I have an article in today’s Tor/Forge newsletter about the use of historical language in fiction. And I’ve already annoyed one reader — go me! — who thinks that the way I paid attention to the language is “the writer playing head games with him/herself.” Which I have to say is true. And it’s not […]
Historical Language Can Be Electrifying at Tor/Forge’s Blog Read More »
For anyone who didn’t click on the last link in my apology about being my brother, it went to the wikipedia entry on April Fool’s day. Personally, I very much enjoy being taken in by a good prank, because for a moment I get to live in this crazy alternate reality where cool things happen. My favorite
Happy Alternate Reality Day! Read More »
I trust that, knowing now that I’m actually a historian at Vanderbilt, you will appreciate the serious, scholarly research that went into this. At the time of his death in 1936, thirty-year-old Robert E. Howard had published hundreds of works of fiction across an astonishingly broad swath of genres. His voluminous output, according to Paul
Last month when doing Month of Letters, I learned the meaning of unintended consequences. I did not expect my challenge to go viral and certainly not to be picked up by the Guardian. I also did not expect people to think “‘Mary’ is part of a USPS marketing campaign experimenting with viral marketing.” While I
An apology to my fans Read More »
Ooo! There’s a lovely review of Glamour in Glass in the current issue of Portland Monthly. FEMALE EMPOWERMENT is a difficult enough subject to tackle in the context of Regency England, but add in the Napoleonic Wars and a level of magical realism, and you have the setting for an epic Jane Austen could hardly
Review: Glamour in Glass in Portland Monthly Read More »
[frm-graph id=91 data_type=count type=bar width=500] A. Dorothea Puente, serial killer B. Treyvon Martin, high school student C. George Zimmerman, Community Watch Captain D. Justin Bieber, teen idol [frm-graph id=9 data_type=count type=bar width=500 truncate=400] A. Walking – B. In a hoodie – C. Following you – D. With a gun [frm-graph id=10 data_type=count type=bar width=500 truncate=400]
Threat survey results Read More »
In the Regency, curls were the fashion. It started as an effort to mimic the hair on statues from Greece and then transformed into its own thing. By 1815, when Glamour in Glass takes place, the hair styles had become fairly elaborate. If you had straight hair, like Jane, there were a number of things
Glamour in Glass: curling hair Read More »
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have just turned in Without a Summer, book three in The Glamourist Histories. It is a full three days early. La! Seriously, this thrills me, what with the move and everything, to have this completed and turned in. Please join me in saying, “Whew.” It’s just a brief respite before I
Without a Summer has been turned in. Read More »
Hey! I was interviewed by io9.com’s Sally Smith, who asks very good questions. Kowal talks to io9 about what artificial intelligence has in common with Regency magic, and tells us what to expect from the sequel to Milk and Honey — which, by the way, is just $2.99 in e-book form for the next 10
Mary Robinette Kowal explains why working within constraints makes you more creative Read More »
We are two weeks away from release day for Glamour in Glass, so today I have a fairly large excerpt for you. Also, because I know how much you like clothes. The pretty, pretty clothes. This dress is from the 1813 La Belle Assemblee “Frock of plain jacconet muslin, with a demi train; body of
Glamour in Glass: Jane’s primrose dress Read More »
As part of our Moving Book Tour, I’m very pleased to announce that the Broadway Book Mall has invited us to stop on our way through Denver. If you can make it, this will be an event, instead of just a drive-by signing. At 7:30pm on Thursday, April 26, Rob and I will be at
Another stop on the Moving Book Tour Read More »
It’s a “Howard is clueless” episode! One of us, we won’t name any names, didn’t take enough English classes to know the basic conflict archetypes — Man vs. Man, Man vs. Self, and Man vs. Nature. In this episode we focus on that third one. One example of Man vs. Nature is Dragonflight, by Anne
Writing Excuses 7.13: Man Vs. Nature » Writing Excuses Read More »
In the world of strange coincidences, I bought a writing slope that reminded me of the one that Vincent uses in Glamour in Glass. The leather writing surface needed to be replaced so I stripped it off, exposing the wood underneath. Carved in the wood are the initials V. H. Those are Vincent’s initials…
What a curious thing I found on the writing desk Read More »