Category Archives: Oot

Published: May 6, 2013

Signing in Arkansas and the Taste of Tears

First and foremost, I’m going to be doing an event in Little Rock, Arkansas this week. 7:00 on Thursday the 9th.

Here’s the Facebook Event if you’re interested in more details. Or you can click on the “Tour Schedule” tab up above there…. 

I’m actually doing the event at Heifer International’s headquarters: The Heifer Village.

If you’re planning on going, you might want to drop a line to the folks at Heifer (501.907.2697 or email heifervillageregistration [squiggly atsign thinger] heifer.org) It’s a free event, but if you call ahead, your name will be on the guest list, and you get to feel cool. (And it will help them prepare.)

There will be books. I will be there too. I will talk. I will read and answer questions and be witty to the best of my ability. I will then sign books.

The event will be more fun than the above paragraph implies. It’s just that I’m a little tired right now, because I just got back from a little vacation. I got to spend 6 whole days with Sarah and Oot and my dad. Something that I don’t think has happened in years.

It was a nice time, which means there aren’t many interesting stories to tell. I’d post pictures of Oot being cute, but when I’m having a good time, I generally prefer to keep having it, rather than stop having it so I can take a picture.

amazing-animal-pictures-29

(Instead, here is a picture of a giraffe licking a squirrel.)

I went to Busch gardens where I saw one of those cat-bear things. I went to the ocean for the first time ever and got to taste it. (Saltier than I expected.) I touched a crocodile. (Softer than I expected.)

Oot also displayed much bravery at the pool, dunking his face and making an honest attempt to float on his back. He was quite a civilized little man through the whole trip, polite and well-behaved even when he was tired or hungry. I am endlessly proud of him and love him beyond my ability to express with words.

See? Lovely to live through. Boring to talk about.

I just wanted y’all to know why I’d gone quiet for more than a week, and give folks a heads-up about the Arkansas event, as I don’t know when I’ll be back down in that neck of the woods again.

I’ll be posting blogs more often now that I’m back on the clock.

Stay tuned….

pat

Also posted in appearances | By Pat36 Responses
Published: April 15, 2013

Snowmen and Second Chances

So earlier this month, I started to catch up on certain things in my life. I turned in a story that’s three months late. I caught up on reading my backlog of e-mail (well… most of it). I got back in touch with people I’ve been meaning to e-mail for months.

And at the beginning of the month, spring started to arrive here in Wisconsin.

You would think this would be a cheerful thing for me. Birds singing. Flowers budding. All that Disney shit.

But you’d be wrong about that.

For one thing, you’re thinking of the wrong sort of spring. In Wisconsin, spring really just means the snow melts. Everything is brown and grey and muddy. It rains. The trees stretch their bare, black branches into the slate-grey sky like they’re auditioning for a part in a particularly emo T.S. Elliot poem.

Yeah, eventually things green up. It gets warm. Trees bud. But that’s in May. That’s *late* spring. Early spring is depressing as fuck.

The other reason spring isn’t very cheerful for me is that in my head, spring isn’t a beginning time. Spring is an ending time for me. Maybe it’s because for 20+ years of my life, I lived by the school year, rather than the calendar year. And May (Which again, is spring in Wisconsin) is the end of the school year.

Whatever the reason, spring is a melancholy time for me. I don’t think, “Yay! A new year is starting!”

No. I think, “I was so busy this winter that I didn’t take time to make a single snow angel. I didn’t build a snow fort like I wanted to with Oot. I didn’t even make a snowman with him. I don’t think I even made a snowball this year.”

It’s a depressing thought.

Luckily for me, Stevens Point got about three inches of snow last week. Then last night, on Saturday, we got about four more. Good wet packing snow.

It’s nice to get a second chance. Especially when you don’t deserve it. To ignore such a gift would be reckless to the point of arrogance.

So today I took a couple hours and focused on the important things.

Best crop

(Click to Embiggen.)

Those of you who live in the uncivilized backwaters of the world might not know what Sarah is doing back there. But anyone here in Wisconsin can tell by the tracks in the snow….

We’re making snowmen. Snowpersons, rather. A whole snow family.

Snow family

The one in the middle is Oot, pretending to be a snowchild with his corncob pipe. Or, as he refers to it, his smoker.

If you have trouble with snowman gender identity, let me clarify by pointing out that the one on the right is me, while the one on the left is Sarah. You can tell because the one on the left is more cheerful, and looks better in her hat. While the one on the right is more full of shit.

And no, I’m not speaking figuratively. I’m talking about this:

full view

Can’t see it? Let me get you closer….

Close up of deer

There’s a herd of deer that regularly hang out in our backyard. This is one of the many nice things about living in central Wisconsin. Some deer poop in your snowman is a small price to pay. It’s as inoffensive as rabbit poop. The two are virtually indistinguishable, truth be told.

The other way you can tell the difference between snowme and snowsarah is that snowme has an icicle beard….

icebeard and pat

Next time, I think I’ll go for the pine beard, as the icicle one is hard to see.

If you can’t tell which one is the real me, it’s the one on the right. I have better posture than snowme, and I’m more full of shit. (Figuratively.)

Also, for those of you who are curious, that is my favorite coat. (Well… I only have two, but it’s still my favorite.) I’ve had it for over twenty years. That’s why it looks a little the worse for wear….

Anyway, to wrap things up, here’s our whole snow family:

snowfam

And with that I will leave you.

May you all have a relatively pain-free tax day. May you all have ample opportunity to make snowmen, and more second chances than you deserve.

pat

Also posted in day in the life, my beard, Sarah, small adventures | By Pat52 Responses
Published: April 7, 2013

Punctuation

So earlier today I took a break from catching up on my e-mail. There were sounds of intense tickling happening in Sarah’s bedroom, and Oot was doing one of his best laughs: sort of this helpless throaty chortle that means you’ve *really* got him going.

I don’t know if Sarah realizes, but he gets that laugh from her. When something happens that strikes Sarah as really funny, she does this deep, throaty laugh. It’s like the sound a donkey would make if it was suddenly turned into an cartoon stereotype of an overweight geek. It goes heah heah heah.

It is in no way a dignified sound. But it is my favorite laugh ever. It’s full of genuine amusement. And whatever it lacks in dignity it makes up in honesty. True laughter is rarely dignified.

Anyway, Oot is doing his version of this laugh, which means she’s probably managed to get his ribs. She’s good at the ribs, I’m a leg man myself.

Best tickle

(Dramatic Recreation)

I would like to digress slightly to say that I’m a master-class fucking tickler. Seriously. I’m amazing. I could teach a class on tickling. I could do a TED talk.

Anyway, I come in to Sarah’s bedroom and lay down on the bed all casual-like, ready to produce some bespoke tickling.

Then Sarah looks at me with lust in her eyes and says, “You smell so good. It’s making me stupid.”

To understand her statement, you have to realize that I am the next stage in human evolution. My pheromonic musk is developed to the point where it’s practically a weapon. In the best of circumstances, I smell masculine. And on a day when I’m staying home and have skipped my morning shower…

Well…. suffice to say that you know there’s a man in the house, even if you can’t see me.

On top of that, I’d been writing. I don’t know why, but when I’m writing, my man-smell gets particularly strong. It’s like my body is trying to establish its dominance over reality itself.

The effects of this pheromonal cocktail vary, but with a select section of the female populous it has two profound, complimentary effects.

1. It delivers a message directly to the woman’s hindbrain, saying: THERE IS A MAN NEARBY, AND YOU MUST MATE WITH HIM.

2. It immediately drops the woman’s intelligence anywhere from 10-50 IQ points, which makes it hard for them to realize that mating with me is *obviously* a bad idea, while at the same time rendering them more vulnerable to my not inconsiderable charm.

You have to admit that evolutionarily speaking, this is a winning combo.

Anyway, Sarah says that, and we laugh. Then, after giving Oot a good tickling, I ask her if I can post her comment up on facebook.

She agrees, and I go to amuse the internets.

But here’s the problem. I can’t find a way to accurately portray what she said.

It should be easy. I know exactly *what* she said. Eight words. Two independent clauses.

But it’s not easy. The trouble lies in the punctuation.

Let’s start with the most generic way of doing this.

  • “You smell so good. It’s making me stupid.”

Punctuated like this, her statement feels choppy and wooden. More importantly, the statement feels matter-of-fact and emotionless.

But if you try to spice it up with an exclamation mark….

  • “You smell so good! It’s making me stupid.”

There’s a reason exclamation abuse is a crime. Punctuated this way, Sarah seems hopelessly manic. Like she was hopping up and down, excited. That’s not right at all.

You can’t do it the other way, either….

  • “You smell so good. It’s making me stupid!”

Then it seems like she’s excited that she’s stupid, which gives the wrong impression on every conceivable level.

And neither of those options address the other problem, that having a full stop in the middle makes it feel like she’s making two separate, unconnected statements. That’s simply not the case, she’s making one complex statement.

Here’s how I’d like to punctuate it…

  • “You smell so good, it’s making me stupid.”

But that’s a comma splice. I’m not opposed to them entirely, I’m no slave to grammar. But when you’re relaying one line of dialogue and it’s grammatically incorrect…. That’s just not classy. It’s sloppy writing.

Technically, you could fix this with a semicolon….

  • “You smell so good; it’s making me stupid.”

In some ways this is the right thing to do. A semicolon is the official way to show two independent clauses have a close relationship to each other.

Here’s the problem: Semicolons are for wankers. Seriously. You can go your whole life without ever needing to really use a semicolon.

Unless you’re an academic, of course. If you’re an academic, you’ve got to use semicolon to impress other wankers with how much of a wanker you are so you can get your paper published. You know, that paper you wrote detailing your in-depth Marxist interpretation of the last eight lines of John Donne’s “The Flea?” The paper where you used the word “moreover” twenty-seven times in eleven pages?

Most importantly, a semicolon looks really strange in a piece of casual dialogue. People don’t speak using semicolons. Unless they’re wankers.

A lot of time, I’ll default to an ellipsis. Because I love ellipses.

  • “You smell so good… it’s making me stupid.”

But it implies too much of a pause in the middle of the statement.

What about an em dash?

  • “You smell so good— it’s making me stupid.”

Nope. Just looks weird.

And don’t even think about using an en dash, you little fuckers. That’s *not* what an en dash is for….

In the end, the only way to make this piece of dialogue “sound” right to the reader is through use of interstitials.

  • “You smell so good,” she said, looking at me with half-lidded eyes. “It’s making me stupid.”

That’s not quite right either. We need some foregrounding *and* an interstitial….

  • Sarah looked at me lustily. “You smell so good,” she said, her eyes half-closed. “It’s making me stupid.”

There. That’s just about right. That conveys her tone and mood in the appropriate way.

What’s my point?

Well, first off, let me say that I never promised there would be a point here. Sometimes I just idly muse about shit. Sometimes I just tell stories. Sometimes there’s no point.

But if there *is* a point it’s probably this: When you’re writing, there are no small choices. Or perhaps it would be better to say that writing is nothing *but* small choices. And all of them have the opportunity to effect your story in a disproportionately large way. Punctuation can change the tone of a sentence. The tone of a sentence can change the feel of a scene. And the feel of a scene can change your impression of a character’s personality.

A secondary point is that this is why my revision takes so long. When you think all these little things to death, you tend to fidget with a text a *lot.*

More cool stuff this week. Stay tuned.

pat

Also posted in the craft of writing, things I shouldn't talk about | By Pat140 Responses
Published: February 14, 2013

Concerning Love

So I wasn’t going to do a Valentine’s Day post. Partly because I’m busy. And partly because I could really give a fuck. And partly because I’m a contrary person by my very nature.

But some things have happened today that have made me think about the nature of love. And that is something I’m interested in.

And if by odd coincidence this post happens to be timely…. Well, I suppose I can stand being timely once in my life.

*     *     *

Weeks ago, I was reading a book with Oot. At some point in the story, the characters go to the Doctor, and the doctor shows them what’s inside their bodies.

Oot’s curious about that stuff. It’s a cool teachable moment, so we take a break from the story to talk about our guts.

I point, “That’s a stomach. Do you know what that’s for?”

He knows. He tells me.

I point again, “Those are your lungs. Do you know what they do?”

He does.

Next I point at a picture of the circulatory system, “That’s a heart. Do know what that is for?”

He thinks about it for a long moment, then he lights up. “That’s where you keep all of your Love!”

*     *     *

Days ago I fell asleep with Oot on my lap.

Lately I’ve been keeping odd hours. I’m trying to get a lot of writing done and that means I don’t sleep as much as usual.

It also means I don’t spend as much time at home as I’d like. I write at the work house where there’s less distraction. Everyone working there knows if they bother me while I’m writing, I’ll fire them.

When I’m behind on writing, like I am now, it’s not uncommon for me to sleep at the workhouse too. I have a mattress there, I get food delivered. It’s not odd for me to spend several days there without leaving when I’m in the thick of it.

Still, I make a point of spending at least an hour or two every day with Oot. Sometimes Sarah brings him to visit me, sometimes I come home and visit him.

So a couple of days ago, I was sitting in the living room with Oot cuddled up in my lap. He’s not a particularly cuddly child, so these times are rare.

That said, I’ve stacked the deck a bit by offering to give him a massage. He loves having his back rubbed.

This is a sort of love, you realize. The negotiation of desires.

Oot desires the animal joy of having his back rubbed. I desire the animal joy of holding my warm child. These are not mutually exclusive. We can both get what we want here.

Would I prefer it if he would *just* cuddle me? Sure. That would be lovely. But we’re not living in a perfect world. He is a little boy, not a dog. He hasn’t been bred for 10,000 years to be a obsequious lap-sitter. So compromise is key. You have to give a little to get a little.

Our little arrangement reminds me of several of my college relationships. And some of my non-relationships too. Backrubs as currency. This is a skill I posses, and I have bartered it in the past. Sometimes just for the pleasure of touching another human in an intimate way.

The importance of touch should not be ignored. It shouldn’t be played down or viewed as something low or base. They joy of touching and being touched it is a big part of being human.

And while it is certainly not all of love, it is a type of love. It is a facet in the fractured glass of affection.

But as I’ve said, I haven’t been sleeping much lately. So, sitting there with my child in my lap, I started to nod.

Eyes closed, I hear Sarah come into the room and say, “Daddy is falling asleep. Do you want to help me put him to bed?”

“Oh, of course!” he says. Then he stands up and takes my hand to lead me.

This is an act of love.

Halfway through the living room he takes both my hands, which is probably meant to be twice as helpful, but it’s not. It means I have to bend down and take shuffling little steps.

So take little shuffling steps and bend down. I do this even though it hurts my back.

This too is love.

*     *     *

Hours Ago, I woke up.

My plan for today was to hurry over to the work house to get some writing in, then come back for my officially scheduled date with Sarah.

Our date is scheduled from noon to 2:00. It’s the only time we could arrange a sitter. The date is going to be short because Sarah is planning on making heart cookies for everyone she love. She and Oot are going to bake them, put people’s names on them, and hand deliver them on Valentine’s Day.

She’s been planning it for weeks. It’s it an expression of her love.

My thought is that we should reschedule our date. Pick a day she isn’t so busy. Pick a day when we could do something at night. At night, you see, the workhouse is empty. At night there are many uninhabited surfaces at the workhouse, and little chance of being overheard by our young child.

But Sarah wants a date on Valentine’s Day. It’s important to her. So noon.

I wake up at 7:30 AM, but when I go upstairs to check my e-mail, I hear Sarah calling. I head into her bedroom and she gives me the news. Oot got sick last night. Puking sick.

I look at him, he’s sleeping. Sweet as anything. Between him and the bed is a carefully placed towel.

“No cookies today?” I say.

Sarah shakes her head. “I didn’t sleep much last night. We’re going to stay in and have a quiet day.”

“That’s as it should be,” I say.

“We’re out of Pedialite,”

For those of you who don’t have kids, Pedialite is like Gatorade if your sport of choice is shitting and puking all over. It’s easy on your stomach, and has all sorts of important electrolytes you need if you’re losing a lot of fluid. Every parent should have several jugs of it on the pantry shelf.

But we’ve burned through our supply, so I get dressed and go brush snow off the car.

At the store I pick up some Campbell’s chicken and stars soup, because that’s what my mom fed me when I had an upset tummy as a kid. I pick up some string cheese, because Oot likes it. And I pick up some olives stuffed with garlic because if this is a flu bug, having some garlic in my system will help me fight it off.

Then I go get the Pedialite. One orange and one purple, so that he has a choice.

In the kid isle at the grocery store, I see that they don’t stock baby formula on the shelves anymore. Now they have little cards there. You have to take the card to the service desk to get the formula.

To me, this means people must have been stealing baby formula. And standing there at 8:00 in the morning, the fact that people have to steal formula for their babies just breaks my heart. That shows that something is fucked up in our society. Food for your babies should be a given, and if some people are having to steal it, it means that something has gone wrong in my little town. I’ll have to talk to some people and see what we can do about this.

This, you have to realize, is also love. Love is a small thing only if we force it to be small. It isn’t some commodity we hoard and dole out sparingly for family and friends.

No. When you see a broken car by the side of the road and stop to help the person. That’s love. When you watch the news and hear about kids being exposed to lead in playgrounds and frac mining fucking up the environment, the anger you feel actually comes from love. It means you care about people even though you don’t know them.

It’s a hard way to live your life. It means you’ll be feel helpless a lot, and you’ll be hurt a lot, and you’ll be angry at the state of things so constantly that it will rub you raw. But it’s the best way to be. It’s the only way civilization can function properly. It’s the only way we can make things better.

On my way out of the store I walk past the floral department. I ignored it on my way into the store because I was on a mission. But now I remember that it is Valentine’s Day. And while I could give a damn about flowers, Sarah likes them.

So I pick out some roses. And the very act of it makes me grit my teeth. Roses on Valentine’s Day. It’s such a cliche.

There’s a line, a half dozen men. This just reinforces the fact that I’m being a culture zombie and it raises my irritation exponentially. Plus this is thirty dollars that’s going to end up in the compost in two weeks. I could do a hundred more practical things with this money. Formula for kids. A hive of honeybees for Heifer International….

Then I see an old guy in line ahead of me. He’s gotta be 85 if he’s a day, and he looks like what I imagine when Garrison Keillor describes the old Norwegian bachelor farmers in lake Woebegone. He’s beautiful in his own way.

He’s got a dozen roses, and seeing him there warms my bitter old heart.

One of the guys in front of me (a guy in a red flannel, probably in his sixties) motions the older man ahead of him in the line. He says, “You go ahead, Ed. I’ve got plenty of time.”

The guy in the red flannel drops back and smiles at me. He says, “Ed there comes by here every week. Buys flowers for his wife.”

“That’s great,” I say, smiling like the idiot I am.

And it is great. This is someone who has made a habit out of love. There is something to be learned here.

So I pick up more roses. One of each color. Because this isn’t about me. For Sarah, love is a song. Love is words. Love is gifts.

That is not my way. For me, love is doing. Love is service. Love is caring for someone and tending to their well being.

This is a problem we have been struggling with for a long time: how the two of us show our love in different ways. It has led to many problems. Many fights. It is a terrible thing to be unloved. But in many ways it is worse to be loved and feel unloved.

Love is actually easy. We are all of us wired for it. We are full of love, even though sometimes we are barely aware of it.

Showing love is the hard part. Our culture poisons us constantly, telling us what we *should* love. Religions spout off about who we *can* love. Media lies to us, telling us *how* to love. For when you care enough to send the very best. Say it with flowers. Every kiss begins with Kay.

It’s hard to break away from that cultural conditioning. But it’s even harder for me to realize that sometimes, Sarah doesn’t want me to take care of her. She doesn’t need tending. Sometimes she just wants me to say that I love her and tell her she’s pretty.

So I bring home roses and soup. I scrap my plans to hole up and write today so I can be near my family and tend to them. Because that is what’s important to me. Whether or not they realize it, this is how I love.

Oot picks the purple Pedialite. He’s listless and just wants to stay in bed. He’s snuggled up with Sarah. She gets more cuddling than me, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous.

But when I lay down he snuggles me too. No bribery needed.

When Sarah comes downstairs she sees the flowers and laughs and smiles. It’s a response that I would never have to flowers. We talk a little. I tell her I love her. I tell her she’s pretty.

Later, if Oot is feeling up to it, I will read him a chapter of the Hobbit. It’s the one where the goblins catch them in the mountains.

And through all of this, in bits and pieces, I write down these musings for you. Because I cannot help but tell stories. Because these things are important to me.

Because…

pat

Also posted in Because I Love, holding forth, How to be a Worthwhile Human Being, love | By Pat132 Responses
Published: February 8, 2013

A different kind of story….

I’m still writing like a mad bastard over here. And since it’s going well, I’m loathe to break my stride by writing up a long blog.

That said, I’ve got a few things some of you might be interested in.

  • A different sort of interview.

Months ago, I did an interview while I was at a convention. There’s nothing new about that, as interviews have become kinda old hat for me.

But this interview turned into something different. It didn’t end up as the sort of Q&A thing I normally do, the journalist that did it went out and did other interviews, talked to people I went to grad school with.

The end result is almost more of a story than anything.

I like it. I’m fond of stories.

  • A different sort of video.

I’m a little fuzzy on the details of how this came to be, but apparently Peter V. Brett did an AMA recently on reddit. (You do know that Daylight War is hitting the shelves in just a couple days, right?) During the AMA, Brent Weeks apparently made some sort of dare.

Then I don’t know what happened. The result was this video.

Beware. You can’t unwatch it.

 

  • A different sort of picture.

 

Lastly, apropos of nothing, here is a picture of a little kid licking a pig.

(That’s not Oot. But I kinda wish it was.)

I showed this picture to my little boy, curious as to what he might think of this little scene. Because personally, I find it hilarious.

He looked at it and said, “Oh. Why am I in the baby cage?”

It took me a moment to realize that he thought that it was *him* in the picture. He was trying to figure out what he’d done to deserve being locked up. And, apparently, cozy up to the toughest pig in the joint for some protection.

There you go folks,  that’s all I’ve got for now…

pat

Also posted in Interviews, my student days | By Pat30 Responses
Published: December 23, 2012

My Favorite Book: Worldbuilders Team Edition

 

This is a Worldbuilders Blog.  Written by the Worldbuilders Team.

Today’s blog is a little different.  It’s different, because Pat is being gently asked (forced) to take a couple of days off.  So we’re helping.

We brainstormed what to do with our hijacked blog, and have decided to do a little bit extra for our supporters.  You guys have no idea how much we appreciate the love and support we get from you, especially after a long day of fundraiser work.  It’s easy to lose sight, but some of your emails, Facebook messages, and blog comments have really reminded us of how awesome you are, and how much we really love what we do.  So Kat suggested (and we loved the idea) that we all donate our favorite books to the lottery.

Some of us agonized over which of our favorite books we should throw in (Nate, Brett, Nicole, and Sarah), while others of us knew pretty much instantly (Maria, Amanda, Kat, and Oot).  A couple of the books are still stuck in Christmas Delivery Limbo, but since they’re our favorite books, we all had a copy lying around to take a picture of.

Part of what makes this interesting is that everyone here is a different kind of geek.  We chose to pick our favorite books, regardless of genre and simply share a bit of ourselves with you.

So, without further ado, here’s the Worldbuilders Team and their favorite books.

  • Kat’s Favorite Book: The First Chronicles of Amber and The Second Chronicles of Amber by Rodger Zelazny.

I’ve known Pat since 1993. Seriously, don’t do the math on how old we are. Pat was in my wedding (and he danced with me, pictures to prove it), he roomed with my little sister (she’s still bitter), we role-played and LARPed together (you make me cry, happy sobbing tears for the pain you put my characters through), and I was one of the people he warned not to cock things up when he introduced us to Sarah.

Anyway, I love Pat. He’s one of my closest friends and out of that friendship came the opportunity for me to work for Pat and help with Worldbuilders. I needed more work (aka money) and he needed more help. Sure, I do assistanty things for him, which does involve watching Oot from time to time (best job ever) but what I really enjoy is helping make Worldbuilders awesome. Being a part of this charity is amazing. I get to meet the greatest of geeks,covet the swag donations, and see our hard work provide for the needs of folks around the world. Good on all of us!

This year I had the idea that we, the lovely staff of Worldbuilders, should donate our favourite book to Worldbuilders and talk about them. Pat and the staff really loved the idea and got very excited about it. I even get to cheat a bit cause its a series of books in one volume and I decide to give both sets.Yeah, ten books, in two volumes. I’m Mistress Minion, I can do this sort of thing.

So with all that said, I am donating The First Chronicles of Amber and The Second Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. These two hardcover books represent my favourite stories. Zelazny’s gift for painting a rich scene and dialogue with a minimal amount of words is a treasure. I love how he works myths into his stories and makes these god-like beings real. Roger Zelazny wrote many books and short stories and I hope these encourage new readers of his work. You will not be disappointed.

When I started working for Pat, he was surprised to find out that I hadn’t read the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.  As Pat’s love for these books is no secret, you can imagine the sales pitch that ensued.  He told me frequently just how much I needed to read these books.  (It was apparently Lots, with a capital L.)

I’ll admit that when I finally set myself to do so, it was with slight trepidation.  You know how when someone talks something up to you so much, you’re afraid it won’t live up to the expectations you’ve developed?  That’s where I was.  But I’d heard so much praise that I felt I had to give the books a serious chance, and guess what?

They held up.

They’re chock-full of strong, distinctive characters, and the action always feels fresh and realistic.  The world-building is solid and fascinating, and Harry, stubbornly determined and brimming with witty attitude, always manages to keep me guessing at how things will really play out.  Each book is better than the one before it, and starting a new one is like being a kid in front of a bowl of Halloween candy.  (You can’t wait to dig in, and no matter how long you’ve been at it, it’s impossible to walk away).

That said, I present to you Cold Days, the newest addition to the Dresden Files.  I chose to add it to this year’s lottery for the simple reason that I’m in love with Harry Dresden.  (Didn’t you see that’s where this was going?)

Oh, and did I mention?  …This beautiful, hardcover copy is signed by the author.

  • Amanda’s Favorite Books: The John Green Box Set: Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars.

To say that I love John Green’s books would be like saying Pat’s books are kind of long.  It’s true, but it doesn’t fully encompass the subject.

John Green is an author who writes believable, interesting teen characters.  In 2007 he started a video blog series with his brother, Hank, called Vlogbrothers, where the brothers uploaded videos every weekday for a year in the hopes of better communication.  It led to a fun year (which led to 5 more years) of videos that gave us great insight into the brothers, their lifestyles, and their values.  I spent my first summer home from college watching their videos. They were a bonding point for my boyfriend and me; we’d met and started dating in college, and now were living across the state from each other as opposed to across campus. We both loved watching them, and to this day, we watch Vlogbrothers videos together every week and talk about them all the time.

John had a couple of books out at the time, and I read them right away and fell in love with them.  He was in the process of writing his third, and it was the first time I had any insight into an author’s life and process.  He showed what a typical day for him was like, talked about things that influenced his work, and stressed over edits that were due by making videos instead of working on them.  I’ve never felt so close to an author. (Well, except for Pat now, but I’d only known him for a few months at the time).

I have read all of John’s books many times, and back when I was still teaching high school English, I wrote curriculum for an entire semester that included two of them.  They’ve made me cry, they’ve made me laugh, and they’ve made me think critically about things I wish I had thought critically about as a teenager.

Now, don’t worry – the books in the picture are my personal, teacher’ed-up copies.  They have notes written in the margins, post its all over, and honestly, it wouldn’t make any sense to you.  Instead, you’ll be getting a beautiful, special edition box set.  It has a couple of new covers, a box designed by a fan, and two of the four books are signed.  Congrats; if you win this, your books will be much cooler than mine.

If you take a few minutes to look up each book somewhere you trust, you’ll see what I’ve known all along: John Green is an author you should be reading and following passionately.  And lucky for you, all it takes is a measley $10 donation to our Team Page for a chance to win all four of his solo books.

  • Nate’s Favortie Books: The Warded Man and The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett.

(This is the best picture you’ll ever get of me, as I’m the one with the camera)

I actually picked up The Warded Man as a prize from this very fundraiser a few years ago (besmirched with Pat’s scribble as well). As a very picky reader I was just happy to have gotten something and tossed it on the shelf. My girlfriend, on the other hand, read it, immediately went out and bought the second book, raved about both of them and I duly ignored her.

The book pretty much just sat there for the next few years, followed me around as I moved a few times, and took up space on a shelf. Then I got a part time job that required a lot of driving. And as an already avid listener of audiobooks I quickly ate up my backlog of things I had been meaning to listen to. So after some persuasion I purchased The Warded Man, loaded it onto my iPod and hopped into my car. An hour later I was sitting at work, in the parking lot, and had been there for 10 minutes just listening, unable to break myself away.

These books are really that good. The world building is fantastic and extremely organic. You’ll find yourself understanding idiomatic turns of phrase so naturally you’ll feel like it’s the way that everybody has always talked. One of the odd conventions of these books is that the story is told from multiple points of view. At times we receive as many as 3 or 4 viewpoints on a single event. And while this style of storytelling can be jarring at first it quickly becomes second nature and you will soon relish the way that it expands not only your feel for the story but also the world the characters are living in. In time you no longer think about this being a story about a single character or even a set of characters. Instead, the story is about the world itself, and we get to experience the changes in the world from many different viewpoints

It’s worth noting that if you’re looking for a story that wraps up with a nice neat little bow, this isn’t it. At least not yet. This is a story that’s more about the journey than the destination. But if you’re OK with that (and lets be honest if you’re a fan of Pats books you probably are) These books are a worthy read. And the third book in the series comes out in February of 2013 so now’s the perfect time to grab them and catch up on the story.

  • Maria’s Favorite Book: The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman.

(We don’t photograph Maria, as her cute would break the camera)

So I’ll start off by saying that of all the people Pat has on staff, I’m the least geeky of them all.  To be perfectly honest I had no idea really who Pat was when I was brought on to coordinate Worldbuilders.  But luckily, my mind has morphed over the last couple months and I’m constantly adding books to my winter read list.  Winter read list?  Yes, unfortunately I do not have the luxury to do much during the spring/summer/fall months and my book choice will further explain why.

In addition to working for Pat and loving the non-profit world, I also own and operate a small family farm with my partner, Chris, just outside of Stevens Point.  We are both first generation farmers and I won’t get into the details of why and how we started farming, but let’s just say that after three full seasons of farming, our learning curve is still extremely high.

For those who are interested in small scale farming, especially vegetable production, this is a wonderful tool to help you get started.  Elliot Coleman starts from the basics and will eventually educate you enough to grow vegetables during your peak season of production and beyond.  Prior to starting my own farm, I had a few years of experience working on other organic vegetable farms.  Making the change in my mindset from asking ‘what to do next’ to making the calls on my own farm is extremely intimidating.  I look to this book continually throughout the season for advice and also inspiration.  Elliot Coleman is an expert  in organic vegetable production and has created a wonderful movement for those interested in getting their hands dirty!

  • Brett’s Favorite Book: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

(Brett just likes doodles better than pictures)

When I first saw Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, I figured it was just a gimmick book. Seriously, how far can you get with a bunch of old photographs? But, and I hate to admit how often this works on me, I really liked the gimmick.

I started reading it with mild interest. Jacob is an average kid, dealing with the same stuff I dealt with at his age. He’s likeable, partly because he has a few relatable faults. Then the awesome descends in the first chapter.

Ransom Riggs doesn’t spend any more time than he needs to set up a scene. He knows how to set a creepy tone and manages to hit the sweet spots pretty regularly. Eerie drive through Jake’s neighborhood? Sweet. Mysterious, bombed-out orphanage? Way cool. Bog mummy? Heck yeah! Violent, fire hurling little girl? Now we’re talking. And I can’t even begin to tell you about the rest of the awesomeness, because much of the fun is experiencing how Riggs mixes all the elements together.

This book is a delicious stew of gothic horror and science fiction. The SF is dealt with supernaturally, instead of technically, and so fits nicely into the Peregrine world. And this is why I love young-adult fiction so much: anything goes, and the big ideas come at you quickly. You don’t have to wade through any pretense.

At the halfway point, I stopped seeing the photos that originally intrigued me – I had to find out what was happening, and they were just in the way. I was too involved in the book to worry about the gimmick. That’s when I decided that Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is bottled awesome.

This book is pulpy, fun, and oh-so-delicious. There is plenty of mystery (most of it explained by the end, don’t worry). The characters all have their own distinct voices, so Riggs’s dialogue is easy to follow and fun to read. He uses just the right words to get his characters and settings cemented in your mind. There are no wasted scenes.

And that’s enough of me talking. Basically, I love the ride. It’s a wonderful mix of creepy horror, crazy worldbuilding and everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink sensibility. Things come to a satisfying close, but Jake’s journey is obviously just beginning. The next book is due out in 2013.

  • Sarah’s Favorite Book: The Practical Cogitator; The Thinker’s Anthology edited by Charles P. Curtis Jr. and Ferris Greenslet.

My favorite book is The Practical Cogitator; The Thinker’s Anthology, a collection of writings by scientists, philosophers, Supreme Court Justices, etc. I picked it up in a used book store while going through a phase of purchasing extra dry philosophy books so I could feel smarter. This wonderful book is pretty juicy, and it has actually made me smarter.

The writings are bite sized, so you can get a clear glimpse of a big idea in 20 minutes or less. The editors, Charles P. Curtis Jr. and Ferris Greenslet, ordered their selections so elegantly that I’m led seamlessly from Jane Austen’s simple lines on how to be comfortable near a fire to five pages of Havelock Ellis holding forth on the nature of hypotheses.

This book is perfect on airplanes or to read in the morning if I want to be smart that day. It’s full, full, full of ideas, so a few minutes with this book keeps me thinking for a long, long time.

  • Oot’s Favorite Books: Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby and The Inflated Dormouse and Other Ways of Life in the Animal World.

I have two favorite books: Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby, and The Inflated Dormouse and Other Ways of Life in the Animal World.

Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby is about a boy, a bear, a spaceship, and a baby. A baby that is a star!

The Inflated Dormouse has scary things in it. It also has flying squirrels and a skunk, but not a flying skunk.

Above is what Oot told Sarah when she asked him, and she wrote it down.  Here is an audio recording of what Oot said when Pat asked him.  Be ready – the cute may make you squee embarrassingly loudly in front of other people.  It’s also 4 minutes long, and worth every moment.

 

*     *     *

So there they are.  We hope you liked them, and if not, we hope you didn’t mind us giving Pat the day off.

The tuckerization auctions all end TONIGHT, and you can see all the current Worldbuilders auctions here on e-bay, including those wonderful Wil Wheaton prints.

Or, if you’d like a chance to win these books that are near and dear to our hearts, and thousands of others, you can donate on the Worldbuilders Team Page, over at Heifer international. For every $10 you pitch in, you get another chance to win something cool.

If you want to see the other items that have been donated to Worldbuilders, or learn more about the fundraiser itself, you can head over to the main page.

Also posted in Worldbuilders 2012 | By Amanda22 Responses
Published: December 13, 2012

Signed Books from Awesome Authors

 

This is a Worldbuilders Blog.

Okay. Before we look at today’s books, I’m going to tell a little story. Because that’s what I do.

The truth is, yesterday I was right on the edge of burning out on the fundraiser. I was running on about two hours of sleep, worried about the holidays, and stressed because I’m behind on about fifty different things.

I don’t talk about it a lot, but it takes a lot of frantic behind-the-scenes juggling to make Worldbuilders happen, and even with the great team that helps run things, it can get a little overwhelming at times.

So there I was, exhausted, trudging through an interview I’m doing with Fantasy Lit about the fundraiser, the calendar, and what Heifer International is all about, when I draw a blank, and can’t remember if a flock of chicks costs 20 bucks, or 30.

So I wander over to Heifer’s website, into the “Gift Catalog” section, and I see that they’ve added stuff since I’ve been there last time. You can still give money for goats and baby ducks, but now I see “The Gift of Clean Water – $300.”

I click on it, and I see this picture.

And I just start to cry.

Now I’d like to claim it’s because I was worn down and low on sleep. But that wouldn’t be the truth. Ever since Oot was born, I’ve become incredibly soppy, and I cry the drop of a hat whenever I’m confronted with stories about kids.

My mom used to be like that. We’d see a telephone commercial where a kid calls home for Christmas, and she’d get all weepy. I’d roll my eyes at her and say, “It’s a *phone* commercial, mom.” And she’d laugh, saying, “You don’t know what it’s like.”

Now I know what it’s like.

I mean, look at that kid. He’s like, “Yeah! Clean water! This is AWESOME!”

And you know what? It is awesome. It’s the best thing I’ve seen all day.

There’s something else I haven’t seen on Heifer’s page: “Family Farm Care Package – $72.”

So I click on it.

The description reads:

“This gift will help a struggling family boost the productivity of their farm and increase their income. Training in soil conservation, irrigation and marketing will be combined with seeds, saplings or livestock so smallholder farmers around the world can transform their failing farms into dependable livelihoods”

I probably spent half an hour wandering around the Heifer site, looking at pictures. Afterwards, I didn’t feel burned out at all. I felt excited about getting back into the fundraiser.

So I figured I’d share some of the pictures with you. Just to remind you what we’re *really* doing here. When you donate on the Worldbuilder’s Team Page, you’re not just signing up to win some cool books. You’re making the world a better place.

And if you’re wondering, a flock of baby chicks is only $20.

Ah fuck. I’m crying again.

Let’s look at today’s books so I can get control of myself, okay?

*     *     *

Today we’ve got another batch of books donated directly from the authors themselves.

I love it when authors send us books, because they always show up signed. And sometimes, as we can see below, they show up signed PLUS…

  • A first edition copy of The Night Circus. Signed and doodled by Erin Morgenstern.

I’ve never met Erin personally, but she was cool enough to send along some first-edition hardcovers of her bestselling debut novel: The Night Circus. What’s more, she clearly cares about the cause because she took the time to doodle a little kitten sitting on the text of the copyright page, stars doodled all over the place, plus her beautiful signature and a rubber stamp of the circus tent.  It’s awesome.

“Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for and she has populated it with dueling love-struck magicians, precocious kittens, hyper-elegant displays of beauty and complicated clocks. This is a marvelous book.” – Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife

  • Auction: A first edition copy of The Night Circus. Signed by Erin Morgenstern. Includes pen drawings and a rubber stamp from the author.

Because Erin was nice enough to send us a couple of these, we figured we’d put one up in an auction, too.

“Brilliantly detailed worldbuilding and complicated characters makes this an engrossing read.” –Laura Anne Gilman

“You know you’ve always wanted to read about an angry vampire slicing other vampires in half with a katana. Don’t deny it. –  Heather Watson

  • A hardcover copy of Wheel of the Infinite. Signed by Martha Wells.

“The vividly imagined Celestial Empire’s peril is made all the more dramatic by the characters’ sarcastic, reasonable conversations, and by their very human responses to inhuman dangers; there is real reading pleasure here.” – Publishers Weekly

  • A set of The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea. Signed by Martha Wells.

“Wells merrily ignores genre conventions as she spins an exciting adventure around an alien hero who anyone can identify with.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  • The Wizard Hunters, The Ships of Air, and The Gate of Gods.  Signed by Martha Wells.

“A vastly entertaining and refreshingly different fantasy adventure with a surprisingly satisfying conclusion.” – Locus

“James Calbraith’s writing is reminiscent of a classic, epic fantasy – immersive, and detailed to the letter. The real-world cultures he draws from are incredibly well-researched and truthful, and yet well-balanced with the fantasy elements he sprinkles in between. An intriguing and impressive series.” – Ben Galley

“Durham has created a richly detailed alternate reality leavened with a dollop of magic and populated by complicated personalities grappling with issues of freedom and oppression.” – Publishers Weekly

  • A set of Never Never Stories, Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Million Writers Award: The Best New Online Voices.  Signed by Jason Sanford.

“If you’re new to [Sanford’s stories] then this is a very highly recommended collection indeed.” Jim Steel

  • 2 copies of Henry Franks.  Signed by Peter Adam Salomon. Each with a signed promo postcard (leaning against the book).

“Salomon’s Frankenstein homage churns through its often confounding but highly unnerving plot like a slow nightmare–readers won’t be entirely sure they even want to know how it ends. The scenes are clipped, the dialogue spare, and the prose rewards meticulous reading, making this debut the thinking teen’s horror choice of the year.” – Booklist (starred review)

  • A giant set of Black Jewels Books: Tangled Webs, Shalador’s Lady, The Shadow Queen, The Invisible Ring, and Twilight’s Dawn.  Signed by Anne Bishop.

“Bishop will draw you into her world like a spider and never spit you back out — it is like an addiction. I am not a re-reader, but I re-read this book simply because I love her characters and the depth she gives them — along with the mystery she is able to weave around each — leaving you guessing until she’s ready to tell you what she wants you to know.” — SFRevu

  • 3 copies of Bridge of Dreams.  Signed by Anne Bishop.

“With a well-paced mystery, likable characters, and fascinating world building, this is a fun read.” —Booklist

This is a collection of three short stories by Anne Bishop, James Alan Gardner, and Anthony Francis.  So much bang for your buck!

Pat’s Note: This is an ARC for Written in Red, so not only is it a bit of a rarity. But this is a pre-release ARC, which means that if you win this book, you’ll get a chance to read Anne’s newest book before it hits the shelves. Then, if you’re in the mood, you can go taunt people on goodreads about your insider status. 

“[Bishop's] worlds are so fully realized and three-dimensional, they jump right off the pages.” – Fresh Fiction

  • A set of The Winds of Khalakovo and The Straits of Galahesh.  Signed by Bradley P. Beaulieu.

“Well worth exploring… Beaulieu [depicts] a strange culture [with] a remarkable fantasy/magical reality feel.” – Glen Cook, author of The Black Company

  • A copy of Shadow Ops: Control Point. Signed by Myke Cole.

Despite the fact that Myke is a relative newcomer to the publishing world, he’s made a bit of a splash, with Fantasy Faction listing his next book as one of the 10 most anticipated books of 2013.

I read his this book, his debut novel, about a month ago and really, really enjoyed it. It’s well worth your time. (You can see my full review on Goodreads if you’re interested.)

“Blackhawk Down meets the X-Men, Military Fantasy like you’ve never seen it before!” – Peter V. Brett

  • Auction: A copy of Shadow Ops: Control Point. Signed by Myke Cole.  Comes with a challenge coin.

Those of you who watched the Author D&D video may also recognize Myke’s name. He was the GM, and he did an awesome job wrangling all the other authors.

As a cool promotional item, Myke as donated a Challenge Coin with this book. He describes them thusly: “They’re somewhere between a medal and a shinier, cooler version of business cards.”

To make sure this ends up in the hands of someone that will love it, we’re going to auction it off.

To bid, head over here.

“At over 600 pages, Epic: Legends of Fantasy will definitely get you your money’s worth and the seventeen stories inside will help satisfy your epic fantasy cravings, or possibly leave you wanting more.” - SFF Chat

This anthology includes works from Sanderson, Martin, LeGuin, and tons of other prolific authors.  I snuck my way in there, too.

If you want this multiple-signed copy all to yourself, head over to the auction and bid.

*     *     *

Every 10 dollars you donate on our Team Page gives you the chance to win one of our fabulous prizes, many of which still haven’t been revealed.

All the auctions Worldbuilders is currently running are over here.

Or, if you want to see the other items that have been donated to Worldbuilders, or learn more about the fundraiser itself, you can head over to the main page here.

Also posted in mom, the longest fucking blog ever, Worldbuilders 2012 | By Pat25 Responses

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