Portland, Oregon is a really interesting town for holding a writer’s conference. We stayed downtown in an area with a mid-century industrial feel that’s been going through a renewal. It was gritty, artsy, neo-bohemian, but without coming off as unsafe or ominous which made it perfect for exploring. I spent a morning walking the area, enjoying my artist self with the murals, boutique shops, occult bookstores, art supply stores, dive-bars, and upscale bars masquerading as dive bars. It had a sense that it was its own place, with vibes similar to Madison, Wisconsin or Austin, Texas. I only say that because my last two conferences have been in Las Vegas, which has a grown-up Disney take on world culture that comes off as overly produced and cartoonish.
But what does that even mean? Well, dear reader, that means that your author boy here got to walk the streets and take in the raw material of stories. I visited an art supply store that could support just about any medium: paint, sculpture, inking, sketching, drafting, origami, air brushing, beading, mosaics, or spray paints. I spent most of my time ogling various notebooks, drafting pencils, and fountain pen inks but also thought about projects I could try with the beautiful origami papers, vintage cartography stickers, and how I might justify purchasing a Japanese eraser holder or over-machined German pencil sharpener. (Office supply gadgets!) You could feel the potential in the place, a thousand, thousand works that could come to life if only the right artists walked through the door and caught inspiration.Was I one of them? I limited myself to some dip pens and a bottle of India ink. They seemed sufficiently fussy to be interesting tools to use in my calligraphy practice. (After the first session, I can now confirm those suspicions. So fussy! So messy!)
Five minutes down the way, I stopped in a hobby store specializing in used video game systems, collectible card games, and Warhammer 40K. The nostalgia hit me as I browsed all the games I played growing up and wondering if I was too hasty 20 years ago donating my Nintendo 64 to Goodwill. Evidently, I could have sold it now along with a copy of Goldeneye and have nearly enough to buy a new Xbox. Will there be a market for used consoles in 20 years now that we’ve gone to an online model? My N64 resell would also put me into a starter set and complete my ascension into the highest tier of tabletop nerd-dom: Warhammer 40K. I made a successful willpower check and headed next door….
…into a vintage clothing and furniture store. It was like stepping into a time machine and revisiting old friends from the 80s and 90s. I noticed several patterns that I or my friends wore back in the day, along with some pieces that predated my childhood and reminded me of my grandpa’s red-plaid all-wool winter coat. In the back were some truly awesome furniture pieces from the 60s and 70s, all in burnt oranges, avocado greens, faded floral prints, chunky laminates, and Scandinavian-chic geometric minimalist triangle shapes. The vintage record players also sat next to several cassette boomboxes, one model whose twin still might be in my garage. I found the perfect leather jacket for myself, the quintessential leather bomber, but alas, a size too small.
My artist’s walk finished at Hippo Hardware, a vintage hardware store that sent me into nostalgia overload. In an IKEA world, there’s something reassuring in a row of cast-iron tubs, plaster sconce light fixtures, bubble glass, glass doorknobs. The section with old doors and moldings hit me with that unique smell of old varnish and damp that remind you of long summer days stuck waiting in municipal buildings, a night out to a local restaurant with family, your great aunt Alameda’s house, and vacations getting dragged around to antique stores by your parents who want to restore their 1900’s farmhouse with Victorian-inspired items (Mom) but at a good price (Dad). The lady behind the counter in the lighting section talked my ear off for 20 minutes as she gave me a guided tour of her domain, pointing out all the odd treasures that have drifted into the store, and how she moved across the country following her children as they went to college, ending up in Portland when her youngest entered a Master’s program at Reed College.
What does that mean for you, dear reader? I means my head’s been stuffed full of fodder for new people, places, and things that will show up in future stories. When people ask me where I get my ideas from, I think my next answer will be: Portland, Oregon.
What spaces inspire you? Let me know in the comments!
Reader Goodies
It’s hard to talk much about the book without giving away the plot, so I’ll just say this. This is a book where the world is made up of tiny enclaves after a sort-of World War. The US and UN are still around, nominally in charge, but everyone’s day-to-day life depends on which enclave they belong to and the informal networks among various revolutionaries.
It’s got gunplay, explosions, terrorists-for-hire, Men in Black, and counter-cultural figures but as with many of MacLeod’s books, the action is secondary to the social forces behind the actions. One of the heroes, Moh Kohn, is a disillusioned Socialist who readily admits to the advantages of Captialism and seems to meet his Libertarian friends at that crossover point where Left-wing ideas become Right-wing, which I think is Macleod poking fun at both sides and revealing what’s common about humanity underneath it all. This is the first in a series that sets the stage for what comes in The Fall Revolution series, so there’s a lot of world building going on that presumably pays off in later books. If you’re looking for a little action with your philosophical sci-fi, I’d recommend this book.
Promo Overload!
I’m an idiot. I like to keep my active book promotions to one or two per reader update, but this time I have three because the latest promo started March 1, and the others started in February. That’s a month apart, right? RIGHT? But my mental calendrical math fail is another opportunity for you to look around and find a new author or new book to add to your collection.
If you could, please click on the links below. Every click helps my indie author career move closer to world domination. Thank you!
