Hello again. Long time, no blog. I've been traveling a bit for the past few weeks, and have been caught up writing in my novel as well, which has moved out of the what-the-hell-am-I-doing phase and into the this-is-fun phase. I'm sure there are future tortorous phases to encounter as well.

Not much to report here. If you haven't ordered it already, you need to buy Trampoline, an anthology of mostly original short fiction edited by Kelly Link. It has great stories in it by the likes of Christopher Rowe, Richard Butner, Maureen McHugh, Karen Joy Fowler, Alan DeNiro, myself, Shelley Jackson, and lots more.

I'm just back from Readercon, which was a great time. Got to meet some cool people, like William Shunn and his really cool wife, Laura. Got to visit a bit with Dora Goss and her husband, Kendrick, who is also cool, like Laura. I wish I lived in the same vicinity of all these cool people. Alas, I live in Youngstown, Ohio. There are cool people here, too, but that's on a spectrum, understand.

I'm listening to Aimee Mann's Lost in Space album, and also The Flaming Lips, who I love love love. I've also been listening to The Dead Boys and The Pixies, who are listened to quite a bit by a couple of my characters in the novel I'm writing.

I started reading The Grapes of Wrath recently, too. It's actually really amazing. Boy that Steinbeck was pretty rowdy, some of the stuff he wrote in its period is pretty eyebrow-raising. Heck even today it is, I'm sure, in some circles.

If you've never read her before, everyone should go read Karin Lowachee's Warchild. It's amazing. The next book in the series is going to be released in a couple of months or so, and I for one will be ready to get my greedy hands on it. Aargh. Go team! (Sorry, inside joke.)

That's about it. Other than these items, I've mainly been working out with Jackie, and can feel Ms. Bond's pain with her personal trainer. But picture your trainer practically living with you, Ms. Bond. What do you think about that?? I was put through such a tortorous workout the other day that I almost broke up with her on the spot.

Now it's time for me to disappear again. If anything of much interest occurs, I'll make sure to make note of it here. But so far it's been a lazy, lovely summer. Not too hot, not too cold. And a general feeling of happiness and well-being prevails more often than not. I cannot complain too much at all. Finally. Finally.