Lewis Shiner Reading at The Regulator

Local author Lewis Shiner will read from and sign copies of his new retrospective short story collection, Collected Stories. “These...powerful stories cover Shiner’s career across three decades and multiple genres, showcasing hard-edged, often political genre fiction at its finest....Shiner never fails to astound, and this collection highlights everything that makes him one of today’s best storytellers,” writes Publishers Weekly. We’ll also have on hand Shiner’s novel about Durham, Black & White, and Deserted Cities of the Heart, both newly available in paperback.

Tues. December 8, 7:00pm.

The Regulator Bookshop
720 Ninth St
Durham, NC 27705

I <3 U

Twilight

Supernatural

( Please allow me to enumerate the many proofs or your unspecialness. )

6) You're running around with "Pray for Obama, Psalm 109:8" t-shirts.

For those of you who are bad with numbers, I'll remind you of the verse:

"Let his days be few; and let another take his office."

And since you're poor readers, I'll point you to the verse that follows (109:9)

"Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow."

Wow. Just--wow. You're worshipping Jesus by quoting bible verses out of context to make them say: "Kill the president."

Stay classy, Religious Right.

Oh, and 1 John 3:15, right back atcha.

OXOXOXOXOX
Melinda

If you interact with things in your life, everything is constantly changing. And if nothing changes, you're an idiot.
--Umberto Eco

Full interview (and a fascinating one) is here.

So, I accidentally read Metafilter's take on Revenue realities of a bestseller, and was therefore forced to watch a bunch of cube monkeys get in high dudgeon about Who does this woman think she is? She lives the creative life! She's lucky. My job sucks... I wish I were a writer--I mean--How dare she!

Yes, I know. Don't listen to people on teh internetz. They're insane.

But this comment is telling:

Based on a $7.99 cover price, and 43785 copies sold, the publisher got $349,842.12, of which she took home $27,721.31, or 7.92%

I wish I got 8% of the money my work has produced (for my employers).

To which I have to ask: Why shouldn't you?

No. Think about it for a minute. If your work is worth something. If you're actually producing the stuff that's getting sold. If it's the work of your little mind and your two hands that is going into the packages/software/client services, why aren't you bringing home at least 8% of the revenue (per employee)?

Why not?

That's less than people who are holding the stock would want as a return on their investment. That's cheaper than the price of a business loan. That's a tiny, tiny portion of what's coming in.

And if your company is spending so much on overhead/management/benefits/buildings/marketing that they can't afford to pay you, then whose fault is that?

*Thanks, badger I owe you. Not saying what I owe you until you have your back to me and I have a knife.

Robert Holdstock is in a coma.

E. coli

WTF?

Nice economic analysis of what it means to be making a living from writing right here:

One book will barely keep you above the poverty line.

When chatting with Chip Delany about other things, I heard him say something very interesting. Someone was asking him about sex and what the next big taboo subject was now that sex was all over the television and everything else. Chip suggested that money should be next: That everyone should freely tell everyone else what their yearly income was and how much money they needed to live.

Someone I personally despise is constantly on his high horse about how people keeping their incomes secret is a ploy by The Man to Keep Us Down. I hate this guy, but he was right about that.* Turning money into a gauche topic allows the rich to convince the rest of us that they're just as poor as we are. It hides giant income gaps. It makes us all say "Hey, you shouldn't tax ordinary people so much," when the definition of "ordinary people" is people who are making $250,000 a year and more.

So, good for you, Lynn Viehl, for going public with your sales and your expenses. May we all be so brave.

*That and, as far as I can tell, nothing else ever. Not mentioning him by name because he's a troll, he vanity googles, and I don't want him on my blog.

I'm writing a novel starting with the beginning and the ending and working toward the middle. I'm doing this in my spare time at work, when I can tell myself that I'm not really cheating on my other novel. This novel and I are just--you know--talking, like people do.

A couple of weeks ago, I came up with the beginning and the ending, so I wrote them. a week ago, I came up with the first of a series of letters that go between the sections of the novel, so I wrote that. Then, I realized the letter was important to the denouement, so I wrote the denouement, and today I've got a bit of the beginning, where things first start to go wrong...

It is the weirdest effing thing I've ever dopne.

...but never say never.

Happy birthday to badger!

Who: Samuel R. Delany
What: Reading
When: November 11, 2009 (next Wednesday) 7:30 pm.
Where: Caldwell Lounge, Caldwell Hall (one of the three brick, rectangle buildings on Hillsborough. It's across the street from Bruger's Bagels, among other things).

Note: Hillsborough is under construction, and driving/parking in that area is challenging. Leave a little extra time. If you're coming from I-40/440, take the Wade Avenue extension to the Oberlin exit, go right at the top of the ramp (like you're going to Cameron Village). Hang a right on Clark (which is one or two stoplights down.) Once you're on Clark, you can turn left at Horne (or before) to get to campus. This keeps you from going through the worst of the construction.

There is room for one more in the Thielber/Dansky mobile if you want to carpool. You can meet us at the house at 6:30pm or at Richard's office slightly later than 6:30pm. Ping mthielbar AT gmail DOT com for arrangements.

Campus map of NCSU (click on North Campus, buildings are at upper right).

Miles to go, but it's a step.

House passes health care bill.

Who: Samuel R. Delany
What: Reading
When: November 11, 2009 (next Wednesday) 7:30 pm.
Where: Caldwell Lounge, Caldwell Hall (one of the three brick, rectangle buildings on Hillsborough. It's across the street from Bruger's Bagels, among other things).

Note: Hillsborough is under construction, and driving/parking in that area is challenging. Leave a little extra time. If you're coming from I-40/440, take the Wade Avenue extension to the Oberlin exit, go right at the top of the ramp (like you're going to Cameron Village). Hang a right on Clark (which is one or two stoplights down.) Once you're on Clark, you can turn left at Horne (or before) to get to campus. This keeps you from going through the worst of the construction.

Campus map of NCSU (click on North Campus, buildings are at upper right).

badger, luna_black, any other folks who live near me, wanna carpool?

It's time to stop pretending that writing is a business for me. In fact, it's time to stop pretending that writing is anything but one long party.

Because this weekend, I realized that there were "unprofessional" writers that I seek out every year and "professional" writers whom I run away from. There is, in particular, a certain brand of professional who thinks professional behavior means talking to less successful* writers as if they're nine-year-olds or not at all.

And I am Officially Done With That.

The above makes it sound like I didn't have a good time, which is not the case. I had a fabulous time, saw people I only see once or twice a year. I also did "unprofessional things" that were hella fun, and if you don't know what I'm talking about, well, you'll just have to show up next year.

Because I plan to go and channel my own personal spirit guides: Alfred Bester and Zelda F, and you don't want to miss that.

*Less successful defined on the writer's personal and completely-subjective scale of professional success.

Oh, please God-I-Don't-believe-in let it be the Vitamin D and not yet another placebo effect/spontaneous remission.

In other news, I leave for World Fantasy tomorrow. Hooray.

I am not caught up, but I can see "caught up" from here.

My head appears to have healed up.

My finger is still out of commission, but the bones have healed, and I am now using "buddy taping" rather than a full splint.

If you're in New York, this looks like a great party.
( What )

Where and When:
** Bulldog Gin Drink Specials from 7-9pm!** Dirty martinis, anyone?

At DROM, in the heart of the East Village

85 Avenue A
(between 5th St & 6th St)
New York, NY 10009
(212) 777-1157

Wednesday, October 28th, 7pm

Admission: $12 @ the door (You’ll make that back in drink specials in no time.)

Come early for the booze (7-9pm) and the films (7-8pm) which are not to be missed!

Yesterday, I got up and immediately started working on my thesis. As usual, I worked until I got stuck and then took a shower. As I was showering, I pondered why nothing was looking right, and as I was rinsing the soap out of my hair, I figured it out.

Of course, you don't let an insight that that sit. It might think you don't appreciate it and leave while you're occupied with other things. The totally-sensible thing to do in that case is to go to your computer and immediately code the proper response so you can check it...

...and look up 20 minutes later to realize you're sitting in front of your computer stark naked and soaking wet and haven't closed the blinds.

In my defense, there is precedent.

Last night, Richard's cat* stole a lamb chop bone off my plate. Then he crawled under the table and started noming it, growling the whole time. I'm sitting there thinking "He's going to choke on that bone and die, and Richard will never forgive me."

I tried to take it away from him. He swatted at me. So, I picked up my glass of water, waited until he let go of the bone in order to stuff more of it in his mouth, and then I poured water on his head. He dropped the bone, and I splashed water in his face to make him back up.

Then I grabbed the bone and held it over him yelling "That's right! I am a tool-using mammal!"

And as he ran under another table, I yelled "You just remember that you are not the alpha cat because my brain is bigger than yours!"

*He's Ember when I like him and Richard's Cat when I hate him.

I just figured out something cool for my thesis...

...and then I realized no one but me, my adviser, and possibly the math prof I talked to this AM will be excited for me.

So, instead of a lengthy explanation, during which you will just have to trust me that I know what I'm talking about, I'll just say: Trust me. It's really cool.

There. Wasn't that easy?

Suuuuuuuuucks.

And that's all I have to say today.

This OMGF WE'RE DYING YOU HAVE TO LAY DOWN UNTIL YOU EAT YOUR BODYWEIGHT IN CHEESE, stuff has to stop.

You're getting enough calories. I promise. You will not starve, I promise. You have adequate vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to build the muscles you need and do the work you need to do, I promise.

Quit it.

Melinda