Cherie Priest

Not much up my sleeve today, except that I’ve begun revisions on Boneshaker. As part of these revisions, I’m adding a set of bookends [prologue/epilogue] by way of rounding things out; and today I took some time to sit down and try to come up with a reasonable prologue.

Tomorrow I’ll barrel forward and cobble up an epilogue, and once I’ve completed both pieces of supplemental material, I’ll revisit them and see if I’m still in love with the idea.

Project: Boneshaker Prologue
New Words Written Today: 1734
Present Total Word Count: n/a
Goal: n/a

Fiction Things Accomplished: Established the backdrop of my alternate history setting, in a way that leaves some of the technology less dependent upon the Civil War (which is still being fought back east, in my universe) and more closely tied to an arms race of mining technology, as Russia and America both attempt to dig gold out of the frozen parts of Alaska.

Real Life Things Accomplished: Arranged to go buy tickets for Team Seattle and affiliates for the Neil Gaiman event at the U-district this Friday (will pick them up tomorrow morning); polished and submitted a book review; read half of another book for yet another review; successfully cooked supper.

Reason for Stopping: Finished this section, and had other work to do.

Suspected Upcoming Problems: For the moment, I’m running with a pretend-history-book excerpt, written by a minor character in the novel who has a flair for dramatic Victorian storytelling. It begins: From Unlikely Episodes in Western History, Chapter 7 — “Seattle’s Walled and Peculiar State,” by Hale Quarter (work in progress). I’m a little bit afraid that no matter how charming I make this section, a few readers will be turned off by the prospect of a history lesson … but then again, if I were to stumble across a history lesson about how a quaint coastal mill town grew into a giant walled city filled with zombies and poisonous gas, I’d probably keep reading. But I hope that’s not just me.

Darling du Jour: “But in California there were nuggets the size of walnuts lying on the ground — or so it was said — and truth travels slowly when rumors have wings of gold. The trickle of humanity became a magnificent flow. The glittering western shores swarmed with prospectors, pushing their luck and pushing their pans into the gravelly streams, praying for fortunes.”

Total Fiction Words Composed in 2008: 274,849

Candid pictures taken by David Katz, road team worker from Obama for America. Full photoset here, or click the photo below.

Today, I made the rounds with Becky and Dan; we went to the Space Needle (in accordance with city-wide visitor mandate), spent all afternoon shopping in the University District, went to Archie McPhees, and then hit up Bad Albert’s for supper. Thereafter, my sister and her husband returned to their hotel in order to rise and shine early tomorrow — for they plan to drive out to Mt. Rainier and spend their remaining trip day out there. I hope they have a lovely time, and a safe trip back.

And now, behind the cut, I give you a dorky picture of Becky and me — since about half a dozen people (newer readers, I guess) wanted to know what she looked like and/or if we shared any family resemblance. Click below to see for yourself.

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My sister and her husband have arrived safely, met Ellen, petted kitties, visited Lakeview Cemetery, watched the debate, snarfed up some Thai food, and returned to their hotel for the evening. Tomorrow, there will be further shenanigans, including — but not limited to — such diverse elements as shopping, sightseeing, and trawling for interesting lunches.

So please pardon me if I’m more or less offline for a couple of days. I have some work to do in the nooks and crannies between family visiting time. You know how it is.

Later, there will be pictures.

I seem to be going into hibernating mode, which isn’t to say that I’m sleeping all the time — but some weird mammalian hind-brain impulse is prompting me to indulge in obsessive nesting behavior, as if I’m shoring up my life against the dark, cold months to come.

I swapped out all the warm-weather clothes for cooler-weather clothes; I went through our storage closet and located/cleaned/sorted out all the winter hats, scarves, gloves, jackets; I cleaned out our bathroom cabinets and I threw away all the expired/unused stuff; I did likewise in the kitchen, and I gave the refrigerator the same treatment; I hit up the three grocery stores nearby, figured out what stuff was cheapest where, and stocked up; I bagged up an entire Sentra-trunk-full of clothes to either take to Goodwill or sell at the secondhand shops; and I even (finally) took my car to the shop for an oil/filter/miscellaney change and servicing.

I still need to change the cat’s litterbox, but since the cat herself is sitting on my lap right this moment and indicating, via purrs and claws, that I’d damned well better not move quite yet, I suppose it’ll wait. Except for this one last point (which I’ll remedy later on this afternoon), I mostly feel like I’m ready for winter.

Tomorrow, my sister and her husband will be arriving for a Phantom Wedding,* so this means a weekend of playing tour guide, which is fine. I enjoy playing tour guide, and it looks like the weather isn’t going to be too bad for their visit. They’re only staying over the weekend, so it won’t mean a big fat chunk of time out of my productivity schedule; and perhaps we can sneak in a little bit of winter-clothes-shopping time while they’re here. One way or another, it’ll be a hoot.

Sorry if this is less than sparkling. I’m exhausted, and I feel like I’ve been running myself ragged for the last two days, yet I have nothing to talk about.

The Team Seattle MySpace page is fully operational in a “That’s no moon!” sort of way, and it’s cheesy as hell. Ditto, our friend-drive over at Facebook continues, and everyone is welcome to hop on board these pages. The general plan (if indeed, we have one) is to use these outlets to let readers/interested parties know about upcoming signings, general gossip, and events. Or, yanno. Give ‘em an opportunity to wave at the monkeys in the zoo, whatever.

Anyway, here’s today’s progress on my trashy adventure novel about a neurotic vampire/thief and her wealthy blind client, now with Bonus! Cuban drag queen and military intrigue.

Project: Bloodshot
New Words Written Today: 3211 (meh)
Present Total Word Count: 48,797
Goal: 100,000 words





Fiction Things Accomplished: Wondered about some Men In Black; watched a really great drag show; lipsynched to Lords of Acid; admired someone’s tuck technique; got chased by Feds; picked a fight with same.

Real Life Things Accomplished: Cleaned Howard’s tank; cleaned out refrigerator; did scores of dishes; experimented with sweet potatoes; sorted out clothes and began the shift from summer to winter (fall doesn’t last very long here); made shopping list for tomorrow’s grocery run; received a new batch of MOO cards in the mail and did a little dance.

Reason for Stopping: Need to get some reading done for upcoming reviews.

Suspected Upcoming Problems: Very soon now I must begin on the revisions for Boneshaker. I initially gave myself until the end of this month to noodle around with this novel, but I’m beginning to fear that I’m doing so at the expense of Boneshaker’s second draft results. Since there’s no contract or anything on this book, writing it is really just a matter of personal satisfaction — plus satisfying the potential interest of an editor; but that editor is very understanding, and bless her heart, she’s not rushing me or anything. I almost wish she was. I’m a much more productive when I’m given deadlines than understanding. A decade ago, I was a full-time grad student working three jobs and writing a novel; so I know I’m capable of juggling the time if someone makes me. :)

Revised Future Plan: Work on Bloodshot until the end of this week; then begin working on Boneshaker revisions, which I need to hand in next month. After that — time to write The Clementine, which should wrap up by (likely before) December.* And maybe, just maybe, I can get back to Bloodshot and hand in a draft by New Year’s.

Total Fiction Words Composed in 2008: 273,113

Igor has an awful lot going for it, for a movie that comes off so soft-boiled and bland. The villain and his villainess* are joyful little works of animation art, and the Burtonesque-steampunk setting was truly charming. Most of the voice acting is strong, and some is even superb.

But overall, the film is just plain feeble.

The writing was weak to the point of total absence, redeemed only sporadically by the immortal-yet-suicidal bunny (Steve Buscemi, who gets most of the good lines) and Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard, who gets all the rest of them). The titular character is voiced by John Cusack, which was both an odd choice and — in my humble opinion — a poor one. Two-thirds of That Which There Is To Love About Cusack is his physical delivery, and the remaining third is simply not enough to float an animated hunchback, I’m afraid.

But there’s lots to look at, and most of it is quite pretty. The kingdom of “Malaria” is goofily named but lovingly rendered, and I appreciated the pretense of giving the Steampunk World an honest excuse for existing (which I will not spoil here). All things considered, it was not the worst of all possible ways to spend 90 minutes — but with such an exceptional cast, and such a gorgeous “feel,” Igor really should’ve been much, much stronger.

Because I’ve been bored — and simultaneously inspired by last night’s get-together — I give you the Team Seattle MySpace Page. Come one, come all! And if that doesn’t satisfy your stalking needs, you can likewise join us at our facebook page.*

It’s been a remarkably social weekend for yours truly, starting on Thursday when I accompanied Psynde to the vet; then on Friday, Ellen, Suezie, and I made a road-trip to a distant Target — where we heard there was better Halloween schwag than our nearest Target location*; and then yesterday I drove out to Olympia for a Team Seattle birthday extravaganza. ‘Twas Caitlin’s birthday earlier this week, and the time had come to visit her and buy her booze.

The booze-buying almost didn’t go as well as we’d planned. Caitlin has recently renewed her drivers license to reflect the fact that she’s over 21 (and has been, for some time), but this meant she only had the DOL’s watermarked, stamped paper printed version as a substitute, for her new plastic license has not yet arrived. She had no problem getting served at one bar, where a beer-and-ice-cream-milkshake was delivered without any fuss, but when we adjourned to a quieter (read: dead) hole-in-the-wall dive down the street, things got ugly.

I have been commanded to blog about the exchange, so here goes. Condensed for space constraints, enlarged only slightly to show detail, this is roughly how we were greeted at a spot that bills itself as “The Friendliest Bar In Town!”

Team Seattle: [Sits down at a table in a window.]
Man from behind the bar: [Arrives, begins slinging coasters while he checks IDs.]
Caitlin: [Hands him her temporary ID.]

Man from behind the bar: [Puts on his sanctimonious pants] I CANNOT accept this. I mean, this little piece of paper is good enough for DRIVING, but it’s not good enough for drinking in THIS BAR. Do you have any other ID, something with a picture on it?
Caitlin: Um, no. Because–
Man from behind the bar: [Interrupts. Enunciates as if he’s convinced that he’s being watched by a narc’s hidden camera.] Well then I’M VERY SORRY, but that’s AGAINST THE LAW and I will NOT SERVE YOU.
Caitlin: But the department of licensing told me that this is exactly as good as a regular drivers license–
Man from behind the bar: [Getting louder.] But it’s NOT! Cops may accept it but I WON’T. You can’t ask me to accept it, because FOR ALL I KNOW it’s not any GOOD. And I don’t KNOW, because you don’t have ANYTHING ELSE you can show me. No one in TOWN will serve you with a FAKE LICENSE LIKE THAT.
Caitlin: On the contrary, I’ve been getting served all week just fine.
Man from behind the bar: [Has degenerated into speaking in sarcastic all caps with pissy italics.] WELL THAT’S JUST FANTASTIC — THAT YOU’VE FOUND PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO BREAK THE LAW FOR YOU, I MEAN, THAT’S JUST GREAT. BUT I’M NOT GOING TO BREAK THE LAW FOR YOU, LITTLE LADY, SO YOU CAN JUST FORGET IT.

Team Seattle: [Announces intention to go elsewhere.]
Man from behind the bar: Fine. But give me my coasters back.
Team Seattle: [Contemplates licking all the coasters before departing.]

Look, for all we knew, the guy was right. I know how liquor licensing boards work; the regulations are arcane and screwy, and they vary from state to state. But the barman didn’t have to be an ass about it. He could’ve simply said, “I’m sorry, but we’re not allowed to accept temporary drivers licenses. But I can serve you if you’ve got a secondary ID with a photo.”

Instead, he did everything but call Caitlin a liar and threaten to tear up her “fake license.” The asshole sermon (which ran significantly longer, and was more insulting) was completely uncalled for. It’s not like she’d shimmied into the pub with a band of surly teenagers and a sneer; half the people in Team Seattle have graying hair and require reading glasses. We’re an embarrassingly respectable-looking bunch.

So if you see a bar in Olympia with a little sandwich board out from that declares the establishment “The Friendliest Bar in Town!” then you should seriously doubt it, and keep on walking. We went elsewhere, and our heavily drinking Party of Six spent all its money at another bar, where Caitlin was served her birthday tequila shots without a problem.

And now on a lighter note … I give you a handful of pictures, taken in a miscellaneous fashion over the last few days. Click the jump to see Yama the Cat, the comically and obscenely vandalized mural on the side of the pizza joint where we ate, and to learn how your child can become a minion of Satan for just $29.99.

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My post about how to productively assist the folks in Southeast Texas has been updated with newer, fresher, further information about how to lend a hand. Please go check it out and help, if you can.

And in other news, here’s today’s progress on my trashy adventure novel about a neurotic vampire/thief and her wealthy blind client, now with Bonus! Cuban drag queen and military intrigue.

Project: Bloodshot
New Words Written Today: 5110 (a good total, but spread across 2 days)
Present Total Word Count: 45,586
Goal: 100,000 words





Fiction Things Accomplished: Found our way to the Poppycock Review, a drag bar in Atlanta; pretended to be a cop; failed to preserve the masquerade.

Real Life Things Accomplished: Friday housework except for the floors; cleaned out fridge and cabinets a bit; re-read previous Bloodshot content and yanked some of it out; attempted to coordinate outings for tonight and tomorrow; forgot to change Howard’s tank (will do it soon).

Darling du Jour: ” … she turned back to Fanny and started swearing in Spanish, flinging her arms around like she was guiding a very flamboyant airplane onto a very bumpy runway.”

Reason for Stopping: Came to a good stopping spot.

Total Fiction Words Composed in 2008: 269,902

If you’re here via BoingBoing, welcome aboard. Just keep your regional prejudices to yourself.* If you’re looking for my post on how to productively assist the folks in Southeast Texas, it’s right here and it’s been updated several times over the day with new links to food banks and blood banks.

Anyway. Yes. Moving right along, back to work.

As I mentioned last week, it has been my hypothetical goal to work up a rough draft of Bloodshot by the end of this month. As this entry title spells out, I now strongly doubt that this will occur. I’ve landed a really great editorial letter on Boneshaker and before long it’ll be time to work on Clementine — which is due this winter. But I don’t want to drop this project outright; I want to finish it, and if I have to finish it in drips and drabs rather than in big fat ambitious chunks, then that’s just how it’s going to go.

So here are today’s stats:

Project: Bloodshot
New Words Written Today: 2250 (not great but not bad, considering I didn’t get started until this afternoon)
Present Total Word Count: 40,476
Goal: 100,000 words





Fiction Things Accomplished: Had a very awkward conversation with grieving parents who have lost one child, and cast the other one out for reasons that will soon become clear; set up housekeeping in Atlanta for the time being, and reestablished a few old contacts now that the coast seems more or less clear. Whether or not this is a good idea will remain to be seen.

Real Life Things Accomplished: Washed lots of dishes; did some housework; went to Walgreens; did some research and posted some links that — I hope — will be useful to people back at my old stomping grounds; started wearing cool new shoes I picked up yesterday (adorable high-top Sailor Jerry Chucks, yes, you may muster some jealousy if you like).

Stumbling blocks: None so far except for time constraints. I continue to be pleased by how easy this one just … sorta … flows.

Reason for Stopping: I need to get off the couch and make myself presentable; a friend of mine has a birthday this weekend, and I want to nab her something to mark the occasion.

Total Fiction Words Composed in 2008: 264,792

[Please feel free to pass this around.]

As some of you are aware, this Orange, Texas you’re hearing about on the news (usually accompanied by words like “storm surge”, “widespread flooding”, “submerged from 6 inches to 6 feet,” etc.) is the place where I spent a hefty chunk of my childhood. It’s a lovely little town, pictures like these notwithstanding, and it was one of the hardest-hit areas outside of Galveston when Hurricane Ike came rolling around.

Back in the day, we’d always get a little excited at the prospect of a hurricane. Why, it might mean a whole day or two off school! We might get to huddle in the dark for a few hours with candles! Thrilling!*

But now, Houston and its outlying area (which includes my old stomping grounds) is looking at up to 2 weeks off school, with no power and a effectively no water. Gas has basically run out, as I understand it, and there aren’t even any streetlights. The city is under a 6 p.m. curfew to prevent looting. The grocery stores are stripped and crowded beyond capacity (much less stock), and the food banks are all but bankrupt.

Via CNN: The Houston Food Bank is “utterly overwhelmed with people asking for help,” its president, Brian Greene, said Tuesday. The food bank needs 500,000 pounds of food a day for the next six weeks to satisfy the “staggering” needs of Texans who have no food or water after the storm, he said.

“It’s a very similar situation that I saw following Katrina: when the caregivers themselves [are] victims, it just becomes difficult on a far larger scale than you would think,” he said.

If you’d like to help — and oh holy crap they need some help — here are some links to get you started:

The Houston Food Bank. “The Houston Food Bank is “utterly overwhelmed with people asking for help,” its president, Brian Greene, said Tuesday. The food bank needs 500,000 pounds of food a day for the next six weeks to satisfy the “staggering” needs of Texans who have no food or water after the storm, he said.”

The Houston SPCA. “Teams from the Houston SPCA loaded tens of thousands of pounds of crates, food, litter, water, newspapers, cleaning and medical supplies, bowls, blankets and other supplies and headed for Galveston. The closer they got to Galveston, the more tragic the devastation …”

The Capital Area Food Bank (Austin). It’s my understanding that this food bank has also been chipping in to help out in Houston, and now it too is wholly depleted. Most-needed items: bottled water, granola bars, canned meats (pop-top lids), peanut butter, diapers & wipes (adult and baby), personal care items (toothpaste, toothbrush, feminine products, soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc.). This food bank is also taking donations for the survivors of Ike. Edited to add: For every $5 donated to the Austin Capital Area Food Bank, $20 worth of food will be used for evacuees and victims.

The American Red Cross of Central Texas. “The American Red Cross of Central Texas, the City of Austin, and Austin Independent School District are following the Capital Area Shelter Hub Plan (CASHP) and have received over 6,000 evacuees from Hurricane Ike. Over 22 shelters were opened in Travis and Williamson Counties. Currently, many evacuees have returned home or have moved to shelters in different parts of Austin, though we continue to shelter at least 2,000 evacuees in Austin currently.”

The Austin Humane Society. “To date, AHS has provided Emergency Pet Sheltering Services to 148 pets (dogs, cats, turtles, birds, guinea pigs and even an iguana) from evacuees staying in emergency shelters. 59 have been reunited with their owners and 89 remain in our care.”

Hands On Central Texas. Looking for Disaster Response volunteers for its 211 Texas program. “Description: 2-1-1 Texas, a program of United Way Capital Area, provides free statewide, 24-hour access to health and human services and disaster information through its multilingual helpline.”

Via Weather Underground. “A group of wunderground members are spearheading their own Hurricane Ike relief effort, aimed at providing assistance and supplies to people that are not in the mainstream relief areas. They’ve already raised $5000, and the first relief truck with supplies is on the way to Texas. Deductions are tax-deductible, and can be made in several ways: Patrap’s wunderblog, www.stormjunkie.com, www.portlight.org.

The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. “Collections resumed Tuesday after a four-day hiatus due to Hurricane Ike, so donations are especially needed now to replenish the blood supply and ensure that blood is available for patients in need….Special extended hours will be observed at ten Neighborhood Donor Centers, which will open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. to give donors adequate time to get home before the local curfew takes effect. A small number of mobile blood drives also will be open to the public on Wednesday.”

The Texas Department of Agriculture - Phone number, 1-877-429-1998 — taking donations of feed and money for stranded and starving cattle.

* Amendment to yesterday’s self-pimp post. As my kindly publisher has reminded me, there is a special limited edition of Those Who Went Remain There Still which is available ONLY from Subterranean Press. This signed, exclusive version of the tale comes with a chapbook about the making of the book, and the family history that inspired it.

* And now I’ll pimp somebody else. If you’re even remotely interested in comics, go to Warren Ellis’s page to get a sneak peek at the upcoming offering from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips — Incognito. It sounds completely awesome, and it’ll be available this December from Marvel’s ICON line.

* Also hot, fresh, new, etc., Justine L.’s new book. How to Ditch Your Fairy has just hit the shelves, and if you’re a fan of snappy, funny, irreverent and poignant young adult fiction, then I do believe this book has got your number.

* Because everyone else is linking it - McCain as the Dark Knight. “Back in the mid-1980s, young comics genius Frank Miller used a unique sort of mental alchemy to tell a story that would become legend. The story of an aging warrior, dragging himself from a restful retirement to fight once more: possibly senile, definitely psychotic, obsessed with reclaiming past glories with no thought to the consequences…”

* Separation of Church and State - you NO can has it. At least, Palin would prefer that you didn’t. As someone who was raised, in effect, within an eschatological cult … this kind of thing scares the crap out of me — though not for the reasons my old church probably thinks it ought to. It blows my mind that members of an oddball denomination that has a persecution complex would cheerfully vote for this woman’s ticket. (Yes, SDA family members. I’m lookin’ at YOU.)

* McCain on science (via Jay Lake) “…when you look at some of the planetariums and other foolishness that [Obama] asked for, he shouldn’t be saying anything about Governor Palin.” Yep, I can see that. Science education is far more foolish than a Bridge to Nowhere which you can lie about later. GOP values in a nutshell, right there. (Hat tip to Bad Astronomy Blog.)

[To answer some recent emails, no, I do not intend to simply “Let it go.”
If you’re tired of the political links, feel free to self-jettison from the page.]

* Oh Agatha, we barely knew yet. But that might sort of change. “Uttered in the reedy voice of Christie herself, these withering descriptions are contained on a cache of audiotapes, recently discovered in a dusty cardboard box in one of her former houses by her only grandson, Mathew Prichard. The tapes — 27 reels running a total of more than 13 hours — are filled with Christie’s painstaking dictation of her life story, rough material recorded in the early 1960s that eventually made up her autobiography, published posthumously in 1977. It stands as one of only a handful of recordings of Christie, the British mystery writer, who rarely agreed to be interviewed.”

* Maureen Johnson gets cooler every time I check her page. “Education arms you. It gives you the information you need to make some choices in your life, rather than just getting smacked around by fate. This is why I think “abstinence only” education is a joke surrounded by a thick coating of fraud. Abstinence only denies your biology reality. Abstinence only deprives you of important information that could profoundly alter your life. Comprehensive sex education is sort of the ‘owner’s manual’ that you need. It’s necessary because many parents don’t know how to or refuse to teach about the reproductive system. It is NOT a class on ‘how to get some.’”

[Edited to Add: As an astute reader points out — Amazon.com is offering a special price to shoppers who preorder both of my upcoming winter releases together. Just go here to Fathom’s listing and scroll down half a screen to nab a special price when you order it with Those Who Went Remain There Still. Thanks, Bishop!]

Oh, it’s so terrifying and exciting when the first early reviews of an upcoming book find their way out into the public eye. I just sit around on pins and needles nails and knives, fingers crossed that people will like what I’ve written and say nice things. That’s why preliminary reviews like this one, at the Green Man Review cause me great joy and relief. For lo, this fine reviewing institution did not hate Those Who Went Remain There Still, my winter offering from Subterranean.

*WHEW*
[:: wipes forehead ::]

And, of course, if you’d like to preorder my Hillbillies-and-Cave-Monsters “SciFi Original Picture premise” book, you can do so either here at Subterranean or here at Amazon.com.

And speaking of my winter output, I am now at liberty to share something that has been long-awaited and much anticipated — the cover of December’s gothic fantasy, Fathom (from Tor). Just click the jump below to get a gander.

Go on. It’s lovely, I promise.
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Yes, I dressed up the other night. I was shooting for “low-key, girlie steampunk” because it was pleasantly quasi-warm and I didn’t feel like wrapping up in the whole nine yards, plus leather and hats, etc.

(Picture courtesy of Helix90. Poke around on his Flickr page; many steampunk wonders are to be found.)

Right as I was wandering along Second Ave., opening my mouth to ask, “So where is this place, anyway?” I suddenly spied a crowd of people in top hats, fitted jackets, and assorted corsetry standing like an oasis in the desert of frat boys and bitch techno. And lo, we had found the Anachrotechnofetishism opening reception.

I was downright delighted to see the heavy turn-out; Jhayne guesses that perhaps a hundred and fifty people came and went through the exhibit; and she was there longer than we were, so I trust her estimation. The posh-but-tiny venue overflowed, spilling its well-dressed visitors onto the sidewalk for half a block, and the gallery was stuffed with many fine wonders.

I got to see — up close and in person — Molly’s Mechanical Womb with a Clockwork Fetus (probably Aric’s personal fave of the evening), and many of Libby’s wonderful prints (which can be purchased here, too); as well as artwork by Eliza Gauger, who was in the crowd someplace, or so I’m led to believe.

Also in attendance were Artvixn and her husband, orchestraters of the upcoming SteamCon (Oct. 23-25, here in Seattle). And although I was carrying a tiny purse with no room for a camera, I know that Artvixn’s husband was snapping like crazy, so I’m sure pictures will crop up before long.

Because we are old and lazy, Aric and I decided to call it a night fairly early … but then we were distracted by a quiet, dark little bar on the way back to our car, and we paused there for nightcaps and gossip. Yes, well. These things happen.

At any rate, if you missed the reception but you want to get a gander at Suite 100’s present offerings, just swing by Mon-Fri 12:00pm - 6:00pm, from September 12th through October 3rd.

The RNC in 90 seconds. Boils it all down quite nicely, really. Somehow amusing and sinister at the same time.

The Anachrotechnofetishism Show is tonight. (They seem to be having trouble with their website.) It looks like my husband and I will probably be stopping by, sometime this evening. I think. Anyone want to come with us and/or meet us there?

Palin Links Iraq to Sept. 11 In Talk to Troops in Alaska. Because there are no depths of misinformation to which this woman won’t stoop. Or maybe she honestly doesn’t know any better. As far as I can tell, her ignorance knows no bounds.

Giant Penis Man Needs “Re-Chalkers.” I bet you think I’m making that headline up, but I’m not. Safe for work, more or less. Tell your boss it’s history, or art.

They mess you up, your mum and dad. But mostly your mom? Jezebel has a nice question-raising deconstruction of an Australian study that states as much.

Murdered New York Couple Leaves Bitter Will. Maybe the contents of their snarky little wills might raise shed some light on who killed them. Hypothetically. I’m just sayin’.

Anna Quindlen schools the GOP on “Feminism.” QOTD: “To try to suggest Sarah Palin might garner the Hillary Clinton vote, that one woman is just the same as another, that biology trumps ideology, is the ultimate evidence of true sexism, and I hope Senator Clinton will travel the country and say so.”

So some local friends of mine (and a bunch of people I don’t know) are putting together an art show here in Seattle.

It opens tomorrow evening, with a reception from 6:00PM - 10:00PM at the Suite 100 Gallery downtown. I’m not yet certain if I’ll be able to make it, but I strongly recommend this event all the same. There will definitely be neat stuff that is Very Cool To Look At.

Click the image for more details.

Submitted for your reading pleasure (or at the very least, interest): this essay by Adam Greenfield, which addresses some of the discombobulation I’ve been feeling about the whole Sarah Palin thing, albeit from a peculiar and peculiarly apropos angle.

And because I now have about a dozen emails wanting to know why I’ve kept so quiet on the subject, when I’ve a reputation for being such a merry and vocal little liberal, well, it’s like this: For the last couple of weeks I’ve been sitting here in dumbfounded silence — in wholehearted shock, really, over McCain’s VP choice and the reception she’s received from the public at large.

My consternation begins with the obvious: Somebody out there really DOES think I’m dumb enough to vote with my vagina. For Christ’s sake, I wouldn’t trust Sarah Palin to sort my laundry, and the GOP thinks that — because she and I share matching plumbing — I ought to rise up and embrace her. Ladies, be assured! Voting Republican is okay, this time, because now they’ve totally got a chick on the ticket. The time has come to forget all about that evil laughter we hear while they try stripmine family planning/sex-ed/women’s healthcare programs, education and funding, while steadily and sometimes secretly working to disable our administrative permissions on our own bodies.

So who is this woman anyway, and what do we know about her?
Well, let’s see.

She tries to force abstinence-only education, because apparently her daughter is more special than everybody else’s; and she crows about the “decision” her daughter has made to keep an unexpected/unwanted child — even while bracing herself to strip the decision-making ability from other women (even in case of rape). Speaking of rape, when Palin was in charge in Wasilla, victimized women had to pay for their own rape kits in order to “save money.” What a feminist!

She doesn’t believe in global warming; she advocates the hunting of Alaskan wolves via the sportsmanlike activity of exhausting them with low-flying airplanes and then shooting them to death with high-powered rifles.* She’s fought tooth and nail to keep polar bears off the endangered species list. What an environmentalist!

In a real fit of pique, this “fiscally responsible” “maverick” who bleeds integrity billed the state of Alaska for 312 nights which she spent in her own home. She advocates the banning of books from public libraries, and once threatened to fire a librarian who vigorously opposed attempts to do so. But that’s not so surprising, considering there’s ample evidence to suggest that she also tried to get her ex-brother-in-law fired, too. What an upstanding public servant who would never abuse power!

Left to her own devices, she’d just as soon take her state and mount a secession from the union. That whole “Bridge to Nowhere” thing? Yeah, she’s a rather mistaken when she sings about her virtue in refusing it. She’s also been known to fudge her travel/diplomacy credentials. And oh, wait. There’s that whole malarkey about the jet she so cavalierly sold. That didn’t happen like she said it did, either. But maybe she was just confused. The record will reflect that she’s not much of a businessperson. What a qualified leader!

Gosh. She sounds like a real peach.
(And all this with just a >2-year stint as governor and a 7-year run as a small-town mayor.)

Anyway, thanks but no thanks.
If it’s all the same to you, I’ll stick with my present preferred candidate.

Until today I hadn’t really written anything since last month’s short “Tanglefoot,” and today was the day to rectify that. At the moment, I’m waiting for word on half a dozen projects here and there, so I’ve gone back to work on my trashy adventure about a neurotic vampire/thief and her wealthy blind client, now with Bonus! half-Cuban drag queen and military intrigue.

This one’s been a tricky project for me. Even when I seem to be doing it right, it’s just so far off my usual wavelength that I’m having a hard time plugging into it with sufficient consistency. But I had a very nice chat with a very nice Tor editor over DragonCon, and I am once again freshly inspired to continue.

It is my hypothetical goal to work up a rough draft of Bloodshot by the end of this month, at which point I’ll shift gears and begin working on The Clementine — which is due this winter. What? I can totally do it. You just watch me. [:: cough cough ::]

So here are today’s stats, picking up where I most recently left off:

Project: Bloodshot
New Words Written Today: 5039*
Present Total Word Count: 38,226
Goal: 100,000 words





Fiction Things Accomplished: Let self into a highly classified military storage facility; found useful scraps of information; headed to Atlanta chasing a clue thread; cornered a sad middle-aged couple about their missing daughter; learned she had a brother, who will undoubtedly require closer inspection.

Real Life Things Accomplished: Made meatloaf according to my stepmother’s recipe; did an unbelievable amount of dishes; went to bank and deposited some money, yay; restrained self from shopping all up and down Broadway; caught up on some reading, including more than half of a novel that must be reviewed by next week; discovered that husband was taking me to see Sisters of Mercy in Portland (they’re also playing in Seattle but he likes the Portland venue better and he’s buying, so he gets to pick).

Stumbling blocks: I keep picking up this project and putting it back down again, due to circumstance and the interruption of other (not to put too fine a point on it, but paying) projects. This makes it hard to focus; every time I resume work on it, I have to go back to the start and re-read everything that came previously, in order to keep my continuity in line. Although this project isn’t up my usual alley, I’ve developed some real fondness for it and I need to get off my ass and wrap it up.

Reason for Stopping: I have a few more things to do around the house before the husband gets home from work, and once I crested that 5K number, I felt like I could retreat to other duties without guilt.

Total Fiction Words Composed in 2008: 262,542

What has two thumbs and gets to go see the Sisters of Mercy play in Portland next month? Click below for the answer.

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The marvelous Colleen Lindsay and a few of her colleagues are interested in hearing from published and/or soon-to-be-published authors, regarding promotion and publicity when it comes to books. If you fit the demographic and if you’re so inclined, kindly take a moment and fill out their survey. It’s quite short, just one page long. Won’t take you a minute.

Purely by virtue of my husband’s return, the internet has righted itself and is behaving normally. Stupid intertubes. Determined to make a liar out of me.

But really, I don’t care. I have tons of work to do and I’ll take what I can get — which means also that I’ll have to settle for minimal updating today.

Ordinarily this would mean kitty pictures, but believe it or not, I don’t have any kitty pictures handy. Instead I have pictures of the schwag that Aric brought back from Denver, where he was attending an electronics trade show that came hot on the heels of the Democratic National Convention.

Did he bring me home electronic samples? No.
Did he bring me leftover DNC schwag? Oh yes.

And one more thing — this tee shirt, which I have been repeatedly and strongly assured was Obama-approved, and very popular at the convention itself. I think it’s a hoot, but I’m a little afraid to wear it out in public, lest people get the wrong idea. (Click the cut tag. Go on. Do it.)

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I wish to God I knew what was wrong with our internet. Nothing seems to fix it, nothing seems to improve it … but periodically (and rarely, for an hour or two at a time), it works just fine. Aric’s been out on assignment for the last day or two, but hopefully when he returns in a couple of hours, he’ll restore order. His networking skillz are far superior to mine.

But during this brief window of sanity, here, have some links:

Carolyn and I are some classy, classy bitches. Now with Bonus! picture of Spain the Cat being slutty as hell.

Victorian anti-corpulency underpants. FTW! Just don’t ask how I stumbled across this fine specimen of marketing history. I’ve been doing some … erm … research. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Maureen Johnson, YA author extraordinaire, has some very wise and thoughtful things to say about teen pregnancy, Bristol Palin, and why abstinence-only education is a big fucking joke (pun intended).

Tetris brownies. Get ‘em while they’re hot. Get ‘em while they’re gooey. Get ‘em while they’re nom nom nom nom nom…

A new Ghostbusters movie? Really? Do we need this? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ll pay cash dollars American to go see it and everything, but good heavens.

If you enjoyed DragonCon’s Dark Fantasy track, much credit goes to one track director Mr. Derek Tatum — he of mighty organizational skills and infinite patience. Let the record reflect.