18 The Last Revival of Opal and Nev, Dawnie Walton (e)
17 Bruno, Chief of Police: A Mystery of the French Countryside, Martin Walker (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) (e)
16 Spellswept, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #2) (e)
15 Last Guard, Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14 Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13 Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12 The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (e) (re-read)
11 Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10 Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) (e)
9 Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #1) (e)
8 Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7 Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6 A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5 Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (pre-pub provided by the author) (e)
4 The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3 Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2 Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1 Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)
Author: Sharon
Books read in 2022
17 Bruno, Chief of Police: A Mystery of the French Countryside, Martin Walker (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) (e)
16 Spellswept, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #2) (e)
15 Last Guard, Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14 Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13 Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12 The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (e) (re-read)
11 Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10 Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) (e)
9 Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #1) (e)
8 Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7 Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6 A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5 Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (pre-pub provided by the author) (e)
4 The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3 Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2 Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1 Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)
Books read in 2022
16 Spellswept, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #2) (e)
15 Last Guard, Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14 Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13 Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12 The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (e) (re-read)
11 Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10 Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) (e)
9 Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #1) (e)
8 Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7 Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6 A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5 Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (pre-pub provided by the author) (e)
4 The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3 Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2 Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1 Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)
Books read in 2022
15 Last Guard, Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14 Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13 Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12 The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (e) (re-read)
11 Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10 Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) (e)
9 Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #1) (e)
8 Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7 Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6 A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5 Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (pre-pub provided by the author) (e)
4 The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3 Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2 Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1 Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)
Saturday’s Views
Yesterday — Friday — it was sunny and Stupid Warm for this time and place. Today — Saturday — we return to the script as written: cold rain out of a grumpy grey sky. This will continue through the night.
So, not a good day, really, for views. Despite which, I will be over there in the Comfy Chair in the window of my office with the third section of Salvage Right, my notebook, pens, and notes. The time has come to tidy up the plot and see which expectations bore fruit, which are trembling on the edge of revelation, and which were — um — not such good ideas, after all.
As I prepare to go down into the interstitials, Salvage Right weighs in at 73,000 words. This actually doesn’t tell us as much as you might think, though my sense is that there isn’t a lot of weeding to be done — which is to say, I expect to be adding words, not subtracting.
For those who collect Process, I remain very pleased with the Just Write What You Know method that I adopted for this book. I’m usually pretty much a linear writer — starting at page one and writing on through. Which is fine, except for the tendency to get bogged down in bridges and technical bits, which leads to Writer Frustration. Writing the scenes I know provides a great sense of forward motion, I haven’t lost my excitement for the project, and the result is a lot less chaotic than I had feared. Apparently, my back brain knows what it’s doing.
So, that. Time to go to work.
Here, have a snippet:
Jen Sin raised his hands, showing empty palms. “Yes, I heard. Forgive my lack of appropriate consternation. This is not a regular environment. Strange things happen here.”
Books read in 2022
14 Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13 Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12 The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (re-read) (e)
11 Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10 Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (e) (Seraphina #2) (e)
9 Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (e) (Seraphina #1) (e)
8 Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (e) (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7 Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6 A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5 Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (e) (pre-pub provided by the author)
4 The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3 Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2 Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1 Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)
Liaden Universe® Updates
Presented in order of Temporal Proximity.
First! We have a book coming out on May 3! Fair Trade, the third account of the loves and adventures of Jethri Gobelyn ven’Deelin, Trader Extraordinaire, will be available in hardcover, and electronic from all of the usual vendors. Right now, you may preorder the hardcover from those same usual suspects.
There are Notes, to wit!
Note A: YES, you will be able to buy this novel electronically on the release date. NO, you may not preorder it. This is how our publisher does things, and is above our pay grade.
Note B: If you want a signed copy of the hardcover Fair Trade, you can preorder one right here
Note B1: Personalizations are not available this time. Uncle Hugo’s is just getting settled into their new space, and there was some concern about Mistakes Being Made. Nobody wants mistakes, amirite?
Note C: We have heard nothing about an audiobook edition. This, too, is above our pay grade. Please be assured that, should we hear something, we will shout it from the rooftops.
Second! Salvage Right, a Liaden Universe® novel set on Tinsori Light, will be handed in to Baen in June. Trade Lanes, the fourth Jethri Gobelyn ven’Deelin novel, has a September deadline. That’s right, we’re turning in two books in 2022.
Third! Title TBA, a Liaden Universe® novel that will probably continue the story from the Redlands. This could change, so, yanno, don’t mark in down in ink. That book is due at Baen in June 2023.
Fourth! And, may I just say, the reason I’ve called you all together today — Lee and Miller have signed a three-book contract with their long-time publisher Baen Books. The contract’s call-name is Traveler’s Trio, and we have no idea where those novels will take us, yet, but we do have delivery dates. Those are:
Traveler’s Trio ONE: September 2024
Traveler’s Trio TWO: September 2025
Traveler’s Trio THREE: September 2026
Note A: In September 2026, I will be 74 years old. Steve will have celebrated his 76th birthday three months prior. This by way of reassuring those folks who have been worrying about our retirement that, err — writers don’t retire. At least, writers at our level of the game don’t retire.
Here ends the Updatery.
Cancer Update
Up at oghod o’clock and on the road to the Cancer Center for the second year anniversary of my mastectomy. Cutting to the chase, the surgeon expresses great personal pleasure in the present state of my health. I have one more hoop to jump through — a mammogram, in August. If nothing concerning shows up, I will graduate from every six month appointments to every year.
So, metaphoric fingers crossed for good results in August, which is basically what you want from a mammogram, anyway, so no surprises there.
After my visit with the surgeon, Steve drove us to Ellsworth to drop off a clock for repair and cleaning, and we wandered home via Surry and East Blue Hill Village (yeah, not really on the way home, but you can get here from there), stopping at the Lion’s Den in Waterville to have a celebratory lunch.
We’re home now, the coon cats have been brought up to date, and I’m thinking maybe to top off the day by watching a movie.
Work does continue on SALVAGE RIGHT, which right now stands at just a smidge over 71,000 words.
Books read in 2022
13 Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4)
12 The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (re-read)
11 Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10 Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (e) (Seraphina #2)
9 Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (e) (Seraphina #1)
8 Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (e) (Booking Agents Series #1)
7 Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6 A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5 Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (e) (pre-pub provided by the author)
4 The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3 Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2 Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1 Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)
Writers’ Day Off
So, yesterday, it was sunny and warm, for values of warm that factor in March and Maine, and we called in one of our Rolling Days Off.
Now, what with one thing and another, I haven’t been driving much for the last, eh, year? Two years. Around town stuff — out to Unity Pond, or to Solon, but not what you’d call a Good Drive. Or not what I’d call a Good Drive. Understand, I like to drive, and it’s been a Point of Faith with me since I earned my ticket to fly that I could drive anywhere, any time, no problem. You wanna go to Mars? Fine, I’ll drive you to Mars; strap in.
For the first part of my treatment, I’d been driving myself to the Cancer Center — about 130 mile round trip — but then about half-way through the course, Radiation Fatigue set in, and Steve had to step up to be my chauffeur (cue the Beatles).
Now, the thing they don’t tell you about Radiation Fatigue, aside that “some” people experience it, is that — it hangs around after you’ve gotten done, received your graduation certificate from your ray-gunners, AND rung the bell. It hangs around for a long time.
Most usually, it manifests as a sudden, freewheeling Wall of Exhaustion — and I mean this exactly; you’ll be doing something — washing the dishes, reading, writing, driving — and BAM! you’re done. Now. You can barely hold your head up. There’s no predicting how, when, or why this will happen.
So, long story short, given the above, I haven’t been driving much. And, all other things being more or less back to normal — the other thing they don’t necessarily tell you about cancer recovery is that it takes a lot longer than you think — I decided to see if I couldn’t get my driving mojo back.
Frequent readers of this blog will recall that I recently bought a car — Tinsori the Honda. Tinsori is the back-up car. Our primary ride is a very nice Touring Subaru Forester with all kinds of safety features onboard, and it was the Forester that I drove out yesterday, Steve riding shotgun, all the way down to the ocean and back.
That’s a 200-mile round trip — no big deal — and I got to take a long walk on the beach, and we ate supper at one of our favorite restaurants; took another small on-foot tour of the town, stopped for ice cream on the way home, and!
It was fine. It was better than fine. No Wall of Exhaustion, not even on the horizon. So, I’m calling this a Modest Victory, and hope to repeat it — soon — and eventually arrive at a point where Steve doesn’t need to ride shotgun.
In Other News: I’ve completed my editorial pass through Section Two of Salvage Right, and Steve has it to read for continuity and general sense. In the meantime, I will be moving on to Section Three, continuing with the Write the Scenes You Know Method, with which I’m pretty well pleased. It means writing a lot of bridges, and sometimes having to frog, if the scene doesn’t wind up fitting exactly where it seemed to fit, but that’s all perfectly doable in the editing pass.
For those counting along at home, Salvage Right now stands at 64,656 words, or approximately half-done.
Here, have a snippet:
“One of the crew of Bechimo who may have valuable insight into my work. As you heard, we will speak in depth after the present task is completed, and I have slept.”
“Oh, you remembered sleep,” M Traven said, in a tone of broad enlightenment.
“If I had not, you would have reminded me,” Seignur Veeoni said, rising and moving toward the antechamber.