Category: Blog

50.  The Hum and the Shiver, Alex Bledsoe
49.  Prince of Shadows, Rachel Caine
48.  Why Mermaids Sing, C.S. Harris
47.  The Enchantment Emporium, Tanya Huff
46.  Mortal Heart, Robin LeFevers (e)
45.  Dark Triumph, Robin LeFevers (e)
44.  Grave Mercy, Robin LeFevers (e)
43.  Heavenly Pleasures, Kerry Greenwood (e)
42.  Branded by Fire, Nalini Singh (read aloud w/Steve)
41.  Paragon Walk, Anne Perry
40.  Spellcast, Barbara Ashford
39.  A Night in the Lonesome October, Roger Zelazny, (re-re-re-&c-read aloud w/Steve)
38. The Third Circle, Amanda Quick
37.  Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City, Phil and Kaja Foglio
36.  Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
35.   Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman (as told to Ralph Leighton)
34.   A Brother’s Price, Wen Spencer (e)
33.   Spiral Path, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
32.   Earthly Delights, Kerry Greenwood (e)
31.   Night Broken, Patricia Briggs (e)
30.  Just My Type, Simon Garfield
29.  Bones of Faerie, Janni Lee Simner
28.  Dancer of the Sixth, Michelle Shirey Crean
27.  Tryst, Elswyth Thane (re-re-re-re-re-&c-read)
26.  The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
25.  The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
24.  The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
23.  The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner
22.  Cuckoo’s Egg, C.J. Cherryh (re-re-re-&c-read)
21.  The Windflower, Laura London (Tom and Sharon Curtis) (re-read)
20.  Sparrow Hill Road, Seanan McGuire (e)
19.  Demon’s Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
18.  Refining Felicity, Marion Chesney
17.  Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury (re-read aloud w/Steve)
16. The Vanished Priestess, Meredith Blevins
15.  Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14.  Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
13.  Ghost Point, James A. Hetley, manuscript (read aloud w/Steve)
12.  Peacemaker, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud w/Steve)
11.  The Red Hot Empress, Meredith Blevins
10.  Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
9.  Black Widow: The Name of the Rose, Marjorie Liu, Daniel Acuna
8.  Agent of Change, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
7.  The Emperor’s Agent, Jo Graham (e)
6.  Eternity and a Day, Aline Hunter (e)
5.  Kindred Rites, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
4.  Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride, Michael Wallis
3.  The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein (e)
2.  Uncovered, Jordan Matter
1.  Dancers Among Us, Jordan Matter

. . .to read it.

So, what’re you waiting for?

Oh, a link?

Here it is:

The night don’t seem so lonely

All righty, then!

Today is December 15, the day on which we here in East Winslow and all of you Around the World! celebrate Trooper’s birthday!

Trooper is five years old today, and he has a full day planned.  Here’s just a glance at his celebratory calendar:

9 am     Breakfast with Mozart
9:30     Rassle with Sprite
9:45     Play in the water dish
9:55     Run up and down the hall, moobling loudly
10:00  Look out the back window, nap on bookshelf, check in with Mozart, nap in rocking chair
Noon  Mail call
12:05  Nap on couch with Sharon
3:00 ice cream!

. . .I think you can see that he intends to pull out all the stops for this Very Special Day.

Here’s a picture of Trooper from a little earlier in the year:

As if Trooper’s Birthday weren’t enough reason for celebration, we here at Archers Beach — and all of you Around the World! — are on a short story watch.

Sometime after noon Eastern Time today,  “The Night Don’t Seem So Lonely,” ought to automagically appear on the front page of the Baen website.  I, of course will be very involved in the Birthday Celebrations (see above) and may not be keeping as close an eye on the interwebs as I might otherwise do.  Therefore, I am depending on you — yes, YOU! — to let the world — or at least all of your friends — know when the story goes live.

Thank you all for your assistance, and!

May the Joy of Trooper’s Birthday fill you with purrs.

* * *

Progress on Alliance of Equals
40,387/100,000 OR 40.4% COMPLETE

 A large black dragon soared wing-to-wing with a slightly smaller golden dragon.  They flew straight at her, or maybe she flew toward them; she felt the cool breeze flow along her wings, savored the tang in the air, and suddenly, they veered, and she did — or tried to, twisting as her wings failed her, and her balance, clutching for the nearest support —

. . .or is it the other way around?  I can never remember.

In any case, I’m still sick, and getting mightily bored, when I’m not wanting to lie down for a nap, which is often.

I have (finally, sheesh) managed to finish up the read through/edit/compile a lexicon stage for Alliance of Equals, adding about 7,500 words in the process.  Today, I had hopes of New Words in a forwarder direction, and indeed that is still on the to-do list, because, as noted elsewhere, books don’t write themselves.

To those who have sent me email, in general:  I’m behind on my email.  If you’ve sent me a Desperately Important email, now might be the time to resend, because I’m starting to eye the delete key.

To those who have sent me email particularly with regard to the eArc of Dragon in Exile, I see that a brave and courteous soul has bellied up to Ms. Weisskopf’s table at Baen’s Bar and Put the Question.  When an answer is made, I will report it in these pages.

For those who follow the weather — we here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory have dodged the projected snow-and-ice storm; it stayed Just Warm Enough that the snow came to us as rain.  It looks to continue above freezing, so we ought not to be losing trees, wires, and/or power.  Instead, we have flood warnings.

. . .and I think that’s all I got.

Everybody prepping for the Winter Holiday of Your Choice?  What still needs to be done?

* * *

Progress on Alliance of Equals
38,348/100,000 OR 38.35% COMPLETE

There were two of them, each wearing the silver owl and crescent on the breasts of their dark robes.

So, yesterday was a doze-and-read day.  I’m a little more than half-done The Enchantment Emporium, that being the book that was on the top of the TBR pile, and therefore the book that I grabbed when Steve needed to get in to the doctor on Thursday.

Today — or at least this morning — I feel competent to deal with the manuscript without fearing that I’ll break something, so that’s at the top of the list.  With any luck (sigh), I’ll be able to finish the combined read-through/edit/lexicon-build that was supposed to have been completed on Monday.

I’m hoping to see the edits for “The Night Don’t Seem so Lonely,” sometime realsoonnow.  I went through it, but all I found were two missing words.  Possibly not a good sign.

The cats did let us sleep last night.  At one point, I woke enough to shift around, thereby disturbing Mozart, who was sleeping on my shoulder.  Instead of removing himself from the bed in a huff, he turned around and tucked his head under Trooper’s chin (Trooper being asleep by my knee).  Trooper licked Mozart’s ear, purred and we all three went back to sleep.

I’m thinking they may have gotten a stern note from the NE Feline Union Rep regarding Friday night’s shenanigans.  Or Scrabble read them the riot act.

In any case, I’m going to be scarce, so here’s some reading matter:

For those interested in Tarot and the lives of artists:  Fool’s Journey:  The Fascinating Life of Pamela Colman Smith

For those interested in the lives of artists and perhaps those who believe that poor people are merely stupid or lazy:

Why Poor People Stay Poor

. . .and that’s all I got.

Everybody have a good day.