Got my SFWA 2003-2004 Dues Renewal in the mail today. The form has in big all caps at the bottom of the page (past all the remit $50, blah blah blah stuff) “TURN THIS PAGE OVER – MORE ON THE BACK.” I obediently turned the page over . . . and the back was blank.
Hmm. Am I missing some important information or is this some strange writerly joke?
Just got word from the Writers of the Future contest. Been seeing the responses popping up at the Rumor Mill from this last quarter. Only started getting hopeful this morning. Sigh. In the mail today:
“Your entry was a quarter-finalist though it did not place in the final selections for the 2nd quarter 2003 (January 1 – March 31, 2003).”
So, hurray. I once again made it past the first round. But I didn’t make it as far as before. Quarter-finalists are under semi-finalists so I don’t even get a shiny certificate.
Overall prognosis: hurray, but still, dagnabit!
I need ice cream.
Hobkin woke me up this AM demanding his breakfast. After snarfing up his bell peppers, cucumbers, and broccoli, and gnawing on his carrot slices but not eating them (finicky skunk, sigh), he went rampaging around the house, digging up the carpet in the guest bathroom (don’t get me started on the foolishness of having a carpeted bathroom), pulling down anything he could reach on the coffee table, and attacking my feet when he thought I wasn’t watching him. After that exhausting morning’s activity, he’s all tuckered out. Now he’s sound asleep making the occasional snuffling noise in my lap. So now I’m pinned at the computer by a skunk. Typical.
Haven’t done any writing all weekend. Part of it is that I’m trying to rest my arms. I think my TOS is beginning to get better. Trying not to overdo it so that it continues to do so. The rest of it is that I cranked out several stories in quick succession and they’re all in the re-write/critique process right now. For some reason, my muse stays pretty quiescent when I’m in re-write mode. Probably just as well. Although I feel like I’m slacking when I’m not cranking out new word countage.
Happy Midsummer! Matthew and I are going to have a summer/elf-themed vid fest to celebrate the auspicious occasion today. Antz, Wizards, and The Fellowship of the Ring.
Neat! Our backyard over by the (defunct) koi pond is being overgrown by wild blackberry bushes! Don’t know where they came from, but I’m utterly delighted to have them. Tonight, Matthew and I went out and picked some of the early ripe berries–about a double handful–sprinkled sugar over them, and had them for dessert. Yummy!
It is so very cool that we’ve got wild berry plants in our backyard! Although they’ve got some pretty impressive thornage going on. Got snagged a couple times hunting for ripe berries. But it was definitely worth it.
Matthew might go out with some twine next week and tie some of the plants up so we can harvest the fruit better.
My god. We’re gardening. Who woulda thunk it?
Took Hobkin to the vet today for his annual shots and check-up. Debbie, Hobkin’s godmother, was there to assist and had her new baby skunk with her. Debbie’s baby–a mahogany with faint chip markings–was absolutely adorable. I’d forgotten how tiny baby skunklings are!
Hobkin grumbled and growled throughout the visit, and huffed at the new baby. He also clung to me like a fuzzy magnet. Poor little guy. Vets are pretty scary after all. But he took the needle like a trooper. ‘Course it didn’t hurt that I was bribing him with slices of bell pepper while he was getting stuck.
The vet scale says he weighs 7.5 lbs. Someone brought a full grown Maltese in while we were waiting who weighed 5 lbs. Hobkin weighs more than some dogs! Heh.
Picked up some C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Rinse. Both Debbie and the vet thought Hobkin’s teeth looked okay, but agreed that prevention was much better than fixing a problem later. As we have found, brushing Hobkin’s teeth is like trying to polish the blades of a kitchen disposal with a Q-tip–scary and awkward as all hell. We wanted an alternative to try. The rinse is sort of sprayed along the gum line and fights plaque and bacteria. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a yummy taste. It’s supposedly not vile either, but it’s not delicious candy, which means Hobkin will undoubtedly dislike it. Sigh. Wish we could explain to the little fuzzwit that dental care is a good thing.
Then we took him to the fireplace store to buy some wood stove pellets to replace the recycled newspaper litter we’ve been using. A 28 lb bag of wood pellets: $4. A 30 lb bag of Yesterday’s News approx.: $20. Pretty impressive savings!
The fireplace store people thought he was cute, although at first the lady behind the counter thought he was a dog.
Now he’s totally exhausted and napping under his hutch. It’s been a big day for the little guy. I’m totally exhausted too and thinking about having a nap. That hutch is looking pretty inviting.
Just found out that the Blasphemy anthology debuted at number TWO on the Shocklines.com Advance Order list!
For those of y’all who pre-ordered it, MMWWAAAA! 
And if anyone wants to help bump it to number one:
Watched a lot of Angel episodes last night. Going to watch a couple more today. I’m so glad the WB renewed it. I would’ve gone into total Joss Whedon withdrawal if there wasn’t at least one show of his on the air.
Also saw Two Weeks Notice with Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant yesterday. I really liked it! I mean, it was a romantic comedy and as such it was a bit predictable. But there was some genuinely good writing–both funny and touching.
Took some Clonazepam at bedtime. The jury’s still out on whether I’m allergic to it or not. But my TOS is better.
And I got a note from the President/CEO of Phobos Books. Phobos (publishers of the “Hitting the Skids in Pixeltown” anthology) is trying to have a presence at Dragon*Con with James Maxey, another of their writers, and Keith Olexa, the Phobos editor. They do plan to have Pixeltown out in time for Dragon*Con (oh boy!). I’d told her that I worked Dragon*Con and my affiliation with the Daily Dragon and she wants me to join the Phobos contingency too. Aside from the autographing and publicity mongering, she’s also trying to set up a panel for us all to be on. If it pans out, it’ll be my second Dragon*Con panel. Hurray! And gleep. Did I mention my terror of public speaking? Ah well. The first panel went okay (it was a couple years ago). When I glazed up with a deer-in-headlights look, one of my fellow panelists nudged me and asked me a nice leading question to get me going again. Maybe I should warn Keith and James beforehand . . .
But it means I’ll get to autograph books! Ohboyohboyohboy! It’s all still so shiny and new. Can you tell?
Had a lovely evening last night with britzkrieg and her S.O. Went out for Thai food at Satay House, a nearby establishment with lovely decor and killer Pad See-U. Haven’t had Thai food in ages. Yummy. And, as usual, excellent conversation and company. britzkrieg, we need to have you and J over to meet Hobkin and have Matthew cook for us all!
Got my June SFWA Forum in the mail today. I’m STILL not in the member directory updates, damn it. But this time at least they had a URL to a form in the SFWA.org member’s only area that I could fill out to let them know. Hopefully, they’ll have me listed in the August Forum directory insert. People who applied months and months after me for membership both got theirs before me, and got listed in the directory before me. Cripes, what gives?
Had an appointment this morning with my optometrist. I can no longer wear RGP lenses because my eyes are so dry, which is annoying because the rigid lenses kept my eyes stabilized. I’ve been wearing soft disposables for the last several months and my eyes are already a degree worse. The opti doc had me try on four different sets of soft lenses before we settled on the proper power and brand (Acuvue Torics again). Putting on and taking off four sets of contacts in a very short time frame is a bit hard on the ole optics. But hurray for clear vision. ‘Course, as soon as I went home, I took them out. My eyes were just crying for a rest. Almost literally.
Sixteen crits already on this week’s offering at Critters.org. Goodness. (Thanks, britzkrieg, btw!) Mostly good reviews with a few downright glowing ones, and one regular who had major problems with my protag’s end decision. Z’okay, differences in philosophy are fine by me, and my story really made him think. I count that as a success.
And we have coffee filters! Thank whatever deity watches over caffeine addicts.
Had to stop taking the clonazepam because I started exhibiting allergic reactions. They were pretty low grade but I didn’t want to risk them getting worse. But they were working on my TOS. I’ve been in increasing amounts of pain since I stopped taking them, not to mention my sleep cycle appears to be royally kiboshed. I might try taking a dose tonight. If I am allergic, I’ll have all of Sunday to recover.
My body hates me.
The Blasphemy anthology site is now live! Click on the banner to read excerpts, including one from “In Suffering Lies Salvation” written by yours truly:
