Author: Sharon

Well the cops busted Madame Marie for tellin’ fortunes better’n they do

What went before:  So, a low-key day. I did some This, some That, read, put the finished sampler into the embroidery book, ironed some con clothes. I’m still trying to decide if I’ll wear black-and-grey, or black-and-maroon for Opening Ceremonies, a decision I can put off for a few days yet, as both outfits will be coming with me.

For those who are coming to BaltiCon — I have Interesting News. We have a possible location for the Stuffed Animal Tea, but! We don’t have a time or day. So, at this point, it’s kind of a Heisenberg Tea. More news will be forthcoming, possibly on Wednesday. As soon as I know something firm (bearing in mind that I will be spending a large amount of Wednesday and Thursday driving), I’ll let y’all know.

We’re getting up toward ASL time, and I still need to close the windows.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

#

Friday. Dim and damp.

Letters dispatched. Finished reading The Mysterious Marquess, and have pulled The Elusive Earl up for tonight’s reading, unless it turns out to be a Dr. Who night. Zoom call upcoming, and a couple other such things as people are suddenly realizing that I’m going to be away. Laundry needs to be sorted, laptop charged and systems brought up to date

I have more this ‘n that to do, including puzzling out some bits for the book after the current WIP, which may not be Jethri after all, if I’m gonna do mumblemumble with the current WIP, which I think may be Forced, given that I need to at least produce a soft landing, if not a Hard Wrap Up, and there are only three books remaining under contract (Current WIP, WIP After, Jethri Big Finish). And now you know why writers stare out of windows.

I’m slowly remembering the convention traditions — pins, con clothes, tote bag, pens, ribbons, badge jewelry… For those who are coming to the con, I will have with me some “I Met Steve Miller” ribbons, so that those present who had, in fact, met Steve Miller may acknowledge that connection.

The cats are being very snuggly and maybe even a little clingy, which I’m guessing the memo I sent out has hit. If the teleporter worked, I’d bring them with me, but the geezinfluke is still on backorder.

I think that’s most of what’s going on here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

How’s everybody doing today?

Today’s blog post title courtesy of Mr. Bruce Springsteen, “4th of July, Asbury Park”

After breakfast cat census:

Books read in 2025

30  The Mysterious Marquess (Bad Heir Days #2), Grace Burrowes (e)
29  Who Will Remember (Sebastian St. Cyr #20), C.S. Harris (e)
28  The Teller of Small Fortunes, Julie Leong (e)
27  Check and Mate, Ali Hazelwood (e)
26  The Dangerous Duke (Bad Heir Days #1), Grace Burrowes (e)
25  Night’s Master (Flat Earth #1) (re-read), Tanith Lee (e)
24  The Honey Pot Plot (Rocky Start #3), Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (e)
23  Very Nice Funerals (Rocky Start #2), Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (e)
22  The Orb of Cairado, Katherine Addison (e)
21  The Tomb of Dragons, (The Cemeteries of Amalo Trilogy, Book 3), Katherine Addison (e)
20  A Gentleman of Sinister Schemes (Lord Julian #8), Grace Burrowes (e)
19  The Thirteen Clocks (re-re-re-&c read), James Thurber (e)
18  A Gentleman Under the Mistletoe (Lord Julian #7), Grace Burrowes (e)
17  All Conditions Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) (re-re-re-&c read) (audio 1st time)
16  Destiny’s Way (Doomed Earth #2), Jack Campbell (e)
15  The Sign of the Dragon, Mary Soon Lee
14  A Gentleman of Unreliable Honor (Lord Julian #6), Grace Burrowes (e)
13  Market Forces in Gretna Green (#7 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
12  Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, Judi Dench with Brendan O’Hea (e)
11  Code Yellow in Gretna Green (#6 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
10  Seeing Red in Gretna Green (#5 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
9    House Party in Gretna Green (#4 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)*
8    Ties that Bond in Gretna Green (#3 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
7    Painting the Blues in Gretna Green (#2 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
6    Midlife in Gretna Green (#1 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
5    The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison (Author), Kyle McCarley (Narrator) re-re-re&c-read (audio)
4    The House in the Cerulean Sea,  TJ Klune (e)
3    A Gentleman in Search of a Wife (Lord Julian #5) Grace Burrowes (e)
2    A Gentleman in Pursuit of the Truth (Lord Julian #4) Grace Burrowes (e)
1    A Gentleman in Challenging Circumstances (Lord Julian #3) Grace Burrowes (e)

_____
*Note: The list has been corrected. I did not realize that the Gretna Green novella was part of the main path, rather than a pleasant discursion, and my numbering was off. All fixed now.

To infinity, and beyond!

What went before:  Business first; list of title affected by price increases

We now return to your regularly scheduled frivolity.

It is Thursday in Central Maine; cloudy, damp, and warm(ish).

Breakfast was cottage cheese, grapes, and toast. Second cup of tea to hand. Lunch will be a sweet potato because I have two left and I’d better eat them before I leave to go walking up and down in the world.

Ashley will be by in half an hour, more or less, and I’ve picked up the house, except for the kicker that Rook and Tali keep dragging off the sofa so they can play kicker-ball. Kicker-ball seems to have much in common with Calvin-ball, and Tali is quicker at the rule shifts than Rook, though I fear the moment he realizes How It Works.

Tonight is ASL class; today, I have correspondence to answer and things to put in piles in prep for said walking up and down. Yes, I’m starting to pack already. If I try to do it all on Monday, or, as Steve would do, Tuesday, I’ll hurt my back (no, I don’t know why, I just know that’s what happens), and we’re trying to avoid that, since I’m driving.

I also need to recheck the routes/maps. No, they didn’t move Cooperstown or Baltimore (though Baltimore is sinking, so that’s exciting), but I’m running without a navigator (yes, I Keep Saying That, and it continues to be true).

Tali is now on my lap, nibbling my fingers as I try to type — and, gone.

What’re y’all doing today?

Ah.  Today’s blog post title is of course attributed to Mr. Buzz Lightyear

List of books affected by price increase

Business first, in answer to pleas for a list. Below are the books affected by Amazon’s new Minimum List Price Rule. Note that these are PAPER BOOKS ONLY, and yes those would be CHAPbooks.

NOTE: CHAPBOOKS. Because in Olden Times such things were thin, cheap pamphlets and/or small books and they were sold by traveling vendors called CHAPmen. CHAPmen sold CHAPbooks. The name stuck even when chapbooks became pamphlets/small books self-published by philosophers, poets, and impoverished writers, to distinguish them from, err, real books.

So, once more, the list below includes the Pinbeam Books chapbooks in paper, only. Prices on these items are going up (“Love in an Elevator” is playing in the background — no, really. This morning’s soundtrack has been pretty good.) ON MONDAY, May 19 2025.
Ebook prices remain (for the moment) unaffected.

The Gift of Magic
Courier Run
Surfside
Shout of Honor
Degrees of Separation
Legacy Systems
Change Management
Heirs to Trouble
Sleeping with the Enemy
Fortune’s Favors
Due Diligence
Ambient Conditions
Moon’s Honor
Technical Details
Spell Bound
Cultivar
The Gate that Locks the Tree

Attention Pinbeam Books readers

What went before, short form:  Amazon sent me a letter informing me of changes to its royalty structure.  PRINT titles that have a cover price of less than $9.99 will experience a reduced royalty — from 60% to 50%.  Some other books will receive NO ROYALTIES AT ALL.  Amazon was writing to me because I have titles that fall into the NO ROYALTIES AT ALL zone, and I have until June 10 to Fix This.

NOTE:  This is paper books only from Pinbeam Books, the Lee-and-Miller indie publishing side of It All.

NOTE TWO:  Pinbeam’s paper books are produced and distributed by Amazon, so even if you buy one of Pinbeam’s print book from another bookstore, you are still buying it from Amazon.

#

Wednesday. Anything can happen day.

Please join me in a moment of silence as we contemplate this irony.

Right.

Sunny and going to hit the low 70sF. Windows my office are OPEN. Bathroom window is NOT OPEN.

The caffeine has done its work; and I’ve traveled through the Land Of O!God O!God, what the PHUCK am I going to do? I don’t have TIME for this and we’re going to be living in a tent by the river, and the Cats &c&c&c — which is the toll I pay for having a bent brain — and have arrived at A Place of Thinking.

So.

I’ve gone through the list of titles affected by Amazon’s newest flexing of its muscles. It is Less Bad than the first reading/panic attack made it seem. There are 22 Pinbeam Books titles affected by this…new arrangement.

Despite the explanation in their letter, five of Pinbeam’s 22 affected titles are listed at $10 (aka above the Magic $9.99); the rest are listed at $8.

I need to research what’s going on with those five $10 titles; also — there’s a separate problem with The Tomorrow Log, which someone seems to have hijacked. However Amazon’s system is for some reason a little overwhelmed at the moment, and I can’t actually GET to TTL‘s publisher listing to see what’s going on there.

Focusing on the below-magic-list-price titles . . . 17 @ $8. Here, I have three choices: (1) I can let Amazon continue to sell them and pay me nothing; (2) I can increase the cover of all titles to $10, or (3) I can take them off-sale.

(1) is Right Out.

Frankly, (2) and (3) both pretty much add up to $0. People can’t buy a book that’s not listed, and! I doubt anybody will buy these titles in paper at $10. However, exposure is a thing, and keeping the titles in view has benefit.

So (2) it is.

I will be increasing the price of the affected titles on Monday, May 19, so people still have time to buy these titles at the older, lower price.

Why am I doing this so quickly, since Amazon isn’t implementing their changes until June 10?

Because I will be traveling, and then I will be exhausted from traveling, and having to catch up with All The Rest of the stuff that somehow piles up when you’re traveling, even if you’re — ahem — old, widowed, and Have Nothing To Do All Day.

And that’s Anything Can Happen Day so far at the Confusion Factory.

I’m going to go get a third cup of tea, and what’s left of that chocolate mint brownie. Panic really uses up calories.

I trust that everyone is abiding in a state of Calm Peacefulness this morning?

In good news, the cat tree was in bloom this morning.

Speed bonny boat, like a bird on the wing

What went before: And, the first Steve Miller’s death has killed the Liaden Universe®; the latest book is filler: boring, stupid, and includes icky girl stuff¹ commentary has landed. I’m kind of surprised it took this long. And, no, I did not  seek it out.

Closing up shop for the day.  Dr. Who up in 3…2…1…

Everybody stay safe.

¹<fe>Assuredly the first Liaden book ever to include icky girl stuff</fe>

* * *

So. Did he bring her to that desolate Welsh hilltop on purpose?

#

Tuesday. Sunny and already kind of warm, pardoning the slight, cool breeze. The ‘beans are looking for 70F/21C, so I might actually be able to sit out on the deck for a little while this afternoon in Actual Sunshine.

Trash is at the curb, but not recycling, since there’s no recycling pickup this week, those trucks being needed to haul in the junk for the City Cleanup.

Breakfast was — don’t judge me — leftover mashed potatoes with egg, onions, and cheese. Lunch will be a burger and … something. Or, yanno, not.

I have a letter from the hospital that’s closing next week. It appears that I can fill out a form to see if my PCP will accept me into his new practice — in Bath. I’m required to fill the form in and fax it to the practice, which is going to be a challenge. I note that Bath is, eh, an hour away, maybe?

However, in Actual Good News, the Walk-In Clinic is not closing. At least, not yet.

The letter is dense — in layout and in information, so I’ll be reading it again. I also have a bill from the plumber for the Installation Fiasco, and it is less — even much less — than I had feared. So — qualified good news there.

I’ve some other this, that, and t’other things to look after, and tonight is the second meeting of the fiber craft group at the library.

“My life makes perfect sense: drugs and booze, and violence.” Possibly my least favorite Dire Straits song.

Thanks to everyone for the outpouring of love for our writing, and for Diviner’s Bow. I should perhaps have given a paraphrase warning, and I now let the world know that “icky girl stuff” is romance/relationship content. Which, yes, the Liaden Universe® has embraced — cough — from the beginning, and it always  amazes me that people who preface their Disappointed Remarks on our Sudden Wokeness with “I’ve been reading this series from the beginning,” managed to miss this for nearly 40 years. I can only believe that reading is very difficult for them, and I admire their perseverance.

The windows are open — only not the bathroom window, which will have to do penance for a while yet — and the cats are strategically deployed to take advantage of the Smells Of Outdoors.

Do you know where your cats are?

Today’s blog post title comes to you via Dr. Who (“Kiss-Kiss”), “Skye Boat Song,” the linked performance from Celtic Thunder.

It wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest, but the low spark of high-heeled boys

What went before: So! 600-odd new words today, bringing the total very drafty WIP to +/-40,200 words.

Quitting to do some ASL review and maybe see how much of my acceptance speech I remember today.

Tomorrow, I have an early(ish) appointment for a haircut, and some errands to run while I’m out and about. Then! I have Endless Phone Calls to make, and then? We’ll see.

So, I’m checking the weather for my various locations starting next week. Cooperstown’s more or less on par with my part of Maine, and Corning’s a tad warmer, but Baltimore? Baltimore, what’s going on with you? It ain’t Summer.

Of course, we here in Central Maine are operating under an Active frost advisory from midnight to 6 am tomorrow. Just in case anybody thought it was Spring.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

#

Well. Monday, eh? Damp and dim and at the moment, chilly.

Waiting for my tea to brew, then there’s a raisin bran muffin with my name on it to be toasted.

It looks like two of my friends have been whatever the FB term is for “hacked” overnight. Both visible in the city. Both women. Of course, you might say.

Sometimes, I think that I’d like to know what goes on in the heads of people who do this kind of crap (ref “hacked” above), so I could understand why they do it. If for nothing else, look at the material I could get for my stories, O! Me of Can’t Write Believable Villains.

But, then, yanno, I think, no. I’ll just sit over here writing overachievers who at least try to be compassionate, if they can’t be kind, and who recognize that none of us go it alone, we all need each other, even the bullies and the billionaires who proclaim themselves Self! Made! Met your mother, mate?

“The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.” Thank you, Voltaire.

I think I’d better go find that muffin.

#

And. A name I didn’t recognize liked my previous post and in the time it took me to click on the name and block it — I had two messages from that same name.

#

Glam shot:

#

Haircut achieved, per evidence previously provided. Firefly approves and that’s all the validation I need.

Stopped at Holy Cannoli and bought a slice of lasagna that will easily be two hearty lunches, and a chocolate mint brownie bigger than my head, which will also be eaten across days. In fact, I’ve just eaten a slice, which I washed down with the tea (still hot!) in my Yeti tumbler.

As previously advertised, I have phone calls to make and, to reward myself for phone calling and getting my hair cut, I have reserved a seat at this evening’s free talk-and-film at the Waterville Arts Center. This evening’s movie is The Shape of Water.

Waterville is doing the city-wide clean up, and people are throwing away Perfectly Good Stuff, so I thought, but figured it was Just Me. Turns out not. I chatted with a lady who had rescued several small child amusements from piles on people’s lawns, took them home, washed and disinfected them and, hey, presto! The grandkid wins.

So. Brownie slice consumed — man, that was good — and tea finished.

Time to make my first phone call.

#

primal scream

Phone calls accomplished. I may not have a copy of my log that the insurance company keeps on me, which is a record of every time I’ve called them, or they called me, and a synopsis of our talk, on account of that is … proprietary?

My first contact was with someone who wanted nothing to do with me and bounced me to another department, which fortunately got me someone who thought her job was solving problems.

Unfortunately, all she could do was research and compile a case, but she had to send me and the information back to the general office, where? I was “helped” to fill out a grievance that I cannot have a copy of, and I should hear “something” in 30 days.

Takeaway: Insurance company does not care if it has a trust issue, because — where else you gonna go?

I’m going to go heat up some of that lasagna for lunch. I do not believe I will be going to the movies tonight, but I may binge Dr. Who.

Today’s very late blog post title brought to you by Mr. Steve Winwood and Traffic, “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”

 

Books read in 2025

29  Who Will Remember (Sebastian St. Cyr #20), C.S. Harris (e)
28  The Teller of Small Fortunes, Julie Leong (e)
27  Check and Mate, Ali Hazelwood (e)
26  The Dangerous Duke (Bad Heir Days #1), Grace Burrowes (e)
25  Night’s Master (Flat Earth #1) (re-read), Tanith Lee (e)
24  The Honey Pot Plot (Rocky Start #3), Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (e)
23  Very Nice Funerals (Rocky Start #2), Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (e)
22  The Orb of Cairado, Katherine Addison (e)
21  The Tomb of Dragons, (The Cemeteries of Amalo Trilogy, Book 3), Katherine Addison (e)
20  A Gentleman of Sinister Schemes (Lord Julian #8), Grace Burrowes (e)
19  The Thirteen Clocks (re-re-re-&c read), James Thurber (e)
18  A Gentleman Under the Mistletoe (Lord Julian #7), Grace Burrowes (e)
17  All Conditions Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) (re-re-re-&c read) (audio 1st time)
16  Destiny’s Way (Doomed Earth #2), Jack Campbell (e)
15  The Sign of the Dragon, Mary Soon Lee
14  A Gentleman of Unreliable Honor (Lord Julian #6), Grace Burrowes (e)
13  Market Forces in Gretna Green (#7 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
12  Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, Judi Dench with Brendan O’Hea (e)
11  Code Yellow in Gretna Green (#6 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
10  Seeing Red in Gretna Green (#5 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
9    House Party in Gretna Green (#4 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)*
8    Ties that Bond in Gretna Green (#3 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
7    Painting the Blues in Gretna Green (#2 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
6    Midlife in Gretna Green (#1 Midlife Recorder), Linzi Day (e)
5    The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison (Author), Kyle McCarley (Narrator) re-re-re&c-read (audio)
4    The House in the Cerulean Sea,  TJ Klune (e)
3    A Gentleman in Search of a Wife (Lord Julian #5) Grace Burrowes (e)
2    A Gentleman in Pursuit of the Truth (Lord Julian #4) Grace Burrowes (e)
1    A Gentleman in Challenging Circumstances (Lord Julian #3) Grace Burrowes (e)

_____
*Note: The list has been corrected. I did not realize that the Gretna Green novella was part of the main path, rather than a pleasant discursion, and my numbering was off. All fixed now.

Adventuring for the faint of heart

Convention Business: The BaltiCon Program is now live. Word is that it’s still being tweaked. I was, for instance, double booked for Saturday evening, and have been moved from the panel discussion of how to make your characters relatable. Here’s the link. Note that you can search the schedule by day, and by person, and you can create your own list of things to do and see.

#

What went before: So, that’s 636 new words on the day, along with some retrofitting of old words. The WIP Entire now weighs in at +/-39,597 words.
For a book that has quite a large cast of characters, Salvage Right is amazingly tight, and I have to keep going back and refreshing myself on what happened when and to whom, as well as what was left over.

Also, prep for BaltiCon, including the travel details, and speeches, and reservations at Corning — not to mention the stupidity with the insurance company and! something else that landed on my desk today — is all kind of borking my concentration on the story. Well. Maybe I’ll have time to write at the con.

Yeah, who am I kidding?

The rain has stopped and the wind has come up. Word is that tomorrow will be sunny and beautiful.

We’ll see, she said darkly.

In the meantime, everybody stay safe.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

Sunday In Two Parts

ONE
Oh, my gods and goddesses.

Rookie fell out of the bathroom window.

SPOILER: He’s OK; I’m — a little stressed, and so very VERY pleased that he didn’t run away, but just sat in the garden under the window and YELLED. Firefly and Tali came to get me, both looking very worried, and I had heard a cat calling, but thought it was Trooper singing the song of his people downstairs, as is his habit.

But Trooper was on the copilot’s chair. I ran to the bathroom; the screen was awry and I could hear a cat YELLING. I closed the bathroom door, ran outside — and there was Rook, staring up at the window and YELLING. I called him and he came to me, just like the spoiled kid he is, and I picked him up and told him how brave and smart he was, and brought him back into the house, where we both collapsed onto the couch. He’s only just gotten up to grab a snack.

I pushed the screen all the way out, closed and locked the window. I’ll figure out how to put it back in later.

Offerings to Bast are in order.

TWO
Sunday. Sunny and still a little chilly, though warm enough that I opened the bathroom window for the edification of coon cats.

Breakfast was … eggs scrambled with tomato and onion and rice. I guess I ate about half of it before Adventure overtook me. I hate cold eggs. I did finish my toast and jam. Lunch will be chicken tender and mashed potatoes out of a bag and, oh, peas, why not?

I have a letter to write, but mostly I want to write. I really hope that isn’t too much to ask.

I … am still a little shaky, and so glad that Firefly and Tali came to get me instead of following Rook out the window. I might’ve talked Firefly in, but Tali’d be halfway to the mall in Augusta by now. Fans of Trooper will be pleased to hear that he slept through the entire thing.

So! Who’s up for Adventure today?

Picture of Rook after the fall:

I thought that I heard you laughing

What went before: Bookmarks for Balticon just landed!
Today has been a frustrating day. As much as I declared that it would be a writing day — well. It was a writing day.

Unfortunately, it was a writing day where I realized that I had made a wrong turn, and spent hours trying to figure out (1) where I had gone wrong and (2) how to fix it. I briefly considered chucking the entire manuscript into the recycling bin and deleting all the files.

Then I realized that I was dealing with a crew of rogues and scoundrels and that Seignur Veeoni is, to put it as baldly as possible — Seignur Veeoni.

Which in the present case, is a GOOD thing.

So! 265 new words written today, but the way is clear for tomorrow.

I had salmon on a bed of salad greens for lunch, and there’s broccoli cheese soup left over for tomorrow.

The cats have just finished Happy Hour; I have some dishes to wash, and my own evening meal to forage.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

#

Saturday. Why, look; it’s raining.

I’ve taken to setting an alarm for 7am, as a compromise to getting up at 5am because I woke up, and feeling Aggrieved for the rest of the day. If I know I have an alarm set for 7, when I wake up at 5, I say, “Oh, no, you still have two hours to sleep,” and — that works. Psychology, man.

So, this morning when I arose, dewy and pink, from my couch (I know, I know — terrible image, but who am I to contradict a poet?), I was starving. I was in fact So Hungry that my brain immediately said, “You’re too hungry to eat.”

Have I mentioned recently that my brain periodically tries to kill me?

Yeah, so. Breakfast was naan and hummus, and a handful of dried apricots, because it was quick and could pretend to be nutritious. For lunch, there is that bowl of broccoli cheese soup that I ordered yesterday for lunch, but didn’t want after I ate the salad.

Today is — dare I say it? Yes! flaran cha’menthi, and all like that — a writing day. Seignur Veeoni is on deck. This ought to be Fun. For those values of Fun that apply to writers who are actively writing.

I was visited, serially, at breakfast by Rook and by Tali. Firefly stopped by my chair to have her back stroked, which is Firefly’s schtick; and Trooper is already on duty in the copilot’s chair.

So! What’s the weather at your house?

Today’s blog post title brought to you by REM, “Losing my religion“