Robin Hobb's Blog, page 22

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

There are hundreds of ways to react to a sparsely attended signing.  Yesterday was sunny and warm here in the PNW after days of rain and chill.  So that may have been why readers chose to finally go outside and get a bit of sun rather than come to my signing at Parkplace Books.

However, I had a wonderful time with several of the readers who did show up!  Jill and Nancy offered me some insights into e-books and e-book readers that I hadn't considered before. 

 I'm new to e-books as a consumer.  My Nook is scarcely a week old.  But I've already encountered very unsatisfactory copies of badly scanned free public domain books.  (Yet again, I prove to myself that, yes, indeed, you do get what you pay for!)  And when I bought a copy of a carefully scanned and corrected public domain title, I felt that the ease of reading that old favorite was well worth the price.  But I did wish the illustrations were larger.

Evidently I'm not the only one who needs larger illustrations.   Jill pointed out to me that the maps in the front of a fantasy book don't show up in much detail on an e-book reader, something that is frustrating to map lovers.  She had a possible solution.  She suggested the authors, or even publishers should feature accessible maps on their websites, so that readers who bought the e-book but still wished to have a readable map could print one out. Now that's an intriguing idea to me.  I'd love to hear from people suggesting other tweaks to the e-book experience.

And while we are on the subject of e-books, I want to mention a place that caters to lovers of e-books, with a generous supply of  free samples of books.  Book View Cafe is an enterprise that allows authors to put up their own e-books for sale, in a variety of DRM free formats. My hot tip: Try the first volume of Starfarers by Vonda McIntyre for free.  And even if you do not have an e-book reader, take a moment to visit A Pillow Book for Cats by Ursula LeGuin.

My signing at Parkplace books was also notable in that my husband's Aunt Suzie joined us there!  So my time in the bookstore was followed by a very enjoyable hour or two of catching up on family news.  It made me realize that the drive to Bothell is not really that long, and we should make it more often.

Also of note to book lovers:  Parkplace Books is coming up ona birthday, and yes, there will be a party!  For details and to RSVP, visit their website.  I heard rumors of very special carrot cake! I certainly intend to make a second run up that way for this!

Hope to see you there!

Robin

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

Last night, I had a wonderful time at the University Book Store in Seattle.  Traffic made me a few minutes late to the event, but everyone was kind and patient about the delay.  They even put up with my rather 'mush mouthed' reading as a swollen lip from a stupid mishap earlier in the day had me mispronouncing my own text!  Kestrel won the door prize basket, and went off with a couple of books, candles, tea, a book mark and a few other goodies.

Today at 6 I'll be at the Barnes and Noble store in Olympia on Black Lake Boulevard.  I'll be reading from The Inheritance and signing books afterwards.  I always have a good time there, and yes, I'll be bringing a door prize basket!  Bring a Barnes and Noble receipt as your entry form!  It does not have to be for the purchase of my book; any receipt can go in the basket. It's my small way of thanking stores that invite authors in for events.

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

I have been looking forward to this for what seems like a long time!

This week will be the launch of the US edition of The Inheritance.

This is a story collection by both of my writing names.  I wrote as Megan Lindholm long before I became Robin Hobb, and to this day, I continue to write as Megan Lindholm.  The short stories in this book are old and new, previously published and never before seen, and include a couple of Nebula finalists and a Hugo finalist.  I'm rather pleased to see them presented together like this.

Details of where I will be signing are in the right column on RobinHobb.com but I'll summarize them here:

University Book Store, Seattle, Washington on May 5, Thursday at 7 PM

Barnes and Noble in Olympia, Washington on Black Lake Blvd. on May 6, Friday at 6 PM.

Park Place Books, Kirkland, Washington on May 10th at 7 PM.

Powells Books at Beaverton, Oregon, on May 14th.  An afternoon signing at 4 PM.

Garfield Book Company near PLU in Tacoma  on May 18th at 7 PM. (This will be my first time to sign at Garfield Book Company!)

The usual format for these events is that I will do a brief reading, takes some questions, and then sign books.  And, where it is feasible, hang around and drink coffee afterward and chat with people.  These gatherings are my reward for being good and sitting on my chair with my fingers on the keyboard for most of the rest of the year!

I will be bringing 'door prizes' to all the signings.  As before, your receipt from the bookstore is your entry.  Just put your name on the back.  It does not have to be a receipt for my book, just for a purchase in the bookstore.

Why do I do this?  Well, it is my way of saying thank you to the venues that host writer events.  When a bookstore puts on an event, it often requires moving furniture, setting up chairs, having extra personnel on site, and sometimes even staying open late. All of that consumes time and funds.  So I like to encourage attendees to actually make a purchase, any purchase, at the store that is hosting the event.

I should add that I'm happy to sign any book of mine that you bring in, even if you bought it last week or fifteen years ago! You don't have to wait and buy it during the event.

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

Trolls et Legends 2011 Invite d'honneur

And as you can see, I brought a friend!

This lovely fellow was given to me at Trolls&Legendes.   He will remain in my office as a lovely memento of a trip to Belgium that was far too short!
I met many lovely people there, enjoyed some amazing costuming (there were a number of stilted costumes that towered over us as they stamped about!), had some great conversations over good food and listened to some lively music.  Including some played on a rather interesting axe!  There were, of course, wandering musicians as well, who added a great deal to the mood at the gathering.
So, I signed many books, met many friends, and then endured the long airplane ride home.  Since then, it has taken me a day or so to catch up with myself, so please excuse the long silence.
Tacoma, of course, greeted me in its own peculiar way.  Sitting at my kitchen table yesterday, in the middle of the afternoon, full daylight, I saw a coyote come streaking down the street and dash into the yard of house across the street. 
Luckily all my cats were inside!
Robin

 

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

Again.  So I've been awake since 4 AM, reading and answering email. Don't have quite the concentration level for actual writing work. 

Trolls and Legends has been wonderful so far!  I shared a ride here with Russ Nicholson and Jackie.  Russ is an artist who has work on exhibit this weekend.  He's best known perhaps for his work on the Fiend Folio for the UK edition of Dungeons and Dragons.  And this illustrates yet again the best part of fesitivals such as this, which is the cross-pollination of all things fantasy.  I also encountered Richard Morgan and very much enjoyed catching up with him since our last meeting four or five years ago at Imaginales.

The venue is lovely, a great hall divided up into spaces for music, art, gaming, books, costumes and all other things fantasy.  The entry is decorated with art contributed by school children, of an excellent quality.  Dragons are very much in evidence everywhere!  I hope to arrive early enough today that I can browse through the Fairy Market before it becomes packed with visitors!  The pre-registered guests have zoomed in number since last year, so I anticipate that this will be the largest and best Trolls&Legendes ever.

Today was a day for people to set up their booths, hang art, and make all the final adjustments for the festival.  It was a good time for me to wander about a bit and get a feel for the lay out of the hall.  I had glimpses of old friends and met many new ones. At these gatherings, the challenge is always to find a time and a place for good conversation as there are so many interesting people and wonderful displays.   There are simply so many people I want to meet and talk to that there are not enough hours in the day.

Tonight was a night for music at Trolls and Legends.  I was able to catch part of Dunkelshon set.  Lively crowd and good music! The costumes began to come into evidence.  There were poi spinners and balloons bouncing about overhead.  Unfortunately for me, that was when my jet lag caught up with me and I had to retreat to the hotel before long.  And now of course, I am wide awake and listening to bird song through my open window.

Very excited about today!  I hope to meet many readers and artists of all sorts! 

Robin

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

Packing is done.  And repacking and triple checking of suitcase is done, too, not that I have a trace of obsessiveness or anything.

Tomorrow I fly across the US, change planes on the run, and fly on to Belgium.  I've come to hate flying.  Not just the security checks, or the cramped seats but worst of all, for me, the constant pressure of noise on my ears.  Noise cancelling headphones help, yes, but don't banish it entirely. 

On the positive side, on Friday morning I will land in Belgium, land of chocolate.  Oh, I mean, land of Trolls and Legends!  Actually, both and I'm looking forward to enjoying them.

Off I go.

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

As an author I've been blessed with the good fortune of having amazing cover artists for my books.  And this goes back all the way to my very first US cover for my very first book, Harpy's Flight.  Kinuko Y Kraft was not as well known then as now!  This was my very first cover ever.</p>

In the years since then, as my work has been translated into different languages, I've seen quite an array of covers and a huge variety of interpretations of my characters.  If you'd like to see just some of the art, click on the tab 'Novels' on my Robinhobb.com home page.  This will take you first to US covers of books. But, for each title, if you click on the US cover, you will be transported to a page that shows a sampling of the international covers, equally dazzling.

Today I'm going to showcase some of the art on currently available Robin Hobb books in the Netherlands.  So, without more ado:

Woudmagie

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

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

It seems like I've just returned from Australia and I'm already packing for Belgium!  This time, I'll be traveling in my own season, so I'm packing for spring rather than fall.

I'm already excited about Trolls And Legends!  And I'm even more enthused when I see the list of fellow guests.  Laurent Sieurac  and Gilles Francescano  will be there. 

 

And then there is Sandrine Gestin, who I first met at an Imaginales in France where her lovely work enchanted me. 

But just as exciting as seeing old friends is the prospect of meeting new ones, and of meeting people who I have only known via email. 

I'll be arriving early Friday, and hope to recover swiftly from the flight and be at the Festival by afternoon or evening.  See you there?

   

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

I'm wide awake.  And I'm starving!  Thanks, Australia!  I'm really out of whack with the clocks here. Strange to say, the cats and dogs were starving, too.  I think they are opportunistic eaters.

My desk is snowed under with paper, my email is backed up with literally hundreds of messages to go through. So, if you've written to me recently, possess your soul in patience!  I will get back to you.

I had such a wonderful time in Australia.  I suspect that just about the time I get back on schedule here, it will be time for me to head out for Trolls and Legends.  I'm very excited about visiting Belgium.  I do need to look up how many tons of chocolate customs will allow me to bring back in my luggage.

Still starving.  It's not going away.  Let's see what's in the fridge . . .

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

I had an absolutely wonderful time.  Today was the frosting on the cake!  I had morning coffee with two newsgroup readers, Meagan and Patrick.  Then I had lunch and did a bit of shopping with Cinderella!  Of course, J and Alyssa and Christine came along, and we discovered a wonderful paper and writing supply shop.  I am taking home a very special treasure box of Buckkeep jewelry and two wonderful books for my grandchildren.

Dinner with Jack Dann!  Need I say more?

Hard to say goodbye to all the fun, but it's time to go home and get some work done now!  Until it's time to play at Trolls and Legends!

Thanks to all who gave me and my books such a warm reception.  I hope you'll enjoy reading them!