Been at Swancon this weekend, which is why so little email and posting.  I’ll be back soon. Thanks to everyone for your kind wishes.

Denvention has posted the Hugo ballot. You can see it in full here.  I have to admit to being stunned, staggered and delighted.  My congratulations to all of the other nominees. And, see you in Denver!!

I’m only up thirty minutes and kinda tired.  Got the second and third non-Locus reviews in for The Starry Rift. So far we’re at a mediocre review in VOYA, a very good review in the Bulletin of the Children’s Review of Books, and very bad review in Kirkus (which I think actually affects book sales). Not a single one of the five reviews of seen seem to agree on everything, and many contradict one another.  That’s cool.  It’s always nice to get a good review and disappointing to get a bad one.  It probably hurts a little more on this project, though, bcecause I’m really invested in it. Such, as they say is life.  I remember in some film someone said something along the lines of if you hear good stuff and bad stuff, why is it always easier to believe the bad stuff? Don’t know why it’s true, but it seems to be.   Still, I like the book and my editor likes the book.  For the moment, I’ll be happy with that.

Well, this year’s Australian National Science Fiction Convention is firing up in Perth tomorrow night. Ken Macleod and Karl Schroeder and a bunch of the other cool folk are flying into town. Dinner plans have been made, babysitters arranged, and hopefully fun will be had by all.  I’m off to the airport soon-ish to pick up a friend who’s staying with us for part of the weekend.  Interesting times…

A quick follow-on.  Clarke was not the last of the greats. Giants from the earliest days of our field do still walk, ever more slowly, amongst us.  This November Tor will publish The Last Theorem, an Arthur Clarke novel that has been completed by Frederik Pohl.   Kate Wilhelm also recently published a new novel. I doubt Phil Farmer will write anything more, but SubPress continue to publish some lovely editions of his work.  One thing Clarke’s death highlights is the need for us to cherish those who are still here.