Things have been a little quiet here lately, but not in any way from lack of information–it’s always (as usual) related to lack of time. But things are going well, if hectic. Some of the recent highlights:
1. Grayshade is finished and on submission. I feel pretty good about it on the whole–it came out largely as I imagined it would when I first started thinking about the idea a couple of years ago, and writing it was on the whole an enjoyable experience. Waiting to see what the publishers think is, of course, another matter entirely (sigh), but my agent likes its potential both artistically and commercially, so I’m trusting his judgment on the subject while the process moves on. I hope to have some good news on this front very soon (*knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc., etc…*)
2. My schedule is filling up quickly–I’ve got convention stops confirmed at the usual places of Ad Astra, Readercon and Gen Con, but it looks like I’ll also be on panels and/or doing readings at World Fantasy and Worldcon too. I’m also going to be at a week-long writing workshop called Wellspring, based on the Blue Heaven model and run by friend and fellow novelist Brad Beaulieu. Add all that up and you’ve got some serious travel miles on the horizon, but it’s all going to be fun and productive. And fun…did I mention fun? More details on all of these events will be going up (as they come in) on my Schedule page.
3. I had an article on networking in the speculative fiction field accepted for the SFWA Bulletin–it’ll be coming out in the February/March issue, which should be shipping very soon.
4. My new show (co-hosted with the aforementioned Brad Beaulieu), Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans, is off to a rousing start since its launch in early January. We’ve already discussed and interviewed Amal El-Mohtar, Saladin Ahmed, Kij Johnson and Adam Paquette, and N.K. Jemisin and Jonathan Strahan are already confirmed for upcoming show sequences, in addition to a host of other surprises. This has been a lot of fun and given Brad and I the chance to explore the field we’re passionate about in greater detail, and initial feedback has been positive, so we’re excited to see how things progress in the future. You can find out more yourself at the main website for Speculate!
5. Finally, and totally off the writing topic, we’ve recently bought our first house–a somewhat scary but ultimately wonderful experience. For the first time in several years I’ve got an honest-to-God office, for the first time since graduate school I’ve got several floors and a basement (which, you know, might have had an area reserved for games. Maybe. Not confirming anything.), and for the first time since I lived with my parents I’ve got a garage. All of this is a strange change for someone used to the world of rent and apartments, but it’s mostly a welcome one. Now I just need to finish putting pictures and posters on the walls and unpacking…Of course all of this is only possible because we sold my parents’ house, which itself was more than a bit of a mixed experience emotionally. Lots of minefields yet to navigate there. But on the whole, I feel very, very fortunate.
Of course there are other things too–my band’s second album is officially released and doing well, teaching continues to be enjoyable, my daughter has hit three years old and is a marvel, and my wife and I have passed seven good years of marriage and counting–but those are, despite really being the most important things, not critical for this blog, so I’ll simply note them in passing. Summary: busy, not bored, and continuing to try to figure things out one crazy day at a time. I imagine that’s the same for everybody, right? 🙂 I’ll continue to update as circumstances and schedule warrant…until then, stay well.
Greg
