Wrap'd In Tentacles of Fate

October 22

Whee. Hello, blue Monday!

It was overcast and cool this weekend, and I really liked it. I remember when I first moved to California, Scott telling me he thought the beautiful weather everyday was boring... I didn't know what he meant, then, but after a year living here, I understand.

I got a rejection from Asimov's today, the nice form. Ah, well. Off it goes to Sci Fiction... I have to send out stories this week. They're piling up.

(this entry's all scattered. That's what you get, sometimes)

I finished reading After Age; good stuff. Still have to write the review. I also finished Coldheart Canyon. It's probably my least favorite Barker novel (which doesn't mean I didn't like it...). Still reading Angry Young Spaceman by Jim Munroe. Boy, it sure is refreshing to read a science fiction novel where the aliens are basically just Chinese people with tentacles! It spares me all the mental effort it takes when I read a book where the author tries to make the aliens alien. It's a fun enough book, I suppose, and an easy read, but it fails one of the big litmus tests... the story could absolutely be told without the speculative element, the protagonist could have just gone to teach ESL in Indonesia or something, and exactly the same story could be told. Ah, well. The kitsch factor is somewhat entertaining... the jetpacks and bosomy aliens and such... I'm just not convinced the author knows it's kitsch. I mean, Flyboy was such a cool book... ah, well. My boss told me he thinks Spaceman was actually written before Flyboy, which, if true, means the author isn't actually regressing...

Thanks to all y'all who've written me saying nice things about "Orpheus"; it's gotten a more positive response than any of my past poems, probably. It means a lot, hearing what people think...

I wrote a review of City Infernal that I'm pretty happy with... Should come out in the December ish of A Certain Magazine, barring the unforeseen... it could always get cut due to a shortage of space or something, though. The November issue goes to the printer tomorrow afternoon, which means frantic last-minute proofing-and-correcting all morning, and then the last two hours of work when I wander around aimlessly, probably shuffling books in the basement. S'not a bad life at all, at all.

Son of Brainbox isn't going to be ready in time for Hallowe'en, alas. The CD-ROM version may be, but not the trade paperback. Unavoidable delays... too bad. It should be out in a few weeks, though, and they may start taking pre-orders soon. I'll let y'all know. In the meantime, here's the cover art. Just a prototype, not the final version. I think it's amazingly cool. I want it on a t-shirt. Needless to say, it's the wallpaper on my computer, now... Reminds me of lines of a poem I wrote once: "A box of lizards and lightning, lost totems and rescued breath". There's a good line-up of authors. It's gonna be a good book. Whoo!

I took Heather out to a quite nice dinner on Saturday, to Skates by the Bay, a restaurant at the Berkeley Marina. The drinking glasses are all cobalt blue, the walls are windows... I thought Heather would enjoy it (she did), and I certainly enjoyed it. Afterward we went to the movies. We missed the beginning of From Hell by ten minutes, so went to see Serendipity instead. Reaction: Mixed. I love me some John Cusack. I hate me some Fate and Destiny. Bleah. Why would you name a movie "happy accident" when its overriding thematic point is that there are no accidents? I'm gonna avoid ranting, because the important bit about Saturday night is that I had a wonderful evening with my lover... but movies about Fate always annoy me. That's what I hated about Sliding Doors, too... bah. I'll save it for another entry. Must... resist... ranting.

Bed now. Ta.