Robert J. Sawyer

As we did last year, Robert J. Sawyer Books and the rest of Red Deer Press will be exhibiting in the dealers’ room at this year’s World Fantasy Convention in Calgary, and there will be an RJS Books room party one night. We’ll be selling all our books, including our latest book, The Savage Humanists edited by Fiona Kelleghan (which is now out).

Got a letter today from James Morrow, one of the authors who has a story in The Savage Humanists. Said Jim: “The anthology has arrived, and it looks beautiful. Cover, fonts, paper quality — all splendid.”

I couldn’t agree more. Book designer Karen Petherick Thomas of Intuitive Design International Ltd. and our in-house production manager Amy Hingston did fabulous jobs, and Friesens, our redoubtable printer, did their usual terrific work.

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Today, I’m flashing back to my 1999 Aurora Award-winning science-fiction novel Flashforward.

Flashforward tells of the first experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. Today the first beam was sent around the 27-kilometer-long tunnel of the Large Hadron Collider. There are news reports of it everywhere; here’s one from the BBC, and another from the Associated Press.

Congratulations, CERN!

Flashforward is available in paperback from Tor, as an unabridged Audio book from Audible.com and iTunes, and in a Kindle edition.

More information about the book, including the opening chapters and links to online retailers, is here.

Note: thanks to Tor’s splitting the title into two words on the front cover (but not the back cover, spine or elsewhere), sometimes the book is listed online as Flash Forward, not Flashforward.

Besides winning the Aurora Award, Flashforward also won the Premio UPC (the world’s largest cash-prize for SF writing), received a starred review (denoting a book of exceptional merit) from Publishers Weekly, and has been continuously in print for nine years now.

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer. Tor Books, New York, ISBN 0-812-58034-6 (and numerous translated editions worldwide).

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Oh, my, yes, indeed. :)

A very, very good day.

Details later, when I can talk about it.

But …

Happy feet!

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According to the Sacrmento News & Review, that’d be me.

Their full review of Hominids is here. The reviewer is Kel Munger.

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My very conscientious Italian translator, Dario Rivarossa, today asked me what the following phrases mean in Rollback:

“One of my favorite authors once said, `Virtual reality is nothing but air guitar writ large.'”

I’m having a bit of fun there, because the character is quoting me, from my 1995 novel The Terminal Experiment. But as to what the phrase means:

“Air guitar” is what teenage boys who are pretending to be rock musicians do: they make motions with their hands like they’re playing a guitar — but, of course, there’s no real guitar. So, it’s called “air guitar.”

In the movie Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Bill and Ted play air guitar (pretend to play real guitars) whenever their band is mentioned (see photo above).

So, “virtual reality is nothing but air guitar writ large” means “even the best computer simulation is as far removed from the real experience it is simulating as waving your hands in the air is removed from playing a real guitar.”

It was a pleasure to be able to read for hours without getting eye fatigue, and without having to put on his cheaters.

“Cheaters” is a slang term for “reading glasses” — nonprescription eyeglasses used to magnify printed text. But my use of this bit of slang is ironic, on two counts. First, the character in question has just committed adultery (which is “cheating” in English slang).

Second, it refers back to the earlier question the aliens asked, “Should systems be set up to thwart cheaters at all costs?,” which lays out the moral question of whether in fact the character should be punished for his transgression.

If there’s no comparably ironic term in Italian for “reading glasses,” we’ll have to just forgo this little touch in that edition. :)

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The first of four installments of the full-text serialization of my next novel, Wake, is in the November 2008 issue of Analog, released electronically today (weeks after it came out in hardcopy!). You can get it at Fictionwise here.

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So, today, I was at a writers’ festival, and, when it was time to do my autographing, I was sitting next to a very nice female writer. She had a copy of her book, and I asked if I could see it. I turned to the back and read the “About the Author,” which said she “is an alumnus of …”

No, I pointed out to her, she’s not. She’s an alumna of said program (or, if one prefers gender-neutral language, she’s a graduate of or an alum of said program).

And, just yesterday, a female friend sent me a note on FaceBook saying, “My fiancée just surprised me with November’s Analog – good story!”

To which I replied, “Thanks! But unless it’s a gay wedding, he’s your fiancé (but you are his fiancée).”

(A gender-neutral phrasing would be, “My bethrothed …” or “My intended …”)

(I knew it wasn’t a gay wedding because the lucky man’s picture was on her FaceBook page.)

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Just finished watching (recorded earlier) the 2008 HBO film Recount, about the process of determining the winner in the US presidential election in Florida in 2000. The film stars Kevin Spacey. I thought it was terrifically well done; check it out if you have a chance.

The Wikipedia entry on it is here.

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So, this evening, after a wonderful dinner out with my family, Carolyn and I went on to pick up a friend. Said friend lives in an apartment building with very nice grounds, but as we opened the door of our car to let him in, I remarked that “it smells like a cloud of pesticide got blown in.”

Um, nope. Turned out it was said friend’s cologne!

Eeep!

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… you’ll love this!

(Direct YouTube Link)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

As those who follow my travel schedule know, I fly a lot (next month, I have eight flights booked).

I rely on SeatGuru for information about which are the good seats and which are the bad ones on planes. When you’re flying across country, as, for instance, I am on the trip I just booked via WestJet, having extra legroom can make all the difference between a relaxing, productive (with my laptop) trip, and five hours of pure hell, with some clown leaning his chair all the way back into my face.

SeatGuru — which is free to use — shows you every seat on every plane used by every major airline, and tells you about legroom, whether the seat tends to get cold, how well you can see the in-flight movie screens, etc. I love it.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

For those reading my new novel Wake, now being serialized in Analog: please let me know if you spot any typos or errors. I still have time to correct them in the Ace hardcover, which comes out in April 2009.

Many thanks!

Rob

I mentioned back in June 2008 that Srinivas Krishna, the director who has my Nebula Award-winning novel The Terminal Experiment under option, has renewed his option for a third year.

And I note now that his large-scale public art installation When the Gods Came Down to Earth is on display outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto during the Toronto International Film Festival, September 4-13, 2008. Check it out!

More info is here.

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Jeffrey A. Carver is a good friend of mine, and also one heck of a good hard SF writer. To set the stage for Tor’s forthcoming release of his next novel, Sunborn, Jeff is giving away ebook versions of his older titles. Highly recommended.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

I had cause today to gather some links to podcasts of me talking about science-fiction writing and the history of the genre, and I thought I’d share them here:

• Audio lecture from Odyssey Workshop with Robert J. Sawyer on point-of-view
• Audio lecture from Odyssey Workshop with Robert J. Sawyer on “Is your science-fiction element extraneous?”
• Audio interview with Robert J. Sawyer conducted by Tee Morris about book marketing
• Audio lecture by Robert J. Sawyer: “Science Fiction as a Mirror for Reality”
• YouTube version of above lecture, with graphics

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Cribbed from Torontoist:

The Eden Mills Writers’ Festival—the Toronto literary community’s annual out-of-town oasis—is celebrating its twentieth birthday this summer. This year’s festival, a mere forty-five minutes west of Toronto, starts this Friday [September 5, 2008] and includes workshops, seminars, and the popular “festival day” on Sunday [September 7, 2008].

Some of the big appearances this year include David McGimpsey, Shari Lapeña, Michael Ondaatje, Alistair MacLeod, Robert J. Sawyer, and Jane Urquhart. Book lovers can get a break from the city and spend their Sunday in the village, enjoying readings, music, food, and of course, books to buy.

Website: edenmillswritersfestival.ca

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Pure Speculation Festival (October 18-19, 2008) Hazeldean Community Hall, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Two days of literary science-fiction and fantasy panels, including Con Spec (hosted by On Spec Magazine) and Comic Talks (hosted by Happy Harbor Comics); plus games, the Geeks for Geeks Charity Auction (in support of the Edmonton Small Press Association), the Speculation Bake-off, and the Costume Shindig.

Guests of Honour: author Robert J. Sawyer, author/game designer Monte Cook and artist Herman Lau. Adult Weekend Pass: $25 until 10/12/08; $30 at the door. Children 12 and under are free. Website: www.purespec.org.

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The 2008 Mississauga Write-Off, which began Thursday evening, August 29, and finished this afternoon, Monday, September 1, was a great success. The weather was gorgeous throughout, and our balcony was put to good use:

Elizabeth Westbrook-Trenholm

Hayden Trenholm

Herb Kauderer

I did some work on the balcony, but also worked with my lovely dual-monitor setup in my office:

Robert J. Sawyer

Meanwhile, David Livingstone Clink worked at my alternative dual-monitor workstation in the living room.

Paddy Forde preferred the sun room; note the cover for the British edition of The Terminal Experiment on the wall

Carolyn worked in her office, but also kept an eye on things; here she wears a souvenir shirt from the last writing retreat she and I did — in Dawson City, Yukon!

Al Katerinsky usually worked on the kitchen table, but here is taking a break on the living-room couch.

All in all, a wonderful four days!

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She leaves you breathless!

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They’re drifting away: Liz and Hayden left before lunch. Herb, Al, Paddy, Dave, Carolyn, and I went to Swiss Chalet for lunch once more. After, I showed people the “Crazy Ray” episode of Pam Anderson’s sitcom Stacked, one of the best treatments of writerly jealousy I’ve ever seen — and very, very funny.

Herb and Al are heading out the door now …

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We ordered in pizza (which we ate out on my balcony), then we all did brief readings of the new work we’d written over the weekend. And then, to round out the evening, we watched part one of “In a Mirror, Darkly,” from Star Trek: Enterprise, because Paddy Forde, Herb Kauderer, Al Katerinsky, and Hayden Trenholm had never seen it. Hayden crawled off to bed after watching the opening, but the rest of us stayed up to 1:00 a.m., rapt, watching it; we’ll watch part two tomorrow.

All in all, the Second Mississauga Write-Off has been a great success!

Below: Hayden after a few beers.

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We had a long lunch at The Mad Hatter, a pub near Carolyn and my home; it was a wonderful walk to the pub and, once again, the Toronto weather is perfect. David Clink is rejoining us this evening after his day of golf.

Paddy Forde is in the sun room; Carolyn and Liz Trenholm are in Carolyn’s office; Hayden Trenholm and Al Katerinsky are writing at the kitchen table; Herb Kauderer is on the balcony; and I’m in my office.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Ben Wall, a fan of my stories, just sent me the above photo from BrickFest in Washington D.C., a convention for adult fans of Lego. The placard says:

Brickfest 2008
Starships Merelcas and Starplex
by Phillip Thorne, 33

Exploratory starships from the Robert J. Sawyer novels “Calculating God” (2001) and “Starplex” (1996)

How cool is that! :) :) :)

More of Phillip’s amazing work is online — including a Lego model of Hollus having dinner at the Jericho househould from Calculating God. Check it out here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Pat Forde got us all to watch this online video, entitled “Where the Hell is Matt?”

Next time we send something like the Voyager record out into space, we should include this. It’s us — the joy of being human.

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Carolyn just drove her brother, the poet David Livingstone Clink, home; he’s off to play golf tomorrow. But he was a great writing-retreat participant, and we were glad to have him.

Still going strong: Robert J. Sawyer, Carolyn Clink, Hayden and Liz Trenholm, Al Katerinsky, Herb Kauderer, and Pat Forde. Tomorrow’s our final day.

A line I wrote today:

He’d know what to do with her junk; she should know what to do with his … shouldn’t she?

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1) Don’t eat so much for lunch.

2) There is no number two.

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Herb Kauderer has gone downstairs (we’ve booked the guest suite in our condo for the weekend to house Herb and Al Katerinsky at night) and is napping there; Al is napping in a Muskoka chair on the balcony; and Liz Westbrook-Trenholm is having a nap on the couch in Carolyn’s office.

Clearly, everyone has been working too hard at writing, and is exhausted … or else, the giant lunch we all had at Boston Pizza is taking its toll!

The weather today is absolutely perfect here in Mississauga: it’s 4:20 in the afternoon, the temperature is 25 degrees Celsius, and there’s a wonderful breeze. Me, I’m writing out on the balcony …

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… and so is Al Katerinsky; both arrived just in time for dinner out at Montana’s (a roadhouse chain restaurant).

Pat Forde was nominated for a Hugo for his remarkable novella “In Spirit,” first published in Analog. He and Al — one of my writing students — will be with us until Monday. David Livingstone Clink is expected in about an hour …

The first day of the Mississauga Write-Off? A roaring success!

Pictured: Pat Forde and Carolyn Clink in May 2007

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The anthology, edited by Fiona Kelleghan, will be hitting the stories shortly. That’s Fiona, below, in a photo I took at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando in March 2008. More about the book is here.

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Herb Kauderer, Hayden Trenholm, and Elizabeth Trenholm all arrived around 9:00 p.m. last night. No writing was done, but we did talk a lot about writing and literary matters (and I made chocolate-chip cookies!). We watched the opening ten minutes of both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report — which Liz and Hayden had never seen — then called it a night around midnight.

And now we’re all hard at work writing (except for Carolyn, who’s off at the farmers’ market, buying us some fruit). Liz is in Carolyn’s office, Hayden is in the kitchen, and Herb and I are in the living room. At the moment I’m reading the material I’ve written to date on Watch, the second WWW novel, just to remind myself of where I was going with it …

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site