Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Eat loads of turkey (or whatever your dish of choice is) and if you're traveling, please be safe.

Nice of them to put this movie out the weekend of my birthday.

And yeah, it's still Jacob.

Memo to self...self, will this make the third or fourth time you've re-written large chunks of Project Venice due to major plot suck? Oh, only the third? Good good, if it was the fourth I might have had to get the noose.

But I did make candy (cookie dough truffles) this past weekend, and those truffles did NOT suck.

I've just finished doing that which I do not like to do. Yeah, I updated my website. Relatively painless this time, except the inexplicable silver lines are still all over the pages. Oddly enough, they weren't there until I updated my browser. I think I will have to learn to live with them, or maybe offer up a prize to anyone who can figure out how to get rid of them. An autographed book, perhaps? My firstborn child?

Note to self, refer to this entry for next year and plan accordingly. So, trick or treating...the weather was clear and cool and the holiday fell on a Saturday. All the ingredients were there for a big crowd and...oh boy. Last year, we bought seven bags of candy and entertained well over a hundred of the costumed horde, and we thought that was probably enough, so we bought the same amount this year.

We ran out of candy after forty-five minutes.

Usually, at this point in the night, having already spent too much on candy, we shut the lights off and have dinner but this year we were [obsessed] tired of being the lightweights who run out of candy too fast, so I sent Jeff out for four more bags. We ended the night at 7:55 p.m. having gone through eleven bags of candy and 210 trick or treaters. I'm not making that up, Tim kept a count. I had to hand out quarters while Jeff was at the store because the swarm JUST KEPT COMING. Yes, I could have turned the porch light off while he was gone, but that would have [lowered the count - been too easy] disappointed the children. Unsurprisingly, the younger kids did not like being denied the candy, even for that short interval, but the older ones were ecstatic to be getting quarters...ah, teeny consumers, they grow up so fast. I also abandoned the devil costume this year and went more traditional with the witch's hat. I spotted several of my sisters, but the most popular costumes by far were Tinkerbell for the girls and Bumblebee/Megatron/Optimus Prime for the boys. Also ninjas, I guess they never go out of style.

Ugh...I think I'll put on pajamas and crawl into bed until spring.

Why is it, nowadays, when you go up to the counter at Panera Bread or put in for a table at Olive Garden that the hostess/server asks for your first name for the order or reservation? I'm probably dating myself, but I remember when it was always your last name they wanted, so it was never a problem for me with my tongue-twister first name. I noticed the shift in trend after I'd racked up several deer-in-the-headlight or irritated looks from the hostesses as I spelled out and pronounced my name slowly and loudly (sometimes multiple times) so they could butcher it over the loudspeaker when they called my order or table up. True story, I once had a kid say over the loudspeaker so that the entire restaurant could hear: "I have no idea what this name is *insert garbled pronunciation* but your order's ready." After that incident I started giving Tim's name if we were out together, unless I was feeling squirly, then I'd make up names. I went through all the Disney princesses, but that got old pretty quick, and I didn't really enjoy pretending to be someone else, so I went back to giving my last name by default.

But today I got called out.

Jeff and I were ordering at the counter at a local place we both really like, and he was buying so after I put in my request I turned to him so he could order. The woman, who I'm pretty sure was the owner, asked me (the dreaded question) for my first name. I pointed to brother and started to tell her to put it under his name, at which point she interrupted me and demanded, "What's YOUR name?" Not in a friendly or curious way, but not exactly rude either, except for the interruption. So I told her, in a polite but 'you asked for it' tone of voice. I pronounced the name and spelled it out, and when I was finished the woman said "Mmm...your mother was...adventurous, wasn't she?" Again, not particularly friendly, but not quite condescending either, so I had no idea how to react. I answered, yes, I suppose she was, and went to find a table.

Funnily enough, when my order was up, they called my name over the loudspeaker and pronounced it flawlessly. I guess you can only deny your identity so long before the universe finds a way to call you on it.

Holy jet lag, Batman. Maybe when it passes I'll be able to describe London and Paris. I'll never be able to do them justice, though. Never.

Need more sleep now...commentary (and maybe pictures) later.

Trip preparations are finally winding down...except I have to finish packing toiletries...and repack my purse to remove all the liquids and sharp objects...and finish laundry...and make sure all the different currencies are in order...and...and...

Seriously, sometime tonight I'll be done. I'd better be, because this time tomorrow I'll be on a plane.

...and to prove it, here's a little taste of what I've been working on for the past year.

With my editor's permission, I can now announce that I'm writing a book in the Forgotten Realms Planetouched series, with the working title Shroud of Dusk. It's due to be released fall of 2010. I can't give more details at this point, but I will say it's quite different from both my previous Realms novels. It's also probably my best work to date, in terms of quality of writing, but we'll see what the readers think next fall. ;)

Now, if you want some fiction from me a little sooner, coming in January 2010 I have a short story in the Realms of the Dead anthology, edited by the lovely Susan Morris. This one you can pre-order now by clicking the link I'm too lazy to shorten:

http://www.amazon.com/Realms-Dead-Forgotten-Anthology-Haunted/dp/0786953632/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250826514&sr=8-1

There you have it: one FR novel, one short story, one tax season, and one secret project Venice, all in one year = one very sleepy writer.

The short, sweet version: It was great...now, let the recovering begin. ;)

Nope, I'm not dead, it's just been one of those...well, summers as it turns out. My dad had cataract surgery this week on his left eye. Since he lost most of his vision in his right eye due to several retinal detachments, this was an incredibly stressful event. But I'm happy to say everything went fine and dad can now see beautifully through the good eye. There have been other medical issues in the family, but so far they too have turned out for the best, thank God, and since I don't want to turn this into a medical-dominated post, I'll move on to the much better news.

As per the title of this post, it's finally happened. After many many years of spreading geekdom in the States, I'm taking the boys (specifically the husband, the brother and the Todd) across the pond to London and Paris for vacation this fall. Hang on a second... *squeal of girly delight* Ahem, anyway, this trip has been a few years in the making, but we're finally going to pull it off this September. Four days London, then the train to Paris for another four. I've been attempting to learn a little French through Rosetta Stone, but it's slow going. So far I can order bread, coffee, a book and I can say "What is that??" Also if I need to tell anyone that I'm going swimming, I'm covered there too. And Christopher, if you're reading this, my brother is chomping at the bit to visit the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore, so you're not alone with the Hemingway fascination.

Unfortunately, the length of this trip means that we had to cut other trips short, namely Gen Con. I'll absolutely still be at the convention, but only Friday to Sunday. This is the first time I won't be there on Wednesday for...wow, probably ten years. But, I am incredibly excited about September. More updates as things are finalized.

No news on the writing front as far as new projects, as I'm currently knee-deep in editing a couple of pre-existing ones. The suck removal continues.

So, how is everyone else's summer going?

We have progress--a profile exists with photos and everything. So if you want to add me as a friend, feel free. At this rate, I might even have a MySpace page by July. ;)

I'm trying to get an account going, everyone says I should be on, and I know I have friend requests I haven't responded to, it's just every time I start to fill out the information I have this terrible sensation like I'm signing away my soul to another time suck. This is not unlike the feeling I get when signing on to another MMORPG. Maybe I should twitter (tweet??) instead.

J is very indecisive.

J would like an aspirin for her headache.

J will poll for the answer.

Do my readers (there must be one or two of you lurking out there somewhere) prefer looking up authors via website, blog, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, or some combination of the above in order to connect? And if you prefer one over another, why?

J will now go contemplate her options.

I'm in the midst of packing for a mini vacation this weekend *spontaneous excited dance* and as always there's the dilemma of what books to take and how many. Probably just one this time as we have Caprica for the plane, but in considering books and my summer reading list I realized how totally remiss in blogging I've been, but I refuse to let the opportunity to promote these two shinies pass me by. Both novels are on my summer reading pile and since I consider both authors to be good friends, reading their work is often like renewing our acquaintances.


Downshadow by Erik Scott de Bie
I must call special attention to this book in the Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep series. Waterdeep is an iconic city, and Erik is an amazing writer with a knack for creating characters that you won't soon forget. I have no doubt that the combination of the two means readers are in for a treat. Beyond that, Erik's love for the Realms is clear in everything he writes, so pick this one up for sure, and when you're done romping in the urban landscape, consider...


The Restless Shore by James P. Davis
If you're not already familiar with James and his writing, it is of the kind that you sink into and not simply read. Which is not surprising considering James is an artist as well as a writer; his descriptions literally float off the page. Revel in the details and enjoy the ride with this one. I know I certainly will.

There you go, you have your assignments, now get reading. My preference is outside (weather permitting) on a comfy chair with a cold drink at hand. I've entered many different worlds that way. ;)

It has been a unique couple of weeks since last post. I've gone from working almost every waking moment to suddenly NOTHING. This has had an...interesting effect. I now know what writers mean when they talk about the fallout after a long stretch of working or the end of a particularly difficult project. I'm finding myself incapable of doing much of anything beyond watching television (I'm developing a taste for playoff hockey, courtesy of husband) or reading books or sleeping. Actually when I do either of the former it inevitably turns into the latter. But I did recently finish The Stepsister Scheme, by Jim Hines, which I had actually started reading during the latter half of tax season just to have something fun to keep me sane. Turns out I chose well, as this is a wonderful book. I kept thinking as I read it that this, THIS, was the kind of book I was looking for when I couldn't find enough heroines who were the stars of the show. Now Jim's given me three for the price of one. I think Snow was my favorite character--with a finger crook she could rule the world. ;) And the fairy tale lore, that was something I wasn't expecting. For a long time I've collected books of fairy tales, so it was great to see the spirit of them recreated in Jim's detailed world. Every bargain a price, every curse has the weight of life and death. That's what I remember about those old tales, and Jim is faithful to them here. I highly recommend this one.

Travel plans for the summer are taking shape, but that's a whole other entry. Thankfully I have all summer to learn the language. :)

*collapses*

Thank the gods.

I'm spent.

Unfortunately, that's about all I have time to report. I'm REALLY going to need a vacation after this.

We're having our first sunny day in a week and I've been alternating between writing and burning music onto iPod Nano. My little purple wonder is going to save me this tax season. Sometimes I love to listen to music while I write, and sometimes I need to work in total silence, but when I'm running the numbers, it's pure chocolate to have music going in the background. And since not everyone shares my wacky taste in music or cares to hear a succession of broadway hits, soundtracks, angry Linkin Park tunes or Indie crooners, the ear buds are a good plan. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff too, so if you have a recommendation for a lover of Neko Case, Feist, Matt Bauer or Vienna Teng, or just something you're loving right now and dying to share, send the artist's name my way. Discovering is the best part.

Novel Progress

83,079 / 90,000 (92.3%)

And everyone travel safely if you have to travel over the next few days. This Midwesterner is very tired of freezing rain and snow.

Novel Progress

68,352 / 90,000 (75.9%)

Note to self: Remember it always sucks less on the rewrite...always sucks less on the rewrite