Hmmmm. I notice it’s a good couple of weeks since my last post around here. When I started blogging I always said I’d try and do at least a post a week, and by and large I’ve kept to that, at times nosing up towards two a week, indeed, you lucky people. The last thing you want to do is have one of those blogs with three posts on March 4th 2005 announcing your arrival on the internet, four posts the following week, one the week after, then one in October 21st 2005 saying you’re sorry you haven’t been maintaining the pace but now you’re back to stay . . . then nothing. No one wants one of those blogs. Like a garden, a blog must be regularly tended if it is to bear fruit. But lately there has been some drop off in the frequency of posting here, I will confess. Could it be . . . I just don’t have as much to say as I once did? Have I run out of strident opinion and hilarious commentary? Or perhaps it’s a long time since a book came out, I’m in that wintry period between releases and there’s less news than at other times? I guess the most interesting posts are those that react to some blip on the blogosphere, or give some insight into the writerly or publishing process, and on the whole you can’t really hurry those, they come when they come. You want to put out stuff that’s worth reading, not just blah blah to fill the space. So I guess what I’m saying is I’m still here. Just no post to write today.
Except this one, I suppose…
28 comments so far
For no particular reason, I found this post very funny. Shows a very human side of you 🙂
Really enjoy reading your books. And introducing your work to new people doubles that joy!
Thanks for writing 🙂
Eeexcellent … I may just be speaking for myself, but there’s nothing better than a good meta-post!
Oh come now Joe, you have plenty to say. You could, for instance, give us a character reveal for A Red Country…!
Hey Joe, I’m sure you’ll have plenty to say towards the end of this month and the start of next with the release of Batman Arkham City, Unchartered 3 and Skyrim coming out 🙂
Anyhow, it’s quality not quantity. Looking forward to your next book.
I have nothing to say here.
Pallav,
I have successfully faked humanity.
Dan,
There’s someone called Faukin in it. He’s a barber.
Gary,
I’ve already got Infamous 2, Dark Souls and Rage to talk about as well, if I ever finish any of them…
Eric,
Nor do I.
Have you read Richard K Morgan’s new book The Cold Commands yet!?
Hey Joe,
Quit yappin so goddamn much and get to work on your next literary masterpiece…
BTW, I’m rereading the First Law series and Joe, you deserve an award for not giving us a real description of Logen until halfway through the first book.
D:
Damn, you sound down. I recommend a serious bout of getting pissed on cheap booze, laugh at how horrible England are at sports and watch old comedy panel show reruns.
I already like this Faukin barber. (See what I did there?) But, Skyrim is going to be amazing, hopefully you’ll pick up and share your thoughts on it.
Maybe you could tell use just how awesome it would be if one of your books was too be adapted into a movie, but was then turned into the latest Twilight-type franchise complete with mopy teenager stars and Moby as Black Dow.
Because nightmares are like that.
Phil
Gardens bear fruit? Apart from the obvious comment that mine appears to bear weeds and dog shit I can only presume that in Bath one must have fruit trees on one’s estate which would account for the fruit. Or do you have peasants toiling in the fields as well. Oh to live in a posh City.
So when is The Winds of Winter coming out????
Joe,
Record yourself playing a RPG drunk. That’ll make for great blogging!
Also, I am curious and must pose this question to you (since you seem to be one of the few authors who seemingly respond to such questions): Do you listen to any of the multitudes of metal bands who do conceptual songs, albums, pieces related to fantasy? Would you know if it was in any way prevalent within some of the writing circles? For instance, Blind Guardian has done an entire concept albums based off of The Silmarillion (and many other stories). We metalheads seem to be the only ones who actually appreciate quality fantasy literature.
Thanks for being a cool guy as well. It’s very down to earth and human of you.
Nick,
No, but I’ll get to it
Grumpy Buddha,
I deserve all the awards.
Anon,
Man, the rugby was horrible. England did not only lose, they played in such a horrible way. I think Chris Ashton’s swan dive may be the thing that sucks most in all of sports.
Wisdom,
My initial thought on Skyrim is that it sounds like a sex act performed in an aeroplane toilet, but I will play it nonetheless. Anything with a voiceover by Max von Sydow cannot be all bad.
Xan,
I will call to George and ask him. We all live in one big house.
Jacob,
Not honestly a metalhead myself. Went through a phase of American Hardcore – Dead Kennedys etc. but that’s a bit of a different deal. In a past life I was a video editor though and did quite a bit of work for Iron Maiden, so I have some familiarity with their body of work…
Joe, I’ve been meaning to ask you about your time with iron maiden for a couple years now. Did you meet the guys? What were they like? Bruce, niko, were they cool? I was a huge maiden fan in the late 80’s, early 90’s. I saw them in concert in 93 or there bouts. Hard to believe they are still rockin. But I’m glad they are.
Ooh ooh, talk about Dark Souls!! I am completely in love with it, easily my game of the year.
And Moby Black Dow is pretty much the funniest thing I’ve ever pictured in my head. This needs to happen!
Also, knowing about the storytelling in iron maidens work, if anyone would ever write a song about the bloody nine, it would be them.
Dan,
I did three or four long documentaries for them, one about the Dance of Death tour and the others about their formation and early years, as far as Stranger in a Strange Land, I think. Also cut a big Donnington show for them from, er, 2004, maybe and a few bits of other live stuff. They are, indisputably, a brilliant live act. I was actually working on a doc for them when I got the call from the publisher saying they wanted to publish my trilogy, as it goes. Never met the band, though from what you can tell from watching unedited interviews and from what the director told me who has spent a bit of time with them all, they’re a decent, down to earth set of guys. Editors don’t tend to meet bands that often. Sit in a darkened room with a director looking at rushes. Send off a cut, get changes back. Does occasionally happen though. Bands I actually had in the edit suite that anyone would have heard of? Er … The Killers, The Prodigy, and, weirdly, Genesis, though without Phil Collins. And Jimmy Page, who recommended teething granules for my daughter. One editor I know ended up spending several weeks in Shakira’s house. They had meals with her and everything. Strange…
I know you mention that you’ve got alot of games already, but I’m going to point out El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.
Snappy title yes, but if a more beautiful game comes out this year, I’d be amazed.
I want to say why, but that would ruin some of the lovely surprises this game throws at you when telling its story.
Thanks for the reply. I think Skyrim is going to be amazing I’ve got it pre-ordered and am planning to get it as soon as it releases. On the subject of games the Mass Effect series is extremely awesome if you like Science Fiction games and Mafia 2 is really good if you like the mafia and an amazing storyline.
Blog about boobs. Everybody likes boobs.
You said: Have I run out of strident opinion and hilarious commentary?
Obviously not! Oh, of course that question was rhetorical.
Your most popular blogs are about your book covers (I can never figure out why this is but I always comment on those, at this point it is a tradition), followed by the sci-fi television reviews, then personal hijinx such as…the bannister episode for instance.
Oh, and when you posted about the birth of your son…I think that was a huge one.
Are you low on e-mail? I could send you a lengthy one about my own fascinating life…hmmm, no, seems too weird unless I was going to be in Bath. Then it would perhaps be very creepy! Or friendly, depending on the tone and everything.
@Harry, Please do not ask the man to blog about boobs or anything of that nature, it will just depress us. Have you read the sex scenes in the books? I haven’t ever read such unsexy sex! Now that is some gifted writing!
I don’t think a person should ever feel obliged to blog if they’re not inspired to do so.
But since you do the occassional event and/or appearance in the capacity of guest author/speaker/sideshow attraction, why not take pics and do some follow up? It actually might help to get more of your blog readers out to stuff you do and that kind of interest then makes you an easier sell to do more such gigs.
We’ll see some picture with a fan schmoozing it up with you and think, “Hey, that Abercrombie guy, maybe he’s not such an ass-polyp, after all!” Not that anybody thinks that! But yeah… images of some 48 yr. old guy dressed like an elf shaking hands with you, or some author you like but meet and realize he’s a douche… pure awesomeness.
Actually, I really do appreciate this post. Writers, as well as everyone else, (hopefully) have a lot going on in their lives, sometimes you will likely have time to post and sometimes not. I would assume that sometimes you have much to say, and other times, not so much. I know fully well that we are not ever owed any posts, but when we get in the habit of checking in every week or two then it can be a bit disappointing when the blog just stops. Even a quick, “I’ll likely not be posting for the next 1-6 months” is a good thing from my pov. So this is much appreciated, thanks.
Always nice to have a little update, even when there isn’t a lot to say…
You have to be realistic about these things…
You could try http://dailypost.wordpress.com/ for blog ideas. Some of them a plain daft, but there’s some good stuff there too!