Are you going to ConFusion? In Detroit? January 21-24? I think you should. I will be there, doing these things:

Friday 5:00:00 PM Reacting to Fiction in Public
Book discussion today, predominantly online, has created a new phenomenon of public reaction. Whether it’s love of a work or the opposite, this public reaction has become a performance all its own. Does this new paradigm create a culture where perspectives that deviate from those with the most social capital are no longer valid?
Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Susan Dennard, Andrea Johnson (M), Amal El-Mohtar, Greg van Eekhout

Friday 7:00 pm (Offsite) Barnes and Noble Tor Author Group signing
With Susan Dennard, Wesley Chu, V.E. Schwab, Lawrence M. Schoen and Cherie Priest
Livonia store
17111 Haggerty Rd.
Northville, MI 48168

Saturday 4:00:00 PM Autograph Session 1

Saturday 8:00:00 PM Would You Rather?
Hosted by fantasy author Sam Sykes, the contestants will play a science fiction and fantasy inspired game of “Would you rather?” Expect shenanigans, adult language, and laughs.
Brian McClellan, Sam Sykes (M), Cherie Priest, Greg van Eekhout, V.E. Schwab

Sunday 11:00:00 AM Formative Fiction: The Books That Hooked You
Every one remembers the book that turned them into a reader for life. The panel will discuss the books that were formative in their reading lives. What makes a piece of fiction formative?  How does formative fiction evolve with time? Is this work different for today’s new readers than it was for the previous generation or, even, the one before that?
Ferrett Steinmetz, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Mur Lafferty, Sarah Gibbons

Sunday 12:00:00 PM The Business of Rejection
Writing is a business built around rejection. Almost every writer in the industry has experienced it at some point, and many experience it constantly. Come learn how working writers deal with rejection, move past it, and embrace it for what it is.
Amy Sundberg, Kameron Hurley, Greg van Eekhout, Mur Lafferty (M), Gwenda Bond

So, I’ve already posted about 2015, a year some suckage leavened by some nice things. So, what’s on board for 2016?

First of all, I won’t have a new novel out. That’s mostly because I didn’t complete one in time to have a novel out in 2016. From the time a novel is sold, a publisher usually needs at least nine months and often more than a year to get it ready for release. And by “ready” I mean not just editing and printing, but also positioning it with a marketing campaign and finding an advantageous slot for it in the release schedule. So, for me to have a book out in 2016, I would have had to finish writing it sometime in late 2014 or early 2015, so an editor could edit it, so I could revise it, so an art director and book designer and cover artist could make it pretty, and so on. Unfortunately, taking care of two elderly parents was more than a full-time job that didn’t leave much physical or emotional energy for new writing.

And I did actually write a new book in the last months of 2015, but it won’t be ready to go out on submission until early 2016. And then I’ll start another book, as one does if one is the sort of person who does that.

Am I bummed not to have a new book in 2016? Not really. I released three new books in 2014 and 2015, and three books in two years isn’t half bad. And I do have a few things slated to come out in 2016, such as a paperback release, a short story in April, and possibly a comic book project or two. (The comics stuff is in very, very early stages of development, but I’m hopeful.) And I’m thinking of a direct-to-reader project or two to fulfill the requests of folks who have been asking me for sequels to Norse Code and The Boy at the End of the World. We’ll see if that’s something I want to do and if it makes sense to do it.

Other than career stuff, we’re planning another trip to the UK in summer. And possibly another in winter. There will also be hundreds of beach walks, dozens of sunsets, and probably no sunrises because holy crap who wants to get up early enough to see a sunrise? If the sun’s there when I wake up, then I’m happy to leave the sun to its morning business without my supervision.

Mostly, 2016 will contain a lot of who-knows-what, because that’s the truth about every life and every year. We don’t know what’s coming down the road. But we drive forward anyway, because we hope a good portion of the unknown things are good things. So, sunglasses on, windows down, tunes blasting, slightly exceeding posted speed limits, and let’s have fun and hope we don’t get a ticket.

Firstly, secondly, thirdly, and all other numbers through lastly, thank you. Thank you for the emojis, commiserations, alcohol, hugs virtual and real, and all of the other countless ways you gave me boosts when I needed them this year.

Holy crap, this year. I mean, just, daaaamn. I mean HOLY CRAP, 2015.

In January I moved my parents into assisted living, sold their house, and then my mom died. It was more complicated than that sounds, because of ER visits and multiple facilities and other added degrees of difficulty. Also, the day after my mom died, I went out on a multi-city book tour.

[UPDATE: I was hoping there would be no mass shooting while I was running this giveaway, but right now I’m seeing live updates from yet another one, this time at an Oregon community college. Whether you choose to participate in my giveaway, or donate money to a gun violence prevention group on your own, or lobby your representatives in government, please do SOMETHING to stop this insanity. Please.]

[UPDATE: I found a box of California Bones hardcovers I didn’t know I had, so I’m adding a signed hardcover of California Bones, plus an ARC of Pacific Fire, so you get the whole trilogy.]

I’m running another book giveaway, this time for one of three signed hardcovers of DRAGON COAST.

Here’s what you gotta do: Make a donation of $10 or more to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. I’ll be kicking in $100 myself.

What does the Brady Campaign do? They work to change a situation that leads to 32,000 annual deaths due to fun violence in the USA.

Email (gregvan@gmail.com) to tell me you donated. I’d love to see a screenshot of the donation verification screen, or a photo of your addressed and stamped envelope, but it’s not required. I want to make this easy. I would, however, like to know how much you donated so I can tally it all at the end.

I’ll choose three donors at random who’ll each get a signed hardcover.

I’ll keep the identity of the winners and all entrants private unless they want otherwise.

I will ship the books to the winners. Since I don’t want to have to pay a bunch for postage, I’m limiting it to addresses within the United States. If you want a special inscription, just let me know.

I’ll select the winners on Friday, October 2, 5:00 P.M. EST.

I think that should cover it. Let me know if you have any questions.

Want to enter a drawing to win a complete set of signed ARCs of my Daniel Blackland trilogy?

Here’s what you gotta do: Make a donation to the Planned Parenthood U.S. national organization or a local chapter, a key provider of reproductive healthcare, education, and information that primarily benefits women.

Email (gregvan@gmail.com) to tell me you donated. I’d love to see a screenshot of the donation verification screen, or a photo of your addressed and stamped envelope, but it’s not required. I want to make this easy. I would, however, like to know how much you donated so I can tally it all at the end.

I’ll choose one donor at random who’ll get the signed ARCs.

I’ll keep the identity of the winner and all entrants private unless the winner wants me to say who they are.

I will ship the stuff to you. Since I don’t want to have to pay a bunch for postage, I’m limiting it to addresses within the United States. If you want a special inscription, just let me know.

I’ll select the winner on Friday, September 4, 5:00 P.M. EDT.

I think that should cover it. Let me know if you have any questions.

Get some books, maybe! Donate some money! Feel good about yourself! It’s fun!

Hey, I’m doing a couple of bookstore events for Dragon Coast, the third book in my Daniel Blackland trilogy. Tacos and beer will be supplied at both events, thanks to my kind and generous publisher, Tor Books. And I’ll be sharing the podium with terrific authors Seanan McGuire (Borderlands appearance only), Adam Rakunas (Mysterious Galaxy appearance only), and Fran Wilde (both appearances).  Beer, tacos, books, writers. I honestly don’t know what else I can say to entice you.

Borderlands Books with Seanan McGuire and Fran Wilde
Tuesday, September 15, 6pm
866 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Mysterious Galaxy with Adam Rakunas and Fran Wilde
Saturday, September 19, 2pm
5943 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

Hey, you like to get books before anyone else gets them? You like them even more when they’re free?

Here’s how you can get free advance copies of Dragon Coast, the third book in my Daniel Blackland series:

GoodReads Sweepstakes — Enter to win one of nine Dragon Coast advance reader copies. See link for details.

Tor.com Sweepstakes — Email Tor.com and get one of three copies. See link for details. 

ARC Collection Sweepstakes — Subscribe to the Tor newsletter and get a package of advance reader copies of Dragon Coast, plus books by Brandon Sanderson, Jason Denzel, and Cecelia Holland. See link for details.

Last night I saw Rush at the Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles on the last night of their 40th anniversary tour. It’s entirely possible that it’s the last time they’ll ever take the stage like that and that it was the last time I’ll ever see them play live. And it’s really okay.

Not okay in the sense that they seem tired. Last night’s show was among the best of their performances I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of them, starting when I was a teenager and the skull beneath the flesh of my driver’s license photo hadn’t yet fused. These three guys are powerful musicians, and they sounded like they were going out at the top of their game.

The band did a nice bit of theater with their onstage gear. As the show went on, roadies kept stripping down the stage. What started with elaborate steam punk contraptions and oversized clothes driers ended up with a couple of amps sitting on wooden school chairs. It was a nice, physical expression of moving back in time.

So, for almost three hours, I stood in the bombardment of Geddy’s bass and Neil’s drums and Alex’s guitars, smiling joyfully. I thought of all the times I’d heard those songs on the radio, on vinyl, on my boom box or off-brand Walkman.

“In a world where I feel so small, I can’t stop thinking big.” — Caravan, Rush

Last night, as with all the other shows, I got to experience it with some of the most important people in my life. This time it was Lisa, and my friend since childhood, Todd, and Todd’s wife, Lori. Some of my favorite shows were with my friend, Bob, with whom I shed blood for many years in Arizona.

I thought of sitting in some random parking lot in Todd’s Toyota Tercel and being exulted by the tone of Geddy Lee’s Fender Jazz bass. I thought of being depressed on a bench on my college campus, and deciding my time would be better spent listening to Moving Pictures than sitting in some giant, dark lecture hall for two hours of art history. I remember a show on the Roll The Bones tour when they sent thousands of miniature spot lights over the crowd during “Bravado,” literally sharing their light and inspiration with all of us, and I almost wanted to leave the concert so I could sit with my yellow legal pad and write stories.

I get sentimental while I’m making the devil sign with both hands.

Several months ago Kevin J. Anderson invited me to submit to 2113, an anthology of short stories inspired by the music of Rush. Neil Peart had given a nod of approval for the project, so of course I wrote a story. Of course I did. Art executed with care and technical expertise has an enormous capacity to make the audience feel. Rush taught me that, and I don’t know if I’d be a writer without them.

I’m thinking about this Dr. Seuss quote: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” As Geddy said before leaving the stage, I hope to see them again. If not, thanks for decades of smiles, guys.

When the dust has cleared
And victory denied
A summit too lofty
River a little too wide
If we keep our pride
Though paradise is lost
We will pay the price
But we will not count the cost
— Bravado, Rush

My dad, Jozef Louis van Eekhout, passed away a little less than two hours ago from complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He died in his sleep, more comfortable and calm than he’d been in months, thanks to the gift of medication. He’d struggled with the disease for years, and going as peacefully as he did was more than I’d dared hope for.

A Dutch-Indonesian, he was born on June 10, 1934 in Surabaya, Indonesia. In the dozen years he lived there, he experienced war, revolution, internment camp, the loss of his older brother, Anthonie, and the murder of his father Frederick. From Indonesia he and the rest of his family moved to Holland, where he stayed until following his fiancée, my mother, to Venice, California. He and my mom got married at St. Mark’s in Venice and soon had their two children, my brother and me.