Myth, the Universe, and Everything

Egads, has it been so long? I had company all last week (delightful company -- my parents came to visit from Michigan!) which meant my internet time was somewhat limited, as we were busy spending time in each others' company. Sadly, we did not get a chance to play bridge, but that can wait until the next time.

First order of business: cinda_cite, you have won the book & CD combo! Congrats. I hope you enjoy Common Shiner. :) I'll talk more about my own thoughts on music and myth later in the week.

In the mean time, some important things happened in the publishing world this week:

• Most importantly, Genreville, the Publishers Weekly blog on science fiction, fantasy, and horror, has relaunched! Their first post is a contest for a John Scalzi ARC, so get over there and say hello. (You can also find them on twitter @Genreville.)


• You must have heard it by now, because it's all over the news: Disney bought Marvel. I have no pithy commentary to add at this time (especially since Jeph Jacques (qcjeph) of Questionable Content already took the cake with his twitter feed, @jephjacques, which is NSFW).


• One of my fellow substrate members relaunched his two websites today: ThomasScofield.com and Nursery Tymes. He also shared a great blog entry about what your job is as a writer, from the blog of James Scott Bell. All are worth a look.

In slightly more self-centered news, I got asked by a fellow alum of Simon's Rock if I'd sign a copy of Into the Reach for his daughter. They'd made a bet of some kind, and her reward was that he'd buy her a book and get it signed by the author for her. She must have won, because she got the book (and enjoyed it!), and it'll soon be on its way for me to sign it and send it back. :) That definitely made my day.

I got back yesterday from a wonderful, busy, and very full weekend in Chicago. It went by far too quickly, and my next trip to Chicago will definitely have to be a longer one, so I can not only fit everything in, but also say hi to the folks who live there who I didn't have time to get in touch with this trip. Highlights of the weekend include taking the tall ship Windy out on the water (I got to help hoist the main sail), touring Chicago's Sky Chapel, going to a Common Shiner concert, and generally spending time with my sister, who I hadn't seen in ages. Full weekend, lots of fun, and I'm still a little exhausted and recovering.

While I was away, the intrepid writers in my critique group, Substrate, started our new group blog. What does Substrate mean? Check out Max Gladstone's first entry at the Substrate blog. (Max also did a nice short post on his home blog about us.) Please, stop by, say hello, and generally, check us out! (As Strong Bad would say, "No, really... check us out!")

Now off to catch up on a deadline that got moved ahead in my schedule...

Quick link, via Julia:

The Get Out Clause, a Manchester band, recently used the cameras on every street corner to their advantage, collecting the footage under the Freedom of Information Act in the UK. The results are particularly awesome. The Telegraph has the video footage and details of their production. More of their music (which is also very good) is available at the band's site.

Speaking of bands of which I'm a fan, the Common Shiner site has an interview up with band founder, Morgan "Papa Shiner" Foster. Just, you know, to continue my shameless plugging. ;)

I got my Common Shiner CD yesterday from CD baby and listened to it last night and this morning. It's a short little CD, but every song on it is good. There's more keyboard on this album than in their earlier songs, which changes the sound a bit--the result is quite delightful.

I'll post a full review over at CD Baby this weekend. Just in case you all were wondering. ;)

Tight schedule this week due to deadlines, so I won't be writing much. Quick notes:

* Cowboys and Aliens, volume 1 (the first team) went up to number 1 on the DrunkDuck.com comics site after it was announced that there's a movie deal in the makings. I don't know much more about it than that, but it bodes well for our sequel when we start posting!

* Common Shiner got interviewed. New CD comes out on August 10th!

* I visited the shoreline off of Tuxis Island, which was supposedly created by the mud that fell from the giant Tuxis's feet as he ran out into the sea. Connecticut used to be the land of giants. I think *that* needs to be what the Hobbomock story deals with, instead of trying to integrate the Tuatha de Danan. We'll see.

* The Living Kingdoms of Kalamar staff (sans me--I retired on June 1) is making their way out to Origins this weekend. I edited one of the premieres, so I'm psyched to hear how it goes. (I also co-wrote one of the GenCon premieres, but I'll have to wait to hear how that one goes.)

* Helpful people told me I need to change my theme in order to get the nifty tag clouds, so that's a project for once my deadlines are behind me. Another couple of people left me links in my comments that I haven't had the chance to follow up on--but I'm very eager to do so! If only I would remember to schedule holidays when I'm planning my work load.

That's it for today! I'll be back next week at the latest!

Speaking of somewhat obscure references, one of the bands I really like, Common Shiner, just put up a video asking area residents what Common Shiner meant to them. The answers range from pretty dumbfounded to another name for black eyes. (Alas, no one actually knew it was a kind of fish used for bait...)

The reason I post this here is not only to plug the band, which deserves to be much better known. Common Shiner actually promotes the book industry. It's true! Not only do they make the best use of their local book and music sellers, but they also perform a song titled "Bookstore Girl," which is a great love song about the girl who works in the bookstore coffee shop. It also includes references to X-Men, the Bronte sisters, and Upton Sinclair.

In closing, check them out.