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An Inteview and a Contest
Just a short update on a busy weekend. My neighbor and I were commiserating that when we get an extra day off, we just use it to do a different sort of work. We are both outside today, getting our ‘end of summer’ tasks done.
But if you are inside and reading on your screen today, you might want to visit Oberon’s Law for a short Robin Hobb interview.
Or, if you are feeling lucky, you might drop by Pat’s Fantasy Hot Spot for a chance to win one of the limited edition copies of The Inheritance from Subterranean Press.
Hint: If you are a Jack Vance fan, you really want to click on that Subterranean link up there . . .
Back to work. Pulling weeds while the sun shines!
Robin
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Updates on appearances!
I just added a couple of new events to my schedule, and both are well worth mentioning.
And I’ll quickly review the ones that were listed there already.October 2, 2011, I ‘ll be at the Northwest Bookfest in Kirkland, Washington! Come in out of the rain and find out how to deal with life when it’s Raining Books!
January of 2012 will find me at ConFusion in Detroit, Michigan. The con’s guest of honor will be Patrick Rothfuss, and we’ll also be seeing Peter Brett, Brent Weeks and Joe Abercrombie . . . some of my favorites.
In March, I’ll be attending The Tucson Festival of Books, held on the campus of the University of Arizona.
And finally, in July, I will be the Guest of Honor at Westercon, held in Seattle this year!
Details on all of these events are on listed under Appearances on the Robinhobb.com website.
And I’d better get right back to the writing now!
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Worldcon Recap and RWC updates and a little French story
So. Reno. Wow. I was SO not prepared for the intensity of having a casion on the ground floor of the hotel. Not my cup of tea, I’m afraid. Flashing lights, buzzers, mirrored ceilings, hideous carpets (I’m told that is deliberate. So you lift your eyes and look at the machines.) and rows of hunched backs of people crouched over their machines. It felt like a sensory assault every time I walked through it, to where I felt almost physically ill.
So. That was educational!
The shuttles to the convention center were frequent, dependable, and stuffed with writers! And the convention center itself was an excellent space for the convention, with large rooms that were clearly marked. The dealers’ room and the art show were side by side in an immense room that also had plenty of space for a teen area, a signing area, a fanzine area, a coffee bar . . . all in one space and very well done.
My favorite room was down at the end of the hall. The children’s center was well staffed and well stocked with legos, beads, art and craft supplies, and verylively children. I did a talk there about why kids should start writing right now. Met a very young man who was already writing and illustrating comics, and did two quick critiques on manuscripts that the young authors just happened to have with them. The kids were well spoken, the writing was scarily good, and I think it was my best event at the con! Many thanks to James for being there, as well as the other volunteers who were carrying on all sorts of tasks.
The best part of any Worldcon is running into random friends and this one was no exception. I had a lovely conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson, one that has me re-thinking my writing space. Also connected with Steve and Barry, long time friends from my newsgroup. As always, there were too many ‘hi-goodbye’ meetings on escalators and in hallways, but that is to be expected.
We drove down and then back again to Tacoma, passing through some of the most beautiful mountains and forest I’ve seen. When we would get out to stretch our legs, the smell of the dry upland forest took me right back to my California childhood. Wonderful. I arrived home ready to sit back down at my desk and get some work done.
Lucky for me that did. I spoke a bit soon thinking that book 4 was out the door. Back it came, to have one last plot thread stitched up a bit more tightly. So that is my task for this week.
I will also mention here that the publishing schedule has changed. Book three, City of Dragons, is scheduled for February 2012. And Book four, Blood of Dragons, has been pushed back to 2013. So there will be a bit of a wait between the books after all.
In other news, I’ve got a neat little tale to share. When I was at Imaginales, my friend Sylvain asked me to autograph a book to “voyageur inconnu”. He had been traveling on the train and had noticed a fellow rider reading one of my books. He did not know the man at all, but he suspected he would see him again.
Here is his account of what became of that book:
From the end of May I had the book in my bag almost every day in case of encounter with this unknown traveller (that I saw only once). I never saw him again.
Weeks after weeks I imagined then to go to a library and to offer the book to an interrested reader. But I was almost sure to meet the “voyageur inconnu” just the day after if I’d do it.
So, I tried to take different trains at different hours with no success.
Finally, last week, I was walking on the platform to take my train and I recognized him. I stopped in front of him and said :
– Hello, do you sometimes read books written by Robin Hobb ?
He looked very surprised and replied :
– Yes !?!
I explained him all the story when I saw him reading in the train and that I met you at the Imaginales and that you autographed a book for him.
He smiled widely and asked me if it was true.
He was really very happy of this gift.
Back to me! I am utterly charmed by Syvain’s impulse and his account of hte happy ending.
And in yet more other, other news, there is a new interview up at Wonderlance. The portrait there was taken by my friend Antoine Mottier when I was at Etonnants Voyageurs.
So, that’s all for now. And back to work for me, on a story about a very dangerous woman . . .
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Book Four, out the Door. Again!
I have been out of touch lately. Deliberately so.
For the last couple of months, I’ve been fleeing Tacoma from Thursday to Sunday, to hide out in my Fortress of Solitude (sometimes known as our pocket farm near Roy) . I leave the Internet mostly behind on my marginal feed down there, and I focus on writing.
It really works.
Tonight I finally sent of the rewrites of what has become volume four of The Rain Wild Chronicles. It was a massive rewrite and I actually feel very gratefulfor the opportunity to greatly improve the book. It is planned that volumes 3 and 4 of the Chronicles will both come out in 2012 in the US, UK, Australia and the Netherlands.
So. What’s next? Well, jump right onto the next writing project, of course!
And start planning for the Great Cross Country Expedition to Renovation!
I am sure Reno and Worldcon will never be the same!
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Worldcon Schedule
Just a brief update, as I am still up to my neck in dragons. Figuratively. Literally, I’m up to my neck in obese cats, but we won’t talk about that here.
Worldcon, as noted before, is in Reno this year, and is called Renovation! The dates are from August 18th to August 21. For more information on the entire event, please visit the Worldcon Website.
I expect to arrive about midday on Thursday. Here is my schedule of official appearances:
Robin Hobb KaffeeKlatsch: Fri 12:00 (KaffeeKlatsch), Fri 12:00 – 13:00, KK1 (RSCC) (Please note: I usually bring goodies to share to any coffee gatherings I do, but unfortunately the convention center forbids outside food. So. Rats. I hope there will at least be coffee available but cannot promise even that!)
Autographing: Fri 13:00 (Autographing), Fri 13:00 – 14:00, Hall 2 Autographs (RSCC) (immediately following the coffee gathering)
Why to Start Writing Now (Panel), Fri 16:00 – 17:00, Hall 2 Teen Lounge (RSCC) (I’m going to be talking to the teenagers at this one. If you’re interested in why I think people should Write Here, Right Now start and you are not a teenager, you can also catch up with me on Saturday at noon. See below.)
Reading: Robin Hobb (Reading), Sat 10:30 – 11:00, A14 (RSCC)I haven’t decided what do do as a reading. Something from The Inheritance? Something from City of Dragons? We’ll see.
Why to Start Writing Now (Panel), Sat 12:00 – 13:00, E1 (RSCC) This one is for anyone who’d like to come listen to why I think it’s important to start writing Right Here and Right Now.
And now I am back to my rewrites! Less than 100 pages to go. I think!
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Renovation
Just a reminder that Worldcon is just around the corner!
I am hoping to meet many readers and fellow writers at Renovation, to be held August 17 to21, in, of course, Reno, Nevada.
There is a stellar line up of guests (Ellen Asher, Tim Powers and Boris Vallejo, with Charles N Brown with us in spirit, I am sure.)
Even without a convention, Reno offers tourists and visitors much to enjoy. The Worldcon is offering, among many other things, a film festival, a writer’s workshop, a workshop on how to teach SF, an art exhibit, a masquerade (Phil and Kathe Folio presiding!), music, dance, song . . .
Oh, and then there are all those writers attending, and all the panels on SF.
And awarding the Hugos. That’s going to be a tough task this year, given the high quality of the nominees. Take a look at that list!
I think my days there are going to be very busy.
Hope to see you there.
Robin
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Fantasy on ABC. In Australia!
So, if you’ve been following me for any length of time, then you will know that I’m a secret . . . well not secret at all supporter of the Australian horde of writers who have stormed the fantasy scene for the last ten years or so. Probably longer, but that’s when I became aware of them.
Here is a link to an interview show on ABC.net.au that featured what I think is a great discussion of fantasy and how it is seen in the wider world of literature. It’s only up for ten days or so, so if you think you’d like to watch it, take half an hour now. Or read the transcript.
The show is hosted by Jennifer Byrne, and is called First Tuesday Book Club.
The panelists were Fiona McIntosh, Jennifer Rowe, Matthew Reilly, and Lev Grossman.
I thought the variety of backgrounds and writing experiences the panelists brought to the discussion really contributed to the discussion.
For anyone who has every wondered why fantasy books and authors sometimes labor under a cloud of literary disapproval, you may enjoy this discussion.
And, of course, I didn’t mind at all that my name was mentioned several times . . . .
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Interviews and Signing Sheets!
A short post, just to prove that I am still around!
The first part is a link to a recent interview I did. I met Alanna Horgan at the Brisbane SupaNova, and she later sent me some question for an email interview. This link goes to her site, Sentient Online. There’s a lot of good stuff there, so don’t just stop with my interview!
And the second item is to remind everyone that Subterranean Press will be bringing out a limited edition autographed hardback of The Inheritance by Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm. With illustrations! And to whet your appetite (even though this scan doesn’t do it justice!) here is a glimpse of what my signing sheets look like! (Dust jacket and Illustrations by Tom Kidd. And if you visit Kidd’s site, don’t neglect his illustrations for The Three Musketeers!)
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Pictures! Cosplay and Window Dragons!
Each one easily worth ten thousand words!
Now, I have to admit that I had coffee with Giles and Vik over on the deck today, and he reminded me that my Imaginales photos were on a thumb drive upstairs in his loft office. But there was coffee to drink and donuts to eat, and that thought quickly fell out of my brain.
But, to make up for that lack, and with a promise that I WILL get them from them, I’ll offer a few different treats.
The first is a link rather than a photo, because when it comes to great cos-players, I think people should see the full spectrum of what they can do rather than just the one wonderful costume based on my books.
So, with great pleasure, let me introduce you to my new online friend, Michelle Marden and her website. Click on ‘Costume’ to see Malta’s Jamaillian gown. Here is a bit of her description of creating this:
“I made lots of hints at her association with dragons in the dress; down the length of each skirt panel are strips of silk with a screen pattern printed on. Over the top of this I embroidered white thread to bring out the pattern and then beaded over the top of this. The red insets are made of a fabric which I had printed with a repeated pattern from a photograph of reptilian scales. The large collar with the point at the back mimics the neck of the fringed lizard, and the detail on the front is little silver dragons.”
The next cosplayer is a friend from SupaNova. J was a volunteer for the Supanovas in Brisbane and Melbourne, where she not only worked diligently, she did so in costume and often in persona. So Cinderella was often the one who ran about keeping all the writers happy while behaving in a perfectly princessly fashion all the while.
More of J’s cosplay costumes and photos can be found at her Deviant Art site.
This second photo is the result of a last minute scheduled visit to a bookstore near Paris. Nath’à Lire is in St. Maur, and I made a short but wonderful visit there. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to see that the windows of the shop had been freshly painted. No, not the window sills, the glass itself, and with a magnificent dragon.
Oh, dear! I had several other nice images from that signing, but for some reason they are not showing when I upload them! I will give it a try again later.
And I will remember the Imaginales photos the next time I visit Giles’ office!
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Saint-Malo and Etonnants Voyageurs
Home safe, and exhausted! But before I fall on my face, a quick report on ‘what I did over my summer vacation’!
The long sandy beach at Saint-Malo
This was the site that greeted me as I got off the bus. The beach and the water were postcard perfect. That is the National Fort in the background. I was impressed with how clean the beach was. This was our ‘blue sky’ day on Saturday. On Sunday and Monday, the clouds and rain closed in, but we were not deterred!
And here was the welcoming party, inside the old walled city. Fresh oysters and champagne! And many French Merchant Marine sailors in their uniforms as well as a flood of writers and readers.
Here is the National Fort again, with the tide coming in to surround it! On Saturday evening, The France TV 5 sponsored a party in the Fort.So that gives a small idea of the beautiful setting for the festival. I was able to connect with many old friends and make some new ones as well. I enjoyed my time at the Pygmalion signing tables, even when we had an unexpected ‘indoor rain shower’ when a vent above us failed to close during a squall! I’ve never seen book people move so fast to save the books! All the staff working at the table were great and so very kind to me during my time there.
I think the most extraordinary panel for me was one that featured myself, Patrick Chamoiseau, Ian McDonald and Hubert Haddad. Even hearing his words through an interpreter, Patrick Chamoiseau stunned me with his thoughts. I have to find translations of his essays. Between him and Ian, I felt like I was in a meteor shower of ideas, and could have spun off about 100 novels just from the thoughts they were so casually tossing about. That panel alone was well worth journeying to France!
And finally (as I am suddenly very tired) I will close with a photo in which I manage to turn the tables on Antoine Mottier and get a snapshot of him! We are in the Pygmalion book stall in the big book tent.
I still have not put up my Imaginales photos, I know. I did get my camera back, but Giles had already downloaded my pictures. As soon as he passes them on to me, I will post them, I promise!
Goodnight!
Robin
