Scott M. Roberts's Blog

Just got word that my short story, The End-of-the-World Pool, will be reprinted in an IGMS award anthology later this year!

Woo-hoo! 

Messing around with Windows Movie Maker.

Just a couple more changes to the website, then it will be ready for prime time…

My write up for my story, The Discriminating Monster's Guide to the Perils of Princess Snatching is live on the blog for Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show.

Go!  Read!  Comment!

I admit that I'm a bit apprehensive about mentioning the story's origins in a discussion about gender parity in science fiction and fantasy. 

I picked this poster from an archive of old, Depression-era, Works Progress Administration posters and repurposed it as a set-piece for my novel, The Lord of All Fools.

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Now that I've got my hunger for making graphics out of my system, I can get back to actually writing the stupid novel.

My novelette—see above—is the cover story for issue #23 of Intergalactic Medicine Show!

See the fantastic art, by James Owen below!

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My friend, Alethea Kontis, recently asked questions of some writerly-type folk and posted their responses to her blog.  My responses didn't quite make it in, but here they are for the record:

Mac or PC?

PC. I loved my Mac while it lived, but getting a new one is out of the question for my budget.

Coffee or Tea?

Neither. I love orange juice, though. And root beer. By the way, Virgil's is The Best Root Beer Right Now.

Travel the World or Travel Outer Space?

The world. Space is full of mostly nothing (even scientists say so!), while the world is full of people. People are more interesting than nothing.

Fantasy or Science Fiction?

Fantasy, usually contemporary/urban.

Music or Silence (while you write)?

Music. I do most of my writing while hitchhiking to work and music serves to cover up the road noise.

What weird food do you like?

Frog legs. They have a very delicate flavor that is reminiscent of fish, without being completely fishy.

What is one of your most irrational fears?

I'm terrified of swings. I'll ride just about any ride at the amusement park but the swings. Last time I rode them with my six year old, and I screamed more than she did. It was embarrassing. They had to use the jaws of life to pry my fingers away from the bar.

Will you be watching the Royal Wedding? Why or why not?

Nope. I first met Will and Kate in a ice cream bar/vodoun temple called 'Samedi's Shake' that's just outside New Orleans. It was the summer of 1998. Let me just tell you—that bald spot Willy has? NOT from hair loss. Trust me. I've seen enough of those two yahoos to last me a lifetime.

How many novels/short stories/screenplays/poems/etc have you published?

One children's play, 3 poems, 3 (soon to be 5) short stories.

How much do you write every day?

Between one page and four pages every day.

How much do you WISH you could write every day?

I wish that I could set six consecutive hours apart for writing. I'm not sure that word count is as important as time spent confronting your work in progress. Right now, because my writing time is spread out over the day, I only get in a couple hours writing.

What are you working on now?

A fantasy novel about a young boy whose wings begin telling him all the secrets of the people he loves.

If you could write like one author, who would it be?

I want to write like that Scott M. Roberts guy. He's SOOOO dreamy… J

If you could be one superhero, or have one superpower, who/what would it be?

Unassisted, unlimited flight.

What's the coolest thing you've ever done?

I fought, then fell in love with, then courted, and then married the Queen of Sharzad-go.

What's the coolest thing you're about to do?

I am about to get my freak on.

Name three things on your List of Things to Do Before You Die.

Become able to support my family on the income from my writing.

Take an extended tour of Italy with my wife.

Conquer my fear of swings.

Yep. Trying to get this thing back to working order.

Still cute after all this time…

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From M's journal:

There has been another bump in the road.

At the end of April we started noticing Tiptoe's sats getting lower, and it turned out that her ASD (hole between the atriums) had closed. It was talked about getting her in to do a blade septostomy (which is able to be done through a heart catheterization.) This is a pretty risky procedure even as a cath, so it was decided that we would wait and hope that her sats would stay stable(primarily in the 70's).

Fast forward til now… Tiptoe...