And Here's My Lovely New Paperback Cover

It'll be out in December or January (I know, Amazon says January, but often books are available before the date they say).

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

The Three Musketeers: Sandy, Sara, Cynthia

From my friend Cynthia's blog:

And speaking of magic, the people who run the Squaw Valley Community of Writers manage to create magic year after year. Four years after attending the conference, my friends and I found each other in our rented condo. Happy to be together, we laughed and screamed and hugged. We’d come from as far as Vermont and Hawaii to meet up once again. We’ve reunited a few times before and it’s always great, like we’ve never been apart.

This time we came to support two of our own - Sara J. Henry and Jessica O’Dwyer. Both of these ladies read from their published books to the 2011 participants, alumni and local folk who came to hear past participants read.

Sara’s book, LEARNING TO SWIM, came out in February. Sara was first of the alumni readers to address the group. She spoke to the audience about how her confidence was shattered the first time she attended the conference and how she went home and didn’t write for a year. The audience gasped. Sara then shared about her experience in 2007. When she said she’d found her writing family at the magical conference that year, I wasn’t the only one who, for one second, stopped breathing and felt tears in my eyes.

A few readers later and Jessica was reading from her memoir, MAMALITA. I’d heard Jessica share stories that aren't in the book at her book launch last November. Even though I’d heard one of the stories before, it touched me again about how much struggle a mother will go through to adopt the child she loves.

At the end of the alumni speakers event, I turned to another of our 2007 group alumna and said with pride, “Our girls were great.” 

So Alia was hiding behind a sign, David had his eyes closed, Alma looks about to speak, Jessica is looking at someone else - it was an exciting time! What a great group of people and what an honor it was to appear with them. L-R: me, Alia Yunis (The Night Counter), Michael David Lukas (The Oracle of Stamboul), Alma Katsu (The Taker), Jessica O'Dwyer (Mamalita). Buy their books: every one! Seriously, these are some talented writers.

Why I Won't Be Posting for a Few Days

I'd planned to do a nice little round-up with photos of my lovely trip to Squaw Valley and visit with friends in Danville and my sublime week in New York City, but last night my computer crashed abruptly. And I learned that when one file in the operating system is corrupted or lost, you can't access anything in your hard drive, as in nada, nothing, which makes no sense to me. And I also learned that Dell warranties no longer offer "software support," which would make sense if you're talking software you loaded yourself and screwed things up, but, er, the operating system called Windows comes with the computer and is pretty basic to its functioning. (Yes, I want a Mac. Next installment on my advance, I swear. Well, after I get the generator and fix the driveway and the kitchen floor and maybe the dripping shower head. Maybe.) I finally found a lovely man in hardware support (which is covered under my warranty) who would probably be fired if I gave up his name, who led me to something that would have been a quick fix (F8 key while booting - remember that, guys!) had I not in desperation tried earlier to repair the operating system using my Windows disk, as directed on-screen. Therein ensued a scramble to find a handy device I'd bought a few years ago but never used, which in theory lets you attach a hard drive from one computer to a second functioning computer. Out came the old refurbished 19" laptop Dell sent me when my last laptop failed (yes, I should learn - and in case you're wondering, no, a 19" laptop is not exactly portable). I managed to get the bottom off the current computer and extricate the hard drive, and connected the Erector-set-type apparatus (it is called a USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE, none of which I comprehend after "USB") and held my breath. At first nothing but I unplugged it and tried again and, lo and behold, all my files. (Before you ask,  yes, I have a great backup device, but had not connected it since getting back on Friday, so lots of work would have been lost - although I had just emailed my current manuscript copy to myself.) So today I'm engaged in the laborious process of moving files to my old ugly "laptop" to make sure all get moved (some crucial files are hidden in the, well, hidden Application Data folder, and I can't be positive I have all the right ones until I get programs up and running). And tomorrow? That will be the day I reinstall the hard drive back in the laptop and begin the also laborious process of reformatting.

And somewhere in all this, I do have some work to do.

PS And no, clearly, I don't make up or research any of the computer stuff in my novels (I can say that now, novels, as there is a second one, not yet printed though) - so now you know that I'm essentially a lazy writer and pretty write what I know. Yes, I also like to fix bicycles.

Ah, the Messages You Get on Facebook ...

I am very new to internet dating cos i dont believe in it and i am very busy with lots of time flying hence have less time for frivolities, however with a success story of a close associate form this website who got married not quite long, i decided to try it out and see what it holds for me. I quite like your profile and admire your personality that's why i contacted you.I am quiet, caring and a gentle person, I love life and the opportunities it throws at you. I am very honest and people don't always like that, I am always smiling I like honest caring people, I hate deceit and dishonesty and would love to meet an honest woman, open genuine,I am a person who looks beyond what may be the obvious. Character is worth more than flashiness. I am a person who appreciates honesty and a great sense of humor. I love to laugh and to enjoy the simple things in life. I would appreciate a person who has a good sense of who she is and a sense of direction about where she wants to be. I can appreciate a woman who sees a man as a friend and a partner, would like you to add me so we can chat and also communicate through emails. will be waiting for your mail. Are you single?

And he waits until the end of the entire pitch for what might well be the most important question!

Amazon, This You're Doing Right

You can debate the pros and cons of Amazon until you're blue in the face, but, well, it's here to stay. (And, oh, have they promoted my book through email blasts, all for free, so for that I'm grateful.) But one thing that has always irked me is its review system, where anyone can post pseudonymous "reviews" that give a book a one-star rating because it took too long to arrive. Or because it isn't yet available in a recorded version. Or it wasn't wrapped properly. Or, possibly worse yet, a review that gives away a huge major plot point.

I'm pleased to report that in these cases all you have to do is email Amazon, and poof, the review that has nothing to do with the book itself - or breaks other other guidelines - is taken down.

Here are the reasons a review can be removed, from the Amazon review guideline page.

Objectionable material:
• Obscene or distasteful content
• Profanity or spiteful remarks
• Promotion of illegal or immoral conduct


Promotional content:
• Advertisements, promotional material or repeated posts that make the same point excessively
• Sentiments by or on behalf of a person or company with a financial interest in the product or a directly competing product (including reviews by authors, artists, publishers, manufacturers, or third-party merchants selling the product)
• Reviews written for any form of compensation other than a free copy of the product. This includes reviews that are a part of a paid publicity package
• Solicitations for helpful votes


Inappropriate content:
• Crucial plot elements (unless you offer a clear "spoiler alert")
• Other people's material (this includes excessive quoting)
• Phone numbers, postal mailing addresses, and URLs external to Amazon.com
• Details about availability or alternate ordering/shipping
• Videos with watermarks
• Comments on other reviews visible on the page (because page visibility is subject to change without notice)
• Foreign language content (unless there is a clear connection to the product)


Off-topic information:
• Feedback on the seller, your shipment experience or the packaging
• Feedback about typos or inaccuracies in our catalog or product description

You can do it for anyone's book. Just go here, go to the bottom of the page, and click on "contact us."

Hey, this one does seem to impugn some people, including the folks named Troy Chance - of whom there are more than one.

Even the name the author chooses for her heroine is clunky and obvious and just really stupid. No one is named "Troy Chance", not even strippers and porn stars. Not even gay porn stars.