It's a strange thing that i've read more of the books than I have the short fiction - you'd think that with time constraints a big factor in my decisions it would be the other way around.

Anyhow, i've read three of the five novel nominees, and I have to say that I hated two of them. (Well, maybe _hated_ is too strong in the case of Kiln People; it just wasn't my style, and it was a notch or two below Brin's normal quality). I managed to catch all five long form dramatic presentations, and I think it's perfectly obvious who to vote for in that category. :)

Let me guess: The novel you read and didn’t hate was Years of Rice and Salt, right?

No. How could anyone read the Scar and not fall instantly in love with it?

Okay, so was Years the other one you hated? Inquiring minds want to know. I’ve been indifferent to several books that you’ve liked, but offhand I can’t think of any I’ve liked that you’ve seriously disliked.

I still haven’t read Scar — that paperback edition only came out a couple of weeks ago — but I’ll be very surprised indeed if I don’t like it.

Again, hated is an exaggeration for dramatic online impact - I started it, read about half of it, gave up for lack of interest. (And you didn't ask, but my choice for long form dramatic presentation is Spirited Away; I really liked Two Towers, but Spirited Away blew me away. :))

Sounds about like my reaction to the Mars trilogy.

As for the Dramatic Presentation category — like you said, it’s obvious. :)

Hey, just received my copy of Polyphony 2. David Moles has officially made his short fiction debut.

And quite an impressive debut, at that.

Woohoo! I’ll have to see if I can extract a copy from Mr. Lake tomorrow at Norwescon.

Holy shit. This really is my short fiction debut, isn’t it? I’ve been so wrapped up in the selling stuff part, I’d just about forgotten the actual publishing part.

Woo, David! Debut! Hold that head up high, sir!

You gotta love physical evidence.

And not only does selling mean you get to be published, but it also means people will, you know, actually read your words. It's quite a nice thing, especially as how you're going through all the trouble to write stories and such ...

Little steps, little steps.

Congrats on the publication, David.

And now for a stupid question, what's Spirited Away?

Animated Japanese fairy tale from the director of Princess Mononoke. Won the Oscar for best animated feature.

Once you accept that you’re in an old-school, Frazier-and-Campbell sort of fairy tale and stop looking for, say, Hollywood pacing and the standard Disney story arc, it’s amazing.