Shiny Wednesday

Bright and cold today; tomorrow?  Snowpocalypse.

You'll recall that I mentioned the Sylvan Investigations Kickstarter campaign owned and operated by Laura Anne Gilman.  That campaign goes over in a scant few hours, and is still just a leeeeetle bit short of the goal. Have a look, why not, and let's see if we can push this thing over the top.  Here's your link.

Speaking of Kickstarter, Streets of Shadows: A Noir Urban Fantasy Fiction Anthology is about halfway to its goal, with twelve days to go.  The ToC so far includes Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kevin J. Anderson, Tim Lebbon, Seanan McGuire, Brandon Massey, Tom Piccirilli, and Lucy A. Snyder, which is worth the price of admission right there.  Here's that link.

In regard to Snowpocalyse, Our Plan at the moment is to get up at Omighod tomorrow, so I can drive Steve to the train station in Brunswick, then deliver the tax paperwork to the accountant and get home before Shit Gets Serious.  There is a fire laid in the woodstove, and I'm in the process of charging the Big Batteries.  We have put in stores of Mozart's medicines, cat food, yams, onions, wine. . .all the essentials, in other words.

Snowpocalypse also means that today?  Is devoted to the final ordering of the tax paperwork!  Tax paperwork is entertaining, for values of entertaining that include a tall drink with rum in it at the end of the day.  I personally adore how one place sends me a 1099 for a $103 payment, while another says, No 1099 needed for payments less than $600, but yanno?  It will Very Soon Now be Deb the Accountant's problem.  I keep reminding myself that she likes dealing with this stuff or she'd embrace another career.

A reminder for those going to Boskone -- Steve will be there, I will not.  Here's his schedule:

Friday, February 14

6:00 — 6:50
Bleeding Hearts
A Valentine’s Day panel about romance in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. What are some of our great love stories for the ages? What stories turned out to be tragedies — or worse? Panelists will discuss how love can turn a character’s world upside-down.
Darlene Marshall (M), Ellen Asher, Leigh Perry, Steve Miller

8 — 8:50
Good vs Evil: The Great Divide
Fantasy often incorporates pure goodness and pure evil, foregrounding them as serious character motivations or actually giving them bodily form. How does the battle of good and evil stay relevant in a world filled with shades of gray? What value does purity, for good or ill, lend to fantasy?
Jack M. Haringa(M), Jeffrey A. Carver, Steve Miller, Steven Popkes

Saturday, February 15

11 — 11:50
Autographing — Steve Miller and Charles Stross

12:00 — 12:50
Writers on Writing: Character Versus Characterization
The success of any story relies upon its characters. But writers can get confused between establishing a character and characterization. What’s observable? What’s hidden? What do we see on the page, and what do we feel when reading about this character as a whole? Writers discuss ways to more deeply develop characters, and how characterization can either get in the way or be used successfully.
Jeffrey A. Carver (M), Sarah Beth Durst, Steve Miller, Greer Gilman, Steven Sawicki

2:00 — 2:50
Kaffeeklatsche — Steve Miller

4:00 — 4:25
Reading — Steve Miller  (Reading from Carousel Sun and from Trade Secret)

5:00 — 5:50
The Long Series — How We Did It
Experts in the long multibook series share their secrets for keeping it alive and interesting. How do you prevent characters and storylines from feeling tired after the third or twelfth or even nineteenth book? How do you keep all those characters and histories straight when coming up with new ideas? Can fandom affect series development? Finally, when — and how — do you bring things to a satisfying end?
Ginjer Buchanan (M), Melinda Snodgrass, Steve Miller, Charlaine Harris

Sunday, February 16

11:00 — 11:50
Ezines, Fanzines, and Blogs, Oh My!
Fanzines, ezines, and blogs come and go, and return again in new and different forms. What is it about fanzines that gives them such resiliency when so many readerships remain in perpetual flux? What are the advantages of these forms? What do their readers — and writers — get out of each?
Steve Davidson (M), Joe Siclari, E. C. Ambrose, Steve Miller

12:00 — 12:50
Reboots: New Chances for Old Stories?
Are do-overs only for television programs, movies, and comics, or can we hit the dreaded reboot button on written fiction as well? Which classic stories should be preserved untouched in SF/F/H’s hallowed halls? Which might gain fresh life – and new readers — from judicious technological or social updating? Once you start changing things, how far should you go?
Steve Miller (M), Shahid Mahmud, Beth Meacham, Alexander Jablokov, Ellen Asher

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Progress on Insert Working Title Here
20,283/100,000 words OR 20% Complete

"There is another risk, not inconsiderable, for what functions on a large scale also functions at the clan level. Since Korval was formed, it was yos'Galan's sense of propriety and ethics that guided the clan. For the first time in the clan's existence, we are in a situation that favors yos'Phelium's strengths over yos'Galan's."