Dec 10

Well, What Do You Know

When the city told us that replacement of the alley behind the house would take two weeks, I was skeptical. Understandably so, given our experiences with previous public works projects on our block. So the day-glo green doorknob hanger that appeared late Saturday morning, advising us that the work was completed came as a surprise.

We'll still be having a conversation about the fence "repairs", and keeping an eye on the phone line going from a temporary patch to a more permanent repair, but the heavy equipment and barricades are gone. Our vehicles are off the street and back in their usual spots. And that is the sound of muted celebration you may be hearing.

Dec 4

We Have Landline Again!

Up at 6:30am this morning in preparation for the call, sometime between 7:00am and 7:00pm, telling us the repairperson was 30 minutes out. Workmen from the city began making their noise at about 7:15am. Just before 10:00am, the landline phone rang.

Yes, it took me half a beat to recognize it as the landline ringing.

It turned out to the repairman, out in the alley, telling me we were back in business. It's a temporary hook-up until the city finishes in the alley, after which the phone company will return and bury the line properly.

No, we didn't need to be home to give anyone access to the house. No, the temporary repair (or the permanent one when the time comes) didn't need access to the house. No, we wouldn't get a bill. (Ahem.)

And it's working!

Dec 2

When Contractors Attack - Again

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, in mid-afternoon, a red doorhanger appeared at the front door. It was a notice from the city advising us that work would begin on the alley behind our house on the Monday after Thanksgiving Weekend, with scheduled completion due two weeks after that. Since the work involved tearing up the existing surface and pouring a new one, vehicles in the garage and/or would have to park on the street, where trash bins would also need to be placed.

Yes, we’ve been here before. About six years ago when the city did this exact same thing, and about three years ago when extensive repairs to the three-year-old surface were needed. (Garbage trucks are destructive beasties, they are.) And, of course, there was the truly epic work done about eight years ago involving tearing up large portions of the street out front in the service of sewer repair, which lasted nearly two months, another round out front two years ago, and the fun and games this spring detailed in a previous post.

Sunday afternoon, we moved the vehicles out front. Monday morning, the destruction began at the end of the alley, with the sound of jackhammers, backhoe, and dump trucks getting closer through the day on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning, Himself had an audit gig in Ft. Worth and left the house around 7:15am, just as the sounds of jackhammers, backhoe, and dump truck started up behind the house next door. I settled at my desk, noise-canceling headphones close at hand as I happily anticipated a day of uninterrupted wordslinging. Oh, silly me.

At 8:15am the doorbell rang. One of the contractors asking for permission to go into the back yard. A scoop-load of broken concrete had gotten away from the operator and had hit the fence, and he wanted to gauge the level of damage so the crew could get the necessary supplies and make repairs. I gave him permission and directions, texted Himself, and went back to my desk. Which was when I noticed that the landline was dead. You guessed it; the crew had cut the buried phone line. I was assured the city would arrange for repair of that, too.

As of today, the fence as been repaired – sort of. Himself suspects they used nails instead of screws, which means he’ll be doing it again once the alley work is finished. The vehicles are still out front. And the phone line is still dead, thanks in part to the city’s process for arranging repairs bearing no relation to actual, functional process. We’re still trying to unscramble that one.

Stay tuned!

Nov 20

A Little Something For The Holidays

Over at HarpHaven Publishing, we’re gearing up for the Holidays. From now until New Year’s Day 2018, we’ll pick up the postage on all orders from HarpHaven Merchanter, our online store.

Whether you order one book, one of each of our titles, or mix and match a dozen, the shipping is on us.

As always, you can get your purchases signed, or signed and personalized, by Lee Martindale at no additional charge, for that one-of-a-kind gift.

Come visit us at HarpHaven Merchanter. Use the handy link on the top right.

Sep 30

Gone Ahead

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Mistletoe (a.k.a. Missy) 2000 - 2017

Aug 24

DragonCon: The Final Schedule

Even as packing lists are being revised, a game of suitcase tetris is being played, anything with batteries is being charged, the indispensable DragonCon 2017 app goes lives, and the sound of dragonwings grows louder in my mind’s ear, my official Guest Information Sheet has arrived in my email.

As expected, there are a few changes from the preliminary schedule, all to the good. Behold.



Friday, September 1

1:00pm: Panel: Research: You Gotta Do It. Lee Martindale (M), Margaret S. McGraw, James Palmer, Elizabeth Moon, William Alan Webb. Write-up: “What are good sites for research? How much do you do before you write, or during?”

2:30pm: Reading. As I usually do, I’m planning to give those in attendance the choice of what they want to hear. But one of the choices may be the first chapter of Camino UnReal.

Saturday, September 2

1:00pm: Panel: Significant Short Stories. Larry Davis (M), Atlanta Radio Theatre Company, Lee Martindale, Amy J. Murphy, Lou Antonelli. The write-up: “Our panelists discuss short stories that made or are making a significant impact on the field.”

7:00pm: Dragon Con Guest of Honor Banquet. A lovely evening recognizing the Guests of Honor and recipients of the Eugie Foster Award for Short Fiction, the Julie Award, and the Hank Reinhardt Fandom Award. I’m quite pleased to be going this year.

Sunday, September 3

11:30am: Autograph Session. DragonCon autograph sessions are always fun, and a great opportunity to catch up with folks I wouldn’t otherwise see during the convention, meet new fans, and perhaps get copies of books into readers' hands. A schedule change has me in the lovely company of Gail Z. Martin, Elizabeth Moon, Amy J. Murphy, and Jody Lynn Nye.

8:30pm: Panel: Editors Speak Out. Nancy Knight (M), Claire M. Eddy, Kevin O. McLaughlin and James Minz. The write-up: “This panel provides an opportunity for editors to tell writers what they're looking for. They'll also answer questions from writers.” Looking forward to donning my editor’s hat in some very fine company.

Monday, September 4

11:30am: Panel: Ask Us Anything. Lee Martindale (M) John D. Ringo, Jane Yolen, Jerry Pournelle, Mercedes Lackey. The write-up: “Writers and authors gather to answer any questions you have that might not have been answered during the rest of the convention.”

The non-scheduled schedule – touching base with friends, meals in good company, panels I want to see, etc., is still being populated. Thursday evening, I’m helping one of the tracks train volunteers by being a designated practice wheelie. For the first time since I’ve been going to DragonCon, the BritTrack is in the Hilton, a hotel I can get to via the Habitrail system, and I’m hoping to catch some of the panels. Sunday night could find me party-hopping between the Spectrum Party and the 3rd Annual Doctor Who Ball. Visiting the Armory is also high on my list. And there’s likely other mischief I can get into.

Who am I kidding? Of *course*, there will be mischief. It’s DragonCon!

Aug 5

New Commenting Process

Over the course of the last month or so, the amount of spam hitting the comments section has seen a marked increase. From one or two a week to between 100-200 per day. Legitimate comments on the blog are welcome. The crap dropped by spambots is most definitely not.

Therefore, all comments received are now marked "Pending" and put aside for review. Legitimate comments will be moved to the blog. Spam will be dropped into a deep, dark hole. This does mean a delay in seeing your comments on the blog. Most days, it will be a matter of, worst case, a few hours.

Onward and upward, as they say.

Jun 24

HarpHaven Merchanter: One Week Left For Free Shipping

There's just one week left to get Free Shipping on all orders from HarpHaven Merchanter.

Use the handy link at the top of the right-hand sidebar or go to http://www.harphaven.net/dir

Jun 16

Time Flies

That old saw that "time flies when you're having fun" must, indeed, be true.

Today, I'm celebrating twenty-eight years of marital mischief with the Mighty Himself. We stood in front of federal judge, in a friend's living room, with Himself's ex-wife and my ex-husband as witness, and I promised that life with me would never be boring. So far, I think I've kept that promise.

Jun 13

Break Out The Mead!

I'm very pleased to announce that I will be serving as Mistress of Ceremonies at AnachroCon 2018, to be held and the Wyndham Atlanta Galleria, February 16th-18th, 2018. The convention theme next year is The Viking Age. And, yes, I'm anticipating having a grand time.

Jun 4

HarpHaven Merchanter = Free Shipping

Over on my online store, HarpHaven Merchanter, I'm celebrating the beginning of Summer and the store's Official Grand Opening by offering Free Shipping on all orders placed between now and June 30, 2017.

Use the handy link at the top of the right-hand sidebar or go to http://www.harphaven.net/dir

May 29

Okay....That's Different.

This morning, our houseguest for the weekend had been gone about an hour when I heard multiple male voices outside the house. Himself heard them, too, and looked out the blinds in front. I asked what what going on. “I don’t know, but there are at least four police cruisers and a whole bunch of cops in front of the house.”

Not the answer I was expecting at all. I toddled up to the door to see as Himself stepped out to find out what was going on. One of the officers told him that there’d been an “altercation” at the nearby apartment complex, and that they just apprehended one of those involved. (And when I say “just”, I could see a cruiser across the street with someone in the back seat, in the posture of someone with hands cuffed behind him. They were now looking for a gun the suspect apparently tossed away just prior to apprehension.

Our plants and shrubs, and the ground beneath them, have never been more intensely scrutinized. The same for those of the neighors on either side. I *really* hope they found the gun.

My pulse has almost settled back to normal.

Memorial Day 2017

Today, I remember my mother’s favorite cousin and his best friend, whom my mother would probably have married if things are gone differently. They lie entombed on the Arizona.

I remember high school classmates who served in Viet Nam and died there.

I remember my first friend in college, who chose to be drafted rather admit to his family that he was gay. He, too, died in Viet Nam.

I remember all those, from all the wars, who came back broken so completely that suicide was the only path they could see.

I remember them, and I honor them in the memory.

May 27

The Joys of Home Ownership: When The Ducks Line Up

I’ll admit it. After the round of multiple phone calls, conflicting information, and details that felt entirely too tenuous re: the replacement of our dead water heater, my confidence level was not high. And rarely have I been happier to be proved wrong.

Halfway into the two-hour window, the installers arrived - with the new unit in hand. An hour later, it was happily ramping up to blissfully hot water. We’d been warned that there would be extra charges should the plumbers find changes needed to be made to bring things up to building code changes made since we’d last had this done eleven years before, and there were. But the extra charges were entirely reasonable. Another happy surprise: when Himself went to the store to settle up for the water heater itself, he found that the warranty pro-rate covered to 2/3rds of the price.

All that remains is the permit inspection, scheduled for late next week. And in the meantime, I’m enjoying nice hot showers.

Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

May 23

The Joys Of Home Ownership: Water Heater Edition

Frankly, I thought it would be the clothes dryer, the refrigerator or, most likely, the dishwasher that would go to Valhalla next. But it was our 12-year-warrantied, 11-year-old water heater that turned up its toes sometime in the night. It started leaking, bigtime, as evidenced by the amount of water Himself cleaned up with the wet-dry vacuum first thing this morning. Fortunately, aside from some leakage into the laundry room, most of the escaping H20 went into the garage and out under the garage door.

We've spent the majority of the day looking at possible replacements and dealing with the manufacturer's warranty division, the vendor, and the vendor's installation department. It would have taken considerably less time if the three parties communicated with each other, at least to the extent what one told us about what the others did bore passing acquaintance to what the others told us they did. It took many phone calls to each, but we finally have all three agreeing on the process, a ballpark figure on what the monetary outlay will be, and a game plan and time window for the installation tomorrow morning.

Himself was able to shut off the gas to the thing, but the cut-off valve for the water intake wasn't as cooperative. So, for now and until the installation is complete, we've turned off the water at the street. Toilet tanks are being filled with buckets of water from the rain barrels out back, and we're washing our hands with bottled water.

I'm really hoping things go as planned. We have an out-of-town guest due on Thursday evening.

May 18

HarpHaven Merchanter Open For Business

One the list of things to be done once I got back from the 2Fer Tour was putting the finishing touches on the online store I've been working on for the last couple of months. I'm pleased to report that the box has been checked...I think.

From everything I can see from here and in numerous test modes, HarpHaven Merchanter is up and running. You can visit by using the handy link on the sidebar, or by going direct to http://www.harphaven.net/dir

It's still on its maiden voyage, so if you run into any problems, please let me know.

May 16

Cancel The Search Party - The Bard Is Home

Short version: Happy to report that I arrived safely home last night, full of happy memories and travel tales.

Long version: Will, unfortunately, have to wait until I dig out. Patience, gentle readers. I've shoveling as fast as I can while one cat won't let me out of her sight and the other is, very pointedly, ignoring me.

Apr 26

And Speaking of WHOlanta!

I’m excited and pleased to, once again, be a author guest at this fun convention that celebrates Doctor Who, British media and culture, and Atlanta fandom. My programming assignments are in, and it looks like I’m going to have a bloomin’ ball.

Friday, May 5

I’m sorry that I’ll miss the Opening Ceremonies and VIP Reception, which are always fun at this convention. But panels go on opposite those two fine hours, and this year I got tapped for those on the Literary Track. And good assignments they are.

6:00pm - 7:00pm: Traditional Publishing vs. Indie Publishing. ''Is one better than the other? Why or why not?” (Jana Oliver, James Palmer, Kaitlin Bevis, Lee Martindale)

7:00pm - 8:00pm: Women Writers: Does it Matter? “Does it really matter whether a writer is female or male if it’s a good story?” (Lee Martindale, Jana Oliver, Kathryn Sullivan, Nan Monroe)

Saturday, May 6

11:00am - noon: Beyond the War Doctor - The Life and Career of John Hurt. “Before John Hurt portrayed the War Doctor, he had already had a very successful acting career. We honor John Hurt, who sadly passed away earlier this year as we take a look back at his career and his many acting roles in film and television.” (Lee Martindale, Mark Maddox, Matt Sweatman, Tony Bowers)

1:00pm - 2:00pm: Research: You Gotta Do It. “Research has to happen no matter whether you’re trying to find out what was eaten at state dinners in the middle ages or what a particular myth is all about. We’ll discuss the best ways of doing things.” (Lee Martindale, Jana Oliver, Kathryn Sullivan, James Palmer)

Sunday, May 7

2:00pm - 3:00pm: Series Here, Series There: Where Are The Single Novels? “Everywhere you turn there are series. Is it really the stories that demand them or just a desire to make money?” (James Palmer, Lee Martindale, Kaitlin Bevis, Nan Monroe)

3:00pm - 4:00pm: British Legends and Myths: From Arthur to Robin Hood. “We take a look at the mythical heroes and history of Britain, in particular King Arthur and Robin Hood, and their many portrayals over the years in cinema and on television.” (Louis Robinson, Lee Martindale, Bernadette Ackley, Allison Lane, Rhetta Akamatsu)

4:00pm - 5:00pm: Sherlock Series Four - the Review. “We review the latest series of the BBC series Sherlock. Was it worth the wait?” (Louis Robinson, Lee Martindale, Allison Lane, Tony Bowers)

5:00pm - 6:00pm: TV Sci Fi. “We end the convention with a bang as we look at modern Sci Fi TV: What it holds and where it’s going.” (Jennifer Hartshorn, Lee Martindale, Darin Bush)

6:00pm Closing Ceremonies.

When not on panels, I’m hoping to catch some from the audience. There are many that have already caught my eye. You can see the complete schedule and other convention information at http://www.wholanta.com

And yes, I did notice that I’m doing four in a row on Sunday (five if you count Closing Ceremonies), but that’s okay. I’m lightly scheduled on Friday and Saturday, and I should be fine unless I end up getting kidnapped into a Cards Against Humanity until the wee small hours of Sunday morning. And, honestly, I wouldn’t know which of those four panels to give up. They’re all panels I really want to do. But I’m glad I don’t have to do my usual late-night packing Sunday night and being up before dawn to fly home on Monday. I plan on sleeping in.

Apr 24

Adventures in Convention Travel Planning

If you’ve taken a look at my convention schedule on the HarpHaven website, you’ll have noticed that the next two on the list are on back-to-back weekends. WHOlanta! (the convention formerly known as Timegate) is on the first weekend in May, and OutlantaCon (the very fine LBGTQA-centered sf&f convention) is on the following weekend. Both, as it happens, in the same hotel.

There was a time, not all that many years ago, when such a thing was listed in the “Tough But Do-able” column. It meant packing for both conventions at the same time, screaming in from the first one, kissing the cats, scritching the hubby, pulling various modules from the just-in bags, replenishing consumables, throwing them into the headed-out bags, and screaming out again with the latter in tow. Some of you may remember the year that schedule and circumstance resulted in a three-cons-in-three-weekends run, a bedroom that looked like a bell captain’s holding room, and a waist-high pile of laundry at the end.

But those days are well and truly over. Encroaching age and advancing infirmity now serve the function good sense never quite managed, and I looked at the scheduling for those two conventions and wondering which one of them I’d have to miss. And then “what if...” took over.

Numbers were crunched, the hotel and people from both conventions got involved, and offers of the on-the-ground logistical support needed to pull this started coming in. Himself not only didn’t mind, he actively encouraged the idea. It was cost-effective, it cut in half the opportunities for airline screw-ups and/or damage to the BattleChariot, and it saved significant wear and tear on me. He and the cats would be fine.

So it is that, instead of the frantic turnaround routine described above, I’ll be staying over between WHOlanta! and OutlantaCon. A mini-retreat of sorts, with plans for catching up on sleep and holing up to write interspersed with a some leisurely meals with friends.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Apr 22

Oh...HAIL!

You may remember that April 2016 brought several severe storms that included large hail. One of those storms hit HarpHaven, resulting in two broken skylights and damage to roof, gutters, roof vents, and Himself’s vehicle. As it is, we got off lucky compared to most people on this end of town, and a new roof went on in June 2016.

Last night, we got hit again. Large amounts of pea-to-quarter-sized hail, with what sounded like the occasional tennis-ball-sized hailstone in the mix. Again, we were lucky. Just north of us, most of the hail was in the tennis-ball-size range. Inspection in the light of day indicates that the only thing damaged is Himself’s vehicle. No broken glass, but we’re going to be calling it Dimples again for the next little while.

Springtime in Texas.

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