Who can resist a Labor Day sale?

Phaze Books, which published some of the Coming Together anthologies I've contributed to, is having a sale this weekend. If nothing else, please consider buying one of the Coming Together volumes, as all the money goes to charity (a different charity for each book):

Coming Together: Against the Odds containing "Always a Bridesmaid" (benefits Autism Speaks)

Coming Together: At Last containing "Just Be" (benefits Amnesty International)

Also, my fabby coauthor Teresa Noelle Roberts has several novellas available at Phaze as well. So stock up during this great sale! Buy, buy, buy ::advertising voice echoes away::

Top Ten Podium Finish BooYEAH!

9th place 9th place 9th place That's what I'm talking about!

::shakin' the pompoms::

(You can congratulate him at ken.meese AT mac.com, or text him. It'll mean the world to him!)

Trying to keep up

IBR Update: This man is going to be the death of me.

Yesterday morning, he got a new back tire in Winnipeg (having already gone through the back tire he put on in Santa Ana on Sunday) and headed west through Canada. He was feeling great; he was ahead of schedule and felt like he had a strong route.

Around 5:30 p.m., I’d noticed on his tracking page that he hadn’t moved recently. He’d sort of been pinging around in the same area. I thought maybe he’d been to a bonus location and then gotten food or ran some errands. I figured once I finished whatever I was working on, I’d give him a call…but he called me. When I asked him how he was, he sounded resigned when he said “Not good.”

The bike was broken. He was pretty sure it was the drive shaft. (To which I replied, “So you don’t want me singing ‘You All Everybody’ anytime soon?”) The nearest dealer was back in Winnepeg. He was looking at buying a cheap bike to finish the rally, although it would mean he’d get only 50% of his total points for switching bikes partway through.

I was devastated. He sounded like he was handling it better than I was!

About four hours later, he called again. He’d ended up borrowing a bike from the friend of a guy who’d stopped to help him (renting it, really, for a fee, plus he was leaving his bike there) and had started back on his way. About 20 km out of town, however, he started second-guessing himself. Maybe it had to do with the shifter (I think), which had broken several times recently. (Don’t quote me on this; I don’t understand any of it!)

So he went back. One of the guys had tools in his truck. The bolted the shifter back on (or whatever), and Ken turned back around and headed out again.

He won’t be able to hit about 10,000 points worth of bonuses, but he’ll still make a solid finish and be able to claim 100% of his points.

I’m en route to Spokane now (LAX to SLC to GEG), but he probably won’t arrive until the wee hours. I don’t believe SLC has wireless access, so I expect I won’t be able to check his progress ‘til I get to the hotel.

Of course, I won’t be able to post this until then, either…

~ ~ ~

Written at LAX: Ha ha ha! They finished cleaning the first class cabin so they said those people could board. Of course other people rushed up there, and now they’re standing there looking like the goobers they are.

~ ~ ~

The plane has individual screens and there are even game options! I’m playing a trivia game. I’m currently winning. I guess well. :-) I also lied about my name. For the purposes of this flight, I’m Loreli (there wasn’t room for the final “e”).

~ ~ ~

Free wifi in SLC, FTW! And a plug. I’m very impressed with this airport. Which leads me to…

~ ~ ~

IBR Update: He’s heading south out of Edmonton, BC, which is about 11 hours from Spokane. So, yeah, wee hours.

It's a mystery

So, last night someone called me twice. Normally I don’t answer if the person’s not in my phone, but I was waiting around for Ken to finish changing the tires on his bike so I could head home (as I was taking the old tires with me). I didn’t really register where the number was from.

Both calls sounded like they were coming from concerts. It’s a silly ritual we have: if someone isn’t at a Styx show, someone there calls them, ideally during their favorite song. (It’s funny when I’m at a show on the East Coast and have to call a million people I normally go to shows with!) The first call was a little longer, but I still couldn’t quite make out the song. It got cut off, and a moment later the same person called again. I couldn’t make out that one, either, before it was cut off.

Then I noticed that it had been an Oxnard number. I don’t know anyone in Oxnard who might’ve gone to any shows, Styx or not. Reverse lookup only tells me that it was a cell phone.

Was it you? Did you call me? Where were you calling me from? ‘Fess up!

If it's Saturday, we must be in...?

IBR Update: Well, crap. Both of Ken’s GPSs have crapped out. On one, the touch screen really wasn’t working already, but he used it as a backup/rerouting machine while the other had his main planned route with all the bonus locations he planned to hit. The latter one apparently went kablooey. So he bought a cheap one at Walmart. The upshot is that he’ll have to plan a route and stick to it, as opposed to making some changes/new decisions based on how things are progressing. Which, alas, is where he really shines.

~ ~ ~

The other day the clerk in Trader Joe’s asked me if I had any plans for the weekend. I stared at him blankly. What is this “weekend” you speak of? I work most days, taking days off when something specific is happening. The fact is, today is the first day all week that I have had things hard scheduled (other than Textile Guild on Tuesday night).

First I went to Elizabeth’s with a bunch of stuff for her to sell on eBay (I’ll be making garb for her son in exchange). Then I had a confab with Teresa. In a few minutes I’m off to the vet to pick up Eostre.

Then tomorrow is the IBR checkpoint in Santa Ana, and my only hope is that Ken arrives early enough that I can give him all his stuff (tires, food, etc.) and still get home before it gets dark. Originally I planned to stay the night at his mom’s if it got late, but it looks like I’ll need to be home to give Eostre subcu fluids…

(Oh, and I still have a zombie eye)

So, on Wednesday night, Eostre apparently decided that the several thousand dollars we’ve spent on Grimoire this year* made her feel left out, and she made clear her need to visit the ER vet. Thankfully Morgana was home and free so I didn’t have to navigate the streets at night (which I would have done if I’d had to, but the stress of driving when I’m blinded by the halos of oncoming headlights and street lights on top of the stress of having a sick cat is less than optimal).

To keep the story short: Her creatine levels were elevated, indicating possible kidney disease, so they’ve been giving her subcu fluids and antibiotics and whatnot. The ultrasound of her kidneys came back normal (normal to the point of looking better than the kidneys of a cat her age should even look, because she is a mutant, I tell you), which means if it is kidney disease, we’ve caught it at the very beginning. As of today, they’ve confirmed she also has a urinary tract infection, poor thing, so they’re sorting that out as well. Hopefully she’ll be able to come home tomorrow (her creatine and other levels are going down, but they’d like to get them all the way down).

I visited her today, and she was delighted to see me; wouldn’t purr but demanded scritchies until the air was clouded with white fur. She’s been on a hunger strike, but she ate a bit when I asked her to, so that was good. The vets were somewhat amused by how adorable she was, because apparently when I’m not there, she turns into the Tasmanian Devil and attempts to claw people’s faces off. She can be a bit…feisty. :-)

So, I’m hoping it’s just an infection and not Chronic Renal Failure, but even if it is CRF, most cats can live comfortably for years under proper supervision. Which would probably mean that now each cat would be on his/her own separate expensive special food, and they’ll have to be separated at meal times. What joy.

~ ~ ~

Tuesday I toddled off to Textile Guild and worked on a couple of peplos and hemmed a linen hankie to embroider. I’ve been struck with the desire to finish a bunch of little handwork projects in various stages of completion, and that was especially nice when I was recovering from the food poisoning. (Relatively simple fiddly things to do with my hands while watching hours of TV.)

~ ~ ~

Yesterday was full of errands, some for things to bring Ken at the checkpoint on Sunday. However, bleah, it’s too hot to run errands. In fact, the heat is making me want to do nothing more than flop on the sofa and read, which is a problem when I have things like, oh, deadlines to deal with. Sigh.

Speaking of deadlines, now I must get back to work.

~ ~ ~

IBR Update: The first checkpoint was in St. Charles, IL, on Wednesday, and at that point Ken was in the 38th position (out of 101 riders). His extra fuel cell’s gauge has been a little wonky, and yesterday he ran out of gas 1.5 miles from the town he was planning to get gas in. Another rider he knows actually went into town to get him gas. (They’re pretty much expected to stop for one another if there’s an emergency, so it’s especially wonderful that this guy took precious time out of his rally schedule to help Ken. Hail chivalry!)

In fact, Ken says one of the nicest things about the IBR is the camaraderie. There’s something about riding along some random highway, he says, and seeing one of the other competitors—there’s a connection there, you know? Very cool.

----
*A few months of thinking he had cancer, then a little while of exploring pancreatitis and parathyroid problems and whatnot, to then conclude that he just was going to produce too much calcium and we had to give him subcutaneous fluids every other day or so, until he finally spontaneously just got better. On his own. Bastard. (She says affectionately.)

Too long to tweet

I keep thinking of things to update on Facebook and Twitter, but all of them are too long. Meanwhile, the journal languishes. If I only had a brain…

Okay, first the stuff that those of you not on Facebook and Twitter didn’t get.

Thursday night I decanted the herbal vinegars I made in July at our Herbal Guild meeting. One is a champagne vinegar infused with lemony things: lemon zest, lemon verbena, lemon thyme, that sort of thing. (I don’t have the recipes with me, and I know we were out of one ingredient but substituted another.) The other is a red wine vinegar infused with garlic, red peppers, cilantro, and I think green onions. That one is especially nice! Now I want to make Chinese food!

I also hung out with Morgana and saw their pictures from Faerieworlds. Sigh. I wish we could’ve gone, but at the same time, I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with the 100°+ temps.

I had the opportunity to hang out with Christine on Friday, and I couldn’t pass up that! We had lunch at Macaroni Grill, then worked at Barnes & Noble for a few hours. I did some research so I could finish up my proposal for Seasoned With Danger and got some work done on OOTFP.

That night our friend Lareej had an apartment-warming party; I got a ride with Morgana and Brian. Although her apartment is tiny, Lareej has amazing thrift-store fu as well as amazing decorating fu, and the place is lovely. She had masses of food, too (including a variety of cheeses she obtained after asking my advice, because lo, I am the Demigoddess of Cheese). Alas, we had to leave early, because we all had to get up early for Crown Tournament the next day. Lareej was riding with Ismay and Alexander (leaving at 5 a.m.), and I was originally going with them, but I ditched them to ride with Morgana and Thomasina (leaving at 7 a.m.). You can see why.

Crown was hot and muggy, but was worth the trip to be there when Alexander was invited to join the Order of the Pelican. We ended up ditching the event early because of the weather, though, and Alexander joined us for the ride home. We stopped at a dairy tourist trip that boasted a gazillion types of cheese as well as ice cream; in fact they had a few kinds of cheese (the sage cheddar was quite nice) and Dreyer’s ice cream, but the ice cream was worth it, really. We later stopped at Claim Jumper for dinner before heading home and collapsing.

Alas, it was not to be a good night for me. I ended up with a migraine (or at least a very bad headache; I can’t always tell the difference) and food poisoning. So I spent yesterday very quietly and gently watching movies and napping for the most part. My headache went away by early evening, but came back full force during the night. I went to the chiropractor today and she put me to rights; let’s just hope it was enough! She also worked on my middle back (which I strained during the yarking), commiserated with me over my demon eye (I burst blood vessels during the yarking), and helped me figure out the culprit of the food poisoning: the incredibly yummy salad from Macaroni Grill. Because, you see, it was spinach, and I’d tucked the leftovers in my computer bag while working with Christine at B&N, and then I’d taken it with me for lunch at Crown.

I’ve kept things pretty quiet today, but there was stuff I had to do, like clean the cat boxes and tidy the kitchen and whatnot, which has pretty much wiped me out. I’m planning an early night, perhaps after a nice hot bath. Maybe a little more TV and handwork projects (I’m in a finish-little-projects mode, which is nice.).

Well, it’s taken me several hours to write this, so I suppose I should post it and move on. But before I forget…

IBR Update: Ken just called (5 p.m.) to say he’s doing great and getting lots of points. :-) He’s in Florida, BTW. He has to be in Illinois on Wednesday…

---

Currently Reading: Flora Segunda, Ysabeau Wilce (just finished); The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney, Suzanne Harper (about to start)
Lately Listened To: Lullagoodbye, Taylor Mills
Recently Watched: Boston Legal; Hard to Hold

And so it begins!

IBR update: Ken's plotted his route and is getting a good night's sleep before tomorrow's start. Lots of pictures of him here.

I <3 my editor

Alison Tyler namechecks me in her blog: "And talk about Christmas in July. I mean, August. Whatever month it is, "The Queen of Christmas" by Andrea Dale gets me every fucking time." (Follow the link on her name to the blog entry in question, which includes an excerpt.)

[Warning: Her blog is utterly delectable, but NSFW. Unless you work in an incredibly nifty place.]

An open letter to the Universe

Dear Universe,

You have a sick sense of humor, getting me sick right before Ken leaves for three weeks.

But more importantly—no, pay attention here, I’m talking to you—if you get Ken sick while he’s on the rally, somebody will be in a world of hurt, and that world of hurt has your name on it.

I don’t know how I’m going to put you, Universe, in a world of hurt, but believe me, I’ll figure it out. I’m stubborn that way.

Thank you. That is all. Carry on.

Oops, I'm doing it again...

So, last month I had an absolute blast reading my story “Fanning the Flames” at In the Flesh: LA in Hollywood. So much so, In fact, that I’m doing it again…

See, well before last month’s reading, I agreed to be part of a reading tour for three anthologies, two of which I have stories in (and Teresa and I have a Sophie story in one of them as well). They intially didn’t plan to have the Los Angeles stop at Hustler Hollywood, but it just ended up shaking out that way, including being on the In the Flesh night. I’ll be reading part of my story “Queens Up” from Lesbian Cowboys: Erotic Adventures.

To add to the fun, In the Flesh always has a phone-in reader, and this time it's going to be my very own co-author and dear friend Teresa, reading our Sophie Mouette story "On Display" from Where the Girls Are: Urban Lesbian Erotica!

Here’s the info:

When: Wednesday, August 12, 8 p.m.

Where: Hustler Hollywood, 8920 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069, 310-860-9009

What: In the Flesh: LA is the West coast version of the acclaimed In The Flesh reading series founded by Rachel Kramer Bussel, and “features the city's best journalists, authors, scriptwriters and more offering their torrid tales for your entertainment and titillation.”

I want to thank all my friends who turned out for last month’s reading—I can’t tell you how much it helped to look out and see familiar faces! I hope some of you can make it this month. (Yeah, I know it’s Hollywood in the middle of the work week—I wish I could do something about that!)

Further encouragement: there’s free underground parking on-site, complimentary snacks and desserts, and the chance to win a goodie bag of prizes! (My friend Tom won a goodie bag in July!) Hustler Hollywood is a clean, bright, inviting store with a café, lots of books and t-shirts, and a fantastic, fun, positive atmosphere.

If you have any questions about the reading, feel free to e-mail me at cyvarwydd@mac.com. Wish me luck!

A summer Saturday

A good day so far. Leisurely awakening and nice hot shower, followed by breakfast and tea and hanging out with Meg (who spent the night) before she had to leave. Pottered around getting stuff done, eating lunch (leftover chicken from last night, nomnom), watching a bit of TV, washing dishes, that sort of thing. When Ken and Margaret (from Tasmania) got back from running bike errands, Margaret had a massage (because last night I raved about my massage goddess) and Ken and I walked to the Post Office and library (two books dropped off—Robert B. Parker’s Stranger in Paradise and de Lint’s Dingo—and one picked up—Flora Segunda). I flopped on the bed and read a couple of short stories and scritched the cats and enjoyed the cool breeze of the fan for a little while…

Now I’m settled in with a cup of tea in the study to work. I’ve brainstormed some questions for two nonfiction articles, and made a list of upcoming projects (in part because Ken asked on our walk, and in part because I get excited looking at all the fun things to do!). I’ve got a short story to finish and some research to do for Seasoned With Danger so I can get that proposal in the mail.

(After that, it’ll be back to Out of the Frying Pan. An editor has offered to look at it again if we make some changes, and Teresa and I agree that most of them will indeed make the book stronger. I also need to get more submissions out for Waking the Witch; a bunch are circulating, but I haven’t hit all the publishers I want to yet.)

And I understand Margaret’s taking us out for Thai tonight. Mmm, Thai!

Sale to Harlequin Spice!

Oh my gods, I’m so excited I could just explode into a million bits of Styx confetti!

I’m going to be in a Harlequin Spice anthology! *\o/*

::cue dancing and possible explosions::

The ever-splendiferous Alison Tyler pinged me awhile back about a story of mine she remembered, “The Broken Fiddle,” which is set in Ireland and involves a legend and Irish fairies and music (as all good stories should). She wanted to include it in her anthology Alison’s Wonderland, and she just got word from Harlequin about the final Table of Contents:

The Red Shoes (Redux) by Nikki Magennis
Fool’s Gold by Shanna Germain
The Three Billys by Sommer Marsden
David by Kristina Lloyd
Managers and Mermen by Donna George Storey
The Clean-Shaven Type by N.T. Morley
The Midas F*ck by Erica DeQuaya
Sleeping with Beauty by Allison Wonderland
Unveiling His Muse by Portia Da Costa
Always Break the Spines by Lana Fox
An Uphill Battle by Benjamin Eliot
Moonset by A.D.R Forte
Mastering Their Dungeons by Bryn Haniver
A Taste for Treasure by T.C. Calligari
The Broken Fiddle by Andrea Dale
The Cougar of Cobble Hill by Sophia Valenti
Wolff’s Tavern by Bella Dean
Slutty Cinderella by Jacqueline Applebee
Kiss It by Saskia Walker
Let Down Your Libido by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Dancing Shoes by Tsaurah Litzky
Gold, On Snow by Janine Ashbless
After the Happily Every After by Heidi Champa
Cupid Has Signed Off by Thomas S. Roche
The Walking Wheel by Georgia E. Jones
Rings on My Fingers by Alison Tyler
The Princess by Elspeth Potter

It won’t be out ‘til July 2010, but I’m still doing cartwheels now! Maximum squee!

Set the night to music

We’ve been busy the past few days. For one thing, we’ve had a houseguest for two days: Margaret from Tasmania. She’s a friend of Ken’s via various bike lists. Margaret is, for all intents and purposes, riding around the world on a BMW. She’s done Africa and South America so far, as well as a fair amount of the US. She’s also running the Iron Butt Rally* this year, so Ken’s helping her with some modifications to her bike.

Except Ken flew to Colorado this morning… He’s picking up a friend’s bike and riding it back here to use for spare parts in case something breaks on his bike during the rally. He’ll be home tomorrow.

The drive was utterly gorgeous. On the way home, I even turned off the AC and opened the window to smell the ocean, because it’s been a perfect day temperature-wise. (Who cares if my hair went in all directions simultaneously?) The sun sparkled on the waves. Surfers played. I managed to keep my eyes on the road and not die from trying to watch the incredible view. I feel pretty damn lucky to live here!

(And I want to learn how to surf. I’ve wanted to ever since I visited my sister when she lived in Hawaii… That was 20 years ago. Ack.)

Anyway, Margaret is spending a couple days in San Diego and then she’ll be back, too.

I came home after swinging by a new grocery store (small, but had some interesting and tasty fresh items I’ve not seen elsewhere), then Melanie came over and gave me a great massage. I had to run out for one more errand, but since then I’ve been home…with a small headache I can’t seem to shake. Tough patooties, because I must get the bulk of a short story written tonight! I’ve started it, and I know generally what happens. It just took a slightly different tone than I expected, so we’ll see if it sticks with that or if I’ve taken a wee wrong turn.

Music. Must have music.

Tomorrow I have a chiropractic appointment and then lunch with my friend Janice, which will take place conveniently near the Post Office and library, since I have to hit both of those places. Later I’m meeting Ellenie at Barnes & Noble for writerly gabbing, research, and ideally some writing as well. And at some point Ken will return home.

Thursday we’ll probably hit the Farmer’s Market again, and then I have a hair appointment, followed by a phone confab with Teresa. (We were supposed to have one last week, but her day job has been crazy.) After that is the Shire meeting, and somewhere in there Margaret will re-appear. And I will get some writing in.

Right now, Friday looks pretty open…except that it will get filled with work, because of the craziness of the two days preceding it. Phew! We also have to re-commit to hitting the gym, so…

As for the weekend…who has time to look that far ahead? ;-)

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*IBR facts: More people have gone into space than completed the Iron Butt Rally. Also, more people have climbed Mount Everest than completed the Iron Butt Rally.

Of unbounded domesticity

We’ve been curiously domestic this past week, which I think is less of an anomaly and more of a case of us flipping over to get into our normal groove (which will, of course, change again mid-month when Ken leaves for the IBR).

We did a big meal-planning and food shopping early in the week, which resulted in some nummy home-cooked meals and/or big dinner salads. I also got hit with a craving for chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies, which I never crave. (Chocolate-chip cookies, sure. Oatmeal? Not so much. I freely and cheerfully blame Karen Abrahamson, who brought homemade oatmeal cookies to the OWN workshops, and they were there for me in a time of weakness.). So we went back out one night to pick up the ingredients for those, and I made them last night.

Damn, but I make a fine batch of cookies when I get hit with the urge about every 2.5 years!

(Now I’m craving lemon bars. Hopefully, this too shall pass. After all, I have three tubs of chocolate chip/coconut/oatmeal cookie dough in the fridge now. Because what’s the point of actually baking four dozen cookies for two people? Then again, there’s this lemon tree outside, and lemon bars don’t last very long, and there is a Shire meeting next week…)

We also pootled down to the local Farmer’s Market (a jaunt of all of two block east) to pick up various fresh things, including some corn picked right that morning. We ate it one day later and oh my gods it was good. Om nom nom. Seriously.

Friday we took my car in to Bert, my fabulous Swedish car guy, to eyeball the new engine he put in recently. He then drove us to a movie theatre where we wiled away our time watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Minor car parts are now on order, and then we hit Trader Joe’s for some essentials before heading up to the BMW dealer, whereupon Ken collected his newly tuned-up bike and we headed home.

We have Alias season 3 discs sitting here from Netflix, and now that we’re almost caught up with DVR stuff (less than one thing per night recording, I believe) we’ve been settling in to enjoy those.

And we’ve re-tidied the sewing room (Ken put up a new shelf while I was in Oregon, as well) so we can continue various projects there. Sweet. I did some mending while we acted like slugs and lounged in media room watching Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (movie version) and Being Human and Eureka.

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Currently Reading: Black Hills, Nora Roberts
Lately Listened To: Hallucination, Shaw/Blades
Recently Watched: see above

Nifty new writing contest

Hint Fiction:

"Tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2010, W.W. Norton will publish an anthology of Hint Fiction. What is Hint Fiction? It’s a story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story. The thesis of the anthology is to prove that a story 25 words or less can have as much impact as a story 2,500 words or longer. The anthology will include between 100 and 150 stories. We want your best work."

Full guidelines can be found here.

Rock it, baby

Saturday I went to my 90th Styx show! Only 10 more until my new tattoo! Whoo!

I didn’t know until about 5:48 p.m. Friday night if I was even going, as I was waiting to hear from a friend about tickets (I hadn’t been able to get good ones when they went on sale). She came through, so the next day Ken and I were in the car headed north to Paso Robles. A fun show, but way too short (it was at the Mid-State Fair). My boys knew I was there. :-)

We set the iPod on random during the trip, which was highly amusing. Apparently there are many complaints about the random feature not being really random. (Ken actually said “They’re trying to make it more random,” which is a delightfully nonsensical statement.) So it kind of went Styx, Styx, Gowan, Styx, Gowan (from the same album), Marillion, Styx, Fish, Damn Yankees, Marillion, Robert Plant, Gowan, Marillion, Ultravox, Robert Plant (from the same album), Glen Burtnik, Guns n Roses, Glen Burtnik, Marillion, Fish, Styx. In other words, my iPod thinks it’s full of Styx and Styx-Related Product, and Marillion and Marillion-Related Product, with occasional other things. Which, given the amount of Brit pop and RWA sessions and folk/pagan/medieval music on it, is just wrong.

Sunday was mostly spent on house stuff. We moved a lot of books and magazines in our joint office, and Ken went through all his t-shirts and dresser drawers and purged greatly.

Today we did a massive grocery shopping so we have food for the next week or so (along with hitting the Farmer’s Market two blocks away come Thursday). And, um…yeah, I’ve been kind of lacking in the whole motivation thing, so not much else to report.

Except that we watched two eps of the Torchwood miniseries last night and three eps tonight, and thank goodness we had an ep of Big Bang Theory after that because Torchwood made me depressed and wanting to throw things at the TV. ::pout:: Stupid Torchwood. It didn’t help that I managed to read about a major spoiler not once, but twice beforehand. ::scowl::

In writerly news, today I received my comp copies of Lesbian Cowboys: Erotic Adventures, containing my story “Queens Up” (as Andrea Dale). It’s got a sexy saloon girl and a ranch lost in a poker game, and I had a blast writing it!

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Currently Reading: Black Hills, Nora Roberts
Lately Listened To: random, as interpreted by iPod software
Recently Watched: Torchwood: Children of Earth. Dammit.

How very Regency of us

Eleven years ago, Ken and I ran off to Gretna Green and eloped!

We celebrated today by going out to lunch at Fresh and Fabulous (sharing a panini of turkey, bleu cheese, and caramelized onions on seven-grain bread; French onion soup; and a Mediterranean salad), strolling on the beach, finally seeing Star Trek at the cheap theatre (kickass!), wandering around the antique stores in Ventura, and having chocolate cake and cheesecake at Zoey’s Café (we sat in the 1926 courtyard). Now we’re home, pootling about the computers for a few minutes before heading down to watch some TV and snuggle. Eventually supper will happen. We’re still full of cake. :-) There will no doubt be hot tubbing as well. And canoodling.

It’s just nice to actually have him home on our anniversary!

[Edited to add: Oops, forgot to post this before we wandered downstairs!]

~ ~ ~

The mail brings wonderful things. While I was away I received my comp copy of the charity anthology Coming Together: Against the Odds, which contains my story “Always a Bridesmaid.” Proceeds from the anthology will benefit Autism Speaks.

Today on my doorstep landed comp copies of Bottoms Up, containing my story “Stuffing the Ballot Box” (as Andrea Dale), as well as others by Donna George Storey, Alison Tyler, Teresa, Rachel Kramer Bussel (who also edited the anthology), and many more!

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Currently Reading: 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Maureen Johnson
Lately Listened To: nothing lately
Recently Watched: Leverage (mmm, shirtless Christian Kane!), Warehouse 13

Need book recommendations

Can anyone recommend good and funny romantic suspense, a la Agnes & the Hitman (Crusie & Mayer)?

Crashing into the surf

My darling Meglet and her daughter Julian arrived late-ish Tuesday night, so we had only a little time to chat before we all crashed. My headache was mostly gone at that point, but it came back over night, which, yea verily, did sucketh mightily. Ken and I had chiro appts this morning and it turned out my occipital bones were two inches skewed. Yes, my head wasn’t on straight. My chiropractor was amazed I wasn’t walking around with my head obviously tilted.

I came home and iced it for about an hour as per her directions, and that helped as well. After that we piled into the car and went to Thousand Oaks for suuuuushi at Cho Cho San. By the time we were done there, my headache was finally gone. Healed by sushi! Hallelujah!

We stopped by the BMW dealer so Ken could talk to them about the work they’re doing on his bike in preparation for the IBR. Hung out there for a while debating whether we should go see the new Harry Potter movie, go to the beach, and/or watch Eddie Izzard DVDs (Meg and Julian hadn’t seen Circle or Sexie). The beach won the first vote, so we donned suits and headed all of 3.5 miles to the ocean.

We rarely go to the beach, for some absurd reason. We walk on the sand occasionally, stop to watch the sunset, had a picnic once or twice, but that’s about it. I really have no idea why. Okay, a few minor ideas: I get bored just lying there, and I’m hyper-aware of the dangers of skin cancer, so sitting out in the sun isn’t the type of thing I want to do. On the flip side, I grew up on a big lake and swam competitively in high school, and I’d grow fins if I could, I love being in water so much. And the ocean is right there.

So Ken and I ran out into the waves and I bodysurfed and laughed hysterically until my eyes hurt from the salt, at which point I went and plopped down next to Meg and we talked and talked while Ken and Julian dug a moat so deep they hit the water table. Seriously. Waist-deep hole for Julian.

After that we picked up frozen pizzas, ice cream, and some salad fixings (to go with what we already had in the house), came home and showered, and then had a picnic of sorts and watched Eddie for hours.

It was a Very Good Day.

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I woke up today with The Headache, Part2: Revenge of the Pain, although it was a poor sequel to the original. Advil, Drenamin, and caffeine chased it away. I also had a dentist appt, where I learned that one of my teeth has fractures in it and is probably dying. What joy. it doesn’t hurt yet, though (well, it does now that the dentist asked if it did, dammit, but that’s psychosomatic, right?), so I don’t have to worry about it yet.

Meg and Julian left while I was being poked with sharp metal objects, so the rest of today has been after-guest tidying (deflating the air bed, washing two sets of sheets and numerous towels, putting the sofa bed back upright, moving my office chair back into my office, etc., yadda yadda), a trip to the library (so Ken could apply for a new passport—his previous one had been with his laptop when that got stolen, and so I could load up on more books, as if my overstuffed bookcase of Books to Read isn’t about to topple over and smother me), and all that sort of things. Oh, and I moved some magazines onto new bookshelves as part of the main office re-arrangement of books &tc. Gah. Much magazine organization is in my future.

And, of course, there has been writing

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In other news…

I got my page proofs today for “If the Shoe Fits,” which will appear in the DAW fantasy anthology The Trouble With Heroes. Squee! I’m so chuffed to have sold to this market! I received cover flats as well, and I see that it’s listed on Amazon with the cover, too—go forth and pre-order, for lo, it is an anthology full of fantastic stories by many amazing writers!

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Currently Reading: 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Maureen Johnson, a YA about a girl whose artist aunt sends her on a scavenger-hunt-type quest around Europe. Highly recommended!
Lately Listened To: Meg’s laughter
Recently Watched: Warehouse 13. Has potential!