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The reason for yesterday's trip to TJ Maxx was to acquire summer weight lap coverings to accommodate the cats. (Firefly and Tali prefer a blanket layer. Rookie doesn't appear to care.)

Here you see the lap covering, AKA beach towel, for the comfy chair in my office.

You also see the Tali seal of approval in play.

LOL!!! Local peeps! If you get the Bangor Daily News, take a look at the Top Maine Towns you Should Live In. Not only does Waterville not make the graphic, but Kennebec County doesn't even show up on the graph!

Oh, wait.

*whispers* . . . did . . . did Canada adopt us and I missed the memo? Huh? Is that what happened? Tali's standing on my desk right now, telling me she won't at all mind being a Canadian Coon Cat.

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So! Tuesday. Which I was for a moment convinced it was Wednesday, but Firefly straightened me out. Sunny and breezy. We here in Kennebec County, Canada, are laboring under a Fire Warning, due to dry air incoming, pushed by excess breeze. Well, there.

Trash and recycling are at the curb, and breakfast has been et.

Today has been A Week, and it's just past 9 am.

Last night, I noticed that my left ankle, which I had sprained back in God, She Knows. When were we GOHs at ChattaCon? Then. (January 2012; I looked it up. Also -- how long ago?) Anyhow, I noticed that ankle was aching last night, but I put it down to having actually been on my feet quite a bit yesterday, In Between It All. Sleep would fix it, I thought.

Well. I woke up this morning and said ankle was swollen, and still, yeah, achy. So I searched out the ankle brace and got that on. Came out and started a cup of chocolate tea, got out the milk while I was waiting for that to finish brewing, opened the windows, prepped the comfy chair, came back to my tea, took it into the kitchen, picked up the milk, absently shook it and!

You're ahead of me, I can see the smirks.

Yep. Milk everywhere. I did a mop-up, but I still have to wash the utensils (puddles of milk in the kitchen tool holder by the stove. ick.), and make sure I got all the milk, oh, off the wall. Yeah, this may qualify as a Personal Best. I'll check the record book.

OTOH, there are daffodils.

And how's Tuesday treating you?

Today's blog post title brought to you by The Scorpions, "Rock You Like a Hurricane"

Monday. Sunny and already warm. All the windows are open and the cats are lounging in the breeze from the sliders in Steve's office.

The first load of towels needs to be taken out of the dryer and the second load put in.

The area rugs and runners are outside and over the rails, taking the sun. My deck chair and table are set up and ready for use.

Regarding the deck chair. When I got it out of the closet where it overwintered, there were five springs taking shelter beneath its skirts. FIVE.

For book club, I'm reading A Gentleman in Moscow, which I'm enjoying. It strikes me that this may have been what Theo of Golden was striving for, and, err, didn't achieve.

Since I just recently read Balance of Trade, I started Trade Secret last night, wherein I note that the Young Gentleman reveals to us The Plan. I believe that Jen Sin reviled the Young Gentleman's clan in Salvage Right, and also said something about The Plan, which I will need to check.

Honest to ghu, this universe is tight. The authors must've have a million databases. *cough*.

I have a couple titles that will fit in the small blank stars on the front of the Starry Shirt, so I'm getting those ready to be embroidered.

And! I have not yet heard from D2D customer service, which is not surprising, and I really don't expect to hear from them this week.

I believe I need to step out for a few minutes to hit the TJMaxx in-town, and also the Hannaford. P'rhaps I'll get the car washed. I have a pass, after all.

How's everybody doing this fine Monday morning?

Sunday. Sunny and again said to be heading into the vicinity of warm.

Today, will be electron-free here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

And, I've hit a snag in the republication project.

Draft2Digital has produced Content Guidelines, to wit:
What are the requirements for self-certifying erotica content?
You must accurately declare the presence of specific erotic themes during the publishing process. You are required to disclose if your work contains any of the following:
Incest or Pseudo-Incest: Sexual relations between family members, whether biologically or non-biologically related (including step-relatives).
Bestiality: Sexual relations between humans and real-world animals. (Note: Fantasy creatures such as shape-shifters or aliens are not classified as bestiality).
Rape for Titillation: Content where the dominant theme is non-consensual sexual relations intended to titillate the reader.
Age Play: Consenting adult characters role-playing or pretending to be babies or children.
Dubious Consent (Dubcon): Scenes exploring the gray area between consent and non-consent where the receiver’s willingness is unclear.
Non-Consensual Sexual Slavery: Erotic depictions of kidnapping, imprisonment, or trafficking. This is distinct from BDSM, which relies on informed consent and safe words.
We do not accept content with pornographic images or content that glorifies taboo subjects such as sexual exploitation of children or rape.

. . . Given the squeamishness of the audiobook company that backed out of its contract because Chapter Whatever-It-Was, I'm guessing that D2Digital will find The Fey Duology to be in violation of its terms of use.

This? Is disappointing. To say the least.

The other, somewhat disturbing thing about this new policy is that books that certify "erotic" content will not be offered to libraries. I'd like to know if the libraries know that they're being "protected" in this manner. And, I do have right here a review from Library Journal stating that Duainfey is "for most libraries."
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Sigh. This has been a good day for Stress Eating. At least it was strawberries. Mind you, strawberries and whipped cream, but it could've been worse.

So, the Plan. I'll continue getting the book together while I'm waiting for D2D to answer me (surprise! They warn of higher-than-normal customer contacts. Gee, I wonder why.), and based on their answer, I'll ... figure something out.

You'd think the people who are trying to suppress "erotica" would understand that hiding things in the corner, or forbidding certain things that people want, like, oh, I dunno? Abortion? Oh! Alcohol! Only drives it underground, where it warps and becomes deadly.

Yes, well. Back to work.

This day has not been as productive as I had envisioned.

Despite the best efforts of the universe, I did get some useful stuff done today. I include washing the dishes and vacuuming the dining room, living room, and bedroom in that.

Tomorrow, I need to research how/how much it will cost to register the copyright for The Fey Duology (we had always assigned and noted an ISBN, and published the copyright notice, which, until the late shenanigans with the AIs, provided protection as it showed Intent. The Anthropic Settlement teaches us that there's no protection without you spend money for it. Well. Lesson learned.), fill out the necessary forms, and maybe even finish formatting the book.

After which, it can languish until I get some Answers from D2D.

. . .I keep catching myself saying, to myself, or to the cats, or, yanno, to all of us, "Why is everything taking so long?" And, aside the universe being bored, the answer is -- today? Today, if I was focused on getting the book formatted, Steve would have vacuumed, done the dishes, and cooked dinner, too. If he'd drawn the book, then I'd've picked up the chores, and the book would have been ready for formatting (except we'd probably still be talking about if we're paying the copyright fee, and wondering to each other WTF D2D has got into its head) right about, oh -- now.

I'm never going to get used to this, am I?

Well.

Onward.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I'll check in tomorrow.

Here, have some daffodils:

Saturday. Sunny. The weatherbeans give it as their opinion that it will achieve "warm" today.

Found one of Rookie's whiskers -- I don't find them nearly as often as I find the long white sort favored by the girls -- so that was exciting. Also, he managed to bank two out of three possible new balls, so I ordered in nine more (3 additional cards) from Petsmart, which declares that they will deliver these essential items today. Guess somebody in Augusta thinks it's a nice day for a ride.

Next up, putting the kettle on and rustling up some breakfast before I hit the books.

What's on the books for Saturday at your place?
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And, in celebration of a sunny Saturday, one of my favorite character interactions, in which we learn that Clonak isn't ... quite ... a fool, after all. From I Dare:

"You fed me to them," [Val Con] said, and his voice was, perhaps, not quite steady. "The scouts gave me to the Department."

Clonak stared at him as if he'd taken leave of his wits. "Well, *of course* we gave you to them, Shadow! Who else did we have more likely to trump them than a first-in, pure-blood yos'Phelium scout commander? Concentrated random action. Would we waste such a weapon? Would you? I didn't think so. Besides," he finished, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's the duty of the Captain to protect the passengers. Er Thom can't have missed telling you that!"

"As close-kin, I ask that you not kill him," Daav said into the silence that followed this. "I allow him to be twelve times an idiot. But he is also my oldest friend, and I value him."

So! I found somebody to install the dishwasher when it arrives (actually, the day after it arrives). I had thought that part was going to be the most difficult, after the whole banking mess, but -- a pleasant surprise.

The tech from Andersen who was supposed to be here by 12 and then by 1:30 has yet to arrive. He did call when he realized he was running late, so I was able to have lunch.

The laundry is almost finished, and Firefly is sleeping in the comfy chair in my office. Tali and Rook came out to shark at lunchtime, but I think they've gone back to Steve's office.

On the Writing Side of Things, my plan is to finish getting The Fey Duology ready to rock 'n roll, catch myself up on the Liaden Read Along commentary, and read the Jethri books as a lump.

The last is in service of ensuring that This Idea I Had to finish up that sub-series will actually square with what's already canon.

This means, yes, I'll be -- adjusting -- the order of my complete reread of the Liaden books, but needs must, and at least I'll still be reading in-Universe.
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On Facebook, someone commented that I had clearly always been a cat, which gave rise to this memory:

You may be on to something. The first time Steve and I went together into a neighborhood strange to both of us, we had barely gotten out of the car when two cats came charging down the street, tails high, ran right up to Steve and started slamming themselves against his knees. He knelt down, administered ear scrubbles, then kinda looked up at me, half-smiling (I might have been staring), and said, "Yeah. Cats like me."
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So, today didn't quite work out like I expected, but! Tomorrow's decks are clear, so I can hop right into The Fey Duology.

Everybody have a good evening. I'll check in tomorrow.

Friday. Sunny and cool.

Finished yesterday with a phone call from the Investigator from the finance company, who only wanted to tell me what I've been told eight times before, that they did not submit the check twice and the error was on the bank's side. I told her to call the bank, but no, investigators can't call banks to find out WTF. Nor can banks call investigators. I was a moderate wreck by the time we finished up, and spent the evening reading until I stopped shaking. I finished When the Wolves are Silent around 11 pm.

I did have a pleasant dream where I was grocery shopping with Steve, so there was that.

Woke up this morning, called the bank and went through five levels of experts until the fifth said, "Jeez, I don't know why we pulled -- oh, wait. Yanno? I bet we weren't sure that said thousand." So, we verified that the needed funds were in the account (yes). I called the finance company, explained that the bank had acted out of an Over-abundance of Caution, verified the amount due, which I carefully BLOCK PRINTED on the check, and God, may She be willing, this is the end of that.

(And, yes, I am aware that we have reached the land of Everybody Make Something Up Until we Hit on Something that Sounds Plausible and Doesn't Lose Anybody Their Job.)

What else?

Ah. Indeed, Ray cannot install my dishwasher-arriving-on-May-6 for me, so I need to cast about for someone else.

And? There's actually more, but I'll reserve the rest for later, before this becomes too long.

How's Friday treating y'all?
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* I believe it was Val Con who said that being a Scout was one-quarter being terrified and three-quarters mucking about in the mud? The same can be said of being a writer.
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Oh, hey, here's more:

Back when I first met Steve, I operated on the principle that people -- all people -- were out to get me, and that I could trust no one. Which makes the entry of Steve into my life even more extraordinary, but -- that aside.

I hate that we -- or at least I -- have returned to a place where I must suspect everything of being a scam.

This takes a toll on your soul, and I hate it. I especially hate it because for much of my life, after Steve convinced me that sometimes, people will actually be kind and helpful because there are kind and helpful people in the world, I very much benefited from the kindness of strangers.

And now? Everyone has to be Scrutinized and Weighed and the walls must be fortified. Not just the normal stuff of "You're Old and Now You're Prey" that's always been out there, but the unrelenting barrage of people trying to steal from you, frighten you, and trick you is approaching lethal. And now, there are AIs added to the arsenal of the scammers.

In this brave new world...

Thursday. Rainy and cool.

Today, I believe, is going to include a sizeable chunk of time in the Comfy Chair in my office, with a pen, a pad of paper and various notes. Which is to say -- working, today.

I will be baking a couple of chicken breasts, some of which will be for lunch today, the rest of which will be leftovers.

I have a note from the finance company assuring me that they are On The Case.

In all the Excitement attending the finance company shenanigans the other day, I forget the Biggest! News! Users of electricity have been being promised for months now that our electricity bills Will Be going down next year, and a couple days ago I got a letter from CMP, assuring me that this happy news is true!

In fact, my monthly electric bill will be doing down by!

Four dollars.

Y'all, I can't even buy a bottle of cheap wine for four bucks anymore.

I noted several people remarking on how small alpacas are, and indeed they are much shorter than their cousin, the llama. Breed standard calls for a compact animal, and one of yesterday's companions of the road -- Obadiah -- is considered Too Tall, and for that defect, he will never know the joys of alpaca fatherhood.

All that said -- I'm no longer six foot tall, but I'm still way taller than the so-called "average" American woman at five-foot-three-anna-half feet. Cory, who is closer to the average, but not what I would call short, had to reach UP to fasten Zander's lead, and had to Speak Sternly to Obie, when he casually lifted his head, putting his nose beyond her reach, when she was trying to fasten the lead.

So -- alpacas are compact, yes -- but they're not small. I would not, for instance, have wanted Zander to step on my foot.

Oh! And another question -- this regarding the cat balls -- Do the cats like them? Yes! In fact, these are the culmination of Quest to replace the two (similar) cat balls that he carried around with him and brought to me to throw for him, and, indeed, brought to his grandpa Trooper, to show him what a ball was. The original balls are doubtless in a safe place, because they are Treasure, but Rookie doesn't really get the springs, though he'll compete with Tali, because -- Competition R Rook -- and none of the other balls in the house are quite so perfect as those which have been banked.

So! All questions now being answered: What're your plans for the day?

So that was a full day.

First up -- tour of the alpacas en masse. The last time I was at Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm, it was with Steve, who may have been trying to keep me amused post-mastectomy. The star stud at that point was Space Cowboy, who you will of course understand was of immediate interest to Steve. I'm sorry to have to report that Cowboy has since joined the Great Alpaca Herd in the Clouds. Alpacas in the US rarely live past +/- 12 years and Cowboy was 20. There are a couple of other elders at Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm; one young lady is rising 18 and two more are 17.

Alpacas do not like to be petted, though either Zander, my guide, didn't get that memo, or pressing up against your walking partner, (when initiated by Zander), is OK. My purple hoodie, so Rook informs me, smells really interesting. As do my hiking boots.

Alpacas also do not like dogs. I'm told that the Number One Alpaca Predator is the domestic dog. At one point in our walk, Zander suddenly went on high alert, very deliberately bumped into me, and went still.

Turns out that a portion of the Hill-to-Sea Trail runs along the edge of the farm, and there were hikers on the trail, with their dog. Which was leashed. Zander and I waited a couple minutes in Complete Stillness, before I thought to tell him, very quietly, that dogs listen to me, that I don't know why dogs listen to me, but they do -- and that I had this for him. I pulled gently on the lead (as per instructions for If The Alpaca Stops), and we continued our stroll.

I also found out that, aside shearing, alpacas are not groomed, because grooming destroys the virtue of their wool. In fact, if a show alpaca arrives in the ring well-groomed and not dusted with hay, the judges take points off. The exact opposite of a cat show.

After our walk and another perambulation around the meadow, so that I could be properly introduced to everyone, I went on my way, deciding to stop at Augusta, which has two pet stores, and (unfortunately not, but so I believed when I set out) a TJ Maxx. At PetSmart I found Whisker City "It Drives Me Wild" soft fluffy balls -- three on a card (pic below). These are crinkly, which the two that are somewhere in this house are not, but Rookie wishes me to let you know that they are Entirely Acceptable. I detached one from the card and threw it for him, and while he initially darted off with it down to Steve's office, he soon brought it back to me so I could throw it again. We did this for, eh, six times, then he took it some where else.

After I found that TJ Maxx was gone, I went The Senator for my midday meal -- crab cakes, rice, and broccoli -- stopped at the Cony Street Hannaford for a minor grocery shop, and came home to find a call from the appliance store, letting me know that, nope, no dishwasher delivery next week, but the week after.

I don't think that's going to work out for Ray, who has another, more pressing, appointment coming up, but I'll give him a call and see if he can recommend someone else.

And I think that's all the news.

How's everybody doing today?

Photo album here

Today's blog post title comes with apologies to the Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian"

So, that was not how I was going to spend my morning.

In early March, I paid off the installation of the new French doors in Steve's office. The check cleared. I foolishly thought that was that.

Until today, when I open a statement from the finance company which states that I owe them the full amount.

I call. The story at the finance company is that the check was "returned to maker" -- IOW, it bounced.

I look at my account online. Nope; check cleared. However, there is a noted "returned" check for the same amount after the original check cleared.

I call the bank, which goes into their files, and says that it looks to them like the check cleared, THEN IT WAS SUBMITTED AGAIN -- and the second submission bounced. As it should have done.

Call finance company back. Am told several times at length by the first line customer service person that the check bounced. Finally win a conversation with a "specialist," with whom I go through the whole thing One! More! Time! including the fact that I have of copy of the cleared check with the finance company's stamp on the back, and he creates a Ticket.

I'm to hear back from the Banking Experts in 48 to 72 hours. And I'm wondering if people can actually shake themselves into a decline.

Argh.

First cat fountain swapped. Guess I'd better go get on the second.
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And on the plus side of the ledger, dishwasher repair guy will be here "today."

Guess I'd better rustle up some lunch.
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And Ray says the motor's burned up. I have purchased on his advice, a Whirlpool which will hopefully be delivered sometime next week.

Argh.
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Home now from needlework, which I'm glad I just didn't decide to stay home and brood.

Yanno what? I'm really looking forward to walking that alpaca tomorrow morning.

Tuesday. Sunny and cold. Haven't gotten the trash out yet, but I've got time.

There have been at least a dozen rescue vehicles going screaming down the road in the last ten minutes, all heading south, and now it's quiet. Too quiet.

. . . yeah.

The book club met yesterday afternoon at Holy Cannoli and engaged in a wide-ranging discussion, some of it . . . and there goes another one, the second attack wagon I've seen . . . some of it, as I was saying, about Theo of Golden, which found a more appreciative audience among the other two-thirds of the gathered readers than it found with me. Next book: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

I finished formatting the Fey Duology yesterday. This does not mean it's ready for release, but that it's formatted. Formatting is a looooonnnngggg job, but not the only job. I'll be getting back to the tasks remaining on the road to publication, eh. Thursday-ish.

Today? Is chores. I have two numbers for folks who fix dishwashers, so I'll be making phone calls, and washing dishes, and changing out cat fountains. Also need to sit with Googlemaps and make sure I have my directions for Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm, since I'm not just going out for a ride, and happen to go by the alpacas, which is a handy place to pull over and take in the view.

This evening is craft group. Tomorrow morning, as above, the Great Alpaca-ing.

But, first? Breakfast. There must be something in this house for breakfast...

What did you have for breakfast?

19 An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
18 Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17 Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
16 *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15 *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
14 Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
13 Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
12 *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11 *Scout's Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10 *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9 *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8 Cuckoo's Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7 *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5 *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4 *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
3 *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
2 A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace Burrowes (e)
1 Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)

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*I'm doing a straight-through series read in publication order

**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order. I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.

***I'll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!

Sunday. Grey and damp, but not snowing yet.

This morning while taking my shower, I learned that Joan Jett had covered "Dirty Deeds," which, had I taken a Moment's Thought, I would have said, "Of course she did," but there we are.

I am, let it be known, Very Fond of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," AC/DC, and here we find the fundamental problem with humankind. It's a song about a hitman soliciting business, and assuring customer satisfaction through a variety of means. It is, in a word, a terrible song. And yet, yes -- I do love it. Why do I love it?

Well. Beyond the fact that it is of course always a pleasure to hear someone who is happy in their work (I'm especially fond of the list at the very end of AC/DC's version: "Concrete Shoes. Cyanide. Neckties. Contracts. High Mountains!"); it's manic; and, so I choose to believe, meant to be a parody. Also, because it may remind me of home -- gently raised as I was in a blue collar family in a violent, ugly, port city.

I also learned that I need to find a source for the particular fuzzy little balls that Rookie dotes on and then hides so effectively I can't find any to throw for him, leading to Sadness of the Tiny, Abused Coon Cat variety.

And! I've also learned that my tea has brewed, and Firefly is waiting for me on the comfy chair.

What's one of your favorite songs -- and why?
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Had a lovely chat with Sean Hazlett for the Baen Free Radio Hour. We talked about Liaden Universe Constellation Six, Duainfey and Longeye, The Wire, and had a fine time.

Rook and Tali joined me for moral support, and even Google chimed in at one point, thinking, apparently, that I had asked it a question.

For the curious, it has not snowed, but the skies have opened several times to let St. Peter dump out his washtub.

I'm off for the rest of the day, I think.

Everybody stay safe.

Look at these guys; are they pros or what?

Today's blog post title from, of course, AC/DC, "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"

Well. Saturday. Damp and cooler.

My dishwasher may either be broken, or it's current state of semi-functionality is an artifact of the water main work going on down the street. I checked the circuit box this morning, and started another cycle was this morning, but it's not sounding good. I'm not hearing water moving in that box, which -- at least it's not leaking, amirite? So! I'll be doing a dishwasher full of dishes by hand some time today. That'll be fun.

It will also prepare me for doing my dishes by hand going forward, because a new dishwasher is so not in the budget.

What else?

Not much, I'm thinking.

Breakfast, I do believe, will be oatmeal, then I'm hitting the manuscript until lunch time, then dealing the domestic mini-crisis, then The! Studio!

A plan.

What's your plan for the day?
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Saturday evening.

I am half-way through formatting The Fey Duology -- which means I've finished with Longeye. Duainfey will go slower, not because it needs more work, but because I have a busy patch coming up.

Tomorrow afternoon, I have an interview scheduled. Sean Hazlett and I will be chatting about A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume 6, soon to be arriving in bookstores everywhere. Monday is a meeting of the book club, after our winter hiatus, Tuesday is of course needlework, and Wednesday is my date with an alpaca. None of these are all-encompassing, but they do mean I can't just sit down for a bunch of hours at a stretch to do my job.

In preparation for Wednesday, I found my hiking boots. I was . . . somewhat taken aback to find that these are Rather New hiking boots. Hardly used, in fact. When I went into the closet, I had in my mind my old hiking boots, which memory now reminds me had been retired when the soles got too smooth for safety.

I've also done some research about how I should comport myself, so as not to offend alpaca-kind, and I now know not to wear strong scent, or noisy things (which means my keys will stay in the car, with the exception of the car fob itself, which will go into my pocket, instead of the three of them riding on a belt loop as per usual), or very bright colors. Wednesday is supposed to be cooler than it has been for the last few days, and I'm eyeing my dull purple hoodie, as most likely not to be missed in case I am spat upon.

I've also been informed that alpacas prefer to take the initiative, so I should not rush my walking companion on Wednesday, and that I should in no case try to pat an alpaca on the head.

I finished grinding my glass pieces, and this evening I will consult my book to refresh myself on foiling.

I put out a call on the Waterville Facebook page, seeking someone competent to repair a dishwasher, in case there's an easy fix.

I did, for the curious, wash the dishes that were in the dishwasher, which was oddly calming.

I think that catches us all up.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I'll check in tomorrow.

Ah. The second daffodil of spring. I note that the Weatherbeans are calling for snow tomorrow.

Friday. Cloudy, damp, temps forecast to rise into the mid-60sF.

A thunderstorm rolled into town at bedtime last night. I got up from the couch, moved to the comfy chair in my office, opened the curtains, cracked one of the windows, and watched the storm for an hour. We don't get nearly enough thunderstorms at this location, so we need to celebrate those we do get.

House has been picked up and Sarah's due in at 9ish. I'm about to retreat to Steve's office and start working on getting the Fey Duology ready for prime time.

What're you doing today?

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Out to the post office and back. Lunch prepared and et. I have done some research and it may be -- that is may be -- possible to offer a softcover edition of the Fey Duology through Draft2Digital that does not involve Amazon's marketing arm. I've always found D2D ... kinder than Amazon. I will continue exploring.

Perusing the reviews for Duainfey and Longeye (I'm looking for a -- one -- glowingish professional pull quote, and it's being tough going -- I'm again struck by things like the reviewer complaining about made-up words, and I've gotten the distinct feeling that some had decided what the books were going to be about, and then were thrown off by them being, err, different.

There are also the odd reviewers who remark -- back to back -- on the fact that the two books have different voices (yes? this would be why there were two books), and complaining that they were forced to buy two books when a "rigorous editing" could have pared the entire tale into one book.

And then there are the reviewers who found Our Heroine Useless and Too Stupid to Live because she managed to survive a completely alien situation, learn the workings of said alien situation, make her way through trauma and fear back to love and morality -- a lengthy road that I believe rightly passes through Anger. Those folks remind me of the people who found it Unbelievable that a woman as brilliant as Aelliana Caylon was "supposed to be" would have allowed herself to be abused.

That said, I've been sitting for some time with the problem of how I'm going to survive, going forward, especially as a writer, because I can't simply just bear down and do everything that both of us did (ref Useless and Too Stupid to Live, above) without becoming a Rolanni-sized ember. Sarah's visit this morning illuminated my situation. When I needed help cleaning the house, I hired somebody to help me. When it became clear that I couldn't cope with the website that Steve had maintained, I hired somebody to help me.

So, it will be no shame to hire somebody to help me with PR, and possibly other administrative tasks, so I can write, meet my deadlines, interact with my readers, and Have A Life. You wouldn't have thought that coming to this realizaton would have taken this long, but here we are.

It's a pretty day outside. I have all the windows that will open, opened, and now it's time to go back to Steve's office and format me some more manuscript.
#
So! I'm a third of the way through the Easy Part of the job. Tomorrow I may not be so speedy, as I do fully intend to spend at least an hour in The! Studio! with my glasswork.

Fans of Rookie will be interested to know that he conned me out of a tidbit of hardboiled egg at lunchtime and snabbled it right down.

Tali, offered her own bit of egg was -- confused.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I'll check in tomorrow.

Proof of spring:

And I have finished reading Longeye.

I'm so angry, I'm weeping.

There is nothing wrong with these books, and I refuse to put a trigger warning on them that says, What? These are so well-written that they may make you feel that over-riding someone's will is wrong?

Weren't we just having a conversation about how wrong it is to subjugate another person?

I'm going to go break things, now.
#
This is the cover art for the e-omnibus including the reprints of Duainfey and Longeye, with an Explanatory Foreword from the surviving author. This e-omnibus will be coming out from Pinbeam Books (aka, the Sharon Lee & Steve Miller Publishing Empire) RealSoonNow. I'll tell you when.

I went back through the professional reviews for Duainfey and Longeye, and am kind of struck by the confusion of the reviewers -- even the reviewers who liked them. It reminds me in a way of the reviews for Ondine (which I adore, predictably), in which the biggest complaint was that the filmmakers "couldn't decide" if they wanted to tell a fantasy or a present day story. When in fact what the filmmakers did (I have no idea, obviously, if they intended this) very well was to juxtapose fantasy and present day, which I think? is pretty common, and I never did figure out why none of the pros could figure that out.

Anyhoots! I have a cover for The Fey Duology (including Duainfey and Longeye in one! convenient! package!), and now all I have to do now is edit the manuscript, reformat it 18 times, write cover copy, and a preface, and all like that. As before, I don't dare try to sell this through Amazon, because I really can't depend on them understanding stuff like "rights reverted," and "I wrote them." Amazon has had trouble with these concepts before, and I can't risk the dozens of Pinbeam Books books that are already on sale at Amazon for one title.

And now! I need to go do my duty to the cats.

Blog title . . . Yeah, still with The Black Crowes. Been that kind of a day.

18 Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17 Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
16 *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15 *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
14 Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
13 Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
12 *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11 *Scout's Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10 *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9 *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8 Cuckoo's Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7 *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5 *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4 *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
3 *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
2 A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace Burrowes (e)
1 Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)

________
*I'm doing a straight-through series read in publication order

**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order. I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.

***I'll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!

Thursday?

. . . let's go with Thursday. Damp and cool, but by no means cold.

Breakfast was rice crackers, cream cheese, and grapes. Lunch will probably be fried potatoes and onions and a protein to be named later. The to-do list is everything I didn't do yesterday.

I am three-quarters of the way through Longeye and There. Is. Not. ONE. THING. Wrong. with these books. I'm actually quite angry with the people who made me ashamed of my own work and very nearly caused me to abandon my art. And while Steve said all the right things -- one of Steve's many talents lying in the direction of selling sno cones to penguins. At a profit. -- I doubt he would have given up writing, and I'm not sure the partnership would have survived my withdrawal.

Side story: We had friends who were musicians, a duo, who played gigs in the neighborhood. One day, one of the duo called and asked to meet us for a drink; she had something she wanted to talk out. So, we met her, and it turned out that she had met another musician whose art ignited her own in a way that playing with the other half of the current duo, also her partner, did not. She really wanted to play with this other person, and expand her art. I can still hear the raw anguish in her voice when she said, "And the problem is, I never made a distinction between being with [partner], and playing with [partner]."

Sometime after that, the original duo vanished from the local scene, and we heard, eventually, that they had split and she had left the area.
The moral of this story being that the partnership Steve and I shared was fluid, and informed everything we did. I lost track of how many times we were asked: "You're married? And you write together? How does that even work?" It worked because we were together.

*deep breath*

Going back to the Fey Duology -- I will, indeed, be reissuing these books. Proudly reissuing these books. Under our names.

And now? I b'lieve it's time to go to work.

How's everybody doing?

Today's blog post title comes courtesy of The Black Crowes, "She talks to angels"

Wednesday. Grey, damp, and warm.

Today is the day I was to have turned Kin Right in to Baen.

I have a bunch of clerical tasks to finish with today, so that's what will be happening. I also need to chop and freeze onions, figure out if I can freeze lemons, and also sliced deli ham (I went a little nuts at the grocery and bought a fresh-deli pack of black forest ham and another, of baby Swiss, because damn, I miss ham sandwiches). My desire having been somewhat slaked, I realize that I had better freeze what's left and parcel it out later.

Lunch will be a salad, on account I have lettuce, tomato, cooked potatoes, pickled beets, olives, cottage cheese, and I can have tuna, if the whim so takes me. Breakfast was ham and Swiss on whole wheat with mustard. Third mug of tea is brewing.

The cats have relocated themselves to the front of the house, which is where my office is located. No one is actually in my office with me at the moment, but all are within the sound of my keyboard.

I started reading Longeye last night, and have yet to encounter porn. I will backtrack to Duainfey briefly, reminded as I was by the audiobook company that sought out the Fey Books, signed a contract, and then pulled out, giving as their reason, and I quote: "Chapter Thirty-Seven!"

Now, Chapter Thirty-Seven is ... hard. Even very hard. Or, one might say, effective. Not porn, and I contend that no one would have paled, had Our Heroine instead been multiply and terribly wounded in a gun fight, or tied to a post and whipped.

I further note that we apparently have always wanted to talk about Power's drive to subsume and control Art/Soul/Love/Innocence.

What else?

Ah! A book came across my newsfeed -- Falling Forward, which apparently discusses the Myth of Resilience. As someone who still finds herself saying at least once a day, "I can't do this," I'm interested in what this book has to say, and I wonder if anyone here has read it, and what you thought.

I think that's it for the Morning Edition.

Today's blog post title brought to you by Sail North, "Compass."

Here, have a picture of Rookie before he jumped up into my chair in the dining room and went to sleep:

17 Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
16 *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15 *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
14 Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
13 Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
12 *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11 *Scout's Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10 *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9 *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8 Cuckoo's Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7 *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5 *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4 *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
3 *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
2 A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace Burrowes (e)
1 Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)

________
*I'm doing a straight-through series read in publication order

**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order. I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.

***I'll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!

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