Chrysalis

"Movement" Now Available in Paperback

2012-05-24T21:41:49Z

Ok, I know there are some of you out there who (gasp!) don't own an e-reading device. You may also have friends or relatives without e-readers who nevertheless would enjoy reading Movement.

Therefore, I have somewhat belatedly arranged for it to be available in paperback. You can buy it on Amazon or include it in a custom book at AnthologyBuilder. Or you can pick up a copy of this little brain-bender, which includes Movement along with stories by David Goldman, Marissa Lingen, and Sandra Tayler.

I do apologize for the cost of the single-story paperback. $3.95 is a pretty steep price for a 26 page chapbook, but Amazon wouldn't let me go much lower. If it's any consolation, I'm only earning about 20 cents in royalties on those.

In unrelated news, Mike Duran has interviewed me on DeCompose. Mike's a devout Christian, so the interview questions focus quite a bit on my religious views and the extent to which they influence my fiction.

What It's Like to Live in Space

2012-05-22T20:18:33Z

On the final morning of Awards Weekend, astronaut Mike Fincke held a Q&A about living on the International Space Station. Here are my notes so I can do the whole verisimilitude thing the next time I'm writing near-future sci-fi set in Low Earth Orbit.

Space Adaptation Sickness
Many (but not all) astronauts experience Space Adaptation Sickness during their first few weeks on the station. If I understood Mike right, this is caused by fluid disbalances within the body because gravity is no longer pulling fluid toward the feet. Symptoms are similar to the common cold: swollen sinuses, headache and so forth.

Mike says that after the adaptation period has passed, you feel as good as or better than you did on Earth, because you're healthy and plus: (Mike's words) you can fly.

Up and Down
The International Space Station is designed with a very clear ceiling and floor to prevent astronauts from getting disoriented. Mike says he spent a day walking on the 'ceiling' and it drove his fellow astronauts crazy. He also said that some of the airlocks can deceive you: if you look down for a moment and lose your orientation, it can take a moment to figure out which door leads back to the station and which one opens on empty space.

Using Your Feet
Someone asked which details science fiction authors have gotten wrong in the past. Mike said that Heinlein -- although a fabulous writer -- once depicted a paraplegic as being basically no longer handicapped in space. But it turns out that astronauts use their feet all the time to maintain position; they sort of hook the foot over the handrail and use it to provide counterpressure when sitting in chairs. In fact, it seems that the complex seven-strap systems originally designed for astronauts are largely unecessary. A footrail positioned near the base of the chair gives the astronauts all the tools they need to stay put.

Best. Weekend. Ever.

2012-05-20T12:01:41Z

Packing up to head home. It's been a fabulous Nebula Weekend and I am so very glad I came.

Hilights:

--Chatting with Connie Willis in the breakfast line

--Shaking hands with astronaut Mike Fincke

--Interviews with Jamie Todd Rubin and Myke Cole

--Meeting Sheila Williams and Stanley Schmidt for the first time

--The pacing panel with Tom, Ferrett, Rachel and Ellen, in which we ventured into such far-flung topics as music theory, neurology, and mountain climbing

--Meeting Joshua Bilmes and suddenly understanding why he is so incredibly good at what he does

--My first autographing session!

--Winning the Asimovs Readers' Choice Award.

The Awards Ceremony was fantastic. Walter Jon Williams made everyone laugh about a billion times. Mike Fincke showed home videos of astronauts on the international space station playing with water bubbles and doing the Iron Man. (Why don't they ever include this stuff in documentaries?!) James Patrick Kelly introduced the new Grand Master in a way that made her seem even more incredible than I had already assumed, and Connie Willis made us all cry with her acceptance speech.

I was sitting there, listening to Connie tell stories of cons past with Walter and Sheila and James and everyone else, and I had the weirdest, almost interstitial experience. Because I suddenly realized that in thirty years, that's going to be us up there on the stand. That's going to be John Scalzi and Mary Robinette Kowal and Eric James Stone and all the writers from our generation, standing up there and talking about what a great journey it's been, and how much fun we've all had together.

Thank you, Connie, for giving us all a glimpse of our future.

My Schedule for the Nebula Awards

2012-05-17T11:01:09Z

My international phone won't take US text messages, so anyone who wants to talk to me during Nebula weekend is going to have to track me down in person. (Either that, or text random people who you think might be in my vicinity. That could get annoying, though.)

THURSDAY
5:00 - 6:00 PM I'll be hanging out in the hospitality suite
7:00 - 9:00 PM Welcoming Reception

FRIDAY
10:00 AM Workshop: TV Interviews Without Terror
12:30 PM Tour of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
4:30 - 5:00 PM Members of the press can chat with me in room Washington B
5:30 - 7:30 PM Autographing session in the Independence Center
9:00 PM Reception to honor Connie Willis and the Nominees

SATURDAY
11:00 AM I'll be at the SFWA Business Meeting
1:00 PM Panelist: Watch that Step! Pacing a Story or Book.
6:30 PM Reception in Regenxy Ballroom
7:30 PM Banquet and Awards Ceremony

Nebula Travel

2012-05-16T21:21:57Z

I have arrived safely in Washington, DC despite United Airlines’ concerted attempts to thwart my travel plans. Have just spent a wonderful afternoon and morning visiting with a dear friend from high school who lives in the area, and am looking forward to hooking up with Princess Alethea later today.

Now I just need to convince my body that day is night and night is day, and I’ll be good to go for Nebula Awards Weekend.

Awards Weekend Collectors' Anthology

2012-05-14T17:25:05Z

It's not often that you can collect autographs from eleven different authors in one day. Especially when five of those authors are 2012 Nebula nominees, one is an AML Award winner, and one is a NYT Bestselling Author.

But this Friday, May 18, it will be possible in Arlington.

The Awards Weekend Collector's Edition is an anthology composed of work by 11 authors who will be in attendance at the Nebulas. This means that it's possible for enthusiasts to get an 'autographing blackout' by collecting signatures from every author in the anthology. Oh yeah, and the stories are pretty good, too.

The collection includes Katherine Sparrow's creepy and hideously believable tale of slipstream romance; Ferrett Steinmetz's story of generational tension in an alien environment; Mary Robinette Kowal's touching depiction of a girl and her Teddy Bear Spider; an Amazing Conroy story by Lawrence M. Schoen; and other work by D. T. Friedman, Alethea Kontis, Sandra Tayler, David W. Goldman, Anatoly Belilovsky, Larry Hodges, and Nancy Fulda.

Where to Find Us
SFWA Autographing Session
Friday, May 18, 2012
5:30 p.m. -- 7:30 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1)
Arlington, Virginia 22202.

Where to Find the Books
The Book Depot is located in the hotel's Independence Foyer, and has the following opening hours:
Friday May 18 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday May 19 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday May 19 10:00 a.m. – Noon

Printed on quality paper with a glossy trade paperback binding and featuring a cover photo taken by the Hubble Telescope, this collection will be available at the Book Depot at a heavily discounted rate thanks to the generous support of AnthologyBuilder's printing company, BookLogix.

Autographing Session in Arlington, VA

2012-05-12T20:22:42Z

As part of the 2012 Nebula Awards Weekend, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America is hosting a group autographing session. It's open to the public and there's no fee to enter. There will be about thirty professional authors in attendance, and their books will be available for purchase on site.

If you happen to collect autographed books, this event is a great way to get a bunch of them all at once. And if you happen to like chatting with published authors, this event is great for that, too. A lot of us will be there early and will stay late, and we're generally happy to chat for a few minutes when someone comes to our autographing table.

I know I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of new people. If you happen to be in the area -- even if we've never met -- feel free to stop by and say hi.

Where to Find Me
Friday, May 18, 2012
5:30 p.m. -- 7:30 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1)
Arlington, Virginia 22202.

The Books I'll Be Bringing
The books below will be for sale at the Book Depot, along with tons of other titles by many fabulous authors. Even if you're not interested in autographs, I highly recommend stopping by. My own books will be available at discounted rates throughout the entire Nebula Weekend, and I suspect other authors' books will be, as well.

The Book Depot is located in the hotel's Independence Foyer, and has the following opening hours:
Friday May 18 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday May 19 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday May 19 10:00 a.m. – Noon

Since some of the titles I'm bringing are new to readers of this blog, I'll be hilighting some of them over the next few days.

Pre-Nebula Panic

2012-05-12T16:28:08Z

I'm flying across the Atlantic ocean in three days. I feel like some Disney heroine with a double-life, sending her kids off to school and then heading off to glamorous occasions.

During the days before trips like this, I never want to go. I worry about the kids. I worry that my online friends will hate me once they meet me in person. I worry that it's all a self-indulgent waste of money. I worry that I haven't spent enough money to make it a valid business venture. I worry that I'll drop dinner on my pretty Banquet dress. I wonder whether I'll even be able to get all that fabric tucked away beneath the table without ruining it.

And then I look at the very very long list of things that still need done simply to get myself packed and safely through all the airport security checks and I'm certain I will forget something and then my mind just sort of spirals into a blank panic.

And then it's time to go. And when I get back home I'm always raving about how much fun it all was. Isn't it fun to be predictable?

nancyfulda @ 2012-05-05T11:50:00

2012-05-05T09:50:05Z

Thursday was my husband and my's tenth wedding anniversary. We took the kids canoeing to a beach on the far shore of the river. A fabulous time was had by all.

I don't blog about my husband much, mostly because he tends to be the solution to my problems rather than the cause. Ironically, as a teenager, I did not believe that there was such a thing as a perfect marriage. I have never been happier to be proven wrong.

Elevator Pitches

2012-05-04T10:03:15Z

First -- THANK YOU EVERYONE who commented on the cover quiz. Left to my own devices, I probably would have gone for the one on the right, and that clearly is not the best choice in this case. You guys rock, and I'm glad I have you.

Second -- Since you've all listened to me ramble about Ye Aggravating Novel on so many occassions, I thought you might like to hear the elevator pitch we pounded out at the Villa Diodati workshop. (An elevator pitch, for those who may not know, is a brief, tantalizing description of one's book. There's an excellent Writing Excuses podcast that describes pitching in more detail.)

So here's the informal answer to "What's your book about?":

It's about a girl on a planet where night is deadly. And it’s also got giant lizards.

And the more formal description (kudos to Stephen Gaskell for this one):

What if you lived where night never fell? And if it did you would die. That's the situation for Mikaena, a young girl in an nomadic caravan that is always on the move to escape the deadly, encroaching night. The conflict begins when Mikaena rescues an injured foreigner even though clan law forbids it.

The book is reminiscent of Frank Herbert’s Dune novels in that it combines advanced technology with a regressive society in a highly inhospitable environment.

Now, these may not be perfect, but they're WORLDS better than what I had before. And I've been trying for about two years. My conclusion is that elevator pitches are a group brainstorm type of project. I mean, if you come up with something awesome all by yourself, that's great. But if not, my recommendation is to corral a group of your friends, bribe them with good food, and refuse to let them out of the room until you have a working pitch premise.

In Which It Is Revealed That I Have Not, In Fact, Fallen Off the Face of the Planet

2012-05-01T07:36:29Z

...although, given the state of my sinuses right now, I rather feel as though I had. Head colds. Hate 'em.

Villa Diodati was simply splendid. Ruth Nestvold has posted a lovely summary which nevertheless fails to do justice to the deliciousness of Sylvia's chocolate-caramel cookies. :)

Thanks to the Villa Diodati Group Mind, I now have a working elevator pitch for my novel. For that alone, the trip was worth the money.

Said novel is also nearly 3000 words longer thanks to Villa Diodati, although all of my lovely writerly momentum got squashed upon returning to the day-to-day distractions of parenting three children. I claim that if I hadn't gotten sick, I would have managed more wordage this week, but to be honest, I'm not sure if that's strictly true.

Be that as it may, I have a pop quiz for everybody. If you saw the following two covers sitting side by side in a bookstore, which would you be most likely to pick up?

I ask because, at long last, I have put together four of my most beloved stories from AnthologyBuilder. I'll be taking the collection, along with many other books, to the Nebula Awards weekend. But I can't quite decide which cover to use.

nancyfulda @ 2012-04-21T09:34:00

2012-04-21T07:34:05Z

Janika is potty-trained, Aubrey can swim and Alex is reading. If my husband and I accomplish nothing else this year, I will still consider it a success.

Charity Book Bomb -- How You Can Help

2012-04-19T20:20:52Z

The fabulous and multiple prize-winning author Eric James Stone has organized a Book Bomb for Writing for Charity.

What is a Book Bomb, you ask? Quite simple: it's a way of raising public awareness for a book by arranging for a mob of enthusiastic shoppers to start buying it all at once. The principle works a bit like a run on the bank (but in a good way, of course). As sales accumulate, the book gets better rankings. As the rankings improve, online retailers display the book to increasing numbers of customers, thus allowing it to sell even more copies. This works especially well at Amazon, although sales via Smashwords or Barnes&Noble still help support underpriviledged children in Cambodia and other crisis areas.

So how can you help?

(a) Buy the book, but only if you actually want a copy. We're not trying to guilt anybody out of their money here, and there are plenty of ways to help without opening your wallet.

That said, if you haven't already purchased a copy of the book, you really should consider it, if for no other reason than to read the punch line of "The Three Billion Goats Gruff: A Bulrovian Tale".

(b) Like the book on Amazon.

(c) Link to the book from twitter and facebook. Tell people how very awesome it is. (Especially tell them how awesome MY story is.) Also point out that all proceeds from the book will be used to by school books and other supplies for people who don't have the luxury of buying ebooks with a few mouse clicks.

(d) Post about the Book Bomb on your blog or at internet forums you frequent.

(e) Buy a copy for a friend. Surely you know someone with a birthday this week.

THE GRUFF VARIATIONS began the day with an Amazon ranking of #336,810. As of this posting it is at #17,909. I think we can take it even further.

The Secret to Twist Endings

2012-04-18T09:15:23Z

I'm putting the final touches on a short story commission, and feeling pretty good about the result. I like the ideas the piece explores, and feel like it has at least one or two things to say that haven't been said before.

The ending, however, was unbelievably difficult to get right. The final paragraphs center on an unexpected development; not a twist ending, per se, but definitely a shot out of the blue. Getting the timing right on the reveal has caused me no end of aggravation.

You see, the trouble with surprise endings is that there are basically two kinds of readers: Those who try to figure everything out in advance and those who wait to see what happens. If you write to the first group, the second one will flounder at the end, having not picked up enough clues to get the point. If you write to the second group, the first one will see the twist coming from lightyears away.

I have concluded that the only possible solution is misdirection. You must convince Group #1 that they have already figured out the surprise. They will then stop looking, and you can treat them as part of Group #2.

Hugo Nomination

2012-04-07T21:48:08Z

I'm delighted to announce that "Movement" has been nominated for a Hugo award!

(It's competing against Ken Liu, Mike Resnick, John Scalzi, and E. Lily Yu, so nobody hold your breath on me winning. Gonna be a fun ride either way, though.)

For those who haven't had a chance to read the story yet, it's right here.

The Gruff Variations -- Now on Nook

2012-04-05T15:03:11Z

Okay, nook owners: The Gruff Variations is available at Barnes & Noble.

You now have no excuses left for not reading A Starscape Slightly Askew.

Pitter-patter

2012-04-03T16:59:40Z

My son's best friend is staying with us during Spring Break. On his first night in the house, Fabian and I heard conversation at 2am. Shortly thereafter, two pairs of 8-year-old feet pattered down the hall to the living room.

"They're not..." my husband said.

Yup. The musical tones of the wii-bootup-sequence echoed through the house. Our boys, convinced that they had slept through the night and could now play wii as promised, began a romping, bouncing, exuberant round of Smash Brothers which lasted until 9am. My husband and I didn't have the heart to shut it down. We closed all the doors and went back to bed.

Planning for the Nebulas

2012-04-03T14:37:22Z

I never would have thought so many tasks would accompany an award nomination. Of course, I don't have to do anything for the Nebulas except show up at the banquet and hope people adored "Movement" enough to vote it the winner. But there are plenty of things that would make the trip even cooler.

On my to-do list:

--finish the novel and send queries to agents while I'm still a chic new writer and not last year's nominee

--assemble AnthologyBuilder collections to take to the group autograph session

--organize a print edition of "Movement", also for the group autograph session

--buy shoes to match my dress

--familiarize myself with the names and writing of others who will be there

--assemble an interview cheat-cheat so I won't trip over my tongue or put my foot anywhere it doesn't belong during the variation promotional conversations

--practice my elevator pitch

--don't forget to breathe deeply and HAVE FUN!

In the Fading Light of Sundown

2012-04-02T20:45:35Z

In the Fading Light of Sundown is now available at Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. If you're not a subscriber, I'm afraid you won't be able to read the whole story. But you can look at the lovely artwork Julie Dillon crafted especially for it. :)

There are also a couple of additional notes about the story on the IGMS blog.

Godshift

2012-03-28T19:48:16Z

Godshift is now up at Daily Science Fiction.

This is the concluding story of the Numbers Quartet, and based on the number (if you can call it a number) infinity. I was pretty nervous about this one. It's a concept I've been fiddling around with for a long time, and it was important to me to do the idea justice. I wasn't sure whether I'd succeeded, but the DSF reader discussions seem to indicate that I did.

My favorite quote from the discussion:

"A seven and only because the scale doesn't go higher. It's one of the most intelligent and compelling SF stories about God I've ever read. Like all the best stories of its kind, it reveals a little about God and a lot about humanity." -- Matthew Baugh

What I Do On Sunday

2012-03-25T06:32:37Z

I don't talk talk about divinity much. I grew up reading Asimov and Niven in a time period where the predominant theme in science fiction seemed to be that religion more often than not turns out to be a hoax and smart people don't believe in God.

Intellectually, I know that's not true. The number of Nobel laureates who believe in a higher power ought to be sufficient to dispel the myth. But early conditioning is hard to break, and a secret corner of my brain is terrified that the moment I mention church or prayer, every reader in scifi fandom will run screaming in the opposite direction and never again buy anything I write. Paranoid? Obviously. But it's how I feel.

Here's the sitch.

I don't want to be ashamed of my religion. I don't want to slather it in anybody's face, either. But being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ is part of my everyday life. Shouldn't it be a part of my public persona, as well?

My answer is yes. So if you're one of the people who plans to run away screaming, please do it now.

* * *

My Sunday generally starts on Saturday afternoon. I collect stuffed animals, flip through my picture charts, and print out coloring pages with illustrations of scripture stories. If I'm really on the ball, I'll stop at the store for gooey doughey frozen pretzels.

Sunday morning the alarm rings at 7:30. If we manage to avoid last-minute diaper changes, unexpected vomiting, sororal squabbling, and misplaced beloved toys, we'll get to church half an hour early. That's usually enough time for my kids to eat the breakfast they skipped at home while my husband greets the other congregation members and I set up the primary room.

Primary is the heart and soul of my Sunday. On the surface, it looks like playtime. Stuffed animals, snacks, songs and coloring sheets. But the point of primary is most emphatically not to be day care. It's Life Training 101. My job is to help show the children how to respect and love others. How to use the scriptures to find answers to their questions. How to trust their feelings and stick by their decisions. How to accept and fulfill the unmeasurable potential that they have inherited as children of God.

You know that book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten?

It's a little bit like that.

After church, the kids race gleefully through the hallways while my husband and I visit, take care of organizational stuff, and pack up. We come home, eat lunch, crash for a nap. In my ideal world, I spend the next few hours playing piano and doing topical scripture study, but I confess my ideal world doesn't manifest very often. There is usually dinner of some kind, sometimes a game of chess, and -- on special occasions -- an ice-cream-and-movie party.

By the end of the day, I usually feel like a wrung-out little puddle of goo. Church is exhausting. But it's also extraordinarily fulfilling. I can think of nowhere in this world where I would rather spend my time on Sunday.

The Gruff Variations

2012-03-24T17:38:51Z

When Nebula Winner and Hugo Nominee Eric James Stone put out a call for stories based on The Three Billy Goats Gruff, my first thought was, "Billy Goats? What on earth can you do with billy goats, artistically speaking?"

The answer, as it turns out, is: "One stupendous heck of a lot."

The Gruff Variations includes work by New York Times best-selling author Shannon Hale, award-winning children's picture book author Rick Walton, Hugo Award winner (and Nebula Award nominee) Mary Robinette Kowal, Edgar Award finalist Dene Low, Nebula Award nominee Brad R. Torgersen, the inestimable William Ledbetter, and a lovely woman named Emma Nelson who spent several months tromping pavement with me Rathenow, Germany, long before either of us had blogs.

My contribution to the anthology, called A Starscape Slightly Askew, revisits the fairy tale trope of the three siblings, two of whom are inevitably brats while the third might as well be wearing a halo. I've always felt that there must have been more happening in those family dynamics than meets the eye. In addition to being a rollicking story about interstellar travel and multidimensional manipulation, A Starscape Slightly Askew explores the history that made the older siblings so cranky in the first place, as well as the effects of that history on the youngest child.

The Gruff Variations is a charity anthology. Neither the authors nor the editor received compensation for their work, and 100% of the proceeds will go toward buying books and school supplies for underprivileged children. If you're inclined to find out just how many different things you can do with billy goats, literarily speaking, I encourage you to pick up a copy.

Buy at Amazon | Buy at Smashwords | Buy at Barnes & Noble

A Word of Advice to Aspiring Authors

2012-03-23T10:59:53Z

Ok, aspiring authors, heads up.

You probably already have a spreadsheet to help you track submissions -- you know, which stories you've submitted, how long they've been under consideration, and so forth. That's great.

I'm here to tell you that you ALSO need to keep a spreadsheet for your sales, including the date you received the contract, whether you've been paid, the amount due, when the exclusivity expires, and so forth. Do it now, before you have a big inventory. Because once you've sold twenty-odd stories and someone asks you for reprint rights, you really, REALLY don't want to have to dig through your email looking for the original contract.

Just sayin'.

And the Nebula Plotting Begins...

2012-03-20T18:52:17Z

I've been invited to join SFWA's mass signing during the Nebula Awards weekend this May. I've, um... never actually been at an autograph session before, but as I understand it, authors sit behind rows of tables while those interested in acquiring signatures traverse the room in a rather haphazard way, carting various totebags full of merchandise.

In order to save those poor, suffering fans from having to tote around so many books, I'm thinking it might be handy to have a couple of AnthologyBuilder books featuring works by authors who'll be at the signing. I mean, how cool would that be, to have signatures from a dozen authors all on the front page of a single book?

The idea isn't to collect all the nominated stories in one place; that's what the Nebula Awards Showcase anthologies are for. The idea is to gather interesting work by the nominees and other attendees, the better to meet the needs of both the fans and the authors.

If you're going to be at the Awards Weekend and there's a particular author whose work you'd like to see in that Anthology, give me a holler.

If you don't try, you'll never know

2012-03-08T13:46:46Z

Yesterday Sandra Tayler posted about moments when we back out of a decision.

The “getting in was right, getting out was right” mindset is a very familiar one to me. Sometimes conditions change and a situation that was once good is no longer helpful. Sometimes it was just a bad call, but I don’t think we should beat ourselves up about those. It’s how we progress in all aspects of life: we try something out, we see whether it works, and we then act appropriately.

As a very wise university professor once told me, “If you don’t try, you’ll never know. You’ll never know whether you passed up the biggest, most wonderful and unforgetable opportunity of your life. At least this way, you know you didn’t miss out.”