Kitty Norville: Facebook & Playlists

Feb 102010
 

Another thing I’ve been working on for Tor lately has been setting up a fan page for the Kitty Norville books on Facebook. I didn’t mention the page online anywhere until Carrie posted the cover for Kitty Goes to War on her blog. I wasn’t sure the word was out that Tor is pubbing her next book, so I waited. But as you can see, news is out so I can talk about it now. :)

Anyway, since each book features a playlist, I’ve been setting up those on Last.fm and Blip.fm too. I chose knobradio as the username since knob was taken and KNOB is the name of the radio station Kitty DJs for.

For Last.fm, not all the tracks are available. I’ve listed what’s missing in the description for each playlist. When the track shows up on Last.fm, I will add it in. Plus, many of the tracks only offer a 30 second preview unless you are a subscriber or listening to a radio station. But, pretend you are listening to the radio staion by playing the library. It shuffles the songs and lets you hear full length versions of them.

Once thing that saddens me about Last.fm is that they got rid of their widgets. What they give us now are images that supposedly update periodically:

Lame. It’s not exactly interesting compared to being able to play the tracks on screen. I’ll have to come up with something else if I can. Hmm…not sure yet…the RSS doesn’t appear to be compatible for instant play widgets so I’m not sure…anyway, working on it… (Eh, how many … do I need anyway? :P)

For Blip.fm, you can play each track one at a time, or just click on play and it will run you through the songs. If you want to play them in order, try the playlist. Blip.fm only offers one playlist so they are all combined in one. I’ve listed what book and track they are though. If a track # is missing, it’s because that song isn’t available on Blip.fm. But when it does show up, I’ll add it in.

Eventually, I’d like to set them up on iTunes too. I like what Harper did for Melissa Marr’s playlists on iTunes by creating iMix playlists. iTunes has recently changed how you are allowed to create them so I’m not having luck with them yet. Apparantly you can’t just drag titles from the store to create playlists (even ones to gift) anymore. Go figure. Working on it though…and will post when I have something.

And that’s that for rambling on work projects today. I’ll leave you with Bad Moon Rising since really, it’s only fitting that I close out a Kitty ramble with it. Pretend you hear a wolf howl in there somewhere:

……………………..

Update: Oh, hey! I edited old widget code for Last.fm and got it working. Not sure how long it will work, but I’ll use this until it stops working:

:D

Amazon & Macmillan

Jan 302010
 

I went to bed knowing there was an issue after seeing it posted on Scalzi’s blog, and having a fan question where the WoT books went on Twitter. But, really, I thought it was a technical glitch with bad timing. I emailed someone at work an fyi and left it at that. This morning I woke up to this:

Amazon Pulls Macmillan Books Over E-Book Price Disagreement

I’m going to second what Patrick said on Making Light:

Tor is part of Macmillan, but I have no more idea what’s actually going on than you do. And yes, I’m not thrilled with that fact.

And now I have a headache. Oof. So, I’ll leave you with this:

A Quick Note On eBook Pricing and Amazon Hijinx

Update: CEO John Sargent has issued a statement.

Tobias Buckell has an interesting post up on SFWA.

Update: Amazon Concedes on Electronic Book Pricing

And some great posts from Scazli and Westerfeld.

A rambly catch up

Nov 112009
 

My last post on here was in September. And then…wow…things got a wee bit busy you could say. I moved. Woo-hoo! I still haven’t finished unpacking and have no idea when I’ll get to that. I’ll share some pics when I’m more settled. But here is Ruki, enjoying the new windows. They have a wider sill so she can really spread out.

Ruki in the window

And here she is with her head in the window. And yes, there is a screen there. She’s not about to jump out or go anywhere.

Ruki in the window

Moving all happened in the middle of a wee little book release ;), which happily unseated Dan Brown for the #1 spot on the NYT list last week. Woo-hoo! If you follow Tor’s Twitter, you’ve probably seen me posting lots about it. Things like how we made a throne out of the boxes stored in my office:

TGS Throne

I mean really, what else do you do with boxes? If I had more it would have been a fort. :P Oh, my owl took his turn in the throne too.

I’ve also been working on tons of stuff that none of you (unless you work with me) will see until next year. I have plans. Ideas. Yep.

Hmm. What else. That’s pretty much absorbed my life as of late. I’ve watched (listened to) a lot of TV while I’ve been packing and unpacking though. On demand is so the way to go. Venture Brothers is back and kicking ass. Fringe happily fills that missing X-Files void for me. NCIS rocks, while I gave up on NCIS LA which was painful to watch. No idea what happened after that awesome cross-over. Maybe it was losing the leader. Callen is no leader. Stargate SGU and Sanctuary rock too. I’m surprised by how much I’m digging White Collar and The Good Wife. Doesn’t hurt White Collar that it has Jonesy in it! :) And ABC and Fox really need to become available on demand like the other channels are so I can watch shows like FlashForward. I’m no fan of watching TV on my computer after working on it all day.

For books though, I’ve really only had a chance to read on the commute. I read a bunch of Kitty Norville books and am on book 6. I like werewolf types. I’m also reading Outlander. I love the setting and side characters. However, the lead has the emotional range of a rock.

And that’s that. I’m still getting caught up on most things right now so I’m not sure yet how much I’ll be posting until things settle down. So for now, I’ll just leave you with this, the new Clash of the Titans trailer:

And this awesome Fringe preview with NIN’s “Zero Sum” that makes me super happy to rewatch. :)

Have an awesome day all!

Interview in RT Book Reviews August Issue

Jun 252009
 

RT Books Reviews Magazine: August 2009The August issue for RT Book Reviews magazine is out! :) I was one of the folks interviewed for an article on Twitter:

THE TWEET ON TWITTERING
Ellora’s Cave author Kathy Kulig explains how authors and publishers can use Twitter to reach readers.

Also mentioned from Tor: Heather Osborn‘s crazy tweet requesting a completed manuscript to fill a hole.  I still can’t believe she did that. :P

Tor’s Twitter account: http://twitter.com/torbooks

List o’ Facebook urls

Jun 132009
 

As of midnight folks could set up vanity urls on Facebook. It’s so much easier to tell someone a url this way. I have no idea why it took FB so long to decide to go this route since it’s pretty standard practice online. I’m wondering if Facebook pages will have cleaner SEO than before, but that’s the web dork in me wondering that. :P

Anyway, since I manage a few accounts and various pages, here’s a list of what I set up this morning. Fan pages that have less than 1,000 fans as of May 31 won’t be able to have a set url until June 28, so more will be coming. One of my pages hit 1k fans a day or two late. Hmpf.

My profile: http://www.facebook.com/greybon

And for work: Tor Books fan page: http://www.facebook.com/torbooks
Tor Webmaster profile: http://www.facebook.com/torwebmaster
Official Dune fan page: http://www.facebook.com/officialdune
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow fan page: http://www.facebook.com/littlebrotherbook (Little Brother is also a band which is why I couldn’t just have that for the url.)

And yes, you can always contact me with questions at any of those work accounts, but the fastest way to reach me is through here: http://twitter.com/torbooks

That’s that. Have a happy day all! :)

……………………………………

Update: June 29

More urls: Reiki: http://www.facebook.com/reikifans
The Dresden Files: http://www.facebook.com/thedresdenfiles
Ranger’s Apprentice: http://www.facebook.com/rangersapprentice

And for work: Dragonships of Vindras: http://www.facebook.com/dragonships
Tor Paranormal Romance: http://www.facebook.com/torparanormalromance

Facebook keeps changing its policy, but as if 6/29, the rest of my pages can’t have vanity urls until they have 100 fans. (Cat ‘N Owl, and for work: Tor Teen, Tor/Seven Seas)

Green by Jay Lake

Jun 122009
 

Green by Jay LakeGorgeous cover isn’t it? The art is by Dan Dos Santos and Tor.com has wallpaper available for it, so fyi to that. Jay Lake ran a photo contest that has some great pics you should see too.

For those unacquainted with how I talk about books online, I don’t really review our (Tor) books since it’s where I work. And truthfully, you wouldn’t believe my opinion anyway, right? But sometimes I do like to talk about things within a story and there you have it. There is a great review up on i09 for Green. Go read that if you are looking for a review.

Thar be spoilers in me ramblings…forewarned ye be.

What struck me most about the character Green was her fierce sense of will. She lost everything—even her name—when he father sold her into slavery. But something kept her going. Something that made her an inherent survivor, even at the age of three. And that would be her fabulous stubborn will. I love that!

There were so many times during the first part of the book where I thought, okay, she’s gotta cave now. She’s just a child. But nope. “I am Green, here me ROAR!” She didn’t actually ever say that, of course, but you get the idea.

Green’s world is brutal. Harsh. Crude. And the options she’s presented with are so damn limiting. You can A. Be shackled to a man and a few kids living in poverty, B. Be shackled to a man (or men) as a courtesan, C. Dismiss men all together and live as a lesbian, ass-kicking nun. Come on now, what will it be?

Heh. Well, there were other options but overall the world didn’t seem all that pretty for women, let alone a female child! And that’s what Green really was—a child. Sure she lived in one of those worlds where people marry as children. But that doesn’t exactly curtail childlike behavior. It’s that strange blend of being taught to act like a women but still often reacting as a child. Kick it first, ask questions later. Hell, there are times when I still want to do that and I’m just a wee bit older than 12! :P

The limited roles for women also played into Green’s struggle for self identity. She transitioned from being trained to be “woman” to disguising herself as a boy to taking a role normally given to a man. In the end, she will be woman as mother. And, she will also simply be Green.

Of course there is a lot more to the story than any of that tells you. There are Gods and Goddesses intertwining into the story too. And the ever present symbol of an ox named Endurance. Plus cat-like creatures and more! But it was Green’s stubborn will and reflecting on the roles of women in her world that stuck with me most and what I felt like rambling about today.

And that’s that.

……………………………

Green by Jay Lake

Ramblings about BEA and Then Some

Jun 062007
 

I’m having one of those pudding brain moments lately. I’m not sure how it happened. The onset of psycho pollen this year, with the pressing heat. Or…perhaps it’s simply that my brain got sleepy. Been known to happen sometimes. :P

I went to Book Expo on Friday. I’d never been before and it was interesting to say the least. Javits was hot and gross. For a while I sat outside in the sun and felt cooler. Go figure. Let’s see…the best tote bag I picked up was from Simon and Shuster. It’s pretty sturdy and has lots of pockets. These are the kinds of things you watch for at conventions…where the best totes are! Hah!

My best freebie was Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume One. Sweet…that made my day. Marvel also had a bunch of comics out that I picked up, naturally. And Darkhorse had a Buffy one…so…YAY!.

Mostly, I found it interesting to walk around with an exhibitor badge on and see how people from different booths treated me, as opposed to how they treated librarians. It’s almost like a study in human behavior. Hah! Anyway, Llewellyn’s booth was funny. They kept just wanting to talk about how I work for Tor, which is cute, but I was actually looking for their catalog. Other booths really only wanted to talk to librarians. Note to self…if I ever go to one of these again…flip my badge over. :P

The most disappointing booth for me has to be Wizards of the Coast. Boo hiss! I wanted to talk to them about their Mirrorstone line and really, the chicks there only wanted to push the author signings on me. I’m not big on author signings. I just like to read. I wanted to learn about the books. Yes, that’s all fine and dandy that you have authors coming tomorrow…that’s not telling me about the books today. Just saying…And sheesh, they were the only booth to not even suggest I take a catalog. :-/

My only real book convention experience of this magnitude is from years ago at the International Reading Association Convention. There, I had to work it. Had to give a speech a few times too. This was nicer in that respect. I got to walk around and just observe. :)

If anything, it has put me in the mood to just sit back and read for a while. Although, I’m jotting down notes to write too, so there is always that. Hah!

Anway, there is my ramble for today. That kinda day.

I’ll leave you with these. Songs I’m listening to today on repeat. My recordings are better, but you get the idea:

Luna:
“California (All the Way)”

Yo La
Tengo: “You Can Have It All”