OMGerrific Writeratee and Happy Dances abound!

So I said I wasn't going to blog as much because there's so much going on. But here I am, breaking my own promises. In the words of Inigo Montoya, "Let me essplain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
The writing workshop is going great! I led my first class last night with my poet friend, Todd.  Todd's chapbook just came out on February 7th! I'm kinda polishing my nails on the fact that I told him to get his Toddacious butt in gear and publish a chapbook. And he did. I take full credit for all that work. Okay, maybe enough for him to owe me a cupcake. Ya feel me Todd? Cupcake, I say! Actually, he also critted my early fiction and I have him to thank for telling me, oh-so-kindly, that my cliffhangers were all fake. Hey, live and learn (from the most talented, when possible). I started taking yoga classes. No more creaky sinews for me. I've twisted myself so hard I actually couldn't breathe. And I didn't pass out! Today I am going to cook myself alive in a Bikram yoga class. (That's hot yoga for you. And no, it's not an exotic accompaniment to falafel.) If I don't visit your blogs, it's because I've melted into a pile of goo. I'm 30K into my current novel.  The first draft process is both painful and so awesome. I'm trying to write every day, but sometimes I can't, which is why...I owe $6 to our Write On to Build On Facebook group. That's six days in the last month I haven't written anything. Now I need to join a Read on To Build On group so I can catch up with my growing TBR pile on Goodreads. Next, some *squee* news. 

Laura Diamond's short story, City of Lights and Stone, is going to be published in the DAY OF DEMONS anthology by Anachron Press! In April! But April is too far away! So I shall wait. Grr. Luckily, I already got to read it. It's so. So. SO. GREAT! I really mean every one of those exclamation marks.

AND

Sarah Fine just announced the sale of SANCTUM, the first book in the GUARDS OF THE SHADOWLANDS series! Yes, it's amazing.  Yes, she just announced her other book, SCAN, last week. And yes, this one KICKS OTHERWORLDY you-know-what. Read here for the juicy details. Go Sarah!

Finally, some manatee news. You read that right. Manatee.

So Alz at A Nudge in the Right Direction hand sews these little manatees. You can see her handiwork on this blogpost and this other blog, Sparkling Rampage.

I basically begged and was completely infantile in my effort to get Alz to make me one. I mean, manatees are the awesomest animal ever. They have been mistaken for mermaids. They are also called sea cows. And they have a prehensile upper lip. What's more awesome than that?

So anyway, after the begging Alz caved. Money was exchanged. Secrets were handed over. I might have promised to name my next child "Alz Krispy Manatee Kang."

So I got this in the mail yesterday:


It's a purple, hand-sewn manatee! And it's not really just a manatee, because it has this stitched sweetly over it's little mammalian heart:


It's a Lydiatee! I loves it. And I'm not letting my kids touch it unless it's for soft cuddles. My Writeratee is going to cheer me on during my tough writing days and give me high-five-flippers for when I am making progress.

Thank you Alz! And thanks Krispy for forcing Alz to cater to my sirenian whims!

Have a great weekend everyone!