Mark and I finished talking about the World of Nightcraft; and then we went through all the characters; and that all went very, happily, productively (if exhaustingly) well. And then today we started working on the last, simple agenda item: going through his actual marked-up manuscript, so he could explain to me in detail each […]

Nightcraft Discussions continue. It is possible that the publication date will be delayed…we had a conversation with Brilliant Editor this afternoon, and he’s very excited about the work we’re doing, and we all kind of agreed that perhaps we’d rather make the novel all it can be than rush it out there to meet an

Oh my goodness, the discussions have been intense. I mean, we are getting LOTS figured out, about my whole witch-world…yeah, of course, things that should have been figured out years ago. But they weren’t, not at this level. We’ve been discussing issues and creating backstories that won’t appear in the book–any of the books–well, not

It was a lovely evening last night at Miss H.’s, for her deck-warming; the deck is magnificent, we much enjoyed sitting upon it. Also, Miss H. had hired a chef for the occasion, to teach her the mysteries of barbecuing. So the food was similarly magnificent. We had several kinds of grilled steak; and grilled

My friend came over for dinner, as noted; I made the shrimp dish with less sauce and thinner onions, as noted; very yummy! We had a great visit, and dined on the deck, at sunset. Speaking of the deck, the contractor came by today, and while he agrees that I need a new deck, he’s

Well so I am not diving back into Hobgoblin after all, as it turns out…Mark has been reading the latest version of The Queen and The Tower, in preparation for my anticipated Official Editorial Edits from the Editor in the next few weeks, and he’s found some world-building issues that really should be ironed out,

I opened the Hobgoblin file today…the last time I opened it was May 24. So of course this means I’m having to go back and reread from the start, again. Sigh. I’d gotten up to chapter 8 on my last edit-round, before the month of June interrupted. I’ve been reading (and making little edits) all

Mark and I are sorting out our trip to London (before World Fantasy in Brighton). Since I’ve had no bites on the house-trading thing, I’m now looking at renting a flat for the last week of October. I’ve found literally THOUSANDS of London flats for rent, most of which are available for the times I

I am back in Portland, after much good social stuff in Seattle, and spectacular weather. Mark and I did indeed go kayaking, which was so much fun. The day was hot, but the water was warm! I splashed it all over my arms and forehead as needed. We paddled to the arboretum, and around the

I drove up to Seattle yesterday, so Mark and I could enjoy one last fireworks show (from his lovely picture window with a view of Lake Union) before he gives up this apartment and moves to Portland this fall. We took a long walk in the afternoon, down the Burke-Gilman trail, through Gasworks Park to