Hugo Awards Season: How to Vote

One of my favorite authors, Max Gladstone, has written a post all about the Hugo awards. 

I suggest you go read it.

Go ahead. 

I'll wait.

Didn't do it? Well, you can lead a horse to water...

No, I'm not insulting you. Never mind. Here's how you become eligible to vote:

1. Register for World Con before Jan 31 2012, by filling out this form.  Click “Submit.”  This will take you to a page where you can select the kind of membership you want to buy.  If you don’t plan to go to World Con this year in person, you want the “Supporting Membership ($60),” which is the last option on the next page.   Fill out the form, and click “Buy Now,” which will take you to a PayPal payment processing page.
2. Receive a Hugo Voter PIN.  World Con will send this number to you.
3. When you have received your PIN, use this electronic form to nominate works for the Hugo, and there you go!  You’ll receive more instructions from the award administrators from that point on.

Who would you vote for if you could?

I'd definitely vote Max Gladstone's THREE PARTS DEAD for Best Novel. I'm reading it right now and loving every page -- and I'm not the only one:

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone.  I talked a lot about this novel at cons last year, pretty much on any panel where someone asked how important it is to stick to strict genre categories, because this proves that good story trumps any kind of marketing category.  Write a good book, the publisher will find a way to sell it.  This one got marketed as urban fantasy, with the hot chick with a weapon on the cover.  But it’s also a post-apocalyptic fantasy with gods that’s also a legal thriller.  It’s pretty much unlike anything you’ve read. -Carrie Vaughn

and

Best Novel (nominations): 

The Killing Moon/The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin
Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge  

-from the Book Smugglers

Haven't read THREE PARTS DEAD yet?

THE BLURB:

A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart.

Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot. 

Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help: Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead god, who’s having an understandable crisis of faith. 

When Tara and Abelard discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb’s courts—and their quest for the truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and Alt Coulumb’s slim hope of survival. 

Set in a phenomenally built world in which justice is a collective force bestowed on a few, craftsmen fly on lightning bolts, and gargoyles can rule cities, Three Parts Dead introduces readers to an ethical landscape in which the line between right and wrong blurs.  

-Goodreads 

ENJOY! Let me know if you vote and which books you elevated in the world's estimation!

That Weird Movie is an Awesome Book

Ever watched a movie that was just so weird, you wondered how it possibly got past the movie gatekeepers, let alone onto the silver screen? 

That weird movie is an awesome book.

It's true. Most weird movies started out as a book somewhere, and the reason they got made in the first place is because books are freaking awesome. Most of us love to see our favorite characters brought to life by a dedicated actor/actress.

The problem is that some things are hard to translate. 

In a book, there's nuance, subtext, etc. You can do this in a movie, but only if the makers are dedicated to the book's themes. If they're just making the movie because they know it has a built-in fan base and are hoping to make a quick buck, the movie fails.

The book was a work of art. The movie can only be a work of art if as much love, attention to detail, and interest in the THEME goes into it as went into the book.

The Hogfather - movie


The Hogfather - book


Case in point, the Hogfather, about Death taking the place of Father Christmas and a gothic governess who must save the day, is both a movie and a book.

Where is the big jolly fat man?Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...
Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won't be a morning. Ever again...

I first saw it on Netflix Watch Instantly, and five minutes into it, I thought, "This is the weirdest movie I've ever seen."

Five minutes ago (roughly), I read Max Gladstone's blog post about the book and thought to myself, "Aha! It's not a weird movie. It's just a book!"

HO. HO. HO.
If you’re one of those unlucky folks out there who hasn’t read Hogfather, you’re in for a treat when you finally do get around to it.  Hogfather’s so much fun to read.  Terry Pratchett writing at the height of his powers produces a book that skewers and exults Christmas at the same time.  (As the Death books tend to do with their subject matter.)  Pratchett can do something few other writers dare to try: gutpunch you while you’re laughing, without spoiling the laughter.  At his best, he makes me want to laugh and cry and start a revolution all at the same time.

Have you ever seen a movie and wondered what the writers were smoking? Chances are, it's a book, too.

Share your favorite weird movie/books below.

Max's Big Deal Debut: THREE PARTS DEAD

So not only did Max Gladstone win one of our very first Mystery Agent contests over at Operation Awesome (what seems like ages ago). He also worked his butt off and got a two-book deal with TOR! TOR! That's no small potatoes. So when he contacted me to let me know his cover had been revealed, I was thrilled just at the thought of his book becoming a real life book (we writers are all Pinocchios at heart).

Imagine my elation when I saw HIS COVER!

Add it on goodreads

Isn't it GORGEOUS?!! We were honored to be a very small part of this book's journey to publication.

Blurb:

A God has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart. 

Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot. Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help is Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead God, who’s having an understandable crisis of faith. 

But when the duo discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb’s courts—and their quest for truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and the city’s slim hope of survival. 

Max's exciting steampunk fantasy debut is featured on Operation Awesome today so head over there to squee with us.