Aaron asked, in the previous comment thread: Do authors get nervous when their works become acces­sible to the masses? With this book, perhaps less so, consid­ering this is a series work in progress with an avid read­er­ship. However, I can’t help but wonder if you (in partic­ular) get butter­flies the first “opening days” of your releases. Since I was more or less thinking about writing about this very thing, it’s the perfect ques­tion at this time. But first, the usual very strong and very rele­vant disclaimers. I can’t speak for authors in general. No author can. Writing process – from start to finish – is so indi­vidual that what works for one author perfectly will cause another to seize up and word­lock. This is true when writing a novel; it’s … Continue reading →

I’ve posted this over on my Live­Journal as well, so if you read that, you’ve already seen it :). I really like Conflu­ence, and my husband and I will be heading there this coming weekend, the 24th-26th of July. My program­ming schedule for the weekend is: Friday 5pm Oak Why are there so many Twits on Twitter? John Scalzi, Laurie Mann, Michelle Sagara West,Sarah Zettel I really like reading John Scalzi, and I’m plan­ning on being highly amused. Saturday 12pm Salon A Folk­lore and the Roots of Fantasy Alan Irvine, Michelle Sagara West, Susan Dexter, Bill Mayhew Saturday 1pm Oak Is Amazon “Kindling” a New Gener­a­tion of Readers Thomas Seay, Gary Markette, Michelle Sagara West, Jean Gold­strom Saturday 2:00 PM Auto­graphing Michelle Sagara West Saturday 4pm Jr Ste Kaffee Klatsch … Continue reading →

This is a bit late, for which I apol­o­gize, and it’s prob­ably not of interest to anyone who isn’t already attending the conven­tion, but my schedule for the weekend at Polaris 2009 is as follows: Print book vs E‑book E‑book sales have been steadily increasing over the past few years. Will they endanger phys­ical, paper books, or is there room for both? What are the advan­tages of e‑books and print books? Panelists: Anna Hatton, Timothy Carter, Michelle Sagara West, Stephen B. Pearl Sched­uled day/time: Friday 9:00 PM Female super­heroes. The few, the love inter­ests, the female versions of male super­heroes… A few years ago Sequen­tial Tart asked their readers to submit a list of top ten favourite female super­heroes. Rules: Super­heroes, not just comic book char­ac­ters; no female … Continue reading →

I’m at best a haphazard and slightly under-orga­nized person.  I didn’t realize just how close July the 1st was until, well, today.  June has disap­peared in a trail of words, chap­ters, and the end of school.  I’ve done a fair amount of writing, and I’m three quar­ters of the way through Cast in Chaos (which I always now type instead of Silence).  I’ve also finished revi­sions on what exists of House Name, having added some seven thou­sand words, and I’m now at the point where I’m once again writing new words in that book’s closing arc. Someone came into the store a couple of months ago and suggested that one of my future Cast novels should be titled Cast in Concrete, which was very funny – and if … Continue reading →