Orson Scott Card

What am I doing right now? Just sitting in the awe and aftermath of Orson Scott Card's keynote address at LTUE. What a funny guy! And his insights about his own life in connection with Ender was incredible. And we have a new edition of Ender's Game to look forward to someday. When? Well, we don't really know. But someday. It will be almost the same except for some minor changes. And instead of just being lucky, according to Card, Ender is finally smart.

Last night there was an epic author signing with the room packed with authors and eager fans, waiting to get their signatures. I bought books (and then had them signed) by Lisa Mangum, Mette Ivy Harrison, Jessica Day George, Joe Vasicek, and Sarah E. Seeley. I also bought an awesome Orc valentine from Sarah. Best valentine ever!

I'm really going to be sad when this is all over, and it's back to thinking about school and my papers. Just a little bit longer and I'll be done!

LTUE

Yes, that's right, it's time for LTUE 32: Life, the Universe, and Everything. Ah, I wish I didn't have class or work or homework and could just spend all day over there. I was only able to go for about an hour today, but I saw some friends of mine there. I ran in to Joe Vasicek first. He's a self-published author and does a lot of space opera novellas. His blog is at http://www.onelowerlight.com/writing/ if you want to check out his stuff.

Then I ran into Sarah Seeley. I know her from Leading Edge Magazine, the good ol' days! I know Joe from there too. Her blog is at http://slithersofthought.com/ and you should all totally check it out. I've actually never visited her blog, so I'm going to check it out too! But she recently self-published her first novel, called Maladaptive Bind. Check it!

And then, of course, I ran into my supervisor! I don't mean from my BYU job, I mean my Cedar Fort internship. His name is Daniel Friend, and yes, he is my supervisor for all of my work at Cedar Fort. Even though we were at a sci fi, fantasy symposium, it doesn't mean that nobody will have a non-fiction book that they want to publish.

Oh, and I ran into my first college English teacher. How random is that? He's a cool guy though, and he taught a rockin' class--I mean, I'm an English major, so that says something, right?

If you're into the sci fi, fantasy scene, you should totally go to LTUE. Registration is free for students, so why not! And I think Annie Sowards (I think she also goes by Anne) is still here for LTUE. She came to my class yesterday and gave us some great info.

I've been thinking about New York a lot lately, trying to figure out what to do when I graduate (just about two months away). I keep oscillating back and forth between wanting to stay here and then wanting to go somewhere else, but last night helped me make an important decision. Annie said that a lot of the publishing houses want you to start at the entry-level positions and move up within the company, so it would actually be the perfect time to go. I'll never be more "entry-level" than I am now, so why the heck not? It was reassuring to hear from somebody that you can move to New York and find a job (probably not right away, but eventually you can get one in editing) and do what you want. 

Therefore, after going to my brother's wedding in June and then WIFYR right after, I think I will hop a plane to New York with a one-way ticket!

Icefall

I was very productive this morning, and instead of reading for my Italian class, I read a few chapters in Icefall, a middle grade/YA novel by Matthew J. Kirby. I picked it up a few days ago because the author came to a reading series at BYU (the university that I attend) and he sounded really interesting. He read a little from Icefall, a story about a girl in an ancient Norse culture who is trapped on a fjord with some of her father's best berserkers. I'm about half-way through, and I'm enjoying it a lot.

Also, have you ever heard of a speech jammer? I tried it last night. You set up a system so that when you speak, you hear your voice about .4 seconds later. It's supposed to mess with your speech and make you stutter and stumble. I don't think I do it right because I still sounded pretty normal. My roommate sounded pretty funny, at least. After doing that for about an hour, though, it was hard to speak normal afterwards. You should try it sometime.

As a part of my internship at Cedar Fort, I need to come up with nonfiction book ideas. So, to you few who come across this, any suggestions? I have a lot more experience with fiction, but I'm trying to broaden my horizons. Any and all ideas are welcome!

One last thing--on Wednesdays I have a class called The Publishing Business. It's taught by Rick Walton, a picture book author. Every week, a different guest speaker comes. So far we've had Will Terry, Brandon Mull, and J. Scott Savage. This Wednesday, we'll have editor and author Lisa Mangum. I'll make a post on here about what I learn.

Oh, and if you're into fantasy and science fiction at all and are around Provo, the Life, The Universe, and Everything Symposium will be going on in February, but I believe that registration for students ends on January 31st. It's free if you're a student--I'm going!