Elizabeth Bear is.
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| Double congrats, Elizabeth! |
| Oh, that's right--it's the Cheese Board, isn't it? (Jay Lake spilled the beans.) |
| Thank you, Toiya, Linz, Jim, and Jamie. *g*
It's still sinking in, since I wasn't in Scotland to attend the ceremony. When the plaque gets here, I plan to burst into tears. Or love it and hug it and call it george. I *really* thought Steph Swainston was going to get it... |
| Congratulations on your Campbell win, Elizabeth. What a great recognition to receive so early in your career. |
| *g* One award at a time, guys.... |
| Oh. Duh. *blush* Thanks, Jamie. |
| There's the Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and the Campbell Award for Best SF Novel. |
| Congratulations! That's great!
-Linz |
| What's the other one??? |
| Now win the other one~! :D |
| Hey, eBear, just wanted to add to all of your many, many, many congrats, and to say thanks for letting me be a small part of your career. :) |
| Joseph, even. :-P |
| And thanks to Mary and Jospeh, too, over in Ego Shelf. *g* (And wasn't THAT a fortuity of names?) |
| Thanks, Josh, Terry, Jim, Terry, ET, Lon, Melissa, Justin, and Steve.
I was, you know, kind of not expecting this. But I'm really happy about it. Jim, I have some soup here, but I'm not sure how much you "can" eat... |
| Congrats! |
| Wait, I thought this was the award for best soup...
(And congrats again, EBear!) |
| YIPPEE!!! I was hoping so!!!! You *RULE* Lady!!!! |
| The Bruce Campbell award is extremely important in the horror acting world. Congrats. ;-)
(What? Huh, she won which Campbell?) |
| Wowzers! Way to go! HUGE Congrats on the great accomplishment!
Lon |
| Congratulations! |
| Wow! Congratulations, Elizabeth!
Justin |
| Congratulations, Elizabeth!
I bought Hammered on my recent trip to the US. (But haven't read it yet.) So, you see, it's worth having a Rumour Mill presence. :) |
| Hi Elizabeth,
Massive congratulations on winning the Campbell award! That's just totally awesome! Well done! Steve Parker, Tokyo, Japan. |
| It's me. *g* |
| E-bear? Is that YOU who just won the Campbell??? Or am I totally wack? |
| No problem.
Seeing your success spurs me to want to work harder in 2005... Good luck! Mike |
| Thank you, Michael! |
| Elizabeth:
I'm usually a lurker, but I wanted to let you know there's a nice review/story in today's Hartford Courant about Hammered, as well as your local Connecticut connection. As a New Britain native who now lives in the suburbs, congratulations! Mike |
| Well, I'm taking a plunge and trying a little experiment as part of promotional efforts for Hammered, which is being released by Bantam Spectra at the end of December. I've started a fiction journal over here, which will be devoted to--you guessed it--fiction.
And never one to take things in small increments, the first crazy thing I'm doing is serializing a whole damned one hundred and fifty thousand word slipstream/fantasy novel. Free. That's right, free. The book is called All the Windwracked Stars, and the very first installment is up now. There's a lot of elements that have played into my decision to do this: Cory Doctorow's experiments with web publication, my experiences in retail, the Baen free library, and my firm belief that the best way to encourage readers to come back for more of what I write is to give them a taste and let them see if they like it. In a word, it's advertising. I'm busking on street corners, and you don't have to pay me if you don't like the music. If you do like the music, there's an even better book available for pre-order from Barnes & Noble and from Amazon, and it would mean a great deal to my continued health, well-being, and happiness (not to mention my ability to feed my cats) if you would order it--or pick it up from your local bookseller in December. In the meantime, however, there's Stars over there. Tell your friends. Hey, it's free! (crossposted to Shameless Self Promotion, of course) |
| Aww shucks. It was nothing.
::grin:: Rhonda |
| *g* Thanks, Rhonda. And Eric. |
| Er, synopsis. |
| *back from reading the blurbs and synopis*
Cool. Enough said. Time to pre-order. . .. |
| Thanks, Rhonda! |
| Eric.
Scroll down a few posts. The synopsis that will be on the jacket of the book is posted there. Rhonda |
| Can I read a synopsis of Hammered anywhere? I have no idea what it's about, and I'd like to change that. :-) |
| Give it a few months. *g* |
| No cover pic or or author's info up yet, it's 9:48 a.m. CDT... |
| Geek way girl, you deserve it.
Is the cover art and author's info up there yet? I visited when it was announced in the newsletter but couldn't ooo and ahh over the artwork, which was very disappointing. *wink* Rhonda |
| I suppose I should also point out that the book may be pre-ordered from Amazon.com here, shouldn't I?
*g* --Geeky Bear |
| Nah. Heard nothing. Was just being enterprising for a change and came across you. Just my luck ::grin::.
And stop saying Peter's cute. You'll make Charlie jealous ::grin:. Rhonda |
| Thanks, Terry!
Peter gives *great* blurb, doesn't he? And he's cute, too. *g* |
| Whoa, Bear! Some *cool* kudos! I'm especially impressed by Peter Watts--I love his books! Damg. Im gonna have to put this on my list of To Buy... |
| Hmm? Did you hear something?
*g* |
| Ha! I have found a new place to bug you!
::Preens at how enterprising she's been:: ::Grin:: Rhonda S. |
| That's my cover copy and blurbage, John.
And no, no book tour for me. That's for authors they would expect to actually make money on a tour, because somebody might have heard of them before and come to see what they look like. --Bear |
| Bear,
Has your "sales stuff" (listed below) been published anywhere yet, or is this just what they are planning to use. Either way, very cool. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the book! So, have you started scheduling your author signings, yet? John B |
| Okay, maybe you're right and I just have to learn to live with it. *g*
Ruth |
| Hmm. That's actually what I meant, too, Ruth. I'm thinking the discomfort comes from stretching one's boundaries, and not being assured of success or failure.
Pushing hurts. At least, it hurts me. |
| Wow, cool stuff, Bear.
I'm feeling like I need to explain what I meant by comfortable. I don't want to be a comfortable writer, never that, and I have to admit, I don't think it will ever happen to me either, since I invaribly put my hatreds and my loves and my fears in my writing. What I meant was comfortable with what I am able to achieve, if the downs and the doubts will ever let up. Maybe that's necessary to keep growing, I dunno, but it can be damn uncomfortable at times. Clear as mud yet? |
| Thanks, E!. (He talks about it in his humorous essay, "The Unprocessed Word," which I think is in BLUE CHAMPAGNE.)
And this is the copy E! is talking about--that is to say, the cover copy and sales stuff for HAMMERED is in. And here it is.... *** They wired her brain. Now, they need her soul... HAMMERED Elizabeth Bear "A very exciting, very polished, very impressive debut." - Mike Resnick [Bantam Paperback logo] [Spectra logo] Science Fiction HAMMERED Elizabeth Bear [rooster] Be sure not to miss Elizabeth Bear's next exciting novel SCARDOWN Coming in Summer 2005 [sales info here] The waters have risen. The wars have been fought. And the only way forward is through one woman's mind.... Once Jenny Casey was somebody's daughter. Once she was somebody's enemy. Now, the former Canadian special forces warrior lives on the hellish streets of Hartford, Connecticut in the year 2062. Racked with pain, hiding from the government she served, running with a crime lord so she can save a life or two, Jenny is a month shy of fifty, and her artificially reconstructed body has started to unravel. But she is far from forgotten. A government scientist needs the perfect subject for a high-stakes artificial intelligence project, and has Jenny in his sights. Suddenly, Jenny Casey is a pawn in a furious battle, waged in the corridors of the internet, on the streets of battered cities, and in the complex wirings of her half manmade nervous system. And she needs to gain control of the game, before a brave new future spins completely out of control. "A gritty and painstakingly well-informed peek inside a future we'd all better hope we don't get...Elizabeth Bear builds her future nightmare tale with style and conviction and a constant return to the twists of the human heart." - Richard Morgan Visit Bantam's website at www.bantamdell.com. Advanced Praise for HAMMERED "A gritty and painstakingly well-informed peek inside a future we'd all better hope we don't get, liberally seasoned with VR delights and enigmatically weird alien artifacts. Genevieve Casey is a pleasingly original female lead, fully equipped with the emotional life so often lacking in military SF yet tough and full of noir attitude; old enough by a couple of decades to know better but conflicted enough to engage with the sleazy dynamics of her situation regardless. Out of this basic contrast, Elizabeth Bear builds her future nightmare tale with style and conviction and a constant return to the twists of the human heart." - Richard Morgan "Packed with a colorful panoply of characters, a memorable and likeable anti-heroine, and plenty of action and intrigue, Hammered is a superbly written novel that combines high tech, military industrial politics, and complex morality. There is much to look forward to in new writer Elizabeth Bear." - Karin Lowachee, Campbell-award nominated author of Warchild and Burndive "Even in scenes where there is no violent action, or even much physical action at all, the thoughts and emotions of Ms. Bear's characters, as well as the dynamic tensions of their relationships, create an impression of feverish activity going on below the surface and liable to erupt into plain view at any moment...The language is terse and vivid, punctuated by ironic asides whose casual brutality-sometimes amusing, sometimes shocking-speaks volumes about these people and their world...This is a superior piece of work by a writer of enviable talents. I look forward to reading more!" - Paul Witcover, author of Waking Beauty "Hammered is one helluva good novel! Elizabeth Bear writes tight and tough and tender about grittily real people caught up in a highly inventive story of a wild and wooly tomorrow that grabs the reader from the get-go and will not let go. Excitement, intrigue, intelligence-and a sense of wonder, too! Who could ask for anything more?" - James Stevens-Arce, author of Soulsaver, Best First Novel 2000 (Denver Rocky Mountain News) "In this promising debut novel, Elizabeth Bear deftly weaves thought-provoking ideas into an entertaining and tight narrative." - Dena Landon, author of Shapeshifter's Quest (Dutton, Fall 2004) "A glorious hybrid: hard science, dystopian geopolitics, and wide-eyed sense-of-wonder seamlessly blended into a single book. I hate this woman. She makes the rest of us look like amateurs." - Peter Watts, Ph.D, author of Starfish and Maelstrom |
| Heh, I'm unabashedly Type B. Nice to have a classification.
But honestly, how else am I going to get the dishes done if I don't have something to avoid? (BTW, I liked the copy, Bear! Made me want to buy it, fer sure.) --E |
| *g* Well, I'm a bit OCD, honestly. But I've been wrestling with quasi-addictive writing behavior for a while, since I figured out what was up and how bad for me it was.
It's a bit like anorexia--it's a good way to get thin, sure. (Or to get a lot of words written). But it's not like starving yourself to death (or never getting out of your writing chair) is a sustainable lifestyle. --Bear |
| Ah, Elizabeth, I wish I had these problems. :)
And who knows, maybe I will, when the current novel is finished. |
| John Varley claims there are two kinds of writers. Type A writers find it almost impossible to do anything but write. Type B writers would rather do anything else at all. *g*
--Bear |
| sheesh, and here I am trying to WRITE 2K a day.
Good luck in your endeavors and get much living done (and resting done) outside the typist's corner. SueO2 |
| I am so proud of myself. I got 2K on the novel yesterday, by three PM, and I *saved and backed up the file, closed Word, and walked away.* And when I came back, I didn't write any more.
Gonna see if I can keep the roll going today, though. I'm trying to train myself not to write more than 2K a day, with 1K as an I-can-quit-without-feeling-guilty goal. First of all, it's not heathy to spend that much time on your butt. Second, my hands won't take 5K days any more. Third, I was seriously burning myself out. And fourth, my agent insists that she can't sell five books a year.... *g* |
| lol! No worries about the ceiling tiles, but if you start wearing black suits all the time *then* we call the looney bin...
I've resigned myself NEVER to be comfortable about my writing addiction. There are very fleeting moments of elation (right after finishing something) and the rest of the time it's either "this sucks" or "Why aren't I WRITING?!?!" However, I have started drawing and sketching again (after like, 30 years) and that's a creative pleasure. Not that my scribbles are worthy of looking at but it's still fun... |
| Comfortable with this writing thing?
I'm actually a little scared of comfort. I fear it leads to mediocrity. In other news, I've become completely addicted to sunflower seeds. If I start sticking pencils into the ceiling, send in the FBI.... |
| Hm. My grin disappeared. Interesting ... |
| Burnout? What's that?
I too get itchy when I haven't written for too long, and I'm finally teaching myself some methods of coping with big, real-world workloads. On the last contract I had with IBM (over! thank God!) I would write on the train during the commute, and it worked a lot better than I expected. My daily production was down, but not as much as I thought it would be. You can get a lot more done in 45 minutes than you think if there's no Internet to distract you. Burnout when I'm uninspired is another thing completely. I used to let it drag me down, and then I'd start kicking myself for not writing, etc. etc. Now I usually start another project. I just wonder when one can finally feel comfortable with this writing business. But I have the sneaking suspicion the doubts will never go away. |
| Fresca. *g* Is da bomb. |
| I don't drink coffee, or tea, or beer. And while I do consume vast quanties of diet cola, when I'm at home I drink Diet Rite which contains neither caffeine nor aspartame.
I've never had a problem with caffeine, but I switched to Diet Rite from Diet Coke (at least at home) to lower my NutraSweet intake. If I'm out and about at a restaurant I'll order a Diet Coke (since almost no one has Diet Rite) or just drink water. |
| why not tea?
Because tea contains caffein, which I need to eliminate. *g* See below. I can actually have a little, but I have to ration myself fairly severely. --Bear |
| Well, I know tea has caffeine, but it is GOOD for you - why not tea? Indian tea (tea and cardomon - have no idea how to spell that - with milk and sugar, it is like heaven - and the milk has the added benefit of adding calcium.)
See how easy it is to justify things? Good luck on your new healthful lifestyle - especially the exercising. |
| Beer AND caffiene??? No. Too much. Very dangerous. I reccomend alternating days. Quit caffeine on even numbered days, beer on odd.
Who am I kidding? I couldn't quit coffee on even numbere hours. ;) |
| You guys are the best.
In my case, I worry more about burnout, because I have a guilt gorilla the size of King Kong and he kicks my ass even when I'm not *supposed* to be writing. I try to take enforced vacations every once in a while, but there's that weird thing with being your own boss where there is *always* more work, and... so many novel ideas! Life is short! Lately, I'm dealing more with fragmented writing time due to my day job, the boy's day job, and my attempts to regain some modicum of physical fitness (of course, this is happening just as I'm sitting down to start writing the first novel I ever have to write under contract, so it's coupled with enormous performance anxiety) and that's another challenge. I've also more or less quit beer (too many calories) and caffeine (I was seriously into the realm of hardcore abuse), and that leaves me herbal tea and Altoids as my only remaining writing crutches.... I'm going to run out of bad habits if I'm not careful. *g* |
| Oh, I've found my muse. Writing every day has shown me the way. My muse is now shackled to her workstation in the sweatshop of my creativity. It's piece work, of course, at the rate of three cents a word. |
| OK, that does it (the last 5 or 6 posts since mine) you've all gone and inspired me (especially you, Lawrence) I'm going to go find stickers in the shape of pen nibs and start putting one on the calendar every day I write. (I'll set my criteria elsewhere, no need here.)
Muse...nope, I don't think I have one. Just an addiction. |
| Apologies for my misreading.
But, my answer is ... I write. Somewhere I read that writing is more a discipline than an inspiration and the advice was to write, write, write, whether you felt like it or not. So, I write. And my approach is one of two things: Either I take the thing that is stumping me and I just shake it 'til it falls apart or I move onto an aside of interest and re-immerse myself in that. Either way, I sit down and write. For me, it works. |
| I used to believe in waiting for the Muse to come and smack me in the head. That was spotty at best.
Since mid December I've simply made a point of writing each and every day (today will be day #120). When I'm running dry on inspiration I'll walk. I try to walk every day anyway (though I've been slipping on that lately), but for inspiration I'll walk in a park or along a trail. For one thing, there are less likely to be other people around as I talk to myself (in the voices of different characters) and wave my arms around acting out troublesome scenes. Odd as this may sound, it's always very helpful and provides much insight into plot and story and character. |
| So help me, Terry, I do exactly the same thing. I've sometimes managed to go as long as a week without writing at all, but it's hard and it makes me itchy. I tend to try to cram a lot of reading in when I'm not writing on a specific project because because when I *am* writing, reading tends to get pushed aside. My attention span for other people's words vanishes, and I get jittery when I'm not actually working.
Which is why I think it's important for me to take enforced breaks, and let myself regenerate a little. But even when I'm not writing on a project, I find myself scribbling down paragraphs, occasionally getting mugged by a short story, and working on stuff that's strictly for my own amusement rather than for publication. My muse has a cattle prod and she's not scared to use it. Justin, I know what you mean about that nagging desire to write even when it seems hopeless. And frankly, I still think you undersell yourself. But that's neither here nor there. --Bear |
| Physical activity and as different of events as can possibly be imagined from writing--so while I try (usually fail, lately) to write in my daily journal, I mostly try to forget about writing altogether and just go do things. Have meals with friends, go to a museum, go to a live rock show, or ballet, do yard work, argue with hubby (no, wait, I *always* do that), whatever. More reading is NOT on the list; good God I need to get AWAY from writing.
That quest is usually, however, unsuccessful. While I'm not trying to escape it these days (trying to get a story done for BayCon's writer's workshop, eek!), I was in the wee hours this morning, when a bizarre and disturbing dream woke me and I tried futilely to get back to sleep. My stupid brain *insisted* on devising a story explaining why a fully-armed Marine would be standing in a public ladies' room telling me to pull up my pants and get the hell back on the truck. I finally gave up and got out of bed at 4. I guess I am a writer, if that's anything to go by. |
| A lot of times, by switching what I'm reading at the moment will inspire me to want to write something outside what I normally do. A historical account, perhaps, or a thriller. Or even switching from SF to high fantasy can do the trick.
My biggest problem is that my rational mind and my subconscious don't agree on burnout. While I long ago surrendered hope of breaking into the bigs, my subconscious mind, the part that drives me to get up at midnight every night and work, won't lie still. No matter how angry or despaired I get over my writing, I keep at it. In other words, while I've reached the burnout stage many times, it has never hampered my ability to create. I'm still undecided if this is a good or bad thing. |
| Aha. I must have been unclear. I was actually not so much looking for advice--I have my own long-tested methods of coping, enumerated below--but inviting people to talk about how they deal with burnout and overwork.
I'm interested in what the rest of you guys do as coping mechanisms, and how it works for y'all. |
| Prime the pump - write - even if you feel that what you are writing is junk.
-or- Prime the pump - write - start with something way off base that interests you -or- Prime the pump and write the way Ann Crispin says she does - RETYPE the last umpteen pages of the text you are working on and, having that running start, JUMP (er, write) Good luck. |
| I think we're all sort of getting the 'hang' of the new RM still. I sure as heck haven't mastered the darned thing yet.
So, in the interests of a topic of discussion. I have to start writing a novel in 18 days, and I feel uninspired, in the wake of spending the last three months revising what feels like everything I've ever written. How do you all cope with burnout? I've been dealing with it by essentially wasting large swaths of daylight, taking very long walks, and reading the trashiest novels I can find. Also, trying to avoid actually *writing* anything even remotely meant for publication. --Bear |
| Elizabeth,
Your story sounds very intriguing. I can't wait to read it. Oh, wait. I do have to wait. *sigh* I'm glad you like my 'zine's ToC. If you do ever write anything about Texas or with a Texas theme, please send it my way! Eric Marin |
| Re: 228803
I somehow became logged out when I was writing that message. Strange. I think I'll sign my posts here on the Rumor Mill from this point forward..... Eric Marin |
| Elizabeth,
Yes, we are ToCmates for the Zeppelin anthology, and I'm really excited to be in such great company. My story, "Counting Zeppelins," is a little 300 word piece that Jay and David were kind enough to accept. I've been skipping from cloud to cloud since I heard the news. What's the title of your story? Flaming Zeppelin T-shirts would be cool indeed! By the way, I wanted to let you know that my little webzine I sought advice from you on several months ago, Lone Star Stories is doing well. If you're interested, the current issue, which has stories by Jay Lake, Martha Wells, and Barth Anderson and poems by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Lisa M. Bradley, is here. |
| Mine's called "Seven Dragons Mountains," and it's the story of two brothers in Not Hong Kong, some turtles, and a basket full of 'thousand-year-old' eggs. (As seen in Hellboy, actually! I laughed and laughed and laughed.)
It does look like a very, very exciting ToC. And that's a nice ToC you've got yourself, too! I'd send you s0mething, but I've never been to Texas. *g* |
| Elizabeth,
Yes, we are ToCmates for the Zeppelin anthology, and I'm really excited to be in such great company. My story, "Counting Zeppelins," is a little 300 word piece that Jay and David were kind enough to accept. I've been skipping from cloud to cloud since I heard the news. What's the title of your story? Flaming Zeppelin T-shirts would be cool indeed! By the way, I wanted to let you know that my little webzine I sought advice from you on several months ago, Lone Star Stories is doing well. If you're interested, the current issue, which has stories by Jay Lake, Martha Wells, and Barth Anderson and poems by David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Lisa M. Bradley, is here. |
| Eric, do I hear that we're TOCmates? What's the title of your Zep story?
(I hope we get flaming Hindenburg t-shirts...) |
| "This Tragic Glass" is excellent, Elizabeth! I'm really looking forward to reading your novels. |
| Congratulations on your sale to All-Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories, Elizabeth!
I'm off to read your story at SCIFICTION. |
| I suspect there's going to be a lot of mystery-guesting for a while. In the immortal words of Garry Trueau, "Still a few bugs in the system."
You guys are really making my weekend, by the way. I'm so pleased that response is so positive. --bear |
| Oops, the most recent Mystery Guest was me. I thought *sure* I'd logged in... |
| I love "Who am I?" stories, and time overlap stories, so combining the two = bliss. |
| Oh my, E, they're so right! It's wonderful. Lovely. WOW. |
| God's death, ELizabeth, that was a fantastic story.
-Samantha-almost-Jane |
| Thanks, Melissa!
That's the first one dealing with that particular set of ideas and characters, but I suspect there may be more one of these days, if ideas show up. I've actually been claiming that that particular idea was meant to go to Connie Willis, but was misdirected to me. Not that I'm complaining-- It's actually composed of all the leftover "What if?" bits from my extremely long and as yet unsold Elizabethan fantasy novel. Joshua--Joshua's a great name! Lori--If Jennifers can claim linguistic descent from Gwenevere, I don't see why not! Justin, it occurs to me that "Almost Isaac" is a great title for a short story. *g* |
| That was a fantastic story! Do you/will you have any more set in that world? |
| I was born in the early seventies and according to my mom, she wanted to name me William and my dad wanted to name me American Sky...
Joshua seems a nice compromise. |
| "Lori" have an interesting background? Surely you jest.
But apparently Dad's real mom's name was Alberta and his step-mom's name was Elaine. My sister could have been one and I could have been the other. I vote for Elaine. |
| I finally got a chance to read "This Tragic Glass."Good story! Nice going there, Elizabeth-almost-Perigrine!
Justin-almost-Isaac |
| Hah! I should have known that would come back to haunt me.
Suffice it to say that I was born in the era of bell bottoms and acid-brights, to a science-fiction-and-fantasy-reading hippie parentage, in the year of Joni Mitchell's famously sad album "Blue," with its famously sad song about a little girl named "Little Green." I came within inches of being "Pippin Green" instead of "Sarah Elizabeth." Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, although my DAR-member grandmother was heard to proclaim the name "Sarah" "too Jewish." "Elizabeth," however, runs in my family the way haemophilia runs in some others, and that proved sufficient mollification. I've always been sort of sad that the Ukrainian side didn't prevail. I think I would have made a darling "Yelena" or "Ilyana." Those go better with "Wishnevsky" than "Sarah," in any case. The "Bear" crept in later, as a gift from a Metis family friend, but it's legal and has been since grade school. And then I got married, so now I'm up to five names. "Peregrine Green" no longer sounds quite so intimidating. *snicker* You know, I bet most people's names come with an interesting saga. Share! Share! |
| Congratulations, Bear! |
| OK, Bear, enough about SciFiction's posting of your tale, which in comparison with the heat death of the universe is ---PRETTY---SMALL---STUFF. Besides, we knew it was going to happen anyway, and now merely look smug tht our faith has been vindicated.
No, let us go on to more cosmic topics, viz: message 18257 I'm just lucky I wasn't named Peregrine. It was a close thing. OK, let us hear more about this "close thing." Best regards, Gregory Koster |
| Thanks--LAW, Josh, and Frank. It's nice to be able to share the excitement. |
| Go, YOU! That's way too cool! |