Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I am interested in what the LCROSS data shows. My story Visual Silence surmised that ice is present, though rare and valuable enough to encourage ice pirates.  I'm eager to find out how close it comes to reality.

Though I'm rather smug that Luna simply swallowed these puny human projectiles into her vast shadows without a visible hiccup.

held this weekend at Longview Community College, Friday and Saturday 10 am to 7 pm.  I'll be doing a reading there Friday at 4:30 pm.
A lot of the SF community will be gone to Archon this weekend. I believe Eric Reynolds of Hadley Rille Books will be there as well as members of the Dark Horse Society writers' group, and accomplished writers and poets of other genres.  I'm looking forward to expanding my boundaries for a weekend.  Maybe I'll dig up my work from that poetry class I took several decades ago...

http://mcckc.edu/main.asp?G=Activities&pg=2&item=13231#Cal

Also, the Longview Art and Music Festival will be held nearby.  You can get your culture fix all in one weekend. It doesn't get any better than that.

http://www.longviewartmusicfest.com/

Thanks to all who came out to the book-signing today! So great to see you all.

Renaissance Festival Tales goes on sale this weekend at Kansas City Renaissance Festival. It contains my new story "Silk and Velvet" and stories by four other authors. I'll be at Renfest next week (9/19) to sign some books. Come on out! Buy a book or two!

I finished reading my ARC of Renaissance Festival Tales.  The anthology contains five fantasy stories.  Three use a Renaissance Festival as a setting.  One takes place in a set of parallel worlds that has a Renaissance Festival as a portal.  Then there's my own story Silk and Velvet, which takes place in the Renaissance time period. Very entertaining!  Another one of Hadley Rille Books inspired collections.

The lawn mower burst into flames. The wires started to burn and the grass under it caught fire.  We put it out with a bag of rock salt and a bag of potting soil. Going out tomorrow to get a fresh fire extinguisher.  And lawn mower too I suppose.  I vote for electric.

I spent last weekend at the Campbell Conference at the University of Kansas.  There were writers there from all over the US as well as Britain, Canada and Israel. I met some great people. Mainly I sat back and tried to absorb the genius of the luminaries through my pores.  I shook James Gunn's hand every chance I could. 

During the discussions I gained some clues to follow up on to find a good niche for my writing.  But O! the gyrations one must perform to make any money at this! Makes me so tired

I have some more book signings scheduled:
July 11 - at the Campbell Conference, in the Oread Bookstore. Signing Visual Silence in HRB's Return to Luna anthology.
October 3 & 4 - at the Longview Literary Festival, details pending.  I'm hoping to present my new story Silk and Velvet at that time.

In the last day and a half, we've gotten glasses for one son, braces for another son, and a car for another son -
feeling trampled

Saturday morning
sitting by the front window
covered with kittens

I wish I had more friends who are coders - If you're out there, you'll enjoy this!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcode

As I was driving along 23rd street at oh about 4:10 pm, I spotted a turtle booking like heck to get across the busy road.  I slowed, but the car beside me pulled ahead and cut ahead of me.  It was a police car - it parked at an angle across the lanes, and the policeman got out and helped the turtle to the side of the road.  YAY!  Turtle is saved!  I don't know if he saw me but I applauded the policeman from inside my car.  I applaud him still. God bless that man! I'm happy now.

kittens on shoulders
sound like lawn mowers until
they run out of gas

we adopted two from a litter of barn kittens. This is Boomerang.

This is Pocket. They are five weeks old. It's like having little kids in the house again. Existing cat Talon avoids them, but will deign to accept a portion of their food. They are not yet big enough to climb up the curtains but they think about it constantly. Pocket is drawn to every dark hole and slightly ajar closet door she can find. Boomerang simply runs madly about. Whenever they see me they go mewmewmewmewmewmewmewmewmewmewmew

Sunday Chris dug my car out of the snow. It had a flat tire, so I stayed home and took a nap.

I am letting the current draft of my story rest for a few days (fermenting?) before I look at it again.

Making some progress - after four weeks of chiropractic I am taking half the painkillers I had been. More and more the pain subsides to mere annoyance. I have added pads and pillows of various shapes to all my seating, office chair, car seat, etc. to keep my spine supported correctly. With the advent of spring I hope to get out and get more exercise which will also help.

I have finished a second draft of my Renaissance story, working title Silk and Velvet, and am ready to start making decisions that will shape the final rendition. I write in layers, like the way my uncle sculpted in clay: building up bit by bit from a rudimentary frame.  Unfortunately this draft is 3000 words too long so I will be taking off a large chunk! Then, at last, time to bring out the fine modeling tools.

I'm diagnosed with sciatica, which stands for "blinding pain with no means of quick relief". I went to the doctor for drugs and am starting daily chiropractic treatments. The drugs depress me. I go to work and wonder daily if I can stand another minute of this. The chiropractor says it will take some time. I am impressed with the way he can zero right in on the worst spot. Last night I had a few hours of relief - pins and needles instead of searing agony - but the pain came back about 2:30 in the morning and I didn't get much sleep. I am crawling under my rock now and will be back when I feel better.

Thanks to everyone who came to the book signing. It was great to see you! I hope you enjoy the stories.