Road Trip

It's been four years since I've had a vacation. I almost got to take one this week - and I apologize (as usual) for being dilatory about posting, because I was prepping to take a road trip to visit friends. I arranged some rather complicated scheduling of who was going to be home when, turned in my manuscript, tidied my house so the cat-sitter wouldn't think I'm a slob, arranged car rental because I don't want to worry about engine-trouble halfway between East Jesus and Mordor, arranged massively long playlists, re-arranged my research appointment and had the requisite number of nightmares about getting lost on cliff-tops or the cats escaping.

Late in the afternoon of the day before my departure (which was scheduled for 9 a.m.), about an hour after I had cleaned out the refrigerator, horrible noises from within the walls informed me that the air conditioner had died. (Or that something extraterrestrial was attempting to materialize in the laundry-room). For a number of reasons connected with this, that pulled the plug on the vacation. I spent the rest of the day arranging repairs, putting box-fans all over the house (predicted highs in my area this week are about 100 degrees, and so far those predictions are accurate), cancelling cat-sitter and rental car, and buying fresh groceries.

Like the worshipers of Chthlhu, I am now waiting for the stars of friends' schedules to come around to their proper positions again.

And doing preliminary research for the next couple of mysteries, which is always fascinating, sometimes frustrating, and sometimes appalling (like finding out that the city regulations governing non-local free blacks visiting New Orleans in 1840 were a LOT more draconian and disgusting than I had previously encountered. It always bothers me when I get something inaccurate. This wasn't something that turned up in most books about the history of the city - and with good reason!). (On the other hand, the book about male fortune-hunters in the 1920s-60s - Million Dollar Studs by Alice-Leone Moats - was pretty damn entertaining.)

And listening to the reassuring hum of the repaired air conditioner. If you're in the San Fernando Valley, Canoga Park Heating and Air Conditioning does a REALLY good job.

In other news, Open Road Media has a whole slew of fantasies on sale Wednesday, July 13 (the day when I would supposedly have been homeward bound...). The Silicon Mage and Dog Wizard (books 2 & 3 of the Antryg Windrose series), The Rainbow Abyss and The Magicians of Night (the duology Sun-Cross), and The Dark Hand of Magic (the third Sun Wolf/Starhawk novel), all on sale, digitally, US, $1.99 apiece.

I will have to be content to visit the Pleasure Planet of Risa in Star Trek Online, and build sand-castles on the beach with other members of my posse.
 

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