Quick catch-up post, here.

When last we saw our intrepid protagonists, they had just turned the sixteenth novel in the Liaden Universe®, their nineteenth collaborative novel, and her twenty-second (or her twelfth-and-a-half) to Madame the Editor at Baen.

This would have been 10 p.m.-ish on Friday, March 30.

Saturday morning we slept in, then headed south in a leisurely frame of mind.  We stopped in South Portland for a couple hours so Steve could research guitars at The Guitar Center, then continued on to beautiful Wallingford, Connecticut, where we checked into our reserved room, and went in search of dinner.

Now, a couple of neat things.  First, as we were leaving the hotel, we noticed in the parking lot an SUV with Maine tags MUSIKL.  This?  Is a truck that we often see in and around the big city of Waterville, and it was nice to know that we were in the company of a neighbor, sorta.

Next, we headed to town center, in search of dinner.  Our first choice, from the list provided by the hotel, had a line.  A Really. Long. Line.  We moved on, turning down in quick succession Sonic, Applegeeks, Chilis — and Steve said, “Here.  Neptune Diner. Baking done on premises.”

And I geeked out, because we were in Wallingford to pick up Socks, a Maine Coon Cat, from Blueblaze Cattery.  And the last time we picked up a Maine Coon Cat,  in Oneonta, New York, we met Elektra, from Blueblaze Cattery, at?

The Neptune Diner.

We asked the owner if his establishment was connected to the other one, he said no, but was amused by the story.  As I am, and Steve is, because?  We’re easily amused.

Dinner was, by the way, very good.  I can speak in for the mousaka, and Steve was very favorably impressed by the roast turkey with dressing and gravy.  Neither one of us had room for dessert.

This morning, we met Mike from Blueblaze at the hotel, took on Socks and headed north to the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

…and so we’re home, and about to have dinner, and a glass of wine.  Tomorrow, we have errands, and need to catch up on various things we let slide while the book was being finished.

We’ll post pictures of Socks as time permits.  In the meantime, I can assure his fans that he’s been doing a thorough exploration of the house, has located the cat boxes, been bopped on the head by Scrabble and cursed at by Mozart, so things are, yanno, proceeding with all due propriety.

I hope y’all had as pleasant a weekend as we did.

 

 

Please note:  By reason of the previous posting, combined with  Number 1, below, I will not be able to re-open the discussion of the word lists until Monday.  Which I will do.  Thanks to everyone who has participated thus far, and. . .

Party!

*splat*

To-Do List

1.   Go to Meriden for Socks — April 1
2.  Talk at Rockland, Maine Public Library — April 5 (6:30 p.m.)
3.  Dragon Ship revisions due at Baen — April 15
4.  Turn in novel proposals (3) to Madame the Editor — April 23
5.  ConQuesT — May 25-27
6.  Interview at WERU Writers Forum with Joan Clemens & Ellie O’Leary, June 14, 10 a.m.
7.  Turn in short story to Baen — July 1
8.  Turn in Trade Secret — July 15
9.  Figure out the Liaden audible lexicon
10.  Feasibility study:  remodel bathroom
11. Pie in the Sky: Vacation — Septemberish

Necessity’s Child
A Liaden Universe® Adventure
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Approximately 110,00 words

Submitted: March 30, 2012

Cabana boy!  Bring me my wine!

OK, I don’t have much experience coordinating a project this big. My general approach, when confronted with an Enormous Project is to break it down into bite-sized pieces, but! I’m not a project manager and have none of that Foo.

Below, is what I’ve got — comments and advice welcome. I’ll also be looking for volunteers, but that’ll come later.

I’m soliciting ideas on how to implement in order to achieve the goal without loss of life, and without anyone having to bear an enormous burden of work.

The Goal:  A list, for each novel, of all the Liaden-and-other-Weird-Words that appear in that novel, AND a list of Liaden-and-other-Weird-Names that appear in that novel.

What the lists would look like:

1. Title of Book, Edition
a. Word One, Page Number
b. Word Two, Page Number
Lather, rinse, repeat

2. Title of Book, Edition
a. Name One, Page Number
b. Name One, Page Number
Lather, rinse, repeat

I’m guessing that there ought to multiple eyes on each novel, in order to make sure that the maximum number of Weird Words (henceforth WW) are captured. Some of the WW will be English words (we use a smattering of obsolete English words, Just Because), some of the WW will be Terran slang, Delgadan words, and the ever-popular etcetera.

For the names — I’m guessing another buncha eyes for each book, so that the maximum number are captured.

Question: Planet and ship names — Different lists? Or folded into the Names List?

Also needed, someone or someplace to receive, and coordinate, the lists.

Ultimately, the lists will be used by Lee and Miller for Something Really Cool, and will play an important role in the Web Pronunciation Guide Project.

There is some time limitation on getting this together, but at the moment, the deadline is squishy.

So! What’s the best way to set this up?

So, that’s done.

No, don’t get all excited; what I mean to say is — “All righty, then!  I am now in a position to seriously take a red pen to the last hunnert-twenty-six pages of the manuscript.”  These pages still include two spots that read

* * *

HERE A MIRACLE OCCURS

* * *

. . .but we’re in overall good shape, by which I mean, on schedule to turn in the final manuscript on March 31.

Oh, I also need to write the Epilogue, but I can’t actually do that until I’ve really, seriously got everything in these last few pages nailed down flat.

In the office next door, Steve is chomping away at the revisions for Dragon Ship; behind me, Mozart is snoring in the corner by the file cabinet, and Scrabble is on bird-watch in the kitchen.

Bidness as usual here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

For those keeping score at home, here is the present state of the To-Do List.

1.  Turn in Necessity’s Child — March 31
2.  Go to Meriden for Socks — April 1
3.  Talk at Rockland, Maine Public Library — April 5 (6:30 p.m.)
4.  Dragon Ship revisions due at Baen — April 15
5.  Turn in novel proposals (3) to Madame the Editor — April 23
6.  ConQuesT — May 25-27
7.  Interview at WERU Writers Forum with Joan Clemens & Ellie O’Leary, June 14, 10 a.m.
8.  Turn in short story to Baen — July 1
9.  Turn in Trade Secret — July 15
10.  Figure out the Liaden audible lexicon
11.  Convert Barnburner and Gunshy into ebooks
12.  Feasibility study:  remodel bathroom
13. Pie in the Sky: Vacation — Septemberish

Progress on Necessity’s Child (tbfkaG)
109,369/100,000 words OR 109% complete

“Your sister asserts that your tutor was not kind.  I wonder why she said so.”

. . .and as I finish this entry up and glance out the window. . .Yes, it is snowing. . .

. . .and the dust, and the leaves, and the trash cans, and the twigs, and the blue jays trying to come in for a landing at the bird feeder.  So far, the bird feeder’s hanging on.

Yeah, been a windy couple days here.

Also a cold couple days.  Currently 21F (feels-like-5F)/-6C (feels-like-minus-15C).  Nice to see winter finally arrived.

So, no, the draft didn’t get finished yesterday; I’ve got three more scenes, I figure, and then! The Red Pen.  Fortunately, though I didn’t actually happen to think so at the precise moment the phone call came in, I’ve gained some time on the week because the hospital yesterday rescheduled my appointment for the yearly mammogram, which had been on the books (for six months!) for Thursday.  (Have you made your appointment?  C’mon, let’s see a show of hands).

Yesterday, while I was banging my head against the keyboard peacefully typing away in my cloistered tower, Steve put up the next Klamath Splinter.  This one brings a change of character, place and POV.  It starts here.  Read, enjoy, tell your friends.

I’ve been teasing you for a couple months now with a Watch the Skies, and you deserve a little something for your patience, so here you go — Word from Madame the Agent is that. . .contracts are on the bus to her office in New York and will in the fullness of time arrive at the Confusion Factory.  That’s right — plural contracts, and granted some will arrive sooner than others.  What do you suppose those contracts might be for?  Go on — guess.

And, now?  Time for me to go back to work.

See you on the flip side.

Progress on Necessity’s Child (tbfkaG)
105,284/100,000 words OR 105% complete

“I fear that the woman has stolen my brother’s soul,” he said.

 

Steve has been busy while I’ve been vacationing on sunny Surebleak. He’s put up four new auctions at eBay. SRM Publisher is closing at the end of this month and this is the last of the specialty stock in hand. Once these are gone, they’re gone forever.

Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of Liaden Universe® Companion Number One. Very Rare. Ends March 27.  Auction here

Hardcover edition of Liaden Universe Companion® Number One.  Ends March 27.   Auction here

Mass Market edition of Liaden Universe Companion® Number One.  Ends March 27.  Auction here

The very last hardcover of Partners in Necessity, absent our personal copies and the copy on the Brag Shelf.  Ends March 29.  Auction here

Regarding that vacation in Surebleak, with luck and a tailwind, I’ll have a finished book by the end of the day tomorrow.  By which I mean I still have to go over the last …hundred pages with a red pen, but!  We’re getting really, really close.  So!  Wish me luck and a tailwind, why not — and I’ll wish the same for you.

Progress on Necessity’s Child (tbfkaG)
102,623/100,000 words OR 102.6% complete

“They are cards,” she said; “they know nothing. Just like gadje know nothing.”

Death and Resurrection, R. A. MacAvoy
The Unknown Ajax, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses, Diane Duane (e)
The Reluctant Widow, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Friday’s Child, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Dragon Ship manuscript, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
Kim, Rudyard Kipling (e)
Regency Buck, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Pollyanna, Eleanor H. Porter (e)
Chimera, Rob Thurman (e)

The Unknown Ajax, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/ Steve)
Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses, Diane Duane (e)
The Reluctant Widow, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Friday’s Child, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Dragon Ship manuscript, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
Kim, Rudyard Kipling (e)
Regency Buck, Georgette Heyer (read aloud w/Steve)
Pollyanna, Eleanor H. Porter (e)
Chimera, Rob Thurman (e)

State of the health is improving, slowly.

State of the book is proceeding, slowly.

State of the weather is…summery. 81F/27C on March 22?  The daffodils are pushing their way to the surface already and that’s just…not natural.

In shopping news, Fanboy Glass tells us that they have received such positive response to their Tree-and-Dragon glassware that they’ve added Mugs and Wine Glasses to the ever-popular Pint Glass so go on over and take a look.  (Fanboy does not ship to Australia, or Switzerland, or Spain, or anyplace, really, outside of the US and Canada.  We apologize, but, having once tried shipping highly breakable objects ’round the world ourselves, I can see their point.)

The second splinter dealing with Miri Robertson and Klamath is now up at Splinter Universe, joining the first splinter.  Read one, read ’em all.

The edit letter for Dragon Ship has landed, and Steve is on point.  This is not your cue to ask when the eArc will be published, thanks.

I can’t get into it now, what with needing to finish up Necessity’s Child and all, but I suppose it’s time to do a blog post about Voice, and how Science Fiction isn’t only Stories of the Far Future, and why extrapolating from our own world into the future is a mug’s game, anyway.  Somebody remind me if I haven’t gotten around to that by mid-April, ‘k?

The Exciting Projects happening in the background are taking the long way ’round the barn.  Watch the skies, but take a break now and then so you don’t get a crick in your neck.

Mozart is napping in my his rocking chair.  I have, I hope, done the research necessary to satisfy our accountant regarding last year’s income (we don’t get 1099s for all the money we earn; this is apparently occasionally confusing), so now!

I can get to work.

How’s the weather where you are?  Seasonal?  Or has it gotten ahead of itself?

Progress on Necessity’s Child (tbfkaG)
94,116/100,000 words OR 94%

The gentlest flick of the wrist brought the blade out, locked and ready for business; the barest pressure on a certain spot in the leather-wrapped handle put it safely away again.

In fact, Udari thought, eying the thing with unease, it was a just a bit too apt, this knife, so smooth and so sweet that a man might forget that he held a weapon.