Where Personal and Professional Life Collide...

Well, driven up, anyway. In the company of a very, very narrow-headed rough-coated collie, thereby proving that my cats are chill around chill canines.

The Kitten is currently exploring his new digs. The CatfSize is...well, he's staked out a safe spot under the bed and periodically comes out to glare at me, then go back underneath. I predict another 3-4 hours of being given the Cold Tail before he starts to cuddle. It took a little over an hour.

I suspect I'll wake up with both of them claiming more than their fair share of the bed....

And the house is now a home.

My only comments about the election are that with democracy, sometimes we get the government other people deserved.  Also, that not giving up/not losing faith is the best fuck you we can give to those who want to haul us back to the 1950's (or 1850's).


I'm off to World Fantasy today. Over the weekend, Subtenant will be cat-minding, as she starts to move into the space and make it her own.

(the advantage of subletting to a good friend is that this sort of thing can happen)

Westward Ho! Updatery: Lease, confirmed. Movers, confirmed. Cat moving, confirmed. Insurance coverage for both locations, pending but pretty much confirmed. Self-moving, confirmed. Offsite storage, done.  Pretty much in work-and-wait mode.  Which leads us into....

Writing Updatery: Novels are with their respective editors. The two Sylvan Investigations novellas are being revised. Short stories are being plotted. WillWrite2FeedOthers is going to launch RSN. Maybe even tomorrow, if I get bandwidth while traveling. And next week I get to put my head down and focus on DEVIL'S WEST #2. Am I psyched about that? You have no idea.

Feline Updatery:  Two people now who've seen the Kitten in recent days have literally leaned back in surprise and said "he's gotten big!"  Yeah, I guess he has - his tail now looks normal compared to his body length, rather than extra-long, and I'm pretty sure his tail didn't shrink....  18 months old, and he's a lean, clean purring machine, who has gotten into the habit of sleeping with me at night, although he's still not much of a cuddler, otherwise.  That's all right, there's really only room for CatofSize on my lap, anyway.  And he's showing no signs of giving that space up, even when he's cranky from being ill...

(we're still waiting on his most recent bloodwork before panic/relief)

And that's all the news I'm allowed to print....

But first, I am dropping CatofSize off at the vet's, for boarding, because nobody was able to give him his 2x/day insulin shots was I was gone. I feel like the Worst CatMommy Ever.

(he's not spent a night not-at-home since we moved in together).

The Kitten, not needing 2x/daily care, will be staying home with varied caretakers. Hopefully his social nature will survive not having his big brother around 24/7.

(yeah, Worst CatMommy Ever).

But despite all that, I will ATTEMPT to have fun at DragonCon. Panels! Drinking with fellow writers! Readings! Meeting New Peoples! Signings! Trying not to die in the Atlanta heat! (ugh).

I've also send down a box of backlist books, including a number of Anna Leonard paranormal romance titles. If you're going to be at D*C, take advantage of my cleaning-out-the-closets sale! ;-)

As always during conventions, look for me on Twitter...

Today is Cat-of-Size's Birthday (Observed).  Observed, because nobody's actually sure quite how old he was when I adopted him, so...

But having his birthday observed on tax day always made sense to me, considering how much he's cost me over the years...

Happy tenth-or-eleven-ish Birthday, Boomerang, Cat of Little Brain, Fool of a Took, Meatloaf-in-Trainaing, Cat of Size!

2004
2014

Home from Lunacon, which was lovely and I saw many people and failed to see other people, and had good panels, and good conversations, and a surprisingly good signing (hi! to everyone who actually showed up at 7pm on Saturday evening), and of course because it was Lunacon, Good Scotch.

I also managed to come up with a new idea for a mystery series (which, when run past people, got some raised eyebrows and grabby-hands), and worked my way through a few Book-Issues by talking at other people until the Issues untangled themselves. The people know who they are and how much I appreciate them. :-)

And then I spent Sunday afternoon running errands and coming home and dealing with the Aftermath of Errands, including Repotting All The Plants and Assembling the New Work-Chair.

And Appeasing the Cats.

It was, by the way, Castiel Kitten of Thursday, Spawn of Basement Cat, Menace to Society's 1st Birthday (Observed) yesterday. He will graciously accept your belated congratulations.

And now - having also recharged both the brain and satiated the Need to Socialize- I shall dive back into the word-making...

Watching a research-related YouTube video. With feline assistance.





relatedly: dear dog, I need a haircut.

We've reached the point where, if I forget to give CatofSize his shot, he reminds me. I wouldn't have believed it, myself, and yet... there he was, sitting on the sofaback, looking at me like "hey mom, we're not done here yet!"

Huh.  Good kid.

(then I had a moment of panic, because once you've done something enough times it's hard to remember if you did or didn't do it that morning, because all the memories are exactly the same....but no, I hadn't)

Meanwhile, today the Kitten of Thursday goes in for his almost-a-year checkup.  Yes, he's been with us eight months!  I can't believe it either.
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and now, Your Daily Reminder (4th of 5 in a series)

One of Cat of Size's less charming tendencies is, when I'm busy and he wants pettings, the desire to chew on the corner of whatever holds my attention. This often, obviously, means he tries to gnaw on the corner of the laptop.

Today, because I was distracted and focused on what I was doing, meant the oversized bastard BIT THE SCREEN. There is, no lie, a fang-sized hole in the upper right corner of my laptop screen.



(his fangs are fine. He barely even seemed to notice the impact)

On the plus side, I guess? The mystery of how the corner of the iPad Mini got cracked in the exact same place has now been solved.


Oh well.  I was planning on upgrading the laptop at some point this year anyway.  It just became a little more urgent now, is all.  Dear missing checks: please show up RDSN.




(In the future, when I refer to Catofize as "like living with a tiger cub?"  Know that I do not lie!)

I am very boring this weekend. I stayed home and worked - except for a brief period Saturday night, when I went over for a lovely dinner at Casa DeCandido/Simms/Mazur. There are cats & a dog there, in addition to the hoomans. Came home & Kitten ofThursday sniffed me suspiciously a few times, then fixed me with a Smiting Stare...

Interesting, she has no such reaction to when I come home after a day spent with Mei-Chan. The little brat actually knows the difference between "family dog" and "non-family dog?"

I did pause in the working to snag a ticket to go see a broadcast of Coriolanus on Thursday. Yes, the production starring Tom Hiddleston and Mark Gatiss.  Mainly because I've never seen Coriolanus performed, and partially because after this cold snap I really needed an excuse to get the fuck out of the apartment/into the world.  And also because Tom Hiddleston.  I'm not shallow: I have variable depths.

CatofSize seems to be doing quite well, although we haven't had a another blood panel done yet. He's back to being playful and affectionate, rather than sulky, and is dealing with the shots and pills in his usual CatofSize manner ("are there treats? And pettinslovins? Then okay, you can do that.")

and, because it's not an update without me waving my hands about the Kickstarter...

60% funded! 18 days to go! The chance to write more Danny-and-Ellen stories is like Pop Rocks - innocent until you taste it, then all fizzy excitement. :-) But we're not there quite yet....

And the cookies are still up for grabs.  Mmmmjustsaying.

and now...back to the working thing.  Because Monday = Deadlines + New Projects....

1. A cat story.

So Castiel Kitten of Thursday likes to sit in the window seat behind my desk and do his “heyyyyyyy heyyyyy heyyyyy” meow (imagine a very cute rusty gate). And then when I turn my chair around and look at him he stops, stares at me in confusion like OMG you’re looking at me what!, and then starts purring like “hi I’m sorry please don’t be mad oh god I’m babbling” exactly the way fans do if we accidentally run into the object of our fannishness…

Dorkiest. Cat. Ever.

2. A book rec.

Many (many) years ago, baby-editor-I-was made an offer on a book I loved, Kathi Kimbriel's NIGHT CALLS. Sadly, the agent and author took another house's offer. But my love for the book has stood the test of time, and this morning I get to tell y'all that it's back in print! (Amazon only, for now)

(the second book is also available, ebook only for now)

3. The inevitable Kickstarter update/reminder.

Invested writer is invested: I've started writing WORK OF HUNTERS, well before there's any sane reason to (we're 50% funded so far, which is Really Good, but not yet There). And yet... Danny is a noisy bastard, and while Ellen's quieter, she's just as insistent. We start with a dangerous dame, some magic, and a corpse... (UF noir FTW!).  Also, although the chance to die has been taken, you can still grab the chance to dedicate a novella to someone!

4. SugarCat update.

He has started to be grumpy about his morning shots.  Less so his evening ones, although I suspect that's coming.  My fault for sticking him that one time, but it's getting harder to find a bit of loose skin.  :-(  I suspect he's inflating himself, although that's counterproductive to this not hurting.... (try explaining that to cats.  Can't be done).  Will have to up the intensity of the food-distractions...

5.  Weather report.

From "hey, this is kinda mild" to "oh hai lotsa snow coming" this afternoon, and back into the freezer for a few days.  But not the bone-chilling, life-threatening lack-of-heat we had earlier in the month, so that's okay.  Or at least, seasonable and location-appropriate. We'll be under the sofa-blanket, working, if anyone needs us....