Asterix and the golden jubilee
A preparatory sketch for Goscinny and Uderzo’s first book, Asterix the Gaul (1961). Photograph: Les Éditions Albert René / Goscinny-Uderzo The French…
Read moreMonth: October 2009
PW’s death knell?
Publishers Weekly really screws up: “Every year, PW selects its top 100 books, and for the first time ever PW has upped…
Read moreElusive plot
I’m chasing plot moths, dashing about in the dark swishing my net trying to catch the flittery things. I know roughly what…
Read morelinks
I’ve seen a handful of things in the last week that are worth blogging about. But I’m in Hild mode, so instead…
Read moredelicious dialogue
Over at Sterling Editing I have a new blog post up, a discussion of some of Patrick O’Brian’s masterful dialogue. There’s an…
Read morerandom bloggish thoughts
In the last month I’ve had 16,201 visits to Ask Nicola from 90 countries. That’s more visitors than usual: more than 6,000…
Read morevodka and The Marketing ‘Plan’
Want to know what it’s like to be a novelist these days? You sell the novel over a pleasant dinner (or an…
Read morecrow flash mob
I’m still off the grid but, thanks to the wonders of technology, here’s something I wrote three days ago… Yesterday Kelley and…
Read morelinks
I’m still off the grid… Over at Sterling Editing, another roundup of links for emerging and established writers. Enjoy.
Read moreaccess! the BookServer project
I’m off the grid for the next few days, but I’ve put together a few posts to go up in my absence……
Read moreHild and other updates
Regular readers know that I’ve been working for two years on a novel about Hild of Whitby. I’ve been thinking about her…
Read morelearning to take it
Over at Sterling Editing, Kelley is talking about how it is to learn, as a writer, to take criticism. She is also…
Read morereclaiming your copyright
I’ve just read a fabulously informative post by Jane over on Dear Author. As the Supreme Court in 1943 opined that “authors…
Read moretrembling with rage
Yesterday I read this blog post about the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a the partner of a woman who died…
Read moreguess who gets crushed in Wal-Mart vs. Amazon?
Amazon and Wal-Mart are fighting a book-price war. Walmart cut the price of their new hardcovers (blockbusters by Stephen King, John Grisham…
Read morean interview: The Outer Alliance Spotlight
Over at Outer Alliance, I talk to Julie Rios about the Lambda Literary Foundation, Sterling Editing, and what it’s like to be…
Read moreyes, I know about Fampridine/4-AP/bird poison
Yes, I have heard about this: Panel Recommends that FDA Approve Fampridine-SR (proposed name Amaya) for Symptomatic Treatment of MS — Found…
Read moremy Technorati Authority is unstoppable
Wow. Just read this Technorati ranking for Entertainment/book blogs which I gacked from Joe Sherry over at Adventures in Reading (a fine…
Read moreAlways on Book View Cafe
Nancy Jane Moore talks about the self-defence stuff in Always over at Book View Cafe. Nancy was one of my students, long…
Read morehow not to do dialogue
For your delectation and delight over at Sterling Editing, we have a new editcast on dialogue–Kelley plays Ming the Merciless. I do…
Read moreDoctor Who competition and Vogon-worthy poetry
Blue Peter, the BBC children’s programme, has a competition: design a new console for Dr Who’s Tardis, to be built wholly from…
Read morefirst review of Eclipse 3
Charles Tan reviews my Eclipse 3 story, “It Takes Two.” He likes it. I’m delighted. I never really know what to make…
Read moreObama’s HRC speech, my line in the sand
I’m gradually recovering–a bit better every day, still a way to go–from Whirling World. Meanwhile for you delectation and delight (or irritation,…
Read morea whirling world
No post here today. I have migraine/vertigo. Can’t stand noise and movement. Can’t stand, full stop. These things often last a few…
Read moregenre and literature: shaking the test tube
I’ve been astounded by the rumpus around the Booker: Harrumph, the litsnobs say, it’s historical fiction, not literature! [Imagine that drawn out…
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