Great news! The ebook of Ancestor's Call is out today, print version should be available next week. (I decided to retool the logo on the cover at the last moment....sorry about that.)
Right now Analinde & Ancestor's Call are both on sale (65% off) for the book launch, get it while it's $2.99. :)
Stay tuned for a couple of collections of short stories set in the world of Loresse. They should be released in the next few weeks. Also, the sequels to Trapped are coming soon. Happy day!
I've been doing a lot of writing for the past few months.
Unfortunately, all of that writing has been going into a weekly newsletter at work. By the time I get home, I'm exhausted and all the words have already been typed out the end of my fingers. So no blog posts here. Sorry. (Yes, work has taken over my life. Again.)
It's starting to get warmer here in this corner of the world. When I look out my window at work I see buds on the trees, which makes me happy. As I was dashing inside earlier today, I saw tulip and daffodil leaves pushing up out of the soil. Granted they were only an inch tall, but still. Spring is on it's way.
Happy day. -Melissa
p.s. for you curious souls out there, the answer is, yes. I still have frozen ham in my freezer from last Fall. The past couple of times I've peered inside the freezer I've contemplated throwing it out. . .
We attempted a daring rescue of a baby hummingbird this morning. Happily we got one baby back into the nest, and the mom & dad came back to feed it. Unfortunately, one of the babies died before we noticed. :(
Photos tomorrow.
Oh, and the ground squirrels multiplied into a family of ground squirrels. Which are now living in the wood pile next to the garden.
In the past 24 hours they've eaten all of the leaves and flowers off of all three of my eggplants. Are continuing to eating the leaves off the tomato plants, corn, and are starting in on my parsley and basil.
So far, they don't like the pepper plants, cilantro, or strawberries.
I'm contemplating drop spots. And am planning to break out the 'ol wire cage trap.
Spawning from my plans to fly west for the winter (bird-like of course) to avoid the upcoming brutal winter. (We didn't have a winter last year, so logic tells us we'll get two this year. As of 3/6/09 this assumption has been 189.2% correct.) I've decided to move to California.
Yes, I know your hearts are breaking (I hear them cracking as I type). But don't weep too long, I'll most likely be back. Besides grieving can be a healthy process.
I'm going to miss documenting street life springing forth from the City's boroughs, the enormous amount of shoes that I won't be wearing out on the City's sidewalks, and the my favorite restaurants, sites, and friends.
The City is always shifting. Cycling. Renewing. Hopefully, one day I'll be back, adding to the mix. Only time will tell.
Those of you who know me, know I'm rarely very far from a notebook or paper.
Why? Well, because I'm frequently jotting things down.
What might I be jotting down you might ask?
Well, everything.
Things to do. People to call. Plot arcs and major discoveries for the books percolating in my mind. The pricing of my photography services (which I obsess over). And lastly, blog posts.
Yes. You read that correctly. Blog posts.
I've written all sorts of them over the past several months, 1% of them have actually made it onto the blog. Today that changes. I'm cleaning house.
Some I'll post, others will make their way to the round file. And a very lucky few will be placed into a holding pattern where I'll tinker with them until they're perfect, at which point you'll find them here on the blog.
This is my fourth Autumn in NYC, and the most interesting of the bunch. The first Fall/Winter I roasted. The heat vents/radiator in the apartment where I briefly couch surfed were permanently on.
As in full on.
As in plastered into the wall with no access on.
The only way to cope, was to leave the windows open and wear shorts. It worked until the heat went off in the middle of the night and then we froze.
My next two fall seasons were pleasant, almost bland (heat wise). Actually, Autumn is my favorite season. Crisp cool days, turning leaves, hot chocolate and apple cider. Brisk walks through the city, shorter days, and the holiday lights and displays.
The past two Autumns, I haven't minded the slight delay of the heat turning on, while the super waited until the last possible moment to turn on the broiler.
This year I did.
I think it's because this is my first year at home. All day. Without heat.
You know, regularly, I'd go to work, sit at a warm but drafty cubicle, play into the evening, then come home.
I'd only be home long enough to snuggle down under soon to be warm blankets, toss and turn for a moment, dash quickly to the sock drawer to don additional layers, then dive back under the covers, where I slept soundly with my hoodie over the top of my head.
This year, I spend my days bundled up against the cold, with my "heater shoes" on (crocs if you must know) and multiple layers of clothing. And yet, here I sit watching my fingers freeze and the end of my nose turn cold.
The happy thing is that the heat season started Oct. 1st. The sad part is that supers aren't required to turn on the heat until the daytime temperature doesn't rise above 55 degrees, and the nighttime temperature sinks below 40.
Yeah. I thought the regs were shocking too.
I figured that since we're skirting those temperatures, but haven't reached them, that between the price of oil, the long-standing tradition of things going slightly unfixed around here, and our landlord attempting to save a buck, the heat wouldn't be turned on for a few more weeks. I was wrong.
It official. As of 6:00 this morning. The heat is on! We're saved!!! Er, um, at least I am. . . . What about you? Has your super turned the Heat on yet?
As reported by the NY Times, Mayor Michael Bloomberg " is seeking to put wind turbines on the city’s bridges and skyscrapers and in its waters as part of a wide-ranging push to develop renewable energy."