Book 59: Endurance (Green, Book 2) by Jay Lake,  isbn 9780765326768, 320 pages, Tor, $26.99

The Premise: (from Goodreads)  Green is back in Copper Downs. Purchased from her father in sunny Selistan when she was four years old, she was harshly raised to be a courtesan, companion, and bedmate of the Immortal Duke of Copper Downs. But Green rebelled. ( Read more... )

I've been remiss about posting about updates to my website. (Okay, I've been remiss about posting anything at all. I'm trying!)

Interview-wise:

This past Tuesday was our very own jaylake, discussing  hosting the Hugo Awards ceremony, why he's written so many trilogies lately, and how cancer continues to affect his writing.

Last week, my guests were Meghan L ( Read more... )

Well, whatever that beatthecrapoutofmeitis was that hit mid-week, I think I'm past it. Last night I was still feeling a bit on the weak side, but far far less congested and not at all feverish.  Of course, coming home from work on Friday at 5pm and sleeping almost straight through til 5pm on Saturday might have helped that issue.

Saturday night I ( Read more... )

I tweeted quite a bit last night about who I'd love to interview in the coming weeks/months.

Before I tweeted, I had confirmed (but not completed) emails set up with young singer Anthony Gargiula (FINALLY DONE), author Bryan Thomas Schmidt (THE NORTHSTAR SERIAL, the upcoming THE WORKER PRINCE, and moderator of Twitter's #SFWRTRCHT), graphic novelist ( Read more... )

There's a used bookstore two blocks up from my hotel. I noticed it when I walked up to Radio Shack last night to buy a new power cord for the laptop. It looks shabby when you first walk in, and things are a bit scattered, but the staff is really nice. For about $20 I found:

S.M. Stirling's THE PROTECTOR'S WAR
Umberto Eco's THE NAME OF THE ROSE
Michael ( Read more... )

Book 8: The Specific Gravity of Grief by Jay Lake,  isbn 9780982073070, 100 pages, Fairwood Press,  $25.00

The Premise: Drawing on his real-life experience with colon cancer and the devastating effect it can have on family, friendships and career, author Jay Lake writes of the cancer-riddled life of a writer named Jay Lake. Told in sparse, poetic ( Read more... )

So here I am, back in NJ.

Kansas City ended the swing on a fine note. Can't say it was my favorite class ever, but there were good discussions overall and decently nice people.  I blew my chance to see my friend Chasey again. Chasey was the waiter I met at the Ruby Tuesday's near the hotel last year at this time, and we got to talking on Facebook ( Read more... )

First city in the swing officially done with: Thank you, Mobile. The class participants were nice and talkative, but my timing was off and things got a bit rushed at the end ... and it showed in the quiz scores. Then again, I haven't taught this, my main course, since the end of June and it always takes at least one city to get my footing back ( Read more... )

Book 53: Green by Jay Lake, isbn 9780765321855, 368 pages, Tor, $26.95

I've read several of Jay Lake's short stories. What I usually like about his work is how the sense of place and the sense of character are equally important, how neither aspect overwhelms the other, and how both combine to move the plot forward.  Green is the first of Lake's ( Read more... )

The stay in Houston was okay. The weather stayed decent. The group of people for whom I was giving the class were a lot of fun during class hours. The head cold lingered, and a headache started on the trip down that never really went away until I arrived home. Also, an odd sort of discomfort just below my sternum started up. I noticed it when ( Read more... )