A Meerkat's Bolthole

1) Today is the official on-sale date for BLOOD FROM STONE [BN/Powell's/Amazon]. With this book, Wren and Sergei's story ends -- for the time being, anyway. Bonnie and her crew get a run now, and I'm delighted to be playing with them, but... *blows nose, pretends it's just from the flu bug*

2) Today is the official on-sale date for BLOOD FROM STONE, so Monday's contest is now officially closed. I'll be sorting and choosing a winner today.

3) Today is also National "Buy Indie" Day. If you haven't already ordered your copy from a chain (and even if you have!) find a local independent bookstore and show 'em some love. Remember -- local dollars spent locally tend to STAY local!

4) A reminder for the completists: ILLUMINATION (Bonnie's story) is available in UNUSUAL SUSPECTS (edited by Dana Stabenow) and INFERNO (PB's story) is available at www.bookviewcafe.com (for the quite reasonable price of 99 cents!)

5) Today is also the start of the Brenda Novak On-Line Auction to Benefit Diabetes Research! Hundreds and hundreds of Fabulous Prizes! to bid for, including the full set of Retriever novels and an advance ARC of FLESH & FIRE . Bid early, bid often!

Okay, not quite, but it may seem that way this month, since there's Stuff going on in April.

First, all week the authors included in the MIDNIGHT CRAVINGS anthology will be blogging and giving away stuff! Here's the schedule:

April 6 - Michele Hauf
April 7 - Bonnie Vanak
April 8 - Karen Whiddon
April 9 - Lori Devoti
April 10 - Anna Leonard (that would be, yes, me.)
April 11 - Vivi Anna

Stop by their blogs all week, to see what's going on! My contest will start on the 10th, and run for 48 hours. Comment on that post, and you'll be included in a drawing to win a copy of MIDNIGHT CRAVINGS, a copy of THE NIGHT SERPENT, and -- because this is me, and I know you guys -- chocolate! And none of that Hershey's or Godiva stuff, either. :-) You don't have to guess anything or write anything more than "hi!" -- all you have to do is comment.

And now for today's contest/challenge:

Yesterday, coming back from the Park, I saw something odd: someone on the 3rd floor had put a knife block -- complete with knives! -- on the ledge outside their window.

(alas, I didn't get a picture of it, being too damn tired to rummage for my camera at that point).

So. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to establish plausibility: why was it left there? What was the reason, the purpose, the intent? Plausibility is the important thing here: make me believe it! You have 75 words, maximum. The contest will close on Friday, and the winner will be announced next Monday, at which point another contest will be announced, every Monday until BLOOD FROM STONE is released on May 4th.

Best response to this challenge as chosen by me (ties to be broken by A Celebrity Judge) will get a copy of the new mass market edition of CURSE THE DARK. And, oh what the hell -- chocolate!

[you do not have to be a LJ member to enter/win.!]

The plans for today (making cookies and other party-prep) have been modified by the arrival of author proofs for BLOOD FROM STONE. They're due back on the 7th, tho, so for once I'm not feeling a mad rush about them. Yay for the holidays actually adding time to schedule, not depleting it!

So, cookies and proofs. I call that a Good Plan.

[specifically, meringues, sugar cookies and, if I have energy, tortes. Gingerbread will have to wait for another day]

Also, I am having coffee for the first time since coming down with the Ugh/Sinus Sludge last Friday (coffee when I'm sick is always a Bad Idea). Yay! My taste buds are still out of whack a bit, but the caffeine is welcome...


EtA: note to self: if eggs are not forming nice peaks, it is time to stop, have another cup of coffee, and then restart using only egg WHITES this time, not whole eggs.

moron.

Hard Magic [a.k.a. "Bonnie 1"] is due to Luna August 1st, which... probably isn't going to happen. But it will be in editorial hands before I skip town. So, glittering darkly in the summer skies over NYC, the flag is flying...




Also, if anyone wants to take a closer look at the preliminary art for BLOOD FROM STONE, it's up over at The Cosa Nostradamus Online

It's difficult to diet when you're also working on perfecting your wonton-making skills. Just sayin'... (Rabbi David used to assure me that tortillas were Mexican matzo. I wonder if I can claim wonton wrappers as Chinese matzo? Nah, probably not....)

For the wine geeks: Last night I attended a wine-tasting for several German producers. Since I'm always on the lookout for a good Riesling, I went with high hopes and a ready wallet. Unfortunately, while some of them were quite good (the 2005 Knebel Reisling Winninger Rottgen Spatlese Trocken [$23] and the 2002 Stein Reisling Bremmer Calmont Auslese [$27]), overall I wasn't knocked out by anything. I did, however, enjoy speaking to the winemakers and my fellow tasters, who ran the gamut from off-the-street to a young Frenchwoman with considerable academic and practical knowledge of wines.

One wine I can recommend is the 2005 Stein Reisling Bremmer Calmont Spatlese Trocken, at $18. Very nice, smooth and easy drinking, we agreed that this was a wine you could open over appetizers, and keep drinking through an entire Spring or Summer meal.


Why I love my editor, #438925: In the e-mail today, the preliminary copy for BLOOD FROM STONE, with more or less carte blanc to change it as needed. (considering they pay me to write copy for other people, this isn't exactly a leap of faith. But it's something she doesn't have to do, and does.)

Hrm. And now to decide: more writing, or make like a cat and curl up in the sunlight for a nap? *looks at projected schedule for rest of year, goes back to desk*

The Done:

The revisions are done. I still have to double-check a few details, but I think I've gotten everything else nailed down.

Book's not bad, actually. In another year or so, when it's published, I don't think it will make me cringe. (translation from writer-speak: it's really very good, and I am proud of it). Now I have to go do virtual paperwork for our publicist....

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The Starting:

Operation 'Save the Bedroom.' The previous owner had a...very different style from me, and part of that included a rather froo-froo bedroom, complete with beaded gaze curtains and pumpkin-colored walls. It actually wasn't horrible...just not me. So this weekend, that All Changes. There may or may not be pic-blogging, depending on our mood and exhaustion levels...

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The Schedule (Lunacon):

Friday 5PM
To Venture Beyond Prydain - A Tribute to Lloyd Alexander
Description: In May of this year, we lost one of fantasy's greats, Lloyd Alexander, best known for The Chronicles of Prydain. Unlike many fantasy tales which glorify war, the heroes of Prydain, like their author, believed that "... there is greater honor in a field well-plowed than a field steeped in blood." Discuss the author, his work, and his legacy.
Participants: Sean P. Fodera[M], Laura Anne Gilman, Dennis McCunney, Susan Shwartz,


Saturday 11AM
David Honigsberg Life Jam
Description: Come celebrate the life of David Honigsberg: musician, rabbi, scholar, writer, gamer, and mensch. We'll be celebrating his memory in a way that he would appreciate, so expect stories and music and friendship and laughter. Bring your best pix, stories, recordings; any extra copies can go into the celebration box. Sign the guestbook and listen to the impromptu concert and open mic.

Saturday 12pm
The Fantastic City: Looking at Urban Fantasy
Description: Why is urban fantasy urban, not just modern? What are great elements of cities appropriated from history or created whole cloth for fantastical stories? Authors and fans discuss some of their favorite urban creations, and the cities of others they love to read about.
Participants: Laura Anne Gilman, Ellen Kushner[M], KT Pinto, David Sklar,


Saturday 2PM
Pitfalls and Pratfalls in Your New Career
Description: The writing and publishing worlds are extremely close...and kind of prone to gossip. A misstep early on in one's career could have consequences lasting long after your initial blushes have faded. A good explanation of how to avoid putting your foot in your mouth before you even get it in the door.
Participants: Marilyn Brahen, Laura Anne Gilman, Arthur D. Hlavaty, Karl Kofoed,

Saturday 5PM
Vampires: Soooo Five Minutes Ago
Description: Are vampires passe? Have Buffy and Angel ruined the genre forever? Have vampires gone from scary things of nightmares to fluffy heroes and brooding lovers? How can we invigorate these ones terrifying creatures--or do we even want to?
Participants: Susan de Guardiola, Keith DeCandido, Laura Anne Gilman, Michael Grapin, KT Pinto[M],


Saturday 7PM
Autographing: Laura Anne Gilman, Delia Sherman


(due to schedule conflicts, I won't be at Lunacon on Sunday)

So, last night ended being about red wine risotto with beef and pignoli, with parmesan shavings, since I had everything to-hand aready.

In the future I'd probably toast the pignoli before adding it, but otherwise...yeah, this one worked well.

The 1998 Barolo served with probably helped.

Nice dinner. Now I get to take my entire printed manuscript of BLOOD FROM STONE off into a corner and tear through it with red pencil and blue highligher and a lot, I say a LOT of caffeine. Expect me when you see me.

( here be the dinner-details )

Srsly. Work continues, but I am constantly distracted and twitchy, like a hopped-up seven-year-old. Flit flit flit oooo shiny flit flit flit.

Even doing two loads of laundry and hanging with my Super for a while has not settled me down.

Two more chapters' worth of notes to go through, and then I'm onto the fine-tuning and polishing. Despite flittage, I am on schedule -- which is good, as more has just been ladled onto my plate. But more on that later...

Lunch. I should have lunch at some point before it becomes dinner, non?

EtA: and no, no more caffeine than usual, thanks for asking.

Done with Stage 4.

Yay.


I have also dealt with all pending e-mail, updated my budget, dealt with the last remaining address changes (I hope), and various and sundry other things that weren't quite cat-waxing.

Onward to editorial discussions of various points on the morrow, and then it's time to write.