Nov 27

Con-Tinual Visits The Hellmouth

Con-Tinual Panelists discuss the first season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

https://www.facebook.com/james.nettles/videos/1356840888595169?idorvanity=563373290941914

Con-Tinual Panel Outs Another Guilty Pleasure

Enjoy another fine Con-Tinual panel, this one on Highlander.

https://www.facebook.com/GailZMartin/videos/2653717948111321?idorvanity=563373290941914

Nov 26

HarpHaven Merchanter On Hiatus

HarpHaven Merchanter is on hiatus as we deal with matters medical. But you can still find our books at

Amazon.com (print copies and ebooks). and BN.com (ebooks)

by typing "Lee Martindale" into their respective search functions.

Happy Shopping!

"I Ain't Afraid Of No Ghost"

A genre writer traveling. A hotel with a "reputation". What could possibly go wrong?

Con-Tinual panel "Haunted Travels" has us sharing spooky tales from the road. Enjoy it at

https://www.facebook.com/GailZMartin/videos/2533758136791554?idorvanity=563373290941914

Aug 30

Discussing Classic SF With Con-Tinual

A grand time was had discussing the SF Classics and writers who influenced members of the panel. Watch it at::

https://www.youtube.com/c/ConTinualConvention

Jul 25

Con-Tinual Strike A Third Time: Weapons 101!

Discussing weapons and writing about them convincingly is a happy thing, especially when in the company of folks who know how and how to learn how. Enjoy the Weapons 101 panel at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0FqH1oIPBw&t=275s

Jun 23

Con-Tinual Strikes Yet Again: "Lost Conventions"

Gail Martin, Nancy Northcutt, Wendy Van Camp and I got together for another Con-Tinual panel on "Lost Conventions". You can view it at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ConTinual/posts/1343663882912847/?notifid=1687552324711287&notift=grouppostmention&ref=notif

Jun 9

Con-Tinual Strikes Again! Firefly!

I had the honor and pleasure of being part of Con-Tinual's Firefly panel with Jim Nettles, Bishop O'Connell, Sue Phillips, Misty Massey, Doc Coleman, and Carole M. Stokes. A grand time was had, and you can enjoy it at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJr5skdIg0w

Apr 9

The First Rosebud of Spring at HarpHaven...

turns into a glorious First Rose of Spring

Feb 6

New Interview Posted

The delightful Cat Rambo has posted the interview she did with me. Visual evidence that fun was definitely had now available for your view pleasure at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo8dbebgWUA

Nov 11

HarpHaven Publishing Is Having A Sale!

HarpHaven Publishing is having a Holiday Sale across all our platforms.

At the HarpHaven Merchanter website (http://www.harphaven.net/dir), you’ll find our books at special Holiday Sale prices and Free Shipping. For a unique gift, they can be signed and personalized at no additional charge. Use the handy link at the top right of the screen.

There are also links there for our ebook editions for Nook and Kindle also on sale.

Happy Shopping!

Jul 26

Q&A

From time to time, I get questions from readers and fans about my works, including the anthologies I’ve edited.

LoTT_ANTHCOV_Web.jpg, Jul 2022

Q: The Ladies of Trade Town is a themed anthology about prostitution. Did you catch heat about such a controversial subject?

Lee: First, a small correction. It’s a themed anthology about people who sell services that some consider controversial. And, yes, I did catch some heat, but not nearly as much as I expected. Before any of the stories that would be selected were even in my hands, I got a few letters condemning the anthology as “an abomination” and “immoral” and I’ll leave it to your imagination to what they called me. A few raged at me for being “an exploiter of women” and “misogynstic”. I note every one of the latter group apparently assumed I was male, since they were addressed to Mr. Martindale.

One of the things I do when writing submission guidelines is to give information on the kind of stories I want and don’t want. For Trade Town, I was looking for science fiction, fantasy, and related-genre stories that expanded the concept of what was being bought and sold, who was doing the buying and selling, and how that translated to the time, place, and society of the setting of the story. What I wasn’t looking for was porn or erotica, which – given the theme - apparently threw some writers a bit of a curve. A few wrote me saying that it was impossible to address the theme without one of those elements. Happily, a lot of good writers – those who made the cut and many who didn’t, figured out that it was, indeed, possible.

Q: Where can readers find The Ladies of Trade Town?

Lee: My online bookstore, HarpHaven Merchanter, carries our full catalog, including the trade paperback edition of Trade Town. Readers can order it signed by me, and can have it personalized to themselves or to the recipient if it’s a gift, at no additional charge. Shipping is free.

http://www.harphaven.net/dir

Readers who prefer ebooks can find it at Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=%22The+L...

and Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/la...



Amazon.com also has the trade paperback available.

May 12

Roses!

A couple of months ago, after the big maple in our front yard was removed, Himself mentioned that its absence meant an opportunity for planting something that needed full sun where there hadn’t been full sun since we bought the house 24 years before. That something was roses. Did I mention I’m very fond of roses? Particularly red roses?

Three rose bushes were ordered and subsequently arrived, looking like nothing so much as three pieces of incipient kindling. It was, I thought, a bit late in prime rose-planting season, but then again, I’m not the gardener in the family. I have the world’s blackest thumb. I somehow managed, some years ago, to kill a houseplant that everyone swore was unkillable and nigh unto immortal. But the company from which the plants were ordered had a guarantee that promised to replace, free of charge, any bush that did not grow and thrive in its first year.

Over the course of three days, three rose bushes masquerading as incipient kindling were planted, watered, fed, and observed. A few days ago, the first one planted produced a gloriously red rose and a riot of buds. Then the second bush did likewise. The third is throwing buds.

We have roses!

More Roses.jpg, May 2022
Jan 14

Latest Virtual Panel Appearance: Con-Tinual

I may have said this before, but one of the things that has kept me relatively sane during nearly two years of mostly-quarantine has been the virtual panels I've participated in. The latest one is now available.

Con-Tinual's Panel Room 99 is about getting it right when writing martial arts, and was great fun to be part of. You can find it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIsBiNqnrRA or at https://www.facebook.com/james.nettles/videos/652921502380951.

Dec 20

Crunch Time!

Need a last-minute gift or stocking stuffer? Supply-chain issues or mail delays a concern? Ebooks might be the answer.

The Ladies of Trade Town, Bard's Road, and Prejudice By the Pound are available in Ebook editions for Kindle and Nook. Direct links from the individual item page on HarpHaven Merchanter website.

Use the handy link on the upper right of the screen or go to https://harphaven.net/dir

Nov 7

I Know It's Not Thanksgiving Yet, But...

By all accounts, holiday shopping this year is going to be an adventure. Possibly frustrating and, in some cases, disappointing, thanks to the issues with supply chain, ground transport, staffing, and the myriad other components of commerce.

Small press, self-pubbing, crafters, and makers could well be our ace in the hole. No waiting for goods made in other countries or ships to be unloaded. The goods are in-house and ready to ship. Yes, the post office is problematic, but ordering early takes care of that.

And while you're at it, that includes my HarpHaven Merchanter. There's a handy link at the top of the screen on the right.

Aug 10

Yard Work

Buying into an established neighborhood in North Texas meant having mature trees around, and one of them graced our front lawn. It was a silver maple, and a handsome example of the species it was. About 40 ft. tall when we moved in twenty-three years ago, with a thick trunk that split into sturdy limbs. A wide, lush canopy of leaves that shimmered silvery green in the breezes of Spring and Summer, and turned bright yellow in the Fall. Shelter and home to assorted birds and squirrels and purveyor of shade over house and yard through the years. I loved that tree.

Silver maples live approximately 35 years in urban settings, so watching it come to the end of its time was not a surprise. Taking it down before it came down on its own, probably into the bedroom, was not going to be a DIY situation. So we took bids and decided to go with Barksdale Tree Service based on a competitive price, competent approach, and the impression we got that he was respectful of safety and property concerns.

This is how things looked just before he and his crew showed up to do the deed a couple of weeks ago

Promptly at 9:00am on the appointed morning, Mr. Barksdale and three other people showed up. And it was clear, from the get-go, these folks knew their stuff. The last time we had the tree trimmed, numerous chainsaws ran constantly to accompany by near-constant shouting. This time, from where I’d taken refuge (in my office), there were fewer chainsaws that ran in bursts of varying lengths, and no raised voices.

Things got quiet around 1:00pm, and we figured they’d taken a lunch break and were taking the opportunity to haul away the first load of our former tree. Himself popped out with his camera and grabbed some in-progress shots. Here’s one.

The crew’s return was announced by the sound of what can only be described as a motorized sanding machine on wheels and steroids. While three of the men loaded their trailer with the rest of our former tree, Mr. Barksdale employed the aforementioned device to turn the stump into a sanded wood bowl, the rim of which was flush with the ground. He then collected the sawdust and tiny woodchips he’d made and filled the depression.

I expected them to haul away the remains. What I didn’t expect was the yard being thoroughly raked and left in pristine condition, as shown below. I fully expect to call these folks in the future for tree service on other parts of the property.

And while we’re both sad to see the silver maple gone, we’re starting to plan on what to do next with the front yard.

Feb 20

Notes From The Ice Age

It’s been an interesting week-and-change here at HarpHaven. Two rounds of freezing rain and sleet with about 5" of snow in the middle, outside temperatures that stayed in the single-digits for days, bottomed out one night at -2F, and didn’t get above freezing until yesterday afternoon. And what can only be defined as an epic failure of the Texas power grid that resulted in millions of Texans battling the cold in the dark. Without water, in many cases, or with water rendered not potable by equipment failures in many others.

We were, and continue to be, incredibly lucky. The longest our power was continuously off was about eight hours. Most of the week, power would come on for between two and three hours, followed by three to four hours without it. During the hours the power was on, we’d run the furnace, drink hot beverages and have a hot meal, hot soup, or a snack, and charge phones, iPads, camp lanterns, and flashlights. During the hours the power was off, multiple layers and extra blankets were our friends, we kept an eye on dripping faucets, and I did more reading-for-fun than I’ve managed for years. Temps in the house went no lower than 55F, except for that one subzero night when the house temp dropped to 45F. It made for a less-than-restful sleep schedule, but it could have been so much worse. The fridge and freezer both held. So, it appears as of this writing, did the pipes.

The only casualty seems to have been the cable TV box. Himself is going out later today to turn it in and pick up the arranged replacement, so my task tonight will be setting up the new box.

As I said, we were, and continue to be, incredibly lucky.

Dec 18

Just In Case!

Need a last minute stocking stuffer? Something that won’t break the budget to ship to that distant friend in time for Christmas? Ebooks just might be the answer.

The following ebooks from HarpHaven Publishing are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Search on the title or “Lee Martindale” at either vendor. Happy Shopping!

The Ladies of Trade Town', edited by Lee Martindale. Introduction by Elizabeth Moon. Fifteen original SF&F tales of those who offer pleasure – and other things – for a price. Note: not porn or erotic.

Bard’s Road: The Collected Fiction of Lee Martindale. Introduction by Esther Friesner. Twenty-five previous-published short stories plus four never-before-published works.

Prejudice By The Pound: Collected Essays From The Size Rights Movement by Lee Martindale. Editorials and essays from twelve years of Rump Parliament Magazine.

Nov 27

I Confess!

I married my husband for his cooking skills. Okay, I married him for many reasons, but his cooking skills were definitely high on the list. And yesterday’s Socially-Responsible-Quarantined-Thanksgiving-Dinner-For-Two proved, without a doubt, that he’s a keeper.

The turkey breast: moist, tender, perfectly seasoned. He brined it for several hours before slow-roasting. Cornbread dressing, that began with homemade white bread and cornbread and baked in muffin tins for a tasty combination of crunchy outer layers enclosing pillow-soft middles. Green bean casserole, because we like it. Sweet potato mashed with butter. Whole cranberry jelly. I enjoyed mine with a glass of homemade 12-year-old sweet mead. And, of course, there was pumpkin pie several hours later when we finally had room for dessert.

There are leftovers aplenty, which will be enjoyed for several days to come.

We enter the Holiday Season with very happy palettes.

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