Category Archives: a few words you’re probably going to have to look up

Published: October 11, 2013

Concerning Fanmail #3

So a couple months ago, I unlocked another achievement in the great sandbox videogame that is my life.

Specifically, I hit 10,000 pieces of fanmail.

fanmail_10kWhile I occasionally answer questions people send me, or post quotes from letters up on facebook, I haven’t actually written anything about fanmail itself since…

*Pat goes to check the archives*

Wow. Since five years ago. I did two blogs back then. One talking about fanmail in general. And another giving some memorable quotes.

Back in October of 2008, I’d just hit 1500 pieces of fanmail. I was pretty sure it was impossible to get any more mail than that.

Back then, I made a point of answering every piece of fanmail. It’s something I put a lot of effort into, and a lot of time. It was really important to me…

Fast forward to today.

For those of you that are into the specifics, I should clarify that this 10,000 mark is kinda arbitrary. I’m only counting messages that come to me through my website’s contact form. (Right now, because it’s taken me a couple months to write this blog, that total is standing at closer to 12,000 messages.)

That total doesn’t count people who e-mail me multiple times. Folks that contact me through other channels, or messages sent to me through facebook, goodreads, or good old-fashioned paper letters.

20131010_141249[1]

Here’s several hundred RL letters that have been sent over the years. I don’t know if it’s weird for me to keep them, but throwing them away seems unspeakable awful.

I’m guessing that if I totaled up all these varied instances of epistolary perspicacity, it would be somewhere closer to 20,000 pieces of mail.

Back in 2008, I wrote:

Fanmail is great. There have been occasional exceptions to this, like the guy who sent me a message saying that he hoped a dog would bite me on the nuts. But even that made me laugh.

This is still true today. The vast majority of fanmail I get is friendly, witty, touching, or funny. People send me useful info. People tell me stories of how my book has impacted their lives.

Here’s one I got a while back:

Your books have given me a way of communicating with a teenage son who has now metamorphosed from a complete alien to a fine young man.

As a dad myself, I can hardly think of a nicer thing to hear.

Unless it’s something like this:

I would forever live with a small piece of my heart unfulfilled had I not met Kvothe.

I have hundreds of these little snippets from messages my readers have sent me. I hoard them like treasure. Sometimes the best part of my day is a short message someone has sent me. Sometimes it’s a 15 year old girl from Brazil. Sometimes it’s a 70 year old grandmother in Virginia.

But I won’t lie to you. It’s not all good…

*      *      *

Here’s the thing. I used to respond to every piece of fanmail. Even if it was just a brief note. Even if it took me months to get the message out.

Not responding never really occurred to me at first. After all, a lot of these people had written elaborate letters, or said really touching things. Not responding would have felt unspeakably rude….

But eventually I had to give it up. If the reason isn’t obvious, here’s a visual aid to drive the point home….

email-screenshot

That’s a screen capture from my sent items folder back in 2008. If you embiggen it, it paints a grim picture of what my day was like.

So I stopped replying to everyone. It was a slow decline. At first I still replied to most of them. Then half. Then maybe a third. These days it’s dwindled to about one in ten, and even those replies are usually brief.

But the truth is, I never decided to cut back. It’s nothing I ever wanted or deliberately chose to do. It’s something I was forced into because there simply weren’t enough hours in the day. And honestly, I still feel guilty about it.

My one consolation was that I still make a point of reading all my fanmail. On facebook. On goodreads. I read it all.

Well, that’s not entirely true. Sometimes I would get a 4000 word message. Those I skim.

But I’m guessing that the math-savvy among you can see the problem looming, can’t you?

Let’s say I can read each message in just one minute. One minute x 20,000 e-mails ends up being well over 300 hours.

That means just to read that many messages takes me two months of full-time work. That’s assuming every day I did nothing but read e-mail for 8 hours.

That doesn’t count the time it might take me to occasionally respond to a message. Or reading the messages that are more than just 60-70 words long. Many of them are 200-300 words. About as much text as page in a paperback novel.

A more realistic estimate would probably be that it takes me 2-3 minutes on average to read a message.

That means that since 2007, I’ve spent between four and six months of full-time work reading messages people have sent me.

God. I’ve honestly never done that math before. I knew it was a huge chunk of time, but not that much. That’s fucking horrifying.

Because that doesn’t take into account me *replying* to messages or actually taking care of the rest of my daily e-mail. And I get a shit-ton of that, too.

I guess it does make me feel a little better about this though:

outlook screen grab

(Yes. I use an archaic e-mail program. Don’t judge me.)

Let’s ignore the 100+ regular unread messages. And the flashing danger light that is more than 100 unread messages deliberately tucked into a folder called “Important.”

Circled in red, you can see that I’ve got more than 300 unread pieces of reader mail. I’m terribly behind.

And that’s not counting Goodreads:

Good Reads

There’s 80 unread messages piled up there.

My facebook fan page has another 250….

messages tab FB

And that’s *despite* the fact that I’ve pointedly mentioned that it’s a bad place to contact me.

I’d also like to point out that these aren’t a year’s worth of messages. It’s just these last couple months where things have really started to spiral out of my control…

Here’s the worst of it:

photo-6

The stack of unread letters. 50 or 60 of them from all over the world. Probably half a year’s worth. People WROTE these on real paper. They paid money to mail them to me. These are tangible acts of affection, and I’ve been too busy to give them the time they deserve.

And I feel awful about it. All the time.

I was keeping up pretty well until a couple months ago. I jump in occasionally and prune the online messages back…. but it’s like kudzu…

No. That’s not right. Because I’ll say it again, the vast majority of these messages are friendly, or heartwarming, or delightfully eccentric.

Dear Pat,

I admitted to my boyfriend that his only real competition is Kvothe only to have him admit that my only real competition is Kvothe too. I’m simultaneously flattered that only Kvothe can outshine me and impressed that my boyfriend’s sexuality is now under question due to a couple of words you put together.

Though occasionally there are other types of messages….

But I don’t know if I want to get into that. I don’t know if y’all would be interested in hearing about the other kind of messages people send.

On to my point–

Creft. What is my point here? I don’t know anymore. When I started writing this blog hours ago, I really didn’t expect it to get as long as this.

I think these are my points:

1. Part of this is just bitching a little. I’ll cop to that.

And while I’m well aware that it’s hard to get more first-world-problem than: “Oh noes! I have too many fanmails!” the truth is that this *is* my blog. I’m allowed to kvetch a little if I want.

2. Much more than that, this is a blanket explanation and apology to everyone who has e-mailed me and never received a reply.

I am sorry. I wish I had all the time in the world so I could e-mail you back and thank you for taking the time to drop me a line. I wish we could all have lunch together and hang out and talk about fun, useless bullshit all afternoon.

3. I want y’all to know that even if I haven’t replied, I have read your e-mail, your message, your letter, your postcard, your engraved clay tablet, your origami crane, your smoke signal, your telepathic space beam.

I have these missives and appreciated them. They have made me smile and they have made me weepy. They have made me feel proud, and loved, and very, very lucky.

That said, things will have to change soon. I’m not sure *how* they will change, but I need to find a way to keep more time for myself while not feeling hellishly guilty about being selfish for keeping time to myself. This is a hard thing for me.

Until I say otherwise, know that I’m still reading your messages.

Eventually.

Fondly,

pat

Also posted in a few words you're probably going to have to look up, Achievement Unlocked!, fanmail, Surreal enthusiasm, Things I didn't know about publishing, things I shouldn't talk about | By Pat94 Responses
Published: September 23, 2013

Tit for Tat

Okay. I’ll admit it, I couldn’t come up with a good title for this blog.

What we have up there isn’t just a *meh* title either. It’s a bad title. It implies things that simply are not borne out in the blog itself. This is simply a blog about tattoos.

Let me make it up to you with a utterly useless etymological fact: The phrase “tit for tat” actually comes from an old Norse expression “tip for tap” which meant, literally, “If you hit me, I’ll hit you back.”

How do I know this? Hell. I’m an endless trove of useless, fascinating information. I don’t even bother seeking it out any more. It just comes to me. I accrete it. I pluck it from the luminiferous aether. I apprehend it through examination of my Socratic soul.

It’s also possible that I make some of it up, then forget that I make it up. Or that I dream it. Or that I lie. But you know what? Sometimes I make shit up, and I *know* I just made it up, but it turns out to be real anyway. Or real enough, at any rate.

Anyway, tattoos.

Several years ago, I met someone that had tattooed my signature on their arm. An act of devotion that was equal parts flattering and flummoxing. But I assumed that that event was going to stand by itself as a statistical anomaly.

Then, a while later, someone dropped me a link to a literary tattoo page. I just went looking for now so I could link to it, and got 404’d, but I did find the photo archived somewhere else….

tumblr_m3ngblWc3e1rvxj0ko1_500

If I remember the story from that now-defunct website correctly, she’d been through a bad breakup, and got a Kvothe’s quote as a reminder for herself.

At first I thought, “Wow. That’s pretty cool.” And, of course, I was flattered, too…

…but more than that, I realized I was oddly proud. Those words are words I’m proud to have someone claim as their own.

Since then I’ve had perhaps a dozen people e-mail me or facebook me pictures of their NOTW tattoos.

Tattoo

Most of them are texty:

Tatoo - sun will shine

(“And the sun will still rise in the morning.”)

Some are no text at all…

book cover tattoo

Some have quotes I would expect….

941647_10151677890130908_1405206476_n

Some have quotes that were a surprise to me….

DSC01514

(“Vorfelan Rhinata Morie”)

And some that are as simple as they are obscure:

Tattoo - name

The horrible thing is that I know I have more pictures than these, but I can’t for the life of me find them on my computer. I haven’t cleaned up my desktop in… well… years at least. Maybe forever.

But rather than postpone this blog as I have so many others, I’ll post it up for now, incomplete as it is, with the hope that these pictures bring you some of the geeky joy that they brought me….

Wearily but with love,

pat

Also posted in a few words you're probably going to have to look up, Surreal enthusiasm | By Pat52 Responses
Published: May 31, 2013

A Paean for Gaiman or What I Learned Reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane

So Neil Gaiman has a new book coming out in June. It’s called The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

I mention this for those of you who live deep in the wilderness or high atop some craggy mountain. (I’m assuming you access my blog with the help of some sort of friendly pigeon, or by using a type of prana-bindu meditation.)

I assume everyone except a complete eremite knows this book is coming out. Because generally speaking, I’m pretty clueless, and I’ve known about it for over half a year.

That means for half a year I have *craved* this book. I have desired it with a sort of grim, white-knuckled intensity that is normally the purview of sociopaths and teenage boys.

The worst part was that I knew Advance Reading Copies existed somewhere, but I didn’t know who I could schmooze to get one. You see, I’m at that point in my career where I know how publishing works, but I’m not exactly sure if it’s entirely cool to… say… contact Neil’s publisher and just ask for an ARC.

Trapped between my powerful desires and my own uselessness, eventually I did the modern equivalent of crying out the name of my beloved to the unfeeling sky, which is to say that I whined about it on goodreads.

Surprisingly, this helped a bit. I got it off my chest and was able to move on with my life.

Then, months later, when I’d almost manged to forget about it, something arrived in the mail:

full book

And on the back cover….

Back coverWait. Wait for it….

It gives me a tingle

Y’know, I feel like I should try to be cool about this. I am a professional author after all, have been for years. That means in some odd way I’m a colleague of Gaiman’s. Part of me feels that, as a professional, I should feign some sort of nonchalance about getting this book.

But it’s just not true. I am the furthest thing from nonchalance. I am brim-full of chalance. Overflowing with it.

The truth is, when I opened the envelope and saw this book, my heart actually beat faster. I was filled with a giddy joy. For a couple days, I carried it around with me. I showed it to my friends, filling them with rage and despair.

The truth is, I’m not a grown up. Underneath all of this, I’m still the same kid who used to spend all his allowance at Waldenbooks.

The truth is, I love books. I love them beyond all reason and sense. I will not pretend otherwise, and I am not ashamed. I am a geek, and the thought of having a special book signed by one of my absolute favorite authors fills me with a ridiculous and disproportionate amount of joy.

So. I got the book. My fondest wish. My heart’s desire.

You know about the shape of stories. You know where things go after this. Now we gently slide into a sweet and simple ending, an easy ever-after. Right?

No. Oh no. If you think that then you’re forgetting who I am. You’re forgetting who Gaiman is too.

I lack the ability to write a simple story with a simple ending. (I am, even now, telling you a story about a story. I cannot help it.)

And Gaiman’s stories, while they may be sweet, are never merely sweet. And when his stories are simple, they are deceptively so.

So this is the place where the story takes a turn.

*     *     *

Once I had the book, I did not read it.

At first the reason was a simple one. I was in the middle of a book. I can’t stop a book halfway any more than you can stop a sneeze. Neither can I read two books at once. The very idea strikes me as being vaguely obscene.

So I finished the book I was reading.

But still I didn’t read The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

The problem this time was that I was busy, putting in 12-14 hour days. Then I was traveling and didn’t want to risk taking the book. When I returned, I was swamped again, desperately trying to catch up on the work I had missed.

Then I caught up a little bit. Not entirely, but enough to have some breathing room. Enough to read.

Still I didn’t read the book.

Through all of this, the book sat on my desk where I could see it. It was nice having it there. Looking at it made me happy. Sometimes I would reach out and touch it a little bit. Occasionally I would pick it up and turn it over in my hands a little.

Then I would put it back down, unopened and unread.

I didn’t think much about it at first. After all, I was still busy. I would wait until I had enough time to relax and enjoy it….

So it continued to sit by my computer. I would reach out and touch it. Its presence comforted me.

Then, after a couple of days, something occurred to me. This is addict behavior. This is exactly how an experienced drug addict with good coping mechanisms treats their stash. Those of you who have had junkie friends will probably know exactly what I’m talking about…

Once I started thinking about my reading in these terms, the parallels were a little disturbing. I read about 150 novels a year, that’s not counting the comic books I’m increasingly fond of. Not nearly as much reading as I used to do, but it’s still a hell of a lot considering I’m usually working 10-12 hours a day.

I binge read. I read compulsively. I have been known to break plans with others in favor of staying home and reading. When I go too long without reading, I get irritable and depressed. The list goes on and on…. 

It kinda sounds like I’m making a joke here, but I’m really not. While labeling my reading a full-blown addiction would be a little silly (not to mention insulting to folks who struggle with genuine chemical addictions) I actually suspect that I may have an honest-to-god compulsive obsession with reading.

That said, as far as compulsions go, I’m pretty okay with it.

Besides, even if I wanted to fight it at this point, I doubt I could break the habit. The thought fills me with genuine horror. (Which is, of course, another sign of addiction.)

Still, the realization was a little troubling. So, looking for a little comfort, I did what I always do.

I started reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane. The only reason it took two sittings is because the restaurant closed and kicked me out.

(I feel as if I should mention at this point there won’t be any spoilers in this blog. I don’t go in for that sort of thing.)

I will say this. It made me smile. I laughed out loud. I cried. Not because of any particular sad moment, but because sometimes the shape a story makes is like a key turning inside me and I cannot do anything but weep.

Gaiman’s stories do this to me with fair regularity, which is one of the reasons I’m so fond of him. We are not similar writers. Not at all. But I like to think we share a fondness for the shape of stories.

Ultimately, when you tell a friend about a book, there is only one truly meaningful question to answer: “Is this book worth your time?”

So I will simply say, “Yes.”

If you’re curious to hear more, I wax more rhapsodic over here on goodreads.

Later,

pat

P.S. Absolutely worth your time…..

Also posted in a few words you're probably going to have to look up, cool things, love, Neil Gaiman, Stories about stories. | By Pat85 Responses
Published: January 15, 2013

$300K Bonus: A Favor From Pat (and more)

As I write this blog, our donation total stands at $308,000. So today we’re doing a few things.

1. Adding the 300K bonus to the fundraiser.

2. Announcing the 350K stretch goal.

3. Adding a few other cool pieces of miscellany to the fundraiser.

4. Extending the end date of the Worldbuilders until January 21st at Midnight.

The main reason for #4 is that part of the 300K bonus is going to be an auction, and I wanted to be able to run it for a full seven days.

This is the last extension, so make the most of it.

  • Two (2) Favors from Patrick Rothfuss.

For the last several fundraisers, I’ve given away a favor. I used to refer to this as “The Golden Ticket.” But I realized that I should probably do something more fitting to my own idiom, rather than keep ripping off Roald Dahl.

So now we have a gold ring, designed by Badali Jewelry. In the fine traditions of the Maer’s court, it has my name inscribed on it.

Here’s the deal. I’m giving away two of these. One is going into an auction. The other is going into the lottery.

Details as follows.

The winner of this item will receive a gold ring redeemable for one (1) favor from Patrick Rothfuss.

Possible uses for the favor include:

Asking Pat to insert your name/likeness into a future book or story.
Asking Pat’s assistance in wooing the object of your affection, preferably from under a balcony at night.
Asking Pat to read and critique your unpublished manuscript (or your published one, if you really want.)
Asking Pat give a reading/workshop at your local library or University.
Asking Pat to give a reading/workshop at your house.
Asking Pat to give a reading/workshop in your bedroom.
Asking Pat to help you move a particularly heavy couch.
Etc.

This favor has no expiration date. It can be traded, transferred, sold, or lost. In essence, the ring *is* the favor. You give the ring back when you cash in your favor. So if you lose it, you’ve kinda fucked yourself.

The nature of this favor is fairly open-ended, though some negotiation may be necessary depending on the nature of the favor. Certain ethical or legal restrictions may apply (though not as many as you might expect.) Under no circumstances will Patrick dance for you. Carnal favors must be approved by Pat’s girlfriend in advance. If you won this favor in the auction, and for any reason Pat cannot fulfill his obligation to you, he will personally refund your winning bid in exchange for the ring.

As a side note, let me add that recently, I attended the Child’s Play charity dinner out in Seattle. Partly because I love the folks at PA with a fierce love, and partly because I like to wear a tuxedo.

(I look like I’m about to start a railroad monopoly.)

And, since I was in town, I offered up a favor just like this one for the Child’s Play Auction.

It sold for over 9000 dollars.

Admittedly, at least a couple grand of that was probably due to the tux. But still, it gives you some perspective.

So. One favor is going into the lottery where anyone can win it by donating to Heifer International on our team page.

The second one is being auctioned OVER HERE.

*     *     *

  • 350k Stretch Goal: The Lockless Box. 

This year while at Origins, I had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of Robert Gifford.

What transpired between us is a subject that deserves an entire blog itself. Suffice it to say that since then our relationship has burgeoned into something magical. Something that lies somewhere in-between bromance and the love that dare not speak its name.

Robert runs Geek Chic, a confederation of woodworking artisans and geeks par-excellence. They make bespoke furniture for geeks. They make furniture so beautiful that even a rough-hewn Visigoth like myself who sleeps on a mattress on the floor cannot help but crave it. 

If Worldbuilders hits 350K before January 21st, Robert has agreed to put his carpentary artificers to the task of creating the lockless box from The Wise Man’s Fear.

It will be a functional puzzle box designed by a consortium of the most profoundly crafty fuckers in existence.

If we hit 350K, Geek Chic will design the box. They will make the box. And you will be able to buy the box or win it as part of future Worldbuilders festivities.

But only if we hit 350K before January 21st.

And remember, if we hit $400,000 before January 21st, Worldbuilders will donate an extra $100,000 dollars to Heifer International.

So there’s your motivation. We’ve got one week left. Let’s spread the word.

*     *     *

And finally, a few more geeky items. Some for the lottery, some for auction.

  • Copper Knife.

Esoteric Garage made a second copper knife after the great reaction they got from me and everyone on the blog.

We’re auctioning it off here.

  • Discreet Lady’s Knife.

Since not everyone is going to need to kill something mythic. Tait and Loren designed a more practical knife for the lady who likes to be prepared for the worse.

They specifically asked that this lady’s knife be put into the lottery. As with some other items, we want to make sure that this goes to someone who really wants it, so we’ll call and ask the winner before mailing them this prize. If they don’t want it, we’ll pick names until we find someone that does.

We do this because we care. And also because we don’t want to be sued.

  • Copper Batarang.

This year we received a letter from Wayne Enterprises.

In a separate package, we also received two copper Batarangs. The perfect gift for the sociopathic billionaire in your life. Also perfect for that hard-to-shop-for confused fanboy.

Edit: We’ve run into a couple of snags with the batarang, and have taken it down.

*     *     *

Fair warning: Worldbuilders is ending soon, so if you want in on the lottery make sure to donate on the Worldbuilders Team Page before January 21st. For every $10 you pitch in, you get another chance to win thousands of books, DVD’s, knives, favors, and other mythic goodies.

Also, be warned that many auctions will be ending soon. You can view all the current auctions over here.

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 our main page.

Also posted in a few words you're probably going to have to look up, Geek Chic, geeking out, Worldbuilders 2012 | By Pat43 Responses
Published: December 3, 2012

Photo Contest Winners – Action

Yes. Seriously.

Those of you who know anything about me probably realize that I have a problem with deadlines.

The root of this difficulty is multifarious. But it can mostly be traced back to three elements in my personality.

1. A desire for perfection.

I get obsessive about doing everything *just right* when honestly, *mostly* right would be just fine in most cases.

2. Enthusiasm. 

I get excited about things, which leads me to pick up new projects, which means I constantly over-commit myself, which means I’m always too busy.

3. Stupidity.

This third one is something of a catch-all category, covering my vast array of ancillary character flaws.

Any one of these things can slow a person down, but when you get all three of them together. Well…. it can lead to embarrassing situations.

Like, for example, running a photo contest for your readers, and then taking more than a year to post the results.

There are many reasons for the delay.

Yes, I have been over-busy. (Working on my writing, my fundraiser, and spending time with my little boy.)

And yes, I did foolishly underestimate the number of entries I’d get for the contest. (Well over a thousand.)

And yes, when confronted with the task of judging the entries, my perfectionist tendencies screwed me hard. There were so many good ones.

Besides, so many of the pictures defied easy categorization. Look at this one for example:

Am I supposed to put this in the Kids category? In Costumes? In Clever References? Do I have to start a category just for things that are Unbelievably Frikking Cute?

So many of the pictures were so good. People went to really amazing lengths to take them. I wanted to do the perfect job arranging and judging them. Instead, I just ended up paralyzed with indecision.

But that stops today. I’ve waited too long, so I’m going to bull ahead and settle for *mostly* perfect. It’s time to start showing off the pictures and giving out the prizes.

So here we go, the best photos in the Action category:

*     *     *

There’s a lot of ways you can portray action in a photo.

You can show it directly:

Or indirectly:

We got some Hollywood action, too.

I like this one because honestly, if I could do magic. I would just use it to impress girls.

In the rules of the contest, I told people that they shouldn’t do anything dangerous, like, say, play with fire.

But did they listen?

No, they did not.

They really did not:

They absolutely did not listen to me:

We got some zombie action:

Pirate action:

And geek action:

We’ve got action in the streets:

At the amusement park:

And on top of things:

(He’s a parkour instructor. Don’t do this shit. Seriously.)

But while all of these are great (and believe me, there were dozens I had to leave out) in the end, I had to pick some winners.

Here they are:

Not only is this a great picture, but I’m a huge fan of Aikido. And if I’m mistaken and this isn’t Aikido, it’s still awesome.

This gains a spot not because it’s a scantily clad young woman, but because 1) I could never do this in a hundred years. 2) I actually do not understand the physics that are keeping her from crashing to the floor.

I love this one. We’ve all felt like this at some point, haven’t we?

And lastly:

(You should probably embiggen this one. It’s worth it.)

If you’re having trouble sussing out what’s going on here, let me break it down for you: Young girl + Playing + Red clothes + Swords in a Tree = ???

(Hint: The answer is “Awesome.”)

I’m all sorts of fond of this picture.

“But wait!” I hear you cry. “Pat. There’s no book in this picture! You clearly said in the rules that the book had to be in the picture!”

Don’t quibble. The book is there. You can just barely see it behind her leg….

See?

Here’s another:

And here we see the difference between girls and boys:

OSHA concerns aside, it looks like someone had a pretty great day at the park.

And as a bonus, they (and the rest of the winners) will be sent some Talent pipes as I described in the blog a while back.

It will will probably be a little while before I get to do another one of these. But they are coming. I just wanted to show y’all some proof that even if it takes a while, I do keep my promises.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for something cool, you should stay tuned to the blog, because we’re going to be posting up new items into the Worldbuilders lottery almost every day for the rest of the month. We’ll be adding new stuff to the Worldbuilders auction page too.

Stay tuned….

pat

Also posted in a few words you're probably going to have to look up, cool things, fan coolness, geeking out, Photo Contest 2011 | By Pat37 Responses
Published: September 24, 2012

An Open Invitation

First of all, let me clarify something. The Worldbuilders fundraiser will be starting in a month or so.

It hasn’t started yet. We’re just gearing up for it.

(I Love our Logo.)

Now I know some of you are excited. I get that. I really do. But let’s not get crazy here. Let’s not go running around all higgledy-piggeldy.

I mention this because after I posted the last blog, some people got riled up and donated on last year’s Worldbuilders page, the one labeled Worldbuilders 2011.

In some ways, that makes me happy, because the money does go to Heifer International. But in other ways it makes me sad, because those folks are missing out on this year’s festivities. Including the matching donations Worldbuilders offers….

So listen when I say unto you: Be patient. We’re still warming up for the main event.

For example, today’s the day we’re officially making our open call for anyone who would like to help with the fundraiser.

What sort of folks can help? Well….

  • Are you an author who would like to donate some signed books to Worldbuilders?

Author-donated books have always been the backbone of Worldbuilders. We’d love to put them to use.

What’s more, if you have extra foreign editions taking up shelf space, we’d love to make them available for non-English readers in The Tinker’s Packs.

Drop us a line at donations (squiggly-at-thinger) worldbuilders.org.

  • Are you a crafty geek-type person who would like to donate something cool?

Last year we experimented with Jane hats, hand-crafted bear steins, and hand-bound books. To our delight, they sold really well.

So if you’d like to donate your geeky crafts to the cause, drop us a line at donations (squiggly-at-thinger) worldbuilders.org.

  • Are you a vast corporate entity looking for a tax write-off?

Did you know that Worldbuilders is a federally recognized 501(c)3 charity? Well we are. We’re bona fide.

What’s more, this year Worldbuilders is offering official corporate sponsorships, allowing you to exchange your dirty, dirty money for good publicity and positive karma.

Want more details? Contact us at donations (squiggly-at-thinger) worldbuilders.org.

  • Are you a publisher who would like to promote your titles right before the holidays?

It seems to me that sending books to worldbuilders would be a great way to do that. We’re great at showing off books….

What’s more, if you’re willing to kick in enough books, Worldbuilders will hold you up as a glorious specimen of generosity by making you an official sponsor of the fundraiser.

We can make it happen, just drop us a line at donations (squiggly-at-thinger) worldbuilders.org.

With authors like Neil Gaiman, George RR Martin, and Charlaine Harris involved, you know they’ll sell….

Drop us a line at questions (squiggly-at-thinger) worldbuilders.org and we’ll discuss details.

  • Are you a blogger, journalist, or member of the geek glitterati willing to spread the word about Worldbuilders?

We would love to make that happen.

Contact us at questions (squiggly-at-thinger) worldbuilders.org

  • Are you Batman?

Seriously. The suit looks cool and all, but it’s time someone told you. Everybody knows you’re Bruce Wayne.

We know your parents got killed, and we’re sorry as hell about that. We also know it must be pretty fun running around on rooftops, beating the hell out of the lower class, and boning Catwoman.

And we’re not implying you should stop that. Everyone needs a hobby.

But if you *really* wanted to help people, you’d take just a fraction of the money you were going to spend on Batarangs and give it to us instead. $120 bucks is all it takes to change someone’s life forever. Do you have any idea what we could do with some of that Bat-Mobile money???

We’ll make you an official sponsor of the fundraiser too. You don’t have to be a corporation or a publisher for that. We respect regular old-fashioned personal philanthropy too.

You can donate on behalf of your parents if you like. You can be anonymous if you want.

Seriously. We’re okay with that.

Just drop us a line and we’ll work out the details.

We’re at: donations (squiggly-at-thinger) worldbuilders.org

Later,

pat

Also posted in a few words you're probably going to have to look up, calling on the legions, Worldbuilders 2012 | By Pat35 Responses
Published: August 3, 2012

Foreshadowing….

We’re getting close to the launch of my show.

How close? So close that I’ve settled on a title. Yeah. Pretty crazy, huh?

We’re going to have a logo and everything. This makes me feel very professional. Not at all like the sort of person who barely managed to pick the name for his show less that a week before it goes live….

When is the show? Why I’m glad you asked. It’s going to be the first Tuesday of every month at 7:00 Pacific time.

That means this first show is going to be Tuesday, August 7th. 7:00 PM Pacific time.

Just so you know. You’ll be able to watch the show two different ways.

The first way is to watch it happening live over on Google+.

To do that, you’ll need to start a G+ profile, of course. And it wouldn’t hurt to add my profile, either.

I’ll post the link to the live show, and you’ll all be able to watch our premiere episode launch like the majestic Zeppelin that it is. Imagine, you’ll be able to tell your grandchildren you were there to see it sail gracefully into the heavens, held aloft by the mysteries of the luminiferous aethers.

Or… well… you’ll see it do the other thing. Which you have to admit will still be pretty interesting.

For those of you that can’t catch it live, rest assured we’ll be posting it up on youtube afterward. No worries there.

In the meantime, might I interest you in my current favorite show? It’s another one from Geek and Sundry called Written By A Kid.

Keep in mind that’s this is the THIRD episode of the show. If you haven’t already caught the first one, you’re missing out on so many cool things that I’m surprised you’re still alive.

And for you Goths out there, here’s episode two…

Yeah. Go watch them. You can thank me later.

pat

Also posted in a few words you're probably going to have to look up, cool things, Geeks and Sundry, videos | By Pat37 Responses

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