Odds 'n' Ends

(As you can see from this photo taken on the way to St. George Island, I'm among Ann's odds and ends.)This is a kind of odds-and-ends week as I begin work again on a new short novel called "Borne" and take care of some other random obligations. A few realizations from the weekend.- I'm working too hard and have to slow down.- The 60 in 60 has broken me; it'll start up again soonish, but won't be daily.- Star Trek the reboot was good but not great, mainly 'cause of stupid villain stuff.- Role Models was pretty darn hilarious, and Sarah Marshall well nigh almost tragic, oddly enough.- It's time to start hiking again, since it's gotten hot as hell here in Florida. Woo-hoo! Bring on the bears.- the intertubes are beginning to invade my brain too much.- Derek Raymond's I Was Dora Suarez is possibly the best noir horror novel I've ever read.- I'm working too hard and have to slow down.One fun thing I'm working on is setting up the joint book tour in the fall/winter for my novel Finch and for Booklife: Strategies & Survival Tips for 21st-Century Writers. I'll be on the road four to five weeks, driving across the entire country. Tentative gigs thus far (don't quote me yet) include venues like Powells, the Library of Congress, the University Bookstore (Seattle), and a couple of universities. Cities tentatively include everywhere from Portland to Salt Lake City, Denver to Chicago, Asheville to New York City. It's a fairly robust schedule, with the potential for 20 to 30 stops. (Since I'm still setting this up with Underland and Tachyon, drop me a line if you'd like to see me come to your fair city: vanderworld at hotmail.com. Both in terms of venues and potential places to crash for a night or two; yep, it's the very definition of indie tour, and I like it that way...)Also, just got in Conjunctions 52: Betwixt the Between--Impossible Realism, which includes my story "Predecessor," and Geoff Manaugh's The Bldg Blog Book, both of which I hope to blog about later this week.Have yourself a good little Monday. What've you been up to?