Show a little faith, there's magic in the night

[rolanni]

I know I've been scarce -- my excuse is a combination of Life, both Good Bits and Not-So-Good Bits, and negotiating with a still-faintly-recalcitrant book.  Apparently, there's something still Not Quite Right, and the back-brain isn't willing to just let me discover the problem as I go along.  Which means it's a foundation issue.  So, I've been down in the cellar, head-lamp on, poking at the walls, looking for leaks, loose bricks, sinkholes, dead bodies -- any or all of the above.

None of this makes for especially interesting reading or reportage ("Glared at screen and hated book for two hours.  Threw in towel and vacuumed house."  Yawn.)

I also realize that I've been doing rather a lot of self-promotion; and I'll be doing a little more promotion at the bottom of this note, too.  Bear with me, 'tis the season, and even if the information isn't of use or interest to you; it will be of interest to someone who reads here, promise.

Apropos of nothing much, today's mail brought me a Levinger's catalog.  Now, I do love me the Levinger's catalog, but as I flipped through it, I began to feel a little sad. Who buys these lovely pens and the all-leather desk furnishings any more?  Most of my work is done on the keyboard; my "desk" is a remaindered dining room table from Marden's, out of legend, and while I do, sometimes, write out scenes and notes by hand, my Instruments of Choice are Pilot G-2 .07 gel pens and Staples 8.5x11 yellow pads.  The surface of my dining room table is covered with piles of paper, and not only is there no room for a beautiful Moroccan leather blotter; there's no reason for me to have such a thing.  A couple of the ereader/tablet pillows are tempting, but otherwise, Levinger's is dead to me, except as a sort of archival document of a time when elegance had a place.

What are your favorite catalogs?

* * *

Trooper is standing here by my keyboard with his nose practically in my ear, purring, which I'll take as a hint that it's time to come around to that promotion I was talking about.

Promotion the First: Uncle Hugo's SF Bookstore in Minneapolis has kindly agreed to handle a special order of autographed Carousel Sun.  They have also agreed to take on the non-trivial task of accepting personalization requests, through December 31, 2013 ONLY.  All the niggling little details, including a link to the proper page on Uncle Hugo's website, are here.

Promotion the Second: Liaden Universe® novelette "Eleutherios" is eligible for Nebula nomination. It was published on Baen.com in January 2013.  If you are a SFWA member and you would like to read this story, you may read it here.  If you are not a SFWA member, and you'd like to read the story, you may, of course, use the same link to do so.

Other Nebula-eligible Lee-and-Miller works are:  Novels Necessity's Child and Trade Secret; short story "Out of True," and novelette "Moon's Honor."  If you are a SFWA member and you would like to read the unlinked works with an eye toward the Nebulas, please write to me at rolanniATkorvalDOTcom with your preferred format.

And, yes, if you read for the Hugos, all of the above are eligible for the awards that will be presented at LonCon 3 next August.

There!  That wasn't so bad, was it?

It was? Well, then, here -- have a cat picture.

Grandpa Mozart and the Princess share a moment.Photo by Sharon Lee

Comments

[muirecan.livejournal.com]

It's probably that body stuck in the bricked up closet in the basement with the cask of wine.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Do you really think so? 'cause that's gonna be a b*tch to excavate.

[muirecan.livejournal.com]

At least you'll have the cask of wine to drink when you finally do excavate it. ;)

[6-penny.livejournal.com]

As long as the body isn't in the cask of wine!

[difrancis.livejournal.com]

I like the Signals catalog. And the Atlantic Tactical catalog, but that's a bit of research. I used to like the Pyramid catalog, but don't get it anymore, and I like the Penzey's catalogs (spices! Recipes!). I get what you're saying about Levengers. Haven't had one of their catalogs for a long time, but I never really bought stuff. Like you, I just don't use that stuff.

[sraun]

Levenger is one of my favorite catalogs - for fountain pens, Circa, their 3x5 notecards, and their wallet notecards.

I'm still very much a fan of fountain pens - I currently have two on my person, and one rollerball for things that the fountain pens don't work on (like the thermal paper they use at restaurants). I refuse to use ballpoint pens - I abhor the things.

I like the Circa notebooks for gaming - being able to move sheets around is very handy!

I have an International Pocket Briefcase that lives in my messenger bag, and a Slim Wallet Writer that lives in my left front pocket. I love them for short notes.

My other favorite catalogs include Lands End and LLBean, and all the fountain pen catalogs I get (Paradise Pen, Fountain Pen Hospital, at least one more?).

[anghara.livejournal.com]

LOVE levenger. Can so rarely afford anything IN it...

[thewol.livejournal.com]

I'm rather partial to the Gaelsong catalog.

Unfavourite catalogs...

[gareth griffiths (from livejournal.com)]

Then there are the other catalogs that you once got because you thought there was maybe something there to buy for an ancient aunt for Xmas and now they keep on and on and on sending every month and you can't stop them...
I buy one pair of shoes about every 2-3 years. I do NOT need a new catalog every month.

Rant over - I second the LL Bean and Lands end.

The story

[rowan-falar.livejournal.com]

I read this story on the 28th, after the second reading of Necessity's Child. I thank you and your partner in crime for the many years of enjoyment your writing has given us. The universe you have created is vast and complex. My husband and I have spent many an evening discussing, debating and disagreeing with the nuances your gifted imaginations have woven into the tapestry of your words.

We anxiously await the next book in the Liad universe.