by john | Sep 10, 2012 | Appearances, Magic:the Gathering
Before we get to the meat of the post – I’ll be at Market City Comics in High Point this Saturday, 9/15 from noon til around 3PM signing books, talking comics, playing cards, whatever folks want to do. If you’re in the area, come on by!
If you’ve never played Magic:the Gathering, this post will be ungodly boring for you. If you have played, you know my pain. And if you currently play, look me up at NY Comic Con, I’ll have a deck in my bag. If you beat me in a 2 out of 3 match, I’ll give you a free book! Seriously, I’ll play Magic againsy anybody that wants to play at NYCC, and if you win, I’ll give you a free book (my choice!)
I hope not a lot of really good players take me up on that, or I could go broke.
Anyway, if you’ve never played the game, what kind of nerd are you? Regardless, it’s a collectible card game where you try to beat your opponent down to zero life (or a couple of other ways to win, but that’s the main one), and it’s been pretty hugely popular since my college days playing on the counter at Dave’s Comics behind the steakhouse on Cherry Road in Rock Hill. Dave’s still around, but his shop is in Fort Mill now, and nowadays I play most Monday and Friday nights at Get Some Game, which is super-close to my house.
No, I’m not putting my address on the interwebs. I’m stupid, but not suicidal.
BTW, this is ALL Brandon Sanderson’s fault. If he hadn’t invited me to do a Magic draft tournament with him at LibertyCon, and hadn’t been so damn nice and cool to hang out with that weekend, and if the rest of the LibertyCon folks hadn’t been so awesome, I wouldn’t have had such an amazing time, and I wouldn’t have gotten back into playing Magic. So thanks, Brandon, and curse you all at the same time! And congrats on the Parsec Award!
But anyway, there’s a new set coming out next month that looks awesome! It’s called Return to Ravnica, because apparently in the fifteen years that I was on hiatus from the game there was a set called Ravnica, and it was pretty cool. Well, I have a couple of RtR predictions for any of you that care. Just a couple, because I haven’t spent a ton of time studying the set yet.
1) Tormod’s Crypt will become a must-have card for sideboards. The Golgari decks are all about playing with the graveyard, and being able to kill an opponent’s graveyard is about to become really important.
2) Quirion Dryad will be a MONSTER in the aforemention Golgari decks. Since there are a ton of Green/Black spells, the Dryad gets bigger with almost anything you cast. Therefore – HUGE.
That’s all I’ve got, since Suzy and I have just been playing with the Izzet v. Golgari duel decks for a couple of days, but those are a few things that jumped out at me. Oh, and with the shock lands having the classifications of both land types, Farseek is going to be a heavily played card. Because you can go get shocklands with Farseek.
by john | Aug 10, 2012 | Appearances, Business of publishing, Real Life, Vampires
Still pushing for the finish line on Black Knight revisions. Also up to my ass reading submissions for The Big Bad, and learning a new respect for editors the world over. So far my co-editor and I have picked five or six stories out of fifty or so to go into the anthology, but there’s still a LOT of reading to do. I’m bouncing between reading stuff for my critique group, reading submissions, and revising Knight Moves right now, so no progress has been made on any new work. I plan to be done with critique group stuff and Knight Moves this week, so then I can focus on reading subs and writing new words between now and Dragon Con.
Speaking of Dragon Con, that’s rushing toward us faster and faster, and I’m so far from ready it’s ridiculous. Last week at Charlotte Comicon I sold out of Back in Black and Knight Moves, and I’m not going to re-order those until the new versions are ready from Bell Bridge. I have about two dozen copies of Hard Day’s Knight that I’ll take with me, and once those are gone, they’re gone forever. I need to order a few more copies of Headshot, Genesis and Bump in the Night, but I’m not sure exactly how many to order yet. And I have to do new bookmarks and postcards. My publisher is doing Black Knight Chronicles bookmarks, so I need some to promote my other stuff. I was thinking one for Bubba & The Chosen and one for my YA work. That seems to make the most sense, to me at least.
I have plenty of t-shirts for Dragon, so at least I don’t need to order any more of those. But I definitely need to get a new episode of Literate Liquors out to y’all this week. It’s technically AJ Hartley’s turn in the hot seat, but since Richard Kadrey has a new book out next week, he might get moved ahead in the queue. Or I could get off my ass and edit both of them, what a concept!
And I still wanna go see Batman. Maybe for my birthday. Yeah, my birthday is next Tuesday. Y’all can click here to give me presents! I don’t really expect my blog readers to give me presents, but it’s awesome if you want to (thanks!) and it never hurts to ask. Besides, as I near the big 4-0 I find myself even less shy about asking for shit that I want.
But here’s something you want – the cover for the Black Knight Omnibus. I love it, I think it captures a darker feel, but still got some funny stuff going on.
by john | Jul 16, 2012 | Appearances
This week is a busy one, culminating in my first trip to LibertyCon in Chattanooga. I’m excited about meeting some folks like Brandon Sanderson, creator of the Mistborn series and host of the Writing Excuses podcast, which is one of my favorites. He also does some series about wheels, I think. 🙂
Tonight I’m heading down to Rock Hill to hang out with my friends Faith, Kalayna and D.B. Jackson at their signing event at the BookKnack. Kalayna and D.B. both have new books out, and Faith is previewing some stuff from the next Jane Yellowrock book, even though it won’t be out for a while. If you don’t already have Grave Memory and Thieftaker, get your ass out there and pick them up, then get them signed! If you already have them (like me!) get them signed.
Seriously, Thieftaker is easily one the best historical fiction book I’ve ever read. The descriptions are lush, the characters are well-drawn and believable, and the magic system makes perfect sense. It’s a fast-paced book that never left me feeling rushed, and yet held my attention throughout. All in all, an excellently crafted book that I think you’ll enjoy.
And Grave Memory is the third book in the Alex Craft series, one of my favorite urban fantasy series. I love the characters, and Kalayna has really stepped up the stakes in this third installment. It just hit the USA Today bestseller list, a well-deserved accolade.
Then Thursday I’m headed to Chattanooga for LibertyCon. The con starts Friday, but I’m getting in a little early to see what’s doing, and to make sure I’m not late for my first panel Friday.
Here’s the schedule for LibertyCon.
Friday 3PM – Autograph Session
Friday 5PM – Opening Ceremonies
Friday 6PM – Writing a Series
Saturday 10AM – Self-Promotion Tips & Tools
Saturday 1PM – Self-Publishing as a viable career option
Saturday 5PM – Autograph Session
Saturday 6PM – Reading
Sunday 11AM – Autograph Session
Sunday Noon – Tech Tools for Writers
Sunday 2PM – Why are vampires ALWAYS a hot ticket?
I don’t have a table in the dealer’s room for this con, so the only chance to pick up my books or a Read Recklessly t-shirt is to come to one of the autograph sessions or the reading. Hope to see some of you there!
by john | Jun 25, 2012 | Appearances, Travel
Last weekend I was at HeroesCon 2012 in Charlotte with my good friends Tamsin Silver and Stuart Jaffe. We sold some books, bought some art, and pretty much broke even except for the buttrape of Sunday parking because they were charging $25 at my preferred lot thanks to the Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney concert that night at the stadium. Bastards.
But I had an awesome painting commissioned by the amazing John Hairston, Jr.
Then this weekend I’ll be in Louisville returning to the scene of the crime at Fandom Fest 2012! Last year we dubbed this con Sweat-Fest because the AC died on one of the hottest weekends of the year. I drove eight hours knowing pretty much NO ONE at the con, and over the course of the weekend and more than a few drinks created some awesome friendships with people I’d met briefly before, and some folks I met that weekend, including my publisher, who is awesome. This year the con has upgraded to the super-awesome Galt House in downtown Louisville, so there’s no worries about the air conditioning, and Stephen Zimmer has put together an incredible slate of panels. I’m committed to right around 12 hours of programming, and I’m really looking forward to it.
Here’s where to find me –
Friday – 5:30 PM – Taylor Room – Self-Publishing Panel – I might know a little about this.
Friday – 8:30 PM – McCreary Room – Shrewsbury Night Live! – Me, Steven Shrewsbury, James R. Tuck and Brady Allen – The Steel Curtain of Fantasy Fiction in a free-form free-for-all. There will be beers drank and poetry recited.
Saturday – 10AM – McCreary Room – Publishing Paths – Making smart choices regarding your career and watching me try not to piss off my publisher who will be sitting right next to me on the panel 🙂
Saturday – 1PM – Beckham – Humor in Fantasy Fiction – I’m technically not on this panel, but I’ve warned everyone that I’m crashing, so if you see a big dude wearing a luchador mask sitting behind the table, it’s probably me.
Saturday – 5:30PM – Morrow – Best YA Characters – Because if you don’t have good characters, nobody gives a shit.
Saturday – 7PM – Collins Room – Book Tasting/Literate Liquors Live! Jackie Gamber and I will pair books with different teas and liquors, then we’ll tag-team some books and pair them with each. There will be shots for the audience. I will be drunk by the end of the panel. Someone should video this. For realz.
Sunday – 10AM – Beckham Room – Ebooks and Hangover remedies – the hangover remedy part is unofficial, but it’s a con on Sunday morning, so we’ll all need them.
Sunday – 11:30AM – McCreary Room – Writing a Series – how not to suck at it. I suggest lots of beer. For you, and your readers.
I’ll also have a table in the Dealer’s Room where you can probably find my long-lost brother James Tuck hanging out, as well as the always beautiful and charming Kalayna Price (I have no idea why she hangs out with me, but I’m glad she does!). We’ll be there from Friday afternoon on.
I’ll be in the bar every night, and I hope to tape several episodes of Literate Liquors while I’m there. By the way -tomorrow afternoon – Faith Hunter on Literate Liquors!
by john | May 30, 2012 | Appearances, Promos/Giveaways, Writing
I just wanted to toot my own horn here for a minute and thank Deirdra over at A Storybook World for giving this little corner of the interwebs a Brilliant Writer Award. It even comes with a cool badge thingy, see?
I really appreciate the kudos from Deirdra. It’s nice to get these little attaboys from out of the blue, it helps remind me that I’m not completely screaming into the void when I post here.
I also want to take a quick second to thank everyone who retweeted, posted on Facebook or otherwise helped spread the word about my free books to vets and active military promo for Memorial Day Weekend. I gave away over 50 ebooks to veterans and active-duty servicemen and servicewomen, and it made me feel good to do something for the people who do so much for me.
I’m getting geared up for ConCarolinas this weekend! I’m looking forward to seeing some old friends, making some new friends, and probably being an opinionated jackass on at least a couple of panels. I doubt I’ll get a new episode of Literate Liquors up before the con, but I’m going to try to get several episodes in the can during the con, so we’ll have plenty of content for the summer. I enjoy doing the show, it gives me another excuse to drink! And there will be a live version of the show taking place at Fandom Fest in Louisville at the end of the month. I’m doing a panel with Jackie Gamber, who I stole this whole idea from. She does tea pairings with book selections, so we’re going to do tea pairings, then liquor pairings of the same books, then we’re going to end up getting drunk. If you’re planning to be at Fandom Fest, definitely check that panel out!
Alright, kids, I’m gonna go do some more work on the new Bubba story, which I hope to have out early in June (no spoilers, but there’s a lot of shooting in this one!). And the Bubba origin story is coming, but I’m not sure yet how to craft it. I haven’t decided if it works better as a series of stories, or as a novel. I know that the current storyline will remain a series of shorts, but I’m not sure yet about the origin. I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out!
by john | Apr 4, 2012 | Appearances, Promos/Giveaways, Real Life
Check out the widget for the winners! Entering enough times to flood the system certainly worked for JK, who picked up one of EVERY PRIZE! Thanks to everyone who entered, I appreciate your help in spreading the word about my work. I’ll be doing another giveaway in the next few months, so stay tuned for that! All the books will go out by mid-next week, because I leave for Vegas at the end of the week, and want to get all that off my plate before I fly.
I’m still adjusting to life without a day job. I still sit in front of a computer for most of the day, and it still starts at about the same time, but I will admit that there are days that I don’t put on pants until well after noon. This being one of those days. It’s a perk, I’ll admit it. I broke down and bought a new MacBook Air, which I love. It’s crazy fast, and all my stuff transferred over almost seamlessly using Migration Assistant. The only thing it looks like I lost was the saved games in Zuma’s Revenge, so I guess I’ll just have to make my little frog burp up a lot more balls and reclaim my accolades.
Still working on the weight thing – I’m cutting back on portions and cutting back on sodas, so I think I’ve lost a few pounds. Nothing spectacular, but it’s a slow process. I figure in this time of life change if I can lose a couple pounds a month that’ll be a miracle, especially as much as I’m traveling over the next few weeks.
To that end, here’s a list of where I’ll be the next few months if you want to say hello. If you live in any of these areas and want a hard copy of a book, let me know and I’ll pack some, even if I’m not coming to a book show. And I’m always happy to meet folks in a bar or casino to chat about writing, the characters, whatever. If you’re interested in meeting me and hanging out, please don’t be shy. I love to talk about writing, literature, all of it.
April 13-17 – Las Vegas, Nevada – National Association of Broadcasters. I’m staying at the Excalibur and plan to play the Venetian Deep Stacks on Saturday and Sunday. Then I’ll be pitching my new marketing firm at NAB during the week. I’m totally available for drinks in the evening.
April 20-22 – Batesville, Arkansas – Pulp Ark 2012. I’m driving for two days to get to this convention featuring the best new pulp writers and fans in the nation! Come on out if you’re in the Mid-South area. I’ll be stopping in Nashville on the way, so if you wanna get a beer there, let me know.
April 27-29 – Wilkesboro, NC – Merlefest. The only exception to the “I’ll bring books anywhere” rule. I’ll be on a mountain listening to boogie. You’re welcome to listen with me. And chat. But there’s no booze at the festival, and I’ll conduct no business there. It’s a family vacation, and a semi-holy spot for me. You’re all invited, it’s a great time. But no business that weekend :).
May I’ll be buried in a couple of theatres. I’m designing 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for Theatre Charlotte, then I go straight into the theatre for the Blumey Awards, a new awards show the big performing arts center in town is hosting to celebrate regional high school theatres. That’s got me booked most of the first three weeks of May.
June is back on the con circuit, kicking off with ConCarolinas here in Charlotte June 1-3. I’ll be hanging out with my Magical Words friends and plenty of other cool folk, so come on by! It’s an excellent mid-sized con for writers.
June 22-24 I’ll be at the Charlotte Convention Center for HeroesCon 2012, one of the largest comic book conventions in the US each year. I’ll be sharing a table with Stuart Jaffe and Tamsin Silver, so come say hi! I’m counting on them to wrestle me to the ground and keep me away from the other vendors so I might actually make a profit this year instead of spending all my money on comics.
Then at the end of June I’m heading to Louisville for what is shaping up to be one of the best cons of the year – Fandom Fest. Stephen Zimmer is putting together some of the best panels I’ve ever seen at a con, and the guest list is super-badass! With guests of honor like Richard Kadreay (Sandman Slim), Ernest Cline (Ready Player One), Robin Hobb (too many to list), Jim Hines, Julie Kagawa and others, not to mention media guests like Bruce Campbell, James Marsters and Sean Astin, this is going to be an awesome show.
That gets me to the July 4th weekend, when I plan to collapse for a few days. I’m currently only scheduled for one con in July and then DragonCon, so I might be looking for a beach house to hole up in and write for the month of August. Hope to see you around one of these events!
