My "new" iBook died today. I cannot start it, I cannot fix it, I cannot do anything with it.
Until this situation is resolved, I can no longer use Scrivener. Luckily, while my last Internet backup did not take, I have an rtf version from Sunday, meaning (in the the worst case scenario) that I only lost two days work, not counting the zilch I did today.
I love Scrivener. But despite all the myths out there about how wonderful the Mac is compared to the PC, I cannot chime in. Maybe it is only this machine, but it has been moody from the start, dying on a semi-regular basis, kind of like the DOS machines I had in the early nineties.
But who knows, maybe I killed my poor little Mac with my negative vibes. This morning I turned on my (PC) desktop to receive an email that my brother had been hospitalized. I have since learned that it is probably a bleeding ulcer, but I'm still hurting inside that I'm not there.
We must forgive ourselves when the universe is not happy with us, yes?
Otherwise: last week I was up 5000 words on the "revisions" -- pretty much all new words because I had reached a section in the rough draft where I wrote "put battle scene here." The words from last week are not lost, and will consult a Mac expert as to whether my iBook can be revived and the words from this week can be saved.
Current Mood:  drained Current Music: Green Day, "American Idiot" |
Just discovered today that an interview with me went up on Fantasy Magazine a couple of days ago, "You Would Hear Me Laughing" -- those who have met me are sure to understand why that got a chuckle out of me.
Current Music: Spin Doctors, "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" |
The Apex anthology containing my story “On the Shadow Side of the Beast” can now be ordered from the Apex Book Company Site.
Current Music: Texas, "Everyday Now" |
I'm once again taking part in the Write-a-thon for Clarion West, this time working on revisions for my next novel for my German publisher, Shadow of Stone.
I will match donations up to $100.
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| » Villa Diodati |
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The revamped and expanded Villa Diodati page is now up:
http://www.lit-arts.net/VillaDiodati/index.html
Jun. 17th, 2009 @ 02:23 am
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| » Can you tell I'm a fangirl yet? |
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I have raved about Ted Chiang's brilliance again, this time on Mind Meld.
Jun. 10th, 2009 @ 10:32 pm
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| » IROSF article |
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I have a new article up at IROSF, "Arthuriana Through the Ages." Registration required.
I have also started twittering announcements like this, as well as some writing progress and other small items. Just no food. At the time of this writing, there are only two Nestvolds twittering, so I should be pretty easy to find for those who are interested.
Jun. 4th, 2009 @ 10:36 pm
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| » Addendum |
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And no, I do not dye my hair. If I did, the color would be a bit more exciting than standard brown.
May. 26th, 2009 @ 01:13 am
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| » Announcements |
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With all the running around, I forgot to post here that my story "In the Middle of Nowhere with Company" is now up at the current issue of Abyss and Apex.
And recently I also learned that I am going to be a grandma in January. I guess that means I am now officially old, but I still think it's kinda cool.
May. 26th, 2009 @ 12:54 am
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| » A girl can dream ... |
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We're on the road in the Southwest and will be "Leaving Las Vegas" today, but I've managed to get a few more pics up on my Flickr site. That's me holding Nina's trophy before the ceremony. Well, maybe a couple more years down the road ...
Apr. 29th, 2009 @ 08:31 am
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| » Interview on Nebula Awards site |
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An interview with me has been added to the Nebula Awards site.
Apr. 8th, 2009 @ 09:14 pm
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| » Mars as an Aural Delight |
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"Mars: A Traveler's Guide" can now be heard at StarShipSofa, along with the other Nebula nominated short stories. Enjoy!
Apr. 4th, 2009 @ 01:19 pm
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| » What's your relationship with YOUR Genius? |
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I just watched an excellent talk by Elizabeth Gilbert on creating a healthy relationship with "creative genius." Highly recommended.
Apr. 1st, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
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| » Is this really my life? |
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My husband and I got back last night from the Leipzig Book Fair, which was an experience I am unlikely ever to forget. I am stunned and amazed what they did for us. Taking care of us completely from beginning to end, including dinner on Friday after our arrival in a Michelin star-rated restaurant, Falco. Much of the time I had the feeling this couldn't really be my life I was walking through here. Somehow, being treated like a celebrity doesn't fit with my image of myself.
Then Saturday morning we were off the the book fair. When we turned around a corner and I saw the Random House stand for the first time, I nearly had tears in my eyes.
I did have a pretty full program to deserve this strange dream come true. On the first day, I had three readings and three interviews (one unscheduled), and barely enough time in between to eat a little open faced sandwich. I hardly noticed, since I was running on adrenalin, but I knew if I didn't get some calories into me I'd crash. And by the end of the day, I did notice that I was pretty burned out.
But it was all good, it went very well. Not only did Chris like my readings, Urban and Inge, the Random House representatives responsible for me, were very happy with how I did -- and apparently also how easy I was to please. (They had quite a few stories to tell about what it's like being responsible for real celebrities.)
I know I've said this before, but I just have to repeat myself: life is good.
Mar. 16th, 2009 @ 11:47 am
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| » Reading Material and Leipzig Book Fair |
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Gordon Van Gelder has put the Nebula-nominated stories from Fantasy & Science Fiction online, including my story, "Mars: A Traveler's Guide". All of the stories are here. They include "The Political Prisoner" by Charlie Finlay, "Kaleidoscope" by K.D. Wentworth, "The Tomb Wife" by Gwyneth Jones, "Pride and Prometheus" by John Kessel and "If Angels Fight" by Richard Bowes.
Here's my schedule for the Leipzig Book Fair (in German):
Samstag, 14. März
12:00 Uhr Ausbildbar, Halle 5, Stand A 502 (ca. 30 min)
13:00 Uhr MDR 1
Radio Interview
Frau Karin Engler
14:00 Uhr Leseinsel Fantasy, Halle 2, Stand H 401 (ca. 45 min)
15:30 Uhr Video-Interview für Random House Homepage
Frau Maria Hinz
19:00 Uhr Lesung
Baumwollspinnerei
Bogenschützenhalle e.V.
Spinnereistr. 7
04179 Leipzig
0341 4980-0
Sonntag, 15. März
11:30 Uhr Leseinsel Fantasy, Halle 2, Stand H 401 (ca. 45 min)
Mar. 11th, 2009 @ 12:17 pm
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| » Corrections to Final Nebula Ballot |
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After reconciling myself to disappointment, I found out yesterday that my story is on the final Nebula ballot after all. As of today it's official and I can spread the word.
The strange thing is, I very effectively got the hope out of my system, and now I'm having a hard time getting it back ... But it's ok. There are worse things.
Mar. 2nd, 2009 @ 04:57 pm
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| » Another Egypt Trip |
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The winter in Germany this year has been too long and too cold to bear, at least for me, so I dashed off for a week in Egypt last week, this time to Sharm El Sheikh. Besides this one at St. Catherine's Monastery, there are a number of cool desert pictures on my Flickr site.
Now feeling much rested and a lot healthier. I even got a lot of writing done! A little writing vacation like that is definitely something I mean to do again.
Feb. 24th, 2009 @ 03:28 am
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| » Bookstore display |
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So it's not piles of books like Eragon or Twilight, but I think I can deal with it.
Just for fun, here's the most recent review of the book, babelfished.
Feb. 4th, 2009 @ 05:45 am
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| » Villa Diodati Tuckerization |
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For the first time in my life, I've been Tuckerized.
And I just saw a Really Big Display of my book in a local bookstore. Maybe I'll have time to post pics to Flickr tonight.
Feb. 3rd, 2009 @ 09:19 pm
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specficrider's journal
