Jill Shultz's Blog

I've been added to another panel (Alien Artifacts) and the time of my book signing was changed. Corrections shown in the other post, with my full schedule.

Here's my BOSKONE schedule. I'll be busy: two readings, five panels, and a book signing! You may also find me at the Broad Universe table. Hope to see you there! http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/

Friday, Feb. 14
* 5:00 - 5:50 pm: Alien Artifacts, featuring Daniel M. Kimmel, Jennifer Pelland, Michael Sharrow, Jill Shultz, Frank Wu

* 8:30 - 8:55 pm: Reading and Chat

Saturday, Feb. 15
* 11:00 - 11:50 am: Killer Plagues, featuring LJ Cohen, Seanan McGuire, Jill Shultz, Joan Slonczewski, Michael Swanwick

* 2:00 - 2:50 pm: Food in Fiction, featuring Elizabeth Bear, Steven Popkes, Jill Shultz, Ian Randal Strock

* 4:00 - 4:50 pm: The Pleasures of Parasites, featuring Priscilla Olson, Jill Shultz, Joan Slonczewski, Frank Wu

* 6:00 - 6:50 pm: Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading, featuring Sandra Barrett, Jill Shultz, Roberta Rogow, Justine Graykin, Morgen Rich, Terri Bruce, Anna Erishkigal, and Phoebe Wray. Hosted by Elaine Isaak (a.ka. E. C. Ambrose).

Sunday, Feb. 16
* Noon - 12:50 pm: Evolving Toward the Future (on human evolution), featuring Jeff Hecht, Priscilla Olson, Steven Popkes, Jill Shultz

* 1:00 - 1:50 pm: Book Signing, in the Galleria, lower level.
You're welcome to bring your copy. Paperbacks and the ebook gift card edition can be purchased at the event at the Broad Universe table.

I'm delighted to announce that Angel on the Ropes is one of the 2013 Rainbow Book Awards honorees!

It placed in all three categories in which it was eligible:

* Best B/T and LGBT Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Sci-fi/Futuristic
* Best Bisexual Novel
* Best B/T and LGBT Debut Novel

The full list is here: http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwid...

You can listen to the episode of the NPR call-in show here:

http://www.wskg.org/episode/angel-rop...

We received about a dozen questions that we didn't address on the air. I'll be answering them on my Facebook page, here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jill-S...

Thanks to everyone who participated. It was fun!

Talk radio about books? How much better can it get? Bill Jaker hosts "Off the Page," a call-in program on WSKG-FM, my local NPR affiliate. I'll be on the show tomorrow--Tuesday, Nov. 26th, from 1-2 pm (Eastern).

Please call or email to join our conversation!

* Send an email by 2 pm to: OffThePage@WSKG.ORG
* Call during the live broadcast: (888) 359-9754
* Please include your first name and location

Curious about how I choreographed the trapeze scenes? Want to know the best writing advice I ever got... in two words? Tune in. About halfway through the show, we'll be joined by Serenity Smith Forchion, the Cirque du Soleil trapeze artist who advised and inspired me.

The program is live-streamed, so you can listen over the Internet. Go to http://www.wskg.org/radio/off_the_page (it's easy).

It will also be rebroadcast that evening at 7 pm (though of course, by then, we'll no longer be live. Zombies, maybe?)

I'm currently participating in a book giveaway hosted by the book review website, "Living in Our Own Story." This site is very special to me because it featured the first international (and bilingual) review of Angel on the Ropes, which they called "a deep and exciting book" with an "addictive love story."

On offer are nearly a dozen books, customized illustrations, and Amazon gift cards. This is only running for 10 days, so if you'd like to participate, please don't dawdle:

http://livinginourownstory.blogspot.c...

Angel on the Ropes is a finalist for the Rainbow Award in the sci-fi, fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal romance category. Woot!

The Rainbow Awards celebrate outstanding LGBT books. This year, it's doing even more: proceeds from submission fees will be donated to two charities that help LGBTQ youth. That just makes this more delightful.

Congrats to all of the finalists. I am honored to be in such fine company:
http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwid...

Please join me at RoberCon on Sunday, Sept. 29 in Binghamton at these panels:

10 am: Writing Tech: Bringing Science and Technology into Fiction
Joshua Palmatier (moderator), Carrie Cuinn, Carl Fredrick, Eric Griffith, Jill Shultz

11 am: World Building 101: Creating Your Place in Time and Space
Josh Palmatier (mod.), Craig DeLancey, April L'Orange, Jill Shultz, April Steenburgh

2 pm: Between the Covers (Or Not): The Changing Face of Publishing
Joshua Palmatier (mod.), Carrie Cuinn, Paul Juser, Kevin Lucia, Jill Shultz

I’ll be on site all day, so please feel free to stop by and chat or ask for an autograph.

For more details, see:
* http://www.roberson.org/exhibits-even...

* https://www.facebook.com/events/24995...

I'll be one of the featured authors at RoberCon, the first ever SF/F con held in Binghamton, New York, home of Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone.

RoberCon is hosted by the Roberson Museum and Science Center. What a treat of a setting! Cosplay in a historic mansion. Special demos in the planetarium. Access to the museum's exhibits.

While this ain't your usual hotel, RoberCon will feature many fan-favorite activities including gaming, a costume contest, panels, a 17th-century battle, and the chance to hang out with authors and fans. As you'd expect, we'll pay homage to The Twilight Zone, with Anne Serling reading from her new book about her dad.

ROBERCON
Sunday, Sept. 29 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Roberson Museum and Science Center
30 Front Street, Binghamton, NY 13905

Admission ranges from $5-10 for the full day.

There's a terrific article in the June issue of The Atlantic about the evolution of hand gestures. In it, Jen Doll writes that researchers believe "the idiosyncratic, often unconscious ways we move our hands as we talk... may help us think and speak and even learn."

In addition to the varied waves and swoops that accompany our speech, there are emblematic gestures that can substitute for words, such as the thumbs-up to indicate you're okay. I used both types in my book and called them body speech. Interestingly, the meanings of some gestures have changed dramatically from their original sense, while others retained their meaning even though the object they imitated is no longer common. A good example of that is the "phone me" gesture, with the pinkie finger and thumb stretched as if cradling a rotary phone's handset. Some kids who have never even seen an old corded telephone use that gesture.

I'm looking forward to reading the article in print, but check it out online (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/a...)
to see the accompanying video, a short guide to world hand gestures. It's great. Makes you want to put your hands in your pockets, doesn't it? Of course, then I wouldn't be able to talk.

The body speech in Angel was inspired by an interview of the dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones. Though he was seated, he never stopped moving, and his graceful gestures added depth to his words.

Yes, I thought. Someone who is used to expressing himself physically for his art would use movement to communicate all the time. And he'd have his own dialect of gestures that would be more graceful and dramatic than mainstream body language, because he's more adept at physical expression.

That's how body speech was born. I knew that different communities of deaf people have unique signs, and that researchers have discovered dialects among birds. I decided to use body speech as a dialect in my novel, with some groups using it to a much greater extent than others. The circus artists have the most dramatic "body accent," while the Seekers hardly use gestures at all. The heartwave, a gesture I created, was derived from the arm flourish that might accompany a bow.