No, really. I'm actually tired for a change, and I want to go to bed very badly. But I told myself that I wouldn't go to bed until I'd figured out my winners for the Contest Contest. Let me tell you, this hasn't been easy. Since the contest closed on Saturday, you don't know how many times I've sat down and read through all the entries, thinking: "This is it. I'm going to pick somebody." And I never can--because there are so many good ones, and every choice has its own pros and cons.

And...shoot. Real-time addendum:

I actually made a decision on the winners tonight and even wrote up a post announcing it. But, I just had to pull the whole post right now because I have a slight complication with one of the entries that I've got to unravel. I think I need to seek advice on how to interpret my own rules. GRR. Okay, here's the deal. Contest results will go up for real this Sunday, at which point I should have this snafu figured out. Thanks for your patience, and again, thanks for the great entries.

My closing note before I collapse into bed: the City of Seattle has my condo association on notice because despite signs that have been up for the last few months, people in the building are still somehow incapable of putting the correct items into our recycling bins. Apparently the CoS waste people got tired of picking out IKEA furniture and charcoal grills (no, really) from the recyclables and put their foot down. If someone here messes up again, the whole complex will get fined. I don't get why this should be hard. Seriously, it's not like I live in a frat house. My neighbors are all 8 to 5 professionals that drive nice cars and make me feel lazy when I go get my mail in my pajamas. Doesn't that demographic lend itself well to reading recycling signs?

Anyway, I'm off to bed without the help of wine, Benadryl, or Ambien, and that is something not to be missed.

There's no easy way to put this.

I have a big ass spider living outside my condo:





AHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I apologize for the scary nature of that photo. Believe me, I'm just as freaked out as you are, seeing as I have to look at it every time I'm in my living room. God. It's nearly on par with an alien looking in the window. (Okay, not that scary). If it helps, the picture is actually larger than the spider itself, which has a body of .75" and leg to leg length of double that. Still. Way too big for my tastes.

Naturally, I've been reading up on spiders in the greater Seattle area and have sent the pic into a spider identification place. By my own sleuthing skills, he doesn't appear to be a poisonous hobo, though he shares some features with that spider. By most reckoning, he's a giant house spider, which is neither aggressive nor poisonous. In fact, in addition to that useful insect eating stuff spiderphiles are always pushing off on us, having a ghs around actually discourages hobos since they compete for turf and whatnot.

Useful or not, I'd really prefer it if he didn't live outside my sliding glass door. If I lived on the ground floor, he would have been scooped up and set free down the street days ago. Instead, because I'm on the fourth floor, he's a bit harder to catch. You see, I have a Juliet balcony, which means while it's as wide as my patio door, it's only about a foot, maybe a foot and a half, long. In other words, it's the perfect size for my smoking friends to stand and light up on. But to catch a spider? Well, there's not a lot of maneuvering room. I'm certainly not about to go try some acrobatics on the fourth floor. What's especially tricky is that, much like Trogdor, my spider only comes out onto his web at night. That's why the picture's lighting is so weird--he's not quite that yellow. In the daytime, he hides near the top of my patio door. So, now we have small space, poor lighting, and four floors to add to the complication. I've done more bug removal than you'd probably guess in my day, but this is beyond my skills, which means I'm going to have to bribe someone with ARCs to deal with this.

For now, when night comes, I'm actually relieved to see him out on the web. Because when he's on the web, he's not in my home. Still, I live in fear that one day, dusk will come, and he will not be there. And then, oh friends, where will he be???

Some of you may recall a ways back when I painted my kitchen and hallway. Not long after that, I bought paint to do my living room/office. I had great plans of cracking down and doing up that room too. Well, that was in January. In the subsequent months, certain weekends would get designated as paint weekends. And then...something would come up. Then again. And again.

Flash forward six months later, and my living room walls still looked like this:




Well, lolcatz and I designated this last weekend as a paint weekend, and it seemed it really was going to happen. Then...the last minute PNWA workshop popped up. Knowing that was going to occupy my afternoon for hours, I told him we'd have to nix the painting again. This time, he put his foot down and said he'd keep painting while I was gone and that this would be the weekend.

And so it was. I came home from the workshop and discovered a miracle had taken place:




The lighting's bad in this picture. It makes the paint look grayer than it really is. But, lo, my room is painted, and this is going to pave the way for me to finally put up other things I've been holding back from, like wooden bookshelves and, um, curtains. We still need to do a little touch-up, so my furniture's a bit askew right now. The cats don't seem to mind, though. They actually adapt quite well. Despite being freaked out by the painting initially, they soon became one with it and started sleeping on drop-cloth covered furniture.

Exciting stuff. Soon I'll have a real home.

At long last, I give you the fruits of my labor. And while I fully recognize that posting pictures of painted walls on my blog is...well...not exciting, I'm afraid there isn't much else going on today.

Two hours of acrobatic taping was a workout in itself. I never knew just how many corners cupboards and appliances had.


But it paid off, yielding a Skipper-tastic kitchen...well, aside from that space above the cupboards. But honestly, it's not like it shows or anything.


After that, it was on to the hallway, a section of my condo just begging to be painted sunny yellow. I mean, Feather Plume.


After four hours and near fume-poisoning, I finally achieved these results. Now I feel like I'm walking down a yellow brick tunnel when I go to my bedroom.


The best part of all? The corner where these two colors met in a perfect union.


Are you thinking what I'm thinking?


ALMA MATER SHOUT-OUT!!!!

Okay, the second night of painting has come to a close. Last night found me spending four hours painting my kitchen "Skipper"--a medium shade of gray-blue. It'll be matched by its lighter counterpart, "Blue Willow," in the living room eventually.

I started with the kitchen because it has the least surface area. Easy, right? Well, it also had all sorts of crazy corners, thanks to the cupboards and appliances. Taping and painting required some acrobatics. In the end, I didn't bother moving or painting behind the appliances. Who looks back there anyway? I also didn't paint the one-foot section of wall between my cupboards and the ceiling. It's, like, seven feet in the air. I'm 5'2". And I have a habit of falling on wood floors. Besides, I'm too short to even see it.

Tonight I moved onto the hallway, utilizing the cheery yellow "Feather Plume." This section had a lot more surface area and a lot more corners (though not so physically challenging as the kitchen's) and doorways. I got all the edge and detail painting done before finally cracking. This may have happened because another four hours had passed. Or it may have been because my condo was filled with toxic, undoubtedly carcinogenic fumes. I swear, I can feel the paint particles coating my lungs. I went to the gym and had a brief respite, but it was all waiting for me when I got back. So, I did the only thing I could.

I opened all the windows.

Some of you are thinking this seems like a reasonable idea. But, allow me to point something out to you. It's 33 degrees outside, and my friends at weather.com claim it feels like 26. I am FREEZING. But what else could I do? The paint smell is too strong. So, here I am, huddled in pajams and a sweater--and still feeling like I'm in the Arctic. I also stole one of the blankets the cats like to sleep on, but whatever. They have fur coats.

Tomorrow I'll finish up with Feather Plume and hopefully borrow someone's card reader (mine's MIA) so I can post pictures. In the meantime, pray for warmer weather.

Sidenote: tbclone47 has pictures posted at his LJ from Friday's party. One of them features me using a knife.

My life is all about painting my condo and plotting out the details of Vampire Academy 3 (yes, still titleless). I'll have pics of my handiwork soon, but for now, it's back to work.

Before I go, I'll leave you with this bit of good news. Vampire Academy is one of the American Library Association's 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. VA got nominated last year, and I just found out that it's officially on the list now. For those who aren't teachers or librarians, a reluctant reader is what it sounds like: someone who isn't too keen on reading. So, I'm pretty stoked and honored that the ALA committee voted VA as something interesting enough to appeal to those who are generally, well, uninterested. Many thanks to those involved in the process.

Okay, blue tape. This time it's personal.

I've seen spoofs in movies where people are mocked for obsessing on paint colors. "Which one do you like best, honey? 'Antique Lace' or 'Creamy Parchment'?" In fact, I've seen people in real life do such things, and I've always kind of rolled my eyes at that.

Except now...I'm one of them.

Provided I decide a run of recent bills doesn't harm my finances too much, I'm planning on painting the main part of the condo next week, after I turn in Succubus Dreams. And I am consumed with picking out colors. As you'll recall, I have the bright orange/red couches to match. My original plan was to do all the walls in one shade of blue. But now, I've grown a bit more ambitious. My new plan is to paint the kitchen/hall in blue but do the living room in a color that's in the same range as the couches--except lighter. Then, I want to do curtains and random accent parts--a low hanging beam, my kitchen island--in dark blue.

Some people don't approve of this, and it's been suggested if I do my living room in peach, it'll be like living in a giant skin-colored room. Now I can't get that image out of my head, but I'm still working toward this master plan. I literally have a pile of paint swatches in front of me on my desk. And when I'm pausing between writing scenes, I play with them and hold them against the walls and compare them to the couch and see how they look in incandescent vs. full day vs. sunset lighting.

It's madness, I tell you. How does one choose? Apricot Lily or Sunkissed Peach? Or should I veer into something pink, like Cinnamon Cocoa? And isn't it fascinating how choosing a blue with a little more red in it will completely alter the way the peaches and oranges look? And don't get me started about the amount of time I waste at behr.com. Their color match application is the devil.

Madness, I tell you. Madness.

The Good
Close friends of mine had a baby. I hope they don't mind me posting him here. As you can see, he's adorable.

They're the first of my inner circle to have a baby, so this is all pretty exciting. I was asked recently if his birth has now sped up my biological clock or made me hit snooze on it. Unclear. On the one hand, babies are seriously cute and cuddly. And they look good in hats. Plus, there's that chart in my doctor's office that cheerily informs me each time I'm there that the longer I wait, the more likely I am to have a baby with horns. All of those, I suppose, are reasons to speed up the clock. On the other hand, my friends don't really seem to be getting a lot of sleep anymore. And while the baby's arrival is certainly magical, my friend's description of the physical aspects of the actual labor/birth was most decidedly unmagical. So, I guess it's a 50-50 split. Fortunately, my current life situation doesn't require I make a decision on this anytime soon. Instead, I can spend my time fawning over my friends' baby and then go home and sleep.

The Bad
The third Vampire Academy book still doesn't have a title, though there have been a lot of great suggestions. I think we're going to have to steer away from the cold themed ones in order to distinguish the book from Frostbite. For those just joining us, you can read about the titling debate here.

The Ugly
I just noticed some white spots around my bedroom window. They look like paint splatters except...I swear they weren't there before.

Because I jump to conclusions, I've already decided it's a deadly species of mold. In fact, I can feel my lungs filling up with spores as I type this. To my credit(?), there actually is water on the window frame, so there may be a leak/moisture problem afoot. Mostly it looks like chipping drywall or paint, but as I said, I'm pretty sure it wasn't there when I moved in. I haven't paid attention to that area for a while because I finally got a curtain for the window a few weeks ago, and it's covered that spot. I guess that'll teach me.

In the meantime, I sent email to a home inspector I know, so we'll see if it's fungus or paranoia soon. Reports forthcoming.

Well, it turns out I may have a Christmas tree coming. A very good friend of mine called me tonight and found a frosty, 4.5' tree for a reasonable price. It's extremely reasonable because despite my protests, she wants to get it for me as a gift. I'm getting a little guilty because lately it seems when I mention needing things on my blog, they mysteriously show up as presents! I could blame it on the blog having some sort of evil, genie-esque power, but I think the truth is that I just have amazing friends. Thanks, Marcee.

And speaking of friends, the Succubus on Top book dedication-ees had me over tonight too. Actually, I kind of invited myself over because I wanted to watch America's Next Top Model. But I had nothing to do with the ravioli and chocolate pizza they offered me. That was all them.

I had just come from my condo's first HOA meeting. The point was to elect board members and approve the budget. For me--and, as it turned out, half the attendees--it was to complain about parking. We have a secured lot, and everyone theoretically has an assigned numbered spot. Unfortunately, no spots have numbers. There's a little map that was in our condo binders that has a drawing of the lot with scrawled numbers. But nobody references that, and really, it's grab whatever spot you can. The problem is that it's one spot per unit, but people are letting their friends park overnight. So, for the last two nights, I've come home after 11 and found the lot full. Apparently I'm not alone.

The lady who worked for the management company put it quite eloquently. "You could probably go down the hall, open someone's door at random, walk in, and use their bathroom--and not have them nearly as mad as if you parked in their spot." I think this is true, and my neighbors seemed to agree. All of them are young (hardly anyone over 35) and professional, but man, we were all out for blood on the parking issue. We were finally sated when the company said they'd spray paint numbers in and contract a towing company. You should have seen the gleam in everyone's eyes then. I think we were all secretly hoping people would park in the wrong spots now. Nothing like sweet revenge to get us all ready for the holiday season.

I'm using my Admiral Ackbar icon because I created something in Succubus Dreams tonight that rivals AA in comic genius. In fact, it might be one of the most brilliant things I've ever wrought within a book, but I'm going to keep it to myself for now. That's not easy either because it keeps making me laugh. It also helped off-set all the emotional love stuff I've been writing in this book. That seems to be done now, and Georgina gets to punch someone in the next chapter, so I'm pretty excited about that. That's a spoiler you can take to the bank.

Anyway, I ran all sorts of errands today and now own assorted homeownery tools to help me hang my white boards: hammer, anchors, level, screwdrivers, and a tape measure. $26.13 and I had a $25 Home Depot gift card. Not too shabby. Despite all that, the boards haven't been hung yet. I might have to get someone to film me doing it so that no wacky mishaps are missed by you, beloved readers.

After that, I went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond and bought a mat for my front door. It's a holiday mat, actually, complete with snowflakes. While I am kind of getting excited about the holidays, I have to confess: my agnostic self didn't buy it to spread a festive atmosphere. I bought it because it was cheap, and I fully recognize that I'm never going to replace it. It's going to be Christmas at my place FOREVER.

Speaking of which...I next went to Target and bought Christmas ornaments. Snazzy ones. The problem now is that I don't have a tree. Those things are expensive! The fake ones, I mean. (I can't be trusted with a fresh one. Not after last time). Particularly since I've decided I want to fulfill my childhood dream of having one of those trees that has fake snow on it. My parents would never go for it, and neither would my ex-husband. I know they're tacky (the trees, not my family), but you know what? This is all me now. Me and my weirdly decorated artistic lair. Unfortunately, it's really hard to find snowy trees that are both inexpensive and fire safe. Harder still to find ones at shorter heights. I really don't know if I need a 7' tree, so I'll keep searching.

So, stay tuned. Holiday and dry wall news to follow. For now, though, it's 3am, and I need some sleep.

While Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge got cozy with Neil Gaiman this weekend, I celebrated the condo's successful attainment of functionality and finally hosted my housewarming/birthday party! It goes without saying that good times ensued. I got awesome gifts like: a tv stand, a brain-shaped Jell-O mold (thank you, Mark Henry), and knives. And, between my own collection and what guests brought, we ended up with 16 bottles of wine, champagne, and/or mead. Don't worry, we didn't drink them all. But as you can see from the pictures, they still made the rounds--and appeared to have led to much profound conversation and deep thinking.

Seattle's writer crew turned out, with Cherie Priest on the left and Mr. and Mrs. Kat Richardson on the right. My friends Jen and Chad are in the middle, without whom I would have no furniture. It would all be sitting at the bottom of the stairs to my building. I would be sitting with it. Crying.



Interesting note: if you look in the background, you can catch a glimpse of these shelves which hold nothing except copies of my own books. I needed something to do with my extras and threw them there, having no idea how many there were. It looked like a Barnes and Noble display and/or a shrine I built to myself.



I think the real belle of the ball was my UK copy of Succubus Blues, which no one had seen before. Many coveted it.



In fact, Christina could barely keep herself together upon learning she wouldn't be allowed to leave the party with it.



Meanwhile, I engage in what was apparently the first of many thoughtful conversations that evening. My hair obscures most of my face, but I'm wearing this pensive, universe-pondering look.



For someone who grumbles when we take her picture, Cherie is one of the most photogenic people I know.



More deep stuff. Jay and I stare in awe at the dining gift certificates Heidi and John have just given me. As you can see from the perplexed looks on all our faces, these gift certificates are actually quite complex to redeem. Or maybe the wine just made them seem complex.



Katie will neither yield my desk chair nor aid in the theft of the UK SB.



I think this is my favorite picture from the party. You might notice I've now switched up to white wine. I have no clue what Mark Henry and I were talking about, but man, does it look intense. I suppose it could be any one of these topics: writing, reality TV, our mutual agent and editor, brain Jell-O molds, unicorns, or Thai restaurants. Whatever it is, odds are it is *so* deep, you would never be able to handle it.



Many thanks to my lovely guests and their generosity!

And it is so fast. And so sweet. And so MINE.

Well, I finally ordered internet service. I went with DSL from Qwest. I know that's not a perfect solution, but none of them are, and aside from their website exploding prior to my previoius entry, they've caused me the least pain. Naturally, I have to wait a week for "installation"--aka when the guy flips the switch outside my building. Sigh.

In other news, I've begun the Herculean task of unpacking books. I've got about 2.5 boxes out on my bookshelves, 4 that will go in storage, and 3 that are being donated. Oh, and 2 boxes of extra copies of my own books. I would have liked the donation stack to be bigger, but considering this is me we're talking about, the fact that I'm donating any is pretty impressive.

All the other news is just a laundry list. Today I had the last doctor's appointment to verify that I'm in good health, so the pain from a few weeks ago remains a mystery. Considering it's all gone, however, I guess I have no reason to fret. The root canal specialist never called back, but it doesn't hurt anymore either, so I'll simply hold off and face my dentist's wrath. Succubus Dreams is slowly coming along. I'm having to do it on the laptop until the place is unpacked, and that's destroying my hands and wrists. Again.

And...that's it for now, I guess. I'll try to have more interesting entries soon. And yeah, I'm still behind on responses--the lack of reliable internet isn't helping.

Ok, I didn't actually cry, but it was pretty touch and go there for a while.

Naturally, when you move into any new place, you have to take care of the essentials. Unpacking. Changing your address. And, of course, setting up an internet connection. I could give you the big three hour ordeal that took place this morning, but that would bore both of us. Suffice to say, I was pretty upset when it wrapped up. I chose not to order anything from them, and I think this IM conversation with a friend of mine sums up why.

Me: I think I'm going to get DSL from Qwest.
Friend: Why bother with DSL? Isn't it easier to get cable from Comcast?
Me: Because Comcast pissed me off.
Friend: Fair enough.

So, that's the status right now, and I think I'll hold off on officially ordering cable TV for a bit too. Instead, I'll watch shows via iTunes. It's cheaper since I don't watch that much TV anyway, plus I can take the shows to the gym on the iPod and multitask. All in all, good solutions.

In other condo news, I unpacked six boxes last night, but you can't really tell. My cats are pretty excited about all the boxes because it's like catacombs for them. I think they'll be sad when I finally get it all put away. And speaking of cats, I took my first shower today with the new shower curtain. Those cats were watching me. Not sure how I feel about that.

FYI - still behind in email and LJ comment responses. Sorry. :(

Well, it's official. I'm now living in Fremont. Yesterday was The Big Moving Day, and wow, let me tell you: it was quite an operation. It involved 11 people and had 5 distinct phases spanning 3 cities. The really astonishing thing about the plan is that it...well, unfolded exactly according to plan. Honestly, I can't credit my organizational skills with this. True props need to go to my friends, who lifted and hauled and ran up and down those flights of stairs. (Those orange couches are apparently hard to match AND lift). At the risk of sounding sappy here, I'm astonished to realize I have so many people in my life who care about me and would do such nice things for me. I don't say that in the context of "Gah! I don't deserve friends!" but rather "Wow! How did I get so lucky to have all of these wonderful people around me?"

But now that the stuff is in, the hard part now comes: unpacking.




Yeah. As you can see, I have a few things to unpack. It's going to be a toss-up this week to see which gets to me first: the need to finish Succubus Dreams or the desire to live in a functioning home. As it is, I missed the latter last night when I cut myself unpacking. I had blood gushing from my finger and was like, "I need anti-bac soap and Band-aids!" Then, I was like, "Oh my god. Where *are* the anti-back soap and Band-aids?" A hunt then commenced throughout the boxes, during which I managed not to bleed on the new place.

At the end of last night, I had accomplished a few notable things. Like hanging this shower curtain:

Let's see a close-up:


That cat shower curtain seemed like a really good idea when I bought it half-asleep yesterday, but I've since realized that having that in my home will forever brand me as a single woman. So, that may get replaced with something more tasteful. In the meantime, I'm hoping this will earn my coolness points back:



Liquor and a Count Dracula cookie jar. Home Sweet Home.

Oh, wow. There's a lot to report around here. First off, for those asking about the condo. It is MINE. I got the keys yesterday, but let me tell you, it wasn't easy. I was still faxing paperwork two hours before closing. But in the end, everyone was satisfied, and I am now a homeowner. *Happy sigh*

The other news is that I spent Halloween at Hugo House, one of Seattle's most awesome writers organizations. There, the illustrious Cherie Priest and other winners read horror stories for our delight. Hugo House used to be a mortuary and is allegedly haunted, so the venue was extra appropriate.


You know Hugo House is haunted because the sign tells you so.


The lovely Ms. Priest prepares for her performance.


Naturally, Halloween costumes were requisite. Caitlin went as a lady version of Dr. Who.


As for me, I didn't have the funds for a costume, so I just dug out the slutty clothes I don't normally wear. This is my "sexy" pose. Yeah, I know. I failed. You also can't appreciate the sluttiness of the clothes. The corset is under the jacket, and my skirt is uber short. It ends right at the bottom of the pic.


At last, Cherie reads! Her story kicked major ass and will be appearing in Apex for those who'd like to check it out.


There was also a raffle for cool carved pumpkins depicting such illustrious figures as Agent Smith and Kurt Cobain. This undead metal head guy won half of them. Seriously.


After the festivities, we headed over to Fremont so I could show off the new condo. Later, we sought out food. While walking around, we passed something guaranteed to convince you how awesome Fremont is:


Yeah. Fremont rules.

Last bit of news, I'm sending you this post from University Bookstore where I'm waiting in line to see Bill Clinton. The signing is at 8pm, and I've been here since 3pm. Even after arriving so early, the line had long since stretched around the store. It's insane. The bookstore staff even brought around food and water for us. Reports to follow.

Well, I think I'm 24 hours away from owning the condo. The road has been long and fraught with difficulties, but most of it appears to be settled. I had a really frustrating/funny series of phone calls to post here in dialogue form, but I've now forgotten them because they occurred while I was half-asleep this morning, trying to recover from feeling sick to my stomach. Finally, I managed to make it out the door sans shower and makeup. Honestly, considering how god-awful and scruffy I looked, I'm a bit disappointed my bank gave me that ginormous cashier's check without more intense identity verification. After that, it was off to sign my life away at escrow in downtown Seattle. Closing allegedly occurs tomorrow, though the lender later called saying he needs a letter from the lawyer. Not sure how that works since I signed paperwork today saying they'd give me a loan.

But enough of my real estate drama. I have real news. Today is the release date for The Road to Hell, the second book in the Hell on Earth series by my peep Jackie Kessler. If you haven't read the series, I encourage you--nay, order you--to do it now. It's about a succubus-turned-stripper and makes the sex scenes I write look downright softcore. It's also wicked funny, much like Jackie herself. Good times, I tell ya.

Okay, first things first: we have a winner for the Best. Contest. Ever. It's Johanna--who was the lucky person to be drawn out of many who had correct entries. Thanks so much to everyone who entered! We appreciate you playing and hope we can all do it again someday. Johanna, hope you've got some reading time...

In other news, I'm making plans to decorate my condo in as much as anyone with an uber-limited budget can. (Of course, this is all contingent on the lawyer and the lender making friends with each other--so far things have been quiet on that front). As a refresher, here's the living room I'm dealing with:


And here are the couches--as modeled by Caitlin Kittredge and Jackie Kessler--that I'm trying to build a decorating scheme around:


Yeah. This isn't going to be easy. Golds and earth tones are currently the big winners for the walls. I'm cool with those, but I'd also kind of like something in the blue family. Regardless of what I choose, good times are going to ensue when I decide because I've never painted a wall before. Naturally, I'll photograph the whole spectacle for your amusement.

Not much else to report today. Mostly it's packing, writing, and taking care of loose ends. I'm really behind on my e-mail and LJ comments, so I apologize profusely for those who are waiting to hear from me. Oh, I've posted the Frostbite back cover description for those who couldn't read it on the image yesterday. It's here. And for those in search of more reading material, I recommend the LOLCat Bible. Quite possibly the finest piece of literature in Western Civilization. Oh, Martin Luther...what have you wrought?

I suppose I shouldn't post about being sick and then disappear for a couple days, huh? Rest easy, I'm alive and well. The back pain has tapered off a bit, though it isn't going away...sooo, off to the doctor for me tomorrow. It does, fortunately, seem to be unrelated to the other ailments, so hopefully I just have a bunch of little things wrong and not one big one.

And speaking of little things...where'd all this stress come from? I was pretty happy there for a bit...still am, really, but suddenly my dance card's getting full. Turns out buying real estate in the midst of a divorce involves some substantial paperwork--most of which I don't understand but am expected to. Meanwhile on the other side of the country, I'm trying to sell some property I own in Michigan, which involves an entirely different set of paperwork. Most of which is faxed. Then, of course, there's planning the move, Succubus on Top promotion, Frostbite copy edits, and oh, yeah. Aren't I supposed to be writing that third succubus book?

And hey! Speaking of which, here it is, the back cover description for Succubus Dreams, fresh from my publisher. This is the first time I've received cover copy for a book I haven't actually finished writing yet. A bit surreal, really--especially since the #2 isn't even out yet.

People who haven't read book #1 might not want to read this since it tips off the romantic ending of that one a little. Otherwise, there are no real spoilers for those who have read #1 but not #2 (i.e. most of you):

Some days, a girl just can’t catch a break…

…especially when the girl in question is Georgina Kincaid, a shape-shifting succubus who gets her energy from seducing men. First there’s her relationship with gorgeous bestselling writer Seth Mortensen, which is unsatisfying on a number of levels. It’s not just that they can’t have sex in case Georgina inadvertently kills him (generally a turn-off for most guys). Lately, even spending time together is a challenge. Seth's obsessed with finishing his latest novel, and Georgina's under demonic orders to mentor the new (and surprisingly inept) succubus on the block.

Then there are the dreams. Someone, or something, is preying on Georgina at night, draining her energy, and supplying eerie visions of her future. Georgina seeks answers from Dante, a dream interpreter with ties to the underworld, but his flirtatious charm only leaves her more confused—especially as the situation with Seth reaches crisis point. Now Georgina faces a double challenge—reign in her out-of-control love life, and go toe-to-toe with an enemy capable of wreaking serious havoc among mankind. Otherwise, Georgina, and the entire mortal world, may never sleep easy again…

So, it's awfully hard to write the third succubus book and promote the second when so many shiny and new things are happening. Today I took the next step into adulthood: I put in an offer on a Seattle condo and it was accepted. I'm about to become a homeowner! Admittedly, I owned a home with my ex-husband, but this is the first time I've gone through it all on my own and really paid attention to things like closing costs and interest. Those bastards are high.

I know this change in residence comes as a shock to those who have grown to love the idea of me and Caitlin as roommates, but we knew that was temporary until I straightened out my finances. What I didn't expect was for them to straighten out so quickly or for such an affordable place to pop up. It's sad to move again, but I had to act, and lo, here we are.

Being in Seattle, the place is pretty small for what it costs. I'm already fighting another battle with spatial relations to figure out the most optimal way to fit a couch, loveseat, and TV into this living room. The long wall you see here is about 14 feet at most:


But don't worry. We can worry about decorating the place once I take possession. For now, we have more important things to worry about, like me teaching you how utterly cool this place's location is. The condo is in Fremont, a Seattle neighborhood that is quite possibly way, way too cool for the likes of me. For those who have forgotten the Cool Boundaries of Seattle, let me refresh your memory with a map I made earlier this year:


To see where Fremont is and appreciate its coolness, we need to zoom into the Cool Part. I apologize if the font is hard to read; it was difficult finding a color that worked on all parts of the background:


As you can see, Fremont is in the center of all that coolness. It's traditionally been known as "the hippie neighborhood" and still has a strong community of artists. But, like so many Seattle areas, it's becoming revamped and seeing an influx of new building projects and young professionals. Let's hope my own coolness level is up to the challenge. Reports forthcoming.

Oh, and speaking of reports, Ginormous Grow Cobra reached his peak at just under 5'. His tub has since been drained, but he doesn't appear to be shrinking back yet. I'll get some pics for you as soon as I can.

And, hey, remember guys: the book scavenger hunt ends on Saturday!