Wild Cards in Kansas City

July 14, 2016 at 12:32 am

As this year’s worldcon in Kansas City moves ever closer, schedules are starting to firm up, and there are going to be some exciting things in the works… especially for fans of Wild Cards.

HIGH STAKES, the concluding volume in the current Wild Cards triad and the twenty-third in the overall series, is actually scheduled for hardcover release on August 23, after worldcon is over. However (fingers crossed), Tor is doing all it can to get some advance copies to Kansas City ahead of time, so we can launch the book at worldcon. (This one is our Lovecraftian horror outing. For a taste, check the sample chapter on my website).

To celebrate the release of the new one… and hell, all the old ones too… we are planning to have a huge WILD CARDS MASS SIGNING at the con. It seemed only fitting; there will be more Wild Cards authors (old and new) present in Kansas City than at any other convention ever (yes, even more than at Nolacon in 1988, where Wild Cards lost a Hugo to Watchmen). At last count, the list includes Walter Jon Williams, John Jos. Miller, Gail Gerstner-Miller, Carrie Vaughn, Caroline Spector, Diana Rowland, Walton (Bud) Simons, Bob Wayne, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Stephen Leigh, S.L. Farrell, David D. Levine, Michael Cassutt, Marko Kloos, Saladin Ahmed, Pat Cadigan, Laura J. Mixon, Paul Cornell, Mary Anne Mohanraj… and of course Melinda M. Snodgrass and yours truly. So if you have a large collection of Wild Cards books you’d like defaced… or would like to start a large collection of Wild Cards books… MidAmericon II is the place to do it.

The signing will be sponsored by Rainy Day Books, and will be a ticketed event. It will take place in the Marriott Muhlebach (room tba) on Friday August 19, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Rainy Day Books should have all of the volumes currently in print for sale there, in addition to HIGH STAKES… and also a good selection of other titles by all of the participating writers, for those who would like to sample their non-wild card books. (However, I won’t be signing any Ice & Fire events at this event, I have two other general signings in the dealer’s room, three hours total, so there will be ample opportunity for readers to get their GAME OF THRONES books signed there).

The signing will not be the only Wild Cards activity at Big MAC II. With so many writers on hand, doing your traditional panel discussion would have been impossible. By the time all the panelists finished introducing themselves, the hour would have been up. Instead we’ve decided to offer WILD CARDS DEATH MATCHES. Kind of like Thunderdome with writers (and their characters). Sixteen writers enter (well, maybe only twelve, the count keeps jumping around as plans change), and one will emerge. The audience will pick the winners and losers of the fights. That one is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, August 20, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Should be a hoot and a half… or a bloodbath. Who the hell knows? We’ve never done this sort of thing before.

Put the times and dates down in your worldcon calendar, and come join the fun.

(And hey, for all those who can’t be in Kansas City for the mass signing, autographed copies of all the books pictured above are available from the Jean Cocteau Cinema Bookstore, though admittedly they don’t have as many signatures as the ones bought in KC are like to have. And yes, we are now taking international orders).

Tags: jean cocteau cinema bookstore, signed books, signings, wild cards, worldcon

MAC Nattering

July 13, 2016 at 11:48 am

Worldcon is coming up soon… MidAmericon II in Kansas City, Missouri, the long awaited successor to the original 1976 MidAmericon, which some of us old pharts still consider to be the Greatest Worldcon Evah. (It was certainly the most innovative, a true game-changer, for both good and ill).

I will be there, along with hundreds of other writers, artists, and editors, and thousands of fans. If you have never been to a con before, this is the one to go to… assuming you’re a reader. Worldcon has always had a strong literary slant, and while costuming, television, films, comics, and games are all included as well, it is the written word that occupies center ring here.

If that interests you, you can join here: http://midamericon2.org/

Join now, and you’ll be able to vote for the Hugo Awards (and to nominate next year).

For readers who would like to meet and talk with their favorite writers (including me), a worldcon is a MUCH better place to do so than a booksigning.

For what it’s worth, however, there are also booksignings AT worldcon, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to get your books scrawled in, be they rare limited editions or battered paperbacks. I have committed to four (count ’em, 4) booksignings at MAC myself:

— I’ll be doing two ninety-minute signings in the convention autograph area, signing whatever you want me to sign, be it books, comics, swords, games, Funko Pop dolls, t-shirts, or body parts, (but only one item per person, please, and no personalizations or inscriptions, sorry),

— I will also be doing a one-hour signing in the dealer’s room at Gary Gianni’s booth, but at that one Gary and I will be signing ONLY copies of A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, and the new Gianni sketchbook that GG will be debuting at MAC,

— and in conjunction with Tor Books and a local bookstore, I’ll be part of a huge WILD CARDS signing, joined by more than a dozen other Wild Cards authors new and old. My “no personal inscription” rule will still hold for that one, alas, though many of the other writers will inscribe. However, I am suspending my “only one book per person” rule for this event. I’ll sign as many books as you want here… so long as they are all Wild Cards books.

Dates, times, and locations will all be forthcoming, so watch this space.

And yes, of course, I’ll be doing other stuff in Kansas City as well. A couple of panels, a reading, maybe some other stuff.

See you at Big MAC! And save me some burnt ends!!!

Tags: signed books, signings, wild cards, worldcon

A Taste of This, A Taste of That

May 10, 2016 at 11:03 pm

Some of you may not realize that, in addition to my Not A Blog, I also have an actual homepage / website. You can find it here: http://www.georgerrmartin.com/ Check it out, if you have not visited before. There’s lots and lots of content there, all sorts of things to explore.

I must confess, though, I don’t update it as often as I should. What can I say? I’m busy.

But today we uploaded a couple of new items that some of you may be interested in: new samples from two forthcoming books.

For all the Wild Cards fans out there, we’ve got a taste of HIGH STAKES, due out this August. HIGH STAKES is the twenty-third volume in the overall series, and the third and concluding part of the ‘Fort Freak’ triad. The sample is from the pen of the talented Ian Tregillis, and features Mollie Steunenberg, aka Tesseract. You’ll find it at: http://www.georgerrmartin.com/wild-cards-excerpt/

((Readers with weak stomachs be warned, HIGH STAKES is our Lovecraftian horror book, and things do get graphic and bloody and… well… horrible. Althought not so much in the sample)).

And… because I know how much bitching I’d get if I offered a new sample from Wild Cards without also doing one from A SONG OF ICE & FIRE… we’ve also changed the WINDS OF WINTER sample on my wesbite, replacing the Alayne chapter that’s been there for the past year with one featuring Arianne Martell. (Some of you may have heard me read this one at cons).

Have a read at: http://www.georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/

You want to know what the Sand Snakes, Prince Doran, Areo Hotah, Ellaria Sand, Darkstar, and the rest will be up to in WINDS OF WINTER? Quite a lot, actually. The sample will give you a taste. For the rest, you will need to wait.

And no, just to spike any bullshit rumors, changing the sample chapter does NOT mean I am done. See the icon up above? Monkey is still on my back… but he’s growing, he is, and one day…

Tags: song of ice and fire, wild cards, writing

The Wild Cards Take Brazil

April 14, 2016 at 7:25 pm

All you Wild Cards fans out there… and those of you who will be (we hope) soon… should head over to Tor.com and meet the newest ace in the WC universe. The Recycler hails from the slums of Rio, and we think you’re going to like him as much as we do.

The story is “Discards.” The Hugo-winning author is David D. Levine.

(The art is by the one and only John Picacio).

You can read “Discards” for free here: http://www.tor.com/2016/03/30/discards/

(And if you like that one, there are five other Wild Cards originals available on Tor.com, by the likes of Walter Jon Williams, Carrie Vaughn, Paul Cornell, Cherie Priest, and Daniel Abraham. Seek and ye shall find. Jetboy did not die in vain!)

Tags: short stories, tor, wild cards

Behold, The Mighty Editor

March 25, 2016 at 11:07 am

I have my editor’s hat on today. (It looks just like my writer’s hat, only in a different color). ((No, not really, I am being facetitious. Damn, you guys, don’t take everything I say so literally)).

For the past three weeks, the forty-odd (some very odd) members of the Wild Cards consortium have been submitting story proposals and pitches for the three new WC books from Tor, LOW CHICAGO and MISSISSIPPI ROLL and TEXAS HOLD ‘EM. Last night at midnight was the deadline for pitches.

As usual, we have more proposals than we need. Only eight writers per book. So today is Decision Day, wherein I decide who gets to be in which book, who is out, who gets to double-dip. It is never easy. So many talented writers, so many great characters, so many fun ideas.

But that’s why I get the Big Bucks as editor (that was another joke, yessir, for sure, this is a labor of looooooove).

John Sebastian said it best:

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Tags: anthologies, editing, wild cards

Wild Cards Times Three

March 16, 2016 at 5:15 pm

Some exciting news on the WILD CARDS front for fans of the world’s longest running shared world anthology series.

HIGH STAKES will be out later this year, as previously announced. That’s the third and concluding volume in what we’ve come to call our “mean streets and madness” triad, and the twenty-third volume in the overall series (which originally began way way back in 1987). It was also the last new volume under contract to Tor.

But no longer! Wild Cards will fight another day. Tor has just stepped up and signed us for three more originals. This set we will be calling (informally) “the USA Triad.” But it won’t really be a triad, more like three stand-alones, each with its own setting, cast, and tone.

The three new books are:
TEXAS HOLD ‘EM
MISSISSIPPI ROLL
LOW CHICAGO

Details? Sorry. You’ll need to wait for those. The ink on the contracts is not quite dry yet, so we’re just getting up to steam (as in MISSISSIPPI… no, that would be telling).

This much I can tell you. I’ll be editing the new volumes, natch. Melinda Snodgrass will continue as my assistant editor and right hand woman. And we’ll be calling on the madman and wild women of the Wild Cards consortium for stories, as ever. Whenever we begin a new triad and a new contract, however, we like to reach out and recruit a few new writers. Fresh blood is just so tasty, and adding some new characters to the mix always helps to enliven things.

So let me introduce you to our Class of 2016. The newest inmates in the asylum are:
SALADIN AHMED
MAX GLADSTONE
MARKO KLOOS
DIANA ROWLAND

They’re all insanely talented, and they claim they play well with others (we’ll see). And no, I won’t tell you about the new characters they’ve created for us… but we think you’re going to like them.

WILD CARDS! From 1987 to forever….

((And if you have not caught the virus yet, there’s still time. Head over to the Jean Cocteau Bookshop at http://www.jeancocteaubooks.com/ and you’ll find all sorts of signed Wild Cards books on sale, some of them with multiple autographs from editors and writers both).

[[Comments welcome. On Wild Cards only, please. Stay on topic]].

Tags: editing, wild cards, writing

Keep Listening

February 26, 2016 at 5:59 am

Chrysalis SELMA BLAIR
Ti Malice NICHOLAS GUY SMITH
Xbalanque NOEL BEARHEART
Hunapu OZZIE RODRIGUEZ
Troll RICHARD MOLL
Peregrine KATHLEEN TURNER
G.C. Jayewardene SANJIT DE SILVA
Cordelia Chaisson KASEY LANSDALE
Fortunato PRENTICE ONAYEMI
Lady Black DONNABELLA MORTEL
Mackie Messer P.J. OCHLAN
Molniya ADRIAN PAUL
Sara Morgenstern EMILY CARD RANKIN
Dr. Tachyon RAPHAEL SBARGE
Polyakov STEFAN RUDNICKI

It was quite a jigsaw puzzle, with recording taking place over the world, but we think the result will be worth it.

And we’re moving right on to DOWN & DIRTY, where a number of the cast members will be reprising their roles.

Tags: anthologies, audiobooks, wild cards

Nebula Nominees

February 25, 2016 at 2:52 pm

SFWA has announced the finalists for this year’s Nebula Awards.

You can find the full list on the SFWA website, here: https://www.sfwa.org/2016/02/2015-nebula-awards-nominees-announced/

Congratulations to all the nominees… and to our new Grand Master, C.J. Cherryh.

And a special shout-out to David D. Levine, who is one of my Wild Cards writers. David is a finalist in Short Story for “Damage,” from Tor.com.

But speaking of David… do watch Tor.com for his next story, a Wild Cards original entitled “Discards.” It will be up on Tor.com in March, with an amazing John Picacio “cover.”

“Discards” is set in Rio, and introduces David’s new Brazilian ace, The Recycler. I think you’ll like it.

Tags: awards, tor, wild cards

Orphans For Sale – Cheap

February 17, 2016 at 3:41 pm

For a limited time only, Brick Tower Press is offering ebooks of classic works by Alfred Bester, Roger Zelazny, and others for sale on a “pay what you want” basis.

They call it a “Humble Books Bundle,” and you can find it here:

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/scificlassics_bookbundle

I note it here because the offerings include two Wild Cards titles, DEUCES DOWN and DEATH DRAWS FIVE. These two volumes — books number sixteen and seventeen in the overall series, but essentially stand-alones — are almost impossible to find in their original print editions, as many fans have informed me over the years. When Byron Preiss’s company iBooks picked up the series, after a seven-year hiatus following the last Baen volumes, they reprinted a number of the original books, but also added these two originals. DEUCES DOWN was an anthology of original stories about deuces, wild carders with trivial and in some cases absurd superpowers. DEATH DRAWS FIVE was a solo novel by John Jos. Miller, featuring Carnifex, John Fortune, Fortunato, and introducing John Nighthawk and the Midnight Angel.

When Byron Preiss died in a tragic traffic accident in 2005, however, iBooks did not long survive him, tottering into bankruptcy a few months later. Brick Tower Press acquired all the remaining assets of iBooks, including inventory and contracts, in the bankruptcy proceedings. DEUCES DOWN and DEATH DRAWS FIVE were part of that, along with the Zelazny and Bester titles you see offered as part of the Humble Books Bundle.

The print-runs of the iBooks WC originals were never large, and the distribution was scattershot at best… especially for DEATH DRAWS FIVE, which was published only days before iBooks closed its doors for goods. Brick Tower did subsequently release trade paperback editions, but those were not widely distributed either.

So if you’re one of the numerous WC fans who has been searching for these two titles to complete his collection, here’s your chance… but best move quickly, since the offer will expire soon.

Tags: e-books, wild cards

Wild Cards Pubdates

February 2, 2016 at 12:30 pm

HIGH STAKES — the third and concluding volume in the current Wild Cards triad, and the twenty-third volume in the overall series — will be released by Tor in hardcover on AUGUST 23.

This one is another full-on mosaic novel, its storylines completely interwoven to make for a six-way collaborative novel. The participating writers, and their featured characters, are:

David Anthony Durham — Marcus (Infamous Black Tongue) Morgan
Stephen Leigh — Barbara (Babel) Baden
John Jos. Miller — The Midnight Angel
Melinda M. Snodgrass — Francis Xavier Black, NYPD
Caroline Spector — Michelle (the Amazing Bubbles) Pond
Ian Tregillis — Mollie (Tesseract) Steunenberg

Other favorites, old and new, will also appear: Hoodoo Mama, Carnifex, Lohengrin, the Recycler, Earth Witch, Jonathan Hive, Tinker, and many many more.

Be warned: this one is not for the faint of heart. This is our horror book, and things get pretty horrible. Mayhem and madness and murder, oh my. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Oh, and on other Wild Cards fronts — on March 30, a new original WC story will be available on Tor.com. “Discards,” by David D. Levine, is the origin story of his Brazilian ace, the Recycler… who will be appearing again in HIGH STAKES. But meet him first on Tor.com.

Tags: anthologies, tor, wild cards

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