Category Archives: appearances

Published: August 1, 2007

Writing, moving, and talking about books.

Sorry I’ve been gone so long, folks. It’s been pretty crazy around here. In addition to working like a dog on book two, this week I’ve had the untrammeled delight of moving all my earthly goods from one house to another. Moving sucks, in a nutshell. Do you have any idea how many books I own?

Anyway, aside from the general upheave, things seem to be settling down. My move is done, barring the last bit of cleaning I still have to do tonight. So for now I just have time to post a few, brief announcements.

1. I’ll be down in Indianapolis at GenCon from August 15-19th. I will be doing book signings, panels about writing, and workshops. Plus, I’ll just generally be getting down with my geeky self. (I’ll post up specific times and places in a couple days. Stay tuned for that.)

I will neither confirm nor deny the rumor that I might be dressed as a garden gnome at the convention.

2. The online discussion I’ve been having with Orson Scott Card about Harry Potter has turned out remarkably well. By this I mean I managed to avoid making an ass out of myself in front of one of my favorite authors. Plus, as an added bonus, I got to defend poor Tom Bombadil from unwarranted attacks against his character.

3. There’s a new Q & A up over at Subterranean Press. This interview turned out kinda different, as she asked me some probing questions about my geek heritage. So if you’re a gamer, there might be something interesting for you there. Plus I think I might have accidentally flirted with her a little. As with all my ill-considered choices, I blame caffeine.

4. Lastly is part two of the Q & A I did with Straight from the Barrel. It’s a little more serious than the Subterranean Press interview, but I talk about writing, racism, and one of my favorite webcomics. So there’s a little something there for everyone.

And I’m done. I’ve got to go rugdoctor my apartment before I get any sleep tonight. Wish me luck.

pat

Also posted in book two, conventions | By Pat11 Responses
Published: July 20, 2007

Working Under Deadline.

Just a brief set of announcements today, as I’m rushing to finish a draft of book two for my editor by tonight.

1. For all you geeks and gamers out there out there, I’m going to be attending GENCON this year. I used to go all the time back when they held it in Milwaukee, but when they moved it I was pissed and quit showing up.

But now my years of sulking are at an end. I’m heading back and this will be my first time attending in Indianapolis. I’ll be doing some panels, workshops, and signings. Maybe even playing a game or two. More details will follow later, when I have more time.

2. I’ve been crazy busy lately, so if I haven’t responded to your e-mail, it doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It just means that I’m waiting until I have a little free time.

3. I’ve put up the beginnings of an FAQ over here on the contact page. There will be more questions added in the future.

I’m also thinking of adding an IAQ for Infrequently Asked Questions. Such as “Do you like curry?” and “Do you know where I can buy a soccer ball?” (Yeah, those are real questions I’ve been asked so far.)

4. I did an interview for Ezzulia.

If you just clicked on it and are worried you can’t read it, relax. You’re not having a stroke. The interview is in Dutch, as the Dutch translation of the book went on sale about a week ago. I feel so international.

Lastly, I’m doing a book signing a week from now, on July 28th, here in Stevens Point. It’s at the Book World on Main Street from 1:00 to 3:00. Feel free to stop by if you’re in the neighborhood.

Later all,

Pat

Also posted in book two, conventions, FAQ, foreign happenings | By Pat18 Responses
Published: May 31, 2007

Wiscon: Part I

I’ve been back from Wiscon for two days, and I’m finally caught up on my sleep and my e-mail.

For those of you who don’t know, Wiscon is a bit of a rarity. It’s a feminist Sci-fi convention.

What does that mean? Several things…

The paneling is slightly different:

When I went to Norwescon, they had a panel titled: “Where Have All the Great Monster Movies Gone?” Wiscon had a panel titled: “The Role of Women and Ethnic Minorities in Stargate.”

There is a lean toward issues of race, class and gender at Wiscon, but it’s just a lean. It’s not the only thing that happens there. Wiscon still has panels on writing good high fantasy, the science of dark matter, and artificial intelligence. The difference is that at Wiscon the AI panel will be more likely to discuss the gender of the AI, and what that implies about society.

The people that attend are slightly different:

At Wiscon you have less of the extreme freaky fans with borderline social dysfunction. This is nice.

However, there is a corresponding rise of Wiscon attendees with graduate degrees. Which, in a way, means they just have a different flavor of social dysfunction.

In practical terms this means that at Wiscon you’ll have fewer people standing too close to you, interrupting you when you speak, or following you around explaining why Squire of Gothosis personally, very important to them. The trade off is that people at Wiscon are more likely to use words like, “hermeneutic,” and “appropriation” and “trope.”

I score this as a point for Wiscon, as I kinda like the word trope.

Trope.

The activities are slightly different:

There is less filking and yiffing, more discoursing and unpacking of social constructs.

Simply said, at Wiscon, there’s less geeking, and more speaking.

The amount of drinking and hobnobbing at the parties are roughly equal.

You’ll see fewer people in costume at Wiscon. In fact, it wasn’t until the very last day that I saw my requisite catgirl. Costumes are still there, but they tend to be more reserved, or designed along challenging gender rolls. Which is a fancy way of saying that there’s a fair amount of cross-dressing. Though honestly, I saw a fair share of that at Norwescon too.

I’m not saying that I like one scene more than the other. I’m just pointing out the differences. Personally, I just like being around people who are doing what makes them happiest. If you’re a woman who wants to dress up like a Klingon, fine. If you’re a guy who wants to wear a red sequined evening dress, also fine. You want to do both, it’s all cool with me, baby. Get down with your freaky self.

There, now we’re all on the same page about Wiscon. Next post I’ll give y’all the list of surrealness that happened while I was down there….

Stay tuned,

pat

Also posted in conventions | By Pat4 Responses
Published: May 17, 2007

For those of you who live near Chicago…

I’ll be making an appearance down there tthis Sunday (the 20th) at 2:00. It’s at the Borders in Oakbrook, specifically. (There’s more specific info here on the Tour Page.)

I’ll be doing a reading, then some Q & A, then a signing. If any of that sounds good to you, feel free to show up.

pat

Posted in appearances | By Pat12 Responses
Published: May 6, 2007

Minnneapolis makes me sick….

When I got a stomach flu before heading out to Minneapolis on the 21st of April, I was willing to pass it off as inconvenient coincidence. But after I headed out last weekend to do signings at Dreamhaven and Uncle Hugo’s, I came back with a nasty head cold.

That’s twice. When something happens twice in a row, I’m pretty sure it’s science.

Despite this, Minneapolis seems like a really nice place. Plenty of coffee shops and the streets are in a lovely grid pattern that makes them very easy to navigate. That’s something you can take for granted if you grow up in a city like Madison, which is built on an ismus, and doesn’t have 100 meters of straight road in the entire city limits.

I made it to both bookstores on time. I had fun chatting with folks, didn’t misspell any names, and the folks at Uncle Hugo’s gave me Pocky.

Because of this trip, people who would like to buy signed copies of the book online can get them from Dreamhaven. Not only will they let you pick which cover you want, but if you order from them before the 20th, you can get me to personalize it when I meet up with them again at Wiscon.

After two signings, a radio interview, and a business dinner with two cool grad students who are putting together a fantasy conference at the University, I was pretty shagged out. My publisher had generously offered to pay for a hotel room Saturday night. (Their exact quote was, “We don’t want to you die before you finish editing book two.”) However, I figured I would push on through and save them the money.

That’s when things started to get interesting. Around 1:30 in the morning, I missed my turn-off and drove 40 miles in the wrong direction. Then I try to navigate the back roads trying to fix my route without backtracking.

So of course I get pulled over by a cop because I’m going too fast for the back roads. But he’s actually really cool and lets me go without a ticket. What’s more, he tells me that there’s a bridge out ahead, and tells me a quicker way to get around it than the official detour.

So I drive the remaining 90 miles home on the back roads. I saw two skunks, a possum, and 23 deer. Seriously. 23. It was actually kind of fun because it gave me an excuse to honk the horn a lot. And honking your horn is kinda fun if you’re sleep deprived at three in the morning. Or if you never really grew up in the first place and just enjoy honking it. Or both.

So I call it a successful trip. Cop, but no ticket. Deer, but no wreck. Detour, but not by much. Pocky. Horn. And I got to meet cool people and talk about my book. It was pretty much the perfect day.

pat

Posted in appearances | By Pat5 Responses
Published: April 25, 2007

Heading to Minneapolis: Take II

Alright, barring another bout of food poisoning, significant natural disaster, or some especially portentous omens, I will be heading up to Minneapolis this Saturday.

I’ll be at Uncle Hugo’s from 1-3. I’ll be signing books and generally just hanging around. I’m also planning on being witty, but that is largely contingent on whether or not I’m able to find a coffee place on my way to the store. Without coffee, I’ll have to settle for looking charmingly bewildered, quickly fading into sluggishness, incoherence, and death.

After that I’m going to be doing a gorilla signing at Dreamhaven. By this I mean I intend to show up and thump violently at my chest to establish my alpha male status. This plan is also contingent on finding a coffee shop after leaving Hugo’s. Without caffeine I expect my ploy for primacy will fail. If that’s the case you’ll probably find me submissively grooming one of the burlier cashiers. Baring that, I’ll probably be lurking around, signing stock somewhere in the store between 3:30-4:30.

This means if you really want a signed copy of the book, you can now order it online from Dreamhaven. What’s more, you can even have me personalize it, if you order before Saturday and include what you want me to write when you order the book.

In other news, I’ll be making updates to the page in the next couple days. We’re going to post up several interviews, podcasts, and reviews that have been accumulating over the last couple weeks. I’ll also be updating the tour schedule page. So stay tuned….

pat

Posted in appearances | By Pat11 Responses
Published: April 21, 2007

A change in today’s book signing plans.


The plan for today was for me to drive up to Minneapolis and do signings at Uncle Hugo’s and
Dreamhaven.

Unfortunately, I seem to have come down with some sort of flu bug, or a case of food poisoning, or I have angered some sort of vengeful old testement god. It’s been a rough night, and even if the storm has passed, and I hope has, I just can’t make it. If there’s one thing worse than being violently ill, it’s being violently ill during a four hour drive to Minneapolis.

Plus, for all I know, this might be contageous. Quite aside from the fact that I don’t want to make people sick in general, I’m doubly horrified by the thought of people getting sick after meeting me and buying my book. For some reason I can picture this experience written up as a review on Amazon:

I met Pat at Uncle Hugo’s, where I bought his book and got it signed. He’s a nice guy with a warm handshake, but you can tell he’s passionate about his writing by the fevored glint in his eye. I started reading The Name of the Wind as soon as I got home. The first fifty pages were great. The second fifty were even better. Then my guts clenched and I spent eight hours hunched over my toilet cursing the name of the only author who has ever made me physically ill with his writing. Negative three stars.


I’m sorry for all of you who were planning on attending. But I’m hoping to reschedual as soon as possible. Maybe even next weekend. I’ll post something up here as soon as we manage to set that up.

pat

Also posted in Alerts | By Pat8 Responses

  • RSS info

  • Visit Worldbuilders!

  • Our Store

    The Store

  • Previous Posts

  • Archives



  • Bookmark this Blog!

    (IE and Firefox users only - Safari users, click Command-D)