Archive for May, 2011
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Epinal and Imaginales!
This will be a very short post.
I am off to the tents by the river! It’s a cool fresh morning with a bit of a breeze and a few clouds in a blue sky. My favorite sort of day. I know that all sorts of fascinating people are already gathering and I cannot wait to join them!
The signings in Paris on Wednesday went very well, and I hope to be posting photographs soon. But this morning I am going to hurry out the door and down to Imaginales. I hope that many of you can join me there!
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Paris! And The Signed Page.
Arrived safely and had a lovely day here! Frendh hospitality is always very warm. I had a lovely lunch with old friends and then a pleasant walk through the city. The weather was perfect with a light breeze blowing. I’m looking forward to signing books tomorrow.
And here is a link for those of you who cannot meet me in Paris for an authograph.
The Signed Page is a website owned by Shawn Speakman. He accepts orders and then invites writers in to sign and personalize books. So, I’ll be meeting with Shawn to sign copies of the US trade paperback edition of The Inheritance. Usually Shawn only does hard backs but enough people requested this that we’ll be doing the Trade Paperback.
I’m very excited for Imaginales this weekend! I hope to see many of you there.
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And The Book Moves On
I had a great day today, one that left me smiling. Great enough that even though I should be doing my last minute packing for Imaginales right now, I’m typing this instead.
It started when I noticed a gaping hole in my book case a few days ago. I know my books and I notice when one is gone, especially when it’s from my ‘special’ shelf of books written by friends that I’ve enjoyed reading. And there was a hole there amongst the Brusts and Bulls and McIntoshes and McIntyres and Morgans and Etc. Hm.
My grandchildren were in residence and frequently the decimate my book shelves but usually they raid my kids’ books shelf. Not my shelves. Something was definitely going on.
However, the next morning, I discovered this:
The book had obviously been chosen for the night with the big orange cat. A high honor. Rather impulsively, I shot a picture of it, thinking Jane might enjoy seeing where her book was currently visiting.
But over a couple of days, I noticed that the hole remained on my shelf. The next time we went to visit the pocket farm down at McKenna, the grand kids went along. And, later in the day, I discovered this in the guest room:
The book had apparently decided to leave my house and go for a journey in a back pack. Not the safest thing for a book to do, especially with a ten year old. I snapped a second photo and suspected I was about to lose a book. I decided to document our parting.
I came in from mowing the lawn in the afternoon to discover this,despite my ‘please don’t mix food with my books’ rule :
The book had made it into the kitchen for lunch. And I was beginning to see that perhaps it was not my book anymore at all.And at the close of the day, as we were getting ready for the long ride home, I noticed this:
Dog, sunglasses, book. Not in the back pack but handy for the ride. Yes. She’s ready to take her book and head back to Tacoma.
It should not surprise anyone that I have not seen the book since. Obviously it was tired of simply rubbing shoulders with other books and has discovered a more adventurous reader. It’s not the first time a book has decided to move out of my house. What makes this a moment is that this is a book I really enjoyed and was looking forward to introducing to someone ‘at the right time.’
But I guess I wasn’t paying close attention to how much someone was growing as a reader. Luckily, the magic still works, and somehow the book and the kid found each other at the right time, and they have gone off together.
I am sure that the book will quickly forget that it was ever ‘my’ book. It may live on a shelf at another house, or under a pillow and ride around in a back pack. It’s that sort of a book. I hope that eventually, I’ll see if again. When I do, the shiny dust jacket may be a bit worn and tattered, there may be splotches on the pages, and bits of paper used as book marks. In short, it may end up looking somewhat like this:
And if it does, the book should be well pleased with itself. It will have completed its journey and become, not just a book, but a friend.
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Garfield Book Company
On Wednesday, May 18th, I’ll be signing books at Garfield Book Company! For those of you who know Tacoma and the surrounding area, it’s just off Pac Ave right near PLU.
This is my first time to sign there but I’ve been a customer any number of times. It’s a great bookstore, with an exceptional kids’ section on the ground floor, a wonderful upstairs loft of books, and because it serves Pacific Lutheran University, all sorts of PLU items. There is also a lovely gift section of Scandinavian influenced items.
And there’s a good pizza place right nearby, too.
So, even if you don’t want me to sign your book, it’s a great place to drop in. If you come by tomorrow about 7, however, I’ll be there to read, sign books, and you can enter in the drawing for the door prize baskets. It includes a copy of Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb, and a copy of The Gypsy, by Steven Brust and Megan Lindholm. The other goodies in the basket relate to the stories in The Inheritance.
Hope to see you there!
Robin
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Subterranean Press Limited Edition: The Inheritance
If you love finely bound hardback books, then the name Subterranean Press is probably already familiar to you. They create books that are meant to be a pleasure in the hands and to last for decades on the bookshelf. In the past, I’ve been honored to have my work included in the anthology A Fantasy Medley, edited by Yanni Kuznia.
Now my story collection, The Inheritance, is available in two limited edition forms. One is clothbound, and the other leather bound with full color endsheets. Both are illustrated by Tom Kidd.
And until May 20th, both are available at reduced prices!
If you visit the Subterranean Press website, take your time to look around. My suggestions for your future enjoyment? Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch. This collection of some classic Bloch stories comes out in November. But since Subterranean Press books can sell out really fast, you’d be wise to order now. If you like Dan Simmons, Neal Stephenson, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman and dozens of others, and wish you had them in more permanent form on your bookshelf, their site is a treasure trove for you.
And if you enjoy short fiction, and think the ‘free’ is an unbeatable price, bookmark their Summer 2011 issue. It’s a great way to sample writers you may not have read before.
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Too Busy to Get Anything Done
I’m having one of those days. There are too many attractive things to do, and I’m wandering from one to the next without completing any of them.
Cut down the dead bush in the garden, but I’m not quite energetic enough to get out there with the shovel and dig out the roots. I know I should do it. But then I should also put down landscaping fabric (to keep the weeds down; have to buy that first.)And then I need to cut some holes in the fabric and pop some new plants in (Have to buy those still.) And then I should put bark or other mulch over the fabric (need to buy that, too!)
And I don’t really feel like sacrificing the sunny day to go to the store. Instead, I’d rather sit outside on the swing like a kid and do nothing. My grand-daughter caught me at that yesterday.
Photo by Alexsandrea Ogden
So. I should pay the bills, answer all the email, and do those revisions. I really should. But looking out the window at a sunny day is not making it any easier!
Tomorrow, I will be down in Beaverton, Oregon at Powell’s Books. Looking forward to seeing Peter again at the store, and wandering their stacks. I always come home with a sack of books from there. If you live anywhere in that area and you haven’t browsed their store, you are in for a treat!
But, if I’m spending the day tomorrow on the drive down to Oregon, I’d best get some of my work done today!
Nose to the grindstone! No matter how painful!
Robin
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Of signings and E-books
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
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On To Olympia!
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.
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US Signings!
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.
