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

Fangirl squeeing

Tuesday last we went to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live, because Nathan Fillion was the main guest, and, well, Nathan Fillion! The way these things work is that you get free tickets online. Yes, free, although it’s first-come, first-served, so if they run out, that’s that.

So we get there and wait in line outside the El Capitan Theatre, where one of the PAs from the company that handles the tickets chats with us. He’d moved to LA from Iowa two weeks before. I commented to Ken afterwards that it had been clear he was new to LA by the mere fact that he was so friendly! Then we went inside and stood in line, except for running downstairs to go to the bathroom, because once we were in the theatre, we’d be trapped for two hours with no bathroom breaks. Seriously.

When we got into the studio set itself, we were met by Linc, a very cute young Southern gentlemen who was the head PA or something like that. He was directing people to sets. There were two rows of seats on the floor, right up against the low stage (with an aisle in the middle where the stage actually extended a bit; that’s where Jimmy does his monologue); then, behind those seats was an aisles; and behind that were theatre-style seats. We noted that the second row of the floor seats was mostly empty on the left side (where we were coming in), even though they’d directed a lot of people to the upper seats. Hm. Linc said we looked like we were there to have fun, and we agreed, and Ken looked pointedly at the empty second-row seats, and I bounced a little, and Linc asked us where we were from, and I said Oxnard, which seemed to confuse him, and then he decided we were good candidates to be in that second row, wooh! Although I was a dork and tripped because there was a little lip as you stepped into the row. Argh.

Once we were all seated, Linc told our two rows that when Jimmy first came in (before the taping started) our job was to stand up and applaud and cheer. Then he talked to all of us, trying to get us riled up a big, teaching us how to cheer and applaud and laugh loudly. No kidding. I mean, I do get this—live theatre (and live music, for that matter) needs clear feedback. Actors/musicians feed on that energy and approval. So while it seemed a little forced (especially to laugh at jokes that weren’t terribly funny or that we didn’t get because we weren’t up on the politics/gossip/news), the reasoning was sound.

After Linc deemed our noise at going to 10 (not on a scale that went to 11), he turned us over to a comedian guy we’ll call Uncle Fester because he was round-faced and bald. I really preferred looking at Linc, but my opinion wasn’t considered in the matter, and besides, I was really there for Nathan, right? Uncle Fester worked to keep us laughing and clapping so we didn’t forget our noise level responsibilities. He did a lot of audience participation: where were people from (with commentary), did anyone have questions, did anyone have a talent (we were treated to double-jointed-thumb woman and a singer who was actually really good—by that time the band had come in, so they were able to accompany him). The only question I could come up with was kinda lame, and I couldn’t think of any talent I have that I could perform on stage in front of a bunch of strangers, so I won neither a t-shirt nor the Apple gift card. Uncle Fester also explained when we were supposed to clap (before and after each commercial break) and showed us the signals we should look for.

Jimmy came out, we stood and cheered, and he said a few words before going back to the green room or wherever he goes right before the show. Various crew zipped around doing crew things with cue cards (no teleprompter, which surprised us) and cameras and putting out the little table next to the couch. I noticed they all wore jeans. Decent-but-utilitarian shirts and jeans and reasonably comfy shoes (no super high heels on any of the women).

Nathan (yay!) was charming and funny and has adorable crinkle lines around his eyes when he smiles. When Jimmy started a question/conversation with the fact that Nathan has a lot of Twitter followers, I was the first to “Wooh!”, but although he looked in the direction of our rows, he didn’t catch my eye directly. Ah well. He heard me.  ;-)

During the first commercial break, two makeup girls darted out to touch up Jimmy and Nathan’s makeup. They had clear plastic makeup bags, and were totally tarted up themselves in skirts and high heels (unlike everyone else), which amused me.

Nathan’s visit was far too short. The next guests were the latest person to get bumped from Dancing With the Stars along with their dance partner, and since it was nobody I cared about (rapper), so that was that.

After the guests were done, we were all shuffled outside to basically a big parking lot, where an enormous full stage had been set up for tonight’s musical guest, which was some Grammy-winning band from Puerto Rico that we’d never heard of. There were already folks out there; Ken overheard someone saying they’d been there since noon. Even with the inside audience there, the standing area was just over half full. The folks towards the back were told to crowd around Jimmy when he came out (on a little platform) to announce the band. Uncle Fester was now on stage trying to keep us animated. Of course, once Nathan had left, Ken and I had been ready to go, but again, out of courtesy to the band, I at least bopped in time to the music, even though it was far from my thing (Caribbean-laced rap, essentially). I even pumped my fist and yelled “Woah woah woah” during the second song, as instructed.

After the second song, however, the actual taping of the show was over, so we were able to escape and go across the street and have dinner, because by then it was after 9 and we were starving.

And that is my story of how I was 25 feet from Nathan Fillion and didn’t get arrested for trying to hug him for being such an awesomely nice guy and amazingly fabby actor. The end.

What I've been doing and what I'm about to do

Good gods, ya’ll, I’ve been traveling so much I’ve barely had time to keep up on work, much less update about what I’ve been doing!

I spent this past weekend in Oregon at another workshop (this one business-oriented rather that writing-oriented). I swear, as soon as we hit Lincoln City, all I could think was “But I wanna stay the whole week and write!” but alas, no. The workshop was intense but hugely helpful and informative, and it was as always fabby to reconnect with old friends (there were five of us from the first Master Class in March 2002) and meet new OWN writers (there were several folks for whom this was their first OWN workshop).

Back in Portland, I spent Sunday night with friends, and now I’m on the plane home. Ken’s picking me up and we’re going to buy me a new motorcycle helmet to match his new one—both with Bluetooth so we can talk to each other without plugging in!—and I may have time to get a new tattoo (a motorcycle helmet and a tattoo in the same day would make me feel entirely badass), and then I’m going be on a radio show talking about fantasy and writing and fandom and generally being a geek. A badass geek, that’s me.

Then we’re home for 2.5 days, which will include two bootcamp workouts, one cat to the vet, one dentist appt, and as much work as I can cram in, before we hop on the bike and head for AZ and NM. AZ is a Styx show (110! which doesn’t have as special a ring as 100, but it’s one-tenth of the way to my second 100, right?!), and in NM is our dear friend Vicki-Marie, who lives in Paris but is visiting a friend in Albuquerque. Also in NM is my friend/fellow writer Pati Nagle, who is also a tea aficionado (one of the many things we have in common), so she’s making reservations for all of us at a primo tea shop in the area.

And then we’ll ride home and I’ll try not to collapse because what I’ll really need to do is writewritewrite! (And uploaduploadupload! more stories, and readreadread! more anthologies for the Short Story Workshop in June, and designdesigndesign! my first POD novel, and possible editeditedit! a copyediting job, and…!)

But right now I have to turn off the computer in preparation for our descent, where my beloved awaits me!

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Update, many, many hours later:

Did ya’ll listen to me on The Geek Agenda? If not, never fear! It will be rebroadcast and podcasted. Hopefully I didn’t sound too dorky. If I did, don’t tell me. Personally, I had a blast, and I hope I get to do it again!

I did stop at Sunset Strip Tattoo to discuss my tattoo, but didn’t have time to do it before the show. I decided towards the end of dinner (after the show) that I was just too tired. It was really the fiddly pre-tattoo bits of making the transfer and making sure it was where I wanted it, etc., that I didn’t have the energy I for. If it was crooked, I probably would have still said “Fine! Just do it!” and that would have a been a bad thing. So. Back to Hollywood at a later (but hopefully not too later) date for that.

Now, after several nights with not nearly enough sleep, I’m off to snuggle with my beloved and my kittays. Because tomorrow…see above re: writewritewrite! etc.

The Geek Agenda, featuring this here geek

Heads up: I'll be on The Geek Agenda radio show tomorrow (Monday), 7-8 pm Pacific.


Here's hoping I don't sound like a dork!  :-)

Mom's Nite Out (come see me!)

Sorry for the short notice, but if you're in the Ventura area this Thursday afternoon/evening and want to hear a reading/discussion avec moi, here are the deets:

Mom's Night Out
Ventura Harbor
Thursday, May 5, 4-7 pm

Free classes, including aromatherapy, art, Hawaiian dance, Zumba, yoga, Greek dance, belly dance. Resources, fun stuff, and displays from spas, fitness instructors, breast cancer marathon, me, Stir the Embers (empowerment workshops run by stellar friends of mine!), child care/education, and lots more.

I'll be doing two readings and discussions at 4:15 and 6:30 pm, and I plan to have a raffle for a free book at each.

Mondayed (in which there is tiredness and squeeing)

So, like, I still have a cold, and it sucks. Friday night I was feeling better, and in fact didn’t even succumb to the Nyquil-Drugged Sleep of the Damned. Normally the first night I can go w/o Nyquil is a clear sign that I’m on the mend. Not this time. I suppose I could’ve been gentler with myself at Darach Anniversary (which was a lovely, if small, event—the day was beautiful and the friends wonderful), but really, most of what I did was sit in pavilions and chat with the above-mentioned wonderful friends. And eat. Whole wheat artisan bread from Trader Joe’s, Dubliner and Red Dragon cheeses, apples, salami, and then Mongolian BBQ for supper. Nom.

Whereupon Sunday involved me largely lying around moaning, too limp and snozzly to even think very hard. I did manage to do some ebook promo, but that was about it. Oh, and we had to go to Home Depot. It was tiring.

I’ve been pretty draggy today, too, and stressed about all the things that aren’t getting done while I collapse under the weight of icky-sickyness. So, dammit, I’m going to list all the good things that have happened/are happening!

• A friend says she’s snapping up each one of my stories as fast as I’m putting them up. That’s love! I feel all warm and gooey inside. (No, not that way! Or that way, either! Sheez.)
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch, a writer I’m proud to call one of my mentors (and for whom I’ve been a fan-girl reader for years), listed one of my stories in her latest Recommended Reading column. I’m…gobsmacked.
• We got tickets to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live, with Nathan Filion as one of the guests!  ::cue running around in small circles, hands flapping excitedly::
• I’ve got not one but two appearances this week! First, visit my booth at Mom’s Nite Out at the Ventura Harbor this Thursday from 4–7 pm. I’ll be doing two readings/discussions at 4:15 pm and 6:30 pm. Focus is on romantic and spicy.  ;-)  Second, I’ll be part of a panel discussion and signing A Little Night Music at the Burbank Book Festival on Saturday at the Buena Vista Branch Library.
• OMG! As I was writing this, I got an email about a story acceptance that made me so excited, I swear to you I clapped both hands over my  mouth and made a noise I don’t think I’ve ever made before. “Lost Souls” will appear in Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance, edited by the inestimable Kristina Wright and coming from Cleis Press. Squee-effing-squee!* (Look at that steamy cover!)
• Even though the last 1/3 of it needs work (mostly to fit the world details), the editor really liked my fantasy work-for-hire story, and I’m looking forward to not only redoing the ending, but sending him more proposals for that world and another one he’s editing for!
• Homemade Greek pizza (pesto, mozzarella, feta, tomato, red onion, whole wheat crust) is in the oven, salads are ready, and we’re having a date night. Bye, ya’ll!

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*(I’m not sure why I’m especially excited about “Lost Souls,” although being in a steampunk antho is pretty exciting on its own. I think I just didn’t have any sense of whether the story hung together or not, so I had no sense of whether it would make the cut. So, yay!)

Free story! "From Bitter to Sweet"

Free story!

"From Bitter to Sweet" by Andrea Dale

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

Read it free in a variety of electronic formats at Smashwords

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And yet another sexy story!

"A Sensitive Sole" by Andrea Dale

I pulled out the feathers and went to work on her vulnerable soles. Her entire body went rigid, but she didn’t try to escape, didn’t try to squirm away, oh no. She was in heaven. I turned the vibrator on high and watched the fireworks begin….

“A Sensitive Sole” originally appeared in The Sexiest Soles: Erotic Stories About Feet and Shoes anthology (Alyson Books, 2006)

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

Burbank Book Festival (come see me!)

I'll be on a panel discussion and also signing A Little Night Music this coming Saturday at the Burbank Book Festival. If you're in the area, stop by and say hi!

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Burbank Book Festival 
May, 7, 2011 
1:00 PM 
Buena Vista Branch Library
300 N. Buena Vista St.
For more information call: 818.238.5620 

The City of Burbank will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. To coincide with Burbank's centennial celebration, the Burbank Public Library will host a mini-book festival at our Buena Vista Branch Library from 1-4 PM on Saturday, May 7th. The goal of the festival is twofold: to spotlight Burbank's authors who have either self-published their book(s) or published through traditional avenues, giving them the venue to sell their books; and to encourage aspiring authors by offering information on writers' organizations and self-publishing opportunities.

Overdone

Yesterday, I overdid it. Clearly. I actually went to bootcamp and did what I considered a light workout, and it felt healing to be in the sun and fresh air (I realized I hadn’t left the house since I got home Sunday night, except to visit the kitlings). But then we had hair appts and went to Trader Joe’s afterwards, and I then spent the rest of the afternoon on the sofa, watching mindless TV and reading Entertainment Weekly and playing games on my iPhone. Urgle.

So today I eschewed bootcamp* and stayed inside, except for (a) walking half a block to the dentist to get a mold made for my new mouth guard and (b) visiting the kitlings, and although I felt wibbly and mushy for parts of the day, I still managed to get a fair amount done (gently, with many rest breaks in between).

If you’re waiting for an email from me, please be patient. I got through something like 30 work emails and 30 personal emails. Srsly. Dudes.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, I’m neither staying up nor getting up early for the royal wedding. I’m confident there will be enough recaps to amuse me later in the day!

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*By “eschewed bootcamp” I mean I sent Ken in my place. He’s started working out with us, and took my spot on Tuesday, too. Poor guy started this on a four-session week, and he’s feeling it. But I’m so proud of him for diving in and focusing on his health!

Indoors and out - new stories available

Soul's Road Press some new Andrea Dale stories available: One that takes place in the big city and two set in the great outdoors. Enjoy!

"Come to My Window"

Small-town girl Katy craves the big city, the bright lights, the energy and passion…and the woman who would introduce it all to her. She finds all that and more in sophisticated Emilie, who presses her naked against a window and forces her to face her deepest, darkest desires. A lesbian short story “packed full of hot steamy sex.”

"'Come to my Window' by Andrea Dale is another story that I found refreshing and well written. It's short, about 9 pages, but it's packed full of hot steamy sex in a unique and fun setting - pressed against a window overlooking the city of New York. Who wouldn't have an orgasm with that kind of view, not to mention the excitement of possibly of being seen in the act."
— outinprint.net

"Further spankings and a dose of Gallic humiliation is administered in Andrea Dale's 'Come to my Window,' a sort of coming of age story filled with revelations and humiliations while having one’s bottom pleasantly blistered."
— eroticarevealed.com

“Come to My Window” originally appeared in Where the Girls Are: Urban Lesbian Erotica (Cleis Press, 2009)
Available in a variety of electronic formats

Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

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"In Flight"

When you’ve been screwed by an ex, it’s hard to trust again. It takes a red-tailed hawk named Rudy and a sexy falconer named Pam to teach a broken woman how to respect herself and love again. A spicy-sweet lesbian love story.

“In Flight” originally appeared in Best Lesbian Love Stories: Summer Flings (Alyson Publications, 2007) and was republished in Best Lesbian Romance 2009 (Cleis Press, 2009)

“Andrea Dale's ‘In Flight’ has metaphorical power.”
— Seattle Gay News

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

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"After the Rain"

Can a homebody Adirondack hotel clerk find happiness with a gregarious world-traveling Australian? Or will their erotic encounter in the rain-dappled forest be the extent of their relationship? A sexy and touching lesbian short story.

“After the Rain” originally appeared in Travelrotica for Lesbians: Erotic Travel Adventures(Alyson Books, 2006)

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

Prescription

Sometimes, when you’re sick, the best thing to do is to blow off being remotely produtive, curl up on the sofa with Chinese takeout and wine, and spend the evening watching bad movies (Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny) and good TV (Bones and Doctor Who) with your beloved.

I do believe I’ll feel better tomorrow….

Lurgified but not completely down for the count

Well, yesterday was largely a Total Fail, due to my inability to accept that when I’m sick, I simply can’t do as much. This seems self-evident, but it is to everyone but me…. Part of the problem is that towards the end of my trip, I was being as productive as I could along with everything else I was doing (spending time w/my sister in the hospital, driving my mom from GA to NY, etc.), and I felt good and got psyched about continuing that productivity in spades once I was home and didn’t have all the other stuff to do. The psyched part of my brain overrode the logical part that was trying to say “You’re sick. Don’t try to do absolutely everything.”

Probably going to the concert last night wasn’t the best idea, but man, let me tell you, Robert Plant has still got it, baby. He was amazing. And it was fabulous to spend time with Kelly and Richard.

Oh, and the Santa Barbara Bowl? Stunning venue. Nothing like watching twilight settle over the ocean and a hawk chasing the wind currents above the stage during the opening act….

Anyway, all I really did yesterday was…

• worked on spreadsheet for epubbed stories
• dealt with some personal emails
• worked on event announcement for CP Prize/poked some people for info
• sent some emails re: CP Prize
• a little unpacking/organizing
• sent Ken to Roxsbury Deli to bring me matzo chicken soup for lunch
• dinner with Kelly & Richard
• Robert Plant concert at the Hollywood Bowl

So this is what I'm looking at for today:

Writing

• work on Out of the Frying Pan
• Blackwood House edits
• promo latest stories available
• OWN email
• if time/energy, other writing-related email
• if time/energy, blog post

Personal

• deal with at least 20 emails (personal/SCA/etc.) – already in progress
• send Ken to Roxsbury Deli for more soup – he’s taking my spot at bootcamp training today, and going to pick that up on the way home. Yay.
• send some emails re: CP Prize
• work on the application for the Hollywood Walk of Fame star for Styx
• work on Blackfox Awards for local newsletters
• more organizing/bill paying/scheduling of things
• make some phone calls (may slough those off ‘til tomorrow ::sniffle cough::)

Just a few things on the To Do list....

I got home from my trip to GA/NY last night, and waited up for Ken to get home even though I was exhausted. I got a few things accomplished, but not much, thanks the exhaustion. Still, we got to bed relatively early (for us) and I figured I’d sleep the Nyquil-drugged sleep of the damned and be able to hit the ground running this morning.

The massive tension headache that turned the tendons in my neck to throbbing bars of steel had other plans for me.

So I’m still tired, and draggy from the cold, but the fact is, I have a metric buttload of things to do, and they’ve got to get done, no matter how crappy I feel. Ken’s going to have to take on more of the burden of house stuff this week, and thankfully he’s okay with that.

To keep me honest, here’s what I need to do today:

Writing

• work on Out of the Frying Pan
• Blackwood House edits
• OWN email
• other writing-related email
• work on spreadsheet for epubbed stories
• if time, blog post

Personal

• deal with at least 30 emails (personal/SCA/etc.)
• work on event announcement for CP Prize/poke some people for info
• send some emails re: CP Prize
• work on the application for the Hollywood Walk of Fame star for Styx
• make some phone calls (may slough those off ‘til tomorrow ::sniffle cough::)
• work on Blackfox Awards for local newsletters
• more unpacking/organizing
• send Ken to Roxsbury Deli to bring me matzo chicken soup for lunch
• dinner with Kelly & Richard
• Robert Plant concert at the Hollywood Bowl

Two more stories up at Soul's Road Press

"How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back"

Ella believed her kinky desires were perverted and sick. It takes a special man like Philip to teach her that she isn’t wrong, or different, or broken. Through bondage and exhibitionism, he gives his little mermaid her tail back. A deliciously sexy short story by a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back” (in a sushi restaurant!) is as beguiling as a siren.
—Erin O’Riordan, Urban Fantasy Writers

I really loved the tale “How The Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back” by Andrea Dale. It is a lovely recounting of how a broken woman regains her power and womanhood through the love of a special man. Truly a special tale.
—Airen Wolf, Eden Fantasys

Of all the stories, I would say the most intriguing was “How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back.”
—Monica Solomon, The Romance Readers Connection

“How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back” first appeared in Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women (Cleis Press, 2010), which received 4.5 stars from Romantic Times, and was republished in Best Bondage Erotica 2011 (Cleis Press, 2010).

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

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"Always a Bridesmaid"

Even though Veronica was a shrewish harpy, I’d always lusted after her. Now I had the opportunity to make this bridezilla pay…in a deliciously kinky way. A hot-and-heavy lesbian short story by a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“Always a Bridesmaid” originally appeared in Coming Together: Against the Odds (Phaze Books, 2009)

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

Run, Charlie, run!

So we get home to upstate NY after two days of driving from GA, and I tell Mom to get the water turned on while I unpack the car. I tell her I’m leaving the door open to (a) air the condo out and (b) I don’t have to put things down to open the door every time I come in with a load of stuff.

She says “No, mice will get in!”

I’m all, “Mom, we’re both stomping around right by the door. Any mice will be scared off.”

Then I go back out for a load, and all I can envision is a bunch of mice under the bush by the front door suddenly perking up and going “Hey! Hey! The front door is fucking open! Gogogo! Charlie, Reg, Benedict, get in there! Run like the wind!”

(I don’t know why the mice are British expatriates. Just go with it.)

What I’m Working On, April 2011 edition

Not quite a Me!Me!, but various authors* have been listing, or list on a regular basis, the projects they’re working on, and since I find it fascinating, I thought I’d do the same. (You might not find it fascinating. Let me know.) Perhaps not regularly (I can’t quite seem to shoehorn concepts like regular and schedule into my life), but occasionally. Or, at least, now.

Out of the Frying Pan, aka the manuscript that will not die. Status: effing tweaking. An editor asked for tweaks. Teresa and I discuss, get some tweaks done, then get sucked into other projects with deadlines and payments and whatnot; lather, rinse, repeat. We’re so close, too. One scene she needs to write, and I need to knit it all together, and then it’s outta here.

Blackwood House. Status: manuscript cleanup/upload prep. Time to get this sweet paranormal romance off my hard drive and out into the world. Yes, I wrote a sweet romance. Nearly killed me, but I did it. Since it was rejected by the only market it fit into (since it’s only 50K), there it languished, occasionally surfacing to meekly inquire whether I was going to add those half-thought-out subplots so it could become A Real Book. Well, the answer is clearly “no,” because I have way too many new books to write to spend time going backwards—and because it works as it is. It’s been through copyediting; next step is dealing with those edits and getting the manuscript ready to upload as an ebook. Oh, and get possible cover photos to Phae for the cover design. Then, after it’s up for sale, I’ll work on the POD version. (That may not get far until July when I take a publishing workshop that will cover the process.)

Untitled story for mystery contest. Status: idea obtained. (Actually, the idea was obtained last year before the contest, but I never got around to writing it.) Mystery story set in New England, due May 1.

Untitled Custom Erotica Source stories. Status: accepted assignment. Two related 3K stories due end of May. I wrote a novella for this customer previously, and these stories will be in the same vein, so they should be easy enough.

Work-for-Hire fantasy story proposals. Status: percolating. I turned in the first story and want to get a couple more proposals off to the editor, plus there’s another universe I’d love to write in, so I want to write some proposals up for that, too. I’d like to have those out by early May.

Epubbed stories. Status: ongoing. I’ve got something like 25 up now, and I’m selling an average of 3 stories a day via Amazon (I haven’t tallied Barnes & Noble or Smashwords closely). I think I have about 80 total that I have the erights for, so I’m gonna keep putting ‘em up until I run out and have to write new ones (although I do have some unpublished stories that have run their course of pro markets and will thus be next in the queue). I also want to start bundling them into e-collections and POD collections. But right now, I have five stories in progress to get up in the next 1–2 weeks.

There’s more—there’s always more—but this is what’s on my plate for the next few weeks.

Are we having fun yet?!

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*My favorite is Seanan McGuire, who makes me head hurt in a groovy and awestruck way. Scary and inspiring in equal measure. CE Murphy has posted some doozies, too, and Laura Anne Gilman is pretty amazing.

Wow! Great review!

A reader posted this amazing review of my story "From Bitter to Sweet" on Amazon:

Andrea Dale's "From Bitter to Sweet" is snappy, sexy, and a little sarcastic - and the best piece of breakup erotica I have ever read. A little angry and very hot, Dale's smart narrator makes her way from a breakup to new love, and it's an edible journey the entire time (and exactly what I needed as I deal with my own emotional upheaval). 

Thank you, kind reader!

The story appears in Got a Minute? 60 Second Erotica (Cleis Press, 2007; edited by the amazing Alison Tyler) and will soon be available as a free ebook from Soul's Road Press!

Two Wild West-themed stories from Soul's Road Press

"Lily la Rouge, or The Ghost of Erotic Presents"

Can the ghost of a Wild West madame help a woman feel sexy again and reignite the lost spark in her marriage? A sexy and romantic short story by a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

“Lily la Rouge” originally appeared at Fishnet.com, 2005.

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

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"Queens Up"

In this fan favorite short story, Josephine’s father has lost the family ranch—and Josephine’s hand in marriage—in a poker game gone bad. Josephine plots to win everything back by disguising herself as a man to compete in a high-stakes poker game herself…and her secret lover, Margaret, intends to make sure no one suspects Josephine’s deception.

“Queens Up” originally appeared in LAMBDA Literary Award Winner Lesbian Cowboys: Erotic Adventures (Cleis Press, 2009) and republished in Best Lesbian Romance 2010 (Cleis Press, 2010).

“In the silent-support and enduring understanding romance department, it's hard to beat Andrea Dale's historical ‘Queens Up.’ The setting of the American West is cleanly crafted and the time period of Westward Expansion accurate. The women, Josephine and Margaret, are depicted with the determination and intelligence to work within the ‘big picture’ of society’s expectations. There's no blow-up women's lib single moment, so frequent in stories set in historical times, just a strong current of thinking fast on their feet that brings these women alive.”
—Lara Zielinsky, LZFiction

“’Queens Up’ by Andrea Dale is the tale of Josephine who uses her skill at poker to undo her father’s mistakes and reclaim a home for herself and Margaret. This clever historical tale flows beautifully with excellent characters and exceptional prose.”
—Emily, Three Dollar Bill Reviews

Available in a variety of electronic formats
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Recommended Reading, November & December 2010

Recommended Reading, November

The Freelancer’s Survivor Guide, Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Ever considered ditching your day job and working for yourself, in any capacity (not just writing)? Then you have to read this book. Rusch has been freelancing for years, she’s made all the mistakes and learned from them, and in this book she tells you what they were, what she learned, and how she came out the other side. She posted each chapter on her blog, and in fact wrote chapters she never even intended to based on comments and questions she received. You can still read it there, or you can buy it as a print book or ebook. Believe me, it’s worth every penny!

Except the Queen, Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder. Devoted faerie sisters Meteora and Serana anger their Queen and are banished to the mortal realm. Now middle-aged (with all its attendant creaks and pains and the lack of the breathtaking beauty of youth and fey) and, worse, separated from each other, they struggle to survive in an alien world and find each other again. But the humans they befriend make it clear that there’s far more going on than a simple banishment…. I’d read the novella version of this in Marvin Kayes Fair Folk anthology, which won a World Fantasy Award (and which itself is worth reading for Tanith Lee’s contribution) and was thrilled to discover they’d expanded it to novel form.

Recommended Reading, December

December was a roundly crappy month for me, so that may have colored how I felt about what I read that month. Maybe some books were better than I realized, but I wasn’t in the right headspace. I did read several good things, but ones I didn’t think were great enough to mention here. So I only have one…

Maybe This Time, Jennifer Crusie. I have been vibrating with excitement for this book ever since Crusie started talking about it on her blog. It’s her modern take on The Turn of the Screw, which a stronger heroine and Crusie’s funny, breathless style of prose. Which is not to say it’s not damn creepy in places, because it is, and there were times when I wished Ken were home while I was reading it…. Seriously, you’ve got ghosts, romance, a crumbling castle transported to the Midwest more than a century ago, and the usual assortment of secondary characters both hilarious and disturbing. What’s not to love?