Technical Difficulties

1. The proof of Unnatural Creatuers has arrived. I'll go through it this weekend, enter the corrections on Monday, and make the Lulu order.

This means that the sale extension will end around midnight, Monday/Tuesday.

2. The proof came in a flat box, like a pizza box, exactly the right size for a cat to loaf on. Since El Marmalado has already demonstrated his fondness for sitting on boxes, I put it out on the porch for him. Sure enough, a little later, when we were leaving to go meet a friend for coffee, there he was on the box.

3. Segue! The pen with which I will be signing Unnatural Creatures is my new Pelikan Technixx. I love this pen. And Fountain Pen Hospital still has it on sale for $40.

4. And I should show you the cover art (by the fabulous hominysnark):


5. Finally, moving from unnatural to natural, (via matociquala (on Twitter)), 70 baby animals. (I'm not sure all of them are technically babies, but then, I'm not sure I could tell a juvenile hamster from an adult anyway.) My favorites are the otter pups. And the bat.

Today I have revised "To Die for Moonlight," adding 1,400 words and a plot complication. 7,700 words total now and back it goes to mirrorthaw to see if the improvements have improved things.

(My Samsung printer totally just made a noise like a jet engine powering down. Dude. I knew it was mighty, but not that mighty.)

I have also paid bills and dealt with some house stuff, plus feeding the cats, medicating the Elder Saucepan, and putting food and water out for the feralistas. (If you run the water hot and put it out in a plastic bowl instead of metal, they have a fighting chance of getting a drink before it freezes solid.) Oh, and feeding and medicating me.

I know I'm finally coming out of the ankle-related slump, because my to do lists for the word mines are getting too complicated to keep in my head again. The current one looks more or less like this:

1. Query Apex re: "Learning to See Dragons."
2. Revise "To Die for Moonlight."
2a. Read-aloud pass through "TDfM."
3. One more pass through "Hollywood and Vine," mostly for clean up.
3a. Read-aloud pass through "H&V."
4. Editing pass through "The Devil in Gaylord's Creek."
4a. Read-aloud pass through "TDiGC."
5. Submit "TDfM," "H&V," and "TDiGC."
6. Implement fix for the broken bit of "The Witch of Arvien" and inflict on mirrorthaw and matociquala to see if the story runs now.
7. Revise the nameless story about the knight, the wizard, and the giant mutant telepathic bear. (Also, find a title!)
8. Finish "Hope is Stronger than Love" for Shadow Unit.
9. Finish Thirdhop Scarp, kicking and screaming all the way.
10. Write the missing scenes for The Goblin Emperor and hope for edit letter soon.
11. Essay for Projekt that I think is still Sekrit.
12. Next EQ essay for tor-dot-com.
13. Read and review Brave New Worlds ditto.
14. New werewolf story? (First line: The werewolf had hooked his iPod up to the stereo and put it on shuffle.)

And from there, the To Do list merges indistinguishably into the first lines meme.