This is a very brief note to say that I have updated the FAQ in the sidebar which tells you what I've written (FAQ: Who am I?). Now with added buy-the-book linky goodness, and books grouped by series and category.
(The old one has been growing like Topsy since 2003, and overhauling it was one of those "I really ought to do that ... nah, life's too short" jobs. The new one was a bit of a handful to create, with 84 hyperlinks and counting ...)
Yes, there is some CSS warpitude affecting the headers. We'll fix it in the next few weeks with an upgrade to the site-wide style sheet to make it support Markdown better. The long delay is due to the road trip we're going on this Wednesday.
Don't know if it's of any relevance to you, but some English eBooks are available for Japanese buyers DRM free:
The Bloodline Feud: http://rakuten.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Bloodline-Feud/book-RJ9fntAUY0Wq6JGjnqDWbQ/page1.html?s=3XiTfBnRQ0CfyuRh8wxNFA&r=6
The Traders War: http://rakuten.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Traders-War/book-nyLOcu27x0eiFOjwW1Snbw/page1.html?s=wbzGvVEZmUaPkWE7qs9Gww&r=6
The Revolution Trade: http://rakuten.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Revolution-Trade/book-NS_hx-wn9UOikoXFUc6lxw/page1.html?s=22Hq5mfbrkKi1cYUkmIhQw&r=3
How are you using Markdown?
Badly.
(The blog supports it as an alternative to writing raw HTML. I used it for this FAQ because, well, 84 URLs and counting gave me a headache; using indirect references in Markdown makes them easier to keep track of and assign symbolic names to. Main trouble is Markdown output doesn't use CSS classes, so I need to get my web person to do some tweaking of the site-wide CSS to support markdown header levels.)
" so I need to get my web person to do some tweaking of the site-wide CSS to support markdown header levels."
That does sound sensible.
Your efforts are best directed towards satisfying the demands of your readership - FEED ME/US !!! - rather than faffing arround with the latest varient of web tech.
" Charles Stross, 48, .." it still does surprise me that you are still - after all this Published Scribbling - ' nought but a Lad ' but then I am on the slippery slope towards the final six months before my State Pension will appear and the way things are going you will see the State Pension age receding before you like the speed of light.
Not to worry, for with any luck this will mean that you will have to keep on writing until way after you are past the 100 year plus barrier which will give me something to look forward to each year.
Mutter. I'm not 48 for much longer. Indeed, LonCon 3 next year is only about 10 weeks ahead of my hemicentennial, so I'm planning on throwing a 50th birthday party at the worldcon ...
Charlie - well, you can sign me up, RIGHT NOW for a very blurry occasion (I hope)
A pity you only seem to have 2 DRM-free ebooks. I was hoping to buy Neptune's Brood but can't find it DRM free anywhere.
Do any of the less obnoxious booksellers offer you an affiliate program? It would be nice to order your books from one of the retailers in the top half of this list while still earning you a kickback.
All the Tor titles (the Merchant Princes series and Rapture of the Nerds) are DRM-free. If they aren't, complain to Tor and they'll get the ebook vendor to fix it.
DRM is mandatory at Ace and Orbit. No exceptions. They know my thoughts on the subject, and as/when there's a policy shift I'll be first out the gate.
Off topic for this thread, but (vaguely) Laundry related, I found this on the weird and wonderful Context Free Patent Art web site:
http://contextfreepatentart.tumblr.com/image/55781337800
Sadly, no mention of CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN.
Also off-topic: I heard about the Alice chess variant the other day and was struck by how well it would work as a metaphor in your Merchant Princes universe (of which I think you're currently writing a second trilogy?). You have pieces switching boards upon capture and appearing out of thin air to threaten targets, the necessity for your king to be not only protected but "doppeled", it's often much faster (less cluttered) to do cross-board travel faster on one board than the other. Thought it might amuse!
Oh there are far Stranger things than that "Alice" Chess varient. And so, just in case you have managed to miss it, do have a look at " Alice In Sunderland " ...
http://www.bryan-talbot.com/alice/
One of the characters in that is Chaz Brenchley (friend of ours and of Kari Sperring who has posted here in the past). It's odd seeing a face you know in a 'comic'.
Or even just Star Trek's "3-Dimensional Chess". I've actually played this (using someone else's board) and it literally does add a new dimension to the game (including issues like doppleganging the King).