Author: Sharon

1.  Today’s USA Today “Happy Ever After” column features an interview with Nalini Singh, author of the Psy/Changeling and Guild Hunter series.

2. Sherman’s Bookstore, which has been an independent Maine bookstore since 1886, is opening its fifth location, at 43 Exchange Street, in Portland, on April 1.  Sherman’s also has locations in Bar Harbor, Freeport, Camden, and Boothbay Harbor.

3.  Speaking of Boothbay Harbor, which I have to resist typing as it’s said (“Boothbee Harbor”) — Steve and I will be taking part in the Books at Boothbay Celebration on July 12.  The event will take place at the Boothbay Railway Village and will be in two sessions, with children’s and YA authors signing from 9-noon, and adult and non-fiction authors signing from 1-4.  This is Books at Boothbay’s tenth anniversary, and it ought to be a lot of fun.  Here’s the link.

4.  Y’all know that honeybees have been having a bad time of it over the last few years.  If you want to cut them a break and make sure they have something to drink, you can make a bee waterer.  Here’s how.

5.  The Hugo nomination period ends on March 31 — that’s next Monday!  Here’s the rules.

Note to Universe:  I really do need my brain back now, thanks.

Been quite the week so far, what with the landing of the tax papers  (ouch…), a dental visit and a visit to the eye doctor (for me and for Steve, respectively; it wouldn’t be fair if one of us had all the fun), the arrival of new passports, oh!  and news that my piece of the ebook-price-fixing settlement from BN is $9.01 in store scrip.  All righty, then.

This time, I went to the dentist armed for bear, so to speak, with the mp3 player, earphones, and Sun Bear in my arsenal.  Sun Bear was a hit with the staff, and I had no opportunity to use the music, what with trays of “material” being inserted and removed from my mouth, so that the dentist would have a full impression of all my teeth in what looks like blue Sculpey.  The process itself was. . .slightly nerve-wracking.  The worst part was the aftermath: accommodating the trays bruised the inside of my mouth somewhat — which is a Very Weird Feeling — and all of my teeth felt like someone had tried to pulled them out of my head (the Sculpey did not release its hostages easily) — which is an Even Weirder Feeling.  Next up is a consultation, in two weeks.

After the dentist, we went up to Bangor Mall, to walk around and stare at the shiny things.  No kidding — there are six chain jewelery stores in the Bangor Mall (if we count Pandora, which, perhaps, we oughtn’t to).  Who in Eastern Maine is buying buckets full of ugly and over-priced mass-produced jewelery?  I didn’t even try to count the stores selling clothes to thin young things, all of whom apparently have access to Gold American Express Cards. It’s nothing short of astonishing.  There was a kiosk selling fish-shaped ukeleles and Jesus-themed t-shirts, which provided some amusement, as did the head-shop over in the far corner, which was selling glass ashtrays (I can’t remember the last time I saw an ashtray for sale in a retail establishment), high-end waterpipes, t-shirts and gimme caps emblazoned with rude sayings, and wind chimes made out of rainbow-winged unicorn-pegasi.

I remain aggravated that there’s no bookstore in the mall (hasn’t been for years, since WaldenBooks closed), and I was shocked to find that the once-robust food hall (or picnic, or whatever we’re calling it this year) has shrunk to a Java Junction, Dairy Queen, and Oriental Express.  Even MickeyD has abandoned ship.  Sigh.

Despite all that, though, it was nice to be able to walk around, and to have people and things to look at — so,  a successful outing of its kind.

Today, we’re promised a wind storm, with gusts up to 50 mph, but the nor’easter we were being promised late last week appears to have evaporated.

Which?  Is fine by me.

Now that we’re home from the eye doctor, I have a call to make to the town assessor (sigh), and some filing to do.  I also need to print out the newly-arranged manuscript and read it.

Hope everyone’s had a grand week so far, and that it continues straight through to Friday.

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Today’s blog title comes from “Norman,” by Sue Thompson.  Here’s your link.

1.  Today’s Baen Free Radio Hour features an interview with Dave Seeley, and! an audiocast of my short story “The Gift of Music.”  Here’s your link.

2.  This link takes you to a page featuring thumbnails of various pieces of art by Anne Lemanski. OPHIOPHOBES TAKE NOTE: There are snakes involved. They’re quite attractive snakes, and they’re made out of copper and paper, but snakes they are.  Here’s your link.

3.  Waterville area folks — Dragon Egg Hunt in preparation for the Waterville Opera House presentation of SHREK.  Here’s that link.

4.  The Hugo Nomination Period ends on March 31.  If you were a member of last year’s WorldCon, in San Antonio; if you’re a member of this year’s WorldCon, in London; if you’re a member of next year’s WorldCon, in Spokane, you are eligible to nominate for the Hugos.  Here’s the link to the rules.  On the left hand side of that page, you’ll find links to the 2014 nomination form and the Retro Hugo nomination form, and instructions for the whole batch.

4a.  Lee and Miller have several works eligible for nomination.  They are:
Novels:  Necessity’s Child, Trade Secret
Novelettes:  Eleutherios, Moon’s Honor
Short Story:  Out of True

5.  Between Wednesday and Thursday here in Central Maine, we had a Lot of Snow.  (oh, OK; somewhere between 10.5 and 15 inches, it says here.)  I can’t find any official numbers, so we’ll just leave it there.  Today is sunny and cold.  Tomorrow, we have an ice storm on the schedule.

Winter can get over itself Any Time Now.

Today’s blog post title comes from “Steel River,” by Chris Rea.  Here’s a link.  Warning:  This is a song that always makes me cry, so possibly NSFW.

So, over here at Tor.com, there are at this writing 19 reviews and one interview on display on the first page.  Three of those 19 reviews are for Baen books; the rest by Publishers Divers.

The three Baen books under review are:  Cauldron of Ghosts, by Weber and Flint, The Sea Without a Shore, by David Drake, and Carousel Sun, by Sharon Lee.

There’s a reason I’m telling you this.

Of the  three Baen books reviewed, two are held up and mocked for their covers, before the review is even engaged.  Full disclosure:  One of those is Carousel Sun, which has a rooster on the cover. Which is apparently hilarious.  Especially since, yanno, there’s a rooster in the book.  The other book so mocked is Cauldron of Ghosts.  David Drake’s book, I am actually relieved to report, received a respectful and affectionate review, with no mention of the cover.

Now, ‘way back before the rocks cooled, I reviewed professionally.  And what I reviewed was the stuff between the covers —  the story arc, the characters, the structure, the theme.   The cover was understood to be a sales piece, and I, the reviewer, was understood not to be an artist, an art reviewer, or an art director.  The only time I might mention the cover would be to point out that the author’s name was spelled wrong.

While I do very much understand that Baen covers are considered highly mockable in the wider SF community, I question that mocking when it appears on the site of a competitor, and when the only two covers mentioned at all are Baen covers.  This strikes me as dishonest at best, and agenda-driven at worst.

Back in the day, had I suddenly made it my mandate to include cover art in my reviews, I would have reviewed all the covers, in order to provide my readers with a balanced opinion of all the books.  Because that was, after all, my job.