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For the past couple of years, Suvudu (the Random House blog site) has been running a cage match, wherein they pit sci-fi/fantasy characters against one another in a series of rounds. It’s all just for fun, and doesn’t really have any greater meaning.

Until this year’s lineup was announced, anyway.

Look down about fourteen names, and you’ll see that this time, it’s personal. *thunder crash, dramatic music*

I’d love to see Corvis make a strong showing, but I’m going to need your help for that. Yes, I’m soliciting votes. Since I’m a new writer with a new series, competing against a huge array of established fanbases, I don’t feel at all guilty for doing so. 😛

Watch this space for more details. And thanks in advance for your help.

In our latest installment, Corvis Rebaine–Terror of the East and advice columnist–tackles the problem of food theft in the workplace.

So, you’re writing a book set in the year X. You have looked up sources of slang from X, to give the book a more authentic feel.

You make semi-frequent use of a specific term. In context, said term is fairly innocuous. It is not, however, a term commonly used today, so you can be fairly sure that most readers are only going to know its meaning based on your context.

However, you then discover that, in certain locations, said word is still used today. Today, however, its meaning is not what it used to be; it is, today, a fairly disgusting racial insult. And unfortunately, if any readers decide to look up said word–not knowing what it meant in your historical context–this newer definition is likely to be the first they come across.

Do you keep using the term, since it’s historically accurate, and trust that people will understand that you’re not using it in its modern context? Or do you suck it up and replace said word, so as not to cause either offense or confusion?

…courtesy of James Barclay.

“I can’t remember the last time I so thoroughly enjoyed a thumping great-big-action fantasy novel. …a big, loud, stadium concert of a book. It is unashamed. It is exciting, funny, dramatic, emotional, and utterly readable. It takes fantasy stereotypes, shoves them in your face, and dares you not to be entertained by them. It’s just great fun to read and we all like fun, right?”

Thanks so much, James. 😀

First off, we’ve got a new Ask the Warlord column up, in which Corvis tackles the "urgent" problem of parking and social status.

Second, Suvudu has now announced the first match-ups in their latest "Cage Match" series (in which fictional characters are set against one another until only one is left standing). This year, it’s personal–for me, anyway. Because, as you’ll note if you take a gander down the right-hand side, Corvis Rebaine (hero–well, protagonist–of The Conqueror’s Shadow and The Warlord’s Legacy) is a contender this time around. 😈

That’s the good news. The bad news? Take a look at his first opponent. Yeah, it says "Severus Snape." 😮

Once the match goes live–some time next week, I believe–there will be two versions up of how we expect the fight to go. The version written by the folks at Random House will be up on the Suvudu site. The version written by me will be up here.

But ultimately, the winner will be decided by a vote of you, the readers. And, well, when it comes to popularity and name recognition, Snape has a slight advantage over Corvis. (Ahem.)

So once this goes live, I’m going to be asking every one of you to vote. Help me get Corvis past at least the first round, okay?

Soon as voting opens up, I’ll post links.

I’ve never been in great health. I have a number of chronic issues, and while they’re all more or less under control, they cause me more than a bit of pain and consternation.

But I’m also now facing something I haven’t had to deal with before. Late last week, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

It’s not an advanced case. We caught it early, and there’s plenty of time to get it under control with lifestyle changes and oral medications, before we even have to consider more severe alternatives. And I’m quite aware that a lot of people are living with this, and that–if kept in check–it should have minimal bearing on one’s overall quality of life.

That doesn’t make getting the diagnosis any less scary. It doesn’t make the mountain of changes I’m confronting any less daunting. It’s going to be really hard–especially since I’m not exactly Mr. Willpower or Mr. Discipline.

Why am I putting all this out there in public? In part because I’ve always tried to be fairly open online, in general. (And please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions about what I’m dealing with. There may be some things I’m not willing to answer, but if so, I’ll tell you politely, and I won’t be offended that you asked.) In part because, as I slowly learn how to deal with this, I hope to be able to offer encouragement to others. And in part because I’m hoping that, by offering you all the occasional progress update, I can help keep myself on the right path.

Will this influence my work in the near-to-mid-future? It’d be foolish to say "absolutely not"–huge lifestyle changes require a lot of energy and attention–but I’d say probably not much.

Anyway, there it is. I appreciate any good thoughts you folks can spare, and I’m looking forward to the day when dealing with this has become second nature. In the meantime, I’ve gotta get back to work.