Blog Without A Name

1. As of yesterday, March 3, Mr. Blyly at Uncle Hugo’s had in hand orders for 294 signed editions of Dragon Ship. This means that he only has 106 copies left to place of his promised 400. If you’re coming in late, and you want a autographed hardcover copy of Dragon Ship to put on the shelf next to your autographed hardcover of Ghost Ship, Now Is The Hour. Here’s the link to the original post, Explaining All. Here’s the link to the pre-order page at Uncle Hugo’s.

2. Judith Tarr’s Kickstarter Campaign is going great guns. Judy’s only needs $649 to make her goal of $3500 for production of her novel Living in Threes. Here’s the link. You know you want a new Judith Tarr book! So, what are you waiting for?

3. The nomination period for the annual SF Site Readers Choice Awards for best novel of 2011 nomination period is open until March 9 (that’s Friday!). Rules and how to nominate the best books of 2011 here (Ghost Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller was published in August, 2011).

4. The Hugo Administrators want you to know that the Hugo Nominations deadline is March 11 (that’s next Sunday!). Here are the rules. Here’s a list of eligible Lee-and-Miller, and Miller, titles.

5. The Locus Reader Poll for Best of Everything in SF and Fantasy for 2012 is open until April 15. Here’s the link. The list of Lee-and-Miller, and Miller titles in #4 above will be useful here, too. Though Locus helpfully seeds its poll with titles of books its staff finds worthy, you don’t need to choose from among them; the poll also offers ample write-in spaces. You do not need to subscribe to Locus in order to vote. Please only vote once, and please, please, I beg of you — be truthful regarding your gender.

Here’s the link — there’s video and a transcript.

Well, this is interesting and potentially a game-changer.

Smashwords, which I think I am not alone in having considered a tertiary market for ebooks has signed a distribution deal with Baker and Taylor that will get Smashbooks into libraries and into the Blio bookstore, which has an app that reportedly comes pre-installed on lotsa toys, and is also available in the Android store.

The Smashwords press release is here.

Blio, which I confess I first heard of this morning, is over here.

A check in the amount of $150 has just been mailed to Planned Parenthood, earmarked for breast cancer screening. This amount represents 75 copies sold during February 2012 of the eChapbook, “The Cat’s Job.”

Thank you all for your support!

Today, March 1, 2012, is Kennebec Mozart’s fourteenth birthday. You see him pictured below, on the co-pilot’s chair in my office. The piece of quilting that he adorns came to him from Max! and was made by Sheila Viehl.

Winter Storm Warning, we have one!

Just in time for, yanno, Spring Mud.

We could get anywhere from 1 inch to 15 inches of snow. Of, I expect, wet heavy snow. Everybody remember what that means for the power lines? Right. Power lines hates heavy snow; they especially hates heavy snow that brings trees and suchlike down across them. If I suddenly vanish from teh intertubes, you’ll know why.

I spent some time today putting up the guest story at Splinter Universe, an easy task made more difficult by the refusal of WordPress and PayPal embedding to play nicely with each other. However, all fix now, and!

Drumroll, please.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. Bud Sparhawk and his novella “Somewhere, A Sea.”

So, let’s see.

We’ve decided to try something new at Splinter Universe — guest stories! The first of these goes up tomorrow — “Somewhere, a Sea,” by Bud Sparhawk.

For those interested in memory, its function, and the permanence of our recollections, here’s an interesting — and frightening — article. Many thanks to Friend of Liad Mickie for bringing it to my attention.

I have completely shut down my “account” at Google Circles, or Plus, or whatevertheheck it’s called. It appears that whenever someone mentions me in a conversation, I’m immediately made aware of, and have access to, the entire conversation, which is an. . .intimacy that I do not desire. Since I never actually “got” Google Whateveritis anyhow, this is no hardship for me. For those who have encircled or plussed me — I apologize in advance for any difficulty this action of mine may have caused you.

The French Government has decided to digitize all works of the 20th century that are no longer in print. If you, the author (or illustrator, or publisher) object to this high-handed snatching of your property, you have six months to protest and show good cause why the Government shouldn’t just take what it wants, or your work is forever in the database and available for free. Read all about it here

Today here in East Winslow, it is sunny and bright. This is the lull before the snowstorm, due to strike somewhen on the overnight, and continue into tomorrow which is, coincidentally, Mozart’s birthday, who approves of the whole March Lion thing, as long as he, personally, doesn’t have to roar.

It has been a singularly exhausting day. Shopping has been done, mail has been collected, the doctor and the pharmacy have been visited. Steve and I did stop at the new! relocated! Cacciatore’s to have befores and a glass of wine, which was a pleasant interlude.

Part of what made the day so particularly exhausting is that a doctor’s office keeps calling my cellphone, leaving messages for people who aren’t me. I dealt with them about a billing inquiry that wasn’t for me the week before last. Today, it was a woman identifying herself as “Margaret” of the Dartmouth-Maine Medical Group who was calling “Jill” to schedule an appointment. I tried to call “Margaret” back to inform her of her error — twice. The first time I was on hold for twenty minutes without anyone ever picking up the phone; the second time for fifteen minutes. I finally called the oversight office of the hospital the practice is affiliated with, where, no I didn’t get a live human being, but I did at least get voice mail.

I do hope someone finds Jill’s actual phone number and gets her appointment straightened around.

Sigh.

In other, less exhausting news, Steve has placed a brand new hardcover edition of Partners in Necessity on eBay. There aren’t many of these left. Up until two days ago, I’d’ve said there weren’t any of these left, but there you are. If you’ll remember, our first three books — Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, and Carpe Diem — were all paperback originals, so the only way you can get them in hardback (should you be a fan of hardcover novels) is in this omnibus edition. Anyhow, if you’re interested, take a look: here’s the link. The auction goes over on March 5.

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)

I’ve now written Chapter Twenty-Four twice.  And?  It’s still not right.  Fie on you, Chapter Twenty-Four!  I pick my teeth at you, Chapter Twenty-Four.  Onward to Chapter Twenty-Five, which has behaved just as it ought.  So, there.

Progress on Necessity’s Child
(the book formerly known as George)

74,261/100,000 words OR 74.26% complete

She looked up on hearing his step, and she — well, she didn’t smile, but her face eased, and she took a deep breath.