Eagles Over the Kennebec

Chapter 12 of Shan and Priscilla Ride Again now ready for you to read it.

Here's your link.

One of the best things about freelancing is that you can mostly avoid having Mondays.

Mostly. . .but not always.

So!  Today was Monday, here at the Cat Farm, starting right out of the box, when all of us sleepyheads -- by which I mean Steve, me, Trooper, and Sprite -- were startled from Very Sound Sleeps (and in my case, a Very Intense Dream that I was just as glad to let go, except that I was Deep in Dreamspace, and waking up was -- a jolt), by the sound of a knock at the door, at 7:30, which is what counts for early around here.  By the time I had surfaced from the dream, the knock had come again, and both cats had leapt up and dashed down the hall, Steve following.

But, there was no one at the door.  Careful examination showed that Scrabble had knocked a couple of brushes off the side of the sink in the bathroom.  They'd landed on the scale, which is wood-clad.

Knock-knock.

Knock-knock.

Sigh.

None of us was getting back to sleep after that, so to coffee, and an uploading of Chapter Eight of Shan and Priscilla Ride Again (here's the link, if you missed it), which I did.  We then broke our fast and were discussing the proper structure of the day, when the mail arrived, always a moment of Great Excitement at the Cat Farm.  I left the kitchen, walked down the drive and across the road to the mailbox, where I gathered to myself a handful of. . .

. . .bills.

More than five hundred dollars in bills, only one of which (the car payment) was anticipated, much less budgeted for -- all, save that one, medical bills.

For the sake of moving along the narrative, I omit the plumber's bill for a heart-stopping sum, which had already been paid, check crossing invoice in the mail.

The surprise bills?  All were due "on receipt," which -- never mind.  So I wrote checks, and had a panic attack, and a shower, ate the leftover stir-fry Steve provided for lunch, retired to the sofa to read -- and got up again to write a check to the guy who mows our lawn -- for two weeks, naturally, since he had taken care of us while we were on tour.

Late in the day, a nice thing did happen.  More on that as I can.

Oh, and things seem to be moving along in the Great Plan to bring Belle to Maine later this month.  Just need to nail down the date and time -- that's good, too.

Things are somewhat calmer now.  Steve's gone to chess; I did the dishes; Trooper and Sprite are with me in my office, napping while I blog.  In a bit, I'll go back to the sofa and my book.

But!  Before I do that, I have news of a sort for Nook readers concerning Dragon in Exile, which is -- Neither Baen nor BN understands why the Nook edition failed to find its way into the store, and the problem has been bumped Upstairs to the This Really Should've Worked Problem Solving Team.  More news is expected in two business days.  In the meantime, and as always, you may purchase an epub (Nook) edition of DiE -- and all of -- our published novels directly from Baen.  Here's your link.

Also!  For those who appreciate a beautiful instrument, and especially a beautiful keyboard, there's this.

So -- how was your Monday?

So, last night, Steve and I turned Alliance of Equals, the 19th novel in the Liaden Universe®, in to Madame the Editor at Baen.

This morning, we posted the seventh chapter of Shan and Priscilla Ride Again.  Here's your link.

Tomorrow, we're getting on the Downeaster at Oh Ghod O'Clock, heading for Boston and the first stop on the Lightning Northeast Book Tour in Support of Dragon in Exile.

Today, we still need to do an InfoDump, pack, hand off the keys to the house-sitter -- and I need to clean off my desk.

Why do I need to clean off my desk, you ask?

This is why:

Also?  the milk crate in the bottom right of the picture is full of Alliance-related papers, too.

So!  What're you doing today that's fun?

EDITED TO ADD: