Richard [K] Morgan's News and Views


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Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Going, Going, Gone........


Formal notice: the Great January Sale in February and March will end at midnight GMT on Sunday March 29th. Payments received before that deadline will be processed and the books sent out. Anything after that, I'm afraid, will fall into the void.

The sale has been a great success - I now have the novel experience of being able to move from one side of my office to another without tripping over a pile of books or a cardboard box. So many thanks to all who took part - we must do this again sometime - in another seven years, say, when my piles of author copies have once more built up to skyscraper proportions.

And like the bulk of those author copies, I also will soon be Gone - to the other side of the world for a taste of Australian fandom and a country I have been itching to see for what feels like forever. The curious thing is, the Land of Oz has always seemed slightly mythical to me - yeah, sure, I know it has to exist because I keep meeting people who come from there (eg. my brother-in-law) and besides you can see it in the atlases and the history books. But somehow, the concept of a place that's eight thousand miles away through the ground beneath my feet just has a completely fantastical ring to it. As do things like the duck billed platypus and the kangaroo. I mean - an upright, bouncing rat as tall as a man? Come on! Sounds like something out of the Mos Eisley spaceport bar. In fact, I still remember talking to an Australian EFL colleague in Istanbul who told me that in her house back home, you could get up in the morning, go into the kitchen to make coffee and see the kangaroos grazing in the back garden - it was at that point I suddenly realised that at some visceral level I didn't really believe in kangaroos; not the same way I believed in sheep or tigers or elephants - there was just something too strange, too otherwordly about the idea of them really being there, crouched down and grazing right outside the kitchen window.

Well - going to get that perception gap sorted out pretty sharpish. For those of you already over there in the mythical land of Oz, I'll be joining you, first in Perth, the City of Lights (there you go, another wholly fantastical concept - a city in splendid geographical isolation turning its porch lights on to greet an orbiting astronaut as the darkened globe turns and he passes overhead) from April 8th to 13th, and thereafter during May in Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, details to follow.

See you there!


Item 'Going, Going, Gone........' posted by Richard Morgan at 13:49

25 Comments:

"through the ground beneath my feet"

Not quite, see whats on the other side of the globe from you here...

http://www.zefrank.com/sandwich/tool.html

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 24 March 2009 16:49  

Hope you find the reality as fantastical as you imagine. Have a great trip.

Um, any chance you could blog from there or post pics/vids??

Linda

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 24 March 2009 16:52  

Nice time of the year to be over here - the weather has settled down a bit!

Not much is on fire or under water!

By Anonymous Jon Atherton, at 24 March 2009 20:13  

Have to say John,

Any place that is not on fire or under water sounds pleasing.

Ronin

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 24 March 2009 21:40  

Watch out for drop bears.

By Anonymous Gareth, at 24 March 2009 22:47  

and hoop snakes

By Anonymous Jon Atherton, at 24 March 2009 22:50  

Perth is keen to greet you and pick your writerly brain.

By OpenID stephbg, at 25 March 2009 05:10  

Yeah it's true being Australian is awesome. Can't wait for the tour

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 25 March 2009 05:19  

Thanks for the books. Duck billed platypi (plural of platypus?) are weird looking things and kangaroos were a bit intimdating up close. Kassaworis were very strange too.

We found the thing about Oz (apart from the gargantuan size) was the variaty in the land, desert, rainforest etc. You'll love it.

By Blogger Swainson, at 25 March 2009 07:27  

For those of you who can't attend Swancon (like me), they say they will podcast some of the panels (hopefully ones that Richard will be on!).

Linda

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 25 March 2009 15:08  

Holy shiznizz, looks like I get to cancel things and go to Swancon
*sigh* I've never done the fanboy/girl/whatever thing

Misspelled Cassowary, you shouldn't see them in Perth but if you get up anywhere with rainforest they are awesome birds (think huge brightly colored peacocks that aren't stupid and have talons that can eviscerate you)

Will hopefully be nice ta meetya

By Anonymous Paul Smith, at 30 March 2009 17:19  

lucky australians....
when ya coming to Canada?

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 30 March 2009 22:28  

Hello again,

I found another article I thought you might find interesting, although it's quite different from the one about conservative movies. Ordinarily I could care less about celebrities, but I found this article deeply interesting (and disturbing) sociologically, and thought you might too. You use your books to discuss and explore gender relations so often that I thought it might interest you as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/fashion/19brown.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

By Blogger DJ, at 2 April 2009 23:30  

excellent news about the trip to Australia! I look forward to meeting Richard in person.

Does anyone know any details regarding how/what/when?

aside from swancon, are there any other confirmed signing/whatever?

cheers

Peter M

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5 April 2009 06:29  

Richard's first interview from Australia on "Writing Sex and Dystopia in Speculative Fiction" on The Book Show. Listen to it here:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2009/2535756.htm

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6 April 2009 05:20  

Richard,
Thanks for the author sale of books. I just finished The Steel Remains. I am good with it. I don't understand all the bitching and I am a pretty conservative dude. Thanks. Later man!
Jim

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10 April 2009 02:09  

Oh, so he does respond to interview requests...

I think I scared the man away by admitting I had met Kovac! HA!

By Anonymous Baby L On, at 10 April 2009 21:34  

Richard,

I Honeymooned in Australia. Do *NOT* miss the Barrier Reef. Go out on a boat and snorkle or dive or whatever you can. I enjoyed the rest of the country, but the reef... its beyond description.

-Dave

By Anonymous A Nameless Fan, at 12 April 2009 02:51  

Suuuure, he'll go to Australia, but will he go to Dragon*Con in Atlanta? ;)

Just popped in to see how you and the Missus are doing. Missed you while we were in the UK and Europe last year, and then I fell a bit under the weather, but I hope to have my reviews of "The Steel Remains" on Amazon and Audible soon.
--Tripp

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12 April 2009 23:43  

Found this on the web...

The following events have been confirmed:

Wednesday April 8th @ 5pm
City of Stirling Library
Details: book event
Address: City of Stirling, Administration Centre, 25 Cedric St, Stirling, WA

Friday May 8th @ 9pm
Melbourne Science Fiction Club
Details: Guest Speaker
Address: St David's West Brunswick Uniting Church, 74 Melville Rd, Brunswick West, VIC

Thursday May 21st @ 5:30pm
Galaxy Books
Details: book signing
Address: 143 York Street, Sydney, NSW

Saturday May 23rd @ 3:00-4:00pm
Gaslight
Details: book signing
Address: Unit 10, 83 Wollongong St, Fyshwick, Canberra, ACT

Tuesday May 27th @ 6:30pm
Pulp Fiction
Details: book signing
Address: Queensland Writer’s Centre, 109 Edward St, Brisbane, QLD

By Anonymous Frost, at 15 April 2009 08:51  

Oh bugger poo bum wee. I have only thing on that week in Sydney and it clashes with the Galaxy signing. That week is Sydney Writers' Festival so quite a lot of authorial competition then. It's a pity you're not booked for an official gig then as I think the representation for SF&F genre is precisely nil.

By Blogger Mike, at 26 April 2009 15:26  

Guess I'll post this here - don't know of any other Takeshi Kovacs discussion forums...

It's completely unrelated, but the news story today about someone declining a medal at Notre Dame made me laugh because all the headlines refer to her as an Ex-Envoy.

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?tag=3.5721%3Ficx_id=D97R04CO2

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 27 April 2009 21:26  

Review of "The Steel Remains":

Just had to stop by and say that I read "The Steel Remains" and it has made me an instant fan. I've been reading fantasy for the last 30 years, and it has become harder and harder to find anything worth reading these days. "The Steel Remains" was such a welcome relief that I don't even regret breaking my own rule of self preservation that says I will not start reading any new fantasy series until at least three books in the series has been published. I started reading "The Steel Remains", and couldn't stop, and even though I'm dying for more of this story, I can't regret jumping into the series at this point--it was just too good to regret, lol.

I also have to applaud the adult approach to the language, sex and violence, and the fact that you depicted the main character as gay. Being an adult who loves the fantasy genre and grew up enjoying fantasy, it is a relief to find a new series with an adult bent and sense of dark realism. There really are too few such efforts in the fantasy genre these days, and it's hard to stay engaged with the genre when everything is so...young adult and vanilla.

In any event, now for the real reason I'm writing: Obviously, you have to bring back Seethlaw. :) First, he was one of my favorite characters (despite the whole watered head thing), and second, there is so much that needs to be explored about his intentions towards Gil. Third, well, I'm a girl, and I think every story needs some true love, and that, of course, such love should conquer all, even a bloody swordfight or two where the lovers have hacked each other to pieces. LOL

Good luck with the sequel. I will be sending for it overseas as soon as it's available in the UK. Remember, Seethlaw is immortal and obviously belongs with Gil. Don't forget... ;)

Best,
Theresa
New York, NY
USA

By Blogger Theresa, at 27 April 2009 21:40  

Thank you for all those kind and considered words, Theresa - much appreciated.

And a big thank you also to Frost for doing what I should have done already and posting the east coast gigs. To that list you can add one more; Melbourne, it seems, has a second SF society, called the Nova Mob, and so as not to play favourites, I'm also doing a session with them thus:

Guest speaker at Nova Mob, Saturday 9 May @ 12pm Address: Community Room, Northcote Library, 32-38 Separation St, Northcote, Melbourne, VIC

So if you're doing something more interesting than listening to me on the Friday night, and the chemicals it involves won't leave you too wiped out the morning after, by all means pop along to this one instead. See you there!

Will do a full news-and-views post shortly - right now I have to sort out my sunburn, rinse out my snorkelling gear and find something to eat....

By Blogger Richard Morgan, at 30 April 2009 11:33  

I have enjoyed the action and tales of high power elites in the Kowacs series. I have seen some of them close in our own times.

Whats your take on this war experience?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akm3nYN8aG8

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6 February 2010 00:07  

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