Next update August 20
So this is going to be a sort of mini-post, but I have another one coming in just over a week.
Two reasons for this. First, we’re still working out details for my Celebration VI schedule, so I want to get in one more update before the actual show with the most up-to-date info possible. So far I’m confirmed for the Del Rey panel from 10:30-11:30 Friday morning, but we don’t have a location locked down yet. Hopefully I’ll have a few other appearances and signings spread across multiple days to give me a chance to meet as many fans as possible. I’ll post the details on my next blog post, and I’ll be sending them out on Twitter as we get closer to the event.
The second reason I’m "shorting" this update is the perfect storm of the Olympics and the PGA Championship taking place simultanesouly, which have combined to eat up most of my free (ie: non-writing, non-golf) time. You see, I love competition. I love to compete, which is why I golf so much – I can compete aginst opponents, the course and my own personal best scores. But I also love watching competition, and right now I’m hooked on the Olympics and the final golf major of the year.
I enjoy writing, but it does very little to satisfy my need for competition. Obviously, I want to write the best book that I can, but no matter how good it is I know my book isn’t going to somehow "win" against another author. Sure, people might rank books. And there are awards you can win in the writing field. But that’s not the point of writing -or any kind of art- and it really shouldn’t be. It’s about the experience, not trying to defeat an opponent.
Athletic competition, on the other hand, is all about trying to win. There’s a drama and tension that is very different from the drama or tension of a carefully constructed story. And even though televised sports loves to superimpose a story or narrative over athletic competition (redemption of an athlete who lost before, heroes and villains within a sport, heartwarming tales of overcoming adversity), those narratives are supplemental to the raw power of determining a winner and loser through direct competition.
But enough about why this is a mini-update… time to actually write the damn post, right? Okay, game on!
In response to a suggestion on my Twitter feed, a few folks have sent ideas for future updates. I’m mulling a couple of these over, and if I use your idea you’ll get… nothing. Unless you consider reading my thoughts on your suggested topic a worthy prize. If so, then you get that. But don’t expect anything tangible, like a medal or something. This isn’t the Olympics. (See above.)
As for this update, I do have some interesting news to report. Random House will be releasing all of my Star Wars novels on Audio Book – I’ve mentioned that before. But now I can tell you who the readers are. For the Bane series, they’re going with Jonathan Davis. For Star Wars: Annihilation, they’re going with Marc Thompson. The Bane books will be released in October, Annihilation will be coming in November when the hardcover book is released.
But that’s not all the Star Wars news I have. I’ve also been invited to participate in Star Wars Reads Day. On October 6th I and a few other local Star Wars authors will gather together at the Barnes & Noble Arboretum in Austin to meet fans and – possibly – read excerpts from our work. Again, I’ll be posting more details as we get closer to the actual event, but if you’re going to be in the area, then come on by!
Okay, I guess that’s it for now. Back to watching sports until my eyes bleed.
Drew