Naming help needed

Okay, I need a name. A somewhat nebbish male name. A not unrealistic name (e.g, Mortimer or Englebert), but a name that a geeky high school kid should never have been saddled with, that just cements his unpopularity.

The story is modern (literary mystery).

"Who are we playing against?" I asked X who, despite having lived here his whole life (and his father is one of the janitors, because name your kid "X" and then kick him while he's down), cares even less about the [football] game than I do.

Please leave suggestions here (on the blog) rather than FB/Twitter, so I have 'em all in one place. The person who suggests the name I use gets a free book.  :-)

More Scary Kisses ebook

More Scary Kisses, an anthology of paranormal romances that includes my story "Matchmaker," is now available as an ebook! So if you've been waiting to read it on your Kindle, now's your chance!

"College Reunion" now available from Soul's Road Press

"College Reunion" by Andrea Dale

At her college reunion, a woman tells her husband a steamy story about overhearing a couple having sex in a study lounge. Little does she know the tale will inspire her husband to bend her over an old oak desk in the very same lounge and give her bottom a blistering she won’t soon forget…. A sexy spanking short story from a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

"With stories like 'College Reunion' by Andrea Dale…who’s got time to study?"
— Cleis Press

“College Reunion” originally appeared in C is for Co-Eds (Cleis Press, 2007)

Cover photo by Forever Captured / iStockPhoto.

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

Updatey-date

I apologize for the lack of entries lately. A combination of not much to report and too much stuff to do. Which seems like an oxymoron, but it really isn't. Also, our Internet has been flaky and/or completely out for two days, coming up on three. The iPad (and Bluetooth keyboard) helps a lot, but isn't ideal for certain projects. Like anything that involves an attachment of something that needs to be saved on a computer, or attached from a computer. Argh. So briefly…Wednesday I had an eye appointment, which Morgana kindly squired me to, as my eyes were dilated and I couldn't drive home by myself. I forgot that always makes my eyeballs hurt. Well, not so much hurt as just be there. One shouldn't be constantly made aware of one's eyeballs; it's just not natural. So I got little else done that afternoon. Although it was nice to learn that my verrrrry thin (lattice-like) retina in my left eye repaired itself with some scar tissue in the past year. Looks just like I got laser surgery. Only cheaper.

A friend of Ken's visited that day, and they categorized all the bits and bobs that had been delivered with Ken's motorcycle. Still no sign of his wallet (which had been in his jacket pocket, a pocket that was sliced through when emergency services dealt with him), his passport (which had been in his computer bag), a pair of earrings he bought for me during the rally (also in his computer bag), his radar detector (which could've gone flying during the accident itself), or the extra final drive he'd carried just in case (which had been in a saddlebag). Some of that seems a little suspicious, but there's nothing we can really do. We ordered new credit cards (thankfully he'd stripped almost everything out of his wallet beforehand) and have an appointment to get him a new driver's license.

Thursday he had an appointment with a hand surgeon. No big surprises there, and he has an appointment to get the pins taken out in three weeks. After that, it's 3–6 months of therapy, and his hand should be back to normal.

Then Ken decided that the back tire of the bike had to be swapped out right now, because he wanted the bike dealer to pick up the bike Friday (so they could officially proclaim it totalled, thus moving the insurance paperwork along). Right now. No, I didn't have time to put away the few bits of food I'd picked up on the way home from the doctor's. No, I didn't have time to change out of my clean shorts before smearing tire gunk on myself. No, I didn't have time to arrange someone else to help with this so I could have a little time to get stuff done. Oh, nooooo…. (It's a good thing I love him!)

Today our cleaning lady came, and it's hard to describe how good a clean house feels. It was long overdue. When she does the big stuff, I feel like I can maintain, and that's a stress relief right there.

I was supposed to have a hair appointment, but my Fabulous Gay Hairdresser called to say he was moving salons and thus wouldn't be working today. Seems a little last-minute to tell me…. But I'll follow him to his new place, and he'll be calling me next week to reschedule. Unfortunately, this comes on the heels of me rescheduling twice (because of travel), so I rather look like Captain Caveman right now….

The bike dealership picked up the bike this afternoon, and then we toddled off to the local Urgicare, which is also a dr's office, because we don't have a GP and it was time for the stitch in Ken's side to be removed (where the chest tube drain had been). It looked a little red to me, so I didn't think we should wait 'til Monday. After almost two hours waiting there, they read Ken's temp as 101°, and the doctor didn't feel he had all the necessary equipment to do a post-op (which is not…oh, nevermind), so he directed us off to the hospital ER. By the time Ken was seen there, his temp was 99°, the redness was just the pinkness of healing, and the price of having on stitch removed and a prescription for just-in-case antibiotics filled was $350. O.o

However, it was worth the price of admission to have the doctor ask Ken if he smoked (no) or drank (rarely). To which Ken added, pointing at me, "She's my vice." Love is a drug, baby, and you're on good painkillers. Hee.

By then it was 7 pm, so we grabbed dinner at a new burger place (okay, but nothing to write home about, despite a couple of steampunk-esque light fixtures that I couldn't get decent pictures of), and have spent the rest of the evening napping (Ken), sitting with the kitlings outside (me), and watching various TV (both of us).

As for tomorrow…well, Grimoire is showing clear signs of at best another bladder/urinary infection (he and Eostre both get them about every two months, for no reason anyone can fathom) or at worst kidney disease, so I'll be carting him off to the vet. I also need to pick up Ken's prescription. I'd like to sneak off to a coffee shop to have Internet on a Real Computer [TM], but we shall see. I will likely be calling the cable company. Other than that…no promises!

(Remember: Visits to Ken are the best present you can give him right now! Call to schedule!)

Help needed

We do need help with a few things, if you can spare the time:

• Someone to change the tire on Ken's bike. He can supervise/instruct. Preferably early on Friday so he can have the BMW dealer pick it up later that day.

• Someone to go to Costco with me to schlep heavy things (cat litter, flats of soda). Sometime next week is fine.

• Folks to visit Ken. He really does need friends to keep him from going stir crazy. Call or email me to schedule.

Thank you!

To do, doing, done

I actually accomplished a fair amount yesterday…guess my To Do list was the right level of gentle but do-able:

• made appt with orthopedic surgeon re: Ken’s hand
• wrote and enveloped check to lovely friend who rescued Ken’s bike from the tow yard
• wrote and enveloped letter to Nevada Highway Patrol requesting a copy of the accident report
• did dishes
• put away laundry (finally)
• threw in another load of laundry
• bought a battery for the garage door opener and ink for the printer (allowing me to print letters, contracts, etc.)
• printed, signed, enveloped contracts for short story sale
• canceled flights to Colorado for Styx @ Red Rocks show  :-(
• emailed re: how to release tickets for Styx @ Red Rocks show  :-(
• made rice and steamed broccoli to go with leftover tilapia dish
• toddled over to Textile Guild to say hi to everyone for a bit

on deck for today:

• eye appointment (oh yay, I’ll spend the afternoon with my eyes dilated)
• many, many Chronicler emails
• work emails
• cuddle with Ken and watch another show or two
• wrap sister’s family’s long overdue holiday gifts
• call tree guy to cut back our lemon tree now that a good portion of it has fallen over
• call gopher people to ask question about bill
• call sisters
• no doubt more dishes
• put away latest load of laundry (no worries; it’s small)
• writing…

Question for my foodie friends

A generous local friend made some food for us, which is awesomely awesome, and I have a question about one of the dishes in terms of reheating.

It's tilapia, sliced lemons, and celery in a lemony sauce. There's a bit of something else green I can't identify; possibly green onions?

Anyway, it arrived last night just-cooked and was quite yummy. Tonight I reheated just the fish and celery and sauce in the microwave, having discarded the lemon slices that were on those pieces of fish. It was still yummy, but something in it had taken on a bitter taste.

Is it the lemons, and should I remove them immediately? Is it because the original dish is in a metal pan and that's reacting to the lemons?

Is it the celery?

Is it because I reheated the fish in the microwave?

Or is it something else I'm not thinking of?

We have two more helpings of this and if I can minimize the bitter taste for Wednesday night's supper, that would be groovy.

Thanks!

I dunno. You tell me.

Many of you, upon learning of Ken’s accident, made a point of reminding me to take care of myself during this crazy time. And I appreciate that, because while I intellectually know that I can’t be there for Ken if I’m not mentally and physically healthy and rested (and I always give the same advice to others), I’m not necessarily good at putting it into practice.

Also, I know I’m not good at asking for help. It’s hard for me, for whatever reason. Oh, there are some projects where I’m just peachy fine at delegation, but when it comes to everyday life, not so much. Morgana even offered to set up a Yahoogroup for me (as a friend of ours did when she had a hysterectomy)…but here’s the problem:

I don’t know what help I need.

I mean, folks have already brought some meals, and that is absolutely a huge help. I don’t enjoy cooking, and although I picked up ingredients for several meals, it’s nice to know I have a few things I can grab out of the freezer when I just can’t face cooking.

I kinda want to say it would be nice if someone could do the dishes, but really. It’s just some dishes.

Admittedly, I was feeling overwhelmed before Ken’s accident even happened, and had a bit of meltdown the day I drove down to Ontario for the IBR finish. I was planning to talk to Ken about how I needed help and he needed to take over some of the responsibilities of the house. (Hah.)

And yet…I can’t look at anything and see where I could ask a friend to pitch in. Most of this stuff is stuff I just need to do, or would take so long to explain to someone that it would be faster to do myself.

I made what I hope is a gentle To Do list for tomorrow, and there’s nothing on it I can foist off on someone else, except maybe the errands, but it would do me good to get out for a little bit. (Ken’s self-sufficient enough that I can leave for an hour or two—if I thought I needed to be out longer, I would ask someone to come and hang out with him.) The rest of my list is things like phone calls and emails and wrapping some presents so I can mail them and get them out of my house, and canceling my flight to Denver because I can’t go to the Styx show at Red Rocks (did I mention I screwed up tickets to both the Greek and LA County Fair shows, so this would have been my only front-row show by a long stretch? Yeah. Fuck.). I have managed to get receipts input into Quicken, and I’ve done laundry (still need to put it away, though). The cleaning lady is coming on Friday, which will help immensely.

So what do I ask friends to do, when they ask if they can help? They can’t write my emails, or write my novels or submit my stories (and yes, I could take time off from this, but I’m actually itching to write right now—too long without words and I get all out of sorts).

I guess all I can ask for is this: Schedule time to stop by and see Ken. He’s going stir crazy. For that matter, so am I, so feel free to call me or come over and hang out for a bit.

And if you can think of something you can help out with, let me know. Because I’m fresh out of ideas.

Home, the longer version

So. We are home. Home sweet home…. Since June 7, I have been home 4.5 days. I really don’t want to leave again for a good long time, so it’s a good thing most of this month has been cancelled! We’d been saying we wanted a rainy weekend to curl up and burn through the shows saved on the DVR and even a few movies…well, now we have it.

Anyway. For the IBR, Ken had purchased insurance that would cover transport from an accident site to a hospital, as well as transport from that hospital to one near home. I pinged the insurance folks the day after I arrived in Reno to confirm what coverage Ken had, and on Tuesday (once Ken was stabilized and the holiday weekend was over), I called them. Turned out they contract with folks in London, and I was told I’d get a call from them in about 15 minutes. Didn’t happen. I called back the next day, which finally got the ball in motion. Sloooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy.

So slowly that by the time they got their I’s dotted and T’s crossed, no doctor at the local hospital would admit Ken, because he was well enough to be released. (Ironically, part of the delay was the insurance co’s concern that Ken wouldn’t be stable enough for air travel.) In other words, Epic Insurance Fail.

The hospital had an ICU full of patients recovering from the holiday weekend who really needed beds in the regular ward, and there was nothing else they could do for Ken. When we got the word on Friday that there was nowhere to transport Ken to, we booked a rental car, I picked it up, we packed our stuff and Ken into the car (with the hospital’s stellar help), and off we went.

I want to segue here to say we have nothing but gushing praise for Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. Every single person who worked with Ken was utterly amazing. From the great surgeons who removed his spleen and put his right hand back together, to the social worker who called to calmly tell me he’d been in an accident, to the nurses and assistants who cheerfully and efficiently cared for him every day, you have our undying gratitude. You rocked the house.

As I mentioned in the last post, what then transpired was a 9.5-hour drive home, with two brief stops for food and gas and whatnot. We debated stopping partway (since my night vision isn’t the best on the less-lit highways) but we really wanted to be home with the kitties, and it was the best decision. We debated the difference between a meadow and a lea and a pasture (not to be confused with the bog/marsh/fen deliberation), listened to various XM radio stations (hair metal, 80s in 8, vinyl classics), and discussed what bands/artists we want to see (both possible and “if I had a time machine/Holodeck”) and where in the world we still want to travel.

---

Ken’s dad and his wife visited us today, bringing lunch with them, which was fantastic, because I’d used the last two eggs to make Ken’s breakfast and hadn’t had the chance to shop yet. (The milk was still good, praise the gods, so I was able to have tea. I don’t know if I would have survived on only 4 hours of sleep* without tea.) They brought my car (which had been rescued from the hotel in Ontario CA by our friends Nanci and Lenny—thank you again, awesome friends!) and went with me to return the rental car, at which point I was also able to do a good food shopping. Alas, by supper time I was so exhausted that I ordered pizza. I’ll get an earlier start on food tomorrow—plus a local friend has cooked some meals for us that will be delivered tomorrow.

I also managed to do laundry (but not yet put it away), unpack my suitcase, and sort mail. And Ken and I did watch episodes of Leverage, Covert Affairs, Graham Norton, and Craig Ferguson (the Neil Gaiman interview, which I saved because I thought Ken would be amused by it).

I have a bazillion and one things to do (I haven’t even mentioned the Short Story Workshop, or the latest stories that are available for sale, and I want to talk about my sister, and…) but I’m taking it one day at a time. Tomorrow Ken’s mom is coming to visit, so I’m going to do a Trader Joe’s run and fill our water bottles and maybe get a few other errands done.

And write. I’m sorely in need of the writing….

---

*Remember when I said “If anyone wakes me up tomorrow morning (besides Ken) there will be hell to pay”?  ::laughs hollowly::  First one of the neighbors decided to start yipping, then the lawn guys showed up to mow, and then the neighbor kids started shrieking, and Grimmy really wanted attention/breakfast, and….  O.o

Home

We are home. We left at about 5 pm and arrived home at 2:30 am. I never want to drive that fucking long in my life again. Although Ken was adorably loopy on pain medicine.... "I am agreeful," he said at one point. Which is one of the reasons I love him, of course.

Did I mention that on Hwy 14, a fucking coyote was in the middle of the road?

It's 3 am and Ken is asleep on the media room couch and I've scritched the kitties and had my much-needed glass of wine. I'm going to bed. If anyone wakes me up tomorrow morning (besides Ken) there will be hell to pay.

New stories from Soul's Road Press

Two new lesbian stories from me as Andrea Dale!

"Subtle"

Two lesbians discover whips and chains aren’t always necessary…that sometimes, it’s more fun to submit in psychologically kinky ways. A steamy hot short story by a legendary erotica heavy hitter.

“Subtle” originally appeared in Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage (Alyson Press, 2006)

Cover image by Artem Merzlenko / iStockPhoto

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your Gift to Me"

One lesbian teaches another that her body is worth expensive, frothy scraps that reveal more than they show. A sweet, sexy, and romantic lesbian short story about the joys of pretty lingerie, by a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“Your Gift to Me” originally appeared in Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories About Lingerie and Underwear (Alyson Press, 2006)

Cover image by Tatyana Ogryzko / iStockPhoto

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

"Memories for Sale" in Best Erotic Romance

Whee! I sold "Memories for Sale" to Best Erotic Romance! It's available for preorder and is due out in December 2011.

I wrote "Memories for Sale" back in 2006, but it's never hit quite right with an editor until now. Sometimes that's how these things work: a perfectly good story takes time time to click with the right editor. (Just like not every story will click with every reader.) I'm chuffed that the sparkly and delightful Kristina Wright was the editor it clicked with!

"Memories for Sale" is a bittersweet story about second chances, and I'm so glad it found a home with stories from a whole slew of amazingly talented authors:

Table of Contents

Introduction: Simply the Best

What Happened in Vegas     Sylvia Day

First Night       Donna George Storey

Another Trick Up My Sleeve      Heidi Champa

Drive Me Crazy      Delilah Devlin

Once Upon a Dinner Date      Saskia Walker

He Tends To Me       Justine Elyot

Guest Services      Angela Caperton

Memories for Sale      Andrea Dale hey, that's me! :-)

Blame It On Facebook      Kate Dominic

The Draft       Craig J. Sorensen

To Be in Clover      Shanna Germain

Honey Changes Everything      Emerald

Cheating Time      Kate Pearce

Our Own Private Champagne Room      Rachel Kramer Bussel

Till the Storm Breaks      Erobintica

The Curve of Her Belly     Kristina Wright

Dawn Chorus     Nikki Magennis

Ken update: Busting out soon

Sorry for the lack of update yesterday… We’ve been busy trying to coordinate things like transport and insurance and police reports and whatnot. Plus a friend took me to the Apple store to replace Ken’s twisted-up phone (whereupon I also bought a cover for my iPad, a replacement charging cord for my iPad, and earphones for Ken’s phone), then took me out for lunch and a long ride around and through Reno. I’m looking forward to visiting again sometime when Ken and I can both enjoy the scenery. (Plus I’ve promised the friend that the next time Styx plays here, we’re taking him and his wife.  ;-)  )

Big improvements yesterday: They removed the chest tube/drains and all IVs from Ken! That makes getting up and moving around so much easier for him. We took a walk down the hall and he got to see a view from a different window, too. He’s just taking oral pain medicines, and really isn’t in any major pain at all.

Today a therapist worked with his left arm. The muscles are stiff and sore (the scapula has a whole slew of muscles attached to it), but overall the broken scapula itself doesn’t hurt when he moves. Having relatively full use of his left arm also makes things a lot easier.

Thank you all for your recommendations for hand surgeons; I’ll be compiling a list and will contact some of you for additional information if necessary.

We should be out of here in a day or two, so Ken can go stir crazy at home instead of here. Those of you who’ve offered help will be getting an email or call soon….

Ken update: That damn coyote

Happy Independence Day, everyone! Baby, you’re a firework!*

Ken’s doing great.  :-)  Yesterday afternoon he announced he was sick of his liquid diet, so he had solid food for supper and then again for breakfast today. He’s off oxygen, sat in a chair for breakfast, and took a walk around the halls with a therapist. He’s fine using his left arm to eat, etc.—it doesn’t hurt bending from the elbow, just using the upper arm. (There’s no damage to the ball joint, but the broken scapula and no doubt torn muscles are causing discomfort.)

Several friends went to look at the accident site, including our friend Ernie who’s a trained accident investigator, and then they checked over the bike as well (which a friend got from the towing company and is storing). The verdict is that an animal was involved and, in fact, hit the bike, as opposed to the other way around. Looks like it hit the front wheel, which sent the bike into a skid. Ken went off the left side, causing the broken scapula and ribs, obliterated spleen, etc. (The broken right hand could have been just from his hand slamming into the ground.) Then the bike must’ve hit the soft sand at the side of the road, because it clearly went ass over teakettle before it came to rest in the desert.

Most likely culprits are jackrabbit, coyote, or mountain lion; for some reason my bets are on a coyote. (Many, many jokes are being made about roadrunners, ACME, roller skates….) We do have a few hairs and blood—anyone out there have the CSI equipment to determine species?  ;-)

Thanks to all of our friends for taking care of Ken, the bike, his stuff, etc. Now it’s just listening to the doctors and nurses and doing what needs to be done to get better.

---

*Yes, I’m a Katy Perry fan, and proud of it.

Ken update: Thanks, hand info, transport

First, Ken would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of support—the blog/FB/Twitter comments, the emails (I hacked into his account), the folks who’ve gone out of their way to stop by. You are all freaking amazing!

Second, for some reason I can’t access the hotel’s internet in Ken’s room. I can get it fine in my “hotel” room, which is on the other end of the complex. I’m going to see if I can get it when I’m in the cafeteria…

Third, can anyone recommend a hand surgeon (either orthopedic or plastic) in the Ventura County area? Ken’s hand needs to be immobilized for about six weeks, then he needs to have the pins taken out and start doing some therapy. He should regain full function of his hand, yay! Oh, and we learned today that the broken bones were in his hand, not his fingers. Broken bones and ruptured tendons…. But again, full use of his hand will happen eventually. And his shoulder socket wasn’t injured (just his scapula) so he’ll be able to use his left hand in the meantime, once his scapula isn’t hurting quite so bad.

Fourth, to answer a popular question: He’ll probably be here in Reno for 3 or so more days. He was signed up for a mediflight service that will transport him to a hospital of our choice in Southern California, and then he’ll be released to go home.

That’s this morning’s update!  :-)

Ken update: Soon out of ICU

Ken will be moved out of ICU today (once the order processes through), which is a big step in the right direction! Now he can have clear liquids, which he’s really happy about because he’s been very thirsty (it’s very dry in the hospital). They also expect to get him up and walking a little bit. Wow.

He’s sore all over, which isn’t surprising at all, but thankfully no sharp pain; the drugs are doing their job. It hurts to breath deeply, but they’re pushing him to do that to keep his lungs in good shape. Turns out he did have surgery on his right hands so he has titanium pins in three fingers.

It’s occurred to me that with his right hand broken and his left arm in a sling (because of the broken shoulder), he’s going to require constant care for awhile.  O.o  Meep.

Re: phone calls and texts. There are several reasons why I’ve asked ya’ll not to call or text….

1. I’m already on the phone a lot keeping family updated, coordinating with local friends who are helping out, canceling appointments, etc. Sometimes I’m getting texts while I’m on the phone, or multiple calls, and I can’t juggle everything.
2. I’m talking to doctors/nurses/etc. and thus can’t stop to answer the phone.
3. I’m grabbing rest whenever I can. I can’t turn off the phone in case a nurse needs to reach me, plus I use the phone as my alarm clock.
4. I'm sitting with Ken most of the time, and if he's sleeping, the phone can wake him up.
5. I’m rapidly running out of phone battery, even w/frequent charging.
6. My earpiece died and I don’t have the charging cord (hoping to get another today, but we’ll see). It’s easier for me to hear and much more comfy to talk with an earpiece, so I’m less inclined to chat when I don’t have one.

Please believe me, I’m reading all of your emails and blog comments and FB and Twitter responses, and when Ken’s more awake I’m going to read them all to him, too. Right now there’s not a lot I need, and I’m getting hold of folks who can help when I do need something. When I get Ken home, I know I’ll need more help then.

Also, please check back here for updates on how he’s doing. This is the easiest/fastest way to keep everyone up to speed. I’ll post notes on FB/Twitter when I’ve updated here. I’m doing quickie updates on FB/Twitter (like when he got the breathing tube out) but full info will go here.

I simply don’t have time to answer individual responses, and you know why? Because I have so many fucking awesome friends that I can’t keep up. That’s what you all get for being too fucking amazing for words.

Oh, and more thank-yous:

• Nanci and Lenny for rescuing my car from the hotel in Ontario
• Brian and Brad for rescuing Ken’s bike
• Shannon and Stephen, Ken’s amazing nurses

Now, if I could just track down what happened to his wallet… It was in his motorcycle jacket, which according to the guy who rescued his bike is “only partial and in shreds.” I’m guessing it was cut off him at the scene.  O.o

Ken's going to be okay

First of all, Ken’s going to be fine. That’s the most important thing.

He was in an accident outside of Reno at about 6:30 pm last night (Thursday night). He was life-flighted to Renown Trauma Center in Reno. He was coherent enough to give the ER my name and phone number, and two different people said he was polite.  :-)  Neurologically he’s fine, and he also has no spinal injuries. The helmet, of course, saved his life.

However, they did have to remove his spleen; he has three broken ribs and some broken fingers on his right hand, a broken shoulder (which they haven’t been able to X-ray yet, but they don’t seem to think it’s bad), and one of his lungs did collapse. As of right now (2 pm Friday) he’s on a respirator but mostly breathing on his own, and they hope to take the tube out sometime this afternoon. In fact, the nurse just told me they might move him out of ICU as early as tomorrow morning.

He’s on really good pain meds so he’s a little loopy, but he smiles and squeezes my hand and indicates that he’s doing fine. That’s pretty much all I care about right now.  :-)

The ER person who called me last night has to get credit for being so damn calm, I didn’t freak out at all. In fact, I’ve been freakishly calm about everything; the only time I got a little weepy was when I thought about him being at the side of the road before someone found him. (He was on a not-well-traveled road, and we don’t know how long it was until someone came upon him, or if someone saw it happen, or whatever. We also may never know what exactly happened; most people don’t remember. The state troopers who were first on the scene may be able to shed some light…but it’s really not important, all things considered.)

I also have to credit our friends Ernie and Pauline, who’d come down for the IBR finish and in fact arrived just as I was getting the call—they sat with me and Ernie made lots of phone calls. Ken’s mom was there, too, and another friend. Lisa with the Rally booked my flight to Reno this morning and was also just calm and amazing. Here in Reno, bikers Brian and John have been at the hospital since last night, Brian picked me up at the airport, and they both got me situated here at the hospital (which turned one floor of one wing into a hotel, so I even have a place to sleep, shower, etc., for a reasonable rate).

Please feel free to leave comments and well wishes here or on Facebook, and when Ken’s more coherent I’ll read them all to him. For right now, though, please don’t call or text—I’m busy enough keeping family apprised and I can’t always answer the phone. I know you’re out there, and you care.

Right now I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do except send positive energy and well wishes. When we get home, I will probably have to ask for some help during his recovery.

He’s gonna be okay. That’s all that matters.

xoxo to you all

IBR primer

I’m going to be posting (mostly on Facebook and Twitter) about Ken’s progress in the Iron Butt Rally, so I thought it would be useful to do a quick primer here, to get everyone up to speed on what I’ll be babbling about.

The IBR is an 11-day, 11,000-plus-mile endurance motorcycle event, kind of like a scavenger hunt via motorcycle. Bonus locations are all over the US (including Alaska) and into Canada, and have different points, so part of the challenge is to figure out how to get the maximum number of points in the time frame you have. There are also mandatory timed checkpoints that you must make.

About 1000 people apply to run the rally every two years; 100 are chosen. Because there is a minimum number of points you have to get, you can conceivably hit all the required checkpoints and still not “finish.” About 60 people actually finish.

More people have gone into space than run the IBR. More people climb Mt. Everest every year than have run the IBR since its start in 1984.

Ken got interested in rallies a few years ago and began running shorter ones, which happen all over the country during the year. He applied, but wasn’t chosen in the lottery, for the 2009 IBR. Then he won four shorter rallies in a row—something nobody had ever done before. About a month and a half before the 2009 IBR, he got a call inviting him in. His response (as was correct) was “Let me check with my wife.”  ;-)

Everyone else had about a year to prepare. He had a month and a half. And on his very first IBR, he came in 9^th.

He headed up to Oregon last week to do final work on the bike in a friend’s shop, then ran the short Cal24 rally to give the bike a shakedown. (Yeah, and he won, too!) Tomorrow he’s off to Seattle for the starting checkpoint, where there will be tech inspections and a riders’ meeting and a banquet and all that sort of thing.

As I did 2009, before he left I took an official “start” picture. Unfortunately, he left after dark, and my camera flash had fun with the reflective material on his jacket…. This was the best I could do.

I will be posting FB/Twitter updates on his progress as I can. I’ll be at an intensive writing workshop for the first 8 or so days of the rally….

Emails of encouragement may be sent to him via email, but please understand he won’t be able to respond. Also, comments on my posts are unlikely to get to him, due to my workshop, etc.

The rally finish is in Ontario, CA, on Friday, July 1, from 8–10 am. If anyone wants to join me there, ping me privately for details!


Edited to add


Ken was still working on the bike in Portland when I flew in yesterday, so he came to the airport to give me kisses.  :-)  So I was able to take a proper "start" picture, which is also more proper because a few hours later he really did leave for the IBR start in Seattle.

"Just Be"

I was sure Sarita was going to leave me; the signs were all there. I was too wrapped up in law school to give her the love and attention she needed. Imagine my surprise when I learned that what she really planned was to teach me how to let go and…just be. A romantic lesbian short story from a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“Just Be” originally appeared in Iridescence: Sensuous Shades of Lesbian Erotica (Alyson Books, 2007) and was republished in Coming Together: At Last, Vol. 2 (Phaze Books, 2009)

Available in a variety of electronic formats

Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

Things to read! And some are free!

I’m traveling again (or is it still?) and will be traveling for most of the month (now it’s GA, visiting my sister; then it’s 11 days in Oregon for a workshop; then the IBR finish and Labyrinth of Jareth)…so I apologize for my not being here much. And for the fact that this is kind of turning into a writing/publications blog.

I will do better, I promise. I have lots of things I want to write about, when I can scrape together the time! (The fiction has to come first.)

In the meantime, some groovy publishing news:

First, Sweet Confessions: Erotic Fantasies for Couples is now available for pre-order! Alison Tyler is giving away a copy, if you want to mosey on over to her blog and make a bid for it.

Sweet Confessions contains my story “New Day, New Life,” about a woman recovering from an illness and wanting to experience life to the fullest. It also has a Sophie Mouette story, “Sacred Places,” about a couple discovering a shared dark fantasy.

It’s edited by the venerable Violet Blue, and may be spotlighted on an OWN network show (!!), and has a slew of wonderful authors, so…. It comes out next month, but you can preorder it now.

Next, I wanted to let all you Kindle users know about two free short stories I have up on Amazon for your enjoyment.

“What Dragons Prefer” is a humorous fantasy story, written as Dayle A. Dermatis:

A dragon slayer arrives to rescue a threatened town, but the real threat and the dragon’s true desires are not necessarily one and the same.

The story first appeared in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine, Fall 1994; and republished in Dragons: A Celebration of the Greatest of Mythical Creatures, January 1996.

“From Bitter to Sweet” is a literary erotica story (nothing terribly explicit in it), written as Andrea Dale:

An erotic lesbian short-short story about breakups, new love, and chocolate. Go ahead—savor it. Let it melt on your tongue…. The story
originally appeared in Got a Minute? 60 Second Erotica (Cleis Press, 2007)

Both of these are short-shorts, and really too short for me to charge for them—but the downside is, even though they’re labeled as such, reviewers are complaining that they’re, you guessed it, too short! So, y’know, if you like them, it would please me greatly if you posted a nice review. That’s always better payment to me than money!

(My mom and my sister are both still asleep, so I’m gonna get back to work now!)

Paranormal erotic romance - and it's funny, too!

"In a Handbasket"

When the demons set their sights on underwear model Sam Hanes, demon hunter Delia Vance comes to his rescue. But the only thing burning hotter than hell is the attraction Delia and Sam feel for each other…. A scorchingly sexy, hellaciously humorous short story.

Available in a variety of electronic formats

Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

My morning so far

My morning so far:

1 am

set alarm for 7:30 am to take cats to vet. ugh.

7:30 am

alarm goes off

7:31 am

look across room. why does Ken’s clock say 6:31?

7:32 am

go to office, determine from cell phone that it reallly is 6:32 am

6:33 am

WTF happened to my alarm clock? reset time/alarm

7:09 am

give up trying to go back to sleep

The next 20 minutes consist of failing to give Eostre her first pill, losing her second pill, eating a hard-boiled egg, getting dressed, getting out the cat boxes, spraying the cat boxes with Feliway, and saying to Ken “I’ll pull the car around.”

The next 10 minutes consist of the cats wailing in their boxes while we scour the house, garage, and even the recycling bin outside for the car keys. (Ken swears the backup key is in the garage, which I interpret as “Well, hell, we’ll never see that again.”) Inexplicably find keys in the basket I use to carry stuff around the house in, even though Ken was the last one to use the keys when he unloaded the car after our Costco run yesterday. Suspect the cats hid them.

8:15 am

return home to empty house

I’m never comfortable when the cats are left at the vet. I suspect there isn’t enough tea in the world to get me through today….

The end of the world as we know it...

"Famous Last Words"

You think you’re panicking about the e-book revolution? How do you think the print books feel? A funny short story about the end of the publishing world as we know it….

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

Sweetly confessing two new story sales!

I’m thrilled to announce two new sales—well, a sale and a half, really—to the über-legendary Violet Blue!

“New Day, New Life” (as Andrea Dale) and “Sacred Places” (as Sophie Mouette, written with Teresa Noelle Roberts) will both appear in Sweet Confessions: Erotic Fantasies for Couples in July 2011!

Interestingly, both stories involve travel, couples out of their natural environment and being more adventurous than they would be at home.

“New Day, New Life,” opens on the Charles Bridge in Prague, with the protagonists watching a mostly naked go-go dancer in the window of a nightclub. That part of the story is taken from real life…!

“Sacred Places” takes place in Britain, mostly in a ruined monastery. I don’t remember if Teresa and discussed exactly where, but in my mind it’s a combination of Tintern Abbey and Llanthony Priory, both sites we’ve been to together. (At this rate, I should be able to write my entire time in Britain off on taxes, given how many stories I’ve set there!)

Sweet Confessions: Erotic Fantasies for Couples is available for preorder. Enjoy!

Happy. Really, just happy.

I’m feeling very blessed right now, very grateful for all I have in my life.

Oh, it’s not perfect, of course. I just deleted a paragraph about what’s not good, what’s weighing on me, things I need to improve and things that are out of my control. That’s not what this post is about.

Here’s what the past few weeks have brought me:

• A hugely beneficial workshop on the beautiful Oregon Coast, giving me more tools I need to succeed in the business I truly love. It’s never been a better time to be a writer!
• A car trip to AZ and NM and back with an utterly wonderful man who inspires me and challenges me and makes me laugh. It’s easy to take people for granted, especially when you’re close to them. The trip, and watching Ken with other people, reminded me just how amazing he is.
• For that matter, travel. I love seeing new places, experiencing new things. One day we went to a ghost town and by the end of it, I had so many bits and pieces and shiny gems and copper pennies that will someday gel into a story. Or maybe a series of stories. Possibly with Mopsy Rothschild as the protagonist.
• Front row at a Styx concert (pictures to come). Sure, it involved being the only three people in line for hours, but it was worth it. (Hanging out with Sara any time is worth it!) I’m grateful to have the money and time to be able to hit my 110^th show, and also to know that the band appreciates my presence. Plus there’s nothing like walking out of one’s hotel room, looking over the railing, and seeing the crew and a few band members in the parking lot below tossing a football back and forth…. Styx’s music has brought me through the bad times, and still does.
• Friends. Oh, the friends! Sara, who seems to be my twin in so many ways—okay, I’m going to complain here only to whine why can’t she live closer, dammit?! Vicki-Marie (crap, she lives in Paris, so my whining just got a lot louder), with her whip-sharp mind that makes me feel smarter just talking with her, and her delightful laugh that makes my heart sing.
• Tea at St. James Tearoom with Ken and Vicki-Marie and V-M’s Tony and Pati and her husband Chris. (Pati also goes in that friends category, and the writer category I haven’t even gotten to yet!) They put us, appropriately enough, in the room inspired by the Bird and Baby pub where the Inklings (Tolkien, Lewis, etc.) met—how appropriate for Pati and I! And then today, tea at Fresh & Fabulous with an amazing group of local writers—Christine, Kim, Sheila, Tanya, and I were there for two and half hours, talking and laughing about writing and everything else, for that matter.
• An incredible access to incredible story: books, TV, music, friends’ tales and anecdotes, and more. Story fills my life, illuminates and illustrates all life. 

I think some of my joy comes from the diversity in my life and in myself. For example, at concerts, sure, I’m wearing a low-cut top and flirting with Lawrence (much to Ken’s amusement), but it’s a persona, and we all know it. I’m a fan, and I’m also a writer, a reader,  a traveler, a scholar, a friend, a wife, a lover, a seeker, a dreamer. And right now, I’m blessed and grateful that I have access to the things that allow me to be all that.

This is long and rambly and not as focused as I would like, and I wish I had more time to talk about every one of these things at length. But all that traveling means I really have to focus on work right now! In the past few days I’ve finished a CES story, started a copyediting job, designed a book cover, and prepped a story to go online. In the next few days, I have a novel to finish editing (and then another one to finish editing), short stories to write, copyediting to do, stories to prep for online, and, um…. ::checks To Do list::  Ooh, and a lot more! So I’m diving in! Whee!

More stories available!

I've been remiss in mentioning the latest stories that are available from Soul's Road Press! I've also been remiss in updating what we've been up to, including a trip to AZ (Styx!) and NM (Vicki-Marie! Pati! tea!) so these will have to suffice for now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Finding Perspective" (Andrea Dale)

Is there anything so depressing as being away from your lover on Valentine’s Day? But then she calls…and she has a surprise up her sleeve. A sweet, sexy, and unabashedly romantic lesbian Valentine’s Day story from a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“Finding Perspective” originally appeared in Ultimate Lesbian Erotica 2007 (Alyson Press, 2007)

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I Need a Man" (Andrea Dale)

An erotic lesbian love story about crossdressing, androgyny, and 80s New Wave music, by a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“I Need a Man” by Andrea Dale explores the fun you can have with your lover when trying new things.
— Examiner.com

“I Need a Man” originally appeared in Crossdressing: Erotic Stories (Cleis Press, 2007)

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

New cover

I'm working on a new cover—what do ya'll think? Is this a story you'd want to read?

One of those to-do list thingies again

Things to Do Today

• pack for trip
• pick up supplements
• mail package
• drive to AZ while answering email and generally getting caught up via my new iPad. Shiny! (Note: If I’m working, Ken will be driving. Really, people. Logic is your friend.)

Things to Do Tomorrow

• celebrate the Rapture at a Styx concert with Ken and Sara and her Helen

Things to Do After That

• drive to NM
• have joyous reunion with Vicki-Marie (funnels will be involved)
• have high tea with Ken and Vicki-Marie and her beau and Pati and maybe her husband
• work
• drive home while answering email and generally getting caught up
• sleep
• get up and start working again