life after the apocalypse – Page 2

A demon can get into real trouble, doing the right thing

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?

Sweet baby kitties. Who could guess that they were trying to murder each other five minutes ago?

Blue Wednesday

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?

The Rule of Three

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.

Delisting and strikes to the heart

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.

A Saturday in May

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 on the edge

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?

Publication news and Dragon’s luck

Business First: Amazon customers, I have submitted The Fey Duology to Amazon for preorder.

This does not mean that it will be accepted by Amazon, but, I am trying on your behalf. Right now it is in review.

If y’all could cross your fingers, that might help the process.
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Harvest Moon deli to the rescue! One cup of tomato-veggie soup with and half-sandwich of Appetite for Destruction. I also ordered in potato-salad-for-later, and a chocolate chip cookie bigger than my head, which I will probably consume the entire thing before Happy Hour, because I Have No Shame. Continuing to put the house back into order — I just heard an ice cube get ejected into the cube-catch in the freezer.

I FIXED A FREEZER!

Ahem.

So, anyway, putting house back into order. Then read contract — another ice cube hits the catch! This is so cool. — then maybe cut out some stars.

Oh, the dishwasher is running. I decided it would be a Good Thing to wash it first.

Your regular episode of The Writing Life According to Rolanni will air tomorrow.
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There are, so the internet tells me, Four Kinds of Luck.

There is Blind Luck
There is Motion
There is Being Aware of your Surroundings
And there is Unique Luck, or Directed Motion

And this explains why the luck swirls roughly around those of Korval, because they are, all of them, in motion (they’re not just sitting there, waiting for Something to Happen), they are intensely aware of their surroundings, and they all subscribe to the notion that, should they be Called, they will Do Something.

And on that note — goodnight, everybody. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Circuit Detectors and other Secrets of the Trade

Thursday. Sunny for the moment, though I’m told that will change.

Breakfast was cottage cheese and pineapple, since I haven’t been to the grocery, and I had a can of pineapple. Lunch? God, She knows.

I have one estimate in from a contractor, which I need to review, oh, after the plumber comes and does his thing. And! he has just called to assure me that he’s on the way.

The cats are locked in Steve’s Wing. Union Rep Talizea Kennebec informs me that they will be Writing Me Up for repeated, cruel and unjustified confinements, and that I can expect a personal call from the committeecat. Well. I always enjoy chatting with the committeecat. While I’m at it, let me just say that I’m very impressed with the … ardor with which Tali has taken to her role as Union Rep. She is stern, but fair, and she hardly ever falls asleep before the second of the triplicate copies is complete.

Also on today’s schedule is reassembling the ice maker to see if it has thawed and is now working, or if, in fact, I need a Whole New Ice Maker, which I suspect will Cost the Earth. Possibly, I will do without, if I’m not doing harm to the rest of the unit by depriving it of an expected component. I did learn yesterday that mine is one of “oldies” that doesn’t have a computer board, so — yay?

And — plumbers have arrived.

To be continued.
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I have not yet learned any new words, and to their credit, the plumbers — one certified, one ‘prentice — both understood the reference to the escape of the magic smoke.

Balancing the lack of new words, I have seen a New Device! A Circuit Detector. Which works like a Geiger Counter and was in the case extremely useful, because the switch in the box labeled DISHWASHER, did not in fact turn off the juice to the dishwasher. The switch labeled DISPOSAL does that. Naturally.

Also! The plumbers have taken charge of the old dishwasher so Josh and his crew do not have to make an extra trip today, and so I have informed the home office.

The new machine now goes in.

To be continued. This is exciting.
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While we’re waiting for the installation lesson to finish (including the instruction, “Now, this is against the Man Code, but our contract says that we will install appliances according to manufacturer’s instructions. That means you need to read this booklet.” And also the story about how we make sure the wires are grounded before we push the machine into its slot, in which the master acknowledged having done a short cut at one point, because it had been a while since he’d done something stupid, and he decided he was too busy to check the grounding, the wire sparked, and “yeah, my arm kinda tingled.”)

While we’re waiting, I say, I will note that (1) The Fey Duology preorders are up to 10 books, from Apple, and (2) If anyone would like to review Liaden Universe® Constellation 6, especially on Amazon, I’d take it kindly. If it gets enough reviews, Amazon will even exert itself to promote the title (I know; but I don’t make the rules), and that might mean new readers. (2a) While you’re there, if you’re taken with the urge to review any other Liaden book, no matter how old, that will let people know that the title is still live, and that they can buy and read it, too.

Spanish Aunts.
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And the plumbers withdraw, having checked their work and turned on everything they had turned off. I have made a note to alter the tab in the electrical box from DISPOSAL to DISHWASHER.

This dishwasher is going to take some getting used to. The old dishwasher had a panel on the front. The controls for this one are on the top of the door, so you set everything, then close the door.

Well. Now I will let the cats out of Durance Vile, and put the house back together, including all the Stuff that came out from under the sink.
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Thinking more on the icemaker: If it doesn’t work, I’ll just turn it off, and dump the cubes I make with the ice cub trays into the ice-catch, since the ice cube delivery system on the door still works. Since there is an off-switch, I’m guessing that the rest of the fridge will keep on doing its thing. Which is to say, the lack of an active ice maker in the loop will not function like the lack of cyan when I want to print something in black-and-white.

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I was reminded yesterday, when I mentioned embroidering jeans, that I had failed of sharing a picture of my completed Flower Power shirt. I herewith amend that error:

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Closing for the day

Below is a transcript of the rest of my morning.

Thanks to everyone who mentioned that I might look on ebay for another pair of The Best Jeans on the Planet. I went back to Land’s End to find out what they are Actually Called, and! Between yesterday and today, something changed. There was “low stock” on 14 Talls of Women’s Lightweight Denim High Rise Relaxed Straight Pull On Pocket Jeans in DARK WASH. Done! Two pairs on order (the sale’s still on, BTW; it goes over today). This is Very Good, since I’m getting tired of pleating my on-hand jeans with a belt. Also? At least one pair of these jeans is so going to have flowers embroidered on them.
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Josh from Dave’s Appliance has just called to let me know that he plans to be in the driveway in half an hour.

I have locked the cats in Steve’s Wing, for Josh’s protection.
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Pffft! And the new dishwasher is here, and so is the old dishwasher, because the delivery guys can only take the old dishwasher away after it’s been disconnected. They cannot themselves disconnect the existing machine.

So! Tomorrow, Houle’s will come and uninstall, then install, then Josh will come back to pick up the old machine.

In the meantime, I have a dishwasher sitting in my office.
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For my next trick, I called GE and talked to a tech about the ice maker not functioning. We left it that I would take the icemaker out and let it defrost on the kitchen counter for a day. I was offerered a youtube video to show me how to do this. So I got the screw out, but the ice maker is still attached by a piece of plastic pipe and at this point I don’t know whether to be chuffed that I managed to unscrew the damned screw or furious that I can’t just call a repair guy and have him come fix it.

Jeebus, I hate this timeline.
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OK. Youtube it is. I got the icemaker out. I lost the little spacer for the screw, because of course I did, but, hey! I took an icemaker out of a refrigerator, working live, because nobody told me to unplug the thing, which I couldn’t’ve done anyway, and I now have a disassembled icemaker in my sink and a dishwasher in my office.

Are we having fun yet?

EDITED TO ADD: I found the spacer, and yanno what? I? am done, so very, very done, for the day.

Everybody stay safe; we’ll try again tomorrow.

Kept comin’ up with love, but it’s so slashed and torn

Wednesday. Dim and chilly. The weatherbeans say it will be MUCH COOLER (caps original) than yesterday, with rain.

Went to bed late-ish last night, and slept in this morning.

Breakfast was oatmeal, semi-sweet bits, and almond butter. Drinking my second cup of tea. Lunch will … depend on details surrounding the arrival of the dishwasher, the window of delivery being between noon and 2.

After I finish this letter to the internets, I expect I’ll be doing dishes, putting them away and clearing the counter over the dishwasher. I will be very interested to see how they’re gonna get the dishwasher installed. It is a very tiny kitchen. OTOH, there’s a dishwasher right there, so the concept is proven. One of the things I always look forward to in these scenarios is the opportunity to learn new words.

Last night after I came home from needlework, I colored for a bit, and listened to Sea Wrack and Changewind, by Sharon Lee, narrated by Alex Picard. Good stories. Good narration. Five stars and a chocolate brownie to author and narrator.

In addition to clearing the work area, I need to call — Agren, I guess — to see if they can send a guy to look at the fridge, which persists in not making ice. Also, I need to explore setting up a Zelle? account.

Well. That’s looking like a busy day right there.

What’s your day looking like?

The problem with buying stuff on sale is that by the time you realize these are the best jeans on the planet, they’re sold out.

With! bonus cat census.

Today’s blog post title brought to you by Queen and David Bowie, “Under Pressure“