So there I was at Westercon yesterday, wandering through the dealers room like ya do, when I came across a table run by these folks! PNW-based organization of independent writers, banding together to establish quality standards for their work–which struck me as, of course, AWESOME. But just as importantly, OH LOOK BOOKS. So I stopped to say hi, indicate my sympathy by holding up my OWN big box of books I was hauling around with (because yeah, over a dozen copies of Faerie Blood is pretty much my card-carrying membership in the club of Great Sympathy for Independent Writers), and ask them to tell me about the books on their table. Which ultimately led me to getting:
- Fugitives from Earth, by Brad Wheeler. SF/Space opera. Pitched to me as containing political and industrial intrigue, OHNOEZ!
- Faces in the Water, by Tonya Macalino. Fantasy/paranormal. An artist is trapped in the flooded ruins of Venice under quarantine, only to discover that legends are coming to life in the city.
(Big props to the NIWA folks for being very personable and signing both the books for me, and to Tonya in particular for telling me something interesting about most of the books on the table! Also, big giggles for NIWA’s little questionnaire card asking how many books you buy in a year. I noted that “all of them” was not an option on this card, so had to settle for >10!)
And I also got from the Book Universe folks, because really I can’t go to a PNW con without getting SOMETHING from them:
- Whedonistas!, edited by Lynne Thomas and Deborah Stanish, by the same fine team that brought us Chicks Dig Time Lords. I’ve been meaning to get this for ages.
- The Tempering of Men, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear. Because even if I haven’t been reading this series yet, Dara HAS, and she totally wanted this.
Meanwhile, I finally ordered a copy of this from Third Place Books, which I’ve also been meaning to do for ages:
- The Last Hot Time, by John M. Ford. Previously read as a library book, deeply appreciated as an early urban fantasy novel and a pretty excellent portrayal of elves.
80 for the year!
