Sitting here waiting for just-barely-Hurricane Earl to arrive, but without much suspense because it appears increasingly less likely that Earl will affect us much this far inland. At the moment, he’s been downgraded to a Category 1 and seems to be veering east, seawards. We need the rain desperately, but I’m only expecting a sprinkle or two the ways things are shaping up!
It’s been many years since either September 1 or Labor Day felt like “the end of summer” to me (and not just because so many schools now start classes in August). Summer, and its weather, lasts at least until the Autumn Equinox, and that’s probably going to be even more true as the climate warms. We just had five straight days of temperatures in the 90s, today is only slightly cooler with my thermometer topping out at 86°. Last night I went up to Dad’s to visit and watch the Patriots’ final preseason game. I went up early and had a long, lovely swim in the lake, which was positively balmy after five clear, calm days of hot sun warming the water. There were a couple of boats out (ours are both still out of commission, although I got updates on the progress [or not] of repairs), and I disturbed three ducks that were relaxing on our new float when I went down to the dock.
I’m glad my swim was so pleasant because the game was rather disappointing. *sigh* I hope the Patriots’ performance in the preseason games doesn’t really portend how they’ll do in the regular season. Dad is already all excited, though! His computer, and its new sound card, is working great; this week, Dad asked me to set up a used printer he bought to go with his laptop, and that’s all set.
The new cover art for Blood Justice is done, and now I need to design the full cover and dust jacket templates. Mr. Burton likes the art, and made some suggestions for minor changes, all of which I implemented. September book sales have hit the ground running, I’m amazed. Typically, sales have been dropping off at the beginning of each month and then picking up again, but not this time! I got a large direct deposit from Amazon for Kindle sales, which definitely improved my day.
By Light Unseen Media will be throwing a party in the Con Suite at Albacon–I’ll be posting more information as plans take shape, but it should be fun! “Room parties” are always so cramped, and many hotels are starting to restrict them–“sponsoring” the Con Suite is a great idea. I’d thought about doing that at this past Readercon but didn’t get my act together in time.
The Skype conferencing for last Sunday’s Readercon Committee meeting was a great success, and I’m finally getting the full schedule of meetings confirmed between now and next year’s con. Whew. Pre-registration for Readercon 22 is now open, with a special low rate through September 15 because we didn’t have early registration available at this year’s Readercon. You can register online with PayPal or download a form.
Otherwise, there isn’t much news. I’ve been busy and productive, but it’s been all cover art, BLUM business, and Readercon business. Magda, by the way, is back to more-or-less her normal behavior. I think she and Cerridwen have been getting into some fights when I’m not around. 🙁
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