Three things make a post!

1. Alex Bledsoe was kind enough to ask me a few questions about Mechanique over at his blog, …from down in Lucky Town. I geek out around the point where he asks about the cover and interior art, both by the awesome Kiri Moth, and call out this piece of Elena as a particular favorite, because how could it not be? Check out the full interview for more of me nerding out.

2. And oh man, speaking of nerding out, I’m the guest at this week’s Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy!

Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine, developing the idea, researching circuses, the illustrations, parentheses, unpublished novels, short stories, movie costumes, bad movies, Jonah Hex, Sucker Punch, steampunk conventions, The Last Unicorn, Contact by Carl Sagan, Geek Wisdom, Catwoman.

This is basically what my mind looks like at all times, but it is also a list of the topics we covered during my interview!

They also talk amongst themselves, which I was down with until I saw on THEIR topic list that JJA walked out of Equilibrium AND they talk about Batman and Robin. Now, 1) I have questions about why Equilbrium was that bad – I mean, it was bad, but walk-out bad?, 2) I missed a chance to talk about the time my grandmother MADE ME walk out of a movie that is now one of my favorite SF movies I go to the mat for on a regular basis (Strange Days, baby!), and 3) Batman and Robin without me?! There goes any chance to play my favorite game, Complete Nonsense or Actual Line from Batman and Robin? (This game is amazing.)

Still, even without that game, it was a blast to record. Head over to io9 to give it a listen!

3. This has been another of those weeks where you look around and realize it’s already Thursday, you’re too afraid for David Strathairn to watch Alphas in case it’s awful, and your to-do list is so big that Gmail refuses to even open it any more.

The good news is, I’m going to Readercon tomorrow, so I can ignore that list all weekend, which is handy. I’m not on any programming, but I’ll be around!

Truth in advertising alert, for anyone who wants some substance in their con reports.

I enjoyed myself, as usual at WisCon; as usual at WisCon, I only got to about 1/10th of the programming that I wanted to, and spoke to far fewer people than I meant to. At least this year I had the excuse of manning the Small Beer Press table at intervals, rather than my usual M.O. of completely forgetting things are happening until an hour after they’ve ended and I hear other people talking about them. And I got to have lovely chats with those who stopped by Small Beer, which, as it turns out, is a pretty handy way to catch people!

Thanks to all who came by the “…And Other Circuses” reading, which was a lot of fun, though when reading with Gwenda Bond, Christopher Rowe, and Richard Butner, that’s probably a given. Bonus: I got an Agatha Christie Mystery chair! (It’s the little things. Then again, only one of us stood up to read, so they’re clearly comfy.)

Special thanks to all who bought and/or asked me to sign their copies of Mechanique, which was surreal but flattering! Special apologies for my completely illegible handwriting. Just pretend it’s something pithy yet, at the same time, deeply touching.

The party circuit was fun, even for this introvert homebody. The Genderfloomp dance party’s maiden voyage was a blast (hat tip to Meg McCarron and Liz Gorinsky), and even though I retired early, I sat bolt upright around 3am with an idea for one of their background video accompaniments. That’s a good party. (Also, I have since completely forgotten the idea, but man, at 3AM, it was a WINNER.)

WisCon’s only downside: on the plane home, my ears decided not to depressurize for some reason, which has been interesting. Things are improving slowly, though I fly out again this weekend and am hoping it begins to improve a little faster. In the meantime, I’m sneezing with extreme care and just using my headphones as a way to deter casual conversation with strangers rather than as a music delivery device.

This week I’m catching up on notes from all the programming I never got to (it makes sense in my head), and then it’s back to writing. And getting into the swing of things, my story “Semiramis,” about the Svalbard Seed Vault and other casualties of war, is up now at Clarkesworld! (I have not yet listened to the audio version, available here for those so inclined, but Kate Baker is reading it, so I’m stoked.)

So apparently I have been really remiss in talking about my travel schedule, because people were surprised yesterday to find out I was coming to WisCon. Uh, surprise?

So, quickly. YES, I am coming to WisCon! I get in tomorrow, leave Monday, and can’t wait to see everyone I possibly can in the meantime.

I’m also doing a group reading! It’s Saturday at 4pm in Conference Room 2, which I am hoping is one of the ones with the wing chairs that make you look like you’re introducing an Agatha Christie mystery on Masterpiece Theatre.

I will be reading alongside Gwenda Bond, Christopher Rowe, and Richard Butner. And because at least 75% of the group has a circus-themed project already out or in the works, it’s called “…And Other Circuses.” (Did I make a dorky flier for it? Of course I did. It narrowly beat out the one where we pose for a hipster-band album cover, mostly because Richard Butner couldn’t bring his theremin.)

Tonight, dental work (I still don’t think this was the best plan I ever made). Tomorrow, WisCon!

Between Steampunk World’s Fair last weekend (which was a blast!), and WisCon this weekend (blast anticipated!), I am falling a little behind on the media-consumed section.

This month in general has been a little thin on the ground, entertainment-wise. Usually over a weekend I can rack up half a dozen movies, easy. Since Thursday, my media consumption has been the first third of Conan the Destroyer I had TiVoed and watched as I packed for World’s Fair, an episode of Extreme Couponing that gave me the vapors, and about five seconds of an episode of The Office that someone next to me was watching on the subway this morning. Then I fell asleep. (It’s been that sort of week.)

Tomorrow, a dentist’s appointment (THAT was well-planned!), and then packing for Thursday’s flight out to Madison, where I might eventually cave and just sit in the bar watching the SyFy channel just to get a bad-movie fix. (I have some actual con-type things planned, though – more on this tomorrow, I hope!)

If I’m lucky, they’ll be showing High Plains Invaders! For half a second I thought they had just remade Copperhead (it’s one of THOSE Westerns), but I was mistaken!

The page for this 2009 movie explains that “The Old West won’t know what hit it when cowboys and aliens square off in the ultimate showdown.”

(As I was checking links I saw that High Plains Invaders is actually available to watch right now. Movies, why must you taunt me?!)

So, for those who are around this weekend and interested in fun times, I’ll be appearing at Steampunk World’s Fair in Somerset, NJ! I’m part of their Library of Lost Literature, which is showcasing some amazing books this year, and which I am thrilled to be part of.

I’ll be reading Saturday at 1pm, alongside Ekaterina Sedia, who will be giving a glimpse of her upcoming novel Heart of Iron, an alternate-history romp involving airships, railroad shenanigans, international politics, and Spring-Heeled Jack. Just saying.

We’ll be giving away some gift bags from Prime, with anthologies, novels, ARCs, and steampunk accessories! With any luck, there will also be more kettle corn, because I stamped so many of those bags I will be filling them with things for about two years (OverCraft-itis: it’s a process).

Hope to see some of you there!