Keeping breathing...

So, as I said to a few friends privately, I feel as though I can breathe again. The family member who is ill has made great strides…it will be a long road, but much of the fear is gone. Yes, it’s a cliché, but it does feel like a weight has lifted.

When you’re worried about someone in the hospital, it consumes you. It’s hard to let go, to think about other things; normal routines seem pointless and difficult. Feeling happiness feels like a betrayal. When you work in a creative field, it’s even harder: You struggle with whether what you’re doing is important or necessary or worthwhile, and gods, it’s so hard to be creative when you’re worried or scared or consumed.

I don’t think I was even aware of the fog ‘til it lifted. I’m sort of stunned by how bright the world is again. And I can really look forward to the things I’m looking forward to:

• Ken’s coming home! I’ll have another session of getting crazy amounts of work done at the airport while waiting for him (so I don’t have to drive there in the dark) on Tuesday, and then he’ll be home!
• Five—count ‘em, five!—Styx shows in a row, starting next week! And for four of them, we’re road-tripping with my friend Sara from Arizona. She’s flying in for show to, and the adventure will culminate in Arizona with the last show.
• A trip to LACMA to see their Fashioning Fashion exhibit.
• Anwyn’s coming to visit!  ::squeebouncity!::
• Nanci & Lenny’s annual awesome Superbowl party. I go for the friends, not for the game (as every year, I have no clue who’s even playing).
• Flying back to GA to visit family—this time, a much more positive and hopeful trip!
• Seeing Dennis De Young perform—it’s been way too long.
• Road-tripping to Oregon with Ken: We’re hauling the two old bikes up there for him and his buddy Ernie to get into selling condition, and I’m going to an Oregon Coast Writers workshop. Four of us ladies are sharing a room, and there will be a major gab-fest the night before the workshop starts!
• Then in March, two more Gowan shows! And this time, Ken’s coming, too! And Nanci and Helen again, and we will meet up with lots of other Gowan fans, and lo, Niagara Falls will never be the same.

Meanwhile, I have a slew of things to do before that Styxgian road trip… Back to work!

Filling the soul, or, a request for a bookplate

So, recently I received a lovely e-mail from someone I guess I should call a fan: She read and enjoyed “Lost and Found” in Lesbian Lust, and wanted to know if I had any signed bookplates.

Here’s the thing. We writers write in a vacuum. We hunch over our computers and sometimes the words flow and other times they’re chiseled out by one-armed dwarves wielding rusty pick-axes. We do the best we can, and when we’re done with our art, it becomes our product, and we fire it out into the world and hope it sells, because that’s what pays the bills.

We also hope that someone reads it, and that some of those people who read it kinda like it.

If someone actually writes a positive review, or asks for an autograph, etc? That just about sends us over the moon. Really. Honest. Wow. That’s what fills the soul.

Anyway, I didn’t have any bookplates. Hadn’t even considered they might be necessary. I went online and found a slew of ones I couldn’t afford (in terms of, I don’t need 500 of them at this time, but when I do, I assume I’ll be able to afford them!), and then I found erinshelby.etsy.com and picked up some lovely affordable customizable ones.

If anyone else wants a signed bookplate (i.e., you’re not local and can’t hand me a book), just let me know and I’ll fire one off to you. That is, if you want an Andrea Dale autograph. I’m still sorting out all the other pseudonyms! (But if you do want a different pseudonym, still let me know, so I know there’s a need for those bookplates!)

Wow.

Lo, some things are spiffy indeed

Despite the chaos I see everywhere and the lists of things to do I have (yes, I have multiple To Do lists…doesn’t everyone?), I feel like I’m slowly chipping away at the mountains and actually accomplishing something.

Still, I’m overdue at mentioning several very spiffy things!

First, Alison Tyler, who’s bought a number of my stories and is an author and editor who just amazes me (she has so much energy!), listed my story “The Queen of Christmas” as one of her favorites when it comes to, as she puts it, “happy porn.” I have to admit, the story makes me giggle every time I re-read it. So, thank you, Alison!

(If you want to read “The Queen of Christmas,” is available as an e-book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, as well as in the Alison-edited anthology Naughty or Nice: Christmas Erotica Stories. Oh, and if you like it? Please leave a review…kthnxbai.)

Second, let me direct you to this fabby review of Orgasmic: Erotica for Women, in which I have two stories, one as Andrea Dale and one as Kendra Wayne. Although neither of my stories is given a shout-out, I’m dead chuffed by the positive review of the anthology overall, because it is, in fact, a great one!

Third, I have spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker, veggies prepped for stir-fry tonight (the aforementioned sauce is for future meals/freezing), all the dishes are done, and Eostre and I had a nice long scritchies-and-purring session. Now I’m off to clean the sewing room and finish up a few projects in there. Later, I plan to finish and short story and get some copyediting done. :-)

In Her Hands - first chapter available

To start off the new year with a bang, the scrumptuous folks at Soul's Road Press have posted the first chapter of my short spicy romance novel (written as Andrea Dale), In Her Hands, for all and sundry to read! Absolutely free!

Sarabeth Delany’s fantasies come to life when she meets male model Michael Steele—the inspiration for her erotic sculptures. They bond over a discussion of art and passion…which leads to steamy nights with blindfolds and erotic photo sessions.

Michael appreciates the advantages modeling has given him, but he’d really rather be behind the camera. He longs for a woman who’ll love him for who he is, not his fame. When he finds out about Sarabeth’s sculptures, will it mean the end of their affair…and her career?

Sarabeth' fantasies come alive when she meets model Michael, the inspiration for her erotic sculptures. Their discussion about art and passion leads to steamy nights with blindfolds and erotic photo shoots. Michael would rather be behind the camera. He longs for a woman who doesn't care about his fame. When he finds out about the sculptures, will it mean the end of their affair…and her career?

“In Her Hands” was a top-10 finalist in the Brava Novella Contest.

Go here to read it...and enjoy!  :-)

"The Tale of the Tigress" now available as an e-book

In exchange for his brother’s life, a young man strikes a bargain with Budhi Pallien, goddess of the forest…and the Kama Sutra position of the Tigress was born. “Pain and pleasure twine hand in hand, and if you open yourself to the possibilities, you may find your passion to be as strong as a goddess’s.”

“The Tale of the Tigress” originally appeared in The Mammoth Book of the Kama Sutra (Running Press, 2008).

Buy it for your Kindle

Buy it for your B&N Nook

Buy it in a variety of formats on Smashwords

Yesterday was something of a bust. First I had an acupuncture treatment, which really just focused on my ankle (and the swelling went way down, wooh!) and my ear (no change, really, but as it turned out I didn’t have an infection, I’m not surprised). Then my acupuncturist basically cut me loose, because I haven’t had a hot flash since the beginning of December. Also wooh!

Then I dashed home and took our tenant out to lunch at Fresh and Fabulous for her birthday, where I nommed on a turkey/avocado/bacon/pesto mayo on whole grain bread, and drank my happy way through nearly an entire pot of Queen Victoria tea. We talked about e-publishing and they brought her a cupcake with a candle in it and sang Happy Birthday to her, yay.

After I got home, I did a few quick things, then threw up my hands in defeat and went to the Urgicare place. They didn’t have any appointments until Monday, and there was no way I was waiting that long, so in I went to wait. But I’m reading a very good book (Kate Morton’s The Distant Hours), so sitting there for a couple hours wasn’t entirely a hardship. The good news was that I don’t have an ear infection; they irrigated my ear, leaving me dizzy and cold but wax-free and hearing better in my left ear than my right. I do have to take some mild antibiotics because irrigation can irritate the eardrum and thus an infection can crop up, but I can live with that.

But after that, it was home and drinking my protein shake and talking to Ken and talking to my sister and making a big salad for dinner and then eating it and then watering the cats with Morgana, and after all that it was very late and I was tired, and I accepted that it was a Day Off and I should just go to bed because I was pretty sure Grimoire has a urinary tract infection and I wanted to get up early and make a vet appt for him.

At which point I discovered the Law & Order: SVU I’d recorded was a two-fer, and my 40 minutes of TV turned into twice that length. Sucked in again. Argh.

I still got up relatively early today, but Grimoire’s appt isn’t until this afternoon (I then had to move my hair appt to Saturday), so I have a little time now before my boot camp session to get some copy editing done. And after boot camp and showering and lunch, I need to decide whether I should run errands (which includes buying ink so I can print the synopsis and cover letter for What Beck’ning Ghost so I can get it in the mail to the editor who requested the full ms), or write. Because after taking Grimoire to the vet, I have to deal with dinner (no idea what that will be, although another errand is the grocery store to buy the makings for spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker) and then there’s the Shire meeting.

I am so sleeping in tomorrow.

Now, though…copyediting.

Return to Wildwood now available as an e-book

The ancestral mansion and lands Julia inherits from her aunts comes with a price: regular tribute to the lord of the forest in exchange for his protection. The Green Man regains his power when Julia freely submits to him, finding true ecstasy in the pleasure and pain. When a shady developer threatens Julia, her guardian spirit saves her, and her gratitude comes in the form of the perverse rituals she’s grown to crave.

“In Andrea Dale’s ‘Return to Wildwood,’ Julia inherits the ancestral home along with its mysteries: ‘Every mistress of Wildwood has kept to the rituals.’ There’s a villain making her an offer she can’t refuse and a woodland guardian spirit offering protection in return for submission both painful and ecstatic… ”
– Gary Switch, www.sensuoussadie.com

Buy it for Kindle

Buy it for the B&N Nook

Buy it in a variety of formats at Smashwords

Paranormal sale to a very cool market!

I know, I know, I’m always delighted and chuffed and thrilled by sales. But honestly, some have more squee value than others. This is one of those.

I wrote “Matchmaker” back in 1999. I thought it was a short, cute little fantasy. Now, 11 years and 38 submissions later, I’ve sold it—to an anthology looking for paranormal romance. Yes, I’m stubborn!

“Matchmaker” will appear in More Scary Kisses (although the story’s not scary at all  ;-)  ), edited by Liz Grzyb, from Ticonderoga Press in Australia.

Here’s the TOC and info:

Heather Albano - "The Dark Season"

Annette Backshall - "Hunting Rabbits"

Liz Coley - "Marriage of Convenience"

Dayle A. Dermatis - "Matchmaker"

Roxanne Dent - "Miss Luella's Magic Shop"

Felicity Dowker - "Berries & Incense"

Donna Maree Hanson - "Phantom Love"

Martin Livings & Talie Helene - "The Last Gig of Jimmy Rucker"

Kirstyn McDermott - "Frostbitten"

Nicole R. Murphy - "The Protector's Last Mission"

Jason Nahrung - "Resurrection in Red"

Amanda Pillar - "Philomena and the Blond God"

Carol Ryles - "Snake Charmer"

Fraser Sherman - "Sword of Darcy"

Eric Steele - "3am"

Frank Summers - "Dances with Werewolves"

DC White - "The Dark Night of Anton Weiss"

Seventeen stories from some of Australia's brightest talents, complemented by fantastic tales from the US and UK.

More Scary Kisses promises vampires, aliens, fairytale princesses, parallel universes, voodoo, werewolves, wizards, phantoms, dryads and cherubim.

More Scary Kisses will be launched in April 2011.

Squee!

20% off all Cleis Press titles!

Still catching up…. I'm sorry for all these writing-related/promo posts, but honestly, life is stressful right now and it's not stuff I'm comfortable sharing with the world. I hope you all put up with me for a bit longer!  :-)

Anyway. Some of you are still buying holiday gifts, right? And everyone loves a sale, right? Well, have I got a sale for you!

Cleis Press, purveyor of many fine anthologies of the sexy variety (as well as other books) is having a 20% off sale this whole month! Here's your chance to pick up all those anthologies I have stories in that you haven't gotten around to buying! Just enter special offer code GG on your web order to receive your discount.

In fact, here's a list of Cleis Press anthologies that contain stories written by me as Andrea Dale or Sophie Mouette (with Teresa) or Kendra Wayne. Or some combination thereof.

Orgasmic: Erotica for Women

Lesbian Lust: Erotic Stories

Best Lesbian Romance 2011

Fast Girls: Erotica for Women

Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women

Best Bondage Erotica 2011

Sweet Love: Erotic Fantasies for Couples

The Sweetest Kiss: Ravishing Vampire Erotica

Lesbian Cowboys: Erotic Adventures

Best Lesbian Romance 2010

Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories

Peep Show: Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists

Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists

Where the Girls Are: Urban Lesbian Erotica

Playing With Fire: Taboo Erotica

Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories

Afternoon Delight: Erotica for Couples

Frenzy

Rubber Sex

Dirty Girls

Naughty or Nice

Best Lesbian Love Stories: Summer Flings

Best Lesbian Romance 2009

Hide and Seek

Crossdressing: Erotic Stories

Got a Minute? 60 Second Erotica

C is for Co-Eds

She's on Top

He's on Top

H is for Hardcore

Best Women's Erotica 2007

Remember, if you already have these, you can always buy a copy for a beloved friend! Who doesn't love to find their stockings stuffed with...books!

I gotta have it! Don't you?

Here's the final TOC and introduction to the exciting and (I confidently predict!) steamy Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex, containing my show tunes story "Wasn't It Good?" and (I confidently predict!) scintillating short tales from a slew of stellar writers.

There's a brief blog about the book, too, with everyone's bios. (I always try to say something in my bio that relates to my story, and then I promptly forget what I wrote, so it was fun to look at my bio and giggle because it was a good one!)

Introduction: Short, Sweet and Totally Sexy 

Seven-Letter Word Heather Lin
No Blame, No Shame Jeremy Edwards Wasn’t It Good? Andrea Dale <-- hey, that's me!
The Things a Woman Will Make a Man Do for Her Isabelle Gray
Special Collections Fiona Curtis
Wonderland Madeline Elayne
Red Light Angela Caperton
My Femme Evan Mora
Genesis Shanna Germain
Serious Moonlight Michael A. Gonzales
Too Wondrous to Measure Salome Wilde
Hors d’Oeuvre Stan Kent
Missed Connection Tigress Healy
Ties That Bind Daniel Burnell
Eat Me Marina Saint
Jarret Shane Allison
Lucky Number Fifty-One Jennifer PetersLaissez Les Bons Temps Rouler Tara Young
Spunk Sylvia Lowry
Time Cecilia Tan
Dining in the Dark Elizabeth Daniels
Downpour Elle
Need-Leash Mike Kimera
Crushed Satin Organza Carmel Lockyer
Not on the Mouth Cole Riley
Hot Buns on a Sunday Afternoon Erica Rivera
Feel the Burn Thomas S. Roche
Trixie Jen Cross
Police Dogging Elizabeth Coldwell
Tip Me Kiki deLovely
Marxist Theory Elizabeth Hyder
The Dirty Things She Says Sinclair Sexsmith
Laughter in Hades Teresa Noelle Roberts
The Quick Stop Shashauna P. Thomas
Pain Surfer Cate Ellink
After Ten Years Christen Clifford
Over His Shoulder Maximillian Lagos
Manners Rachel Kramer Bussel
Veronica’s Ass Matt Conklin
Punishment Befitting the Crime D. L. King
Lies Kristina Wright
A Forced Witness Vampirique Dezire
Consensus Denise Hoffner
Don’t Struggle Valerie Alexander
Plotter Monocle
Intercept Burton Lawrence
Not a Bang, but a Whimper Jacqueline Applebee
Suggestion Emerald
Hands Free Effie Merryl
Remembering the Wrinkles Penelope Friday
Leaves Elise Hepner
The Copilot Mike Bruno
Pierced Kirsty Logan
Last-Time Lesbian Geneva King
Anal-yzed Donna George Storey
Independence Day Kate Pearce
Going Bald Craig J. Sorensen
Continuing Education Anya Levin
Meet Me in the Kitchen Giselle Renarde
Over the Line Helia Brookes
Not Just a Myth Heidi Champa
Hunger Maria See
The Tipping Point Lolita Lopez
The Advantage of Working from Home Kay Jaybee
For Dessert Jordana Winters
Good Neighbors Mercy Loomis
Laugh Sommer Marsden
A Good Stiff One Kathleen Bradean
Vacation Pictures Robert Peregrine  

Introduction: Short, Sweet and Totally Sexy

Everyone needs a break from his or her everyday life sometimes, and what better way to escape than with a short story that gets right to the point? The authors of the sixty-nine stories you hold in your hand understand exactly how to pique your interest and get you off , and they do it all in 1,200 words or less. You don’t need long to get drawn into the drama, tension and lust.  

I received close to three hundred submissions for this collection, more than I ever have before, and I think that’s because no one, writer or reader alike, can resist a short story that seduces instantaneously. These stories aren’t all about quickie sex, though there’s plenty of that. There are strangers who meet and know right away they must have each other, neighbors, travel mates, coworkers and long-term couples such as those in “After Ten Years” and “Remembering the Wrinkles” who are looking for ways to hold on to that spark. There are stories of sex in libraries, vacation sex and lots of outdoor sex—in the rain, in the street, all over. There are lovers with pecan rolls dripping in caramel, and meals where lovers feast on nothing but each other. There are even a few stories with no actual sex in them at allæyou’ll have to hunt those down and see why anticipation can be the sexiest act of all. 

There’s humor, kink, flirtation, Godzilla, missed connections, sex toys, and one very bold census taker. But I don’t want to take up too much of your time that could be better spent getting intimately acquainted with these short but incredibly sexy stories. I hope you will savor them, read them aloud and return to your favorites again and again. Because all of us have a few minutes set aside for a quickie, don’t we?

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

Part of the best

I’m terribly behind on everything due to the fact that I’ve been away from home on a family emergency, but I have a few minutes to deal with peripheral work things and wanted to point ya’ll towards this.

The Violet Blue, who once included me in a list of “legendary erotica heavy-hitters” recently posted her annual Hot Sex Book Gift Guide 2010, and I’m thrilled to be included in two of the anthologies she recommends:

Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women (edited by Kristina Wright). “Think “Wicked” comes of age. Skilled authors craft eerie, hot, romantic and pivotal erotic encounters within classic fairy tales. Very fun.” This contains my story "How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back" (written as Andrea Dale) and many other really great stories!

Best Bondage Erotica 2011 (edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel). “Superb writers with a range of stories on tying and getting tied up, restraint, and power exchange.” Interestingly, this contains a reprint of "How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back"! The book's sitting on my desk at home, awaiting my return…

(Violet’s site is NSFW. Delicious, so don’t go there if your boss is looking over your shoulder. Anthology links are to the books at Amazon.com. Editor links are reasonably safe.)

Lots of my stories now available online!

I’m delighted to announce a new, exciting phase of my writing career: I’ve partnered with a small publisher to sell my previously print-published stories (and a few new stories, and maybe even a novel or two) as e-books!

The smashing folks at Soul’s Road Press have been hard at work getting some of my Yule/Solstice/winter-themed erotica available in time for the season. In fact, they even got a Halloween-themed story up in time for that holiday, but I was too busy to promo it!

The stories are available in a variety of formats for a variety of e-readers (or just for reading on your computer): Kindle, Nook, .pdf, you name it.

I’m especially chuffed about having my short novel (novella-length, for those of you who get that term) In Her Hands up and available for sale. Erotic romance In Her Hands was a top-10 finalist in the Brava Novella Contest a few years back, and in fact two different publishers were interested in buying it (in the end we couldn’t agree on a contract). But the thing is, I love this story, and everyone who’s read it (first readers, contest judges, editors) have also loved it. I hope my readers love it, too!

Sarabeth Delany’s fantasies come to life when she meets male model Michael Steele—the inspiration for her erotic sculptures. They bond over a discussion of art and passion…which leads to steamy nights with blindfolds and erotic photo sessions.

Michael appreciates the advantages modeling has given him, but he’d really rather be behind the camera. He longs for a woman who’ll love him for who he is, not his fame. When he finds out about Sarabeth’s sculptures, will it mean the end of their affair…and her career?

Secondary characters Brad (Michael’s best friend) and Anya (Sarabeth’s best friend) are crying out for their own love stories to be told. They’re not going to end up together, though: Brad’s going to be smitten by a torch singer named Genny, and Anya, a voice actress, is destined to fall for a voice actor just from talking to him…before she ever meets him face-to-face.

"In Her Hands" for Kindle

"In Her Hands" for Nook

"In Her Hands" at Smashwords (variety of formats)

If In Her Hands sells well as an e-book, I’m definitely going to write Brad and Anya’s tales, and then package all three together as a print book. Fingers crossed!

Meanwhile, you can also buy the following erotica stories, all also written as Andrea Dale:

“Redemption”

“Peppermint Stick”

“The Witch of Venice”

“The Queen of Christmas”

“Frozen”

And one (so far) sweet romance, “The Best Catch,” written as Andrea Loewen.

Moving forward, I’ll try to be better about announcing when new stories are available. But if I’m busy writing, you can also check out Soul’s Road Press and see what new stories they’re offering!

Free fiction! One day only!

Want to read some free fiction by Teresa and me (writing as Sophie Mouette)? Well, here’s your chance! Our story “Pow! Bash! Yes, Yes!” is part of Circlet Press’s Erotic Advent this year!

But hurry, because our story is up for one day only! If you miss it, the only place you can read the story is in the e-anthology Like a Mask Removed: Erotic Tales of Supervillains!

Cover poll redux

Thank you to everyone who commented in my cover poll! Cover A won out, and in fact the more I thought about it, the more I preferred it. Emerald really nailed it when she said "it seems to represent the abundant decorations in the story more." Excess is what the story is all about...thank you, Emerald, for reminding me of that!


But many of you also said my name was difficult to read on Cover A, so we've tweaked that. Does the New Cover A work better? I think the different color makes the name pop a lot more, as does the shading (looks like snow-capped letters!), especially at a thumbnail size.


New Cover A

Old Cover A

Yesterday, in the airport waiting for Ken, I…

• did an hour and half of copy editing
• wrote 700 words on Out of the Frying Pan
• drafted my Kingdom Chronicler article

That was after getting some work done on the living/dining room curtains and helping Morgana clean her dining room.

Today I…

• had an acupuncture appointment (Despite my best efforts, acupuncture does not have a double C in it.)
• did the Trader Joe’s food shopping
• picked up a spiral-cut ham at the Honey-Baked Ham place (Irony: We asked Ken’s mom to bring a ham to the family Thanksgiving. But then my sister changed her plans again and now isn’t arriving until Friday—moving family Thanksgiving to Saturday—so Morgana and Brian invited us to their Thanksgiving tomorrow…and asked us to bring a ham.)
• did a bunch more sewing on the curtains
• copy edited for an hour and a half
• answered a bunch of e-mail
• snuggled with Ken and watched some TV (more of that to come!)

Tomorrow, I need to…

• sew the linings to the eight curtain panels. Has to be done tomorrow, so that Morgana can help me finish them on Friday.
• decorate the house for Thanksgiving (predicated on Ken getting the boxes out of the attic)
• make sure my Friday food shopping list is complete
• sort the silver
• wash the extra china
• copy edit, ideally for two hours
• clean the hot tub
• write
• go to Thanksgiving dinner at Morgana and Brian’s

Friday, I’ll be…

• picking up Thanksgiving dinner and bunch of groceries
• putting the makings for spagetti sauce in the crock pot
• tidying the house, putting out sheets and towels, etc.
• finishing the curtains and putting them up
• writing
• copy editing
• hanging out with my sister and her family when they arrive!

Cover poll

Okay, I just cannot decide between these two incredibly gorgeous covers, so I need your help!

Please vote in the comments below. (Facebook readers: Please leave comments here at my blog, so I have them all in once place for review. Thank you!)

Here's the story blurb:

Shelly is the Queen of Christmas—her decorations, cookies, and Nativity scene (complete with life-sized camels) would make Martha Stewart weep with envy. But then Brad moves in across the street and sets up his house with a display that puts the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Wizards in Winter” video to shame. Shelly won’t stand for the competition. But she might find herself draped over his lap…

Which cover do you like better?

Cover A

Cover B

Hey, look! An actual blog post!

Lately my life has been copyediting, sewing/purchasing things to finish the curtains with, other work-related stuff (but not enough writing. Argh!), Thanksgiving prep, and, for several nights, watching all the Harry Potter movies with Morgana and Brian and Thomasina in preparation for seeing the new one. Except I want to wait to see it with Ken, so they all went without me. Which is fine; my choice.

Except, ARGH! so many other things not getting done! I just realized, at 9:38 p.m., that I haven’t looked at my personal e-mail since this morning, other than glancing at the new messages via my phone. I haven’t worked out since Thursday, and today my trainer canceled tomorrow’s session, except I promptly filled that slot with more curtain-sewing with Morgana (after I help her clean her dining room).

Then I’m leaving by 3 p.m. to get to the airport to pick up Ken…who doesn’t arrive until 10 p.m., but I want to get there before it’s dark because even though my night vision seems to have improved somewhat, I’d still rather not take any chances. (I’m much more comfortable driving at night with a passenger now, but still not so much on my own, just in case.) But, I’m taking the laptop and I suspect that in 5 hours I can get a good chunk of stuff done.

Wednesday I have an acupuncture appointment and hopefully we’ll finish the curtains (eep) and there’s a huge list of stuff both Ken and I need to do. Thursday we’re having Thanksgiving at Morgana and Brian’s. Friday evening my sister and her family arrive, so I need to have the spaghetti sauce in the crock pot that morning. Saturday will be our family Thanksgiving (Ken’s mom is also coming) and then Sunday my sister et al leave.

At which point I have to finish the book I’m copy editing and get all of my work on one novel done so I can pass it on to my coauthor and then get Chapter 3 of another novel done so I can start submitting it, because then I’ll have a new novel to copy edit on December 1 and I have two things due December 15, but I leave for NY on December 13 to help my mom drive to NC. (I fly back to CA on December 20).

Somewhere in there, I need to catch up on my personal e-mail and work out on a regular basis. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Right, it’s 10 p.m. and I’m off to the sewing room for a bit. I think I’ll blast Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway” and sing loudly.

Testing mobile blogging... If this were a real blog, it would have more content!

Kickstart this art!

I donated to this, and mentioned it on Facebook (and maybe Twitter, too) but I also wanted to post it here because I think it's totally awesome.

Basically, you can donate some money to fund this guy's video project—he's making a movie from a Neil Gaiman story, and Neil totally supports this, and what the guy has done so far is so beautiful and perfect it makes me shiver.

As someone who works in a creative industry, I also think Kickstarter is a fantastic idea in general!

Please give if you can! (Ooh, maybe give in someone's name as a holiday present?!)

Now available!

Wooh! Just got word that Best Bondage Erotica 2011, which contains a reprint of my story "How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back," is now available for purchase! Go forth, ya'll, and buy!

I mean, look at this lineup of amazing authors!

The Long Way Home, Elizabeth Coldwell
His Little Apprentice, Jacqueline Applebee
Foreign Exchange, Evan Mora
The Ingénue, Janine Ashbless
Reasoning, Tenille Brown
Subdue, Dusty Horn
Relative Anonymity, Emerald
Closeted, Emily Bingham
Vegas Treat, Rachel Kramer Bussel
The Cartographer, Angela Caperton
The Apiary, Megan Butcher
Wired, Lisabet Sarai
How the Little Mermaid Got Her Tail Back, Andrea Dale
The Lady or the Tiger, Bill Kte’pi
Sealed for Freshness, Jennifer Peters
Stocks and Bonds, Rita Winchester
Helen Lay Bound, Suzanne V. Slate
The Rainmaker, Elizabeth Daniels
Do You See What I Feel? Teresa Noelle Roberts
Truss Issues, Lux Zakari


And this cover!

Smokin'!