Trader’s Diary

For the third year in a row, I’ve got a book in the Parsec Awards. To be eligible for a Parsec Award this year the podcast had to have been made between May 1, 2008, and April 31, 2009. The only title eligible this year is Double Share, because I’m such a derelict I only wrote and podcast a single title last year.

As part of that effort, I had to put together a 1-hour sample file of up to 6-clips from the novel as examples of what the book was.

Here it is for your listening pleasure. It’s 5seconds short of an hour.

 

 Parsec Award Submission 2009: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Yes, I know. I’m remiss in posting regularly here. It goes better when i’m in the middle of writing. That means I have something to tell you and that’s a good thing. It goes less well when I’m not writing.

BaltiCon 43 was a blast and I can see now that I didn’t write anything about it.

Bad author. Bad. No cookie.

The upshot is that I’ve committed to getting Captain’s Share out this summer. No I don’t have a date, and I expect it’ll be at the last possible minute, but I’ve got what I hope is a nice tale lined up that will set up the final chapter of Ishmael Wang so we can tie off the series soon. Maybe as early as the end of the year.

Today I’m working on a ‘day job’ journal article. It’s going badly but it has to be done so hang in there.

I’m also going to record and post the short story that I read at the Short Fiction Jam at Balticon. It’s not science fiction, not set in the Golden Age, and it’s just a tad blasphemous (in the technical sense, not figuratively). It may not be something everybody wants to hear, so when it comes out, keep that in mind. That should be available in the next couple of weeks.

So, please forgive me for not writing more here. I’ll try to do better with keeping everybody up to date.

Those of you who’ve been around for awhile know that Christiana Ellis’ Nina Kimberly the Merciless is the book that got me started on creating the Golden Age novels. Christiana was having so much fun that I wanted to do it, too.

If you didn’t know, that’s why the fast packet in the beginning of Double Share is named the Christiana Ellis.

Today is the latest in a long line of pod-to-print debuts as Nina Kimberly is released in paper from Dragon Moon Press. In honor of that, Christina has asked all her friends in the podosphere to offer this free PDF version on their blogs and feeds today.

Enjoy this and, if you like it, please support Christiana and the rest of the pod-to-print authors by buying a copy in your choice of format.

I’ve ordered my copy. And I’m gonna get it signed when I see Christiana next week at BaltiCon!

It’s almost here - The 43rd Annual Baltimore Science Fiction Convention. I attended for the first time last year at the last minute, but I’ve been looking forward to this year’s convention all year long. I’m tickled to be on some panels, and to be basking in the reflected glory of all the people that *I* listen to through out the year.

For those who’ll be there, I’m on these panels:

Friday - 6pm - Chesapeake Room - Short Fiction Jam
Sunday - 5pm - Chesapeake Room - Podiobooks: A Novel Way to Listen
Monday - 11am - Derby - Creating a Serialized Audiobook

That’s not to say I won’t be around attending, watching, and working with all my friends from around the podosphere.

Maybe I’ll see you there.

You all deserve an apology and an update so … I’m sorry.

News
The news from here is that the Spring semester is almost over and Day Job issues are being resolved. I have a job for another year. It’s a new and exciting direction for a job that I’ve had for 10 years now, so it’s all good. What that means is that demands on my time should become less urgent, leaving room for writing once again.

My plan is to shelve Cape Grace for the moment and focus on finishing the Trader’s Tales. Captain’s Share is underway and the series will wrap at Owner’s Share. Look for Captain’s Share by the end of the summer and Owner’s by the end of the year. That will be the end of the Trader’s Tales for a while.

While You’re Waiting
While you’re waiting for me you might consider some of these other fine Podiobooks:

Joe Cottonwood’s Clear Heart. It’s about a bunch of carpenters. Sounds about as exciting as a book about a guy who makes coffee, probably, but I loved this one for the story, the production values, and Susan Walker’s reading.

Philippa Balantine’s Chasing the Bard. This delightful tale is based on the premise that William Shakespeare was really embued with bardic magic. This is a very nicely done production with some voices you might recognize from other places. (For those who are looking for a ‘Family Friendly’ listen, avoid the infamous Episode 13. It won’t interrupt the main story flow although it does add a great deal for characterization. Your call.)

Tee Morris’s Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword. Mikey Spillane meets JRR Tolkien in this hillarious romp. Sounds off-beat - and it is - but a nice piece of work.

PG Holyfield’s Murder at Avedon Hill. This epic tale of murder and magic is finally wrapping up. By the time you get to the end, the last episode should be posted. It’s been two years in the making and it’s worth the wait.

Terry Fallis’s Best Laid Plans. A novel about Canadian politics? Oh, yes. Terry’s done a great job with this one. Funny, insightful, and well done.

Then there’s always Mur Lafferty, JC Hutchins, Scott Sigler. These are such well-known works, you’ve probably either listened or skipped them from your list, but if you haven’t considered them, please give them a chance.

Other Voices
You might also listen to me in other places. I’ve done some guest spots and interviews here and there:

J. Daniel Sawyer’s Predestination and Other Games of Chance: Antithesis Book I. This is a gritty and not at all safe for work, small children, or some adults. I play the part of Senator Bill Shelley.

Dead Robot’s Society. I was on there being silly with PG Holyfield and the rest of the gang. I had fun being a bit goofy, but there are some comments of questionable taste, so listen with caution.

Guild of the Cowry Catchers is Abigail Hilton’s upcoming release. It’s in production now, but I play the part of Gerard Holovar, the chief of police. I’m not sure where this story will go (I’m only into chapter 10 now and have NOT read ahead) but it’s shaping up to be a really interesting fantasy work. If you like the fantastical, you might like this one. You can get a feel for this universe in Abbie’s previous work, The Prophet of Panamindorah, Book I.

Thanks for hanging in there, Crew! I’ll try to do a better job of keeping you updated.

Today’s the day another of the Podiobook authors hits the shelves. Seth Harwood’s crime noir saga is out today and in honor of that, he’s giving away these chapters of Jack Wakes Up in PDF format.

I know it’s not sci-fi but for those who like crime stories — and there must be at least a few of you — here’s a chance to try out the newest voice in the genre.

Good luck, Seth!

I’ve been meaning to put up a new post for weeks. A fan’s email this morning pushed me into the “omg, this is embarassing” mode so here’s a status report.

Cape Grace is still the next work in progress. I really want to fill that slot in before I go to Captain’s Share. My ideas on Cape Grace are working in my mind, and I really hope I can pry myself out of “Day Job” for a few weeks here sometime soon.

The “Day Job” — as some of you may know from reading the comments on the last thread — is in survival mode. It depends on earmark money and grants for continued support. If you’ve seen any of the financial news lately, you’ll understand why things are so desperate. The Feds are pulling the plug on all earmarks, grant agencies are only writing grants to the largest and most prestigious institutions, and foundations are suffering from the economic meltdown. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for a small, specialized organization that’s working to help teachers for kids who are blind, deaf, or have significant support needs. It’s not all bad news. We have several initiatives underway that are potentially game changing, but they’re requiring a lot of work on my part to make sure that — if the “Day Job” folds, it won’t be because we didn’t do everything humanly possible to try to make a difference. I won’t bore you with the details, but we’ve developed new tools to teach science which are on the cutting edge at the intersection of instructional design and technology. You can probably imagine how much effort is going into these. On the upside, if I lose my job, I’ll have more time to write. On the downside, I’ll lose my job.

My teaching load has been doubled since last fall. I used to teach only one course a semester, and now I’m doing two. This semester is a “new teach” - which means I need to do a lot of work to get the course established and I made the mistake of not doing enough ahead of time. It’s sucking up a lot of the time that would normally go to writing.

So, the bottom line is that I’m still here. I’m still planning to write more. I miss the production process, the writing and reading maybe even more than you all miss getting new content.

Thanks for being out there, and thanks for all the support you’ve shown me.

Yes, it’s coming! November means NaNoWriMo and you’ll be able to follow along with my progress by clicking the icon on the left. I’ll post occasionally here on the Trader’s Diary, and you’ll be able to see my word counts on Twitter as well.

I’m so looking forward to this!

It was my distinct honor to spend an hour or so on Tea and Chat talking about a variety of topics including the cuppa tea I’d just finished while waiting for some hardware problems to get resolved.

You’ll find the interview on Tea and Chat Epistode 23. If you’re not subscribed to this, go back through and listen to the interviews with other podcast authors.

Thanks, Stephen!

In about half an hour I’m heading for Kansas City, MO. I’ve already heard from a couple of fans who’d like to get together. Use the contact me link on the sidebar if you’d like to get together for dinner on Friday or Saturday.

If you’re in the neighborhood, I hear there’s good ‘que in KC … any truth?