by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 9, 2009 | Blog
I really can’t improve on this review in the New York Times, but I can offer my critique of this movie as a writer of both scripts and prose. I didn’t hate this movie. I didn’t walk out of it the way I did with the remake of King Kong. I didn’t actually fall asleep the way I did in The 300, another offering from this director, but I did walk out of the theater with Ian, and we were both ranting, riffing off each other’s...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 8, 2009 | Blog
And people wonder why I think religion is evil. Apparently the Catholic Church thinks it’s just fine to excommunicate the mother of a _nine_ year old girl who had been molested by her stepfather, and was four months pregnant, and the two doctors who performed the abortion because they felt the child could not safely carry twins to term. Do you think?The real kicker in this story for me was that the stepfather will still be permitted to attend mass because his sin was not as...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 7, 2009 | Blog
There’s a bunch of new photos of me riding Vento out in California at Brookside Equestrian. They’re in my gallery on my website.I’m going to be writing a big article about Dressage and using the photos to offer visual clues about what the hell I mean when I say piaff, or shoulder-in, or half-pass, and I’ll be incorporating some of the pictures.A friend suggested I offer Vento to be Silver in the new Lone Ranger movie that is about to start shooting here in...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 7, 2009 | Blog
There’s a bunch of new photos of me riding Vento out in California at Brookside Equestrian. They’re in my gallery on my website.I’m going to be writing a big article about Dressage and using the photos to offer visual clues about what the hell I mean when I say piaff, or shoulder-in, or half-pass, and I’ll be incorporating some of the pictures.A friend suggested I offer Vento to be Silver in the new Lone Ranger movie that is about to start shooting here in...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 7, 2009 | Blog
Just a reminder that there is going to be a massive group signing at Page One in Albuquerque today. John Maddox Roberts who writes the wonderful SPQR novels will be there. Carrie Vaughn creator of Kitty will be there. Daniel Abraham in his various incarnations will be there. George R.R. will be there. I’ll be there as will Ian Tregillis, Caroline Spector, Walton(Bud) Simons, Victor Milan.God, as I type this it’s starting to look like an authorial mosh...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 5, 2009 | Blog
I found something yummy at that money sink, Costco. I’d gone in to buy the giant bag of bird seed, oranges to make juice, carrots and apples for Vento and the important thing — Grand Marnier for margaritas.And the little ladies with the samples were dotted like ambushing soldiers all through the store. One of them was heating up barbecue pork Bao. I tried a bite. It was delicious.Now, I love dim sum. It’s my favorite food. (Sometimes I do...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 3, 2009 | Blog
I took the plunge. I’m going to Turkey with Walter Jon Williams, and our friend, Pat Rogers.Walter is heading over to do research for his second novel in the This is Not a Game book series. The first book will be out the end of March, and it’s terrific.I’ve always wanted to visit the ancient Roman and Greek sights. There are also Crusader castles, and Hittite ruins.I’m very excited. I almost never do things with such utter abandon and so spur of...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 2, 2009 | Blog
The final two day so of my New York trip were a whirlwind. On Tuesday Ian and I had lunch with out publisher, editor, publicist, and agent. It was a fabulous Italian restaurant a block from the Flat Iron building. They had these lovely little plates of appetizers — sort of Italian dim sum. We sampled fried artichokes, I ordered roasted eggplant because I love it so much, there were cheeses, and white anchovies. We then picked a main course. I went with...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Mar 2, 2009 | Blog
The cover for the paperback of THE EDGE OF REASON has been posted on my webpage in the Covers section. I think it’s great, and I even got embossed print. Whoo hoo. Please stop by and check it out. The paperback of the novel will be available June 2009.I hope it sells well so we get decent orders for book two, THE EDGE OF RUIN which will be out in early 2010. This is the life of a published writer. You pray a book sells well enough so you can write...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Feb 25, 2009 | Blog
Wow.Okay, I’ll amplify a bit. What a pleasure to have a thoughtful, intelligent president who can construct and deliver a coherent English sentence.I especially loved the "if you drop out you don’t just let down yourself. You’re letting down your country." (That may not be exact, but it’s real close.) It was incredibly inspiring.In these tough times I’m so glad we have a man of first rate intellect and first rate temperment at the...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Feb 22, 2009 | Blog
I love New York. If I were really rich I’d like to live in New York. At least part of the time because I’d really miss my horse. It’s like L.A. — you feel the energy throbbing up through the soles of your feet as if the city’s heart is beating. Of course it might just be the rumble of the subways from far below, but I like to think it’s the breathing of great dragon just beneath the pavement. Both these...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Feb 21, 2009 | Blog
Boskone was great. This is the second time I’ve attended, and it is stacking up to be one of my favorite conventions. Some of this is due to the fact I get to see my friends from Australia, Janice Gelb and Stephen Boucher, and my friend Sam Butler from NY, but it is also a con where lots of writers and lots of readers talk about books for two and a half days. I did a _lot_ of programming. Sam had a great idea for a panel or a...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Feb 10, 2009 | Blog
Okay, my friend Walter Jon took the step so I’m going to follow suit. The Hugo nominations are now open. If you attended Denvention or are attending Montreal please consider that my book THE EDGE OF REASON is eligible to be nominated.Thanks. Now I’ll just slink away. God, what being a writer can reduce you to.
by Melinda Snodgrass | Feb 10, 2009 | Blog
So, the market is tanking after Geitner’s speech. I called my stock broker, and out of intellectual curiousity asked why?He said the banks had expected Santa Claus to come and magically take away all their toxic debt and leave them with bushels of money. Except there is no Santa Claus, and the government is apparently telling the banks that while they will help the banks will have to deal with some of this debt all by them little selves.I say tough despite the fact I’m...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Feb 10, 2009 | Blog
I actually watched the full hour of a presidential press conference last night. I haven’t done that in eight years. Well, actually seven. I tried listening to the first couple of Bush press conferences, but soon gave up. Aside from the fact I felt the man was an imposter in the White House, I couldn’t take the mangled syntax and simplistic answers.Boy, was last night ever a difference. Detailed, thoughtful, nuanced, _long_ answers delivered in complete...
