I came home very ill

In fact, I don’t fully recall any head colds in my recent history which were this evil.

I do recall one back in ’94 or ’95 when I was the technical director of a high school production of the Sound of Music…or was it South Pacific when I was so ill? Either way, I completely lost my voice and was having to whisper-holler from the back of the gym. See, if I’d taken a day off, the show wouldn’t’ve gone on very well. The show always goes on, but I owed the kids a damn good show and that was what they put together my illness notwithstanding.

But ten years later? Well, let’s just say I’m taking those days off that I missed back then and I’m not entirely convinced that I ‘missed’ much those years ago. I’ve watched the entire 6th season of Highlander in the last two days. What I wouldn’t give to be able to read a book without my eyes getting all bleary. Another day or so and I’ll be writing again. I have so much to say, too!

RT was AWESOME! I missed Jen a lot, but I also made a lot of new friends. I’ve got tons to write about there. One of my new, well…newer, friends Kathy Love is a finalist for the Prism awards. I can’t wait until RWA National to see how it all turns out.

Also, today, I discovered that my hubby, Jason Stoddard is a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon award. I love my man. Yeah, the same guy with the “I think. I can.” shirt on in some of the engine swap pics is a finalist. That’s awesome. Life is good.

Off to RT!

It’s do or die now.

The wardrobe has been carefully chosen and packed.

The shoes are to die for.

I think I’m ready.

I think.

No. I know I am. ‘Cause if my bags are packed, I’m totally there!!!!!!!!!!

See ya’ll upon my return! I have sooooo much posting to do.

Just ’cause it’s Friday!

I tend to do mini-celebrations on Fridays for no apparent reason. You’ll likely catch me wearing my wildest and weirdest stuff on Fridays or perhaps driving a car that I haven’t driven all week. Hell, even lighting a different candle, wearing silly socks or drinking a different tea than my usuals ones. Granted, it doesn’t take much to get me to celebrate. But the amount of celebration tends to be according to the day. And well, today’s celebration is simply…

‘Cause it’s Friday…

Meet Toad and the Toadlets (Warwick and Llewelyn).

These pics are actually about a year and a half old, but I just found them last week while looking for pics of England to share on this blog and I had to post them. I mean, it’s Friday and these pics made me giggle. I figured I’d post the following picture so that you could get an idea of the magnitude of my desert tortoise. The two on his back are his children.

So far, Toad has tons of personality, but even a year and a half later, the Toadlets have yet to develop distinct personalities. I suppose there’s decades for that to happen!

LaLaCon 2006

This past weekend was a blast! My hubby, Jason Stoddard, was the Writer Guest of Honor at LalaCon 2006 and I got to sit in on a couple of panels with him.

This con is a very relaxed, fun one that I’ve done for two years in a row now and absolutely love it. Of my favorite moments, one of the best was discussing the future of writing with Jason, John DeChancie, George Van Wagner and Larry Niven. Had this been more of a writing conference, that would’ve made for a fantastic panel discussion with all of us having different ideas. Very fascinating stuff.

Here’s a shot of the panel I did with Jason. Special thanks to fellow Fictionado George Van Wagner for snapping this pic!

We’re seated at the head of the hall where all LASFS (Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society) meetings are held. Jason was probably talking about his short stories or the novel he just finished. Me, however, I’m listening intently, trying to think up another question to ask, but failing miserably. This con is so relaxing, it relaxed all the good questions out of my brain!

Okay, I can’t resist… I need to point out and explain a few things in the shot. Starting with the buttons on my shoulders. One’s the con nametag. The other is my geeky scrolling LED badge that I tried out for the first time this weekend. Definitely a worthwhile purchase. It’ll get loads of use at the Romantic Times Booklover Convention in a few weeks.

Also of odd note, the way I’m sitting… I had no idea that yoga has permeated into my regular habits. Also, of note are my shoes. Outside the panel, I was engaged in a conversation about them. They are real Victorian shoes and are super duper narrow and pointy. They might not be quite 1800s, but darn close to it. They aren’t copies, they’re the real deal. I can’t believe they’re in such great shape for their age, either. I love them to pieces, but can only wear them once or twice a year for fear of damaging them.

I’ll be getting to my bits of England soon. There are so many pics, I might just have to choose random shots from all of my trips there.

In other news not quite suitable to announce on my website because it isn’t really worth shouting about just yet, my new novel, _Otherness:Rift_, has a cover even though it won’t be coming out until this Fall. I’m so excited! I’ll share the artwork as soon as it’s officially finished.