5 Cs

Cover

The cover of Destiny’s Fall is now underway, which is exciting. I consider myself lucky. You hear lots of horror stories from other authors on how the cover doesn’t match their book at all.  The cover artist for both Destiny’s Fall and Destiny’s Blood, Kari-Ann Anderson, actually takes the time to read each book and come up with a concept that matches the feel and tone of the book.

Kari-Ann just sent notes and a quick sketch, and it’s going to be awesome. As she mentioned, it’ll match the book’s epic destruction. It’s, um, a bit apocalyptic. I’m very much looking forward to sharing the final art with you all.  No to mention the story! We’re still on target for a launch date in Toronto at Ad Astra and Ottawa the following week.  Not sure if we’ll hit anywhere else yet, but feel free to send ideas!  I love ideas.

Cons

Kari-Ann and I were chatting recently and we realized that we both met the publisher of Dragon Moon Press, Gwen Gades, at World Fantasy Con.  It’s there that I sold Destiny’s Blood, and it’s there that Gwen hired Kari-Ann to do cover art for her.  I love it when life forms little bows that match the tidiness of fiction.

That was World Fantasy Con in Calgary, in 2008. It was my first con, and it’s a pro con.   This is one of those traveling cons, like WorldCon. If it comes near you and you want to meet folk in the industry, it’s a great place to be. I’m going again this year, since it’ll be in Toronto.  Practically next door!

I’ve also updated my appearances section. I’m doing fewer cons this year since I’m concentrating on writing.  A few more cons will be added to the roster, but funds are tight, so I have to be a bit picky.  Time, however, is not that tight.  Heck, I don’t even have a show scheduled until June!  I’m up for house concerts, if you’re interested. I do miss storytelling.  I haven’t been on stage since my December Voices of Venus set, and I’m feeling it.  But the writing is going really well, and my brain isn’t torn between rehearsing for upcoming shows and writing, which is a bit nice, for a change. I’m sure my thoughts will get cabin fever if they don’t get to play with other stories, so this is not a long-term set-up.

Chilling

This year, it’s been a very mild winter. We haven’t received gobs of snow, and it’s been much warmer than usual. I haven’t lost feeling in my limbs or ears once this year and, let’s face it, in Canada we usually enjoy that experience at least once a year.  Hypothermia, our old friend.

Regardless of that boon, I’m finding the winter a bit hard.  I’ve been referring to my own survival list, and I’ll be adding to it next year.  I’ve given myself permission to hide during this month, which I believe is the first time I’ve ever done this. I’m quite enjoying it!  Roomy and I have a little cooking/cleaning/chilling routine that’s working out nicely. I’m about to ruin it in March since travels will begin anew, but still, it’s just what I needed this February.

Now that the sun is peaking on the horizon when I leave the house in the mornings, my energy is also spiking back up. Good!  I've got lots to get done!  Maybe I won't need to drink as much coffee now? Nah...

Chicken

I forgot to put my leftover in the fridge last week and, despite nuking, the chicken totally tried to kill me. Last Thursday night is a bit of blur. I remember having to change the channel multiple times trying to avoid food shows while trying to ignore my stomach before settling on one of those wedding dress shows. Then they took out champagne and cake and I had to run to the bathroom. Roomy had a migraine, so she was staring at me squinty-eyed.

The cats didn’t care at first, but by 2 a.m. they thought it was a fun game, following me around.  Roomy’s cat stayed cuddled with her, but I had my three fuzzballs meowing at me and dancing around me. Not very useful.

But all better now!  I’ll chalk it up to a good experience to be able to write about (okay, nobody wants to read about food poisoning). Or maybe I’ll just chalk it up to a life lesson and pay more attention.  Not likely, but it’s nice to dream.

**Roomy informs me it was ground turkey, not ground chicken, but I had a "C" theme going on and I'm sticking with it.

Colour

Red and blue, to be specific.

Roomy now has two beta fish.  She had some years ago, but the recent acquisition of kittens (well, recent meaning almost three years ago) made her too worried to get some more. She finally broke down a couple of weeks ago and acquired a red and a blue beta. Their names are Kami and Kaze.

So far, the kittens have been quite good. They look at them, which is cool. It’s good cat TV.

How’s your February going? Are you hiding out? Playing? How are the pets? Any new acquisitions?

Delight me with your stories!

Aurora Awards - A Request

The nomination period for the Aurora Awards is now open. I have one eligible short story: The Legend of Gluck, from Dragon Moon Press' When the Hero Comes Home anthology.  Check out a list of eligible works.

Again, all Canadians can vote for Canadian works of SF/F.  Simple enough.

Important note: They changed the nominating/voting rules this year.  It used to be that you could nominate for free, and then you had to pay a nominal fee (last year 5.50) to vote.  This year, you have to join to nominate, at the cost of $10.

If you're a big sci-fi fan and really want to show your support for a bunch of people, then do so here.  Any nomination is of course welcome.  Last year, I was a finalist in the novel category, and it was definitely a highlight of my career.

My request: I know a lot of my readers are not in the sci-fi community. Obviously, I appreciate the desire to support authors we love. I try to do it myself!  But I honestly can't help but think that $10 is a lot of money if you're not a part of the community.  So if you'd like to show your support but are strapped for money, and I suggest this for any of the Aurora categories or anyone whose works resonate with you, then support them by helping spread the word.  Tell a friend.  Write a review on Amazon.  Tell your blog readers about said author/convention/filker/etc.

That's showing support, too, and is greatly appreciated.  Again, last year's nomination was a highlight of my career, and I can't thank you all enough for that. Your support, in any shape or form, is always appreciated.

Let this in no way be interpreted as criticism towards the Aurora committee.  They are an awesome, hard-working bunch and they need the financial backing to do what they do, which means a lot to the community.

But my priority is, of course, my readers, and it's up to them to show their support however they feel best. And I certainly love giving options.

Either way, I give an ever eternal thank you to all of you.  You = awesome, and I wouldn't be where I am today without you.

Love,

Marie