Ooh, Shiny!

Nicked from rachelcaine

Crystal Dragon progress:

94,212 / 120,000 (78.0%)

Game Plans and Other Progress

kinzel and I have brainstormed a bridge that will get us handily across that ravine and connect up with the next bit of known story, happily using a character who had promised to be on their way, but who I didn't realize could have actually by now arrived. So, ist goot and I proceed toward the finish while kinzel deals with the first 94,212 words and the excitement thereto. This will hopefully net us a completed manuscript in reasonable shape on or very near to March 31, which ist also goot, as kinzel's dental adventure begins in mid-April.

On the signing-and-mailing books front, we've got 131 orders yet to fill. Or -- we've filled the pre-orders through the letter Q (pause while Scrabble jumps in my lap to perform Supervisory Head-butts and other morale building exercises) -- remembering that this year's list was delivered from Meisha Merlin in alphabetical order, rather than the order-received order of years past.

B&N brick-and-mortars remain adamant in their belief that Crystal Soldier is a graphic novel, thus most B&Ns are not stocking it (this information gained through a field study performed by members of the Friends of Liad). They will -- according to reports, grudgingly -- special-order a single copy of the book if a customer insists. The few B&Ns who have ordered in a copy or two of Crystal Soldier are stocking it in the graphic novel section.

Several indie SF/F bookstores are carrying Crystal Soldier: Uncle Hugo's; Borderlands; Mysterious Galaxy; Pandemonium Books; Dreamhaven. All of these stores do mail order.

Page Proofs in the Mail

...for the Miri Robertson to appear in Women of War, edited by savvyjack and andpuff, due out from DAW in July 2005.

Lotsa crunchy goodness in the table of contents. Can't wait...

Introduction, Tanya Huff and Alexander Potter

Fighting Chance, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Painted Child of Earth, Rosemary Edghill

She's Such a Nasty Morsel, Julie E. Czerneda

The Children of Diarden: To Find the Advantage, Fiona Patton

Not that Kind of War, Tanya Huff

The Black Ospreys, Michelle West

The Art of War, Bruce Holland Rogers

Geiko, Kerrie Hughes

Shin-Gi-Tai, Robin Wayne Bailey

The Last Hand of War, Jana Paniccia

War Games, Lisanne Norman

Fire from the Sun, Jane Lindskold

Sweeter Far than Flowing Honey, Stephen Leigh

Token, Anna Oster

Elites, Kristine Katherine Rusch

Forward Progress

Got a slow start, but did manage to move things along somewhat in a recognizable direction. Go me...

95,328 / 120,000 (79.0%)

deadline March 31