Kickstarter Interviews: Andrija Popovic, Juliet Kemp,

1) My hard drive failed and so did the drive I’d been backing it up to, so the last three weeks I’ve been working on assorted laptops, an ipad, and actual, retro PEN AND PAPER. Which I actually use a lot, so that wasn’t too bad. But thanks entirely to Wayne, I’m back up on the main machine and now backing up to three locations, including off-site. Whee. Yet again I learn a life lesson in my forties that I should have absorbed two decades or more earlier.
2) Clarion West. I’ve been helping out in the classroom and coordinating some of the volunteers, which has occupied a chunk of time. A number of old friends have swung through town, including the ever wonderful Blounts and a rare Rachel Swirsky manifestation, which is always welcome. It’s also six weeks with two events each week, the reading and the subsequent party. Not that I’m complaining – last night’s was swell, and it was great to see so many people, including the passle of students, still valiantly producing stories and critting each other’s work. Next week Kelly Link and Gavin Grant will be reading, which should be FABULOUS, so I hope to see a lot of you locals there.

I am plugging away at the Clarion West Write-a-thon and got at least 2k per day done this week, which feels great! I have been very bad about mailing my sponsors so I am going to send two stories to everyone who donates in my name before the write-a-thon ends. There’s still time, and a sum as small as a dollar will net you close to 10,000 words of new Rambo wordage. 😉 Stretch goal, a la Kickstarter: If I get 20 sponsors, I will make that 15k.

Plus! ArmadilloCon at the end of this month. Yahoo!

What am I doing right now? Mainly I’m elbows-deep in the rewrite of the fantasy novel, currently titled THE MOONS OF TABAT, which may change. But on other fronts:

I’ve written a first column for Conjurings Magazine, and will be doing so regularly. I’ve got my essay for CHICKS DIG GAMING semi-drafted and need to finish that up. And there’s some stories I was asked for hovering in the wings. But the rewrite is my primary concern.

Beyond that I’m teaching. The first Writing F&SF Stories class kicks off this morning, and others upcoming in the next couple of months include the First Pages workshop, Flash Fiction, and Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Electronic Publishing. I am planning a new class that I think will be interesting and timely, and also pulling the Online Presence Stuff into an e-book. There’s always plenty to do on that side of things.

I’ve figured out most of my convention appearances for the rest of the year: Norwescon (soon!), the Nebula weekend, WorldCon, SteamCon, and Orycon. (That’s always subject to change at the last moment, but we’ll see.) I’ll be enjoying talking with the Clarion West students each week at the readings and parties.

So far it’s been a great year. Here’s hoping that trend continues!