Now that nearly every denizen of the internet has shared their 10 books that meant something to them, I’m finally getting to the bandwagon when it’s been stripped and mothballed. But you know, it’s still an interesting meme, so I’m going to take it out for one more spin.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight (The Dragonlance Chronicles) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

I started playing RPGs when I was eight. And around ten or so, I started reading the Dragonlance Chronicles series, quite possibly one of the best-known D&D tie-in series (along with the Dark Elf books).

For me, the Dragonlance Chronicles are the iconic D&D novels. They’re perhaps not the most sophisticated novels, but for a young reader, they had drama, menace, scope, and marvel.

A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

I read this in a freshman SF&F lit class in undergrad, and was one of the first of 4 years world of mind-expanding science fiction and fantasy novels, including The Female Man, Dawn, The Demolished Man, Perdido Street Station, and more.

A Canticle for Liebowitz put science and faith right up next to one another, shows the cyclical nature of history, and took my appreciation of post-apocalyptic narratives back into text after years of Deadlands: Hell on Earth and video games.

A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea series) by Ursula K. LeGuin

While I listened to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings approximately 1 bajillion times as a kid (as in before I was five), A Wizard of Earthsea was the first epic fantasy novel I read on my own. Reading and loving A Wizard of Earthsea was the reason I was unimpressed by Harry Potter until actually getting into the character relationships, since “school for wizards, chosen one badass screws up as a kid and has to fix things” was old hat to me ever since reading this first of the Earthsea series.

Perdido Street Station (aka the Bas-Lag series) by China Mieville

I ended up liking The Scar and Iron Council better than Perdido Street Station, but I read PSS first, so it was the book that cracked open my mind like a psychadelic (having never done psychadelics, I can only imagine). It combined Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Pulp seamlessly, combined radical politics with some of the most innovative worldbuilding and mind-blistering prose I’d ever read, and I was hooked. Without Perdido Street Station, there would be no Shield and Crocus.

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler

I could easily have listed The Parable of the Sower here, a gutwrenching novel about a slow apocalypse, about the power of community, and one woman’s journey and determination to be the guiding force in her own life rather than letting other people control her.

But Bloodchild and Other Stories is kind of cheating, because it provided multiple touchstones for me as a young writer. In addition to the gorgeous and painful stories “Speech Sounds,” Bloodchild, and “The Book of Martha,” the collection gave me the personal essays “Positive Obsession” and “Furor Scribendi,” which were as close as I’ll ever get to sitting next to the late great Ms. Butler and have her teach me about writing directly. I never got to meet Octavia Butler, but I carry her words and her worlds with me.

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers

Along with The Hero With a Thousand Faces, The Power of Myth put me on the path I’m following today. When I entered undergrad, I was convinced that I’d get a degree in East Asian Languages and Culture, focusing on Japanese, and then I’d go work for a Japanese company or a company that did business with Japan (anime import, etc.)

But after recalling that this Joseph Campbell guy was supposedly important to George Lucas in making Star Wars, I picked up the two books in late September of my freshman year. It’s also worth noting that the September in question was September of 2001, and the whole of the US was in a bit of a tailspin after 9/11, myself included. I liked in NYC for three years as a kid, and I remember the 1991 Trade Center Bombing.

So that month, I was in need of something big, something worldview affirming or challenging. And what I found was Campbell. Looking back as an older scholar, I see that Campbell’s syncretism was not only Euro-centric but reductive, but as a storyteller and young person seeking some meaning, a way to Make a Difference, it was life-changing, possibly moreso than any of the other works on this list.

Chuang Tzu by Chuang Tzu

When I was in college and designed my individualized major, I realized that I could still get an East Asian Studies degree without taking any more classes than the minor (since I’d already done my 2nd year of Japanese).

One of my main areas of focus was classical Chinese history & culture, which lead me to the Chaung Tzu (also romanized Zhuangzi). Many people are familiar with the Lao Tzu, also known as the Tao De Jing. The Chuang Tzu is a more playful and narrative work of what would become the Daoist tradition. The Chuang Tzu tells many stories about change, about dealing with change, embracing change, and in finding a way through the world. The Chuang Tzu, along with other Daoist texts, had a big effect on me in college, in helping me be centered, to roll with the punches, and to be passionate in pursuing my calling for writing.

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

Zoo City is the first Angry Robot book that I ever read, years before I joined the staff. I’d heard so much praise, even without the Arthur C. Clarke award, that I knew I needed to see what it was all about. Reading the book itself was a revelation, quite literally. It showed me a version of fantasy that I’d never seen for myself before, one that was highly contemporary, subtly futurist, doing the sociological work I usually associated with science fiction, and showed me a part of the world that American literature almost never did, that of economically depressed South Africa. Beukes is a South African writer, and Angry Robot originally a UK publisher, so Zoo City came at me from such distinct and fresh (to me) angles that it was an incredibly powerful read.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

The thing about Anansi Boys that I remember most powerfully is the voice. Reading Anansi Boys felt like settling in at home, then getting a ring at the door to have Neil Gaiman himself turn up for tea and then tell me a story. I wrapped the voice of that book around me like a blanket, and was carried along by the skill of a master. Gaiman is, for my money, one of the best live readers in the SF/F genre, and his ability to bring his stories to life through performance is an ongoing inspiration for me, as well as his top notch Storyteller chops, drawing upon traditional oral storytelling traditions (that’s my interpretation, at least). Gaiman is the kind of Capital-S-Storyteller I want to be – finding the right medium and vessel for each story, trying out many different worlds, media, and format, but always focusing on the story, on making each tale emerge through the power of voice and of finely crafted Storytelling.

Squeaking in just under the wire, here’s my 2013 in review as it applies to my life. Favorite Media will come later.

In The Writing Life:

I released CELEBROMANCY, the second Ree Reyes novel, as well as my first ever sequel. I wrote CELEBROMANCY in less than half the time it took to write GEEKOMANCY, and I’m proud of several things from that novel, mostly in terms of characterization challenges that I gave myself. Plus, I got to write a fight scene with a dragon in it, as well as extended LEVERAGE homage. Another delight with CELEBROMANCY was hearing Mary Robinette Kowal bring it to life in an excellent audiobook edition.

I sold three more books to Pocket Star – ATTACK THE GEEK, which is coming April 7th, 2014, plus two books in a new series, The Younger Gods. Getting a second book deal with your first publisher is a big deal, and a strong vote of confidence from the Pocket Star team.

I sold SHIELD AND CROCUS to 47North, as well as a companion graphic novel (name to be finalized). SHIELD AND CROCUS had been with me for several years, so I was even more excited than normal to find it a home. Plus, comic! More on that soon, I hope.

I spent time focusing on craft in taking a short fiction class online, to great results. I have a writing sprint method now, which has given me two new short stories to revise, as well as the promise of being able to apply it over to novel-writing, with some adjustment.

This year also brought me many amazing moments connecting with readers, fellow writers, and the publishing world. For the first time this year, I was the subject of someone’s fangirling moment at a convention, which is just about the coolest thing ever. Knowing that my work has moved people makes all the long evenings and working weekends totally worthwhile.

I wrote a novel, a novella, and two short stories, as well as two other pitch packages for novel projects yet to sell. I outlined a separate novel, re-outlined a short story, and put several short pieces out on submission. I also committed to writing for the Tianxia anthology, which was funded via Kickstarter.

Conventions I attended solely for my writing included ConFusion, WisCon, the Baltimore Book Festival, and World Fantasy.

Brought on by Sarah Pinsker, I helped her launch a SF/F readings series in Baltimore – the Dangerous Voices Variety Hour, hosting authors such as Leanna Renee Hieber, Fran Wilde, Lois McMaster Bujold, and more.

After several excellent guest spots, I joined the Skiffy and Fanty podcast and blog crew, contributing to the blog and participating in podcasts, mostly author interviews and the Shoot the WISB media review/snark/squee series.

According to my spreadsheets, I wrote 133,867 words of fiction this year. I’d like to get that to at least 150K in 2014, but next year will involve a lot of revision, where it’s harder to keep track of new words, and takes lots of effort on its own.

In Angry Robotic Life:

Between our three imprints, we released over forty amazing science fiction, fantasy, and crime novels, including launching Exhibit A, a hard-hitting cinematic crime imprint.

I got to help dozens of authors get their work out into the world, worked on marketing plans, supported the amazing Random House sales team in getting our books shelf space in stores, and worked with my colleagues on hatching many insidious plans, which you’ll see hatch over the next few months and beyond.

In 2013, I attended BEA, ALA, Convergence, WorldCon, and Bouchercon for work, making connections, selling books, and supporting our authors. I also visited NYC for several author events at stores such as Singularity & Co. and WORD Bookstore.

Among those cons was my first crime convention, Bouchercon, in Albany, NY. Despite being a Crime Padawan, I was welcomed with open arms, made new friends, and learned a ton about the genre and the community. Huge thanks there go to my now-colleague, Bryon Quertermous, for several great talks over the weekend.

In Life-in-General:

I got engaged! Holy crap! We’re not looking at having the ceremony until around Fall ’15, so we have lots of time to plan. As-is, 2014 is already going to be incredibly busy for me, what with putting out three books, writing at least one new novel, and overseeing a graphic novel.

Moved to Baltimore, MD – In March, Meg got a government job in DC, so we moved down to Baltimore, with me working from home, thanks to the grace of my Robot Overlords.

Early in the year, I was studying German Longsword, which was marvelous fun. I haven’t connected with a Maryland group yet, but I know they’re out there. I’ve been busy with the writing stuff, but hope to do more martial arts in 2014.

Right now I’m working on the copy edits for ATTACK THE GEEK, the Ree Reyes Side-Quest (coming April 7th of next year!). It’s a shorter story, weighing in at about 1/2 the size of a normal Ree Reyes novel, so it’s making the revision steps go quite a bit faster.

When working through copy edits, the copy editor, usually a freelancer, will suggest changes to the manuscript based on house style, the series’ style sheet, and continuity. Copy editors are awesome. They do the kind of editing that I’m weakest at, the super-granular nitty-gritty stuff, and for that, they have my eternal thanks.

But since the series is so pop-culture-tastic, sometimes the copy editor doesn’t know what I’m up to, and they make changes based on Normal World grammar and style as opposed to Geek Word style (TM). Which means that when I go through the copy edits, I end up using STET (a typography term for ‘leave it be,’ and rolling back their changes.

Here are some of the funnier STETs from ATTACK THE GEEK:

• “STET capitalization of X-Man’s name” (Gambit)
• “STET use of gaming terminology” (Willpower check)
• “STET capitalization of Dungeons & Dragons spell name” (Explosive Runes)
• “STET omission of ‘friendly’ in 2^nd sentence to match the military saying, ‘Friendly fire isn’t.'”
• “STET capitalization of World of Warcraft Race/Class combination.” (Troll Hunter)
• “STET for the comparison to the band.” (Violently-inclined Femmes)

My friend Jack Norris is running a Kickstarter for a wuxia RPG called Tianxia: Blood, Silk, and Jade. Jack and I go way back in gaming, and I had the fortune of testing an early early version of what would become Tianxia, and even then it was awesome. The game is 99% done and printer-ready, and the Kickstarter has hit its initial goal and several stretch goals.

But there’s one more stretch goal, and this one is particularly important to me: If we get a total of 1000 backers (48 more at the time of this writing) or hit $35,000 ($2,692 more at this time), then Vigilance Press will produce a fiction anthology called Tianxia: Year of the Snake. I’ve committed to writing for the anthology if it happens, and I’d be in the company of gaming luminaries such as Robin D. Laws, Gareth Skarka, Allen Turner,  T.S. Luikar, and John “Leverage” Rogers, a personal writing idol of mine.

So if you’re a gamer or you like wuxia stories, kung fu action, or cool fiction anthologies, please go take a look at the Kickstarter page and consider pledging to help us reach this last goal.

Tianxia: Blood, Silk, and Jade

This exciting news hit my Twitter feed today, courtesy of Publishers’ Weekly.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/59674-simon-schuster-to-launch-science-fiction-fantasy-imprint.html

I’d been wondering why S&S didn’t have a dedicated SF&F imprint, since it’s a genre that’s adapted well to digital distribution, and is continuing to garner a ton of buzz and an avid fanbase in the reading world.

Congrats and good luck to all involved. I’ll be watching this news with great interest.

Today I have a special bit of funny for you all. Mary Robinette Kowal, who narrated CELEBROMANCY, snuck out of the recording studio with a blooper reel from the sessions, and has provided that reel for me to share with you all.

Ze Bloopers!

My favorite bit? “Patently paternal…that’s just mean.” And it was. Not intentionally mean, but funny nonetheless. Despite my failings in producing (just a few) audio clunkers like that line, Mary did a fantastic job on the audiobook, and I recommend it as a great way of engaging with the story.

What these bloopers remind me of is how important it is to bring in your ear when doing revisions. Since I can now ambitiously assume that I’ll either sell audio rights or want to exploit them myself on all of my major works, I think it’s especially important to consider the aurality when doing revision. Sometimes, I don’t do enough, as we can hear from the bloopers, but I’ve tried to incorporate a read-aloud stage to my revisions whenever possible.

On the one hand, having bloopers is funny, but on the other hand, I’d rather have narrators who love performing my work extra because I manage to avoid such aurally preposterous phrases.

Sometimes, a line that plays really well in text will cause a headache for an audio narrator, and you have to choose which audience you’re primarily serving, or figure out if there’s a way to re-phrase or re-approach that works both ways. It’s a balance I’m still working on, and will beg forgiveness from my audio narrators in the meantime while I try to figure things out.

#SFWApro

I’m leaving now for New York Comic-Con, and I’ll be there all weekend, discovering new comics creators, findingout about everything new and awesome in geekdom, chatting with my amazing publishing teams at Simon & Schuster and 47North, as well as catching up with writer-friends who have come in from all across the country for a weekend of awesomeness.

As a reminder, you can find me at the “Ode to Nerds” panel on Saturday at 1:30 PM, where I and other fabulous nerdy authors will be talking with one another in what I imagine will be an all-out geekfest. Bring your questions for us and/or your books to be signed, since we’ll proceed from the panel to the signing area.

Info about the panel: http://nycc13.mapyourshow.com/5_0/sessions/sessiondetails.cfm?ScheduledSessionID=10ADCC.

See you there!