David J. Williams

Lots going on this (sweltering) weekend. Starting closest to home with the announcement from Jay at Fantasybookspot regarding three winners of signed copies of The Mirrored Heavens. My congrats to everybody; I’ll try to make my signature at least somewhat legible, but no guarantees. (I’ve got a feeling a lot of my parallel universe dopplegangers are doctors, but I have yet to figure out how to confirm this.)

Meanwhile, several blocks from where I’m writing this, Hillary Clinton conceded yesterday. An impressive performance, but I remain unconvinced that she’s going to go all-out for Team Obama unless she gets that VP nod (which has to be seen as unlikely). One suspects she just may find all sorts of critical issues that keep her chained to the Senate floor from hereon in. And McCain’s challenging of Obama to town halls is a cagey move. It’s like boxing: Obama’s rhetorical firepower gives him the longer reach, so the only solution is to get in real close and try to limit the number of setpiece speeches he does. This is going to be an interesting summer.

On the international front, Wired’s Danger Room has a cool post on Russia’s smart tankbusting bombs. And man, those things are nasty. I’m not going to try to offer them up as evidence in the Great Russian Decline Debate, but it’s a good reminder that while it’s sunk a long way from its Red Army days, the Russian military remains second only to us.

Whereas the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s were second to exactly none. Which may be a bit of an awkward segue, but it’s the best one I can think of in switching gears to acknowledge/salute Dwight White, defensive end on the Iron Curtain. He died at the all-too-young age of 58 on Friday, but those of us who were around in the era of shag carpeting and bell-bottom pants can only scratch our heads in awe as we recollect the man who staggered onto the field at SuperBowl IX with pneumonia and proceeded to smash the Vikings running attack into ribbons and score a safety while he was at it. A fallen warrior indeed. RIP.

But before I get started, a quick note: sources/agents/sensors report that the book has been selling out of bookstores. This is, of course, a Good Thing (unless it’s getting shoplifted), but it means that if you can’t find the book, it’s time to get proactive. Ask for it, and have the store order it. Even better if you ask for it with a giant megaphone so that as many people as possible are wondering just what the hell THE MIRRORED HEAVENS is. Hey, memes have gone viral over far less.

And now on to the web round-up. Which has been a little delayed because yesterday marks my turning in of the second book. (About which I have virtually nothing to say right now, but rest assured I’ll be back to address it shortly.) Robert Thompson over at Fantasy Book Critic has posted a really complimentary review that led to more than a few high-fives over here at Mirrored Heavens HQ. He writes that he’s “confident that the book will end up on my shortlist as one of 2008’s Best Science Fiction debuts”, in large part because “the pacing is superb, espionage/intrigue elements strategically complement the action {and} the twists & turns are clever and unexpected.”

Robert also notes that the novel’s three storylines “seem to be competing with one another to see who can come up with the most intense, most spectacular action sequences imaginable” . . . and though he’s the first to put it this way, he’s exactly right. If you’re writing three action-sequences side-by-side in the same novel, a little friendly competition inevitably emerges . . . : ) He also points out some issues with character differentiation, and it’s a fair point, particularly since we’re allowed relatively little transparency into the heads of the covert operatives who constitute the characters. (And a lot of the clues as to what makes one person tick vs. another are buried pretty deep in the mix.)

Next up is Richard Dansky, legendary game designer and author of FIREFLY RAIN. Writing in Green Man Review, Dansky calls the book a “fascinating read, a twisty thriller of shifting loyalties and double-crosses.” He also refers to it as “archetypal cyberpunk,” but notes that this is merely a first impression, and that a closer reading reveals key differences, particularly around writing style and approach to combat. Hey, I’m not arguing.

Nor will I argue with Andrew James at the wonderfully-named Big Dumb Object, who is now a big fan of this oh-so-shiny website. Check out what he has to say HERE. And apparently he might review the book too, which would be super-cool. More to follow.

So, this time I did a reading and NO ONE fell asleep! It was a jam-packed venue—though in the spirit of full-disclosure it must be said that my friends were out in force, ‘cos they rule. Including the infamous Brian De Groodt, who flew in all the way from the west coast unannounced, causing me to doubt my own sanity before realizing his total lack thereof. I gave a brief talk on ideas behind the book, drawing on the essay I’d sent to John Scalzi for the Big Idea that he was kind enough to publish yesterday (which you can read HERE, I’ll have some thoughts on the debate it seems to have triggered later), and then delivered the Infamous Spaceplane Hijack Scene, as promised. I made two aesthetic compromises to accomodate the family friendly Borders environment: (1) semi-sanitizing some of the language (funny how the F-word is beyond the pale, but “Christ” is just fine), and (2) removing all signs that the two lead characters were caught in a state of coitus interruptus at the outset of the scene. (though really that was because it would have just been too much to explain on top of everything else).And then I signed some copies of a book that I’d actually written. Weird.At any rate, here are some photos of the event for your amusement.  

I’ll be reading/launching the book/going nuts tonight, at Borders, Baileys Crossroads. 7:30. It begins.

And yes, the rumors are true: I’ll be reading from the infamous spaceplane hijack scene. Come on out if you dare.

Or you can just join us at the Black Cat afterward, where is where a bunch of us are gonna head after I’m done going off mine.

The nice folks over at Fantasy Bookspot have published an interview with me in which I touch for the first time on the relationship between 9-11 and my book (hey, they asked), in addition to revealing some behind-the-scenes moments in my quest to get the #$# book published.

In other news, Balticon was great fun, and featured me being on at least two more panels than I’d thought: one on Arthur C. Clarke, and the other on megastructures in SF. I also did the first post-publication reading of THE MIRRORED HEAVENS, which must have been at least somewhat successful, since a member of the audience fell asleep during the middle of it. I think this had more to do with him than me, though, because I tend to act like I’m on coke when I’m doing my readings. (If you don’t believe me, come on out to Borders Baileys Crossroads tomorrow night.) Beyond that magical moment, highlights of the con include meeting John Hemry, author of the Lost Fleet series, and one of the blurbers of my book, as well as the weapons in space panel that Hemry moderated, in which a bunch of us had a great discussion ranging across near future vs. far future universes, kinetic energy vs. directed energy, and unmanned vs manned vehicles. Very interesting indeed. Had some great conversations with Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray too . . . knew them both by reputation, but it was awesome to actually have the chance for some drinks.  Oh, and Jeri Smith-Ready gave me a signed copy of Wicked Game that she scored at a local Border’s (the dealer’s room had sold out, given that her book’s flying off the shelves). . .she rulz!

I’ll be at Balticon this weekend; schedule is as follows:

The Outlaw Panel (don’t ask), 7.p.m. Friday

Writing Military SF, 9 p.m. Friday

Space Weapons, 7 p.m., Saturday

And I’ll be doing a reading as well. The schedule says 3 p.m. on Sunday. Forwarded emails from Balticon’s organizers say 4 p.m. The cats in the alley behind my apartment say, well, they say so many things. All of it loudly.

Some of you might recall that Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review was kind enough to post a very complimentary review of THE MIRRORED HEAVENS last week. Well, Graeme has gone one better, and is holding a contest in which he’s giving away two copies of the book! Check it out here.

That’s the good news; the bad news is you’ve only got until this Saturday, the 24th of May. Don’t let this golden opportunity to acquire free content pass you by!

By the way, I can’t help but notice that on his site, Graeme claims to have “found himself working some of the most disgusting jobs known to man.” I’m not exactly sure what jobs he’s referring to, but I just want to state for the record here that I’ve done time at Toys R Us, being bombarded by Geoffrey the Giraffe’s propaganda, and listening to the same goddamn forty minute tape loop of early 80s songs for months on end. (Before that, there actually was a time I quite liked Mandolin Rain.)

Yes, I know. There are jobs that far, far worse. Doesn’t mean I don’t have my scars.

But enough about me. What are you still doing here? Head on over to Graeme’s site and get busy.

Well, it’s out there. In bookstores. The thing that sat on my computer and grew for all those years has finally gone forth into the world. My thanks to everybody who made Day 1 such a success: everyone who went and bought the book, everybody who’s planning on coming to the reading next Tuesday (Baileys Crossroads Borders, if you’re in the area), everybody who’s given their support. Special thanks to veteran scribes David Louis Edelman and Jeri Smith-Ready for advice and counsel on What This Would Be Like (they were right), and to John Joseph Adams (aka Slush God) for this awesome piece in SCIFI.com.

And so we’re off to the races. The book seems to be doing fine on Amazon (did I mention you can buy it there right NOW? Just checking)–and just as important, it’s been sighted at numerous bookstores. The next few weeks will be critical in getting off to a strong start. And hey, Memorial Day weekend’s coming up. Like my high school English teacher used to say, there’s nothing that makes for better beach reading than guys in powered armor kicking the shit out of each other (though my memory may be a little hazy here). The plot thickens . . .

It gives me great pleasure to unveil the trailer for THE MIRRORED HEAVENS, courtesy of the inimitable Paul Ruskay of StudioXLabs in Vancouver. Paul’s a great friend of mine, and has been a supporter of the book since, well, long before it WAS a book. We were practically completing each others’ sentences when he was working his magic on this, and the result is something I’m really pleased with. Check it out.

Direct link to trailer here

Well, here we are five days out, and already some folks have been rash enough to weigh in with reviews. Library Journal kicks things off by calling THE MIRRORED HEAVENS “a powerful, rapid-fire SF adventure/intrigue story with echoes of cyberpunk . . . This stellar hard SF debut with hopes of sequels belongs in most SF collections.” They fail to specify the parameters that define those collections in which the book DOESN’T belong, but you’re not going to find me complaining. Nor will you even hear me carping about the “echoes of cyberpunk.” (Folks, there’s more than an echo in this book. But don’t take my word for it. Go ahead, try it and see.) At any rate, this review comes in after what’s been a bit of a deafening silence so far, so it’s greeted over here with no little relief.

Likewise with Graeme’s Fantasy Blogspot. I’ve been a fan of this gentleman for some time, so it’s a total honor to have him write stuff like “it’s a bit early to be picking my favorite sci-fi novel of the year, but I can say that [this] is definitely on the shortlist.” He does note that the plot gets maybe “a little too convoluted” (in my opinion there’s no such thing as “too”, but maybe that attitude is part of the problem), but he went on to say it nonetheless “kept me hooked right until the end.” After which he claimed I know how to write a “mean action scene” (guilty) and that I’ve put a great deal of thought into world-building. And he specifically cites “cityscapes that are gorgeously drawn (if menacing) with a real cyberpunk feel.” See, Library Journal? Cyberpunk: it’s more than an echo! Graeme sez so!

More to come as I get them. For now, over and out.