“Cutting Corners,” by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller is now up and ready for you — yes, you! — to read at baen.com.
The story starts on the first page, and then jumps. Feel free to spread the word of “Cutting Corners” Across the Length and Breadth of the Internets. And, also?
Enjoy.
Those of you who have been with us for a while will recall that we maintain a Patreon account. It was originally established when it became clear that, because medical bills had eaten our downpayment, the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory would not be relocating, and thus would need to Take Steps to upgrade the current arrangement.
The most important single thing that we felt needed to be done to make our house in the country safer as we got older was a whole-house generator. We set a monthly goal of $2,000, and with the help of many, we were able to install the generator.
At that time, after taking advice, we did not offer goodies or other incentives, aside from our very sincere thanks (and the sincere thanks of the cats, naturally).
This time, we’re returning to the theme of medical bills. Not only did Steve have a “heart event” in November, but he has had, since elementary school, an ongoing dental. . .issue (which very likely exacerbated his heart problems), which entered a new phase of expense. In Maine — at least in our part of Maine — dental insurance is Very Thin On The Ground, so we’ve been doing the Insured by Visa thing. We thought we could whack down the backlog reasonably, but the fine dental professionals keep front loading more stuff, and there’s only so much room on that Visa card.
In addition, my health insurance payments have been going onto that same Visa card, as well as some. . .unanticipated medical bills of my own (not wanting to be left out, or anything).
Anyway, long story short, we’ve “announced” a new Patreon goal of $2,500 per month, and! we’re offering an incentive for folks to sign up or increase their pledges.
So, here’s what we’re going to be doing: Patrons will have special early access to one (or both) of us reading a chapter, a short story, a poem several times a month (right now, given doctor’s appointments, Random Is, but we’ll shoot for every other week). Ambient cat noises supplied at no extra charge. The reading will be posted first on Patreon, for the enjoyment of patrons only, and eventually – after a month or two – migrate to Splinter Universe, for the Edification of All.
We expect to post our first reading installment on April 15, 2017, to give USian patrons something to look forward to on Income Tax Day.
Fuller details are available at our Patreon page. Here’s the link.
As before, and as always, donating is utterly and entirely voluntary. Please do not stint yourself or your household, or deny yourself books! (Especially do not deny yourself books! This is about getting y’all new books on schedule, among other things.) If you can help us out, and you want to help us out — thank you, very much. We’re cool, whatever you decide to do.
And I’ll just take this little space that’s left down here at the bottom of the page to thank everyone who has given us support, including buying our books, sending cards, and random surprise gifts, PayPal donations, Patreon pledges, and kind letters. It all helps. Really. You guys are awesome.
So, that’s what’s going on. First reading goes live on Monday. Steve’s picking out a story right now.
Late Spring has arrived here at the Cat Farm, which is a little surprising, given that, last week this time it was snowing. Monday had been sunny and 70F/21C, and the weatherbeans were calling for more of the same for Tuesday.
So, Steve and I played hookey. We left early, stopped in Lewiston to have breakfast at Fran’s, and hit Old Orchard Beach just at high tide. We walked the beach a little, I picked up a few empty shells, and tossed one snail back into the surf (the door was still on, and I supposed it was still alive). We left the beach eventually and walked uptown to the Amtrak station, and Memorial Park. While Steve waited for a train to photograph, I wandered over to the garden, and admired the places where flowers would be, in another six weeks.
When we finished with OOB, we went into Saco to scope out a townhouse/condo. It was about as big as the first place we lived together, and not, perhaps, possible with three Very Large, and one Not Small cat in the household.
After our tour of Saco, we headed up to Freeport, and Shopped LLBean before continuing up-state. We stopped in Augusta to have lunch at Lisa’s, and so to home.
Nice day, and good to visit places that were neither doctor’s offices nor grocery stores.
I must say, too, that we chose our day well. Yesterday, it was sullen and cloudy all day until it finally rained like heck for an hour or two. Today, it’s partly cloudy, but the high temp will only be around 54F/12C. We’re under an active flood warning for the Kennebec River until Friday midday, which is always exciting. Flood stage for the Kennebec at Augusta is 12 feet/3.5 meters, and the ‘beans are expecting it to crest at 14 feet/4 meters. There are a several miles and many hills between us and the Kennebec, and we have no business in Augusta for the next few days. The local streams and wetlands are somewhat overfull, but nothing at all dangerous to us.
So, this morning, Trooper and Belle were scheduled to have their annual checkups and distemper shots.
Usually, we take them to the vet singly, and the Cat of the Hour will sit in the lap of the one of us in the passenger seat (wearing harness and leash), and look out the window. This saves Trooper and Sprite, at least, from being drippy, hysterical messes by the time they arrive at the vet’s, since both of them hateHateHATE being in the cat carrier. Belle is much more laid back about the cat carrier.
But, it fell out today that we had to take both, mostly because Trooper was a month late, his doctor appointment having taken second place to the various other doctor appointments with which March was overfilled.
The Plan, inasmuch as we had A Plan, was to put both Trooper and Belle in the bathroom — an enclosed area with no really inaccessible-to-humans hiding places — then bring the boxes to them*. As it happened, when the time came to board cats, both Trooper and Belle were in the bedroom, so that became the holding area.
Belle was asleep in her blanket fort under the end of the bed, so I picked up Trooper, carried him down to the living room, and put him in the cat carrier (this sounds easier than it was, but with two of us, we did get him tucked in quick). Steve closed and “locked” the door, and! Quick as the cat can lick her paw, Trooper’s catcher’s mitt paw flashed through the mesh door, wrapped around the sliders that secure the locking bolts, yanked them — the door popped open and he was gone, running down the hall to my office. (My office = safest room in house in Coon Cat Logic.)
Figuring he’d stay, and not wanting to panic Belle into taking refuge in a less-accessible space, I rousted her from her blanket fort, carried her down the hall, slipped her easily into the other box, Steve closed the door, and Belle sighed, and curled up on the blanket.
Then, I went to get Trooper while Steve carried Belle out to the car.
Back in the box went Trooper. Again, the paw flashed out, but this time the locking bolts were firmly seated, and that old trick didn’t work.
Steve picked up the box, with 18 pounds of coon cat in it, and?
The box fell apart.
Trooper ran for my office. I got the harness and leash out of the closet, put them on the cat with no trouble at all, and Trooper got to sit on Steve’s lap on the way to the vet.
. . .for some reason, I’m exhausted.
And how was your morning?
________________
*Trooper was going in a cat carrier, because we weren’t sure he would accept Steve’s lap. He does not, as a rule, seek Steve out, or sit on his lap, and all his previous “rides” have been on my lap.
20. Etched in Bone, Anne Bishop (e)
19. Rider at the Gate, CJ Cherryh (re-read)
18. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett (read aloud w/Steve)
17. Silence Fallen, Patricia Briggs (e)
16. The Cold Eye, Laura Anne Gilman
15. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, Lillian Jackson Braun (read aloud w/Steve)
14. Memory, Linda Nagata (e)
13. Bonita Faye, Margaret Moseley (e)
12. Burn for Me, Ilona Andrews (e)
11. Snuff, Terry Pratchett (read aloud w/Steve)
10. A Taste of Honey, Kai Ashante Wilson (e)
9. Some Danger Involved, Will Thomas
8. Thud!, Terry Pratchett (read aloud w/Steve)
7. White Tiger, Kylie Chan
6. The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch
5. Trading in Danger, Elizabeth Moon (e)
4. The Wolf in the Attic, Paul Kearney (e)
3. The Cat Who Saw Red, Lillian Jackson Braun (read aloud w/Steve)
2. Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse, Jayme Lynn Blaschke (e)
1. Sand of Bone, Blair MacGregor (e)
We’ve had some queries about upcoming publications, and upcoming appearances, and, and — herewith an attempt to get them all in one place, for you, and for us. Please note that the list is probably not complete; it’s only as complete as far as we know, as of Right Now.
Upcoming Appearances
May 1: Ask Me Anything, Reddit, starting 12 noon
May 13: Meet ‘n Greet and book signing, Barnes and Noble, at 9 Market Place Drive, Augusta, Maine, from 1 – 3pm
August 4-6: Confluence, in Pittsburgh, Lee and Miller will be writer Guests of Honor
March 9-11, 2018: MidSouthCon, in Memphis, Lee and Miller, writer Guests of Honor
Upcoming Interviews
April edition of The Intergalactic Medicine Show: Lee and Miller interview, reprint story, and! sample chapter
Upcoming Publications
April 15 +/-: “Cutting Corners,” Baen.com
May 2: The Gathering Edge, hardcover, ebook, audiobook, Baen & Audible
June 6: “Wise Child,” in Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Volume 3, Baen
August: “Dawn’s Early Light,” in All Hail Our Robot Conquerors, Zombies Need Brains
December 15 +/-: Short Story, Baen.com
January 2, 2018: Neogenesis
TBA: “Excerpts from Two Lives,” in Ships of the Line, Baen
A. The EBOOK edition of The Gathering Edge is now available for PREORDER from Amazon. Here’s the link.
B. We have a new goal at Patreon, and a promise of goodies in the (very near) future. Check it out here.
C. Eagles Over the Kennebec is now completely installed in its new home at Dreamwidth, and the previous account at LiveJournal has been deleted. Here’s the link to the new journal.
C1. Here’s a link to an article explaining the mass exodus from LJ, for those who are interested.
D. As previously advertised, Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF Volume 3 will be published in June. A Special Feature of this book is that it serves as a ballot for an award given at Dragoncon. Readers may vote for the best story in the volume; the winner of that vote will receive a plaque and a check for $500.
E. Steve and I will be doing a Pre-Release Party/AMA at Reddit on May 1. Why not stop by and see us? Bring a friend, in fact. There will be enough virtual brownies for everybody. Here’s a link to more information.
F. Steve and I will be having a Real Life Meet and Greet/Book Signing at the Barnes and Noble at 9 Market Place Drive, Augusta, Maine, on Saturday, May 13, from 1-3 pm. Hope to see you there.
G. I will be intermittently about this weekend. The pace of doctor/dentist appointments has taken its toll, and I’ve gotta take advantage of two days in a row to write.
Everybody have a great weekend.
In case you missed the news, earlier this week, the nice folks at Baen sent Belle a box:
After a little while, she let us open it. This is what was inside:
Eagles Over the Kennebec has mostly made it over to Dreamwidth. I fear I may lose the reader comments, as they appear to have been stalled in transit for the last several days. But everything else has come across, including the Very First Post, reproduced below, for the nostalgia of the thing.
Then this must be a livejournal entry.
A *test* livejournal entry.
So, Friday….
Did the gym thing, mailed a bunch of thank-you books, came home, checked email, including a note from a lady who is putting together a “Women in SF” class for the fall and would like me to suggest a time-travel SF to teach. She’s already chosen _Agent of Change_, _Remnant Population_ and _To Say Nothing of the Dog_. Time-travel *SF*, though… Must give it some thought.
Steve is making dinner and it smells *wonderful*. After we eat, I’ll hit the road to Augusta to visit the printer on behalf of SRM. Mozart the Maine Coon Cat is sitting tall on my lap as I write this, squeaking at me and occasionally nuzzling my chin.
Tonight I’ll finish the Miri story or it’ll finish me. Should’ve finished it yesterday, but the computer went bonkers and lost me hours, sigh.
And dinner is done, Steve just said “Kage Baker” — duh! — and I’m outta here.
Sharon. And Mozart.
19. Rider at the Gate, CJ Cherryh (re-read)
18. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett (read aloud w/Steve)
17. Silence Fallen, Patricia Briggs (e)
16. The Cold Eye, Laura Anne Gilman
15. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, Lillian Jackson Braun (read aloud w/Steve)
14. Memory, Linda Nagata (e)
13. Bonita Faye, Margaret Moseley (e)
12. Burn for Me, Ilona Andrews (e)
11. Snuff, Terry Pratchett (read aloud w/Steve)
10. A Taste of Honey, Kai Ashante Wilson (e)
9. Some Danger Involved, Will Thomas
8. Thud!, Terry Pratchett (read aloud w/Steve)
7. White Tiger, Kylie Chan
6. The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch
5. Trading in Danger, Elizabeth Moon (e)
4. The Wolf in the Attic, Paul Kearney (e)
3. The Cat Who Saw Red, Lillian Jackson Braun (read aloud w/Steve)
2. Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse, Jayme Lynn Blaschke (e)
1. Sand of Bone, Blair MacGregor (e)
A. For those who have been anxiously waiting to learn who the narrator of The Gathering Edge Audible edition will be — your waiting is at an end. Eileen Stevens, who has narrated all the Theo Waitley books from Fledgling through Dragon Ship, will also be narrating TGE.
B. We’ve gotten the list of TGE personalization requests from Uncle Hugo — just under 50 folks want their books personalized. The rest of the 200 books Uncle ordered are to be signed, only. So, just as soon as they arrive here at the Confusion Factory, we’ll get busy writing in books!
C. The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Volume 3 will be published by Baen Books in June. For those interested, here’s the Table of Contents:
Preface by David Afsharirad
Introduction by David Weber
“Cadet Cruise” by David Drake
“Tethers” by William Ledbetter
“Unlinkage” by Eric Del Carlo
“Not in Vain” by Kacey Ezell
“Between Nine and Eleven” by Adam Roberts
“Sephine and the Leviathan” by Jack Schouten
“The Good Food” by Michael Ezell
“If I Could Give this Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would” by James Wesley Rogers
“Wise Child” by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
“Starhome” by Michael Z. Williamson
“The Art of Failure” by Robert Dawson
“The Last Tank Commander” by Allen Stroud
“One Giant Leap” by Jay Werkheiser
“The Immortals: Anchorage” by David Adams
“Backup Man” by Paul Di Filippo