As gnomi has said, We're Baa-aack!. But we're exhausted. We'll have trip reports and photos as soon as we can; in the meantime, watch this space for an announcement later today.

Tags: personal

Friends,

I'm pleased to announce that Apex Books is now ready to take pre-orders for "I Remember the Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein," which will be published in September. The book can be pre-ordered on the Apex Books website catalog at its own URL (http://www.apexbookcompany.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=30). You can pre-order either the hardcover or trade paperback edition, and although the paperback is slightly cheaper, I can give you two good reasons to order the hardcover.

First, all pre-ordered hardcover copies of the book will be autographed. If you want one of the original autographed copies of the book, that will be the only way to get one.

But second, we decided to sweeten the pot a little for those of you willing to step up to the plate early and order a hardcover copy of the book. And so we are announcing the "I Remember the Future" Tuckerization contest.

Everyone who pre-orders a hardcover copy of the book by June 15 will be entered into a raffle. Two lucky winners will have their names used as names of characters in the two new stories, "Empty Spaces" and "I Remember the Future."

For those of you who have never heard of Tuckerization, it means the naming of characters in stories for real people. The tradition is credited to Wilson Tucker, who named many of the characters in his books for his friends. More information on the practice can be found at the Wikipedia page on Tuckerization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckerization).

So...think about it. If you pre-order the hardcover book by June 15, not only are you guaranteed to receive an autographed copy of the first bound collection of my fiction, including two brand-new stories and afterwords for each story, but you'll also have a chance to have a character in a story named after you. (You can still pre-order the autographed hardcover after June 15, but the contest deadline is June 15.)

Pre-order "I Remember the Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein

Tags: announcements, books, i remember the future, personal, science-fiction

[The following is a personal anecdote about our past weekend trip to New York City. Just so you know what you're getting into before you start reading. The short version includes seeing friends, spending shabbat in Queens, and celebrating the recent wedding of my brother Danny and his wife Barbara. But the long version includes some pictures, so click on the link and enjoy.]

( Read more... )

I'd like to end this post with a philosophical note. This is the first time we've been back to New York City since my brothers and I sold Mom's house, and it felt odd. Nomi and I want to continue taking vacations to New York City to see friends, but we're going to have to start relying on some of those friends to host us on those vacations. I feel blessed by knowing that whenever I've mentioned this concern, we've been flooded with offers. Thank you all.

[For gnomi's take on the weekend, click here.]

Tags: jewish, mom, nyc, personal