Mozart Report and Publishing Seasons

Steve and I took Mozart to the vet this morning; he was crying for food, but when offered, rejected it, except for a few cat treats.  Since we've been giving him medicine to increase his appetite and pain medicine, it seemed like either the appetite increaser had stopped working, or the pain (if he's in pain, which we don't know; we only know that the pain medicine seems to make him rest easier) was trumping the hunger-pangs.

I, being the pessimist in the family, didn't expect to bring Mozart home with us today, and I'm very pleased to report that the vet had another plan of treatment, which includes increasing the pain meds, and stopping the appetite increaser.  While he was there, the vet also hydrated him and gave him a shot of something that will settle his stomach, in case that's an issue.

Five minutes.  If he could just talk to us for five minutes...

Right now, he's in his spot in my office next to the radiator, sleeping.

For those collecting all the cards, the diagnosis is kidney failure.  While Mozart's numbers are nowhere near as Scary as Socks' were when we lost him early last year, he is on a decline.  He'll also be sixteen years old on the first of March.  What we're doing here is palliative care; nobody expects to win; we're aiming at keeping him with us for as long as is feasible, without subjecting him to cruelty or pain.

* * *

A couple days ago, I reported that my editor at Baen had let slip that Carousel Seas, the last book in the Carousel trilogy would be coming out in Fall, rather than in January 2015.

In one of those rare cases of mutual misunderstanding, we both happen to be right.

Simon and Schuster, which of course distributes Baen Books, has but three seasons in its year.  Happily for them, they have no Winter.

For future reference, here are the Publishing Seasons:

Spring: February through May
Summer: June through September
Fall: October through January

So!  Carousel Seas will indeed be published in January 2015, or Fall, according to Simon and Schuster.

Everybody confused now?