I just got my first royalty statement for The Presidential Book of Lists. And to forestall the questions: no, I'm not rich. No, the book didn't earn out the advance. Yes, the trade paperback sales were about what I was expecting ( Read more... )

You know how, after you go on vacation, you get home, and then you need a vacation to recover from your vacation?

That's why I woke up early this morning, and then again this afternoon.

Now I'm at the computer, trying to catch up. The first thing I found was that the new server is doing nice things to my incoming SFScope e-mail, sorting and ( Read more... )

Just got confirmation that, in addition to my two talks in Pittsburgh next week (see this post), I'll be doing a signing on Wednesday, the first of July, at 7PM at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, South Side Works, 2705 E. Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. The store's phone number is 412-381-3600 ( Read more... )

I'm reposting this review from uspresidents because the book it talks about deserves a wider audience. I think you'll like it:

I'm a President-nut. I also enjoy road trips. So I was thrilled to learn about Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip by Matthew Algeo. This book covers an incredibly small piece of ( Read more... )

I'll be spending Independence Day weekend in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Specifically, I'll be at the American Mensa Annual Gathering, which runs 1-5 July. I've got confirmation of my two scheduled talks, for those who'll be there and want to hear me talk in a formal setting (as opposed to "run into me sometime; I'm always willing to talk ( Read more... )

Well, I'm nearly caught up with everything from that missing week (great trip, other than I tried to maintain SFScope while on the road while enjoying what we were ostensibly there to do, and wound up tiring myself out, rather than resting ( Read more... )

I've just gone public (although it was pretty much an open secret, whatever that means): I'm taking on a new gig. I'm now an acquiring editor for Wilder Publications' new sf/f imprint Fantastic Books. SFScope remains my main focus, and also my writing (I'm working on the sequel to The Presidential Book of Lists: got two more chapters done last ( Read more... )

I've been feeling guilty for ignoring this lj so long. Unfortunately, the guilt is going to have to grow. I've been keeping SFScope running, and though it feels like I'm working in a vacuum over there, occasionally I'll check the usage logs, and the numbers keep going up (slowly, but in the correct direction), so I feel better about it. I'm also ( Read more... )

This weekend, we went to Central New Jersey Mensa's Snowball Regional Gathering. One of the longest-running Mensa conventions, it's also the closest to my home. Nevertheless, it's been several years since the last time I got to this one ( Read more... )

I mentioned my speaking appearances in New Hampshire recently. They were two one-hour talks (each of which ran nearly an hour and a half: interested audiences are great!) at the New Hampshire Mensa Regional Gathering (RG) this weekend in Nashua ( Read more... )