists to help construct a group to eliminate those involved with the uprising, and calm the populace – the Villjamur Knights. But there’s more to Knights than just phenomenal skills and abilities – each have a secret that, if exposed, could destroy everything they represent.

Investigator Fulcrom of the Villjamur Inquisition is given the unenviable task of managing the Knights, but his own skills are tested when a mysterious priest, who has travelled from beyond the fringes of the Empire, seeks his help. The priest’s existence threatens the church, and his quest promises to unravel the fabric of the world. And in a distant corner of the Empire, the enigmatic cultist Dartun Súr steps back into this world, having witnessed horrors beyond his imagination. Broken, altered, he and the remnants of his order are heading back to Villjamur.

And all eyes turn to the Sanctuary City, for Villjamur’s ancient legends are about to be shattered…

Follow this link to read the excerpt.

This week's New York Times Bestsellers (February 22nd)

In hardcover:

Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches debuts at number 2. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Dean Koontz's What the Night Knows maintains its position at number 13.

Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson's Towers of Midnight is up one spot, finishing the week at number 19. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Karen Marie Moning's Shadowfever is down thirteen positions, ending the week at number 21.

Kristen Britain's Blackveil is down fourteen spots, finishing the week at number 26.

Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars is up three positions, ending the week at number 29. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Greg Bear's Halo: Cryptum is up two spots, finishing the week at number 32. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Lost Souls is down seven positions, ending the week at number 15.
Patricia Briggs' Silver Borne is up two spots, finishing the week at number 16.

New Q&A with Jon Sprunk

Suvudu just posted a new interview with Jon Sprunk, author of Shadow's Son (Canada, USA, Europe).

Here's an excerpt:

Don’t give up and don’t stop learning. The minute you think you know it all about writing fiction, you’d better hang up your word processor because you’re done. I’ve been writing with an eye toward professional publication for a little more than twenty years and I’ve just scratched the surface. And sit your butt in the chair. That book or short story isn’t going to write itself. Treat writing like a profession, and maybe someone will treat you like a professional. I’ll probably have better advice in another twenty years.

Follow this link to read the full Q&A.

Quote of the Day

It matters as much why something is done as what is done. Mercy or forbearance in return for true evil is not virtue; it is disaster. Condemning the killing of those who have murdered and created great suffering and who would continue to do so is an exercise in empty righteousness. Yet there are always those who would judge without sullying their hands, and for that reason, much that is done must remain unspoken and unacknowledged.

- L. E. MODESITT, JR., Imager's Challenge (Canada, USA, Europe, AbeBooks)

Rest in Peace: Lee Bierly, New England design star

The New England design community is saddened by the news of the death of New England Hall of Fame designer Lee Bierly this week, after a lengthy battle with cancer.

 Lee Bierly (standing) and Christopher Drake

Mr. Bierly was a big bear of a man who managed to create, along with his husband  and business partner Christopher Drake, subtle interiors that were both elegant and comfortable.

 (source unknown) - Seriously beautiful

I wrote about a chance encounter I had with Mr. Bierly when I met him briefly the night he was inducted into the New England Design Hall of Fame. 

Courtesy of Traditional Home magazine. 

Photographs by Robert Brantley. Produced by Estelle Bond Guralnick

Image of Mr. Bierly and Mr. Drake's house courtesy of New England Home Magazine. 

Photography by Michael Partenio. Styling by Stacy Kunstel. Read the entire story by Erin Marvin here.

Active in the community, Mr. Bierly was a trustee emeritus of Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center and a past overseer of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston.

 Photograph by Robert Brantley, via Traditional Home

"...sometimes I feel like a character out of one of John Irving's novels; hurdling from one adventure to another—bear, unicycle, and all," ~ Lee Bierly, via Home Portfolio

My thoughts and condolences go out to the Bierly-Drake families at this difficult time. May the love of friends and fans bring you peace and comfort. 



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 Hi girls!

I was shopping this afternoon and I've bought some a cool blue jeans & a white jeans from 'levis' in Clinic- Antwerp. I'm really happy with my new items!

My mum and I went to a very expensive shop too and we even got a glass Champagne (in my case: coca cola) while we were shopping :D awesome, isn't it? That should be in every shop like that!

Here you can see my new nailpolish. The colour makes me think of a fantasy-world, or a "every-day-is-party-day"-world :D Just a fabulous colour!

Here you can see me sitting in the fabulous shop, in a cool "fauteuil".

our drinks.. :D

xxxxxxx

Ares Express

If I could sum up this novel with one single word, it would have to be "weird." In a good sort of way, mind you, but weird nonetheless. Big, ambitious, and multilayered the way all Ian McDonald books are, Ares Express also possesses a healthy dose of fun, wit, and absurdity which make this work quite different from what McDonald has accustomed us to in recent years. If Jack Vance, Terry Pratchett, and Hal Duncan had ever teamed up to write a book, they would have come up with something akin to Ares Express.

Hence, those readers who found novels such as River of Gods and Brasyl a bit too cerebral may enjoy Ares Express on a very different level. Just buckle up and get ready for quite a ride! Things don't always make sense, and at times one wonders what the heck is going on and where McDonald is going with this story, but stick with it to the end. Ares Express is a satisfying and rewarding read.

Here's the blurb:

A Mars of the imagination, like no other, in a colorful, witty SF novel, taking place in the kaleidoscopic future of Ian McDonald's Desolation Road, Ares Express is set on a terraformed Mars where fusion-powered locomotives run along the network of rails that is the planet's circulatory system and artificial intelligences reconfigure reality billions of times each second. One young woman, Sweetness Octave Glorious-Honeybun Asiim 12th, becomes the person upon whom the future—or futures—of Mars depends. Big, picaresque, funny; taking the Mars of Ray Bradbury and the more recent, terraformed Marses of authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson and Greg Bear, Ares Express is a wild and woolly magic-realist SF novel, featuring lots of bizarre philosophies, strange, mind-stretching ideas, and trains as big as city blocks.

As far as the worldbuilding goes, since the book is set in the future of McDonald's Desolation Road, I was afraid that not having read that novel would mean that I might miss nuances and certain plot points. Yet Ares Express takes place sor far in the future that you can read and enjoy it without having read Desolation Road. As is always his wont, Ian McDonald's narrative makes the setting come alive. This is a semi-terraformed Mars whose imagery is nothing short of arresting.

Although Ares Express is doubtless Sweetness Octave's book, it's the supporting cast which gives the novel its depth and flavor. Grandmother Taal, Devastation Harx, the United Artists, and many more characters add more layers and help make this an unforgettable tale.

The pace is uneven throughout, and trying to make sense of what exactly is happening can be mind-boggling at times. There are POV shifts from one paragraph to another in certain portions of the novel, which takes some getting used to. But once you grow comfortable with the fact that McDonald is willingly pushing this story all over the place, everything settles down and it gets easier.

Though Ares Express possesses some of the qualities which made books like River of Gods, Brasyl, Cyberabad Days, and The Dervish House such fantastic reads, this book is a world away from the others. Wild, strange, picaresque, and funny, Ares Express will surprise you on several levels.

The final verdict: 7.75/10

For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe

The Orbit Podcast, Episode 1

Hey folks,

Orbit just put together their first podcast, this time with the always entertaining Joe Abercrombie, author of the recently released The Heroes (Canada, USA, Europe).

Subjects covered include: hand-to-hand combat, warfare and film, gallows humor, death metal, the American Civil War, and more.

You can listen to it here.

Lavand & stuff

Hi girls!
I discovered some brilliant peaces of ""lavand'' , an spanish store! They've got wonderful clothes.. I've got a jacket of them, real beautiful!
http://www.lavand.es/index.php
this is the link to the site!

Theyve got special items, with fantasy-prints .. real adorable for a great spring-summer-season!
take a look... it's charming, cool and playful <3

winter peaces

Patrick Rothfuss contest winner!

Thanks to the generosity of the nice folks at Daw Books, our winner will receive a complimentary copy of Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

The winner is:

- Troy Kimball, from Tucson, Arizona, USA

Many thanks to all the participants!

On blogging and anniversaries, or, Where did the last six years go?

I'm feeling a wee bit old and pensive...  Anniversaries have a habit of doing that. [Sit back, this ended up longer than expected.]

And missing anniversaries can make one feel a tad feeble minded. You see, my six year blogging anniversary was last month, and I forgot all about it. In design blog terms, six years is quite a long time. I started my blog as an offshoot of my company newsletter that I'd been sending out for a couple of years. I had been hearing from marketing types that the old fashioned newsletter was going out of style (it didn't, if done right) and was wondering what was the next thing I could do to market myself. I'm a semi-early adopter, I guess. I started running into blogs online and became fascinated by the instant update quality and the marketing potential. I was also intrigued that major media publications were taking notice of design bloggers. I'd been reading Grace Bonney's Design*Sponge off and on when I saw that she was featured (along with Apartment Therapy, MocoLoco, and TreeHugger.) in an interesting New York Times piece, dated January 27, 2005.

Coincidentally (but not) my very first blog post was that very same day. (It wasn't much, just a repost of a piece I'd written for my newsletter that also appeared on the now defunct Respond.com site.)  As I recall, I'd been thinking about blogging, but that NYT piece must have pushed me over the edge. After all - Grace was a 23 year old baby and there she was in the Times!!  I find it incredibly interesting, and telling, that all but one (Land and Living) of the blogs mentioned in the article are far and away today's leaders and "old guard" of blogging. They are all so big, it's hard to still call them blogs (similar to HuffPo or Drudge). They are more like media giants and no one would even think of questioning if they are here to stay.

And so, six years and three weeks later, the New York Times has another article on blogging entitled Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter. It would have been cool had they both been written by the same reporter, but they are not. A couple quotes are frightening - how blogging is too much writing and it's easier to just post pics on Tumblr or reduce one's thoughts to 140 characters on Twitter.

Of course, from January 2005 to now, the design blogs have exploded. I have no idea how many there are, but there seem like thousands and thousands. Can we read them all? No. Will all get media coverage? No. I think it's clearly obvious that the "Old Guard" benefited from being first. Their stories are rife with readership jumps from hundreds to multi-thousands of readers a day, within months of launch. I doubt very much that could happen today. The Times' story of 2005 reported that AT reported daily readership of 10,000. AT reports today a readership of over 66,000 daily readers (per their media kit). Design*Sponge reports over 75,000 site visits daily and over 100K subscribers via RSS feed. 

The "Second Guard" which I guess I am part of, probably dates from 2005-2008. Many of us have also benefited from being around for a while and are on media lists and get attention from major media outlets.  The "blog smog" is now quite thick (in a good way!) and I think it's very hard for newer bloggers to gain notice. Of course, some do absolutely. But it's hard and requires dedication and the ability to stand out via excellent writing, design talent, connections, personality or some combination of the above.

I'm frequently asked by newer bloggers, or those considering blogging, how to get going and how to gain readership. Of course, as new media continues to grow and evolve (FB, Twitter, etc) the question is - will blogs continue to be as relevant and, as some marketing voices say "Should everyone have a blog"?  My feeling is no, everyone should not have a blog, or to be clearer, everyone should not feel like they should have a blog. If you want one, welcome!

But, if you're going to have a blog - write it yourself. I'm a purist and feel that a blog should be about the blogger (their views, ideas and talent). I'm not a fan of the turnkey blogging services that are available. I don't think a blog will gain any kind of traction if the voice is not genuine. If you are worried about writing skills, spelling, grammar or punctuation, then hire an editor - someone who will format your writing, correct the grammar, etc and even do the tech part. But the essence needs to be you.

In 2009, I launched The Skirted Roundtable with Megan Arquette and Joni Webb, as a way to move the conversation off the screen and make it more immediate. I think I can speak for all of us that this initiative has really established our individual voices. Personally, it's cut considerably into my actual blogging time because the editing process is so time intensive, but every minute is worth it.

When we started The Skirted Roundtable, we recorded several podcasts about blogging with topics including content, finding one's voice, gaining readership, etc. You can hear those podcasts here, here, here and here. I highly recommend that anyone interested in growing their blogs, or are just starting out, might want to listen in and read the comments as our listeners are very smart and insightful.

The most important thing to decide on, however, is why do you want to blog and who do you want to be speaking to. I started off by deciding that I wanted my readership to be other designers, high-end design buyers and the media. My readership is minscule compared the "Old Guard" and probably in the mid-average range among the "Second Guard". I don't receive tons of comments and while I treasure the comments I do receive, I've learned to let go of "comment counting". Because, my target readership isn't likely to be high rate commenters. But I know from my visit stats, from private emails and from opportunities received that I'm hitting my mark. And that's good enough for me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the state of design blogging. I think this will be a topic for SRT soon as well, so stay tuned for that.

And a big hug and kiss to all the friends I've made through blogging (the most important benefit, bar none!). As a closet shy girl (I do love that expression) it's given me the chance to push out of my Yankee reticence and enter a world I could not have imagined. XXOO to all of you!

If you would like my help on your design project, I would love to chat with you! Please email me. Thanks!

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