Welcome to my home on the Internet. Here you can find where I'm doing book signings or convention appearances, a bit about writing and more on my books. Make sure to check out the Forums where a lot of really cool people hang out.
Newest Books
- March 2010: Moon Called hardcover release (previously published in paperback).
- Silver Borne Mar 30, 2010
Upcoming Books:
- Masques (October 2010) revised, back in print after 15 years.
- Wolfsbane (November 2010) unpublished sequel to Masques.
SpoCon
By: Mike August 27, 2010
Earlier this month we attended Spocon, a science fiction & fantasy convention in Spokane, WA. As expected, we had a great time. The staff at Spocon is awesome. I got to meet another of my long-time heroes, Michael Whelan. I've been looking at his cover art since I was a teenager, and purchased several books simply because they featured his amazing work on the covers. We have a couple of prints of his work hanging in the house. In short, Patty and I are fans. However, we both managed to be cordial and polite and not stalk him too obviously through the convention.
Speaking of favorite legends, we ended up going out to lunch with C.J Cherryh and Jane Fancher (Yes, I'm name dropping. It's not every day you become friends with the gods of your youth). We talked with them at length about publishing and all the usual things, but we also got to tour their home. They live in Spokane, and they've mentioned working on a koi pond a couple of times. It's unbelievable. The house is a nice, but not extravagant place hidden in the shady suburbs. It looks like many other homes, except that one yard has a huge koi pond with a gorgeous waterfall and lily beds, and beautiful aquascaping. But it doesn't stop there, the whole yard has been transformed into an elaborate Japanese garden. The walls have been painted with trompe l'oeil murals of rural Japan, complete with misty valleys and scenic mountain passes. Japanese Maples and Mugo Pines grow beside mainicured paths. The rocks and plants are artfully placed, and the overall effect is of nature perfected. I wanted to go sit down and read a book. Then they showed us how their offices are set to look out over the beautiful garden, where colorful birds flash by in the dappled sunlight. . . .
I could see Patty was smitten with the place (who wouldn't be?) so I hastened to explain how, if she had a view like that, she'd never get any work done. Her office has small windows, set too high to see out of easily, and give her a lovely view of the desert dust blowing across an arid landscape. Just the thing to convince her there's nothing to see, and she should go write about some imaginary characters with a koi pond in their back yard. Somehow, I sense a koi pond in our future. With all the dust blowing around here, I hope the koi can survive in mud. And I can't grow Japanese laceleaf maples, so I'll just replant a few of our old-growth sagebrush bushes. It'll be great, trust me!
In other convention news, when we arrived I was told that the filk guest of honor, Seanan McGuire needed a guitarist, as her usual accompanist was sick. So, they waved the set list and a sheaf of sheet music in my face, and we were off to the races. Seanan is a very interesting person. She's very articulate, obviously well educated, and has more hobbies than you can name. She's an award-winning songwriter, with several albums to her credit, as well as an author with both short stories and a bang-up urban fantasy series to her credit. While practicing with her, I found her remakably friendly, but with the kind of energy only superheroes are supposed to have. If the energizer bunny ever falls short, Seanan will surely be able to pick up the slack. With a couple of hours of practice, the Saturday night concert came off as well as could be expected. One of our friends (Deb Lentz) caught one of the songs on film. By: Mike August 27, 2010More Cons Next Year
Just a quick heads up. We usually do smaller conventions, but next year we're going to get crazy and do a couple of big ones. First, several of our friends are heading to WorldCon in Reno, Nevada next August. After a bit of arm twisting, we've decided it would be too much fun to miss, so we'll be there!
Next up, Patty was invited to Comic Con in San Diego next year. I've wanted to go to a Comic Con for years, so we jumped on the opportunity with enthusiasm. This should be a lot of fun!