Robin Hobb's Blog, page 20

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

The surprise is, you readers from the UK and Australia will recognize the artist immediately!

This is the first time that my books in the UK, US and Australia have featured the same art!

Here's a peek at the cover for City of Dragons.  The artist is Jackie Morris, often mentioned here.  Click on her name to visit her website for all sorts of beautiful images.  And to see hints of things to come for Blood of Dragons.

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

One of my current resolves is to put more reading time into my life.  To that end, I've been immersed in Blake Charlton's new book, Spellbound.  It's the sequel to Spellwright, a volume I greatly enjoyed.  No spoilers here, but I'll add that to be dyslexic in a world where wizards must literally spell their spells can make for very interesting times . . .   For those of you who live near me, Blake will be reading at University Book Store in Seattle tomorrow ( Sept. 21) at 7 PM.  Definitely a 'don't miss' evening.

My other reading pleasures tonight were a couple of entries from  the September 2011 Asimov's  Science Fiction. Both stories featured youthful protagonists (as the cliche goes!) but they could not be more different from one another.  "Grandma Said" by R. Neube is about a young man who volunteers to work for the Plague Center, battling outbreaks of an indigenous disease in a colony on a terraformed planet.  "Stalker" by Robert Reed (an author who with alarming regularity writes absolutely wonderful short stories) is about a very different sort of teen and the 'unbounded, bodiless personality designed to hover close to that one significant soul.'   And if that significant soul is the worst possible sort of young man that one can imagine, and your duty is to be devoted to him . . . Where does that leave an AI? 

I recommend both stories!

And in my own backyard, I have some cover art news that I'm not quite ready to share yet, but it definitely makes me grin!

And this last week I've signed contracts with Heyne for mass market German editions of Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven.  From earlier in the month, Luitingh will be bringing out a Dutch edition of The Inheritance.  And Pygmalion will be publishing a French edition of City of Dragons.  All of which makes me very happy.  I've been invited to Elf Fantasy Fair in the Netherlands for April of 2012 and I'm desperately trying to fit that in to my writing schedule.  It has absolutely everything that I love in a fantasy gathering, and the castle setting is the finishing touch.  I'm so hoping that I can make this come together!

But to make that happen, I need less time on the Internet and more time putting words on the virtual page!

Best wishes to all!

Robin

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

Well, the book marches one step closer to being real.  I have seen the cover art for the UK edition.  Jackie Morris has outdone herself!  I will ask permission to post it here.  Some of you who are friend with Jackie on Facebook may have already had a sneak peek at it.

The publication date for both the US and the UK/Australia will be February of 2012.  The concluding volume will be released in 2013, not 2012 as I had previously thought.  But at least I can assure you that the books is finished, edited and safely in the hands of the publishers.  Book four will still have to go thorugh copy editing of course, but the story does exist.

The weather here has finally cooled, the sky has grayed and I am comfortable outside again.  I am now looking at all that must be done in the garden and down at my pocket farm before it becomes very rainy.  Then I try to balance that against all the writing tasks before me, and I realize I'd best sharpen my self discipline and use my time more efficiently.

I still have blueberries and black berries to pick, and it looks as if we will have a bumper crop of apples, if the deer don't get to them first.  I persuade myself that berries will not stay on the bushes forever, so that is what I should get to first this week.  But I know it is just a convenient excuse for being outside and doing something I love instead of sitting at my desk.

I've decided that this year I will go back to my old ways, and put away a lot of food in the freezer and in jars.  I've made green bean garlic dill pickles, and all sorts of jam as well as freezing batches of blackberries and blueberries.  Perhaps it is time to replace the ancient pressure cooker.  I want to do cinnamon apple rings this fall, as well as applesauce and pumpkin.  Yes. Better find a good pressure cooker.

Robin

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

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

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

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!

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

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 . . .

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

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!

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

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

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

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 . . . .

Originally published at Robin Hobb. You can comment here or there.

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!)