Blog Without A Name – Page 213

In which the people have spoken

. . .and that’s that.

Yesterday, after having ourselves Spoken early at the polls, we decided to make a day of it, since a day doing Something was better than a day spent obsessively checking the news. We therefore had breakfast at Governor’s before hitting the interstate and heading south, the mp3 player jacked into Kineo’s sound system so we didn’t have to listen to any more political ads.

I have learned that Kineo the Wonder Subaru will pop a discreet warning light when I have 75 miles left on my current tank of gas, which is good to know. The range for the tank is about 500 miles. Which is not only good to know, but downright amazing.

Once we were actually in the South, we did some scoping out of the Sanford-Springvale-Rochester NH megaplex, had a nice, light lunch at Green Tea and come home by way of Wells and Kennebunkport. I tried to get a photo of the seals on the rocky island off of Wells Beach, but — no luck.

For congoing folk: Remember that Lee and Miller will be Principal Speakers at PhilCon. We will not only be giving a speech — which is a thing I do but rarely, so you know you want to hear this one — but we will — rather, our traveling companions will be hosting a Teddy Bear Tea* on Saturday, November 22 at 11 a.m. Coffee, tea, cookies will be served, so bring your favorite stuffed animal to share an hour of refinement, relaxation and camaraderie.

Even if you don’t like tea, or plushies, do plan on coming to PhilCon. Artist GOH this year is Bob Eggleton; Special Guest is Kyle Cassidy. In addition, dozens of other writers, and artists will be present. There will be readings! panels! a dealers room full of all kinds of Amazing Stuff! and an art show to die for.

Really, you can’t miss this.

In Dragon in Exile news, there had been two requests.

One for a blurb/synopsis of the book. Here’s that link (thanks to Chris Meadows for finding it).

Two for information about the availability of limited edition prints of the Dragon in Exile cover. I wrote to Mr. Mattingly and he says that there will be prints available when he’s through with the final painting (Dragon in Exile will have a wrap-around cover, and he needs to finish up what will become the back panel). When complete, the prints will be 13×19, formatted horizontally. He estimates that he’ll be done with the final in two weeks. If you’d like a print, you can write directly to David Mattingly at: davidATdavidmattinglyDOTcom.

. . .and I think that’s all the news that’s fit to print.

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*Not limited to Teddy Bears, all plushy friends are welcome. Among the attendees of the Teddy Bear Tea at PenguiCon was a pink plush triangle wearing sunglasses.

* * *

Progress on Alliance of Equals
16,310/100,000 OR 16.31% Complete

Now, on Liad, they would say: There are fifty High Houses.

Now, on Liad, they would say: A Dragon does not change its nature.

Books read in 2014

40. Spellcast, Barbara Ashford
39. A Night in the Lonesome October, Roger Zelazny, (re-re-re-&c-read aloud w/Steve)
38. The Third Circle, Amanda Quick
37. Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City, Phil and Kaja Foglio
36. Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
35.   Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman (as told to Ralph Leighton)
34. A Brother’s Price, Wen Spencer (e)
33.   Spiral Path, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
32.   Earthly Delights, Kerry Greenwood (e)
31.   Night Broken, Patricia Briggs (e)
30. Just My Type, Simon Garfield
29. Bones of Faerie, Janni Lee Simner
28. Dancer of the Sixth, Michelle Shirey Crean
27. Tryst, Elswyth Thane (re-re-re-re-re-&c-read)
26. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
25. The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
24. The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
23. The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner
22. Cuckoo’s Egg, C.J. Cherryh (re-re-re-&c-read)
21. The Windflower, Laura London (Tom and Sharon Curtis) (re-read)
20. Sparrow Hill Road, Seanan McGuire (e)
19. Demon’s Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
18. Refining Felicity, Marion Chesney
17. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury (re-read aloud w/Steve)
16. The Vanished Priestess, Meredith Blevins
15. Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14. Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
13. Ghost Point, James A. Hetley, manuscript (read aloud w/Steve)
12. Peacemaker, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud w/Steve)
11. The Red Hot Empress, Meredith Blevins
10. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
9. Black Widow: The Name of the Rose, Marjorie Liu, Daniel Acuna
8. Agent of Change, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
7. The Emperor’s Agent, Jo Graham (e)
6. Eternity and a Day, Aline Hunter (e)
5. Kindred Rites, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
4. Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride, Michael Wallis
3. The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein (e)
2. Uncovered, Jordan Matter
1. Dancers Among Us, Jordan Matter

Eye candy

This just in from Madame the Editor.

-- art by David Mattingly — — art by David Mattingly

This is the eighteenth novel detailing the adventures of Clan Korval and other residents of the Liaden Universe®.

The hardcover will be in bookstores in June 2015. For those who treasure a passion for eArcs, count backward four months from June for your probable release date. No word yet on whether there will be an audiobook edition.

More news as it becomes available.

Monday morning cat spam

So, we got about a foot of snow yesterday. Wet, goopy snow that was not a pleasure to shovel off the deck and the stairs and the cars, but it got done, and now the sun is doing its bit by warming the snow enough that it’s dripping off of the branches and the roof. So, yay, solar energy.

Steve took one of the cleaned-off cars and went off to his follow-up-from-surgery-doctor-appointment, and thence to the grocery store. The mailman hasn’t been by yet, but I’m expecting that today is not a real treat for rural delivery, either.

I’ve started the laundry, and made phone calls to the people I called last week, who didn’t return my call. Possibly, this week will be my lucky week.

And! Tomorrow is election day here in Maine. I cannot begin to tell you how much I want this election to be over and done with. So, everybody vote, right? So we can put the election away knowing that we did our best, even if none of the candidates quite managed it.

This week also encloses the 34th anniversary of our actual, legal wedding. We plan to celebrate a day late, and do maybe a dinner out, and view Hero Number 6.

The view from the bedroom window is eerie. I can see right across the road, and the neighbor’s picket fence. When I was out this morning, I checked on the downed cedar tree. It broke off right ground level, and fell across a corner of the Cat Garden, nudging the stake bearing the cat weathervane out of its way, by a couple inches.

In celebration of It Having Snowed , the cats are doing. . .cat things. Photographic evidence below:

Scrabble taking the opportunity of Steve's absence to season his chair. Note cat whisker. — Scrabble taking the opportunity of Steve’s absence to season his chair. Note cat whisker.

Trooper doing his imitation of an unmade bed...in the unmade bed. — Trooper doing his imitation of an unmade bed…in the unmade bed.

Princess Jasmine Sprite waiting, patiently, for SOMEone to make the string work.

* * *

Progress on Alliance of Equals
15,661 out of 100,000 OR 15.66% complete

“Val Con is yos’Phelium and a scout. He’s obliged to find the — former homeworld tiresome.”

In which the gods of winter exact tribute

Back aways, when we moved into this house, Yule came, as it always does at a certain time of year, and we were broke, as we often are at the same season. Steve was working at the computer store at the time, and on Christmas Eve, his boss came through with a totally unexpected Cash Bonus.

So! After the computer shop closed for the holiday, we went to the grocery store, bought a celebratory dinner, and, in order to add some green goodwill to the house, we also bought a little cedar tree in a pot, with a tinfoil star on top. It was a nice little presence in the kitchen over the winter, and when spring came, we planted it outside our bedroom window.

Against, I think, everybody’s expectations — I include the cedar tree itself in this — the little tree grew into quite a large tree; became the nesting tree for several generations of birds; breathed its wonderful aroma into our window on hot summer nights, and soothed us to sleep.

I just walked into the bedroom and noticed something wrong with the window. I thought the cats had been at the shade, but when I looked out, I realized what had happened.

Today’s snowfall has taken the cedar tree; it’s lying, trunk-broken, on the ground.

I’m. . .kind of sad about this.

Carousel Seas news and! the weather

So! Big News First!

Audible lets me know that Carousel Seas is in production. This means that the audiobook will release simultaneously with the paper book on January 6, 2015. And there was much rejoicing!

Steve and I took the morning off to wander over to the Chinah Dinah for breakfast and thence to Augusta for the Maine Crafts Guild Show at the Maine State Museum. It was a nice show, if smallish, and included paper sculpture, jewelery, stone art, and Stephanie Crossman, who does 3-D art in net. Check this out. After the show, we began a tour of the Maine State Museum, which neither of us has visited for several years, but Steve’s back had been bugging him and it was not, sadly, getting better, so we cut the tour short and came home by way of the grocery store and Subway. Happily, my new car has heated seats.

Home again, we dined on our Subway tuna sub, with a rare glass of lunchtime wine, and set about charging All! The! Things! Because?

The Weatherbeans are saying this about the weather around the Confusion Factory:

Tonight 11/01 80%: Rain with a chance of snow in the evening…then rain and snow likely after midnight. Snow accumulation up to 1 inch.

Sunday 11/02 80%: Snow likely. Snow may be heavy at times in the morning. Total snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

May I just say, AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Thank you.

The snow shovels have been taken out of summer storage, and stationed strategically. I would like to say that I’m ready for this, but — I’m not. My goal for this year is to keep both doors to the outside clear of snow — last year, circumstances forced me abandon the front door, and it’s never a good idea to only have one way out of. . .anywhere, really.

Those who read here often may recall that I had set myself to emptying out a file cabinet in the basement. I am pleased to report that the file cabinet is now empty, though I have a box of personal correspondence which will have to be saved in some fashion, and a box of tearsheets, notes and photographs from my couple-year stint as one of the Town Line’s top reporters. I have a call in to the Maine State Archive to see if there’s any interest; if not — out they go, because they’re certainly no use to me.

I also have a pile of professional correspondence, including a letter from our very first editor, explaining that our first three books simply didn’t sell, and giving her recommendations for improving ourselves as artists. It’s. . .a treasure, and I’ve put it aside with the rest of the stuff I’ve been slowly gathering to archive somewhere else.

So, that.

In other news, yes, I’m writing — at the moment, we’re at about 14,000 solid words on the second book of the Five Book Dash, as I go through the pieces pulled form Dragon in Exile and rectify them, adding in other narrative lines as necessary.

And, now, I’d better check on the status of All! The! Things! and, yanno, get to work.

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend, wherever you are.

Books read in 2014

39. A Night in the Lonesome October, Roger Zelazny, (re-re-re-&c-read aloud w/Steve)
38. The Third Circle, Amanda Quick
37. Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City, Phil and Kaja Foglio
36. Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
35.   Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman (as told to Ralph Leighton)
34. A Brother’s Price, Wen Spencer (e)
33.   Spiral Path, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
32.   Earthly Delights, Kerry Greenwood (e)
31.   Night Broken, Patricia Briggs (e)
30. Just My Type, Simon Garfield
29. Bones of Faerie, Janni Lee Simner
28. Dancer of the Sixth, Michelle Shirey Crean
27. Tryst, Elswyth Thane (re-re-re-re-re-&c-read)
26. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
25. The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
24. The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
23. The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner
22. Cuckoo’s Egg, C.J. Cherryh (re-re-re-&c-read)
21. The Windflower, Laura London (Tom and Sharon Curtis) (re-read)
20. Sparrow Hill Road, Seanan McGuire (e)
19. Demon’s Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
18. Refining Felicity, Marion Chesney
17. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury (re-read aloud w/Steve)
16. The Vanished Priestess, Meredith Blevins
15. Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14. Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
13. Ghost Point, James A. Hetley, manuscript (read aloud w/Steve)
12. Peacemaker, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud w/Steve)
11. The Red Hot Empress, Meredith Blevins
10. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
9. Black Widow: The Name of the Rose, Marjorie Liu, Daniel Acuna
8. Agent of Change, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
7. The Emperor’s Agent, Jo Graham (e)
6. Eternity and a Day, Aline Hunter (e)
5. Kindred Rites, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
4. Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride, Michael Wallis
3. The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein (e)
2. Uncovered, Jordan Matter
1. Dancers Among Us, Jordan Matter

Books read in 2014

38. The Third Circle, Amanda Quick
37. Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City, Phil and Kaja Foglio
36. Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
35.   Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman (as told to Ralph Leighton)
34. A Brother’s Price, Wen Spencer (e)
33.   Spiral Path, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
32.   Earthly Delights, Kerry Greenwood (e)
31.   Night Broken, Patricia Briggs (e)
30. Just My Type, Simon Garfield
29. Bones of Faerie, Janni Lee Simner
28. Dancer of the Sixth, Michelle Shirey Crean
27. Tryst, Elswyth Thane (re-re-re-re-re-&c-read)
26. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
25. The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
24. The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
23. The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner
22. Cuckoo’s Egg, C.J. Cherryh (re-re-re-&c-read)
21. The Windflower, Laura London (Tom and Sharon Curtis) (re-read)
20. Sparrow Hill Road, Seanan McGuire (e)
19. Demon’s Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
18. Refining Felicity, Marion Chesney
17. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury (re-read aloud w/Steve)
16. The Vanished Priestess, Meredith Blevins
15. Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14. Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
13. Ghost Point, James A. Hetley, manuscript (read aloud w/Steve)
12. Peacemaker, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud w/Steve)
11. The Red Hot Empress, Meredith Blevins
10. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
9. Black Widow: The Name of the Rose, Marjorie Liu, Daniel Acuna
8. Agent of Change, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
7. The Emperor’s Agent, Jo Graham (e)
6. Eternity and a Day, Aline Hunter (e)
5. Kindred Rites, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
4. Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride, Michael Wallis
3. The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein (e)
2. Uncovered, Jordan Matter
1. Dancers Among Us, Jordan Matter

I was born one morning when the sun didn’t shine

I was going to write a long blog post about luck, but that was before that email generated this reaction and that phone call meant that I had drive there and deal with that and talk to — just basic Life, yanno? But that means the blog post is not going to happen tonight.

Possibly, it will happen tomorrow, but! Since the other thing that didn’t happen today was getting any work done — don’t stay up waiting for it, is all I’m saying.

I do want to take a moment to squee over a Thunderbird add-on I found yesterday — manually-sort-folders — which also allows one to manually sort mailboxes, which means that my mailboxes are now in the correct order for the first time since the Great Email Revamp which is, I can’t tell you, such a relief. Having the mailboxes out of order was driving me bugs. I was completely disoriented and all my mail was in the wrong place and — it was awful.

But now it’s wonderful, and if you are one of the six other people on the face of the earth who find having your mailboxes in the right order of supreme importance — please don’t spent another second feeling off-center and stupid. Avail yourself of this marvelous add-on.

The other thing that happened yesterday was that our chairs arrived, and Steve heroically put them together, so — new desk chair, yay!

Our LL Bean Wicked Good Slippers also came in — no assembly required. Between new slippers and a new robe, I am ready for winter!

Or, at least, the lounging on the couch drinking hot chocolate part of winter.

And that?

Is all I’ve got. Tomorrow — pay attention, Tomorrow!

No. Interruptions.

Ye flipping ghods, I have a book to write.

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Today’s blog post brought to you by Tennessee Ernie Ford; 16 tons. Here’s your link.