On Location at The Galaxy Express

I'm over at The Galaxy Express today talking a little about creating different worlds in SF and SFR. Pop over and comment!

Tomorrow, I may post here the piece that *didn't* make the cut for my guest spot, so come on back : )

July? Already???

Yikes! What happened to the latter half of June? My kids have been out of school since May 21 and it feels like we've hardly done a thing. One attended a week-long science day camp, the other went to girl scout camp, and we've gotten out on the boat a few times (fishing, but not catching), but generally we've been lay-abouts. Which is nice and all, but still, I feel a little sluggish compared to how quickly the month flew by. This last half before school starts in late August will probably whip by as well, but we have a busier schedule.

First up is the local Fourth of July extravaganza, complete with kids' activities and a barbeque. Everyone comes. There won't be fireworks, however. What, you say, no fireworks??? What's 4th of July without fireworks? Well, considering it doesn't get dark until nearly midnight in the summer, a public fireworks display is tough. There will be plenty of noise-making fireworks, I'm sure, but not the pretty ooh-ahhh light up the sky types. Or if there are any planned, I won't be watching them. New Year's Eve is the time for pretty fireworks displays in the North.

The week after the 4th, my mother and nephew will be coming from New York for a visit. Mom will stay a week before having to return, but my nephew will remain here. We'll take them to the glacier and hopefully get out on the boat. Nephew will go to science camp with our oldest then stay another week for fun. We'll travel with him to Seattle, see him off to his NY-bound plane then my kids and I will head to Spokane to visit the in-laws. Poor hubby has to stay home to work, take care of the critters, and prep for a 3 or 4 week research cruise off Hawaii that leaves the day after we return. Yeah, rough life.

After Spokane we'll have a week or so before school starts up. Whew! How time flies. Like the hormones here in our house (DD#1 is 12 1/2, DD#2 is 9 and just hitting those pre-pubescent waves). No wonder hubby isn't turning down the chance to be gone for weeks at a time.

But it's been a good summer so far. Even the weather has been mostly cooperative--in the 60's and low 70's, no days and days of torrential rain but real sun. Often more than two days in a row! Crazy balmy, I know!

So how's summer in your neck of the woods?

Tag! I'm It!

Avalon author Sierra Donovan has tagged me. Thanks, Sierra. No really : P

I answer the questions below then "tag" four more people, asking them to post their answers to the same questions. No pressure to play, but it is fun and gives an excuse for not hitting my WIP. OK, here we go:

Four Movies that I can see over and over
1. Serenity
2. Young Frankenstein (Sierra listed this one too and I must agree)
3. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
4. Pride and Prejudice

Four Places I have lived
1. Brentwood, NY
2. Bottineau, ND
3. Fairbanks, AK
4. Corvallis, OR

Four TV shows that I love to watch
1. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart/The Colbert Report (two separate shows but on in tandem, so suck it up)
2. Chuck
3. House
4. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles—which has been cancelled but I loved it

Four places where I have gone on vacation
1. England/Scotland
2. San Diego
3. Cruise along Mexico’s west coast (salt air shrinks clothing, btw, tho it may have been the buffet…)
4. Orlando

Four favorite foods
1. Baked winter king salmon
2. BBQ pork ribs
3. Fresh peaches
4. Ice cream

Four websites I visit daily
1. Yahoo Mail
2. My other mail site
3. Mrs. Giggles
4. A bunch of blogs I pop in on during my morning rounds (yes, this is a cheater answer. So sue me.)

Four places I would rather be
1. Back East visiting my family
2. At my father-in-law’s ranch/visiting DH’s family near by
3. Soaking in a warm bath
4. Traveling to somewhere new

Four things that I would like to do before I die
1. Write a bestseller (I believe this is on many of the “tagged” folks’ lists :)
2. Visit each continent
3. Get all my friends together for a huge party
4. See my husband happily retired and my kids happy and successful

Four novels I wish that I was reading for the first time
1. On Basilisk Station by David Weber (the first of an excellent series featuring a female starship commander)
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
4. The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Four people to tag
1. Sharron McClellan
2. Jody Wallace
3. Amy Jandrey
4. Tracy Montoya

Things I Ponder When I Should be Writing...

• Are the dust bunnies under the furniture gathering for a coup?
• How much coffee CAN one drink without having their heart explode?
• The Internet isn't so much a series of tubes (thanks for that analogy, Ted Stevens) but more like a Slip 'N' Slide. Think about it...
• Why does the cat have to sleep on top of things? He can't just sleep on the bed but must sleep on the one article of clean, folded clothing on the bed. Why?
• How long can I futz around before my crit partners yell at me to get my arse in gear?

OK, back to work. No really.

Let the Summer Begin

Even here in the semi-frozen north there is a season--albeit a short one--known as summer. How do we know it's summer? The snow is gone, except for a few shadowy, north-facing patches here at almost sea level. (The stuff still on the mountains doesn't count.) The kids are out of school until August 20-something. And the tourists have begun to arrive.

Unlike our previous location, the town we are in isn't easily accessible. You can't just take a drive and end up here. But there is a small cruise ship that comes over every Wednesday, bringing a few folks to spend the day wandering the two main streets of town or to take an hour-long jaunt down the mostly gravel highway to Child's Glacier and the Million Dollar Bridge (no, no, not the Bridge to Nowhere. That's somewhere else.). Standing a quarter mile away across the river and feeling the cool breeze come off unmeasurable tons of ice while Volkswagon- to building-sized chunks calve is awe-inspiring and exhilarating. You just have to be ready to bolt inland in case one of those chunks creates a wave that will wash up and over the river bank on your side, flooding the picnic/viewing area. Yeah, it's happened. Apparently there were salmon tossed into trees during one big calving-induced wave.

We'll be taking my mother and nephew out there when they come up in July. I'll remind them to wear their running shoes.

Other than relatives visiting, we do have a few things to keep the kids busy and me sane. Camps, both sleep-away and day, will fill some of my daughters' days. Family fishing trips will dot the calendar. We're planning to go Outside for a couple of weeks before school starts. But overall, the plan is to take things nice and slow.

What will you be up to?

Happy Mother's Day

Though I'm asked what I want for Mother's Day, birthdays, etc., I rarely come up with a specific idea for my poor, befuddled family. I'm usually happy with sleeping in and not having to cook or clean up. This year, however, did get me a couple of lovely things: poems from my daughters. Like most things kid-related, they make me laugh and cry. I've been given permission to share them here.

A Mother's Day Poem
by DD #1 (age 12)

Dear Mom,
You make us feel good when we're sad,
You calm us down when we're mad.
We're jumpy bear cubs in a den,
You're our doting mother hen.
You make sure we are neat and straight,
And that we clean our plate.
When you're around we feel happy.
I think this poem is getting too sappy!
Even when we feel shy,
You make sure we don't cry!
You're the best Mom there's ever been!
(Even when the cat meows his head off for din din : )

A Poem and a message
by DD#2 (age 8, almost 9)

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I give lots of love
to you!

Moms are like blankets,
they cover you with love.

Aren't they the sweetest? There is nothing in this world that could be bought or sold that equals receiving these gifts. One day a year isn't enough to celebrate the joys of my children--I'm blessed every single day.

Happy Mother's Day!

RWA Welcomes Rainbow Romance Writers

It's official! The RWA has approved its newest Special Interest Chapter: Rainbow Romance Writers, dedicated to the promotion and advocacy of LGBT romance. Yay!!!!!

Despite my just starting out in the genre, the members of the RRW have been nothing but kind and supportive. They are an amazing, dedicated, and open group, and I'm proud to be part of the chapter. Go check out the RRW website to take a closer look.

Thanks to the Board of the RRW chapter (Jade Buchanan, Sara Bell, Kimberly Gardner, JL Langley, and Jet Mykles) and Laura Baumbach and others, who did all manner of gathering interest, collecting member information, and filling out the paperwork to assure all i's were dotted and t's were crossed. You all rock! Having an official LGBT chapter of the RWA will hold a lot of weight in the romance community. The majority of the members have been writing LGBT romances for as long as any romance author out there and it's time--past time, actually--that they receive equal recognition for their work.

As one of the members said in response to the chapter president's announcement: "Rainbow power--for the win!" It's a win we can all savor.