New story online: The Last God-Killer

Actually, two announcements:

1.) The brilliant Dave Raines’ & my story “The Last God-Killer” is now live on Intergalactic Medicine Show. (Unfortunately, you have to subscribe to read the whole thing, but the first bit is free.)

2.) I’m delighted to announce I’m donating my entire payment to the “It Gets Better” project.

M. Wayne Miller‘s artwork is pretty darn lovely too!

Grá-finder: Worldcon! – August 30th through September 3rd

Hey!

I’ll be wandering around Worldcon this weekend and if you’d like to see me doing my thing, here’s some panels, etc containing me.

Thu Aug 30 3:00:pm – Daily Science Fiction Year One

Wrigley: A discussion of the first year of Daily Science Fiction, an innovative email magazine, with authors who appeared, as well as signing of the paper anthology.
David D. Levine, Grá Linnaea, Jonathan Laden

Thu Aug 30 6:00:pm – Can New Writers Still Break In With Short Stories?

Crystal: A panel featuring short fiction authors both old and new, discussing the value and relevance of short fiction for new and aspiring writers who want to break into professional publication. The discussion will include potential markets, fantasy versus science fiction, and awards.
Alan Smale, Catherine Shaffer, Ferrett Steinmetz, Grá Linnaea

Fri Aug 31 12:30:pm – Writer Under Glass #18

Fan Lounge: This isn’t actually a panel, but a stunt. Writers volunteer to sit in a certain place for 30-40 minutes each and write serially on a collaborative story. Each takes up where the previous left off throughout the run of the convention. The resulting manuscript will be printed out only once, signed by all the writers, and entered into the charity auction as a contribution from all the writers. Con attendees can watch the writers at work–this has to be done in public like Harlan Ellison’s writing in shop windows–but may not harass them. The attendees can watch what’s being written in real time on a remote monitor. The story is complete at the end of the con and no other copies will be made without consent of all the writers who participated.
Grá Linnaea

Fri Aug 31 4:30:pm – Autograph Session 6

Riverside center Exhibition Hall
Charles Stross, Doug Hulick, Grá Linnaea, Hanna Martine, James Patrick Kelly, Jay Lake, Paul Genesse Sharon

Sun Sep 2 3:00:pm – Kaffeeklatsche with: Gra Linnaea

Kaffeeklatsche 3
Come check this out. Anything you want to know about editing, how to navigate slush, small press, early career choices. Whatever you want!

Mon Sep 3 12:30:pm – Reading: Grá Linnaea

Dusable
I’ll read from some of my recently published work. Guaranteed to be disturbing, depressing, funny, or all three!

Double Dare to Be Bad Day!

So,

I just wrote a bunch of writing friends about the new stupid thing I’m doing this weekend.

I want to finish this novel over the weekend, so I’m stealing Devon Monk‘s “Dare to Be Bad” writing strategy.

(Dare to Be Bad is attempting to write 10,000 words in one day. You’re daring to be bad because … Jesus you don’t have time to worry about quality, you just gotta write and write and write!)

Except I’m Daring to be Bad on BOTH Saturday and Sunday.

I’ll start writing Saturday at 10am and go till 10pm with breaks for food and location changes (900 words an hour? Easy!)

Then I’ll start over on Sunday and do the whole madness again.

Phew.

Anyway, some folks are joining me for part of both days, but I plan to be on Google Hangout the whole time, so if you want to join me in solid productivity time. I’ll be doing 45 on (writing, no talking) and 15 mins off (taking a break, hangin’ out) every hour except food breaks and travel.

Day 1: Google Hangout invite for Dare to Be Bad Day – Part 1
Day 2: Google Hangout invite for Dare to Be Bad Day – Part 2

If you want to play along, but don’t write fiction, do whatever you want (write term papers, sew, work on homework, build wooden ships, knit, bake, design a secret death laser, whatever.)

And you don’t have to work the whole twelve hours, feel free to drop in and out.

Anyway, I’ll post word count from time to time as I go. Wish me luck.

May the getting-stuff-done be with you,
Grá

UPDATE:
Devon tells me that she got the idea from Nina Kiriki Hoffman who says that she came up with the name with Dean Wesley Smith but that the idea for the 10,000 word day comes from Jennifer Linnaea or possibly still Devon Monk. So, you know … that.

Travel travel travel travel

The Desert

The trip with Rob and Jason was amazing. (You remember: flying into L.A., renting a car, driving into the desert. OMG, we saw GWAR!)

Sekrit plans were made, bonds were formed, we laughed, we cried.

… wait, okay, there wasn’t any crying. A bit too much drinking, though.

Anyway, it was a great trip. I have an ease with those guys that I haven’t found with many other people in the world.

Anyway anyway, on the last night of the trip, (which largely consisted of bopping around Venice Beach and getting into trouble,) I was finally starting to burn out. Not with Rob and Jason. Frankly, I wish those guys were my next door neighbors.

But I was starting to burn out with … travel, the road and hotels. I was starting to miss my bed and my cat. (Also Elina, but she was already in London by that point.)

——

Of course, within an hour of seeing off Jason at the airport, I flew up to NorWesCon and panels and shmoozing and critiquing and even more sekrit plans (and even more late nights and drinking.)

Needless to say, by the time I got back to Eugene (and my cat) I was completely wiped.

… and of course I jumped right back into the day job, and … whew.

Paris, etc

I mention all this because I’m going on *another* trip in the next few weeks. Elina’s going to meet me in Paris and we’re … well, we’ll definitely make the rounds of Paris awesomeness. But I also want to see some other parts of France etc …

I realized last night I was stressing about where we’ll go first and second and third and I …

… I feel ridiculous and bourgeois. What a hugely first world problem. Should we go to Southern France or Italy? There’s also Vienna, or Edinburgh again?

Part of what makes it possible is that travel, once you’re in Europe, is ridiculously cheap.

I mean seriously, like $9 plane tickets to Turin.

Anyway anyway anyway, it’s looking like the trip will be something like Paris > train to Marseille or Nice > fly to London (where we’ll meet up with Damien and maybe a few other folks.) Maybe Elina can show me some parts of London I missed last time I was there. 🙂

All of which is a long form way of saying … *SQUEE.*