at least before WWII had their Christmas trees set up either Christmas Eve or Day. !!!

Just saying.

I'm home alone for the weekend of Smofcon, family went there, as well as Jeff O (who is actually family too). Cats are happy about it. And I"m watching a few of my favorite Christmas movies.

I had forgotten Donovan's Reef is a Christmas movie. This evening I'm watching the original Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young.

sigh. and happy too.

It's been snowing beautiful fat flakes for hours here in Virginia. Since our morning plans were thus canceled, we decided to put up our Christmas tree. As is our tradition, I decorated the tree while we watched It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas. We've done it every year since we moved into the house. Our decorations are minimal: tree, stockings, door wreath. (Which is more than we put up for any other holiday.) I love snow, and I'm glad we were able to do our Christmassy things against such a Christmassy backdrop.

Now here's hoping the snow stops and the roads clear before it's time to head up to a party in Maryland tonight!

The guy who wrote both "It's Now Or Never" and "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" has passed.

The latest cause for discussion/argument within publishing and writerly circles is the announcement by Harlequin of a new "imprint". Said new "imprint" is a classic, near-textbook example of vanity publishing, with the attendant stench of "scam" attached.

Writers' organizations (Romance Writers of America, Horror Writers of America, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, specifically, and there may be more) have come out hard and fast in denouncing this "business model" for what it is, and put teeth in their condemnation by removing Harlequin from their lists of publishers considered "professional". Publication by Harlequin will no longer be considered as qualifying a writer for membership in these organization, and works published by Harlequin will no longer be eligible for the respective organizations' awards.

Do I agree with them that Harlequin's latest business model is sleazy, predatory, and a scam? You betcha. Do I approve of these organizations' stances on the matter? Resoundingly.

You know the mantra, boys and girls. "Money flows TO the writer."

Predictably, the actions of these professional writers' organizations have raised a cacophony of protest. Some of those protesting the loudest are simply ignorant, a correctable condition. Some are wanna-bees, some are think-they-are, some are just irretrievably stupid. And some, who have created their own fame by riding controversies into the ground, are riding this for all it's worth. In all cases, self-publishing, vanity-publishing, e-publishing, and small-press publishing are being confused, mixed, mingled and lumped together, sometimes through ignorance, sometimes deliberately.

Also predictable is the oft-repeated argument that "it's a plot by 'traditional publishers' (translation: real ones), aided and abetted by elitist writers' organizations (translation: those requiring actual qualifications to join), to beat down the masses and bar access to literarly fame and fortune to all but a select and rivileged few."

In a word, bullshit.

Efforts to educate are akin to repeated vigorous meetings of head and wall. And, over the years, those efforts have been many. They still are. Largely fruitless, but they continue, nonetheless.

I've been thinking that, perhaps, the tact we've been taking needs a course correction. Instead of trying to educate the guy or gal who gets up in the middle of a panel and accuses us of promulgating a plot against new writers, we respond with laughter and "You just keep thinking that, sweetcheeks. Next question." Instead of pointing to the volumes of solid information on scams and real opportunities, we smile, say "get back to me in five years and let me know how that's going for you", and look for more interesting conversations.

Maybe we should consider Harlequin's business model another way of cleaning up the gene pool. Another opportunity for "survival of the fittest" to come into play. Maybe we should spend less energy on trying to save the willfully unsaveable, and more energy on our own work.

Okay, probably not. But it is tempting.

There's a homebound honey beating it westward at 470 knots plus. Yes, there's an airplane around him.

The flight is due in around 2:30pm, and hopefully he'll be through customs and headed home within an hour of that. Just in time to drop his bags, shower, change, and head out the door with me for the company Christmas party.

Yeah, he's gonna be one tired puppy.

This morning I was inspired by this amazing picspam of Dean and Castiel in the last episode of Season 4. As well, there are some variations on pictures my husband asked me to icon a while ago. Enjoy!

The roster:

Supernatural x 13
Doctor Who x 5 (Daleks, SontaranS)
Penny Arcade x 4
Pokemon (Snorlax) x 3

The rules: Please feel free to take and use without credit, but comments are much appreciated!!

Teasers:




It's the heartwarming story of a boy and his guardian angel. Kind of.

The New York Times reports that sad news that Don Congdon has passed away.

Don Congdon, a literary agent who spotted the talent of Ray Bradbury early in both their careers and whose long list of celebrated authors also included William Styron, Jack Finney, Evan S. Connell, William L. Shirer and David Sedaris, died on Monday at his home in Brooklyn Heights. He was 91.

Our sympathies to his friends and family.

Read the full obituary at the NY Times.

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A day's work nets me 1,500 new words on Bonnie #3 today, to go with the thousand-plus I've been racking up each day this week. I'm not setting houses afire, but I am building one, slow and steady [along with, y'know, the Other Daily Stuff. In case you thought I was slacking]

Once the framework's set, then I will go back and look over the edits on HARD MAGIC and the final draft of PACK OF LIES and make sure everything's tied up and tidy. I don't really enjoy being this far ahead of publication schedule WRT delivery dates, but the chance to stop and look at all three books as a whole is kinda nice. If nerve-wracking.

Tonight, I am going to kick back with some wine, and the outline for Vineart #3 (to see what has gone terribly off-track and needs to be reworked), and rest up for tomorrow's Big Gig. Will I see you there?

And if not, did you place your order with April? Last chance to get a signed copy of FLESH AND FIRE (or any other book of mine) for someone's holiday present!

[okay, maybe not. There may be Another Chance coming next week. Stay tuned.]

In response to Harlequin’s letter to Mystery Writers of America, Frankie Y. Bailey, Executive Vice President issued the following statement.

Dear MWA Member:

The Board of Mystery Writers of America voted unanimously on Wednesday to remove Harlequin and all of its imprints from our list of Approved Publishers, effective immediately. We did not take this action lightly. We did it because Harlequin remains in violation of our rules regarding the relationship between a traditional publisher and its various for-pay services.

What does this mean for current and future MWA members?

Any author who signs with Harlequin or any of its imprints from this date onward may not use their Harlequin books as the basis for active status membership nor will such books be eligible for Edgar® Award consideration. However books published by Harlequin under contracts signed before December 2, 2009 may still be the basis for Active Status membership and will still be eligible for Edgar® Award consideration (you may find the full text of the decision at the end of this bulletin).

Although Harlequin no longer offers its eHarlequin Critique Service and has changed the name of its pay-to-publish service, Harlequin still remains in violation of MWA rules regarding the relationship between a traditional publisher and its various for-pay services.

MWA does not object to Harlequin operating a pay-to-publish program or other for-pay services. The problem is HOW those pay-to-publish programs and other for-pay services are integrated into Harlequin’s traditional publishing business. MWA’s rules for publishers state:

“The publisher, within the past five years, may not have charged a fee to consider, read, submit, or comment on manuscripts; nor may the publisher, or any of the executives or editors under its employ, have offered authors self-publishing services, literary representation, paid editorial services, or paid promotional services.

If the publisher is affiliated with an entity that provides self-publishing, for-pay editorial services, or for-pay promotional services, the entities must be wholly separate and isolated from the publishing entity. They must not share employees, manuscripts, or authors or interact in any way. For example, the publishing entity must not refer authors to any of the for-pay entities nor give preferential treatment to manuscripts submitted that were edited, published, or promoted by the for-pay entity.

To avoid misleading authors, mentions and/or advertisements for the for-pay entities shall not be included with information on manuscript submission to the publishing company. Advertising by the publisher’s for-pay editorial, self-publishing or promotional services, whether affiliated with the publisher or not, must include a disclaimer that it is advertising and that use of those services offered by an affiliate of the publisher will not affect consideration of manuscripts submitted for publication.”

Harlequin’s Publisher and CEO Donna Hayes responded to our November 9 letter, and a follow up that we sent on November 30. In her response, which we have posted on the MWA website, Ms. Hayes states that Harlequin intends as standard practice to steer the authors that it rejects from its traditional publishing imprints to DellArte and its other affiliated, for-pay services. In addition, Harlequin mentions on the DellArte site that editors from its traditional publishing imprints will be monitoring DellArte titles for possible acquisition. It is this sort of integration that violates MWA rules.

MWA has a long-standing regard for the Harlequin publishing house and hopes that our continuing conversations will result in a change in their policies and the reinstatement of the Harlequin imprints to our approved list of publishers.

Frankie Y. Bailey,
Executive Vice President, MWA

MWA’s Official Decision: That because Harlequin’s for pay publishing business violates MWA’s rules for approved publishers, MWA takes the following action: First, Harlequin shall be removed from MWA’s list of approved publishers upon the adoption of this motion; Second, that all current active status members of MWA whose status is based upon books published by Harlequin shall remain active status members; Third, that MWA decline applications for active membership based upon books published by Harlequin pursuant to contracts entered into after the effective date of this motion; Fourth, that books published by Harlequin pursuant to contracts entered into prior to the adoption of this motion shall be eligible for the Edgar® Awards, except that books published by DellArte Press shall not be eligible for the Edgar® Awards regardless of when such contract was entered into; and Fifth that books published by Harlequin pursuant to contracts entered into after the adoption of this motion shall not be eligible for the Edgar® Awards.

MWA’s Executive Vice-President, and her or his designates, are directed to continue discussions with Harlequin in an effort to reach an agreement that would allow for Harlequin to be an approved publisher according to MWA’s rules.

This e-bulletin was prepared by the MWA national office on behalf of the MWA National Board of Directors.

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Having now heard from Himself, who is checked into his hotel and off to locate supper, we break for a word from Our Sponsor:

I will begin accepting submissions for THE LADIES OF TRADE TOWN on January 5, 2010. Open-read, which means I'll consider any story that fits the guidelines. 2 cents per word advance against pro-rata share of royalties. Scheduled for publication by Norilana Books in April 2011.

Guidelines linked from the Main Menu of http://www.HarpHaven.net

No, not me. Although I wish.

Himself is on the long road home from Germany. Escape from Leipzig accomplished via high-speed train, and he called a few minutes ago to say it had safely deposited him in Frankfurt. Bit of a glitch in finding his hotel, hopefully being solved by company travel agent. (He thought he'd included that info with the plane info he forwarded to me, but no such luck.)

The adventure continues.

It's the coldest morning of the season today -- 16 degrees -- according to the local weather geek. Last night, the local weather diva told us to expect freezing drizzle on Sunday evening and six inches of snow on Wednesday morning. I'm not a big fan of cold weather, or the dry air that comes along with it. The mild weather we've enjoyed throughout November has been amazing and much appreciated.

Where I've Been -- I drove to Cincinnati to spend Thanksgiving with family. While there, I explored the Land of Ikea, and the only things that really impressed me were how flat they actually pack their merchandise, and the Swedish meatballs in the cafeteria. My sister thinks the store is really big. She hasn't seen Nebraska Furniture Mart.

What I'm Reading -- To keep me company on the long drive, I listened to "Death Du Jour", a Temperance Brennan mystery by Kathy Reichs. The Brennan character in the novel is quite different from the character in the television show "Bones". She's older, wiser, and more socially adept. The novel is intricately plotted and compellingly written, and kept my attention from beginning to end. I'm looking forward to reading other novels by this author.

What I've Been Doing -- The job search meanders on, as I expect it will until after the first of the year. This town is flush with unemployed marketing professionals. I did get a rare rejection note from an employer, letting me know he had over 100 qualified candidates for the position (which required extensive experience and some old-school skills). Most employers don't even bother to let you know you've been rejected.

What I Just Bought -- I finally bought and installed a new printer so I can actually print stuff in the colors they were meant to be, rather than in their complementary opposite and/or just magenta. I scored a great deal on an Epson photo printer/scanner/copier at OfficeMax. The one I ordered online was put on backorder, so I bought one locally and tried to cancel the order. But the second printer shipped anyway. My sweetie has claimed the extra unit for his own, and is now looking for a good home that will appreciate his old fully-functional Lexmark printer/scanner/copier. My old Canon has served me well since 2002, but it has gone irreparably feebleminded. Alas, it is destined to reside next to its predecessor, neglected and forlorn, in the basement where all of our electronics go to die (because we're too cheap and lazy to pay someone to recycle our dead computer stuff).

I'm at an animal hospital with my wife and her dog, Lucie.

Lucie has Cushing's disease, and attempts to treat it to date have been less than succuessful. Earlier tests found a mass on her adrenal gland. Today we're here for an ultrasound to learn if that mass has grown. The answer will determine which of several more invasive treatments we need to go forward with.

Not surprisingly, Valerie is "a bit stressed" by the situation. I came along for support.

by Nisi Shawl

“I’d never write about a person from a different ethnic background. The whole story would probably be full of horrible stereotypes and racist slurs.”

Amy closed her mouth, and mine dropped open. Luckily, I was seated when my friend made this statement, but the lawn chair must have sagged visibly with the weight of my disbelief. My own classmate, excluding all other ethnic types from her creative universe!

I think this sort of misguided caution is the source of a lot of sf’s monochrome futures. You know the ones I mean, where some nameless and never discussed plague has mysteriously killed off everyone with more than a hint of melanin in their skin. I wonder sometimes what kind of career I’d have if I followed suit with tales of stalwart Space Negroes and an unexplained absence of whites.

But of course I don’t. I boldly write about people from other backgrounds, just as many of the field’s best authors do. Suzy McKee Charnas, Bruce Sterling, and Sarah Zettel have all produced wonderful transracial characters, as I show in examples below. Before getting into their work, though, let’s discuss how to prepare for your own.

If you want to go beyond the level of just assigning different skin tones and heritages to random characters, you’re going to have to do some research. Because yes, all people are the same, but they’re also quite different. For now, we’ll set aside the argument that race is an artificial construct, and concentrate on how someone outside a minority group can gain enough knowledge of the group’s common traits to realistically represent one of its members.

Read the rest of this entry »

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This is as much for my benefit as yours, but in case anyone's looking to buy some sparkling for their holiday celebrations.... my notes on last night's tasting. With 29 wines poured, I didn't take notes on everything, but I did remark the standouts.

Disclaimer: I have given my heart and my tastebuds to Nicolas Feuillatte. If you really want to impress me, open a bottle of Palmes d'Or Grand Cuvee. Lacking that, however, I am willing to drink around.

( swish and spit... )

I think the best part of last night, though -- other than the wines, natch -- was watching the group of young women at the table with us. It seemed as though one of them was a sparkling drinker, and she was trying to educate the others -- to impressive success. They were so full of giddy delight and totally taking it all in-- neither too serious nor too blithe -- that you could have made a commercial for Champagne just following them.


And now, to work.

My favorite movie company is making another set of short films just after the holidays, but of course they're shooting in Illinois and of course I won't be around. Dang. I can submit a 5- to 10-page script, but the due date is in two weeks so that's pretty iffy.

I've also been invited to contribute to a bimonthly comic anthology. That's all well and good, but these people are mostly interested in Animal Faith-level art, which means I'd be just a writer. And that's fine, except that Bill is just so obscenely busy these days that I sincerely doubt he could commit to completing even a handful of pages every two months. I'm flattered that the folks behind this anthology think so highly of AF but sometimes I feel like they contact me just to get to Bill.

So I dunno. I guess my best option is to just keep plugging away at my current projects. I've been in a bad way this week and have spent most of my non-work time reading. Perhaps I'll be able to get back on the creativity wagon in a few days.

OK, can't wait any longer ^___^

Title: Human Need
Author: tiptoe39
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Dean/Castiel (My first writing of this pairing, yay!)
Summary: Castiel is more connected to his human body now. And it's affecting him.
Rating: NC-17 for things that will take you to heaven... or hell... depending on your POV.
Spoilers: Through 5x02, which is as far as I've seen as of this writing -- please don't spoil me further! :-)
Author's notes: Thanks go out to ladywilde80, who absolutely rocked my world with her amazing beta work. I'm so, so grateful.

He'd set his compass by him, and to lose that direction would leave him stranded at sea.

For those who prefer your epic fantasy in the traditional format (oral storytelling), the audio version of FLESH AND FIRE is now available for pre-order:

Via the audio producer directly

via BN.com (note; there are three different entries at B&N, all with different pricings, but two claim to be CDs, not mp3s. Go by the Tantor guidelines above....

At Amazon.com, where there is only the one listing

Sadly, in a failure of marketing, it's not being released until after Christmas. But hey, a great use for a gift card! And if you e-mail me ahead of time and tell me you're buying it for someone else, I can send you a signed sticker to put on the box, just for kicks. :-)


meanwhile, fave quote of the year, via GalleyCat:

All year Google and the Authors Guild have struggled to finalize over Google's efforts to scan millions of pages of books into an online database. When asked about the settlement in June, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wondered why Google should "get a prize for violating a large series of copyrights."

For once, Bezos and I are in agreement, of for totally different reasons...