43. Men at Arms, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
42. Queen of the Deep (e), Kay Kenyon
41. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel
40. Lightning that Lingers, Sharon & Tom Curtis writing as Laura London (re-read for both; first time reading aloud)
39. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
38. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs
37. Tiger’s Chance, Jan Henry, illustrated by Hilary Knight (re-read)
36. Carousel Tides, Sharon Lee (1st read for pleasure)
35. The Fall of Kings, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman (e)
34. Play of Passion, Nalini Singh (read aloud with Steve)
33. Privilege of the Sword, Ellen Kushner (re-re-&c-read) (e)
32. Swordspoint, Ellen Kushner (re-re-&c-read) (e)
31. Incarnate, Jodi Meadows (e)
30. Discount Armageddon, Seanan McGuire (e)
29. Tiger Eye, Majorie M. Liu (e)
28. Visitor, C. J. Cherryh (read aloud with Steve)
27. To Have and to Hold, Nalini Singh (e)
26. The House of Shattered Wings, Aliette de Bodard
25. Bride of the Rat God, Barbara Hambly (e)
24. Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire (e)
23. Maximum Ice, Kay Kenyon (e)
22. War for the Oaks, Emma Bull (re-re-re-re-read)
21. Wheel of the Infinite, Martha Wells (e)
20. Algonquin Cat, Val Schaffner, illustrated by Hilary Knight
19. Karen Memory, Elizabeth Bear
18. Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie
17. When Falcons Fall, C.S. Harris
16. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson (re-re-re-&c-read)
15. Uprooted, Naomi Novik
14. Strong Poison, Dorothy L. Sayers (re-re-re-read)
13. Written in Red, Anne Bishop
12. Andy & Don, Daniel de Visé
11. The Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
10. Foxglove Summer, Ben Aaronovitch
9. Broken Homes, Ben Aaronovitch
8. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
7. Whispers Underground, Ben Aaronovitch
6. Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch
5. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
4. Conflict of Honors, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e) (re-read)
3. Mort, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
2. The Sculptor, Scott McCloud
1. A Short History of a Small Place, T.R. Pearson
Category: Blog
Books read in 2016
41. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel
40. Lightning that Lingers, Sharon & Tom Curtis writing as Laura London (re-read for both; first time reading aloud)
39. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
38. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs
37. Tiger’s Chance, Jan Henry, illustrated by Hilary Knight (re-read)
36. Carousel Tides, Sharon Lee (1st read for pleasure)
35. The Fall of Kings, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman (e)
34. Play of Passion, Nalini Singh (read aloud with Steve)
33. Privilege of the Sword, Ellen Kushner (re-re-&c-read) (e)
32. Swordspoint, Ellen Kushner (re-re-&c-read) (e)
31. Incarnate, Jodi Meadows (e)
30. Discount Armageddon, Seanan McGuire (e)
29. Tiger Eye, Majorie M. Liu (e)
28. Visitor, C. J. Cherryh (read aloud with Steve)
27. To Have and to Hold, Nalini Singh (e)
26. The House of Shattered Wings, Aliette de Bodard
25. Bride of the Rat God, Barbara Hambly (e)
24. Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire (e)
23. Maximum Ice, Kay Kenyon (e)
22. War for the Oaks, Emma Bull (re-re-re-re-read)
21. Wheel of the Infinite, Martha Wells (e)
20. Algonquin Cat, Val Schaffner, illustrated by Hilary Knight
19. Karen Memory, Elizabeth Bear
18. Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie
17. When Falcons Fall, C.S. Harris
16. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson (re-re-re-&c-read)
15. Uprooted, Naomi Novik
14. Strong Poison, Dorothy L. Sayers (re-re-re-read)
13. Written in Red, Anne Bishop
12. Andy & Don, Daniel de Visé
11. The Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
10. Foxglove Summer, Ben Aaronovitch
9. Broken Homes, Ben Aaronovitch
8. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
7. Whispers Underground, Ben Aaronovitch
6. Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch
5. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
4. Conflict of Honors, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e) (re-read)
3. Mort, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
2. The Sculptor, Scott McCloud
1. A Short History of a Small Place, T.R. Pearson
Let the festivities begin
Today is Scrabble’s 14th birthday (celebrated), and she has suffered to have her picture taken, Just For You.
Today’s Birthday Events include napping in the basket, napping with the heffalumps, looking out the window, napping in the rocker, and staring suspiciously at the Silly Fluffs.
Scrabble acknowledges in advance your appropriate felicitations upon the day.
You are dismissed.
Five minutes of fame
All the way back in May, Steve and I were interviewed by Jean Marie Ward on behalf of Zombies Need Brains, which brings you, among other fine anthologies, Alien Artifacts, in which we, among a glittering cast of our colleagues, have a story.
Blue Monday
I’m rather despondent as I write this. On-going this, that, and the other thing. I can’t quite get to and back from the ocean on my own at the moment, because Reasons, but if I could I’d definitely run away today.
Well. Next week, maybe. Or the week after.
In the meantime, Book the Next has exceeded 40,000 words for the fourth time since we began this journey, and — has not only not (as yet, experience teaches me to say) been busted back to private, but has put on a little more weight. (Yes, Mixed Metaphor is today’s special. Why do you ask?) We have also reached one of the pivot scenes, so — yay, us. I’m taking the fact that we have reached this scene to mean that we’ve finally gotten the set-up right.
Fingers crossed, going forward.
The title for Book the Next continues to elude us. I’m thinking maybe we can do a Choose Your Own Title, sort of like Choose Your Own Ending, only you get all the fun upfront.
For those who have been playing Amazon Bingo at home — The Crystal Variation, including novels Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, and Balance of Trade, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller is currently on-sale at the Kindle store. Pretty good, for a book which shouldn’t have been “suppressed” in the first place.
No, I’m not feeling charitable.
Well. Snail mail has arrived while I was writing this. I note a lack of promised checks.
And on that note, I’m for the gym.
Y’all have a nice day.
Moving into the weekend
Yesterday, there were dragons, and adventures, and Amazon.com.
’nuff said.
Today. . .boy, is it a pretty day. If I had a screen porch, today would be one of those days where I’d be out there with the newly-written section of the WIP, and my coffee and my red pen and just. . .work outside.
Lacking that, I will be retiring to the couch with coffee, WIP, &c, and going over the newest section, very probably with input from coon cats, all three of whom take editing very seriously indeed.
Regarding the WIP, last night, with the new scene entirely in place — the WIP broke 40,000 words. For the fourth time. I think I’ve got it right, now.
This will be a writing weekend, and I’ll be turning off the internet in a few minutes to prove it. Next week, we’ve got a bit of long planned excitement to get through, including Scrabble’s birthday, so I may be not very much in sight.
Before I go dark — I know that there are a number of CE Murphy fans who read here. She just yesterday published her newest book, as by Murphy Lawless, Raven Heart. I trust you all know what to do.
And that’s all I’ve got.
Well. Except for a picture of Scrabble.
I can sleep with another man’s lass and still be welcome to my ayn
Let’s see. . .
Wanted a particular scene to appear in the current book. Always a bad sign and you’d think I’d’ve learned better by now, but — apparently not. Tuesday, I wrote the scene. It didn’t feel Quite Right, but that’s often the case, first swing.
(Conversation I’ve actually had: Them: What are you doing tonight? Me: Rewriting the chapter I did yesterday. Them: Rewriting it, but — why? Me: Because it’s not right. Them: Well, but — who told you it wasn’t right?)
The back brain happily threw up a possible fix while I was busy elsewhere, so I came home from the hospital gig last night and put in the fix.
Still didn’t feel exactly right, so I put it aside to read with my first cup of coffee this morning (about which more in a moment) and! I know what’s wrong.
The scene is too heavy for its place in the story. I need something lighter that still gets me to the same solution. Which means I don’t get to keep that scene that I Really Wanted. This was of course, foretold, as above, but — I’m still disappointed.
Well. Today I get to rip out the scene I worked on for two days, and write another, which will be Good, really, but — sigh.
We have one of those programmable coffee pots, which I personally adore, because who doesn’t want to wake up to fresh coffee? It has tiny little control buttons that I can barely see to push, and a tiny screen that displays the current time, the time when tomorrow’s coffee ought to start a-brewing, and how strong it should be. Ours has been set to 7:30 am since Forever. Except, this morning, when Steve arose at 7:00(!) — the coffee had already brewed and was waiting for him. I just now tried to see what the brew time is set for and — I can’t see the screen. At all, under any light I can jig up; the screen’s just Too Tiny (and to be fair, too dim, even at Maximum Power) to read.
Well. Maybe after I’ve had my coffee, I ‘ll figure out a way to cope with that. In the meantime, I guess that one of the important features for the next coffee pot will be a Big, Bright Screen, and usable buttons. Back when I was making cowboy coffee in a tin pot on top the stove, I don’t think I envisioned a time when my coffee pot would even have a screen.
From the Department of Timing is Everything, Steve and I finished reading Lightning that Lingers on Tuesday night; yesterday’s mail brought the next two Night Watch books. We started reading Men at Arms last night.
In other news, I’ve started the process of updating the catalog pages at Pinbeam Books. This will take a while. I do realize that, in the Scheme of Things, we really haven’t written very much, but the echapbooks nonetheless make a Pretty Considerable Pile, all by themselves. So! Work goes forth, slow but (we hope) steady.
That catches us up, I think. Everybody have a good day.
This morning’s blog title is brought to you by Gaelic Storm, “Barnyards of Delgaty.” Here’s your link.
Books read in 2016
40. Lightning that Lingers, Sharon & Tom Curtis writing as Laura London (re-read for both; first time reading aloud)
39. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
38. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs
37. Tiger’s Chance, Jan Henry, illustrated by Hilary Knight (re-read)
36. Carousel Tides, Sharon Lee (1st read for pleasure)
35. The Fall of Kings, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman (e)
34. Play of Passion, Nalini Singh (read aloud with Steve)
33. Privilege of the Sword, Ellen Kushner (re-re-&c-read) (e)
32. Swordspoint, Ellen Kushner (re-re-&c-read) (e)
31. Incarnate, Jodi Meadows (e)
30. Discount Armageddon, Seanan McGuire (e)
29. Tiger Eye, Majorie M. Liu (e)
28. Visitor, C. J. Cherryh (read aloud with Steve)
27. To Have and to Hold, Nalini Singh (e)
26. The House of Shattered Wings, Aliette de Bodard
25. Bride of the Rat God, Barbara Hambly (e)
24. Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire (e)
23. Maximum Ice, Kay Kenyon (e)
22. War for the Oaks, Emma Bull (re-re-re-re-read)
21. Wheel of the Infinite, Martha Wells (e)
20. Algonquin Cat, Val Schaffner, illustrated by Hilary Knight
19. Karen Memory, Elizabeth Bear
18. Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie
17. When Falcons Fall, C.S. Harris
16. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson (re-re-re-&c-read)
15. Uprooted, Naomi Novik
14. Strong Poison, Dorothy L. Sayers (re-re-re-read)
13. Written in Red, Anne Bishop
12. Andy & Don, Daniel de Visé
11. The Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
10. Foxglove Summer, Ben Aaronovitch
9. Broken Homes, Ben Aaronovitch
8. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
7. Whispers Underground, Ben Aaronovitch
6. Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch
5. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
4. Conflict of Honors, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e) (re-read)
3. Mort, Terry Pratchett (read aloud with Steve)
2. The Sculptor, Scott McCloud
1. A Short History of a Small Place, T.R. Pearson
Cold hearted orb that rules the night. . .
Amazonian updates at half-past Rolanni’s first cup of coffee. . .
The kindle edition of The Crystal Variation is this morning not for sale at Amazon. If you, as another Friend of Liad did, need to read the Crystal books right now on your kindle, please purchase the omnibus from Baen. Here’s your link.
Courier Run, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 18 is on sale in the Kindle Store, but God She knows which edition it is they’re selling (the Warning Triangle is still present on the page, warning the unwary of TYPOS), or if they’ll continue selling the book in any edition at all in five days. At this point, I have so many multiple, and confusing emails from Amazon that I’m forced to believe that one tributary of the Big River doesn’t know what the other tributaries are doing.
The Hugo Awards were presented last night in Kansas City. Congratulations to all the winners! Here’s the list of finalists and winners.
Yesterday was a lovely, full working day — and the laundry’s almost done, too! Today is breezy and sunny and oh, so tempting to go to the ocean, or at least the shore — however! It is a Sunday in August. I will, therefore, stay home and? Work.
On the subject of Housekeeping: WordPress helpfully closed comments in the Spoiler Thread for Alliance of Equals. They have been re-opened, and (unless there’s a sudden massive upsweep in comments, in which case the moderator will withhold her hand) will be closed by the moderator on August 31.
I think that’s it for Sunday morning — except, yanno, more coffee! and more laundry! and more words!
Everybody be good.
Here, have a nice, long snippet for Sunday:
That being the case, he was merely Theo’s brother — an unhappy circumstance, given that Theo’s home culture held that the proper duty of women was to protect and care for the lesser sex. Even his position as her elder did not weigh nearly so much as the fact that he was male. His necessities must naturally wait upon his sister’s.
Still, he had played the kin card cannily, hoping that the joyous occasion of a niece might tempt her where a brother did not. It appeared, however, that he had miscalculated.
Today’s blog post is brought to you by The Moody Blues, “Day Begins,” from the album Days of Future Passed, which I adored, back in the day, and which I don’t even own anymore. Ah, Life. Here’s your link.
The Action in the Amazon Continues
Those following along at home will recall that, last week, it was discovered by an Alert Reader that Amazon had taken The Crystal Variation, an omnibus of novels Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, and Balance of Trade, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, published by Baen Books off sale. We alerted Baen. Baen’s Speaker To Amazon found that Amazon had identified 144 “spelling errors.” Until those “spelling errors” were corrected the book could not be sold.
Baen forwarded the list to us, and we identified — wait for it — THREE incidences of Actual Misspelled Words (the rest were made-up scifi words, and most of them were “cermacrete”), four instances of missing commas (which Amazon had not pinpointed as errors), and one instance of two words that were smushed together.
Yeah, that’s it. Amazon pulled our omnibus, without notice, for containing three spelling errors across a 1200-page book.
The Crystal Variation is now back on sale at Amazon, thanks to speedy work on Baen’s part, for getting those errors fixed, and the book re-up-loaded in record time.
So, that.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Amazon had likewise taken Courier Run, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 18, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, published by Pinbeam Books (aka Sharon Lee and Steve Miller) off-sale, without warning, for four spelling errors and two bad line breaks. These errors were represented as having been reported by a reader who found them “distracting.”
Yesterday, I fixed the two misspellings, recompiled the book and re-uploaded it to Amazon.
This morning, I have in my mailbox a communication from Amazon, stating that copyright is important to them, and that I must, in five days, provide proof that I have the right to publish Courier Run, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 18. The acceptable proofs are:
Acceptable documentation includes: - A contract or statement from the author or publisher verifying you retain publishing rights - An e-mail from the address listed on the official author or agent’s website - For authors using a pseudonym, copyright registration or statement of pseudonym use
If you publish books for which you do not hold the publishing rights, your account may be terminated.
So, a letter has been written to Amazon, explaining the situation to them for at least the second, and possibly the third, time since we’ve been doing business — in the five years during which we’ve been doing business — together. Though “together” may not exactly be the word I want, here.
As of this writing, I believe that Amazon will sell you a copy of Courier Run, Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 18. There is a Quality Issues Reported Hazard Triangle just below the title. The drop-down for that reads:
Customers reported Quality Issues with this eBook. This eBook has
TYPOS
The publisher has been notified to correct these issues.
. . .so I’m guessing it’s not the amended file they’re selling.
# # #
In less-fraught news, Steve and I took yesterday off to travel into Waterville to attend the Very First Screening of “Kubo and the Two Strings.” This is a very beautiful movie (we saw the 2-D version); the animation was amazing. The story itself is short on plot, though the writers/directors have an Absolute Mastery of Emotional Manipulation. I recommend it for the animation alone, and for the overall sweetness of tone. I came away from the movie feeling (briefly) peaceful and content. So — C+.
# # #
For those who have been following the New Box Project. I offer the following short photo essay:
Trooper still prefers the red basket:
Sprite is thinking about the new box:
. . .which has already received the Belle Seal of Approval:
Observant readers will note that the floofy towel has been removed from the New Box. The floofy towel was Not a Proper Use. So I was told.
# # #
Today, I work. And probably do the laundry, because the life of a writer is unremittingly glamorous.
Everybody have a good weekend!