Elizabeth Bear's Blog

Thanks to everybody who bought something at the book sale.

Books *should* go out in the latter half of this week to everybody who has paid, so if you have not, now would be a good time.

Yay!

Complaint Department: Hey! Big clumsy monkey! Watch your butt!
Monkey: Ooops. Sorry. I was attempting to sit beside you, but you have a devious tail.
Complaint Department: Devious tail? Are you mocking my disability?
Monkey: Devious tail syndrome?
Complaint Department: It deeply affects my quality of life!
Monkey: Watch it. If you chase me out of bed entirely, you won't have anything warm to sleep on at all.
Conplaint Department: Details. Hey, fill up your water glass. I stole it all while you wer...

[00:10] matociquala: Oh, there we go. Persian vampire type object.
[00:11] matociquala: I think I will mash-up a demoness and these spirits of women dead in childbirth
[00:12] matociquala: I like the bit about causing SIDS by suckling infants on toxic milk
[00:14] stillsostrange: My Lamia approves.
[00:14] stillsostrange: They should go for drinks and bowling.
[00:14] matociquala: It's a related myth
[00:14] matociquala: Lamashtu
[00:15] matociquala: Mesopotamian version of the same demon
[00:15] <a>

[16:57] matociquala: The book I am currently reading for review doesn't suck.
[16:57] cristalia: ooh.
[16:57] cristalia: which?
[16:57] matociquala: Mind Games, Crane. It's mind candy, but it's honest mind candy.
[16:58] cristalia: I started Gemma's book last night.
[16:58] matociquala: And the protag is not brittle and mouthy
[16:58] cristalia: She can fucking write.
[16:58] matociquala: Who?
[16:58] cristalia: Gemma Files.
[16:58] *** kafkonia has joined the conversation.
[16:58] cristalia: It's A B...

Just send the Bad Draft of Grail to agent, editor, and a couple of carefully selected first readers who are allowed to see my work at it's absolute worst.

It is a very bad draft. But the plot is all in there, even if the contractors are obviously still at work, and several major plot developments currently exist as [bracket notes: go back and put this in] and it's got 75% too much exposition, and four chapters are only represented as outline notes, question marks, "So who DID kill what's-her-n...

And the word is that Bone and Jewel Creatures is at the printer and will be shipping next month.

It's a fairly short run, and as far as I know there are no plans to reprint and I dunno what brick and mortar distribution is going to be like, so you might want to pre-order here.

Fine Print!

Sale will go through midnight EDT Friday or until we are out of books.

Books are sold signed and/or personalized, at cover price (rounded up: I'm taking off the damned pennies) plus (for mass market paperbacks) $4.00 shipping and handling per each book within the US, $10.00 shipping and handling over international boundaries--for trade paperbacks and hardcovers, this will be $6.00/$12.00, respectively. This covers the cost of packaging as well as shipping, and paypal's cut of the...

Man, Sam Beam writes him some pretty lyrics.

Started late, but still got 2K today and finished Chapter 19, for Bad Draft values of "finished." Since a bunch of the early-chapter exposition and faffing about will eventually have to come out, and there are whole scenes that are little better than summarized, I'm in good shape for an eventual 400-page manuscript, even though it looks right now like it's running long.

Tomorrow, on to Chapter 20! Which means I have three chapters, an interlude, and...

This morning, when I took the dog for his walk, I also Released A Smouse which was caught in the live trap last night. Our smice are deer smice (also known as white-footed smice), which are (a) adorable and (b) reservoirs for Lyme disease and leptospirosis. Yay?

Anyway, I did not have to shake the smouse from the trap, because it was alert and oriented and ready to go--as soon as I opened the trap it sprang out into the nearest pile of leaves and there flattened itself. The dog did not notice....

This may officially be the worst Bad Draft I have ever written. Entire scenes are currently being dispensed with with [bracket notes in which something happens.:]

The good news is that I have five chapters (and a lot of backfill) left to get through, and I more or less know what happens in all of them, though there is a certain amount of "and then X does Something Heroic, figure it out later."

The funny thing is, despite the Badness of the Draft, I'm actually quite confident in the book as a who...