Patrick Stewart has received a knighthood, as has Peter Jackson.

Link

Award-winning author Will Shetterly (Dogland, Elsewhere) recently wrote a “vampirish” YA novel about Cat Medianoche, a girl who discovers on her fourteenth birthday that both sides of her family are part of an ancient war and that each group sees her as the key to their victory.

Your dad used to be the spooky-mysteries TV show host Professor Midnight. Your grandmother lives in the basement and only comes upstairs after dark. Your mom died when you were a baby, and nobody will tell you about her. Oh, and you have two birthdays, both on Halloween. And that’s the part of your life that’s normal.

He sent it to his editor, then to the major YA publishers, and they all agreed that it was brilliant and also that they didn’t want to buy it. Everyone felt that vampire fandom was cresting, they didn’t want to commit to a “fad” that was mostly played out, and this is why the publishing industry’s current business model is looking more dinosaurian every day.

Shetterly has thus turned to the Internet, self-publishing the novel in a variety of formats including a free download.

Text (Free – Scribd).
e-Reader (Epub, Kindle, etc.) ($3.95 – Smashwords)
Kindle ($3.95 – Amazon)
Trade paperback ($14.99 – Lulu)
Hardcover ($21.95 – Lulu)

Yay, new media.

This novel sounds very cool, so if you’re looking for a new book for a teen fan (or just a fast and fun read for yourself–I won’t tell), check it out.

(via BoingBoing)

Cross-posted at The Art of Darkness

What SW planet is your local weather most like?

Sadly, I may have to climb inside a tauntaun for warmth.

(via Cynical-C)

Looking and quacking like a duck does not preclude it from being a cyborg assassin from the future inexplicably designed to simulate a duck.
— Zaius13

When I die, I want to be buried wearing roller skates so I’ll automatically have an edge during the zombie uprising.
— gothscifigirl

For better or worse, every decade’s defined by what stopped seeming impossible.
— hotdogsladies

For extra credit, try to get this song out of your head now.

(Video courtesy of The Jonathan Coulton Project, dedicated to making music videos out of Coulton’s music.)

The Bleat calls these “a meme of which you may be unaware,” which kind of contradicts what a meme is. It’s certainly surprising* that a crappy 70s SF show has got so much fanlove, though.

Weird. Eerie.

*Okay, maybe not that surprising, given that even Quark has a tribute site.

CollegeHumor’s got a point: Employers in Gotham have a much tougher time with disgruntled employees than employers in other cities.

Their handy tips for managers facing potential supervillains are here.

(via SF Signal’s Twitter feed)

Peter Watts, Hugo-nominated author of Blindsight, had a very bad experience at the U.S./Canadian border, and may need some legal help. His account of the incident is here.

Even if this is a simple mistake, it’s going to be costly for him to deal with. John Scalzi and BoingBoing have information on how to help contribute to his legal defense fund.

(via Miss Cellania)

Alien Writer Dan O’Bannon Dies