Laura Anne Gilman's Blog, page 30
July 31, 2015
Book 2, more or less on deadline.
110,000 words and still in need of some editorial poking and prodding to get it to where it needs to be, but hey, that’s WHY I have an editor. And it’s his problem now. :-)
*falls over goes thud for 16 hours before GISHWHES starts*
And, because I'm at the far edge of obsessing about these things, I checked WorldCat. The Seattle Public Library reportedly has 4 copies of SILVER ON THE ROAD on order, and the Minnetonka (MN) library has 3 requests, so here's hoping they get at least one copy in.
And that's it.
(Dear NYPL: you don't love me any more?)
Okay, it's VERY early days, I know. But if you happen to wander past your local librarian and leave a note saying "I'd really love it if you got a copy of this book in for me," that's - I'm told - really helpful to librarians trying to wrangle their budgets over book lists....
*falls over goes thud for 16 hours before GISHWHES starts*
And, because I'm at the far edge of obsessing about these things, I checked WorldCat. The Seattle Public Library reportedly has 4 copies of SILVER ON THE ROAD on order, and the Minnetonka (MN) library has 3 requests, so here's hoping they get at least one copy in.
And that's it.
(Dear NYPL: you don't love me any more?)
Okay, it's VERY early days, I know. But if you happen to wander past your local librarian and leave a note saying "I'd really love it if you got a copy of this book in for me," that's - I'm told - really helpful to librarians trying to wrangle their budgets over book lists....
July 28, 2015
if you need a giggle today....
Oh dear god. I just cackled - CACKLED - for five minutes straight.
For anyone who needs a laugh - I'm pretty sure you don't need to know the SPN backstory to find this amusing,tho if you do, you may likewise be literally LOLSTC at this video.
Bless Mark Sheppard for being perfect and rolling with it...
For anyone who needs a laugh - I'm pretty sure you don't need to know the SPN backstory to find this amusing,tho if you do, you may likewise be literally LOLSTC at this video.
Bless Mark Sheppard for being perfect and rolling with it...
July 23, 2015
Argh.
The past 48 hours have been my own personal Merc Gone Retro nonstop party, where what I mean is the opposite of a party. But most of the miscommunications seem to have been worked out, the knots untangled, and August more-or-less sorted, with September maybe making sense.
October is still an incipient clusterfuck, tho.
And that's with me being organized and reasonably on top of my game. How do disorganized people survive? (that's not entirely a rhetorical question)
October is still an incipient clusterfuck, tho.
And that's with me being organized and reasonably on top of my game. How do disorganized people survive? (that's not entirely a rhetorical question)
July 22, 2015
This week I am Boring
Well, boring to you, anyway.
Mostly, time is split between 4th pass on Book 2 (which has gotten a deadline extension again, due to page proofs, but will not wait on me much longer), the side wine gig, and bringing two clients up to speed on the editorial gig. Basically, clearing out all the Due In July Things.
Because in August, there will be GISHWHES, my sister and her SO visiting, the agency retreat, and WorldCon. And two novellas I kinda promised to have finished by Labor Day.
So yeah, I'm boring now, in the hopes of bringing you excitement later....
Mostly, time is split between 4th pass on Book 2 (which has gotten a deadline extension again, due to page proofs, but will not wait on me much longer), the side wine gig, and bringing two clients up to speed on the editorial gig. Basically, clearing out all the Due In July Things.
Because in August, there will be GISHWHES, my sister and her SO visiting, the agency retreat, and WorldCon. And two novellas I kinda promised to have finished by Labor Day.
So yeah, I'm boring now, in the hopes of bringing you excitement later....
July 21, 2015
and that spells MOON.
Moonrise, Puget Sound, July 2015
Sickle Moon, July 2015
I'm rather pleased and in fact astonished at how well these came out. Yay little point-and-shoot that could!
Sickle Moon, July 2015
I'm rather pleased and in fact astonished at how well these came out. Yay little point-and-shoot that could!
July 20, 2015
Excuse me while I commercialize...
I I have been informed that there’s been a (short-time) price drop!
STAYING DEAD (book 1 of the Retrievers series) is currently 2.99 at Amazon and B&N (ebook)
CURSE THE DARK (books 2 of the Retriever series) is currently 3.99 at both retailers.
Meerkat's first novels! A magical NYC, where the modern world has INCREASED the amount of magic in the world, not destroyed it, and the non-human fatae wander the streets alongside Nulls and Talent...
Not so much "romantic fantasy" as "caper novels with magic and relationships."
And a short, fuzzy (snarky as fuck) demon named PB.
July 17, 2015
Bite of Seattle
Because of Reasons, after sending in the corrected page proofs for SILVER this morning, I took the afternoon away from the computer and wandered down the street a bit to check out Bite of Seattle, three days of food carts and demos and food trucks and booths and demos-from-sponsors, etc. And cordoned-off-for-21-and-older areas for adult beverage sampling, too.
And although there could be more freebie samples, IMO (only 3-4 places were actually giving food out), the prices were quite reasonable, and the quality of all the vendors seemed high. Plus, there were opportunities to "win" vouchers for food, as well as the usual giveaways.
So yeah, I say it's a fun way to social-nosh for an afternoon or evening. Recommended for any local foodies.
What I Ate:
- Key lime greek yogurt (ok, not great)
- a "beyond beef" plantburger bite (didn't taste like meat but wasn't bad)
- spiced pork belly tacos (nom nom nom)
- two different kinds of lo-cal sports drinks
- sugar crepe bite (tiny but nom)
- lemonade
- total cost: $7
I was very tempted to try the Alley ($10 for a sampling of fancier food, plus access to the wine tasting area), but figured that could wait until Sunday... (I may have to go back and try a corndog, too. Never having had one - probably for good reason, but hey, you only live once, right?)
I also picked up a lot of freebies, including two insulated lunch bags, a reusable grocery bag (right-sized for greenmarket shopping), and a suction cup phone holder for a car, that seems to be working really well as a raised phone display for my desk, yay. I declined to take home any gimmie caps or commemorative cups, though.
And although there could be more freebie samples, IMO (only 3-4 places were actually giving food out), the prices were quite reasonable, and the quality of all the vendors seemed high. Plus, there were opportunities to "win" vouchers for food, as well as the usual giveaways.
So yeah, I say it's a fun way to social-nosh for an afternoon or evening. Recommended for any local foodies.
What I Ate:
- Key lime greek yogurt (ok, not great)
- a "beyond beef" plantburger bite (didn't taste like meat but wasn't bad)
- spiced pork belly tacos (nom nom nom)
- two different kinds of lo-cal sports drinks
- sugar crepe bite (tiny but nom)
- lemonade
- total cost: $7
I was very tempted to try the Alley ($10 for a sampling of fancier food, plus access to the wine tasting area), but figured that could wait until Sunday... (I may have to go back and try a corndog, too. Never having had one - probably for good reason, but hey, you only live once, right?)
I also picked up a lot of freebies, including two insulated lunch bags, a reusable grocery bag (right-sized for greenmarket shopping), and a suction cup phone holder for a car, that seems to be working really well as a raised phone display for my desk, yay. I declined to take home any gimmie caps or commemorative cups, though.
July 13, 2015
What She Watched, 2015
13. John Wick (despite my distaste for "woman dies for manpain" and "kill the dog for manpain" and oversaturated sets, I was curious. Verdict: pretty much everything I hate in movies, with only a bit of good acting to save it.)
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron
11. Pacific Rim (yeah, I know, I didn't see many movies in the theater the past few years...)
10. Hunger Games (yes, finally. Shut up)
9. Divergent
8. Jack the Giant-Killer (glad I didn't spend money seeing this in the theater, but good to watch while sorting tax paperwork...)
7. Duma
6. Mirror, Mirror (after a while I just had it on for the pretty, I freely admit)
5. Over the Hedge (I'd never actually watched it through to the end, before)
4. Now You See Me
3. The Other Woman
2. Nanny McPhee
1. Grand Budapest Hotel
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron
11. Pacific Rim (yeah, I know, I didn't see many movies in the theater the past few years...)
10. Hunger Games (yes, finally. Shut up)
9. Divergent
8. Jack the Giant-Killer (glad I didn't spend money seeing this in the theater, but good to watch while sorting tax paperwork...)
7. Duma
6. Mirror, Mirror (after a while I just had it on for the pretty, I freely admit)
5. Over the Hedge (I'd never actually watched it through to the end, before)
4. Now You See Me
3. The Other Woman
2. Nanny McPhee
1. Grand Budapest Hotel
July 12, 2015
July 11, 2015
In case you wondered how it was going...
170 more pages to go, proofing SILVER, and taking notes for all the details I need to integrate into the next pass of Book #2.
If I didn't love this world so much, I'd hate this project with a raving frothing madness, right now.
For now - booze, and a meal that's not deli meat or cashew butter on a slice of rye. Tomorrow, I have to work on other things, too. Because Sudden Deadlines do not miraculously erase Existing Deadlines...
If I didn't love this world so much, I'd hate this project with a raving frothing madness, right now.
For now - booze, and a meal that's not deli meat or cashew butter on a slice of rye. Tomorrow, I have to work on other things, too. Because Sudden Deadlines do not miraculously erase Existing Deadlines...
