The gathering of my Kensington Writers’ Group was great. People’s careers are really taking off. Not only did Shenaaz have lots of interesting stories about being a GG nominee, Jan has just signed her contract for the publication of her children’s novel, “Dead Frog on the Porch” (great title, eh?) and she and Francis had cool stories to tell about their weekend at the Surrey Writers’ Conference. Also, we have a new member of our group.
Notice that “Back” is now listed on the SFCanada site
Have a look at Canadian SF for all the awards in Canada, latest news in Canadian SF, as well as all the works eligible for the Auroras. I just posted “Back” (Analog, June 2008 — you can read it right here on my website under “Publications”) which will be eligible for the upcoming Auroras (to be presented at Anticipation in Montreal this summer) as well as for the current Nebula award. I already have two recommendations for the Nebula.
TTFN!
Susan
World Fantasy and Counting
Less than a month, now, until World Fantasy — right here in my own town of Calgary! I have the great good fortune to be the host for David Morrell. One of the cool things I am focussing on this month is selecting and reading some of his fiction, as well as researching his biography. In just perusing his website, I noticed that he was an early fan of “Route 66.” I remember that show too, as one I enjoyed well.
Day Job Reality
So, school is back in next week and I’ve been at work already for a week. Amazing how energy-draining the day job can be. However, it’s the weekend now and the day I’ve been waiting for. Back to the novel!
Still, it makes me think . . . how much money does a person really need to live on? A friend who is a highly successful Tor author quite deliberately works during the day at a job that is NOT energy-draining. She is very careful with how she spends her money. And, I am continually amazed at how inexpensively my daughter, a university student, lives. True, when her room and board are free (she lives with me) it helps a lot. Still, she is dedicated to travel to certain cons and to maintain her motorcycle; but clothing, entertainment expenses — she doesn’t have a cell or any of the electronic devices to which most young people are tied — she very simply does without.
Next Con – Next Weekend
So, just got back from Denvention yesterday and my next con starts Friday, here in Calgary: Conversion. Actually, I will miss most of it because I’ll be to flying to Toronto for my father-in-law’s 80th birthday!! That will be fun. Of course, I will miss the short story judging which will be too bad because my daughter has an awesome story in it. However, I will be there Friday night for IFWA Players’ Armageddon Idol. last year, as you may know, I directed The Phantom of the Space Opera, which was a ton of fun and turned out really well (we got invited to Vulcan for their con, where we performed for Eugene Roddenberry, who suggested we might like to bring the show to Las Vegas). This year, though, I get to act: I am one of 3 judges of the singing competition between Heaven and Hell for all the souls at the end of the world. The judges sing a really funny song filked from “Why Can’t the English Learn to Speak” from the musical, My Fair Lady. Our song is called, “Why Can’t Celestials Learn to Sing?” If you’re in Calgary, you have to come to the show. It’s free as long as you are a member of the con.