Thursday, August 3

Hey, kids.

Thanks to all who still stop by here once in a while, despite my absence for four and a half months.

Mostly working very hard. And struggling with my health. In these days of powerful psychoactive drugs that you have to gradually titrate, changing meds is a a lot like being boned up the ass with a razor-wire dildo.

CAINE BLACK KNIFE proceeds apace. It's gotten a little weird, but I, personally, think it'll -- eventually -- be really good.

The fact that I think so (today) means that this is a good day.

Other Stover news: I managed to destroy my right knee while at my night job about two-and-change weeks ago, and I'm still waiting for workman's comp to authorize the surgery that everyone knows I need. Since it's a day-to-day thing, I can't even take aspirin or ibuprofen (or any NSAID), so I'm popping Tylenol 3, a mild codeine-containing narcotic that works pretty damn well. The problem is that if W/C doesn't get off their collective butt, I'm going to end up with an opiate addiction.

Wee-HEE!

Also: the Fabulous Robyn and I are about to close on a house of our own -- next Monday, give or take. A four-bedroom Deco all-brick from 1930, with leaded glass windows, oak and maple woodwork and floors throughout, original cut-glass chandeliers and (I swear to all gods) an honest-to-shit front door of iron-bound oak.

God bless George Bush for fucking up the economy -- last year, we couldn't have TOUCHED this house . . . Hell, we still couldn't affordf it without the heroic effforts of Joshua Taylor at Charter Funding -- who is himself a character worthy of a full-length novel . . .

Another also: I'm gonna be a Guest of Honor at I-Con, which is a gaming convention in Springfield IL, from September 7-10. So anybody in the central Illinois area is welcome to drop by. Mostly I'll just be hanging out and being my genial (*hack-aff*) self.

And finally: though most of the people who ever read this blog already know, Scott Lynch's brilliant debut novel, THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA was released in the US just over a month ago. All you folks who are tired of waiting for a new book from me should go pick this up. He writes like I do, only better. This is a terrific novel, and there will be plenty more to come.

And that's the news. I'm outta here.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, addiction can be pretty tough. Morphine's a fun one.

Good news on the house, bad on the knee. Hope you get the medical attention you require.

Perhaps I'm the only one who finds this amusing, but I forced Heroes Die upon my mother. She got to the Pallas Ril cube (you know, like 45 pages in), and gave up because of the unlinear plot. Not because of the violence, or because of the perspective shifting every now and then. No, the plot was somehow confusing that early on in the book.

So, keep it up! The less of my book collection she wants to peruse, the better.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see another post here Mr. Stover. Knee injuries are probably one of the most painful things to endure, so best wishes on a speedy recovery. Hope the book is shaping out well. I'm sure I speak for a bunch of fans when I say we're very eager to read it. :-)

- Colin

Anonymous said...

She gave up because of unlinear plot? That's the most amazing reason I've heard of for someone stopping.

Awesome to see a new post and the news on the house...not so awesome with the knee. I hope WC gets their ass in gear =/

Keep us posted (even if it be in a drug-induced haze).

Anonymous said...

Damn Matt, sorry to hear about the knee injury. Hope you have a quick recovery...

-Rob

Anonymous said...

I shredded the everliving hell out of my left knee a few years ago. I actually read Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle for the first time while sitting on my ass. Surgery will suck, and you'll be back to normal a few months afterward. Congrats on the house.

Anonymous said...

Add my sympathies and congrats for knee and house, respectively, to the list; it's great of you to keep up with the blog amid everything else. Looking forward to CBK!

-Kris

Anonymous said...

Thanks for recommending The Lies of Locke Lamora it was great. I'm so looking forward to CBK.

Anonymous said...

First off, kick ass job on Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle. Blade has become my favorite book of all time, for the underlying philosophy and how you nail down 'The Moment'.

Cheesy, but had to say it :)
So rare to see someone who can express it, most of us can barely understand it.

It's a key reason to why I revere your two Caine novels so much. As a former veteran and now professional firefighter, I do MMA style training for fun. I have to say, it's all in practice. The more you do these fast paced things, the more relaxed you are while doing them. That's my key to seeing options that exist in those moments where everything is teetering on the next action. I wish your book would be standard text for a lot of these high intensity jobs or hobbies :)

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