ArmadilloCon was delightful, even though I was gimping around all weekend thanks to a twisted ankle during my Saturday-morning run. (Side note: why are ankles so weird? It felt fine for half a day after I twisted it and then just started throbbing in the middle of a panel. Thanks to everyone at the con for not laughing at me while I did things like hold cups of ice water against my foot during readings!) The con was really well-run and friendly — many thanks to Jonathan Miles, in particular, for inviting me to participate.

• I was on three panels: LGBT Issues in Spec Fic, Better Writing through Mythology, and Spec Fic in Academia (which I moderated). Spec Fic in Academia was a bit sparse, though we still had a good conversation, but the other two had lively audiences — especially the mythology panel, despite its being the first of the morning on Sunday. And it seems the LGBT panel was ArmadilloCon’s first on the topic, which makes me extra glad to have been a part of it. I also attended a panel on “crossed genres” (or interstitial fiction, or slipstream, or whatever you like), which, given the location of the con, had a distinctly Texan twist.
• I read the prologue to Alcestis at the Broad Universe reading, and read “The Former Hero,” a not-yet-published short story, at my own reading Saturday night.
• I met some very nice Austin writers for the first time — Lee Thomas, Stina Leicht, Matthew Bey, and others — and talked to a couple of writers who are working on mythologically-inspired first novels.
• I also sold and signed a few books! Always nice.

And now it’s back to job-market preparation and dissertation revision for a little while. But I happen to know that there’s a very in-depth interview about Alcestis in production at the moment — I’ll post the link as soon as it’s live.

Just a reminder that I will be reading, signing, and speaking on panels at ArmadilloCon in north Austin this weekend. At the Broad Universe reading, I’ll likely read the prologue from Alcestis, and at my own half-hour reading I plan to read the beginning of “The Former Hero,” my gothicky Much Ado About Nothing ghost story, which is currently making the rounds.

Hope to see you there!

I’ve added some new material to the site this week — pages containing my CV and an overview of my teaching experience at UT. I’m afraid this site needs to be all things to all people: a useful source of information about Alcestis and about me for readers interested in the book, a professional web presence, a place to point search committees considering my applications for teaching positions.

And, also, you know, not boring.

In the interest of not being boring, I’ve also slimmed down the number of other pages on the site a bit. My old summer reading lists (from 2006 and 2007) have gone private, though you can still ponder my book preferences on Goodreads if that’s your thing — I never did manage to go back and add many books read before I joined the site, but I’m reasonably good about updating it because I love the idea of Goodreads so much. (And because I sometimes look at reader reviews of my book, fine, I admit it.)

I’m going to try to keep up the pace of posting I managed through most of the spring and early summer, or something approaching it. I’m officially on fellowship now, though, and my main goal needs to be to follow Dear Sugar’s advice. That means I really should not be spending time looking at beautiful fake Criterion DVD covers or watching Joseph Gordon-Levitt insist to the world that you make him feel like a natural woman. It also means that I may go quiet here occasionally. But I’ve really enjoyed blogging more regularly this year, and with the paperback release of Alcestis coming up in February, I hope to continue to have plenty to say.

Lisa Brackmann, the author of the fabulous debut thriller Rock Paper Tiger, is a fellow Soho debut novelist. We’ve gotten to know each other a bit this year as our books have been released, and we decided to interview each other about the debut publication process.

How long did the process of getting published take, from starting to work on the novel
through its publication date?

LB: Hah. Hahah. HAHAHAHAH.

Ahem. Well, writing the novel took a while. I’m not particularly fast. I started working
with my agent, Nathan Bransford, in July 2007. The novel sold in May 2009. The
publication date was June 2010.

So writing and revising the novel took the longest. The actual production schedule with
Soho, from sale to release, was pretty fast in terms of Publishing Time.

KB: That is pretty fast! Soho bought Alcestis in October 2008 and it only came out four
months before Rock Paper Tiger did (February 2010), so your production schedule was
speedier than mine. I did one small revision with Katie Herman’s advice after Soho acquired the book, but the rest of that time mostly involved doing proofs, brainstorming copy, or waiting while Soho worked their magic.

I started writing Alcestis in June 2004 and finished it, including one round of revision, in April 2006. My agent (the lovely Diana Fox) took a little while to send it out because she was just launching her own agency, but I’d say it was truly on the market for at least a year before Soho made the offer in 2008.

What surprised you about the publication process?

LB: I think that everyone I worked with was so nice and accessible. There was a lot to
do, and it had to get done according to a schedule, and I always felt like the people on the
other side kept lines of communication open and did their best to help me do the work.

Also, it’s a lot of work. I sort of knew this, intellectually, but actually going through
the process brought home to me how much of a job being a published author is. I didn’t
have that much to do in the way of creative revisions, but the line edits, the galley proofs
and all the other stuff you don’t necessarily think about: setting up a website, getting a
professional photo shot, and all of the PR efforts—it really is a job.

Finally, how wonderfully supportive book people are in general—from agents to
publishers to bookstore owners to other authors. I’ve never met a group of people who
were so gracious and willing to welcome you to the “club.”

KB: PR is incredibly time-consuming (thankfully, a lot of it is also fun!). In the month or
two surrounding the book’s publication, I probably spent at least two or three hours a day responding to book-related email. I was really fortunate because I was on fellowship that term and I could spend that time when I needed to, but I have no idea how people with full-time day jobs manage book releases.

I was also surprised by how touched I was when friends and family were excited about
the book. Which makes me sound like a jerk, but what I mean is that I had kind of gotten used to the idea of the book coming out, simply because the publication process does take such a long time and involves so many small steps along the way (like proofs). So when I got up to read a bit at my launch party and found myself teary, I was a little surprised. I thought I was all cool and blasé! But in fact I was not, and that was a good thing.

What do you wish you had known in advance?

LB: How much of a rollercoaster the whole thing would be, though I think that’s another one of those, “you can know it intellectually but it doesn’t really prepare you for the
experience” kind of deals. I’ve been extremely fortunate in the kinds of reviews I’ve
gotten and the overall positive response to the book. What I didn’t exactly get is that, for
me anyway, even positive attention has its stressful aspects. The experience at times left
me feeling exposed and vulnerable. Hey, there’s a reason that we’re writers—most of us
are introverts!

KB: I must be needier, because I have no problem with positive attention! Then again,
as we were discussing recently, I will probably feel differently about that when I’m
stuck in the middle of the draft of my next project and feeling totally incompetent. And I
absolutely agree that waiting to hear what people think of your book is stressful, even if
the results are positive. I’ve also been really lucky in the majority of the reviews Alcestis
has received, but I was extremely nervous about what PW and Booklist and etc. would
think.

I wish I had known how much time the PR stuff would take, as I mentioned above.
Beyond that, I actually think I was pretty well-prepared, but only because I was working
with people who knew what they were doing.

What’s your favorite thing about working with Soho Press?

LB: Did I mention “nice, accessible and supportive”? And fun to hang out with?
And how much I’m looking forward to the Soho party at this year’s Bouchercon?

Also, I really like the whole Soho philosophy: they’re big enough to put some muscle
behind their products and small enough to care about everything they publish. I think
the Soho slogan might be “No Book Left Behind!” I honestly think that in the rapidly
shifting publishing landscape, the future belongs to nimble independents who really
support their writers and know how to “brand” their press as a whole.

KB: I’m really jealous that you’ve been able to hang out with the Soho staff—I haven’t
met any of them yet. But my experience has also been that everyone at Soho is nice,
accessible, and supportive. Justin Hargett has been especially patient with my newbie
questions about promotion.

And I agree that their supportiveness doesn’t just mean having a friendly phone and email manner. It also means developing a publication plan that suits the individual book and author. I think I would feel far more anxious about the process of debut publication if I were one of hundreds of debut authors at a huge publishing conglomerate. The Soho staff know what kind of book I wrote and were willing to take a chance on it; they weren’t
expecting it to be something it isn’t. My favorite thing about working with Soho is that
they’re practical and considerate at the same time.

At least one reason why debut novelists should have feline companions:

LB: Cats are instant stress relief. They purr, they sit on your lap, they play, they crack
me up with all the little things they do. They make the isolation of writing less lonely
without distracting me with conversation or temptations.

KB: They also sit on your manuscripts (or at least mine do). I think pets in general
are a good reminder not to take things too seriously. How serious can those page
proofs be, after all, if my cat’s just creased them all up with a drive-by snuggling?

(Thanks to Lisa for doing this interview with me!)

I just got my preliminary ArmadilloCon 32 schedule, so if you’re able to make it to Austin at the end of the month and want to see me read, sign, or talk on a panel, you’re in luck! My events are all on Saturday, August 28, and Sunday, August 29. The con is at the Renaissance Hotel in the Arboretum, and there are one-day passes available at the con if you’re only interested in attending a few events (though of course I encourage you to attend the whole thing!).

Sa1700SB Broad Universe Reading

Sat 5:00 PM-6:00 PM Sabine

P. Kitanidis, K. Beutner, P. Jones, A. Latner, J. Cheney, J. Reisman, C. Berg, S. Leicht, G. Oliver, N. Moore

Sa1900SB LGBT Issues in Spec Fic

Sat 7:00 PM-8:00 PM Sabine

M. Dimond, N. Moore*, R. Bennett, K. Beutner, L. Thomas

Sa2030P Reading

Sat 8:30 PM-9:00 PM Pecos

Katharine Beutner

Su1000T Better writing through Mythology

Sun 10:00 AM-11:00 AM Trinity

S. Leicht, K. Beutner, M. Bey, R. Caine, N. Holzner*, S. Swendson

Su1200DR Signing

Sun Noon-1:00 PM Dealers’ Room

N. Holzner, R. Eudaly, K. Beutner, S. Swendson

Su1400SB Spec. Fic. in Academia

Sun 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Sabine

K. Beutner*, J. Reisman, K. Kofmel, S. Wedel, G. Wilhite

Just had to post a link to this new review of Alcestis by Andrea Lawlor, for Lambda Literary’s website. The part that makes me tremendously happy:

Alcestis is nobody’s celebratory gayed-up Greek myth (for that, try Ovid). Instead, Beutner’s retelling is resolutely queer: strange, beautiful, ambivalent, sexually fluid, full of human complexity and godly simplicity.

I know it’s silly when writers post reviews and say: yes! That thing! Is the thing I was trying to do! But I’m saying it just this once.

The last two weeks of the fiction class I’m teaching are essentially solid workshop. We’ve had a few breaks to discuss general questions about writing and one very good discussion about “Hills Like White Elephants” (including a bit of a digression re: absinthe, the legality and appeal thereof), but it’s almost all student fiction at this point. We have one week left and they’re going strong; I’m really pleased.

It’s strange to feel September coming and not be preparing to teach or take classes. I do have a couple of interviews in the works, so expect more Alcestis-related posts here soon. And, of course, I have links:

• An interview with Jeffrey Kurland, the costume designer for Inception.
• A promo site for Inception with a mock-up manual for the PASIV device used to sedate dreamers.
• One of the most bizarre things I’ve read in a while: an account of the oral history and mythology of South African prison gangs.
• A new book on surprising Greek and Roman cultural practices, including Alexander the Great’s request to be embalmed in honey after death.
• A historical mystery about the disappearance of Joseph Force Crater, a New York State Supreme Court judge, in 1930.

I went to see Inception for a second time, in an IMAX theatre. Several things happened:

• I enjoyed it more this time than the first time. It really is a lovely-looking movie.
• I got to hear an even larger audience of people sigh frustratedly in unison at the final scene. I still don’t get this, by the way — once you see the REDACTED SPOILER THING, how can you not know what Nolan is going to do with that scene?
• I traumatized myself by thinking about what it would be like to watch Mysterious Skin in IMAX. (Giant hands on Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s skinny chest!) We watched that for the first time this week, and I’ll admit that I don’t understand its good reviews, either, much as I adore JGL; talk about movies structured as if they’re setting up surprising reveals when they aren’t.

I still don’t think Inception is a perfect masterpiece or even much of a mystery, but I’ve enjoyed thinking about it. If you also enjoy thinking about it, you might be interested to know that Hans Zimmer’s score is based on a slowed-down sample of the Edith Piaf song that’s so important to the dreamers (via Merrie Haskell). This is extra interesting to me because the Crystal Castles song that I mentioned in my last Inception post — “Violent Dreams,” the one that Zimmer’s score reminded me of — is also based on a slowed-down sample of a different song (Stina Nordenstam’s “A Walk in the Park”), as I discovered when I was googling it after seeing the movie the first time. Intriguing that the auditory landscape of dreams is slowed-down music, and that somehow my brain recognized that before I knew that Zimmer’s score or the Crystal Castles song had used that technique.

Other interesting (and spoilery) Inception links: the one about Cobb’s wedding ring, and the one with a bingo card for Christopher Nolan movies.

They will come and speak to your fiction workshops! Last Friday, the fabulous Maureen McHugh visited my summer fiction class and spent about 75 minutes talking with my students. In preparation for her visit, they’d read a story from her currently in-development collection of post-apocalyptic short fiction, and they’d also read the first 25 pages of The Road as a counterpoint.

Maureen on the right, talking to one side of the table

We talked about Maureen’s ARG company No Mimes. She walked the students through the development of a typical ARG project and described the many ways that working in the ARG world is different from writing prose fiction, by yourself, at your computer — and the many sorts of knowledge she’s gained from writing in a fiction-adjacent field.

We talked about the story the students read, “After the Apocalypse,” which follows a mother and daughter trying to go north to Detroit — not south, like McCarthy’s father and son — after the world falls apart. Maureen explained how she viewed her story as existing in conversation with McCarthy’s novel, but not offering a direct response to it (though we did offer some direct responses to the novel in class!). She also noted which elements of the story had changed in response to workshop feedback.

We also talked about Twitter and about communities of writers; Maureen is @maureenmcq on Twitter, for reference. I first read one of Maureen’s books when I was in college (China Mountain Zhang, still one of my favorite books), but I got to know her personally after becoming friendly with a group of Austin writers I met through Twitter. One of my favorite things about the writing world on Twitter is how generous many established writers are with their time, with their RTs of former students’ excited announcements, with their enthusiasm about new books. Maureen’s visit to our class was just another instance of that kind of generosity, and we had a great time.

This week, my students are workshopping their first pieces of fiction (and doing an excellent job of it). After a week and a half of class every day, I think we’re all starting to realize that an intensive summer fiction workshop will, in fact, be intensive. For all of us. But with judicious applications of cookies and porcupines that think they’re dogs, I think we’ll manage just fine.

Anyway, I’m afraid it’s links all the way down today:

• Via Gwynne Garfinkle, this recap of a Readercon panel about New England horror that I so wish I could’ve attended. Killingly is New England gothic, I think, rather than horror, but after reading The Passage I’m more willing to think of horror as something that sneaks into many other genres. (I don’t have a blog category for Killingly stuff! This must be remedied at once.)
• Fabulous illustrations of characters from The Wire (though Snoop’s the only woman represented so far; odd). I like Freamon’s the best, but then I usually like Freamon best. (Via David Schwartz on Twitter.)
• Susana Daniel’s essay in Slate about the purgatorial decade she spent writing and not writing her first novel.
• The most charming interview with Bill Murray, who rarely gives them. It concludes with the interviewer asking Murray about the rumor that he likes to sneak up behind people in NYC, cover their eyes with his hands, and ask, “Guess who?” Murray’s answer: “[long pause] I know. I know, I know, I know. I’ve heard about that from a lot of people. A lot of people. I don’t know what to say. There’s probably a really appropriate thing to say. Something exactly and just perfectly right. [long beat, and then he breaks into a huge grin] But by God, it sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Just so crazy and unlikely and unusual?”