Tag Archives: New Zealand

It Never Gets Old: Musings on Release Day, One Month Later

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I was on the other side of the world when it happened. Day Four in New Zealand and Wellington is turning on the charm as she usually does…

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You might be led to believe my random posting of photos and video meant I was taking it one day at a time in Aotearoa, not a care in the world to be seen nor any fucks remaining to give. Trust me, the stress of 2014 was now and truly in the rear view, my new day job reinforcing my ability to do what I do and perhaps push the boat out and try adding new skills under my belt. A daring thing to do when you are south of 45 years, but that is what life is all about, isn’t it? Discovery and learning new things. Then off to New Zealand to kick off the 2015 convention year. Enjoy the ride, as I like to say…

Truth be told, I was really walking a knife’s edge on Day Four, the day that I blogged about last year (around the same time) on Chuck’s blog: The Diamond Conspiracy was out in the wild and reaching the hands of readers. Continue reading →

Set your pocket watches! New Steampunk Fiction coming soon…

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Contrary to popular belief that steampunk is dead, and thinking that maybe you missed the recent announcement on The Shared Desk or the Ministry website, I wanted to bring the news and the official launch date for the next project from Imagine That! Studios…

10 April 2012

 

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The Tough Choices (Part I: Silencing the Techie Talk)

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You know that blogpost I’ve been promising concerning Rafe, Askana, Billi, and their respective futures?

Make sure you’re sitting down, because this is it.

I could just make it short and sweet, but you all deserve a lot better than that. Also, I don’t think I can do that. I try for “short and sweet” and then, after I say what I have to say about what I really need to touch base on, it’s 3000 words later.

Besides, would you all expect any less from me? After all, if you’re reading this blog, chances are you’ve bought one of my books. Do I have to remind you how big Morevi is?

As many of you know, the previous year came out of the corner swinging haymakers like a wrecking machine. Rough seas had actually hit in 2009, but it was the beginning of 2010 that changed everything for me and my daughter. While I was counting on change in 2010, I didn’t foresee things changing as dramatically and as quickly as they did. I think Pip put it best when she said to me “Life around you is accelerated.”

I felt those G-forces most assuredly last year.

This blogpost is about the professional choices I had to make in 2010, and what is facing me in this new year. Those of you asking about Rafe, Askana, and Billi may not be thrilled with these decisions (Heck, you may flat out hate what I have to say…), but I am considering the grander scale of what I want to make a career. This means tough choices, choices you all as fans of my work should know about.

And instead of slamming you all with these touch choices in one grandiose blogpost, I’m breaking these tough choices up into a series of blogposts. I’d rather not melt your brains with a few thousand words. No need to serve the entrée and dessert with the starter, right?

So, let’s begin with a favorite of Tee Morris fans. Let’s start with where I opened my mouth and choked on my Reeboks. Continue reading →

Stranger on a Train XIV

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And now for something completely different: I’m not alone on this ride, am not in Virginia. Heck, I’m not even on the East Coast.

Sonic Boom and I are back on US soil after two weeks in New Zealand. Our ride into town, though, wasn’t able to drive us all the way into San Francisco, so we are taking the rail into the city for a playdate with Starla & Scott Hutchton and crew. While I find myself slipping back into a USA state-of-mind, SB sees today as just another grand adventure.

Sometimes I wonder if I lost that perspective on things, and then I think about the past two weeks in Aotearoa. What a great time we had.

Today is a little bittersweet. An important element is missing from our formula of fun. I feel it. So does she.

We miss you, Pip.

Kia Ora from the Future!

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Hi, everyone!

It’s been a week and what a week it has been. Sonic Boom, fresh off her first-ever plane ride, walked the now-working set of Hobbiton, settled in Rotorua for the night, got up close and personal with Ella the Lion Cub at the Paradise Valley Reserve, and then worked the Poi Dancing as the youngest in attendance at Te Puia. Safe to say, we’re having a blast! There will be YouTube videos coming.

This week, we’re looking ahead to WorldCon 68, also known as AussieCon 4. Pip Ballantine, Sonic Boom, and I arrive in Melbourne, Australia (Yes, her second country in two weeks. Pretty impressive for a six year old!) and alongside familiar friends John Cmar, Laura Burns, Mur Laffery, and Gail Carriger, we’ll be taking part in good geekery from the Southern Hemisphere. This is my first WorldCon, and the Australians have handed me a rather robust schedule: Continue reading →

Perseverance and Peter Gabriel

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joy

Today, I got a job.

Today, I got a full time job in Social Media.

While this sounds like something simple, the point I want to make, if I teach the world anything, is not to give up. Don’t give up.

Remember that song? There’s a darkness in that song, sure. I mean, hey, it’s Peter Gabriel. But there’s that optimism (voiced by Kate Bush), that assurance, you can make it through the storm.

I frakkin’ love that song.

People on Twitter and at KrakenQuest’s Great Reveal all knew I was having a tough time at this job hunt, but let me give you the run down that only a few have heard…

October 2007

First, there was actually dusting off the resume. I realized straight away there was a problem: I hadn’t done this in nearly ten years. I had no real experience, apart from my skills in the classroom. It amazed me how many people thought that would make me a valuable asset because I had the mad skills. InDesign, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, and so on and so on. This was going to be a piece of cake.

I knew better. Even with two books in podcasting under my belt, I knew I had a lot of knowledge, but not the experience that people would want. Still, I gave the resume an overhaul with the help and encouragement of Paul Fischer & Martha Halloway, and began the job hunt.

In this proud land we grew up strong
We were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win
I never thought I could fail

February 2008

I was thrilled to connect with a headhunter that found me a client wanting someone knowledgable in Social Media. I went in for the first interview and made such a good first impression that one of the interviewers chased me to the elevator to say “Goodbye.” The headhunter prepped me, said I was close. One more interview. It was supposed to be with the president of the association. Well, okay then. The president and an associate? No problem. We set the time for a late afternoon, after a class; and I cut my class off early so I could make the 4:30 p.m. interview. I walk into the office and meet the president and two associates. Two? Well, okay then. Two. I proceed with the interview, the two associates just watching me and the president wanting me to regale her with tales of my theatre days. (Another blog post about that to come….) After being there for over an hour, the president of the association cuts me off and says “This isn’t going well.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

Continue reading →

Stranger on a Train VII

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The closer I get to New Zealand, the weirder my life becomes.

In the past two days I’ve received two interviews next week. Am I excited? Not sure. I don’t want to afford myself that luxury only to face another disappointment. What’s making one of the interviews partucularly intriguing is the woman in need of a Social Media Mr. Miagi actually found me in a LinkedIn search.

I’ll say that again: She came to me.

All this with less than two weeks to go fo rmy trip to New Zealand. I really wanted the days before Balticon to be stress-free. I really did.

My friend and fellow Fantasy-Comedic author, Christiana Ellis, is premiering “Nina Kimberly the Merciless” today, and it turns out her Uk Horde broke Amazon. You go, Nina!

My EalC — nearly done. At the rate I was going, I was going to crack the 10K mark, but I went back, made a few hard decisions, and now I’m aiming for 8500. I’ll have to see if there’s anything else to cut. Short stories are hard, Lt. Dan. The story has been a real blessing. It’s gearing me up for some other touch calls I’ll be making soon.

And tomorrow I get a new MacBook Pro, replacing my seven year old PowerBook workhorse. Seven years. “We have heard the chimes at midnight…the days we have seen…”

Considering the books I’ve written, the articles I’ve submitted, and the amazing things I’ve done on this machine, could it be possible I’ve gotten a little sentimental towards it?

Maybe.

TeeMonster on the Move!

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tee-jumpPhoto by Kreg Steppe

Hey, everyone! I’m closing in on a pretty busy chunk of time, and it all starts next week. As you can see in the photo, I attempted to jump to New Zealand, get a head start on the travel. The only problem is this picture is taken at CREATE South 2009 in Myrtle Beach, so that puts me by the Atlantic.

Oh yeah, and while I got some serious hang time in the photo…my distance was FAIL!

Before I get into the schedule, I got good news on All a Twitter: the manuscript is now at the publisher and currently being prepped for printing. You can pre-order the book but keep an eye on Imagine That! Studios for latest developments on my latest book concerning Social Media, and get ready — I got something else coming this summer.

Oh yeah, and I’m nearly done writing my smut for Chef Pip. I really am a naughty boy.

Now, here’s my upcoming schedule. This is where I will be:

May 22-25
Balticon 43 in Hunt Valley, MD

May 29-June 1
Conscription in Auckland, New Zealand

June 2
ANTI-Social Media, presented for LIANZA, 12pm-2pm
Room 420 Kate Edgar Information Commons Building #315
2 Alfred Street, University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand

All a Twitter, presented for LIANZA, 3pm-5pm
Room 420 Kate Edgar Information Commons Building #315
2 Alfred Street, University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand

June 3
Social Media Mainline Workshop for LIANZA, 9am-5pm
Computer Lab Room 433, Kate Edgar Information Commons Building #315
2 Alfred Street, University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand

June 6 (JUST ADDED!!!)
Podiobooks: The Best Audiobooks FOR FREE Online for Tararua District Library, 1pm-2pm
Dannevirke, New Zealand

June 15
ANTI-Social Media, presented for LIANZA, 12pm-2pm
Seminar Room, Reserve Bank of NZ
2 The Terrace
Report at ground floor reception no later than 11.45am
Wellington, New Zealand

All a Twitter, presented for LIANZA, 5pm-7pm
Conference Room, Department of Conservation
18-32 Manners Street
Report at ground floor reception no later than 4.45pm
Wellington, New Zealand

June 16
Social Media Mainline Workshop for LIANZA, 9am-5pm
SOLD OUT (Waiting List available)
Computer lab 510, Level 5, WelTec Wellington Campus
11-17 Church Street (off Boulcott Street)
Wellington, New Zealand

June 17

Speak Geek to Me, for Te Papa Tongarewa: The Museum of New Zealand, 10am-12pm
Location: TBA
Wellington, NZ

If you are in New Zealand and looking for a primer on Social Media, you can still sign-up for the Auckland workshop. I could not be more excited about this upcoming trip the Land of the Great White Cloud…

18.5 hours on a plane…AFTER I fly from DC to San Fran. Whoofah!

Next time we talk, I’ll be in the Southern Hemisphere. See you on the other side of the world!