Geschlecht mit Fremden

Ooh! Just got word that Sex With Strangers, containing the Sophie Mouette story "Behind the Masque," has sold to Germany!


I did the above translation via Babelfish; I have no idea if that's what the anthology will be called in Germany. Or if the story will be "Hinter der Maske," for that matter :-)

Another weekend

Saturday

Blessed Beltane!

We’re hosting a party tonight for a friend celebrating her divorce being final. Not the smartest move on my part, since I’ve been feeling under the weather and have a mass of deadlines starting to crash around me. But I love my friends, and that means I just can’t help myself when it comes to doing nice things for them!

It’s potluck, but I always believe in making sure there’s a good variety of food already available, so here’s what we’ve got:

• sloppy joes in the slow cooker
• coleslaw (I’ve developed a great non-mayo recipe with white balsamic vinegar and a hint of wasabi)
• French bread with spiced oil for dipping
• wasabi almonds, regular almonds, and pistachios
• chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies (dough made, I’ll start popping them in soon)

Unfortunately, between that and cleaning the lower half of the house, I’m knackered and have a vague headache forming. Sigh. I just hope enough people show up!

Sunday

Aftermath…

Party was a success. A bit small, but everyone seemed to have fun, and that’s what’s important. I’m really glad we made the sloppy joe’s, because they were the only main dish, and the slow cooker was scraped clean (but we have a pile of buns left). The coleslaw also mostly got eaten, which was nice; the last time I brought it to something, it didn’t get as much attention. For my part, I discovered that it tasted fantastic on my sloppy joe!

The wasabi almonds were startling to people who popped them in their mouths without realizing what they were. Morgana’s expression was priceless…

I was pretty much dead all day today, though. Dammit. I dealt with some e-mail, didn’t quite finish The Oak Leaf (realized I had to go to the copy shop to have something scanned, but didn’t have the energy to actually go…), read for a bit, called my sister to wish her a happy birthday. Then, after dinner (burgers, made out of cow rather than turkey, because red meat is what I need in my current physical condition), I finally started to perk up, and ended up in the living room where I wrote 1K on the CES story and worked on an editing proposal while Ken napped.

We roused ourselves long enough to give the cats subcu fluids, and Ken crashed and I’m still working…which is probably not the best idea, given the hour. Someday I’ll learn to just stop scheduling anything before noon, and accept the fact that I work best between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Today is not that day, so I’m off… G’night!

Reading: Finalists for the LAMBDA Literary Awards

I'm delighted to announce that I have stories in not one, but two anthologies that are finalists in the LAMBDA awards! Both Lesbian Cowboys: Erotic Adventures (containing my story "Queens Up") and Where the Girls Are: Urban Lesbian Erotica (containing my story "Come to My Window") are nominated in the Lesbian Erotica category.
The award ceremony itself will take place in NYC at the end of this month, but before that, there will be West Coast reading at Skylight Books. I'm thrilled to have been asked to be a part of the reading. If you're in the area, please considering stopping by:
Monday, May 10 7:30 p.m.
Skylight Books 1818 N. Vermont Avenue Los Angeles, California 90027 Google Maps link
“The first Lambda Literary Awards were presented at a black-tie gala ceremony in 1989. Every year since then they have been awarded to the finest lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans literature available in the United States. The “Lammy” is the most prestigious, competitive, and comprehensive literary award offered specifically to LGBT authors. For more than two decades the Lambda Literary Awards has brought attention to and honored exceptional writing about queer lives across multiple genres published by large and small presses. If a book has a gold sticker saying ‘Winner of the Lambda Literary Award’ on its cover, you know it is both brilliantly written and a meaningful examination of the LGBTQ experience.”

On rejection

Giving up is not an option:

30 famous authors whose works were rejected (repeatedly, and sometimes rudely) by publishers

(Thanks to my friend and lovely author Pati Nagle for the link!)

Help Circlet Press and get lots of e-books!

[Additional note from Dayle: One of the e-books, Like a Mask Removed 2, contains the Sophie Mouette story "Pow! Bash! Yes, Yes!"]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cecilia Tan, (617) 290-9043

INDEPENDENT PRESS USING E-PUBLISHING TO SUPPORT PRINT EFFORTS

(CAMBRIDGE, MA) -- Circlet Press' online shopping cart may be down, but they are far from out.

Circlet's first printed book in over three years, Best Erotic Fantasy, is ready to be manufactured. Bookstores have ordered it and readers are clamoring for it. But cash flow is so slow, that paying the printer to fill the orders might take so long that bookstores interest could wane before they receive their orders.

Circlet is reaching out to readers for help by starting a group called the Circlet 100. They are seeking 100 readers who are interested in their brand of erotic science fiction and offering them a limited time CD-ROM packaging 20 of their ebooks, a retail value of $128, for only $50. It's a fundraiser, but it's not a "donation." It's an opportunity to make a one-time purchase that will make a huge difference in this small press's bottom line. 

Readers who want even more can also get the Deluxe version of the CD which includes not only all 20 ebook anthologies, but also seven single-author titles, among them: Faewolf, Alpha, Robotica, and Edge-Plays, as well as receive a special "Circlet 100" T-Shirt. Total Retail value, $187.73. The shipping is included.

It's not the first time Circlet has done a fund drive. Best Fantastic Erotica, printed and publishing in 2006, was funded with an "NPR" style underwriting campaign, where readers could buy a thank you or a message in the book, similar to the "buy a brick" campaigns for new buildings. Since then, the company has been publishing mostly in the ebook realm, building up a healthy library of electronic titles.

Founder and editorial director Cecilia Tan came up with the idea for the Circlet 100. "We are still committed to the printed book as a medium," she explains, "but it can be such a big hit financially to go to press. I believe there are enough readers out there, though, who want both ebooks and print books who will take us up on this amazing ebook sale offer and know that they are doing something good for the print side as well."

The fundraising effort can be tracked at Circlet.com where a real-time graph, provided by ChipIn.com, shows how close to the $5,000 goal the collections have reached. To see the progress or chip in yourself, visit Circlet Press.

For more information:
Cecilia Tan
(617) 290-9043
ctan.circletpress@gmail.com

How sweet it is

Another great review of The Sweetest Kiss: Ravishing Vampire Erotica, this one from The New York Journal of Books! (My story is "Devouring Heart," and there are fantastic stories from many other wonderful writers.)

When it rains, it pours…

…and you know how much I love dancing in the rain!

So after I turned off the alarm this morning, I dozed off again (I hadn’t slept well), and as I came out of that doze, I started thinking about the various projects I’m working on.

I have a mystery short story due at the end of the month, and I think I finally have an actual idea for it, so I do want to get that off my plate. Then I’ve got requested revisions from editors for OOTFP and WtW, and I’m waiting to hear from Teresa on the former… And I thought about how I did a push to get a bunch of short stories done a while back, and now maybe I should do a novel push, and get both of those edits done, and then get proposal packages written and submitted (with the accompanying editor research) for What Beck’ning Ghost (an older novel I want to send out into the world again; it does need some minor tweaks, but nobody’s going to ask to see more unless I start submitting it) and Seasoned With Danger (a new novel, two chapters and proposal already written).

That seemed like a good plan. And you know what they say about plans, don’t you?

“And then [Robbie Burns] must have turned his attention to the other animal mentioned in that line of poetry. If you think back to it, ‘The best laid plans of mice and men…’ Exactly which mice plans was he really honing in here on? The best laid ones go aglae, some of the worse laid ones are okay? Some of them get through? He was fucking off his trolley.” (Eddie Izzard)

Because this is what was in my In Box this morning:

• an e-mail from Teresa answering the questions about OOTFP, which means that bumped up to the top of the queue (next to the short story)
• a Custom Erotica Source assignment for a novella (wooh!)
• a short story request (“Thank you for sending story A to anthology X. Submissions for anthology Z are thin, by the way, if you’re interested…”)
• an e-mail asking if I would read from my nominated titles at the Lammy (Lambda Literary Awards) Finalists reading at Skylight Books in Hollywood on May 10. I have stories in Lesbian Cowboys and Where the Girls Are, both nominated in the Lesbian Erotica category. How cool is that?! Of course I said yes.  :-)  I hope I get to read “Queens Up” from Lesbian Cowboys, because it’s so much fun to read aloud. I’ll send an official announcement about that (time, address, etc.) once I know more.

So now the top priorities are (not necessarily in order)…

• the mystery story
• OOTFP
• researching/sketching out the CES assignment
• writing the CES assignment
• WtW (once OOTFP is back to Teresa)

You know what, though? I’m totally jazzed. Bring it on!

Sexy as sin

Although technically I haven’t “sold” a story until the check is in my hot little hands (or the payment is in my hot little Paypal account), I usually can’t contain myself by the time the countersigned contract arrives. So now I shall burble: I sold two stories to Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Orgasmic: Erotica for Women!

Look at that cover. Isn’t she sexy as sin?

Both of my stories were essentially written by request. I’d submitted one story, and then Rachel put out a call that she needed a pregnancy story and an anal story. Oddly enough, I already had the first couple pages of a pregnancy story (yes, I know, me?! That’s why they call it “making stuff up.”), so I finished it and fired it off to her, and then wrote an anal story, and she accepted both of those and rejected the initial story that I’d sent.

This amuses me to no end.

Anyway, the book is available for pre-order at many fine establishments (Amazon, Powells, B&N, etc.) and is due out August 1, 2010.

(Good Lord and Lady, but promo takes time. I’m posting this here, adding the stories to my website, downloading the cover, uploading the cover to Flickr, adding the cover to iPhoto, adding the cover to Facebook, adding the cover here, and e-mailing my web goddess to ask her to add a new bibliography section for my Kendra Wayne pseudonym. Phew! And to think I have writing to do, too!)

The long dark tea-time of the soul

Went to the LARA meeting today, where I saw many wonderful people and managed to win 3 books for $1. (A Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliasotti and two Jenny Crusie’s I don’t think I have. If I do, I’ll pass the extra copies along. Actually, I think I haven’t even read one of them. A travesty!)

Afterwards, Christine and I went out for lunch at Versailles, and I am now oozing garlic from every pore. Alas, poor vampires.

And now? Well, I should get some work done. And convince Ken to stop working in the garage so we can go grocery shopping. We’re out of milk, and half-and-half tastes weird in tea to me. But (a) he’s working in the garage, which means I might be able to park my car in there this year,* and (b) he already did put together the slow cooker meal for tonight (chicken thighs and canned artichoke hearts and a few other things. New recipe. Smells good so far).

Okey-doke. Onwards!

*To save money, he cancelled his storage shed and put all his work stuff in the garage before the garage was cleaned out to the extent that his work stuff—which involves pieces of room-sized machines—would fit along with my car and two motorcycles and a bunch of woodworking equipment.

---

Currently Reading: The Little Sister, Sarah Waters

Lately Listened To: The Best of Both Worlds (Fish disc), Marillion

Recently Watched: Doctor Who

Attention local writers!

What: Warrior Writer Workshop
When: May 15, 2010
Who: National Bestselling Author, Bob Mayer
Where: Beverly Garlands Holiday Inn at Universal Studio Hollywood

Workshop: Based on Who Dares Wins: The Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear and Succeed, Bob Mayer teaches a unique and innovative workshop focused on educating writers on how to be successful authors in all aspects of publishing. Warrior Writer is a holistic approach that integrates the artist's creativity with the business savvy needed to succeed in publishing. The workshop is a nine-step plan that will provide the tools for writers of all levels to become the most successful authors each can be.

Bio: NY Times bestselling author Bob Mayer has 40 books published. He has over three million books in print and is in demand as a team-building, life-change, and leadership speaker and consultant.

Cost: IF PAID BY APRIL 18th! (Early bird Pricing EXTENDED!)
$75 for LARA members
$80 for OCC, EVA & San Diego RWA members
$85 for RWA members
$95 for Non-members

For more information and to register for LARA workshop please go to http://www.lararwa.com/workshop. html

Bonus Workshop: For a select few who sign up (limited to 12 participants) Bob will also offer his Warrior Writer A-Team Workshop on Sunday, May 16, 2010. This workshop will utilize the principles of Warrior Writer and The Novel Writers Toolkit and will be focused on both the participants writing as well as their business model. To learn more and to register go to: http://www.bobmayer.org/index. php?id=6

If you have any questions, please contact Tammi Flora at programming@ lararwa.com

A good life

Oh, so much goodness over the past few days!

Monday night was my birthday dinner. Not only were there wonderful people there (including Lareej, who was working a show that night and couldn’t stay, but drove all the way from Ventura to give me a hug and sit for a few minutes before dashing back), but there was suuuushi and, as I posted earlier, a dessert made out of Stitch’s head.

And there were prezzies, like an acorn teapot (thank you, Tomi!) and a Wendy Froud book and chocolate/rose love potion scrub (thank you, Morgana and Brian!) and booze (thank you, Mattea and Robey and Albra!), and handmade cards (thank you, Egan!) and a writing book (thank you, Erica!).

The next day, Ken and I went to the LA Zoo, which I’d never been to before. People, it is huge. Enormous. I had no idea. My back was killing me by the end of the afternoon! (It was uphill both ways, don’t’cha know.) But oh, there were otters and birds of prey (Russian eagles!) and tigers and lions and ocelots and jaguars and…! Although, despite what the map said, there were no slow lorises. They’re doing a lot of construction there right now and some of the displays have been moved around, so it’s possible the slow lorises are on hiatus….

I pondered and pondered what kind of food I wanted for dinner, since traffic was going to be horrible and we figured it would be best to top somewhere on our way home. Finally I decided Greek, and my handy dandy iPhone map program found me a great little Mediterranean place, and lo, it was good.

The only minor thing that marred my birthday is that Styx’s website has been revamped and even though I’m still a Lounge member, I didn’t get my annual birthday e-mail from the boys. It always made me squee quietly. Oh, I knew full well it was automated and the band had no knowledge of it, but a girl can always fantasize. I have a very rich fantasy life (for which they pay me, I might point out).

Wednesday and Thursday were mostly work days. I’ve been steadily productive, getting a work e-mail account set up, getting the rest of my books into my Amazon store (if you buy my work directly from there, I get a teeny tiny amount of money), that sort of thing.

On Friday Ken dropped me off at Borders in Thousand Oaks so I could meet up with Christine! whom I hadn’t seen in six months! for a writing day. Well, it was mostly a catching-up day for us, but that’s okay, too. We talked life and writing and more writing and plans (we want to jointly apply to Soapstone) and all manner of things. And she, bless her, brought me Yule and birthday presents (I had for her only a birthday present): a plaque, a pair of earrings of hers that I’d coveted and she says she never wears (copper crescent moons with silver spirals) and a tea infuser and a mug with a tea infuser insert.

The latter made me decide that my afternoon tea each day should be something interesting and different. I’ll do PG Tips for breakfast, but I’m going to really enjoy and savor my afternoon tea. I have loose leaf teas and white teas and who knows what else, and I want to be drinking them! Today I had Glengettie.

Anyway, after lunch Christine had to leave, and I hung out at Borders for another couple hours, working. I pitched some editing ideas (phone confab on Wednesday! fingers crossed!), submitted some reprints to audio and/or online markets, read the first three chapters of Heat Wave (the Castle book. Okay, that wasn’t exactly “working”…!), and started re-reading Out of the Frying Pan because Teresa and I have to get that back out, and the delay is entirely on my lap right now. Time to pull my weight.

Eventually I pinged Ken and he came to get me. He’d dropped me off because he needed the car to help Morgana’s mother move stuff from her house to her new apartment, because he is The Awesome. Upon realizing that we hadn’t, in fact, remembered to shop for food and had, in fact, eaten all our leftovers, we made salad and ordered a pizza. Damn Pizza Hut’s $10 Any Pizza deal! But I ate only two slices while we curled up and watched TV.

Oh, and waiting for me at home were two exciting things! The brand-new Return of the Strange Animal remastered CD/DVD package arrived in the mail! Mmmm, vintage Gowan goodness! And my birthday present from Ken (which had been delayed in the mail): the Castle book! I howled when I saw it.

So, this morning I checked e-mail and discovered our friend Lev from Portland was going to be performing with his Morris side (team) at Heritage Square, just a few blocks away. (I knew he was going to be in town for a Morris Ale, but hadn’t gotten the local performance detail until just then!) So we took a jaunt over there, enjoyed the performances, and on the way back wandered through the park, where they were having an Earth Day celebration. Picked up a map of bike trails in the area, yay!

I’d thrown in the fixings for potato leek soup into the slow cooker this morning, and the house smelled so good today. Over a week ago at the farmer’s market, I’d bought leeks on a whim, with the idea that we’d learn how to cook something new. After perusing various recipe sites online, it became clear to us that leeks are mostly good for potato leek soup. Live and learn! So we had sandwiches and soup for supper, and the soup was as good as it smelled. Definitely a keeper.

Meanwhile, Ken crawled around under the house looking at wiring, because he’s figured out how to make our fabby office-sized laser printer (aka The Behemouth) work here. It runs on 240 (British) power (wattage? I have no idea) as opposed to American 120 power, and I just typed up a long explanation that nobody would be interested in, so suffice to say he can run a cord under the house and the printer will work in my study downstairs, meaning we’ll be able to print double-sided and 11x17 and all that groovy stuff that makes geeks like us salivate. It’s especially good because I have a bunch of novel partials to get in the mail. Soon…! I didn’t marry Ken for his engineering degree, but damned if he doesn’t impress me on a regular basis. :-)

Tonight we went out to see Alice in Wonderland with Morgana and Brian, and then the two of us dashed off to the cheap theatre to see the only—and very late—showing of Sherlock Holmes, both of which I really wanted to see on the big screen, and both of which I adored, although for different reasons. (Alice for the visuals and the actors; SH for the plotting, the setting/costuming, and Robert Downey Jr.; and both for the humor.)

And now it is well past time for sleep…

Let the voting begin again!

Almost forgot to spread the word on this one!

I have another story snippet/flash fiction/whatever as part of a contest at Alison Tyler’s website. As with the last one, I don’t want to say which one’s mine, because I’m not asking you to vote for me. I want you to vote for your favorite story without prejudice. (Of course, I want my story to be your favorite! But because it’s your favorite, not because I wrote it.)

That said, astute readers of mine will be able to guess which story is mine, because it’s a prequel of sorts to “On Tour” (which appeared in Sex on the Move). “On Tour” is kind of the first chapter of a novel I say I’m Going to Write Someday™, and thus my story “Party Favor” (which appeared in Dirty Girls) is sort of a later chapter. Kinda.

Note: Alison’s site is NSFW, and several of the snippets are pretty intense and may not be to your taste. Or, who knows, maybe they will be? Just consider yourself warned and don’t blame me for the consequences! ;-)

Birthday treat!

What the sushi restaurant brought me for dessert. It looks like Stitch from Lilo & Stitch! Plus plum and green tea ice cream, and mochi!

Birthday week!

Friday, I was productive and accomplished the following:

• added more books into my Amazon store. This is going to take a while—there are a lot of them… I did all the fantasy and Andrea Dale stories; I still have Sophie Mouette and Sarah Dale to add. I’m changing all the links on my website bibliography, which is why it takes a bit longer.
• filed the serial numbers off an unsold WFH story for a possible submission to the Music for Another World anthology, and sent it to a couple of first readers to see if it still hangs together.
• ran errands: dry cleaner, pharmacy, grocery.
• dealt with more Kingdom Chronicler stuff.
• laundered, but didn’t yet put away, my thrift store purchases.

Saturday, we were at King’s Hunt, and it was windy and chilly but lovely to hang out with friends old and new.

Sunday, we tidied the sewing room, I did some hand work (made a finger-crochet cord for one of Ken’s shirts, and tacked down some hooks-and-eyes) and dealt with some e-mail, and we curled up and caught up on lots of TV. Mmm, nice mellow day.

Today, my goals are thus:

Writing

• write Cleis editing proposal and mail.
• write library essay.
• apply for more freelance jobs.
• start Waking the Witch print submissions.

SCA

• catch up on all Kingdom Chronicler correspondence.

Other

• continue cleaning off desk.
• do more laundry. Argh.
• put away all clothes.
• other e-mail. Would be nice to clean out my In Box, really.
• maybe some sewing? I bought tablecloths to turn into kitchen curtains as well as dish towels—or there may even be enough for a table runner—and I’d love to start working on that! But I suspect there won’t be time.

Plus, it’s my birthday dinner tonight!* Hurrah—birthday sushi! (I actually dreamed about sushi last night; guess I’m excited! Even if I’d’ve preferred to go to Cho Cho San rather than Genmai. Both have non-sushi options for the non-sushi/non-fish eaters, but Genmai was closer for most folks, and I’m all about making my birthday celebration amenable to as many of my friends as possible!)

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*For those not in the know, my actual birthday is tomorrow—but tomorrow night is Textile Guild, and I didn't want to conflict with that. Because, again, I want to make my celebration as enjoyable and easy for the maximim number of friends!

Seismic waves

Yup. This was me during the earthquake today…

It's here!

Sweet Love: Erotic Fantasies for Couples is here! And it's so pretty!

Featuring stories by me, Teresa, Kristina Wright, Alison Tyler, DL King, Janine Ashbless, as well as other authors I don't know but love to read stories by!

My story, "Storming the Castle," was inspired by Pencoed Castle in Wales—yes, it was saved from being turned into a theme park by the presence of rare bats. Ideas are everywhere!

Editor Violet Blue says in her intro, "Andrea Dale's 'Storming the Castle,' while lighthearted, does not disappoint for explicit sex, public risk and sexual fantasy, and pure storytelling."

"Pure storytelling." ::beams::

Things to Do Today

(It amuses me to do these types of posts occasionally. Do you enjoy reading them, or do they bore you to tears?)

My mom is safely home after her red-eye flight last night, so now it's time for me to get back to work, as well as get the house back in order and fall into the regular productive routines again. I’ve got tons of things to do, but if I make my To Do list too long, I’ll despair and end up playing Sporcle games instead of working. So today’s list is stuff I feel is do-able in the time allotted.

Check back later to follow my progress!

Midnight Update: Well, I'm quite chuffed with how much I accomplished today.

Writing

• finish and submit story to Best Lesbian Romance 2011. DONE (I discovered I did, in fact, have a reprint that fit the guidelines, hurrah!)
• get Virgin contract letters signed and in the mail to my fabby coauthors, which will allow Cat Scratch Fever and A Little Night Music to be sold as e-books. DONE
• update deadlines list. DONE
• update website DONE

SCA

• finish April issue of The Oak Leaf, have Ken proofread it, upload it, etc. DONE
• finish reading March issues of other newsletters. DONE
• catch up on all Kingdom Chronicler correspondence.

Other

• go to farmer’s market. DONE (We now have food for dinner tonight, the event on Saturday, and dinner Sunday, as well as veg for later in the week.)
• clean off desk. Partly Done
• wash clothes purchased at thrift stores, put away all clothes.
• curl up with Ken and catch up on some TV and/or movies. DONE (We watched Bones and part of Behind the Music Remastered about Heart. I really want to catch up on Lost, though!)

In which I discover my true superpower

It is not fair that when I go shopping with my mother, only I end up buying things. I don’t like shopping. At all. (Today I discovered my superpower: Texting while shuffling after my mom as she browses through racks of clothing. Srsly. Dudes.)

Yet Sunday, I came home with four skirts, a raincoat, a straw tea hat, and fabric for kitchen curtains and matching dish towels (I think the two pieces of fabric began life as table cloths, but fear my sewing skills!). Today? Three shirts and a wok at Ross. And then I felt a very great urge to lie down. (I came home and had a cuppa, which is almost the same thing.)

Meanwhile, the Santa Anas have been blowing, and I think I must be allergic to something they’re blowing at me, not to mention my hands feel like mummy hands because all the moisture is being sucked out of them. They say it will rain tomorrow, and if it does, that chorus of angelic voices you hear will be coming from my throat.

Now, if I could only a game of Fluxx against these people in my house, things would be just fine.

No, really, still alive

No, I haven’t fallen off a cliff. I just haven’t had time to sit down in front of the computer…

The weekend of the 19th through 21st, we were at our Shire’s annual event, Black Oak Lodge. We went up early on Friday to help with set-up, stayed for tear-down, and got home Sunday afternoon. If I had time to wax rhapsodic about how lovely the weekend was, was a great event it was, and how important this event and the site are to me, I would. For now, I don’t.

Monday was spent frantically trying to catch up on things, punctuated in the late afternoon by Ken’s need to go to the Urgicare place. If I had time to relate that long story, I would. He’s fine, and if you want the details, ask him.

Tuesday we headed north to Monterey (stopping at the Black Oak Lodge site on the way to retrieve some Shire effects that had been left behind). My sister Donna moved there in August and we still hadn’t visited, plus my mom had flown there the week before. We walked on the beach, had paella and very early birthday cake for me for dinner, and then I introduced them to the madness that is Fluxx. Mwahaha.

Wednesday we went to the Aquarium, and all I have to say about that is baby otter!!! and leafy sea dragon socks!!! because the rest pales in comparison. We also visited the animal shelter my sister and niece volunteer at (and I didn’t come home with all the cats, so be impressed), had a picnic on the coast, and poked around some tide pools and saw a purple crab.

Thursday we packed my mom into the car and headed back home along the coast. Stunningly beautiful day. We ate at our favorite Mexican place in San Simeon.

Friday my mom and I met another writer at CB&TL for a session, and that night we went to the Shire’s quarterly birthday dinner at a Mongolian BBQ. Ken stayed home because our friends Ernie and Pauline from Portland were due in on their motorcycle, and were arriving later than expected. So that was a late evening.

Saturday we introduced my mom to sushi at Cho Cho San (Rock and Roll hand roll nomnomnom) and continued south to have dinner at Ken’s mom’s, so we got home late that night, too.

Today we checked out a gated senior community with our friend Thomasina, stopped for Thai food for lunch, and then Thomi, Morgana, Mom, and I went thrift-store shopping. I came home with four skirts and one top, all of which may or may not really fit me, and a raincoat because I had none. We also stopped at Rosie Lee Imports, so I’m well stocked up on PG Tipps. We watched Dreamgirls after dinner, and now it’s annoyingly late and I have a chiro appt in the morning and then we’re going to have lunch with Ken’s dad and wife at Versailles.

Tuesday is another writing session (and none too soon, because I am cranky for the lack of it, plus I have deadlines looming like large murderous looming things) and then we’ll hit the Camarillo outlet mall. Tuesday evening and Wednesday are currently up in the air, and them Mom leaves at about midnight Wednesday.

Thursday and Friday will be heads-down working, finishing up any stories for deadlines, finishing the April issue of The Oak Leaf (Shire newsletter), catching up on Kingdom Chronicler stuff and e-mail and whatnot, tidying the sewing room, and prepping for King’s Hunt on Saturday.

Meanwhile, I’m astonishingly far behind, and unlikely to catch up on, Facebook and Twitter, so if anything important is happening, please let me know!

More whenever I resurface again…

Not that I needed anybody...

...to tell me it was okay to love Styx!