Sunday, warm and sunny.
Spent the day puttering. It’s good to putter, sometimes.
For those keeping score at home, I report that The Fey Duology has 172 preorders at Amazon.
Tomorrow, I have some errands to run, and book club! at 1.
I’ll stick my nose in as can.
Everybody have a good evening.
Business First: In re The Fey Duology, all of the ebook suppliers to libraries, and most of the online bookstores have refused to carry the ebook edition. If you pre-ordered from BN, please check that. As of this morning, the vendors who will be carrying the ebook edition are: Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Thalia, Smashwords.
As of this morning, Amazon still lists the paper edition of The Fey Duology as ready to go on sale June 1.
Regarding my upcoming teaching event — no, it will not be available on-line, only locally, and on then if enough people sign on to make it worth Adult Ed’s time and space.
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First thing this morning, Firefly demanded a selfie.
I, of course, life to serve.
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Saturday, sunny and warm.
Breakfast was a blueberry muffin and what was left of the cottage cheese. I’m getting into that Interesting Time when I probably shouldn’t do a Full Shop, but I’m running out of things.
On the stove for lunch is so-called sweet potato and lentil skillet, which is very tasty and produces lots of leftovers. I had on hand and therefore used a Japanese Garnet Yam, which is taking a little longer to become fork-tender than would your plain vanilla sweet potato.
Did a little work this morning on “When the Delm’s Away.” I have A Decision to make, so, letting that rest while I Don’t Think About It.
This afternoon, I’ve got some Real Life to take care of, here and there, but, yanno? I may knock off early.
How’s everybody doing today?
Oh, here, have a snippet:
There was a time when Kareen yos’Phelium had wanted, beyond any other thing in this life or the next, to stand as Delm Korval.
She had made an enemy of her brother, for he, though he had not wished for it, and had been properly aware of his own inadequacies, held what was her heart’s desire.
She had very nearly made a stranger of her heir, seeing him as the personification of her failures.
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After lunch, and not to be outdone by her elder sister, Tali demanded her own selfie and a chin-rub.
Again, I live to serve.
So far, Rook has withheld any demands for a selfie. Should that change, I will of course Inform His Fandom.
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I sat out on the deck in my hooded chair for a little while, then I went out front and did some modest weeding. It’s quite warm, and sunny, of course, and I forgot my hat. Have to get back into sunny-day habits.
Now that I’m back in and my duty the cats dispatched, the pots ‘n pans washed, and the dishwasher doing its thing — I will be knocking off for the rest of the day.
Everybody have a good evening. I’ll check in tomorrow.
Thursday. Cloudy, cool, and damp. Weatherbeans are calling for the damp to start falling out of the sky in a few hours. And the sun has come out during the hour I’ve been away to tend other matters.
So, I watched Good Omens 3 last night. I’m sorry the story had to be punished for Neil’s alleged bad behavior. The lack of his vision and what he imagined for Sir Terry’s vision was obvious in its absence, and what was offered was a flimsy sort of closure with a “feel good” denouement.
I thought, but have since better informed myself, that the last season had been cut from 6 episodes down to 90 minutes, which I was willing to admire the editor’s skill, while mourning the lack of depth. In fact, I learn that neither Neil nor his production company was involved in Season 3. It was created by a Whole ‘Nother Group, which … kinda shows.
I actually wanted more of Jesus; he was shaping up really well, and I adored the practicality of — whatever it takes to bring people to you so you can teach — stories? pizza? Three-card monte? It’s all good.
This morning, I have been doing bookkeeping and poking at financial matters, which isn’t upsetting in the least. I will shortly get with sorting through closet and dresser drawers, moving winter out and into the spaces where spring and summer now reside.
For those following along at home, the preorder numbers thus far reported for the ebook edition of The Fey Duology are! Amazon 149; Apple 25; BN 7; Kobo 16.
The proof of the paper edition should be with me tomorrow.
Amazon wants me to go to “groundwood paper” for my paper editions, but doesn’t seem to be offering a sample, so — no, Amazon. Thanks for thinking of me.
And that’s the news.
How’s your day starting out?
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Sweet baby kitties. Who could guess that they were trying to murder each other five minutes ago?
Wednesday. Sunny and cool. Rain called for this afternoon.
So! Yesterday was not the Best Day Ever, and today is sadly looking to be more of the same. I did not go to needlework last night, which may have been the wrong decision, but seemed like a good idea at the time.
In a few minutes, I’ll be going out to get my hairs cut. When I get back, I need to decide if I am indeed going to be offering an adult ed course on writing believable characters this fall. Later on this afternoon, the third contractor will manifest.
The cats have been taking turns on my lap, which is very kind of them. Firefly got right down to the nitty-gritty during this morning’s session in sunlight, and put herself to chew off one of my shirt buttons.
Amazon tells me that the paper edition of The Fey Duology is in queue to be visible for order on June 1, which gives me plenty of time to review the proof copy, which will, it says here, be with me on Friday. In the meanwhile, I’m told that the ebook is listed as “coming” on some venues, the most notable being Smashwords, but it cannot be pre-ordered.
Preorder numbers for the ebook edition of The Fey Duology as of ten minutes ago was! Amazon 141; Apple 23; BN 7; Kobo 16.
And that’s the news from the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.
What’s the news from your place?
23 Ribbon Dance (Liaden Universe #26), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, narrated by Alex Picard
22 Trade Secret (Liaden Universe #17), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (e)
21 Sea Wrack and Changewind, Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard
20 When the Wolves are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr #21), C.S. Harris (e)
19 An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
18 Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17 Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
16 *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15 *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
14 Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
13 Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
12 *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11 *Scout’s Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10 *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9 *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8 Cuckoo’s Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7 *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5 *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4 *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
3 *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
2 A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace Burrowes (e)
1 Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)
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*I’m doing a straight-through series read in publication order
**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order. I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.
***I’ll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!
Tuesday. Sunny, with a cool breeze. Trash and recycling at the curb.
Breakfast was hummus on rice crackers with a side of cherries.
Woke up this morning reminding myself of the Rule of Three*, which is only a little unsettling. After breakfast, I spent about an hour on the phone with a young person at Fidium whose name I heard as Alistair, but my ears probably dropped syllables. He was very helpful and patient and has, he said, gotten the landline to forward to the cell. Fingers crossed.
Though Alistair was very helpful and kind, I found the whole experience rather stressful, since we had to deal with Fidium’s lack of previous record-keeping, such as not removing Steve as the account manager, but merely adding me to the account, when I called them in 2024, so there was a lot of scraping off of old paint and serial numbers so that new could be applied.
I do need to unload the dishwasher (which is working nicely, and is slightly quieter than the previous dishwasher), and change out the cat fountains, but after that, I may just find a sunny chair and read. I’m thinking a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Maybe a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.
The cats have been on the case. Tali, in particular, took up a position under the ledge of the stand-up desk while Alistair and I were doing business, and pressed herself, warm and cat-solid, against my thighs, which was very good of her. Rookie brought me his pink ball, which was of course a comfort. Firefly sat in the window, and occasionally looked over her shoulder and smiled.
For those keeping score at home, preorders for the ebook edition of The Fey Duology as of this morning: Amazon 131; Apple 23; BN 7; Kobo 16.
So! What’s happening in your life this morning?
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*The Rule of Three is the principle that what you do returns to you three times. It’s most usually invoked as an argument against doing harm.
I seem to have slipped up on the posting schedule. Not much of any importance has happened, really. I’m trying to catch up with real life tasks, so I can get back to writing, which is going about as well as you might think.
Today’s events of note where, in order of occurrence:
1 The proof for the paper edition of The Fey Duology arrived in the mail. Gosh, what a pretty book. Seven hundred and thirty pages, $35US. I inspect it, find it Good, and go over to D2D to push the button to publish.
2 Pushed the button to publish, and immediately got an email from D2D stating that because The Fey Duology contains “Dubious Consent (dubcon): Dubcon explores the gray area between consent and non-consent. Not clear if the receiver of the sexual act was fully on board or not at the time of the act,” and will not enter the network for print distribution. Went back to D2D, and the book is already being delisted.
2a Preorders for the ebook edition are still being accepted at all vendors.
3 The landline rang, and I foolishly answered it. A woman said, brightly, “Hi! I just received a phone call from a Steve Miller and –” I told her that Steve Miller was dead and that she was a liar. She laughed at me and hung up.
So, that was, as they say, a strike to the heart. Tomorrow, I will be calling Fidium and if they can’t make the landline forward to the cell, I’m pulling the plug on the damned thing. We’ve had this number since we moved to Maine, so that’ll be interesting when people get “this number has been disconnected.” Like I need more Interesting in my life.
My chest hurts.
I actually had another point to make. Ah.
Update on ebook preorders for the Fey Duology: Amazon, 120; Apply, 21; BN, 7; Kobo 16.
Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. Hug the people you love.
I’ll check in tomorrow.
Saturday. Sunny, breezy, still a little cool, maybe, but I have windows open.
Laundry is laundrifying.
Preorder numbers for The Fey Duology: Apple — 19. Amazon — 97. Yes, Amazon is 80% of all sales. This is the game, and if you don’t play, you starve.
So! The UFO files have been released, hey? And the Virginia courts have just proved that voting is a waste of everyone’s time? And Mr. Trump is awarding no-bid contracts to a friend?
Have I mentioned before that I hate this timeline? That one man’s stupidity, o’erweaning ego, and fear of being held accountable for his actions can do so much damage. And that’s not even the Really Terrifying Thing. The Really Terrifying Thing is that, if the god in charge of this narrative should wake from their doze, stretch out a hand and edit out every egotistical, self-serving monster in the story, leaving only persons of honor, who are working for the common good?
They might not be able to fix the mess that’s been made.
Well.
It was a pretty planet.
In other news, the to-do list tells me that today I will be writing, finishing the laundry, filing, baking, and trying my hand at fixing a mechanical clock.
What’re you doing today?
Friday. Sunny and cool.
First cup of tea sipped in the comfort of the comfy chair in the nice sunny office window.
Breakfast will be, um. Toast and hummus! There. I’ll dig around in the freezer for something that can be beat into a shape resembling lunch.
Speaking up freezers — the ice-bucket is full! of! ice! and I? am chuffed.
I woke up feeling unsettled — and the cats think so, too. They’ve been babying me, which I appreciate. I think the first estimate for various work, which I did go over yesterday, is gnawing on my never robust nervous system. These are Big Numbers — of which the screen “house” is the least. The deck itself needs some help with the supports (some of which don’t even touch the ground) and there was some wet wood identified. So between the Big Numbers, and the feeling that whatever I do, I will be making a mistake, yeah. Nervous System Yellow Alert.
I probably need to write an extra book to pay for at least the necessary work, but I’m not sure how I could pull that off.
Moving along to The Fey Duology . . .
This morning that D2D reports 16 preorders — all from Apple. I have, yes, seen people reporting that they’ve preordered from Kobo, BN, and other vendors. Thank you! Keep it up; it all counts, even if they’re slow getting their numbers in. D2D “universal” link
Amazon reports 34 preorders since last night. Fingers still crossed. Amazon link
And, on that note, I’d better get my breakfast. The plan is to write for a couple hours this morning, and give the afternoon to housekeeping.
What are your plans for the day?
The Fey Duology now available for preorder from the Big River.