Hangovers

• Yeah, yeah, I know! I disappeared again. But Christopher and I are finishing the first draft of our (sorta secret, except if you follow either of us on twitter or are facebook friends you know we're doing one) collaborative middle grade book today. Yep, we wrote a book together. In a month. And it was fun. Now we do some fixing, and show it to people, and I will definitely do a post about what I've learned from this process. Useful stuff I hope to take back to my solo work…especially since I'll be starting something new SOON.
• Other excitment in the works: I do believe you will get to see The Woken Gods cover (eek!!!) next week. Again: !!! And I imagine ARCs will be floating around soon as well, and of course, the book itself will be out in September. I'll just be over here breathing into a paper bag. Anyway, hope you like it–cover, book, the whole shebang. And now some links!
• Let's start with the ancient tales of a shapeshifting Jesus. Dan Brown, start your engines. (Via the estimable Colleen Lindsay.)
• "Ancient Egyptian relics were made of iron from space."
• And one more ancient things link–"Lost Egyptian City Revealed After 1200 Years Under the Sea."
• Author Jennifer Lynne Barnes has written two amazingly smart, incredibly fascinating posts following up on the "what makes a big book?" discussion that John Green touched off with his post about TFiOS' success and what he believes factored into it. These are MUST READS if you're an author or in publishing or just talk about books in real life or online (especially the second one). Post the first and post the second.
• A crazy crazy vendetta story at Salon involving Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey. As I've already said elsewhere, some of the things mentioned in here are why I created my own circus for Girl on a Wire…so I could have the kind of circus I wanted to write about. Because after all the reading I've done, I do find the revelations in that piece shocking, but not surprising (if that makes any sense). But hey, we've got AGES before you get to read that book, so I'll say no more.
• A lovely profile of the wonderful Karen Berger in the NYT. She will be missed in the comics world; that's for sure.
• Veronica Roth's BEA speech is well worth your time. Snippet: "People say that writing is an isolated activity, but good writing requires company. Company that you ultimately love and cherish and value, and this perspective towards criticism, ultimate improvement requires humility."
• Baked Avocado Bacon and Eggs. This little piece of heaven came from the fab Beth Revis and I will be making it this weekend. YUM.
• The long-lost (and apparently terrible) ET game for Atari might be unearthed from a landfill? Snippet: "A Canadian studio has confirmed to the BBC it will search a former landfill site in New Mexico where Atari's much-criticised ET game may be buried."
• Best news: Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is this weekend's COVER REVIEW (by Barbara Kingsolver, who raves!) of the NYTBR. Read it! Yay! Great things happening to a great book by a great person. My favorite.

• A real post soon, maybe about what I'm learning (so far) from mine and C's secret project collaborative lark…as we hit the halfway point in it today. (Wow, that was fast. Double typing fingers means double word counts. And it is also proving an excellent distraction from The Nerves kicking in about The Woken Gods, now that it's more or less done and beginning to be read by some people…and even more people soon. Like, out in three months soon. Ack.)
• But first I'm just going to close some tabs–many of them bookish.
• I always love a peek at other people's processes, and the delightful Rachael Herron obliges with how she sets her target word count and keeps perspective on a project. 
• Scientific American confirms the Internet is a giant black hole of time-suckage. Best part is new term: email apnea. This modern life, I tell you.
• The singular and amazing Chuck Wendig recently did a great two part interview over at Fantasy Faction. Go read it, then buy his new book The Blue Blazes, why don't you?
• Skeleton Lake in India. One of those rare stories where the photos and content are equally fascinating.
• Nicola Griffith talks with her editor about her forthcoming book Hild, definitely one of the books I'm most looking forward to this year.
• John Green offers his own opinion on the wild success of TFiOS for publishing nerds.
• Ron Charles gives a thumbs up to one of this year's books that's already a favorite of mine: Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. Animal person? An adult who loved The One and Only Ivan? You must read this. Starred reviews, and so much love already. And it's out tomorrow!

• Whoops, sorry to disappear, but I predict a return to more regular entries starting now. At least until circus edits land. In the meantime, I'm accumulating research material for a new thing and pecking away at a collaborative project with C that has been major fun so far. And soon now The Woken Gods will be dipping its myth-infused toes into the waters of People Reading It Early and so I must. stay. busy. But what easier way to dip my non-mythical toe back into the blog than the sharing of some amassed links and the closing of tabs? There isn't one, so.
• Speaking of The Woken Gods, I started a little pinboard for it, if you want a look-see.
• You may have seen this already, but I love it so here it is anyway: a photographer does a series of photos of her five-year-old daughter not as a princess but as various heroic real women.
• The cast of Better Off Dead, where are they now? (I want my two dollars!)
• Great think piece by the fabulous Anne Helen Petersen: "The Enduring Post-Feminist Dystopia of Bachelorette."
• Excerpts of letters from Italo Calvino are running at the New Yorker: "I’m a regular guy, I like well-defined outlines, I’m old-fashioned, bourgeois. My stories are full of facts, they have a beginning and an end. For that reason they will never be able to find success with the critics, nor occupy a place in contemporary literature." Good reading.
• This news story about the resurfacing of a 27-year-old CIA wig is just about perfect.
• Terrible magicians in pop culture. LOVE. (Via David.)
• An interview with Hot Key's editorial director that has some interesting insights into UK sales figures.
• Janni Simner kicks off her "Writing for the Long Haul" blog series with a wonderful piece from Cynthia Leitich Smith. (I, too, have an expensive grocery habit.)
• This post Austin points to sums up a large part of why I still keep up this blog, and probably always will, and why I don't really worry about how many of you there are (just grateful that you stop by, period). (Also, in the age of platform purchases and inevitable migrations, I believe that having a space you own becomes ever more important.)
• And, finally, two things via the Awl: Replacement similes for after all the animals go extinct ("(18) Brave as a lion = Brave as a freelancer") and the annotated wisdom of Amy Poehler ("Right now I'm singing along to books on tape. I typically pop in something like Stephen King's The Stand, and I love singing along to that kind of stuff.").

• Jamestown Colony cannibalism story; this has been all over, but you know how I love my early settler drama.
• The fabulous Annalee Newitz, one of the smartest people around, has a shiny new book out, Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction. This piece at io9 is a great teaser for it. 
• How entrepreneurs come up with ideas.
• Ten steps for being a grown-up from Kelly Williams Brown. I need to get better at three.
• What does science tell us about how we'd use superpowers; good or evil?
• Loved this interview with Melina Marchetta on heroines: "Whichever way you turn, female characterisation is a minefield. Male characters tend to get away with so much more. I loved writing Jonah Griggs (from Jellicoe) but Jonah killed his father, bashes up Ben and stomps on his fingers, shoves Taylor up against the wall in rage, yet I rarely read a negative comment about him as a character. Evanjalin in FotRock, on the other hand, has been criticised many a time and called manipulative and a liar. I think we are so much tougher on our female characters." (via Sarah)
• Good piece at Vulture with some script excerpts that show why Shane Black became one of Hollywood's favorite screenwriters.
• A truly must-read post from Kelly Barnhill: "The only reviews that matter."
• Another one that's already been everywhere, but which I'm sharing in case you somehow missed it. Maureen Johnson, brilliant human, launched the #coverflip earlier this week, asking readers to reimagine covers if the author's gender was flipped. The results are a must read and see. (See also: Amanda Hocking's reaction post.)
• Photos of abandoned Tunisian Star Wars sets.

• The most exciting thing of today is that my dearie dearest Christopher Rowe has a brand new story, strange and marvelous, up at Tor.com. Go read "Jack of Coins." And then go check out this entry from Red Nose Studio on the behind-the-scenes of the making of that amazing illustration for it (right). But read the story first, because then you can nerd out over all the cool details in the art. Okay? Okay. (I'm told you can also get the story as an e-book single at Amazon, B&N, etc., if that's your pleasure.)
• Second most exciting thing of the day is that I finished my revision. So I'll be trying to catch up on email and other things that have gone by the wayside. And collecting all the books I need for the next projects I want to work on…because I wouldn't be me if I didn't start something new soon. That said, I'll also be having a weekend of sloth (mostly) first and envying everyone at RT. Next year, I will be at you RT.
• The Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary. Ooh. (Via Scott.)
• A fabulous profile of the 60-year-old Kim Gordon. Role model forever.
• A interesting piece on the Voynich Manuscript; the possibility it's a hoax makes it no less fascinating.
• R.I.P. E.L. Konigsburg. I loved this NYT piece in remembrance.
• I want to see the new documentary about Ricky Jay so. badly. But it's not coming anywhere nearby. Alas. *waits*
• Joe Hill interviewed at the A.V. Club: "In the first draft, at least in my case, I tend to write a lot more than I need. NOS4A2 is just about 700 pages in hardcover, and was well over 1,000 pages in manuscript form. But I cut several hundred pages out of the book, because there’s a difference between what I need to understand the characters, and what the reader needs to have a great time, and to really enjoy the story."
• The wonderful Toni McGee Causey on being brave (and an excellent demonstration of same).
• Rainbow Rowell posts about writing a Korean male lead and why in her amazing novel Eleanor & Park. I don't think I've mentioned it here, but I should've. Definitely one of my favorite books this year. Flirting over X-Men comics, two fully-realized and singular characters, gorgeous writing. Read it.
• "30 things to tell a book snob."
• Michael Shannon's dramatic reading of that sorority girl letter. Epic. You've probably already seen it, but since it's one of the best things I've seen in ages, I'm including in case you haven't.

• Toby Buckell did a thoughtful post about the GoodReads acquisition by Amazon, which prompted me to create a mailing list to send out the occasional newsletter with news (obvs), extras, giveaways, and chatty stuff like book recs. Sign up here; I'll even wish you a happy birthday, if you like.
• In the past couple of weeks, I've returned to yoga, by way of some excellent local classes. So I particularly love this Sara Ryan post about the idea of sitting with the discomfort and how that applies to creative work as well. (I love yoga, I do, and am so glad to be doing it again…except for the occasional ridiculous non sequitur along the lines of "unhinge your jaw." Because I am neither an eldritch horror nor a character on V. Though the idea of them being in a yoga class–especially together–is pleasing.)
• Bookish murals from around the world. Gorgeousness.
• The wonderful Nalo Hopkinson profiled by the LA Times.
• Gate to Hell found–noxious gases apparently a dead giveaway.
• 14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites.
• The news from Iain Banks is completely heartbreaking, and his statement on it has touched many of us, I know. I hope if I'm ever faced with such awful circumstances, I can handle them with such grace.
• An excellent piece by Nichole Bernier on the role of the paperback, talking cover changes and the like, at the Millions: "Here’s what I learned, after a month of talking to editors, literary agents, publishers, and other authors: A paperback isn’t just a cheaper version of the book anymore. It’s a makeover. A facelift. And for some, a second shot."
• Michael Grant offers some typically wry advice for writers at the Guardian. Snippet: "Writers often offer up helpful hints, and I've done the same in moments of weakness, but here's the truth as I see it from my own narrow and subjective perch: You can either come up with stories or you can't. You either have the ambition and work ethic to sit there typing for months on end or not. But you do it by doing it." (On his second piece of advice, of course, I disagree, because I come from the proud school of Read Everything.)
• And now for the best thing of the day: Preserved Moments of Historical Sass (Vol. 2) from Messy Nessy Chic. So many excellent photos. So. Many.

• Drowning, swimming, floating, all of the above. Just a few quick links, because I hate to let this place get too dusty even in the middle of Sinus Infection Deadlineville (the lesser known ghost town you pass through on the way to Complete Overloadtown). All will be well.
• One thing that gives me the happies lately? Pretending we're all going to live on this Greek island together, drinking boiled coffee, socializing, napping, writing, and living forever.
• The amazing invisible bike helmet.
• Agent Rachelle Gardner offers some thoughts on making a living as a writer and part two.
• The always fascinating Richard Nash at VQR with an essay: "What is the business of literature?"
• You all read Terri Windling's blog faithfully, right? So many days, I find just what I need there. This morning was one of them.
• Narrative structural diagrams for several different radio shows on cocktail napkins. Pretty.
• I love envelopes, especially old ones or ones with scribbled on messages. I tend to use even boring old bill envelopes as makeshift notepads. Messy Nessy Chic loves them too, and has the pictures to prove it.
• I've passed this link on to my favorite milliners already, but sharing here too. A great piece from Movie Star Makeover on Lilly Daché, old Hollywood's favorite hatter.
• And if this handful of links isn't enough for you, Big Think has a little round-up of interesting, provocative things for spring. And it is, you know, springtime. If only nature would behave that way.

Look, when I'm working lots I take little breaks and snuffle up interesting stuff, which keeps brain overdrive from causing me to scare door-to-door pamphleteers in my bathrobe or yell at guys who let their dogs run loose to attack mine (at least, it keeps me from doing exclusively those things). Since I'm currently working nonstop, there are many links to pass on. And this is after the tumblr frenzy. I can't explain it. Only demonstrate. Herewith:

• This post just makes me insanely happy: dear friend Chris Barzak on visiting the set of Jamie Marks is Dead, the movie currently being made based on his FABULOUS first novel One for Sorrow. I hope this means a whole bunch more people read it. See also: a great process-heavy guest post he did here when the book came out.
• Austin Kleon digs up some great Steve Albini quotes about why "connections" (fake ones, hence quote marks) don't matter. He may be talking about music, but every word of it's true of every artistic business, in my opinion anyway. Especially this: "Work on music you’re passionate about and want to make for its own sake. If your music resonates with other people then your music will eventually earn you something, but if not you’re still doing something you enjoy."
• Another fab piece by Carrie Frye at the Awl, "How to Be a Monster: Life Lessons from Lord Byron": "Whatever his intentions there, the point remains that two years after he'd left Byron's employment Polidori was writing a needling story based on Byron and using the vampiric character Byron himself had created to skewer him. It was like biting him with his own teeth."
• How to look like David Bowie. IMPORTANT.
• Weird Girl Reading List from Emily Temple. (Via Leila.)
• Corn vampires!
• Malinda Lo with some excellent comments on the (gorgeous) Two Boys Kissing cover.
• Libba Bray with a breathtaking, amazing post about what haunted her at 17 at Nova Ren Suma's to celebrate the release week of Nova's new novel 17 & Gone. (I'll be doing a post here too, because I LOVELOVE Nova's writing…but it won't be anything like this one. Seriously, if you read nothing else I point to, go read this.)
• My beloved Barbara Stanwyck gets the deluxe Hairpin treatment from the fabulous Anne Helen Petersen: "She was, as they say, a “hard-boiled girl of easy virtue,” which is another way of saying that she was smart and had a good time, and that I would want to be her friend." Read the whole piece; fascinating, as ever.

• Maria Tatar on one of my very favorite topics: tricksters, and specifically lady tricksters, in the New Yorker.
• The Morning News Tourney of Books is up and running. The commentary after The Fault in Our Stars win is particularly worth your time. I thought this, especially, was extremely well put from Kevin Guilfoile: "You and I were socialized to believe we were too cool to do almost anything. Our generation has been paralyzed by slacker inertia. Our hero is David Letterman, whose job it is to have the greatest gig in the world and act constantly like he doesn’t want it. That has always been the Platonic ideal of success for you and me and our peers. Maybe that’s why John Green’s books make me cry. Because he reminds you that you don’t have to be like that." I think I spent my 20s unlearning this attitude. Enthusiasm and action? Trump cool every time. (Or, rather, are the beating heart of actual coolness. Even better? Stop caring about coolness at all.)
• Lev Grossman on writing a novel. Oh, god, yes, this. All of this.
• A discussion of whether urban fantasy is inherently liberal (a counterpoint to the recent 'is epic fantasy conservative?' convo) at Tor.com.
• Jane Hu on Gilmore Girls for the Awl. I love (and agree with) this whole piece SO much. Snippet: "In another way, cultural studies appears in exact keeping with "Gilmore Girls," as it tests the line between serious art and entertainment, the avant-garde and the popular. As a writer and a reader, my fantasy is to work in a world where the Harlequin romance, a NYBR classics release, and so-called academic prose all deserve re-readings—because they can all be read seriously, each one being worth serious attention." Yesss.
• Slide show: A secret history of women and tattoo.
• Really interesting piece from Grammnet's Brian Taylor (who's developing Blackwood for TV) on the role data could play in TV development at the Huffington Post.
• Feeling sleepless? This New Yorker article probably won't help, but is fascinating. (Apparently I was catching up on NYer stuff like crazy last week.)
• Linda Holmes on romantic comedies at NPR. Another great piece: "What's most profoundly wrong is the terrible, mean-spirited scripts that are getting made, that are making people feel justified in using "rom-com" as an eye-rolling insult, and we've got to stop that first. Stop saying "chick flick" like it's "pile of rotten meat," and stop saying "chick lit" and "chick book" and "chick movie" and anything else that suggests that love stories are less than war stories, or that stories that end with kissing are inherently inferior to stories that end with people getting shot. Or, if you believe they are and you want to continue believing that they are, stop pretending you're open to romantic comedies getting better."
• Kat Howard interviewed at the Rejectionist. Yay.