2007 Look Back (Reviews)

2007 was a pretty great year in some ways.
I'm looking over the books I reviewed and feel lucky-- I got to read and write about an awful lot of things that entertained me. Hopefully, a positive review gives something back to the writer in two ways: a boost in sales and a bit of ego gratification for the hard and lonely work that is writing.
And so...
Most Exciting Happening
The relaunch of Wild Cards as an ongoing series. I love the books and am glad to see that there will be a trilogy from TOR, kicking off this month with INSIDE STRAIGHT. (My review of this one is up now.)
Latest Book Across the Finish Line
Not an accomplishment by any means, but I have yet to complete my review of Dennis L. McKiernan's ONCE UPON A DREADFUL TIME. This is no slight to Mr. McKiernan (whom I interviewed and found to be a terrific conversationalist as well as an entertaining writer); it's just that I have the attention span of a fruitfly and was besieged by tons of great books. I hope I can do right by Mr. McK before the paperback comes out!
Friendliest Writers
Boy, there were a LOT of them this year, many found at the World Fantasy Convention this past November.
My short (alphabetized) list for folks I really loved meeting and/or talking with:

• Holly Black (a terrific person and great writer-- WSFA hosted Holly and two others for dinner after the National Book Festival in September; Kat and I had a great night!)
• Cassandra Clare (CITY OF BONES)
• Sara Beth Durst (INTO THE WILD-- don't confuse it with the movie)
• Christopher Golden (whose THE BORDERKIND was second-latest this year *sigh*)
• Charlaine Harris (incredibly gracious lady and amazingly generous with her time; I'm loving her Harper Connolly mysteries!)
• John Levitt (didn't meet him in person but got a nice email about his debut novel DOG DAYS)
• Jeff Mariotte (an old buddy from my long-ago WildStorm days, glad to see he's doing well and looking great, as is his fantastic wife MaryElizabeth Hart)
• George R.R. Martin (enthusiastic about Wild Cards, fun to talk to, all-around pleasure to meet)
• Kim Newman (read his ANNO DRACULA stuff- it's great!)
• Tom Sniegoski (a truly nice guy, met him at San Diego Comic-Con and said hi at WFC- read OWLBOY!)
• Melinda Snodgrass (see GRRM above, 'cause it applies to her too; she's great)
• Harry Turtledove (got to ask him about his latest/possibly last "South Wins the Civil War" alternate history series--very dry sense of humor!)
• F. Paul Wilson (got to say hi at WFC)
• Gene Wolfe (who is really one of the nicest legends in the SF world)

Biggest Regret
That I didn't finish a novel this year as I'd intended. Then again, that's been my ongoing regret since I started writing professionally in 1986, so there's nothing new there.

New Year's Resolutions
Yeah, like you want to know what I'll try to do and give up sometime in January or February... ;)
But seriously- lose weight and finish a novel. One is more likely than the other but if anyone wants to start a gambling pool on which will actually happen...

And that's it. I might have more to post on this later, views on movies and pop culture and stuff. till then...

more WFC stuff

Saratoga Springs is a great town. We can highly recommend Circus Cafe, near the convention center, and the Borders is probably one of the biggest I've seen outside a huge city like New York. It's easily as big as the one in downtown DC.
Holly Black gave a great reading from Ironside; if you haven't bought the book already, buy it now!
Just finished Sarah Beth Durst's Into the Wild, which is awesome. Follow the link to her site on my home page and give it a glance.
Packed up two huge bags of books and entrusted them to my buddy Ern. Now we just have to get them back.
Got a few books to read-and-review this month, as well as that ghost story, so I'll be keeping busy.
see you soon!

And more!

Okay, here's a few from this weekend's trip to World Fantasy in Saratoga Springs, NY.
This is a pic of me with Jane Yolen, who's a really terrific person as well as being a wildly prolific author (in diverse genres, no less!).
Below is a pic of Esther Friesner (who was sort of cut out of the frame) and Jennifer Schwabach at the author signing Friday night. You can see the tower of candy they made (which they tipped over immediately after this pic was snapped). We dubbed it the world's sweetest brand of Jenga.


I think we have some more (and I know our SFRevu confederates Paul, Gayle and Ern certainly do), but... it was a LOT of fun!

Lots of Stuff Coming Tonight!

Okay, there is a LOT going on to blog about.
Kat and I went to World Fantasy in Saratoga Springs, NY, this weekend and had a fantastic time (no pun intended).
Some highlights:

• Kat and I interviewed Jane Yolen (a sort of "what's coming next?" conversation), then George R.R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass about the upcoming relaunch of the Wild Cards series (we're VERY excited!)
• We also had an unparalleled opportunity to sit and chat with Charlaine Harris (truly one of the nicest writers we've ever met) about all kinds of things; SFRevu did a great interview with her but we hope we'll have the chance to chat again soon
• Had a get-together with the editorial staff of SFRevu for the first time (John Berlyne--a really terrific guy-- was attending from England; it was a genuine pleasure making his acquaintance, and here's hoping we'll see him again soon!)
• Caught up with (or at least said hi to) a bunch of friends and acquaintances-- it was worth the trip twice over to see Holly and Theo, Jeff and ME, Chris G and Tom S, plus a big bunch more
• Got to meet some really wonderful writers-- a big shout-out to Sarah Beth, Cassandra, Mary T, Ian, and (again) a big bunch more (I promise I'll update this as I dig up my notes from the weekend)
• Also got to see beautiful Saratoga Springs, NY, best known as a resort and racetrack, but there are lots of great stores and it's just plain lovely-- so go see it!

We have some pictures AND I'll be uploading the ghost short story I wrote (and read, at 3am) for an open mike night last Friday. When we record it, I'll upload the audio as well (Kat says it's better heard than read-- gee, thanks).

And of course, there's more news to come.

later!

Writing!

I'm taking a few things with me this weekend-- notably a bit of writing from two projects I have bubbling along.

The first is a section from a book (first of more-than-one) called The Black Key: The Last Eldritch. I might post a little here once in awhile but would like to wait until I'm further along to do more than announce the title. It's an epic fantasy.

The second is less developed but a lot of fun so far. (Kat noted I've used a LOT of profanity in this one, so anyone with delicate reading sensibilities might not want to give this one a try.) The working title is Mirabilis and begins with the narrating character dying in an alleyway from a rather savage neck wound.

Anyway, might be fun to show some writing around and see if anyone is interested in taking a look. They're meant to go to my friend Susan, who's an agent in NYC and agreed long ago to send out anything novel-length that I complete. However, if there's any writerish gatherings at WFC, I might trot these out and see if anyone likes 'em.

Who would you want to meet?

Kat and I are off to World Fantasy on Thursday. Part of the reason we're going is because there are some writers attending whom I really want to meet. Folks like Kim Newman (whose take on Dracula-- in his Anno Dracula series-- has been ingenious and entertaining), for one. He's one of the bright lights of alternate history fiction, in my mind, and I hope I'll have the chance to buy him a beer.

There are lots of other SF and fantasy luminaries but my question is: who would YOU want to meet? If you had the chance to drop a few bucks and attend an event where you could talk to one person, who would it be?

Please comment below, I'm interested in hearing.

Bummed

Got an email from Stephen R. Donaldson a few weeks ago, replying to a question sent to his Gradual Interview page on his site; he let me know that his touring schedule in the UK will mean he isn't coming to this year's World Fantasy Convention.

I'm bumming.

Not just that I was looking forward to hearing him read a bit from Fatal Revenant, the new Covenant book, or that I wanted another autograph (he's signed my first edition Covenant books and Runes of the Earth for me... I think).

No, it's mostly that I was looking forward to saying "thanks!" for returning to the Land and Covenant. It took me two or three times to dig into Lord Foul's Bane. I was a dedicated Tolkienite; Donaldson's work threw me hard, being the first epic fantasy I'd read that didn't derive a lot of its... well, everything from Tolkien. It went to new places. The dynamic wasn't good vs evil, it was health vs illness; wow, not even a "near hit" like Moorcock's Law/Chaos! It was an entirely new paradigm.

And frankly, Covenant was a bastard. That threw me hardest of all. How many people had trouble getting past page 81 (IIRC) in LFB? I did. The fact that he was a suffering bastard and his arc was about redemption was tough going for my 13-year old brain.

Now here I am, 30 years later, and my wife and I have white gold wedding rings because of SRD. He heard about that, too, at WFC in Madison back in '05. He got a laugh out of it and said, "Don't blame me if something happens!"

Well, I won't see him this time around but I hope he'll be at whatever future WFC we go to-- you have to say thanks when you have the chance, you know?

Preview Review: Dog Days by John Levitt

Hey folks!
I'm working up a bunch of reviews for SFRevu; we have to have them in early this week 'cause almost all of the SFRevu gang is going to the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs next week. (Expect a bunch of posts either from or immediately after the event--it should be awesome!)

In the meantime, here's my Preview Review of DOG DAYS by John Levitt.

Mason is a bar band guitarist... and more.

His best buddy Louie is a dog... and much more.

These two are the core characters of Dog Days by John Levitt, a new entry into the expanding urban fantasy subgenre. Is there room in what's become a crowded field for one more? Let's see.

Mason makes a living picking up gigs with local blues bands in San Francisco. It doesn't pay an awful lot but lets him keep a roof over his head. He even manages to avoid the trouble he used to encounter as part of a group that policed reckless or dangerous "practitioners" in the Bay Area.

He gave up that job awhile ago, but it seems someone isn't ready for Mason to retire.

In quick succession, he's magically attacked twice, forcing him to call on his old friends for help. The attacks aren't lethal, and Mason comes to think they aren't meant to be; rather, they seem intended to get him out of someone's way... but why? Louie, his magic animal companion, saves the day but the skill and determination of the attackers is more than they can handle alone.

Mason checks in with Sherwood, a former girlfriend who instructs young practitioners. She convinces him to visit with Eli (his former mentor) and Victor (his former much-despised colleague) to pursue the problem. Mason does so, but doesn't find any answers. Instead, he learns that animal companions like Louie have been disappearing more often than usual. Perhaps, he figures, they know something their human friends don't.

The mystery deepens with the surfacing of strange gemstones and a former magic-poor nobody who's suddenly demonstrating a massive, inexplicable increase in power. What does this have to do with a hidden "fight club," a runaway girl with the power to find anything and a murder or two in the magic community?

Turns out, an awful lot... especially once Mason realizes the true nature of the danger growing in San Francisco. But having given up the life of magic, it's not clear he could win a battle of magic. If he's going to survive, he'll have to fall back on the one talent that serves him in magic and music: improvisation.

Levitt creates appealing, fully-rounded characters in Mason and Louie, giving them a huge challenge to confront in this first adventure. It helps that they have a worthy supporting cast: Sherwood is a no-nonsense presence and an anchor of sorts for Mason, whose night-oriented lifestyle needs that kind of balance. Eli is a former teacher, who compensates for his limited magical talents by obsessive scholarship, while Victor is a very rich man with tremendous skill, no time for foolishness and a cat companion of his own.

Then there is Campbell, a healer to whom Mason turns at a crucial moment. She's a refreshing change of pace from the stock "cleric" of roleplaying games, being a Wiccan who's both practical and generous.

On the other side, there's Christoph, a slick weasel who was never a player... until he suddenly shows off powers that should be impossible. His goals and methods come into focus only slowly but make appalling sense once the truth is revealed.

Anyone who likes solid storytelling (and is partial to urban fantasy) will enjoy Dog Days. Here's looking forward to the next adventure of a guitarist and his extra-special dog.

Like in stage magic, there's a bit of misdirection involved, but readers will enjoy the rollercoaster ride through dangers both magical and mundane.

Some Upcoming Stuff

Kat and I are heading off to the World Fantasy Convention the first weekend in November. Should be a good chance to meet some writers and editors. I'm shooting to have a couple chapters of two or three books in progress to take with me, but think trying to complete a novel between now and then just won't happen. At the least, it wouldn't be something I'd feel comfortable about showing.
So I'll get a couple things in the works and see which one hits the finish line first.
Also thinking about the holidays already-- Mom might come up from Mississippi, which we're all hoping she'll do, and we might do like we did a few years ago and find a place for a big family gathering for Christmas. Sure would be fun if we did.
And of course there's the Bruce concert on the 11th of November. Cannot wait.
later! Drew