Category Archives: Blog

The Fantasm meeting went well. Lots got talked about, things got accomplished. I liked seeing people and getting a chance to touch base.

Then we went home to feed Hobkin and us. The meeting was at four (although Matthew mis-read the email and we were an hour early–which I guess makes up for the last one when we were half an hour late) and the party was at ten. I hadn’t realized it was going to start so late, although looking back, I realize that’s pretty par for these sorts of shindigs. So we kicked back at home for a while, and by the time it came for us to get ready, I was feeling pretty antisocial again. Final outcome: we stayed home and watched Attack of the Clones (thanks dude_the!) on the big screen TV upstairs, and I fell asleep.

Sigh.

I did wake up at around 2AM and rattled off a quick short piece to a new market, so there’s some virtue in not being sozzled and silly last night. And Hobkin hugged me all night, so there’s another. But I feel like Weird Recluse Woman.

Maybe we’ll go out to see a movie today. I think I need to get out.

SFWA Statement of Support for Space Exploration

To offer condolences to the family and friends of the Columbia’s crew and to encourage carrying on their spirit of exploration, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. and its members have released the following statement of support.

Please forward this message to everyone you know who is interested in continued space exploration and have them visit http://www.nyx.net/columbia to express their support.

——————————————————————————–

“I pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave me birth;
Let me rest my eyes on the fleecy skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.”

— Robert A. Heinlein;
“The Green Hills of Earth”
(Used by permission)

On the morning of Saturday, February 1st, 2003, seven astronauts aboard the NASA space shuttle Columbia lost their lives as they were returning to Earth from a sixteen-day mission dedicated to the quest for scientific knowledge. They represented not only the United States of America, Israel, and India, but indeed all of humanity — our greatest dreams, our most noble aspirations.

The loss of the Columbia and its crew touches the lives of not just Americans, Israelis, and Indians, but in fact everyone on Earth. The exploration of space is one of the human race’s oldest ambitions, one that has been reflected in our literature long before we developed the technological capability to venture forth into the cosmos. We must not allow this tragedy to bring an end to this magnificent journey, but instead let their courageous example lead us upward and outward.

We the undersigned, members of the professional community of science fiction and fantasy writers, express our most heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of the crew of the Columbia, and our support to the men and women of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the many contributing organizations worldwide, for their continuing efforts to establish humankind as a spacefaring people.

— Written 2/2/2003 by Allen Steele & Friends

Signed,

The President and the Board of Directors of the Science Fiction
and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., and several hundred
professional authors (as listed on the web site).

To Add Your Name in Support or View All Supporters and Their Comments, Visit:

http://www.nyx.net/columbia

——————————————————————————–

Please forward this message to everyone you know who is interested in continued space exploration and have them visit http://www.nyx.net/columbia to express their support.

SFWA is a professional writers’ organization; general information is available at www.sfwa.org.

Members of the press with questions may contact Dr. Andrew Burt for more information.

Okay, I haven’t made an entry in a while. I’m still on the prednisone and it’s doing a major kybosh job on my emotional equilibrium. Two and a half more months until the hydroxychloroquine is full power and I can go off the pred. Ugh. And I’m even at half the dose I started on. But, on the positive side of things, I’m healthy. No cold, no cough, and most importantly, no flare-up. ‘Cept if I go off the pred, my Rheumatologist assures me that from the numbers on the barrage of tests he took, I’d flare-up immediately. Dammit.

Unfortunately, my motivation for doing anything–writing, corresponding with people, updating/reading LJ–has gone down the tube. I’ve begun self-medicating, mostly with caffeine although I discovered last night that alcohol works too, in order to get me out of my funk so I can function.

Great. Three months from now I’ll be off the prednisone and addicted to caffeine and an alcoholic. Hmm.

But I’ve been feeling a bit better this week, although I still have to struggle with dips, so wanted to update my LJ. Plus, I’ve had some cool stuff happen.

1. Got my contributor’s copies of Leading Edge and my check! Happy joy! I love seeing my name in print.
2. Found out that Orson Scott Card is indeed going to be editing this year’s Phobos winner’s anthology. OSC is writing an intro to my story! Squee!
3. Yesterday was Groundpig Day. No, not Groundhog Day, but Groundpig Day. It’s what Matthew and I celebrate instead of Valentines Day (which is a big Hallmark foofaraw, ptoo.) Matthew met me at the door with a bunch of roses, his amazing Eggplant Parmesan baking in the oven, and glasses of wine already poured. After dinner we had a nice long soak in the hot-tub and I continued to get tipsy on wine. Hurray for Groundpigs!

Today’s the Fantasm staff/director’s meeting, and following that is the Fantasm party. So, I’m forced to be social, which is a good thing. I think I need something flashy and fun to get my mind out of its chemically-induced doldrums. Even though most of the time this week, all I’ve wanted to do is lie in bed with the covers over my head.

Stupid brain chemicals.

I also dragged myself out of my pred-induced writer’s block and cranked out several thousand words on a story that I’ve been stewing over since last year. I finished it, but it ended up going in a much darker, rather depressing direction that I hadn’t intended when I started it. Gee, I wonder why?

Going to try to catch up on my Friends List now . . . try being the key word here.

Okay, had a follow-up with my Rheumatologist. It’s official. My system is a mess. I don’t just have Lupus. Oh no, that would be too straightforward. I have Mixed Connectivity Tissue Disease which includes Lupus in its line up. I’ve also tested positive for Scleroderma and Polymyositis. Sigh. On an up note, my Rheumatologist prescribed some meds (that I will have to be on indefinitely) that have a low side-effect rate and high “keep me in remission” prognosis. Which will be good once I get stabilized. But . . . dammit. Stupid physiology.

In other news, I wrote a 700-word young children’s fairy tale and a 1000-word old children’s fairy tale, both adapted from Japanese folktales. I’m on a fairy/folktale kick.

I can’t believe the number of critiques I got from Critters. Forty-five. Yes, 45. Glah. But, for the most part, they were fairly glowing. That’s a good thing. Although I’m a bit overwhelmed.

I also got officially accepted into that new writers group, which means I’m in three now. Looking forward to getting the input from this new group.

And dude_the is here! Hurray! Probably going to head out to Little Five Points later today to do some shopping. Got a note from Patrick, though. Car troubles. He won’t be able to make it for our big Superbowl shindig. Pook.

Early morning insomnia. Ugh. Why can’t I sleep when I’m so tired? I’ve been awake for hours.

I’ve got Hobkin snoozing on my lap, which is very soothing. Maybe he’ll ooze fuzzy sleep vibes at me and I’ll be able to take a nap. We gave him a bath on Friday (which he was quite miffed with us about) and he’s all soft and fluffy now. Mmmm. Soft and fluffy squeezy skunk.

The play last night was very silly. Much laughter, yummy food, a very good time. After we got home, we popped in the DVD we got as a gift of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” I’d been avoiding watching it because I knew our play was coming up and didn’t want to ruin it. The performance was much better than the movie.

I’m up to nineteen critiques on Critters. And they’re still leaning heavily to the positive side. Yay. Got a couple “it’d be great if you could lengthen this part here, maybe tack on another 500 words” comments that leave me agonized as I’m already at the maximum marketable length for this sort of story. Argh.

Got an invite to join a private writers group by one of my regular critiquers. I’ve received several of them through Critters now, but this is the only one I’ve accepted. Their members are quite illustrious, including a couple editors and several pros. They still have to vote and confer on me, so it’s not a sure thing, but I think it’ll be a good fit.

Yikes a person can get really behind, reading their Friends List on LJ if they just skip a few days. But I am reading everyone’s entries, even if I’m not commenting much.

Tonight we’ve got tickets to see “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at the Shakespeare Tavern. I’ve never seen these folks do a musical before. It promises to be entertaining.

I’m up to fourteen crits on Critters now.

I always feel obligated to comment in the author’s notes when I submit a children’s story what my target audience is. I’ve stopped asking people if they think the writing style is age appropriate because I always end up with such contradictory views, but apparently, even the presence of the comment impels people to give me their opinion on that matter. It wouldn’t be problematic, except no one agrees. Sigh.

And I always end up going with my own instincts anyway.

In other news, next week is Superbowl Sunday! I don’t normally follow football. Actually, I only watch it once a year as we have a traditional shindig to watch The Game on the big screen. dude_the and our friend Patrick from New Orleans are coming down for the festivities. Alcoholic goodness and men in tight pants that accentuate their butts. Woohoo!

Finished a 2600-word story inspired by the Japanese Snow Woman fairy tale. I seem to be on a fairy tale/folktale kick.

Speaking of which, my African-flavored folktale is currently up on Critters. It’s received six crits so far, most of which are quite positive. Hurray.

I’m also working on a non-fiction article for girlsonfilm. Should have that wrapped up soon.

I got an email from the Editor of Leading Edge letting me know to look for my contributors copies and payment for “Second Daughter” next week. Hopped to their website and saw that issue #44 is indeed out. It’s dated Dec. 2002, so I wonder how long it’s been off the presses. Doesn’t matter, I get to see my name in print again and hold the check in my hot little hands next week. Woohoo!

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Went to the Dragon*Con director’s meeting yesterday. It was actually a lot of fun, and very informative. Usually, I’m opposed to meetings. I think I can count on one hand the number of meetings that I’ve been to that have been useful, interesting, and well-run versus a big ole boring waste of time.

Dragon*Con also provided complimentary soft drinks during the meeting and afterwords they treated all the directors to dinner at the Hyatt. Can’t knock a free meal. Matthew had two desserts.

I got to meet a lot of the other directors and learned about the inner workings of Dragon*Con that I’ve often wondered about. And even cooler, Matthew and I got to suggest a lot of the ideas that we’ve got for the Daily Dragon and they may actually get implemented. It’s nice to be able to have an impact.

The atmosphere and dynamics of the director’s meeting is different from the general staff ones. It’s smaller, of course, making it more intimate (although it’s still a huge roomful of people). And, while the general staff meetings are always jovial and friendly, there’s a definite undercurrent of close-knit community to the director’s meeting. I think it’s the camaraderie of long-time veterans.

Matthew and I are splitting the directorship of the Daily Dragon into Editor and Publisher duties. I’m taking the Editor role. There will be a lot of overlap, but I get to put on my Editor’s Hat. I’ve been toying with the thing in front of mirrors, but haven’t had a chance to wear it in public much. I know, it’s very geeky of me. But I’m pretty excited about the chance to stretch my editor muscles.

(And, did I mention that James Marsters is going to be at Dragon*Con this year? Squeal!)

This week has been hectic and eventful, and through it all, I’ve been sick. I can’t believe I’ve been sick for nearly two months straight. It’s terribly annoying. But, I’m on another round of antibiotics, so here’s pinning my hopes on modern medical science.

Brief update of the highlights, or lowlights as the case may be, of my week:

Monday:
– Back to work after the holidays. Yuck.
– Started a new yoga session. Ouch. But in a good way. Thomas, the instructor, teased me when I explained that I’d been absent for so long because we’d adopted a baby skunk. He’s quite the character; I like him. Plus, he’s an excellent teacher. Funny thing, I’ve had more dance/martial arts/yoga instructors than I can count, but the ones I’ve always liked best are the male ones. Wonder why? But, yeah, ouch. Pissed me off to be so stiff during the sun salutation that I needed blocks for the forward bends, but by mid-session, I’d loosened up enough not to need them anymore. Makes me hopeful that I’ll get back into the groove quickly.

Tuesday:
– New Buffy! Hurray. And it had much rockitude to it. But they still haven’t addressed the Giles thing. And next week is another re-run, dammit. But the end scene with Spike . . . ah, that’s the stuff.
– We received a phone call from Matthew’s father that the husband of one of Matthew’s cousins has died suddenly. Not much in the way of details. Sad news.

Wednesday:
– Bubble Bath day. Yes, it was indeed Bubble Bath day. My shiny, new skunk calendar says so. Matthew met me at the door in a robe and ushered me into the master bath where there was much sudsy goodness.
– Decided to take the Sulfa that we had lying around from the last time I was sick ‘cause I knew I needed another course of antibiotics. And I wasn’t 100% sure I was allergic to it.

Thursday:
– I’m 100% sure I’m allergic to Sulfa. Into the doctor’s I go. They prescribe something else. I tell them to add Sulfa to the list of things I shouldn’t take. They refer me to go in for some pulmonary testing since I’ve been trying to eject my lungs for nearly two months straight.
– Matthew and I agreed to become the co-directors of the Daily Dragon for Dragon*Con as the current directors have been promoted to senior directors and need replacements for their previous positions. Aside from having to go to the director’s meeting on Saturday, we’ve started thinking ‘bout how we want to lay out this year’s Daily Dragon coordination.

Friday:
– We postpone until next week our tickets to the Shakespeare Tavern to see the Saturday showing of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” because it will clash with the director’s meeting. Plus, I’ll undoubtedly enjoy it more after the antibiotics have had a week to do their work. Hopefully.

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Matthew has been fiddling with our downstairs entertainment system for the last couple days, getting his new receiver all integrated. He hooked up the big ass speakers that, for the whole time that we’ve been in this house, we’ve been using as end tables. And he wired the smaller speakers we had been using as our main speakers as rears.

But then he declared that we needed a subwoofer. Did I say “nonsense, it sounds fine. Let’s hold off on any more home entertainment purchases”? Nope. I, being a sucker for rib-rumbling bass, agreed. We only meant to look at them to get an idea of what was out there. *Whimper* There was this fabu post-holiday clearance sale. And they threw in a 24 ft monster cable. Meep. Klipse 10″ subwoofer. It just growled so pretty at us.

And now we have SOUND.

Off to watch LoTR and feel the Balrog ruuumble!