Thursday, Jodi and I shot a pilot episode. We were the only two puppeteers on the shoot, and as often happens, the only people in the room with prior puppetry experience. The puppets were charming but, to my eye, built by a stage puppeteer rather than a film and television puppeteer. How could I tell? Small details, like visible specks of glue. Now, for stage, this doesn’t matter¹ but for film work you have to be prepared for extreme closeups.

These were rod puppets and the necks were extremely thin, long and sproingy. ² Our slightest tremor translated into a giant head wiggle. On top of that, the mouth trigger would actually pull the whole head down with it. None of this violated the forty feet and a galloping horse rule, but boy howdy did it look funny in a closeup. We weren’t doing lipsync so much as headsync.

AND one of the puppets broke moments after we got there. I had a total MacGyver moment and repaired the puppet with a paperclip, gaffers tape and superglue. ³

The guys we were working for were supernice and thankfully understood the challenges pretty darn quickly. On the whole, they seemed pleased. Hopefully I’ll be able to show you some of it down the line.

1. We have a saying, “forty feet on a galloping horse” which means that if you won’t notice it while galloping on horseback forty feet away you won’t notice it on the stage either [↩]
2. Yes, that’s a technical term. [↩]
3. No, I can’t describe the repair in more detail because to do so would require explaining what the characters were which would blow the secrecy around the pilot. [↩]

I’ll be joining M.M. DeVoe and Matt McHugh as we read stories from The First Line at KGB

Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, the literary magazine “The First Line” — where all stories in an issue begin with same opening line — presents an evening with some of its favorite writers. Three authors will read select work from the new anthology, “The Best of The First Line: Editors’ Picks 2002-2006,” and share some insights on writing for this unique quarterly.

Pass the word and come hear us on July 24th at 7pm.

Michael Livingston pointed out this handy tutorial called “The The Impotence of Proofreading.” If only everyone who submitted to Shimmer would study this closely.

The Interstitial Arts Foundation is auctioning some pretty nifty items. Every day they add two new items. Check it out.

IAFAuctions.com is part of the fundraising arm of the Interstitial Arts Foundation, a not–for–profit organization dedicated to the study, support, and promotion of interstitial art.
Currently, we’re auctioning off jewelry based on stories from the first Interfictions anthology.

At least I think he has. He left for the airport yesterday and then called me.

“My flight’s been delayed. To Wednesday.”

I uttered an impolite questioning phrase.

“No warning, no notice. Just a new itinerary.”

Anyway, they got him on a flight for this morning, in theory. Because he was flying out of Newark, he decided to stay in the hotel out there. I think he’s on his way home now.

Check out the review that Charles Tan did over at Bibliophile Stalker of Twenty Epics He gave the anthology a 4 out of 5.

Mary Robinette Kowal’s “Bound Man” was another favorite, everything from its Asian flavor, strong protagonist, and the enjoyable fight scene.

Dear actors,

When you demand a prop, a strange and difficult to acquire prop, which requires some hours of time to get for you, please think carefully when presented with the object before you announce that you prefer what you’ve been using in rehearsal.

Many thanks for your time and attention.

A prop master who is checking on the return policy.

Clarkesworld does the very smart thing of making electronic advance review copies available for the magazine. Joe Sherry at Adventures in Reading reviewed “The Clockwork Chickadee” and includes what is my now my favorite compliment ever.

The story is, in turn, playful and charming, well thought out and deliberate, and Kowal appears to have written her own version of an O Henry story.

It works.

O’Henry was really my first love in the world of short stories. Sure, I’d read others and enjoyed them. Really, my first love should have been Ray Bradbury, but I think O’Henry captured me because his stories were deceptively simple. There were no elements of wonder, like Martians or rocket ships, just people living ordinary lives. And then, with one turn of phrase, he could change the entire meaning of everything you’ve read. When people want to write twist endings, what they really want is to write an O. Henry story.

Take a moment and go read “The Skylight Room.”

Steve was going to come visit for Mom’s birthday, but when my folks had to cancel their trip we also rescheduled my brother’s. It looked like this would be a more convenient time.

However, when we bought the tickets, we didn’t realize that I would be in tech week for a show (which seems constant now), finishing production on one magazine, two books and recording an audio book. All of which is somehow due on Monday, the day Steve leaves.

Forgive me if I don’t really write much this weekend.

There’s an interview with me up on J. M. McDermott’s blog, which you should check out if you’ve ever wanted to know how I got started in puppetry.

Clarkesworld Magazine just posted a preview of the June cover art, which will have my story “Clockwork Chickadee” in it. I am thrilled to be sharing the issue with this creepy art by Eli Effenberger.

I’ll be going to my first WisCon and am extremely excited by the programming they offer. Here are just the panels that I’ll be on.

Title: Beyond Illustration: The Process of Creating ‘Vision’
Saturday, 9:00-10:15 P.M.
Caucus

Much of SF/F art is illustrative, growing directly out of the writer’s vision. But some artists are doing exactly what writers do–using a myth or folkloric theme or story as a starting point and interpreting it in a new and personal way, developing a story with a vision of their own. These image/object driven visions are sometimes then the inspiration for a writer’s new story. How is the process of creating a vision the same in writing and art? How is it different? How do they cross-pollinate?

M: Mary Robinette Kowal, Deb Taber, Connie Toebe, Catherine Crowe

Title: What If You Don’t Want to Have Children? Redux
Saturday, 10:30-11:45 P.M.
Assembly

Modern birth control and feminism have made the option of not having children much more socially acceptable, yet women (and sometimes men) are often made to feel that by making this choice they are abandoning an essential part of the human experience. Given the increasing numbers of people who are choosing to be child-free, what will society look like in another 20 years? 50? 100? There are currently some countries that pay generous benefits to parents, especially in countries with decreasing populations. How will this continue? How will the population reduction affect workplace policies? How will the results of choosing to be child-free actually benefit parents (increased tax incentives, workplace benefits, etc.)? Last year, this panel focused on the personal, emotional, and medical struggles faced by those of us who have chosen to be childfree. It was a relief to see that there were others like ourselves, going through the very same struggles. This year, let’s take a deep
per look and examine how societal structures, workplace policies, and government taxes and subsidies discourage or encourage our decision.

M: Carrie Ferguson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Gerri Balter, Maddie Greene, Isabel Schechter

Title: The Future Of The Book
Sunday, 1:00-2:15 P.M.
Senate B

With Amazon’s Kindle being the latest entry in the ongoing attempts to scale the Everest of e-book technology, it’s time to look at the technology of the book, and where we think it might be going in the next 10-20 years. Topics might include what’s wrong with the current set of e-books, what people would need to move to an e-book solution, and new technologies/approaches in the paper-book world, such as the increased use of POD books.

M: Mary Robinette Kowal, Steven Schwartz, Jeannie Bergmann, Cabell Gathman

Title: How To Be A Good Ally — And A Bad One
Monday, 10:00-11:15 A.M.
Wisconsin

As privileged allies in tee struggles against various oppressions such as racism and sexism, sometimes we make mistakes, and some of our strategies are more successful than others. And some of us are frightened by the idea of tackling the learning curve and making fools of ourselves along the way. Others of us aren’t even sure where to begin. This panel will discuss starting points, common pitfalls, embarrassing stories of mistakes made and overcome, and how to do it right.

M: Lori Selke, Debbie Notkin, Mary Robinette Kowal

Remember when I was talking about working Peter? Deb Hertzberg, one of the other puppeteers on the show, took a short video backstage so you can see what I was talking about.

Later this summer I’m going to start with my official SFWA duties and I need to simplify my schedule before then. Step one: Ask someone to help with layout duties for Shimmer.

Job Description: Layout stories to conform to an existing template. Adjust for widows and orphans. Confer with art director on art placement.

Time Requirement: 10-20 hours per issue, quarterly.

Benefits: Exactly what I get. Bio and credit in magazine. Two copies of magazine per issue. Opportunity to hob-nob with talented writers during our conventions parties. Licensed copy of CorelDraw X3 graphic suite. ¹

Skills Required: Some experience with layout preferred, but will train the right person.

Drop me a line or pass this along if you know someone who might be interested.

1. If you make a strong case for moving to a different platform and are willing to do the work to make it happen, then we can talk about another program [↩]

Jason Sizemore, editor of Apex Digest, is holding a subscription drive. Since I’m in the next issue, I have a vest interest in helping him get the 150 new subscribers he wants. Like science-fiction and horror? Then this is your magazine.

Subscriptions are a measly $20 for 4 issues in the US. $24 for Canada/Mexico. $34 for the rest of the world.

We’ve re-initiated the APEX FOR LIFE subscription option that gives you Apex until you die. This goes for $100.

If you’re interested in the magazine, but want to check it out before taking out a subscription, then take a look through our ample back catalog.

Or, heck, if you’re wanting to show your support but not necessarily want a subscription, check out our ample back catalog.