Friday, March 13, 2009Road to recoveryWe’ve spent a few days hanging out with friends and recovering from the sinus infections, and we’re feeling much better. Laurell is getting her voice back a little at a time, and we’re having fun with her furiously writing comments at us. All and all, we’re just recovering from the UK trip, and catching up on buseness that has been piling up while we’ve been gone/sick.
Posted by Jonathon on 03/13 at 10:46 AM
Thursday, March 12, 2009How to Prioritize?I had three things due at the same time this week. Unsure what to choose I looked to my business books that I’ve been reading. They said, follow the money. The priority should be what will bring in the most money, or is the most money. Sound reasoning in regular business; a little harder as a writer. But I did use it as a tool, and found that, why, yes, I could order them by earning potential. It was some way to bring order to the progressively busy schedule that I have, and yes, I continued to work while sick. Probably one of the reasons I’m sick; yeah, I know, but could you take off your job in the middle of three crunch deadlines? Me either.
Posted by LKH on 03/12 at 09:37 AM
Wednesday, March 11, 2009Of sinus infections and bursting tendonsI have a sinus infection, but a particularly insidious one. Apparently British germs are more severe, because I have been ordered on voice rest by my doctor. What does that mean? It means I’m writing notes, and getting better at texting on the cell phone. It means I am practicing facial expressions and gestures. It means I’m reduced to being a mime; God save us. If I behave I will get my full voice back sooner. Right now I sound like Whispering Smith. Antibiotics and hot liquids are the order of the day. I was taken off the first antibiotic that I was put on; cipro. Why? One my allergist didn’t feel it was the right antibiotic for a sinus infection, and two, side effect is tendons bursting, especially the Achilles tendon. Like I need more problems with that part of my ankle. It’s a rare side effect, but it’s more likely to happen if you exercise. My allergist was concerned enough that she told me no exercise until it’s out of my system. Yes, another doctor prescribed it. Thank God we went in for allergy shots and my allergist insisted sick us had to see her before shots, or just after, actually. I canceled yoga and Pilates for today, at my doctor’s suggestion. Very happy I only took two of the tendon weirdness antibiotics before reading the fine print and talking to another doctor. Why would an antibiotic burst your tendons? Why the Achilles? I mean that’s just weird for an antibiotic, isn’t it? Go in to clear up a sinus infection and end up having to be operated on to rebuild a tendon. Of course, if you read the fine print the rare side effects are always scary, but this just wasn’t a side effect I thought you’d get from something that was supposed to clear up a sinus infection. So, onto safer meds, and for now bed. Rest is probably in there somewhere on the whole get well recipie.
Posted by LKH on 03/11 at 09:54 PM
Tuesday, March 10, 2009LKH Bit 03/10/09
BLOOD NOIR, SWALLOWING DARKNESS, ANITA AUDIO, SJ TUCKER AND CATHERYNNE VALENTE, FULL MOON SALE FOR MARCH
BLOOD NOIR
Blood Noir Anita # 16 will be out in paperback May 26, 2009.
SWALLOWING DARKNESS
Swallowing Darkness - Merry #7 will be out in paperback September 29, 2009.
ANITA AUDIO
I know a lot of folks are waiting on Anita 1-7 on audio.Unfortunately, I still don’t have release dates.But the folks at the publishers are putting them together and I hope by the next update to have them.
SJ TUCKER AND CATHERYNNE VALENTE
Catherynne Valente was our guest author in the Winter 2008 newsletter.
SJ wrote songs to go along with Catherynne’s new book Palimpsest and they are currently touring to promote both. So if you get a chance, go meet them both!
There is music to sample or see more info on tours and dates and places at
http://www.sknnywhitechick.com.There will be CD’s for sale, but I do not know if they will have books for sale also or if you will be able to get it signed by Catherynne at the concert.I will see if I can find out and share that before the concert.
NOTE: Laurell will NOT be attending the St. Louis concert due to other obligations. Yes, she is disappointed.
This from SJ:
Hi everyone and welcome to the promised tour update message for March.
This past week, I confirmed the last three shows for this month—as I’d hoped, I’ve got one show each in St. Louis, Colorado Springs, and Salt Lake City to add to the tour!
Tuesday March 24, 2009 doors open at 7pm An Evening In Palimpsest Creve Coeur Lakehouse Creve Coeur, Missouri
http://www.cclakehouse.com/ for directions
1.3 miles east of Earth City Expressway
and Creve Coeur Mill Road South
314-576-7200
This event is free; please order food and drink!
18+ please, due to subject matter. with author Catherynne M. Valente,
special guests Lee Harrington and Mimi V.
Please help me spread the word, StL family I would like very much to fill up the Lakehouse’s patio so that it contains all of our people, and no one there randomly who will talk over the songs or the readings. *smile* I can dream…
Saturday March 28, 2009 7:00pm
Colorado Springs House Concert
624 Bosque Vista Point
Colorado Springs, CO 80916
RSVP via email at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/b5944y$8-$15 suggested donation
Music will likely begin around 8pm, to give everyone time enough to get there and get comfortable. Please help me spread the word, and bring friends!
Information on the Denver show the night before (with Catherynne M. Valente) can be found at the schedule page:
http://www.skinnywhitechick.com/shows.phpLastly, today, our dear friend JoSelle Vanderhooft hooked us up with Andrea and Jon, owners of Bevalo Art Lounge and coffee shop in Salt Lake City! Please join us for this wee Monday night show: Monday March 30, 2009 7 or 8pm (probably 8pm, but not starting any later!)
Bevalo Art Lounge
123 east 200 south (ground level)
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 364-3991
Catherynne will be traveling with me, but we will wait to decide whether to give our Palimpsest show or a good old silly and wonderful and simple Sooj concert until we get to town and see the space. I hope you’ll join us, whatever we do!
Thanks and see you soon,
SJ Tucker
FULL MOON SALE FOR MARCH - Wednesday MARCH 11, 2009
Big T-shirt Sale - Sale on all the comic t-shirts, and some of the others that are down to a few of what remains.We want to do more shirts, but first, we have to have some space!So we took a big markdown on some shirts and hopefully, we will be able to add some new ones in. I will fill orders as long as I have the shirts!
http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/Merchandis...lMoonSalea.htmlThat’s it for this bit!
Smiles….Darla
Posted by Darla on 03/10 at 10:28 AM
Monday, March 09, 2009Down with the sicknessYep, we’re sick. though it’s a minor sickness. She’s lost her voice, and mine is rough, blasted drainage. All in all, it was a OK, except for the whole allergic to mold in an old city that is in a pleasant location for mold. *sigh*
The business was great, we even got out of London for a day or so, and saw some of the countryside. I’m not really sure at the moment, what Laurell’s mentioned, so I’ll deal in generalities. We met her new British publisher, and did an interview. More meetings with various publishing and publishing related people, then it was research time. That went amazing, and then we had a few days of being tourists. It was during the touristy days that I got sick from my allergies, and then I was a plague monkey, and compromised my wife.
But we’ve been to the doctor, and we have meds, and all things are on track for the rest of the month.
Posted by Jonathon on 03/09 at 09:21 PM
Saturday, March 07, 2009Jet LagJet Lag has hit with a vengeance. I had this blog about the first day in England all planned, but right on schedule jet lag is upon us and suddenly thinking is not my best thing. It’s a little after eight in the evening here, but in London it’s a little after two in the morning. No wonder I’m ready for sleep. It’s way past bedtime, if I were in London. Strange I didn’t have as hard a time adjusting to the time zone going from St. Louis to London, and having asked around apparently it’s harder coming this way, then going that way, something about the whole loosing and gaining a day thing makes this direction a little harder. Right at this moment it feels very hard indeed, so we’re off to bed. Our eyes are burning and our attention is beginning to scatter, or hone in on small things. Too tired to stay up, and lucky for us Trinity is willing to go to bed earlier than normal. So, good night everyone, to our internal clocks it’s two AM.
Posted by LKH on 03/07 at 09:11 PM
Friday, March 06, 2009Flight to EnglandI am getting better at airplane travel. I’ve even started looking out the window and seeing the amazing landscape down below, but that’s for shorter flights. Eight hours ahead of me and I was actually pretty calm. I even slept a little, until the flight attendant reached across both Jon and I with a hanger to close the window shade right beside me. I don’t know what trust issues you have, but for me having a stranger lean across me with a largish object in their hands while I’m sound asleep and move something almost beside my head woke me up, and that’s putting it kindly. To say I woke up with that nightmare moment when you realize that dream figure looming over you isn’t in your dreams, but real with something long and weapon looking in their head, and . . . I never went back to sleep, because every time I started to relax, another flight attendant would walk by, and I’d be thrown awake again. I also had to open my window shade with my anxiety that high because among many things that makes plane rides difficult is my claustrophobia. With the window closed I had trouble breathing, I know it’s illusionary, but there it is. What I didn’t realize is there was some method to the scary madness of the woman who’d leaned over us. Dawn came right through my window. Everyone else was a snooze in their seats, tucked in like the Who’s down in Whoville, while I, the Grinch, sat staring out of my small window at the first faint hint of light. The light began as just the ability to see the clouds, but then did a spectacular show of molten gold, orange, and red. The colors seemed to burn through the clouds until the sun floated into sight, yellow and shining and too bright to look at. Jon informs me that he got to see most of the light show, because the flight attendant bumped his seat, and the window shade did make quite an abrupt sound when it slammed down. So we got to watch the sunrise over the ocean. The bad thing was that the light began to seep across our fellow passengers who were all still asleep in their seats. Which was why the flight attendant had tried to close our window, so the people would sleep as long as possible, which would make their life easier as well as the passenger’s. I did try to lower it some, but I couldn’t close it completely, because I got panicky again. Sorry to all our fellow passengers, I did not mean to be the Grinch to your naps, but it was either that or have a panic attack. We watched two episodes of THE BIG BANG THEORY on the screen in front of us. The show has quite won us over; clever writing, good characterization and wonderful performances, besides hard not to love a show that derives it’s humor from physics jokes, and sexual double entendre, sometimes in the same bit of dialogue. I also started reading Susan Wittig Albert’s newest book, "The Tale of Briar Bank.“ It’s a cozy mystery with Beatrix Potter as the amateur detective; yes the creator of Peter Rabbit. I find the books charming and very relaxing. They have become some of my favorite books for reading on tour. I had purposefully saved this book for the next plane ride.
