I walked the dogs just now. I could smell a heavy wild-animal-smell in the dark woods, probably a bear, at a guess. It smelled like it did a few years ago when we had a bear hanging around.
I wasn't worried: bears don't like dogs, and I don't think the dogs would go after the bear. But it was a strange moment.
There are more fireflies this year than I've ever seen here. If you walk down by the beehives at night it looks like a distant city at night, as the fireflies fill the trees and bushes and drift from one to another.
So, I'm home. Tour done, survived, and mostly enjoyed.
The worst moment was in Seattle. I was staying at the W Hotel. I accidentally sent my hotel phone number and room out into the world, via Twitter. I had meant to send them to Amanda, as the cell service wasn't great. The worst moment wasn't that bad for me (I just ignored the phone calls coming in as I talked to Amanda) but I felt really sorry for the hotel switchboard when I called in to explain what had happened. They whisked me to another room, and changed my name, which meant that when the Author Escort turned up to ask for my room and walk me up to the Seattle Town hall she was informed by the Front Desk that they had no-one of my name staying there.
I think she was troubled by this, having dropped me off at that same hotel an hour earlier from signing about 2000 books. (Probably
University Book Store in Seattle still has some signed books.)
So that was the worst moment. Reassuring an author escort who thought she had wandered into the Twilight Zone.
Let's see.
So I was about to do the WITS show in St Paul last time I posted.
WITS was wonderful. I sang "The Problem With Saints" and a verse of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". I read a poem and a bit of a book. I had fun with Josh Ritter, with Johns Munson and Moe, with Guest Hecklers Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.
(Josh Ritter has just written a novel, by the way. It's really good.)
This is a moment from WITS with our second phone guest, MYTHBUSTER Mr Adam Savage. (Our first guest was Wil Wheaton.) He phoned in. I asked him to confirm an anecdote...
And here Josh Ritter and I are given a game to us to play by evil host John Moe. It's
What Happened Next To People In Songs? I love Josh's tale of what happened to Elvis Costello's Alison...
From there I went to Seattle. I attended the Locus Awards Banquet, and was delighted to learn that I had won both the Locus Award for Best Short Story, for "The Thing About Cassandra" (this was awkward, as I had forgotten that it was on the ballot, and was completely taken aback, failed to thank the editors who waited for it and bought it and just babbled) but also the Locus Award for Best Novelette for "The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains" (I'd got it together by that point and thanked EVERYONE). Here are all the award winners...
http://www.locusmag.com/News/2011/06/locus-awards-2011-winners/I brought Tim Minchin, whose work I really like, and who, it turns out, I really like as a person too. He collected Shaun Tan's Locus Award for Best Artist (Tim did the narration for Shaun's Oscar winning short film, "The Lost Thing").
The first time I was at the Locus Awards, (it was 2006, you can read about it here at
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2006/06/wild-ginger-and-jimi-hendrix.html and that time it was my short story "Sunbird" that I forgot was on the ballot, proving that those who do not read their old blog entries are doomed to repeat them) Connie Willis mocked me for not wearing a Hawaiian shirt. This time I
By: Katie B.,
on 9/4/2009
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Tiny librarian is hell on wheels
Check out this article (and video) about Beth Hollis, an Akron, Ohio reference librarian Ohio by day and a roller derby dynamo by night.
A New Assignment: Pick Books You Like
Motoko Rich of the New York Times highlights “reading workshop” a experimental teaching approach that lets students pick the books they read.
7,000 Words Are Not Enough
The New Yorker’s Book Bench encourages readers to embrace abandoned vocabulary by visiting Save the Words, a website that offers visitors a chance to adopt endangered terms. And to get you started building your vocabuluary, take a look at abecedarian, a great word of the day from Dictonary.com.
Last Chance to Support First Book at dd’s DISCOUNTS
Don’t forget, you have until September 7, to make a donation at the point of sale at dd’s DISCOUNTS locations in CA, TX, AZ and FL, with dd’s DISCOUNTS matching donations, up to $25,000.
Bringing ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ to the Screen
This weekend, The New York Times Magazine features film director Spike Jonze’s career and insights into the making of ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ opening in theatres on October 16.
Enter the Mrs P Children’s writing contest!
MrsP.com is seeking great stories written by children 4 to 13 years old for its first “Be A Famous Writer Contest.” Celebrity judges include Dave Barry and Craig Ferguson, so be sure to enter your child’s story today.
Good Books Don’t Have to Be Hard
An interesting article on “why millions of adults are cheating on the literary novel with the young-adult novel, where the unblushing embrace of storytelling is allowed, even encouraged.”
If you’re anything like me, you get carried away with the New Year’s resolutions. My list has grown to twenty-seven items now, and it’s only January 3! I’m not sure if I’m hoping that by having so many resolutions, some will actually be achieved, or I just become over-stimulated by making lists.
However, I have learned one critical tool in this process: the importance of priorities. I may have twenty-seven things I want to accomplish this coming year, but if I don’t prioritize them, I have a very good chance of ending up with a big fat zero number of things accomplished by the time 2009 rolls around.
A tried and true time management technique is to pick the three most important things you need to accomplish on any given day. The same technique applies equally well to planning your year. What three things do you most want to accomplish this year?
Finish a manuscript?
Find an agent?
Join Toastmasters?
Clean your closets?
Exercise more regularly?
Your list can be as long as your imagination and enthusiasm demands, but once it's complete, pick the three resolutions that are most important to you. Plan on spending the majority of your time and energy on those. In fact, consider challenging yourself to do at least one thing—even one small thing—every day toward achieving one of those three goals. If that’s too overwhelming, then consider committing to doing at least one thing every week. Remember, as that old saying goes, a trip around the world begins with just one step. So does reaching your dreams!
By: Rebecca,
on 11/14/2007
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On November 15th, David Tolin author of Buried in Treasures: Help For Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding will appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show. To get you excited we asked David to give us some advice for avoiding hoarding during the season of plenty. Below is his advice.
The holiday season is traditionally a time for reflecting on how the past year has gone, and to decide what (if anything) we want to do differently in the coming year. For people with hoarding-related problems, it can also be a particularly challenging time. In addition to being unusually busy, we’re bombarded with advertisements and marketing strategies trying to get us to buy things we don’t really need. (more…)
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I believe I can safely say Kyle and I will pledge never to enter roller derby events! Amazing story. I am intrigued by the Save the Word website as well.