A mixed morning, good folk. Movement at last on the Godlike Machines front. For those of you who have been wondering, it looks like the book will now come out in January, 2010. I hope to see cover images and so on shortly. It’s going to be a joy to see this book published. I’m very proud of it. More as soon as I have it.
There was some unmitigated good news, too. Kage Baker has been nominated for the French Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire for her novelette “Maelstrom” from The New Space Opera.
Other than that, I’m reading, reading, reading – and waiting for my Beatles box set to arrive!
I’m in the midst of my odd catch-up style of reading for The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year. Today was stories from a Peter Beagle collection, a few magazine stories, and Tor.com. The highlight of the day’s reading was “Eros, Philia, Agape” by Rachel Swirsky. Swirsky is a terrific writer who’s been making a name for herself with a string of intelligent, perceptive stories that have appeared in Weird Tales, Subterranean and elsewhere.
“Eros, Philia, Agape” is a robot story. A rich, lonely and beautiful young woman, looking for a change in her life after the death of her abusive father decides to have a lover made, a robot to fill the personal void in her life. That decision leads to love, family and a search for awareness that is created beautifully and sensitively be Swirksy.
While Swirksy’s robot tale with a heart and soul runs perhaps a little long and undoubtedly won’t be the best thing she writes – she’s growing too much as a writer for that to be true – it’s definitely a highlight of the year.
Oh, and right now I’m reading Ellen Datlow’s Lovecraft Unbound and Poe (I’m late getting to this one), Dann & Dozois’s The Dragon Book, Dozois & Martin’s Songs of the Dying Earth (I have to dip into this), issues of F&SF and Asimov’s, while also catching up on stories from Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, and Subterranean. I almost never read anything consistently or cover-to-cover for short fiction. I tend to dip in an out, so I’m making sure I’ve not missed anything. That said, I’ve already picked the first handful of stories for year’s best 4 (which is due at the publisher in December).
I did read a novel – Citizen of the Galaxy by some Heinlein guy – the other month, but my novel reading’s been spotty of late. I do desperately want to find the time to read Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl and to finish Pandemonium by Christopher Brookmyre. I’m woefully behind on my novel reading this year, as I have been the last couple. But then, who has enough reading time :)  Onwards!
Progress is slow, but it is real. I am now taking the biggest honking great antibiotic tablets I have ever seen in my life. I’m not sure whether they’re intended to kill a bug, or me. Still, if they do their job, I’ll be right as rain shortly and that will be a great thing. I’ll then be able to sleep the night through, which will mean energy and light and happiness and normality. I have my fingers crossed.
In the meantime, Swords and Dark Magic, the book formerly known as Conquering Swords, has a publication date. It will be out in July 2010, which really isn’t that far away. Lou and I have a manuscript we’re just filing a few rough spots off, a cover artist has been commissioned, and all sorts of other goodness is in train. We’re both really thrilled about the book, which I think is as big and exciting a book as The New Space Opera was a couple years back. The moment Lou and I hand in the final manuscript of the book we’ll most likely post the table of contents. It’s strong, and we’re both very, very happy. There is other news, but it can wait!
Well, we made it. And when I say we, I mean all of us. Authors worked through the weekend, Ross at the Shade was awesome, and it got done. For those who are wondering, I just got the official email from the Shade’s production head saying that the book is off to the printer. The next time I see it will be as a beautiful bound object in San Jose, California at World Fantasy. I could not be happier about it.
