0 thoughts on “New post about the new post”

  1. Is this line something Vlad would say: “I’d hate to have to beat someone as respected as you with something as big and heavy as a brick.”

    Just curious.

  2. How about something that waxes philosophical about the trends in conventions.

  3. I’d love to hear how accurate the characterization is in this fanfiction, and maybe some comments or opinions on fanfiction in general. “You want to know what kind of person Morrolan e’Drien, Lord of Castle Black, wielder of Blackwand and Court Wizard is? All right, then I’ll tell you.”
    http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4567871/1/Judging_a_Man_by_His_Library

    Also, I don’t know about anyone else but the link did not work for me.

  4. Dennis: Yeah, it does kind of sound like him. Although he’d be more likely to say as prosaic instead of big and heavy.

    Thanks for the info on the url. I’ll see if I can fix it. Trying now.

  5. Damn. Mine worked. WTF? I can’t fix it if my version doesn’t act broken. I’ll ask Corwin to take a look at it. Sorry!

  6. Ryan: Well, I’ve *written* fanfic, so I’m hardly going to say anything against it on principle. I don’t usually read fanfic about my stuff. Why? I don’t know. I’ve wondered. Maybe I’m afraid some of it will be better than mine, or I’m afraid I’ll want to steal something. I don’t know. It’s strange.

  7. You could tell us how the new book is coming along. I suspect that I’m not the only one who is curious.

  8. Okay, Adam: if by the new book, you mean Hawk, it’s slow. I’m about 2/3rd of the way through chapter 4, and it’s going all right, but all this health stuff has kind of slowed me down. The point is, it’s going, but I need to build up speed again. So far, I’m happy with it, and Vlad is handing me ideas at more or less the rate I need them. Seems to be more fighting in this one in the last several, which pleases me because I always like writing fights.

    If you mean SPIKED, it’s all delivered, except that I can’t keep my hands off it. I keep re-reading it, just for fun, and of course, as I read it, I notice some little thing to change. But I’m going to try to behave for a while.

    That answer your question?

  9. Whenever I click the link, whether from here or from facebook, I get a “http does not exist” error. I’m using google chrome.

  10. Steve, first, thanks for the update on the books! Second, I would love to hear your opinions on the Hugos and on awards in writing in general. This is my first year voting in the Hugos, and I’m learning a lot that I thought I knew.

    Just curious, since you asked for topics! Hope you’re feeling better.

  11. Steve, I would be very interested to hear a bit about your process of writing. (i.e. Do you have a routine through which you go to take an idea from its first stages into a finished book) Also, how do you combat the ‘There’s so much else that needs to get done’ block to writing?

  12. Here’s what I wonder about:

    – Should people give money to beggars on the street?

    – What would Orwell have to say about Politics, the English Language, and Social Media?

    – Will Paarfi of Roundwood ever try his hand at erotica?

    Opinions on any of these?

  13. The senior class of both Authors and Artists in the Genre are dropping like flies, to put it delicately, which I haven’t. How about a general eulogy to those you might have had a personal connection to?

  14. Yes, that does answer my question. Thanks for that. I had not heard of SPIKED…

  15. Jack: When I’m doing other stuff, I can think about writing, which means it flows pretty well once I sit down. But, really, I don’t have much trouble sitting down and working, as long as I stay out of hospitals.

    I can assure you, Argentum, that Paarfi will not write erotica. Thank God.

    Spiked is my newest project, a collaboration with Skyler White. It should be out next year from Tor. I’m so psyched about it I almost can’t stand it.

  16. Well you could give us some details about your ongoing relationship with Hot Dental Assistant. Don’t feel constrained by reality, we don’t need to hear about the restraining order.

    If that subject is still too painful or your attorneys have suggested that you not discuss it then maybe some advice on home coffee roasting. I remember you mentioned it a while back and I’m curious about what you’re using for a roaster: Fancy home roasting equipment? Stove top popcorn popper? Mysterious semi-magical alchemical process known only to yourself and your trusted assistant? It’s something I’ve tried my hand at a couple of times and not had much luck with.

  17. Argentum, Thank you for the Paarfic erotica concept, I just used it to torture a good friend of mine. That’ll likely be in his head all day. Muhuhuhahahaha!!!!

  18. Steve, the one question I thing we’re all dying to hear the answer to is ‘How is the new hat working out?’

    Afterall, it has a lot to live up to.

  19. I know I’m not going to get anywhere asking about Hawk’s contents, so I’ll try a sideways approach.

    In the first few Vlad novels Loiosh (or a nameless jhereg, though I highly doubt that) is the subject of the cover art, with the possible exception of Phoenix. Lately the cover art has taken a turn, featuring depictions of the title’s namesake animal either solo or alongside Loiosh. Frustratingly enough, this flip happened right after Dragon, because I would love to see a rendering of the giant neck-tentacled creature you describe your version of a dragon as, other than the black and white face present in The Cycle at the beginning of each novel.

    But since we already know what a hawk looks like, or at least I assume we know what a hawk looks like, what will the cover art for Hawk be? Why waste a cover if it will be showing something everyone has already seen when you could show something that would otherwise be confined to text description and your imagination?

    I say ‘assume’ because when I started reading your books there were a few terms I assumed I knew, ‘human,’ ‘work,’ and ‘tag,’ in particular, that I have subsequently found I was misinformed, or at least under-informed, on. Other seemingly impossible terms like ‘pleasantly annoying’ (in the case of Loiosh) have been defined and proven to exist. These and many other bits of wordplay and the several times you have knowingly led me, the reader, astray for either my own enjoyment of the story, shock value or the dark pleasure that it brings you (for the end of Orca, I suspect all three), I am left wondering if hawks in Dregaera even closely resemble what most of us think of as hawks on Earth. Though generally bird-shaped, the depiction in The Cycle leaves a lot of room to play with. It would be very much like you, and I cite Agyar as strong evidence, to play with the preconceived ideas of us, the readers, only to subtly hint that they are actually very different from what we thought they were.

    Oh, and about the fanfic stuff, I understand. And the link works now. Interesting stuff, especially the comments on the origin of the Vlad series’ characters. Over winter break a D&D binge with a few of my friends, though lacking in lysergic acid diethylamide or anything more mind-altering than D&D itself unlike a Cats Laughing concert :), inspired several new characters for my own story. I guess RPGs, like your novels, get the creative juices flowing. How does it feel to be among Raymond Chandler, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber and Rodger Zelazny as an author who has had a major influence on a budding writer?

    What was my original question again? Oh, yes, the thinly veiled attempt at getting information about Hawk out of you. So what will the cover look like?

  20. While news about the Hot Dental Assistant might be titillating, I’d be more interested in hearing The Plan for recovering and keeping your health and, since this is America, your finances.

    A new heart? I understand Dick Cheney has one with low miles. His acid bile is bound to kill him soon, and while used, it’s only had two owners, and the second one can really hardly be said to have used it. On my worth-o-meter, at least, you are far more deserving. And the heart Cheney is using can’t be happy living in a war criminal, if unindicted.

    While you are considering, I’ll turn Greg Brown up on the stereo and pretend.

  21. Michael: The new hat is working fine; it’s already pretty much learned my head. All is well.

    Ryan: I don’t know what the cover will look like, but Steve Hickman is probably doing it, so I’m pretty sure I’ll love it. Good question about hawks: In the Southwestern Dragaeran language, “hawk” is used for anything from an eagle to a gyrfalcon. You might almost say: Any bird of prey that isn’t an owl.

    How does it feel? Pretty grand, actually. Thanks.

    Alaska Fan: I’m still working on getting health care coverage. I am cautiously optimistic. If it fails, my friend Jeremy from Austin has provided a link for what looks like an excellent backup.

    Plan involves: Putting a debrifulator into my chest.
    Removing the polyp that has been causing sinus problems for about ten years now.
    Getting my teeth fixed in some permanent way (right now I have an irritating temporary measure that helps cosmetically, but leaves me unable to eat, for example, a burger).

    Thanks for asking.

  22. Random House just published a book called Hit Lit about what it takes to write a bestseller. What do you think of books like that?

    Of the specific dozen or so authors he analyzes, most have bored me to tears. The others I haven’t read. I’m curious what a pro feels when seeing that sort of advice.

  23. (Note: Above link is now functional)

    I’d like to know what it will take to get the rest of the back catalog available in ebook form. I wax poetic (or ramble incessantly depending on who you ask) about your work, and would love to point them at, or gift buy the eBook of Jhereg for them to get them started.

  24. Greg: Working on that now. Contract signed. They should be hitting pretty soon. Thanks for asking.

  25. That is excellent news!!! I am constantly checking to see if they have been released as eBooks.

    On that note, I would love if a new Vlad novel is set in his early days. :)

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