Favorite Dad Quote of the Weekend:

"Anyway, about my pants. There's good news and there's bad news."

Not that anyone had been talking about his pants ...

***

I just looked at the TV schedule and realized that today will be devoted to sitting on my ass and watching basketball. First up is San Antonio vs. Boston. It's a shame Garnett is hurt, but still, it's two teams that have a great shot at meeting in the Finals. After that, Lakers vs. Miami, in which we'll see a fired-up Shawn Marion, who just got traded from my Phoenix Suns for Shaquille O'Neal. Shawn's going to have something to prove, and I think he and D-Wade are going to combine nicely. Later, Denver vs. Cleveland. Not a big fan of either team, so I might skip this one, actually. And then Phoenix vs. Washington. Shaq won't be suited up yet, and we'll be without Marion, so the Suns are going to have to gut-up and hope to get some play out of Boris Diaw, who seems to have become frightened of the rim. It's a shame, because with his size and skills he has the potential to be awesome. Come on, Boris! Be awesome!

***

I've been looking forward to seeing sales notices about my book in Publishers Marketplace and Locus, largely because then I'd get to see how paid professionals describe my book. Because when people have asked me to describe my book, it's always gone something like this: "Uh, it's got gods and some stuff about DNA and the end of the world. It's my damn Norse novel."

Not a stellar elevator pitch.

But I got asked for a description for SFScope, and I had to provide something, so this is what I came up with:

A mythic fantasy in which a minor Norse god, a modern valkyrie, and a Viking thug are pitted against the Norse pantheon in an attempt to stop Ragnarok, the long-ago foreseen destruction of the entire universe. It takes place in contemporary Los Angeles and in many locales from Norse mythology.

Not terrible, maybe a bit long, and I'm still looking forward to seeing what people who describe books professionally come up with.

***

Oh, and this was how the conversation about the book with my dad began on Friday.

Dad: Whatever happened to that book you were trying to sell?
Me: I sold it.
(beat)
Dad: How much money did you get?

Congratulations to the Phoenix Suns for a great season and a gritty performance in the face of adversity, i.e., the NBA's decision to suspend Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw in Game 5 of the Western Conference semi-finals for standing and walking a few feet away from the bench after Robert "Cheap Shot Rob" Horry drove Steve Nash into the scorers table when it was clear that San Antonio couldn't win the game, not to mention Bruce Bowen's usual dirty play and extra-special knee to Nash's groin.

But rules are rules, right? The Suns players left the bench, and it's the letter of the law that's important, not the spirit. Or, as NBA offishit Stu Jackson said, "It is not a matter of fairness, it's a matter of correctness."

San Antonio Spurs Sterns = 1
Fans of Entertaining Basketball = 0