R.I.P. Diana Wynne Jones

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Not unexpected, but sad nonetheless. Her work will last a long, long time.

Randomness for 3/26

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1) How great entrepreneurs think.

2) A flowchart guide to the Affordable Care Act.

3) Ten supposedly sexy super-heroine costumes that really aren’t.

4) Every new social media offering, now online. (This is pretty funny, and it even includes a certain cat)

5) Author Ryk Spoor responds to my hypothetical vampire child question of a few days ago.

6) I know there are a lot of people who don’t like Rachel Ray, but I think everyone will accept that she deserves a comma or two here.

7) J.K. Rowling’s next project, courtesy of collegehumor.com

Time to go home

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But I have to say I got a helluva lot of work done today. Sorry for ignoring you, internet! (Especially you, Twitter ::tickles Twitter under chin::) Don’t expect to see much of me tomorrow, either.

No internet today

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I’m setting Mac Freedom for the full eight hours and heading out to work. That means I won’t be around until at least 2 PST and probably later. Don’t hate me if I don’t respond to your emails right away.

I have GOT to finish up these revisions, and while I won’t reach the end today, I hope to reach them very very soon.

I wrote this post but it didn’t go online for some reason

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I suspect the reason is, “I’m an idiot.”

Anyway, Japan is getting a lot of attention for the recent natural disaster (and the problems it caused) but just before that happened there was a powerful earthquake in New Zealand, too. The folks in Christchurch need help, and author Karen Healey is doing something about it.

Yep, that’s a charity anthology, and the table of contents is pretty impressive. Check it out and, if you can, help those folks out by buying a copy.

A hypothetical question

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Your only child (if you don’t have one, just imagine–if you have several, imagine there’s just one) is five years old, and she has been attacked by a vampire, and turned.

No one else knows about this. She sleeps during the day and can not survive in the sun. Also, crosses or religious symbols do not harm her or ward her off. She has a terrible allergic reaction to garlic. She must have blood every day, but she requires so little that you don’t have to kill anyone. It’s a bother to procure the blood, but not impossible.

However, she’ll remain five for all eternity… or until she’s staked. You must keep her condition a secret (lest she be killed) but you also know that you can’t care for her forever (because you’ll grow old and die), and she will never be able to care for herself. She can’t learn new things, can’t talk like a grownup, can’t become a criminal mastermind the way little girl vampires do on TV. She’ll be five always.

The question: Do you (and/or your spouse, if you have one) turn yourselves into vampires, too, so she will always have someone to care for her?

Japanese reactors, and iodine pills, briefly described

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If you want a brief description of the issues facing the Japanese people with regard to their nuclear reactors, check this out.

We’ve been watching his other videos for a while now. It’s interesting stuff.

Quick post

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I’m about to get back to revising The Unnamed Project but I thought I’d drop in here for a quick post.

I have great news! … which I can’t share yet. Yes, I know, I’ve become one of those tiresome writers who talks about all the awesome things they’re not allowed to talk about. This one won’t be too much delayed in announcing; the contracts should be all signed and ready very soon now.

Gluten-Free! For the first few days I was doing pretty well (and dropping a few pounds) but fell off the wagon. I put the pounds back on and my face is inflamed again. Annoying. I also tried out a few of the apps folks recommended but they were unsuitable for one reason or another.

I tried the free version of the Livestrong app, for example, but apparently there’s no way to put a food into it at quantities smaller than their minimum serving size. Apparently, everyone who has maple syrup eats a quarter cup of it at one go; no one ever just adds a tablespoon to their yogurt. It’s also annoying and I’m not sure if the paid version fixes this flaw.

Galleys for Circle of Enemies! are done. I’m going to make copies of them and then ship they back to Del Rey later this week. There are sections I wish I could iron out–not too many, but some–but I still think this book is the best I’ve ever written.

Science Fiction Conventions! I’m going to one. Norwescon, in this case. I bought a membership over the weekend because I figured I’m supposed to be going to Readercon later this summer and even (gulp!) be on a panel or something, so I should probably go to one as an audience member to see what they look like. I realize they’re not the same sort of convention, but what the hell. I have until the end of April to remember where I left my extrovert mask.

iPad! Finally, a gadget my wife will actually use.

Ebooks for 99 cents! Boy has this been bouncing around the internet for a while. Personally, I’m sure the price of ebooks will drop below the current prices, but I’m not so sure they’ll fall all the way to 99 cents. This indie author has an interesting take on book pricing, mainly because she isn’t interested in the 99 cent market. She doesn’t believe those readers will follow her to other, higher-priced books, and also that they’re kind of a pain in the ass.

Combine that with some other readers out there who say they avoid one buck books because they assume they’re crap, and you see a case for higher prices. It’s pretty interesting and things are changing quickly.

Christ, didn’t I say this was supposed to be quick? Time to work.

Randomness for 3/21

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1) Simpsons jokes, by season. via Bill Martell.

2) A James Bond script, written by Ben “The Shakespeare of Hollywood” Hecht. I especially love the idea of giving the name “James Bond” to different agents, just to mix things up. It explains the parade of actors in the role so nicely.

3) Seven massive holes in the Earth.

4) Read this wonderful story by Jane Rice, written in the 1940s.

5) Novels and novelists: imperfect competition

6) An interesting new format for physical books. (Ignore the seo crap about killing the Kindle).

7) Not a real ad campaign for the Smithsonian.

“It was as if they’d gathered together in one place as a gift, to give me another chance to murder them all.”

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The galleys for Circle of Enemies are done, barring one or two fiddly little checks. I need to send a note to the associate copy chief to ask her a quick question, and I need to look over one bit of exposition. That will be no big deal.

I’m honestly curious how people will respond to this book–it’s a little different from the other two. It’s shaggier and more personal. I also wish I could give it another polish, but that’s what I always say.

Tomorrow I can get back to the project that can not be named, and soon, hopefully, to A Key, An Egg… It’ll also be nice to spend more time with my family, which I can never seem to manage.

And of course the subject header is a line from the book.