In a word: Terrific. In more than one word: An inspiring collection of talent, ambition, and work ethic. And that’s just the Small Press section. I spent most of my time browsing the Small Press aisles, looking for the next under-the-radar hit. I also bought more art than I expected. In a few days I’ll collect the names of the artists I liked and post them. I also stumbled across Cyborg Mouse, which is as quirky and entertaining as it [...]

Two quick bits of news today: My travel essay The Not-So-Lonesome Highway is available on Eclectica, and next week I’ll be posting an informal interview with media icons Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn. Part of my Comic-Con schedule is a behind-the-scenes look at G4’s Attack of the Show (courtesy of their helpful publicist), and we’ve arranged the briefest of sit-downs with the show’s hosts.

I’ll be on the road from the 23rd – 28th so posting will be sporadic. But I’ll [...]

This is turning out to be the summer of badminton. I’m ridiculously competitive when it comes to badminton, which doesn’t result in any sort of ego gratification. As my friend and sometimes-business mentor Harvey Bravman says: “You can’t really say you kicked the shit out of someone on the badminton court.”

It hasn’t all been lawn sports, of course. I’m working on a writing column and my forever-bounced around essay The Not-So-Lonesome Highway has finally found a home. The online journal [...]

It’s a bit early for the announcement, but my Tobias Wolff Award-nominated short story The Love Life of Tigers will be appearing in the Spring ‘09 issue of the Bellingham Review. I’m thrilled because BR is a great journal, and The Love Life of Tigers is the fastest short story I’ve ever written. Six months ago I woke up from a dream, sat at my laptop, and recorded the dream events before they faded. I should outsource to my subconscious [...]

It’s a bit past its interwebs shelf-life, but footage of the quadruped robot known as Big Dog is worth a look if you missed it the first time.

Creepy? A little. Especially when a human bully kicks the poor thing and it rights itself and soldiers on. But I like this robot because it makes the future seem that much closer. Like when they put Big Dog on a football field…I didn’t know quadruped robots could run that fast.

What does this [...]

I initially scoffed when my former agent Marly Rusoff suggested I attend a publicity seminar for authors. My reasons for scoffing were fueled by ego and insecurity (sides of the same coin, of course), but Ms. Rusoff is a publishing genius, so I figured what the hell. Something good had to come out of four hours in a room with publicists, agents, and media coaches. And lunch was included.

The seminar was called “Book Promotion 101,” created and moderated by the [...]

I have not been lost in the throes of my next book. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about my next book. It’s just…well, it’s just sitting there. Waiting for me to finish editing.

Editing what? Editing various unfinished projects–a few short stories, some articles, the latest draft of my Elvis book. It sounds kitschy, doesn’t it? Elvis book. Of course kitsch isn’t my thing–my pop culture obsession remains in the present, not the past–and there was a time when [...]

Dear Micah-

I’ve asked several authors this question and haven’t yet heard a good answer: How do you come up with your ideas? How do you ensure that the ideas you’ve come up with haven’t been used by someone else?

I’m always afraid that one of my stories has been written by someone else, and I’ll be accused of plagiarism. Since there’s no way to read every short story out there, I wonder if this has already happened.

Thanks for listening,

Shannon

You haven’t heard [...]

A few years ago, after reading Tobias Wolff’s novel Old School, I wondered what had taken me so long to discover his work. Fortunately I read Old School after finishing my similarly-themed first novel. Otherwise–and I can pretty well guarantee this–Wolff’s voice would have crept into my work, looked around, and asked: “Just what the hell are all these adjectives doing here?”

Which may not have been a bad thing. Anyway, I’m proud to announce I’ve been selected as a finalist [...]

It’s been a long time since I received any Gods-related fan mail. Back when it first hit the shelves, accompanied by a sprinkling of publicity, a few readers sent their praises and criticisms. Then it launched in Italy, and clawed its way to the top of the best-seller heap (courtesy of Sonzogno’s killer marketing team), and the fan mail I received was all in Italian. I didn’t understand a word of it. Well, maybe a few words. Mostly the good [...]