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Is Amazon the Sauron of Publishing?

Is Amazon the Sauron of Publishing?

Amazon’s announcement of their new Science Fiction and Fantasy imprint, 47North, has got me looking toward the publishing future. There are certainly plenty of folks, most in traditional publishing and book retailing, who would agree that Amazon is Sauron, and that the Kindle is the One Ring, and that their goal is to completely vertically […]

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Second Life Office Hours for 21 Sept 2011

Second Life Office Hours for 21 Sept 2011

Tonight, as I do every Wednesday evening, at 6 PM Pacific time, I’ll host office hours in Second Life. Readers and writers are cordially invited to attend. I’ll be in voice chat, answering questions and talking about issues of the day. The event usually goes on for about 1.5 hours, but I’ve been known to […]

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Morass no more

Morass no more

The most commonly asked question I have put to me by authors and readers alike is this: “In the world of digital publishing, how does an author prevent their work from sinking into the morass of stuff out there?” I’ve heard it on planes, at conventions, online, in email and at talks. Everyone is afraid […]

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My Fall Writing Classes

My Fall Writing Classes

Back in college I was training to be a teacher, not a writer. Down through the years, I’ve gotten to be a good writer and I’ve been lucky enough to get to teach classes about writing. I do them all the time at Gencon. At Origins and DragonCon, I team up with Aaron Allston to […]

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My Conan Adventure: Part Four

My Conan Adventure: Part Four

In the theatre lobby it’s pretty easy to spot the actors and then folks you think are actors. You see faces you recognize but can’t place as being part of your life. Then it slowly dawns on you that you’ve seen them on TV or in movies. It felt like trying to reconcile vague memories […]

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My Conan Adventure: Part Three

My Conan Adventure: Part Three

The invitation to the Conan the Barbarian world premiere included with it an invite to the “after party” and was for me and a “plus one.” The second I got the invite I RSVPed and made hotel reservation. I talked to Jay at Gencon and found out what the dress code was. I had that […]

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My Conan Adventure: Part Two

My Conan Adventure: Part Two

Back in the late 1980s my novel writing career began with the publication of the novels I did for BattleTech. While working with FASA, I got to know Fred Malmberg of Target Games of Sweden. They had a project called Mutant Chronicles and asked if I would write a trilogy for them. My schedule didn’t […]

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