Eagles Over the Kennebec

1.  Audible Members:  Carpe Diem is currently being featured in the Super Sci-Fi sale: .  The sale ends May 10^th.  During that time, Carpe Diem will be available for $6.95 (retails $24.95 for non-members / $17.46 for members with their 30% discount).  This sale is only available to Audible members.

2.  There will be a new Guest Story on Splinter Universe realsoonnow, "2 Pi To Live" by Chaz Brenchley. So -- Watch the skies.

3.  Speaking of Splinter Universe -- you have seen last week's Guest Story, "Leaving Via Callia," by Alma Alexander, right?  No? Well, what are you waiting for?

Remember!  The donation button at the bottom of Guest Stories goes directly to the author, and is the button you want to use to show appreciation of the author's work.

4.  Also at Splinter Universe, free for the reading until they're not, Liaden Universe® stories: The Rifle's First Wife, Roving Gambler, and Code of Honor.

5.  We have news coming soon, Very Soon, regarding Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume 3.  So -- Watch the skies.

Hmmm.  With all this watching the skies, maybe you better spread out a blanket in the grass and lie down...

1.  Today's Baen Free Radio Hour features an interview with Dave Seeley, and! an audiocast of my short story "The Gift of Music."  Here's your link.

2.  This link takes you to a page featuring thumbnails of various pieces of art by Anne Lemanski. OPHIOPHOBES TAKE NOTE: There are snakes involved. They're quite attractive snakes, and they're made out of copper and paper, but snakes they are.  Here's your link.

3.  Waterville area folks -- Dragon Egg Hunt in preparation for the Waterville Opera House presentation of SHREK.  Here's that link.

4.  The Hugo Nomination Period ends on March 31.  If you were a member of last year's WorldCon, in San Antonio; if you're a member of this year's WorldCon, in London; if you're a member of next year's WorldCon, in Spokane, you are eligible to nominate for the Hugos.  Here's the link to the rules.  On the left hand side of that page, you'll find links to the 2014 nomination form and the Retro Hugo nomination form, and instructions for the whole batch.

4a.  Lee and Miller have several works eligible for nomination.  They are:
Novels:  Necessity's Child, Trade Secret
Novelettes:  Eleutherios, Moon's Honor
Short Story:  Out of True

5.  Between Wednesday and Thursday here in Central Maine, we had a Lot of Snow (oh, OK; somewhere between 10.5 and 15 inches, it says here.)  I can't find any official numbers, so we'll just leave it there.  Today is sunny and cold.  Tomorrow, we have an ice storm on the schedule.

Winter can get over itself Any Time Now.

Today's blog post title comes from "Steel River," by Chris Rea.  Here's a link.  Warning:  This is a song that always makes me cry, so possibly NSFW.

Oh, let's see. . .

1.  If you haven't read "The Gift of Music," set in Archers Beach back some few years, and concerning the doin's of one Andy LaPierre, who appears in Carousel Sun -- your time is running out.  On February 15, another yummy free story will come up at Baen.com, and "Music" will go away.

2.  Of course y'all have been reading Laura Anne Gilman's Cosa Nostradamus novels right along.  (You haven't?  The first one is Staying Dead. . . .  Well? What are you waiting for?)  And I know you're aware that last year Laura Anne Kickstarted and published two novellas in that universe, featuring justly-famous half-faun/half-human tough-PI-with-a-gooey-center Danny Hendrickson, and his human partner, Ellen -- "Miles to Go" and "Promises to Keep" -- which I, personally, enjoyed the heck out of.

What you may not be aware of is that she's doing it again -- two more novellas following Ellen and Danny as they try their damnedest to save people who need saving, whether they know it or not.  The Kickstarter only has another five days to go, so if you want in on this, Now is the Hour.  Here's your link.

3.  Those who are going to Boskone, and who had hoped to have their copy of Carousel Sun signed -- despair not!  Steve will be carrying signed bookplates and will happily give you one.  Don't be shy; just step up and ask.

4.  If you have read Carousel Sun, please consider posting a(n honest) review on BN, Amazon, Goodreads, and/or the review site of your choice.  Thanks!

5.  I believe that Management does intend to issue an eArc for Carousel Seas.  I don't know when, though typically eArcs seem to appear from three to four months in advance of the print edition.  Seas is a January 2015 book, so. . .September/October, 2014?

1.  You have until midnight, Central Time, on Tuesday, December 31, 2013, to order your signed and personalized copy of Carousel Sun from Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore in Minneapolis. The devilish details are here. If you want to cut to the chase, here's the link to Uncle Hugo's Lee and Miller catalog page.

For the purposes of this discussion “personalized” means that you have asked the author to write something special on the title page of your book, in addition to their name.

1a. If you wish to pre-order an autographed (i.e. not personalized), you may do so at this link. The deadline for pre-ordering a signed copy is January 10, to give Uncle Hugo time to place the order, the printer to ship the books to Maine, to be autographed, and then sent on their way to Minneapolis. This is not a trivial thing we're undertaking here, so everybody keep a grip on your good humor and I'll endeavor to do the same.

2. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. is looking for an editor for the Bulletin. Job requirements are here. You do not have to be a SFWA member to apply. Application deadline is January 8, 2014.

3. For those who have been following the on-going saga -- I have, as of this afternoon, completed signing Steve and me up for health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. We have achieved a Silver Plan, which provides much more coverage than we had with Anthem, while costing about $250 less per month, in premiums. There will also be a minor break in the cost of meds and doctor visits. Now, all I have to do is gather together my "proofs" for this year's earnings and write a letter explaining (with twenty-seven eight by ten color glossy photographs, with circles and arrows...) why exactly it is that I believe we will make less money in 2014 than in 2013. Piece o'cake.

4. As many of us enter a season of gift-giving, I will take this opportunity to remind you that Books Make Wonderful Gifts! Every single novel that Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, and Sharon Lee, too, have ever written are in print at! this! moment! so you may be as expansive in your giving as you like. And remember! Those novels are also available electronically, either directly from Baen, or from your favorite electronic bookstore. Also! All of the Lee-and-Miller, and Lee, and Miller chapbooks ever written are likewise available in electronic format -- from BN, from Amazon, and from Smashwords. Go to Pinbeam Books for handy buy links.

5. It has been borne in upon me that it wasn't particularly clever to migrate all of my heavy lifting, so to speak, to my right hand.  Not too many years ago, I could write, legibly, if not elegantly, with my left hand.  My new hobby for 2014 will be to see if I can recapture that skill.

1.  "Out of True" may now be accessed from Baen's front page.  Here's the link.  Remember, you need to scroll down a bit before the story starts.

2.  Rumor is that t The ebook edition of Trade Secret will be is available today, October 16. Here's the link.

3.  Go look at this comic; from Bill Watterson.  EDITED TO ADD: the text of which was taken from a 1990 speech given by Bill Watterson; comic drawn by Gavin Aung Than. Yes, now.  The rest of the list will wait until you get back. 

4.  My colleague Morgan Keyes has a book coming out today, in hardcover and as an ebook -- Darkbeast Rebellion sequel to Darkbeast. Also, for those of you who collect Reasons Why Writers Drink, there's a discussion of the distribution problems surrounding the first book at the author's blog.  Here's that link.

5.  I have in my possession the DVD of a talk I did at the Fairfield Historical Society in May 2010.  I also have in my hand permission from the pertinent cable TV company to use "some" of that footage for PR purposes.  Who has Mad Video Editing Skillz and the time to whip a portion of this thing into shape for Youtube?

1.  Carousel Sun, the sequel to Carousel Tides, is now available for pre-order from the bookstore of your choice (NOTE:  This refers to the trade paper edition, only -- which is to say:  you may not pre-order the ebook).

2.  Madame the Editor has stated that there will be an eArc edition of Sun. No, I don't know when, but figure four to six months out from the publication date in early February.

3.  I am behind in mentioning that Heart of Briar, the first book in Laura Anne Gilman's Portals duology, is now on the shelves of bookstores everywhere!  I read portions of this novel as it was being written and enjoyed the heck out of it.  I think you will, too, but judge for yourself!  There's an excerpt here.  Laura Anne will also be doing signings and readings -- and she Might Just Be! in your area.  Here's the full list of where-and-when.

4.  The new memorial bridge spanning the Piscataqua River to connect Kittery, Maine with Portsmouth, New Hampshire is now open -- and here are the pictures to prove it!

5.  I've been there and over there, too, but not so much here, lately.  I intend to do an overview post to catch y'all up -- but not this afternoon. This afternoon, I am calling the hospital billing office, coping with the Gigormous Pile of Dirty Dishes which has taken over the kitchen sink, and seeing if I can get a short story out of Andy LaPierre.  No.  No, the glamor never does diminish around these parts.

#SFWAPro

1.  Today is the Official (Paper) Book Release of A Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume One, which includes 17 short stories and an Authors' Foreword. The stories are:  "To Cut an Edge," "A Day at the Races," "Where the Goddess Sends," "A Spell for Lost," "Moonphase," "Pilot of Korval," "Breath's Duty," "The Wine of Memory," "Certain Symmetry," "Balance of Trade," "A Choice of Weapons,"  "Changeling," "A Matter of Dreams," "Phoenix,"  "Naratha's Shadow," "Heirloom," and "Sweet Waters."  OR the stories from the original Adventures in the Liaden Universe® chapbook series, numbers 1 through 8, PLUS "Sweet Waters," from the chapbook Calamity's Child.

2.  I am this year participating in the Clarion West Write-a-Thon fund raiser.  It's sort of like a walkathon, only writers solicit sponsors for words written/goals accomplished instead of miles walked.  The whole thing is explained here.  If you'd like to sponsor me as I complete Carousel Seas, you may do so here.  If you're a writer, please consider signing up to participate.

3.  I have received confirmation that Carousel Sun, the sequel to Carousel Tides, continuing the story of Kate Archer, the Guardian of Archers Beach, on the Maine Coast, will be published on February 4, 2014.  Mark your calendars.

4.  The new segment of the on-going Liaden Universe® World Tour is coming together nicely, with stops in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey confirmed.  The tour will kick off on Halloween at Pandemonium Books, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and finish at PhilCon, November 8-10.  The entire tour will be posted once the last couple loose ends are nailed down.

5.  Here, have a baby ferret

#SFWApro

1.  The Peavey, newsletter of the Maine Writers and Publishers Association features some Liaden news, as well as news and notes from all points of the Maine Writing/Publishing Geography.  This link might work...

2.  A librarian friend sends us the following Liaden mention from Public Libraries, the Under the Radar Column, which this month deals with Sci-Fi you might have missed:

"The Liaden series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller was initially released in the late eighties, but was never a big success. However Lee and Miller continued to write them, much to the delight of a dedicated group of fans. Baen has re-released all of the original books, as well as several new titles and the many short stories, in both print and digital editions. Lee and Miller continue to add to their entrancing space opera with the recent YA friendly Ghost Ship (2011) and Dragon Ship (2012)."

3.  I usually give clothes I no longer want/that no longer fit to Goodwill in Waterville, but I find that I have two t-shirts, size medium, that I don't think I'd better donate, given the, err, political climate.  Does anyone want a MacHall Cthuhlu "Sell your soul for a cookie?" t-shirt and/or a Balticon 43 (the year Charlie Stross was GOH) t-shirt?  If you can use these shirts -- both black, both in good, wearable condition -- drop me a note at rolanniATkorvalDOTcom and we'll work something out.

4.  For those keeping score, we will on Monday-coming have in this house, in order of appearance: 1. the plumbers, 2. the electrician, 3. the flooring crew, 4. The plumbers.  I'm thinking Socks is going to have to get in a temp-cat to help him keep it all under proper supervision.

5.  In 12 days I'll be in Archers Beach.

1. As of yesterday, March 3, Mr. Blyly at Uncle Hugo’s had in hand orders for 294 signed editions of Dragon Ship. This means that he only has 106 copies left to place of his promised 400. If you’re coming in late, and you want a autographed hardcover copy of Dragon Ship to put on the shelf next to your autographed hardcover of Ghost Ship, Now Is The Hour. Here’s the link to the original post, Explaining All. Here’s the link to the pre-order page at Uncle Hugo’s.

2. Judith Tarr’s Kickstarter Campaign is going great guns. Judy’s only needs $649 to make her goal of $3500 for production of her novel Living in Threes. Here’s the link. You know you want a new Judith Tarr book! So, what are you waiting for?

3. The nomination period for the annual SF Site Readers Choice Awards for best novel of 2011 nomination period is open until March 9 (that’s Friday!). Rules and how to nominate the best books of 2011 here (Ghost Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller was published in August, 2011).

4. The Hugo Administrators want you to know that the Hugo Nominations deadline is March 11 (that’s next Sunday!). Here are the rules. Here’s a list of eligible Lee-and-Miller, and Miller, titles.

5. The Locus Reader Poll for Best of Everything in SF and Fantasy for 2012 is open until April 15. Here’s the link. The list of Lee-and-Miller, and Miller titles in #4 above will be useful here, too. Though Locus helpfully seeds its poll with titles of books its staff finds worthy, you don’t need to choose from among them; the poll also offers ample write-in spaces. You do not need to subscribe to Locus in order to vote. Please only vote once, and please, please, I beg of you — be truthful regarding your gender.

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.

1. A Literary Agent talks about royalties, and which sales are better for the author — ebook or paper? — here

2. Don’t be a Victim! Jim Hines talks about self-defense and self-control.

3. Women with clean houses don’t write epic fantasy.

4. For those who missed it yesterday, the Interactive Map of Entitlements. You can sort by year, and by program. Pay particular attention to the slideshow.

5. The Hugo Administrators want you to know that the Hugo Nominations deadline is March 11. Here are the rules. Here’s a list of eligible Lee-and-Miller, and Miller, titles (yes, it’s the same old list that you’ve seen before).

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.