Ann Leckie

1) I went to the Launchpad Astronomy Workshop two weeks ago, and had the most amazing time, and met the most amazing people. Some of them have written blog posts about it. I fully intended to, but I suspect there’s no way I’ll really be able to in any way that seems sufficient to me.

2)Readers who are familiar with my short fiction–a minority these days, for fairly obvious reasons–will recall that I wrote a fair amount of fantasy, nearly all of it set in the same universe. A new story, “Saving Bacon”–set in that same universe!–has gone live at Podcastle. Perhaps you will enjoy it.

3)Related to that last item, once, years ago, Mr Leckie and I visited some friends who’d moved out of the city and bought a farm. They had a pig penned outside, and they explained that the first year they’d gotten a pig, they’d named it and everything, and then when it came time to do what they’d bought the pig for to begin with, it was really hard on them. (Yes, yes, I imagine it was harder on the pig, but the pig, sadly, wasn’t telling the story.) The next year, they named their pig “Ham” so that they would never forget what that pig’s job was. Next morning, we were served (delicious) sausage that was very obviously home-made, and I said, “Is this Ham?” One of the friends said, very solemnly, “No, Ann, that’s sausage.” And then busted up laughing. She’d been waiting and waiting to make that crack. And yes, it was Ham.

4)Left Bank Books in St Louis has a regular science fiction book discussion thingy, and the next one is Thursday August 7, at 7pm. And the book they’ll be discussing? Ancillary Justice. And I’ll be there. Drop by if you’re interested.

5)There are (or were last I checked) signed copies of Ancillary Justice at both Subterranean Books and Left Bank Books. So if you’re in St Louis and want one of those, that’s where you’d go to get them.

6)I fail at subtweeting. I tried, but instead started a conversation about cilantro. Oh, well, that’s the breaks. I’ll do it more explicitly here, since there’s more space–obviously since cilantro tastes vile to me, people who rave about it only “like” it because it’s fashionable. They are deluded, brainwashed, perhaps even sheep-like. You cannot convince me otherwise, I know the truth, and I don’t care about what herbs might be in style, I just like good food. And cilantro isn’t good food.

7)Same goes for people who like chili peppers. They’ve got to be lying in order to appear cool, or so invested in the idea of being cool they’ve convinced themselves eating them is actually pleasant.

8)No, I don’t sincerely think that. But I am a wimp when it comes to spicy, and cilantro tastes like a mouthful of soap. Ick.

9)Yes, I am aware there’s probably a genetic component to the whole “cilantro tastes like soap” thing. Supposedly there’s also an “it’s in your head” component as well, but I’m not sure how any amount of exposure is going to make a mouthful of soap into some kind of pleasant experience.

10)I guess that’s everything. See you on the other side of Worldcon, unless I realize I forgot something.