Signing Up A Storm

September 8, 2017 at 5:55 pm

It’s been a while since I visited the Jean Cocteau to sign books, so my staff dragged me down there yesterday, thrust a pen into my hand, and confronted me with a couple mountains of books.

For you Wild Cards fans, I signed a hundred or so copies of the new trade paperback reissue of DEAD MAN’S HAND, the Wild Cards noir mystery story I co-authored with John Jos. Miller.

And if you’re fond of funny books, I also signed several towering piles of the new Dunk & Egg graphic novel, THE MYSTERY KNIGHT, scripted by Ben Avery with art by Mike S. Miller, the same terrific team who did the HEDGE KNIGHT and SWORN SWORD graphic novels.

Both titles, and dozens of others — by me, and by a host of other writers — are available via mail order from the Jean Cocteau at http://jeancocteaucinema.com/product-category/merchandise/

Speaking of signing, though… I think I may have set a personal record in Russia when I signed 900 books in two hours at my St. Petersburg event. I have signed more, at events in Slovenia and Dijon, France, but those of those events lasted a LOT longer than Russia. Four hours in France, seven in Slovenia. I barely survived the last…

My Worldcon Schedule

July 26, 2017 at 10:40 am

The World Science Fiction Convention is only a few weeks away. This is the oldest SF con, the one that started it all, and though it is no longer the largest, it’s still the one that matters, the heart and soul of SF fandom. And for me, it’s home away from home.

Here’s my schedule this year in Helsinki:

WEDNESDAY August 9
4:00 pm Tea & Jeopardy Podcast, w Emma & Peter Newman

THURSDAY August 10
12:00 NOON panel discussion: Invented Religions

2:00 pm autographing

FRIDAY August 11
8:00 pm HUGO AWARDS

SATURDAY August 12
2:00 pm panel discussion: Built Upon the Shoulders of Giants

4:00 pm autographing

SUNDAY August 13
1:00 pm panel discussion: Thirty Years of Wild Cards

Those are my official public appearances… but of course I will also be attending parties, checking out the art show, wandering the dealer’s room, lunching and dining with editors, agents, friends, and colleagues.

For those of you who want books signed, please, bring them to one of my two listed autograph sessions. I will NOT be signing before or after panels, at parties, during lunch or breakfast or dinner, at the urinal, in the elevator, on the street, in the hall. ONLY at the autograph table. If the lines are as long as they usually are, I’ll only be signing one book per person.

See you in Helsinki!

Current Mood: busy busy

Tags: signed books, signings, travels, worldcon

April Autograph Special

April 18, 2017 at 11:11 am

The bookshop at the Jean Cocteau Cinema is having a special for the rest of the month on autographed copies of HIGH STAKES, the latest volume in the Wild Cards series.

HIGH STAKES normally retails for $27.99, but for the rest of the month we’re cutting five dollars off and offering it for $22.99… while the supply lasts.

These are first edition hardcovers… all with four autographs. They’re signed by yours truly, and by three of my participating writers, Melinda M. Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, and Ian Tregillis. (You’ll have to collect the rest of the signatures yourself).

ALL of the books at the JCC are autographed, fwiw. You can check out the full list on our website at http://jeancocteaucinema.com/product-category/author/

Tags: jean cocteau cinema bookstore, signed books

Scalzi in Santa Fe

April 18, 2017 at 2:11 am

Bestseller, Hugo Award winner, former SFWA president, blogger, bon vivant, and the world’s leading expert on taping bacon to cats… John Scalzi is a man of many parts.

He made a whirlwind visit to Santa Fe yesterday, and the Jean Cocteau was thrilled to host him.

He did not actually sing in the rain. But he did play a ukulele. And he talked. And laughed. Ate a churro and some carne adovada. And signed a LOT of books.

(That’s me and Steve Gould with him in the picture)

If you couldn’t be there, hey, no problem. We’ll be putting up a video of our talk. And we made him sign stock before we let him go, so you can get your autographed copies of THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE, OLD MAN’S WAR, and REDSHIRTS (winner of The Big One) from the Jean Cocteau website.

http://jeancocteaucinema.com/

Next up: magician Francis Menotti.

Tags: author events, jean cocteau cinema bookstore, science fiction, signed books, signings

Cool Times at the JCC

April 17, 2017 at 12:45 pm

We had a great event on Saturday with John Nichols. Terrific writer and fascinating guy, whose work truly captures the sights, sounds, and spirit of Northern New Mexico. Lorene Mills did a wonderful job interviewing him. We should have the video up on the Jean Cocteau website soon.

And tonight, at 7pm, we have JOHN SCALZI flying in. John’s touring for his new novel, THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE, and we’re thrilled to have him.

See you at the theatre!

Tags: author events, jean cocteau cinema bookstore, signed books

Authors on Video

April 10, 2017 at 4:01 pm

We’ve been doing our author events at the Jean Cocteau Cinema since 2013, but until recently they’ve only been available to those who could attend in person.

This summer, however, in response to numerous requests, we’ve begun taping the events.

And now, for all of you who were not able to be there, we’ve uploaded some of the videos to the Jean Cocteau website. You can find them at http://jeancocteaucinema.com/exclusive-video/

There’s some fun stuff there, including my talks with Carrie Vaughn and Stephen King, our HAP & LEONARD event with Joe Lansdale, and — from last summer — the big big WILD CARDS event where an all-star lineups of Wild Cards authors try to play their characters.

Check it out.

And for those of you who ARE in New Mexico, don’t forget the events we have coming up this week: JOHN NICHOLS on April 15 and JOHN SCALZI on April 17. Reserve your books (and your seats) for those two early, if you haven’t done so already. They’re both filling up fast.

Tags: author events, jean cocteau cinema, jean cocteau cinema bookstore, signed books, signings

Connie Is Coming! Again!!

April 8, 2017 at 4:34 pm

That Willis Woman is descending on Santa Fe once again!

Yes, it’s true. CONNIE WILLIS will be visiting the Jean Cocteau tomorrow (Sunday) night, to tell us all about her new novel, CROSSTALK. MELINDA SNODGRASS will be on hand as well, to interview her… and of course I’ll be hanging around, to make faces at them from the audience.

CROSSTALK is Connie’s romcom. She’ll talk about the book, about romantic comedy in general, about her favorite romcoms, about the ones that didn’t work. She’ll may talk about the Hugo Awards as well, and Donald Trump, and how much fun it is to live in The Weed State, and… well, really, anything you ask her about. We’ll be opening the floor for questions.

And then we make her sign. If you can’t be there, you can get a signed book via mailorder.

And if you CAN be there, the fun starts at 7pm.

Tags: author events, jean cocteau cinema bookstore, signed books, signings

Author, Author, Author, Author

March 29, 2017 at 3:08 pm

We love writers at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, and April is going to be one of our biggest months ever for author events, with no less than four of them scheduled.

First up, on Sunday April 2, we’ll be hosting the editors and contributors for the GUNS, an original anthology about… yes, you guessed it, guns. Editor Gerald Hausman will be joining us for the evening, together with writers Trent Zelazny, Jane Lindskold, M. Scott Momaday, Rebecca Godfrey Poe, Peter Lauritzen, Peter Eichstaedt, Jim Terr, and Alice Carney.

One week later, on Sunday April 9, we’ll once again be hosting one of our favorite people, the one and only CONNIE WILLIS. Connie’s got a new book out: CROSSTALK, her long-awaited romcom, and as usual it’s a delight… as is she. Of course, we’ll have her other books as well, the many Hugo- and Nebula-award winners, and the one or two that were only runners-up.

Just a few days later, on Saturday April 15, we will have the honor to host one of New Mexico’s own treasures, JOHN NICHOLS, the author of THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR. There’s never been a writer who captured the soul of northern New Mexico like Nichols, and the Jean Cocteau is thrilled to have him.

Last but not least, JOHN SCALZI will be hitting town on Monday, April 17, with his new novel THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE. (And rest assured, we’ll have his older books on hand as well, including his Hugo award winning REDSHIRTS).

Remember, the Jean Cocteau has only 130 seats, and some of these events are already filling up fast. To reserve a book, and a seat, go to the Jean Cocteau website http://jeancocteaucinema.com/ and get in your order now.

See you at the ~~movies~~… er… the booksignings.

Tags: jean cocteau cinema bookstore, signed books, signings

The Martians Have Landed

March 26, 2017 at 6:18 pm

Well, not really. But our friend Andy Weir did drop by this afternoon for lunch. And Andy, as you all know, is the author of THE MARTIAN. Andy is in the Land of Enchantment overseeing the filming of the pilot episode of MISSION CONTROL, his new series for CBS. Melinda Snodgrass and I had the opportunity to visit the set last week, and I have to say, it’s looking great.

Of course, we couldn’t let Andy escape our clutches without making him autograph some books. He was kind enough to sit down and scribble his name on forty hardcover copies of THE MARTIAN… which we can now offer for sale through the JCC website, while the supply lasts.