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We’re #18!

December 14, 2013 at 8:06 pm
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Which is a lot more exciting than it sounds.

 DANGEROUS WOMEN has come roaring out of the gate.  The hardcover will debut at #18 on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list for December 22.

That's just a hair too low to make the printed list, which only lists through #15, but it's still a sensational showing for an anthology, especially one as massive and expensive as DW.  It’s also on the USA Today list (which aggregates all types of books, hard and softcover, fiction and nonfiction, into a single list) at #70.   And it’s #25 on Ingram’s internal “Hardcover Fiction” list.

 I love doing anthologies, but it is very rare than one of them sells really, really well.  There have been some, of course… DANGEROUS VISIONS way back when, DARK FORCES during the horror boom, LEGENDS and LEGENDS II more recently…  It's a short list, though, and Gardner and I are more than thrilled that DANGEROUS WOMEN is now on it.

It's our readers who put it there, of course.  So give yourselves a pat on the back, all of you who bought the book.  And if you haven't yet… hey, get on it.  Maybe we can climb up to #17 next week.

And my thanks go out to Gardner Dozois, world's best co-editor (he does all the heavy lifting) and our incredible lineup of writers.  Without you guys, nobody would be buying the book, since there wouldn't be one.   Melinda Snodgrass, Diana Rowland, Caroline Spector, Diana Gabaldon, Steve Stirling, Carrie Vaughn, Megan Lindholm, Sharon Kay Penman, Megan Abbott, Brandon Sanderson, Nancy Kress, Lawrence Block, Jim Butcher, Joe Abercrombie, Joe R. Lansdale, Lev Grossman, Sam Sykes, Cecelia Holland,  Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Pat Cadigan… thanks.

 

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SAG, AFI Honor THRONES

December 11, 2013 at 1:19 pm
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It's been a great week for GAME OF THRONES in Hollywood, with both the Screen Actor's Guild and the American Film Institute bestowing honors and recognition on the HBO series, and some of the folk who work so hard to make it great.

SAG announced the nominees for its annual awards this morning.  I'm thrilled to say that the cast of GAME OF THRONES are nominated as Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Drama, on a shortlist that also includes our familiar rivals BOARDWALK EMPIRE, BREAKING BAD, DOWNTON ABBEY, and HOMELAND.   The guild members also nominated our fearless stuntwomen and stuntmen for Outstanding Action Performance by Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series.  BOARDWALK EMPIRE, BREAKING BAD, and HOMELAND are up in that category as well, along with THE WALKING DEAD.  And  Peter Dinklage, our once and future Tyrion Lannister, was nominated as Best Actor in a Television Drama.  He will vie for the award against Steve Buscemi (BOARDWALK EMPIRE), Bryan Cranston (BREAKING BAD), Jeff Daniels (THE NEWSROOM), and Kevin Spacey (HOUSE OF CARDS).

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For a full list of the nominees, go to:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/sag-awards-2014_n_4422434.html

The SAG nominations follow close on the heels of AFI's annual announcement, recognizing their ten favorite films and television shows of the previous year.  GAME OF THRONES made the list for the third year in a row.  The AFI recognition is especially nice since it has no winners and no losers; all ten of the chosen films and television shows share the recognition.

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE
AFI AWARDS 2013 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
12 YEARS A SLAVE
AMERICAN HUSTLE
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
FRUITVALE STATION
GRAVITY
HER
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
NEBRASKA
SAVING MR. BANKS
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

AFI TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR
GAME OF THRONES
THE AMERICANS
BREAKING BAD
THE GOOD WIFE
HOUSE OF CARDS
MAD MEN
MASTERS OF SEX
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
SCANDAL
VEEP

Tomorrow the Golden Globe nominations will be announced, and we'll see if the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will make us three for three.  Keep your fingers crossed.

A DAY LATER:  Skunked in the Golden Globes.  🙁  As Vizzini would say, "Inconceivable!"

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Next Up at the Cocteau

December 10, 2013 at 12:55 pm
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We had a great time at the Cocteau last night with "Dangerous Talk About Dangerous Women."  A crowded stage, a lively discussion, and a lot of books got signed.  My thanks to Carrie Vaughn, Diana Gabaldon, Diana Rowland, Sam Sykes, Steve Stirling, Megan Lindholm, Gardner Dozois, and Melinda Snograss — for their contributions to the anthology, and their presence at the launch.  And thanks as well to Tom Doherty, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, and our other friends at Tor who made it all happen.

We did tape the panel discussion, for all those who were not there, and hope to be able to upload it onto the internet sometime soon, after editing.  And signed copies of DANGEROUS WOMEN — and many other titles by the participating authors — are available at the theatre, if you want to swing by.  No, sorry, we are not yet able to offer the autographed books by mail order, but we hope to change that soon.  Watch this space for an announcement.

Santa Feans (and those passing through) still have a couple of days to catch our three "Dangerous Women" films — SCARLET STREET, ALIENS, and COFFY.  (We may hold over ALIENS, but the other two will close on Thursday).

The films roll on, however, and come Friday we have two cool new offerings set to debut.

In a feature slot, we will have a brand new SF/ horror flick that's been creating quite a buzz at flim festivals, LAST DAYS ON MARS.

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And for our late show — Friday and Saturday only, at 11 — we have CHRISTMAS WITH THE DEAD, based on a story by JOE R. LANSDALE and introduced by The Man His Own Self.  We're looking forward to welcoming Joe to Santa Fe.

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Zombies for Xmas.  What could be better?

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Red Wedding Rules

December 10, 2013 at 1:11 am
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ROLLING STONE has published a list of the Most Shocking Television Moments of 2013:

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/20-best-tv-moments-of-2013-20131203

Hey, hey!

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Danger Day

December 6, 2013 at 7:36 pm
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DANGEROUS WOMEN is here.  The anthology was released on December 3 in hardcover and ebook, and should be available from your favorite local bookstore or online retailer.  This is a monster, as those who have already snagged a copy can testify, a massive crossgenre assembly of all original stories about women warriors, femmes fatale, and kickass adventurers, containing not only "The Princess and the Queen," my own 30,000 word account of the Dance of the Dragons, but all sorts of other terrific stuff as well.

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Here's a story about the book from today's PASATIEMPO, the magazine of the Santa Fe NEW MEXICAN.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/books/readings_signings/damsels-who-distress-dangerous-women-an-anthology/article_2b831a74-dac3-5826-b1eb-5a4b1f89d4cc.html

Our table of contents:

The full table of contents:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
SOME DESPERADO, by Joe Abercrombie
MY HEART IS EITHER BROKEN, by Megan Abbott
NORA’S SONG, by Cecelia Holland
THE HANDS THAT ARE NOT THERE, by Melinda Snodgrass
BOMBSHELLS, by Jim Butcher
RAISA STEPANOVA, by Carrie Vaughn
WRESTLING JESUS, by Joe R. Lansdale
NEIGHBORS, by Megan Lindholm
I KNOW HOW TO PICK ‘EM, by Lawrence Block
SHADOWS FOR SILENCE IN THE FORESTS OF HELL, by Brandon Sanderson
A QUEEN IN EXILE, by Sharon Kay Penman
THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR, by Lev Grossman
SECOND ARABESQUE, VERY SLOWLY, by Nancy Kress
CITY LAZARUS, by Diana Rowland
VIRGINS, by Diana Gabaldon
HELL HATH NO FURY, by Sherilynn Kenyon
PRONOUNCING DOOM, by S.M. Stirling
NAME THE BEAST, by Sam Sykes
CARETAKERS, by Pat Cadigan
LIES MY MOTHER TOLD ME, by Caroline Spector
THE PRINCESS AND THE QUEEN, by George R.R. Martin

And for those in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, or the rest of the Land of Enchantment…

This Monday, my co-editor Gardner Dozois and I will be at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe with seven of our writers.   So come join me and Steve Stirling and Melinda Snodgrass and Diana Rowland and Gardner Dozois and Carrie Vaughn and Diana Gabaldon and Sam Sykes and Megan Lindholm/ Robin Hobb for an evening of DANGEROUS TALK ABOUT DANGEROUS WOMEN,

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So come and hear us if you can, and get your books signed as well.  We should have copies of many other titles by our attending writers on hand, along with a big stack of DANGEROUS WOMEN itself.

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The Dangerous Women Are Coming

December 2, 2013 at 5:53 pm
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The dangerous women are coming to the Jean Cocteau this week.

 COFFY
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SCARLET STREET
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ALIENS
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(We also hoped to present THE LAST SEDUCTION, but the film has been withdrawn from distribution because of a rights dispute, alas).

See one, see two, see them all.  Kickass avengers, femmes fatale, women warriors, alien queens, what more could you want?

All of this, of course, is part of our Dangerous Women Week, to mark the debut of  DANGEROUS WOMEN, the gigantic crossgenre anthology I edited with Gardner Dozois.

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And next Monday, December 9, we'll launch the book with "Dangerous Talk About Dangerous Women" at the Cocteau, a gala panel discussion and booksigning featuring me and Gardner, and seven of our contributing writers – CARRIE VAUGHN (!), SAM SYKES (!), MELINDA M. SNODGRASS (!), S.M. STIRLING (!), DIANA ROWLAND (!), MEGAN LINDHOLM/ ROBIN HOBB (!), and DIANA GABALDON (!).

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New at the Cocteau

December 1, 2013 at 4:15 pm
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Just in time for my return from Down Under, a couple of fresh offerings debuted at the Jean Cocteau… one brand new, and one a classic.

Here's a taste of this week's offerings.  First, BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN, a prize winner at the Tribeca and Berlin Film Festivals, and a likely contender in the foreign film category of next year's Oscars.

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We're also showing THE GREAT SANTINI, the terrific 1979 film adaptation of Pat Conroy's 1976 novel, starting Robert Duvall and Bylthe Danner.  One of Duvall's greatest and most memorable performances.

And, of course, THE GREAT SANTINI is only to whet the appetite… on Monday, December 2, we will be having Pat Conroy himself at the Cocteau for an evening of conversation, to discuss his life, his books, and the movies made from them… which list includes not only THE GREAT SANTINI but also THE PRINCE OF TIDES, THE LORDS OF DISCIPLINE, and CONRACK.  Pat will also be signing copies of his latest, THE DEATH OF SANTINI, and his other titles.  Admission is free with the purchase of a hardcover book, $5 with the purchase of a paperback.

As with our previous events, seats are going fast, so if you'd like to attend, do call the Cocteau ASAP and reserve a book (and a seat) before they are all gone.

See you at the movies.

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Last Day for Pearl Auction

November 30, 2013 at 10:33 pm
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The auctions for Janis Ian's Pearl Foundation fund-raising drive, including those for the items I donated, have entered their final day.

There's some great stuff here, including items by Neil Gaiman, Pat Conroy, Harlan Ellison, Jane Yolen, Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, and many others, and the Pearl Foundation is a terrific cause… so here's a great chance to add some wonderful books to your collection and do good at the same time.

My own donations are a script from GAME OF THRONES, signed by the entire Stark family:

          http://www.ebay.com/itm/George-R-R-Martin-orig-pilot-script-GAME-THRONES-signed-all-Starks-/200988947831?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ecbdff577

Also, a presentation copy in slipcase of the Subterreanean Press limited edition of A DANCE WITH DRAGON, illustrated by Marc Fishman and signed by both of us:

       http://www.ebay.com/itm/George-R-R-Martin-signed-personal-presentation-copy-DANCE-DRAGONS-/200988953490?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item2ecbe00b92

And finally, a set of hardcovers for A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, all five volumes published to date, to be autographed and personalized on request:

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/George-R-R-Martin-signed-hardcovers-all-five-SONG-ICE-AND-FIRE-novels-/200988772976?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item2ecbdd4a70

So go ye forth and bid!  Bid often!  Bid high!! Come out, come out, you snipers, do your worst, and raise some pearls for Pearl.

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Back in the USA

November 29, 2013 at 1:27 pm
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Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Home tomorrow.  OZ and Middle Earth were wonderful, but I need some green chile.

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Last Day in New Zealand

November 27, 2013 at 1:35 pm
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We're headed home tomorrow.  I shudder to think of all the email and mail and work that awaits me.  But it;s time… I have started to dream of green chile.

Yes, I am aware of the SOUTH PARK episodes.  No, haven't seen them yet.  THere's been no time for TV down here.  But I will get to them eventually, no doubt.  Till then I live in fear.

Yes, I am aware that my football teams continue to suck.

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