Kyra Paige

Born on the 15th. 7 pounds, 3 ounces. 20.4 inches. She is a marvel and a source of constant entertainment. It's [Kee-rah] by the way.

The birth was quick, and by all the medical-types' accounts a "great" birth, which is not to say that there was not a stretch of pain-filled, contraction-per-minute hours that I can only vaguely remember now. Epidurals are medicine's greatest acheivement, IMO. She came out squawking and purple. Needless to say, she was beautiful from the first moment.

We're settling in as a family here. The hub is working from home, which is a huge help, and I'm still fielding stuff for the mag, having never had time or even the inclination to try to explain Quickbooks and all the financial stuff to other staff members. It's just too complicated and I'd spend more time answering questions than I do just dealing with it. And I like to stay in touch with everything that's going on, especially with the current Post Office drama. Did I mention that the PO fucked things up majorly? They got rid of all of the international economy rates, and did so with out any warning. They also raised the rates for periodicals by about 30%, hammering yet another nail into the coffin of the magazine industry. Bleah.

Until I'm back full time though, Mzmelia is traveling with Z'boss, and they're off to Readercon next week. I'm looking forward to Saratoga Springs, though...

Home

We made it.

Details to follow.

In limbo (whinge warning)

Simply put. Ten days till my due date, full bed rest, so tired of being horizontal, excruciatingly uncomfortable 40% of the time... and waiting.

People keep telling me to enjoy this part, "the easy part." Not only am I not really the kind of person who seeks out "easy" on a regular basis, but who likes "easy" when it's effing uncomfortable? Everything hurts. I can't put weight on my right leg in the evenings without my pelvis separating (click, grind, OW!). Mind you, I am very happy to be having a baby. And I am SO ready to meet her. Blame it on anticipation. But enough complaining already...

I love my friends. Blake texted me in the middle of the night from Wiscon, something along the lines of "Dude!! Getting drunk, miss you!" in what was apparently one of his last sober moments of the con -- ain't that sweet. Hanna, Tracy, Jessie, and my sis have all been keeping me from going crazy by calling and visiting me at home regularly. Soon, soon, she will be here and I will be up again.

Bedrest Buddy

My next con will be WFC in New York in November. I can't wait. The hub has already been told he's on baby duty for the week and will have to take time off for it.

Totally low-tech (no scanner at home) alien-looking ultrasound shots .
Baby cross sections = creepy stuff.


39 wks LMP (37 wks gestation)

Baby weighs 7.25 lbs or 3288 grams. Baby is 19.96 inches or 50.7 cm long.

Lloyd Alexander

One of the perks working for the magazine is meeting so many authors I would never meet otherwise. I'm usually not intimidated by meeting famous folks and rarely find myself feeling nervous, but last year when I was conscripting people to write essays for the YA issue, I called up Lloyd Alexander to ask him for a piece and found myself completely fluttery before I called. Discovering his Prydain series at age 11 was my entry into genre reading, my transition from my early mainstay of all the mythology and "real ghost" stories I could get my hands on to fantasy, horror, and then the final inevitable plunge into science fiction. When I spoke to him, he was completely charming, though apologetic that he could not write something for me as he had recently taken a spill and broken his leg (or maybe his hip? can't remember). We chatted for about ten minutes, and at the end of the call, I blurted out something about how his books were the reason I love SF today. He was very sweet.


It's a strange thing, when an author who's writing had a strong effect on you passes away, it feels like something irreplacable has been lost.

Primigravidas

Week 36 is Friday. Week 37 is term, my first goal; her lungs will probably be finished developing by then... and maybe they'll induce. Or not. Modern medicine, sheesh.

Lunar Month 10, 36 wks LMP (34 wks gestation)

Baby weighs 5.78 lbs or 2622 grams. Baby is 18.66 inches or 47.4 cm long.

In the meantime, I'm on full bedrest. I had a brief period where I could go to work three hours a day, which was at least something. I now am stuck in bed full time, trying to do some work on my laptop, and finding it a frustrating prospect. It's all because of my blood pressure, which has always been a bit high, but it makes the doctors very nervous now. So I go in three times a week for testing, but all the tests show the baby is doing great. Which is a relief.

I can now watch my belly do the boogaloo all by itself, which is a fascinating event I could stare at for hours. Never boring. Right now Savannah is high in the running for names. Thoughts?

Of course, I didn't finish getting ready to leave work, with new people trained up and all my work done in advance, as I had hoped. But I'm trying to do as much as I can from here. Z'boss keeps calling and checking on me, as does Mzmelia. So I have a lot of support, despite the fact that my mother and sister both are out of the country for the next two weeks ):(|), one in Australia visiting the family, and the other in Spain for work. And both have said they'll be upset if I have her before they're back, like I can cross my legs and hold her there if she decides she's done...

Bedrest, ack.

33 wks LMP (31 wks gestation)

Baby weighs 4.23 lbs or 1918 grams. Baby is 17.2 inches or 43.7 cm long.


Bad news from doctor. My blood pressure is up, and I'm on bedrest till next week. My workaholism is flaring rapidly, but I'm doing my best to not stress out about the mag. It's actually not the worst time: deadline is over, the next few issues should be business as usual, with any luck, and all I have to get done right away is some billing... I've got four doctor appointments in the next week, though, now, so they can see if I have pre-eclampsia or not. Bleah.

I had a fantastic baby shower last weekend. Coed, lots of friends, a keg, great food. Can't thank Miss Amie and my sister enough for throwing it. Not to mention the 30-some hand-painted onesies and 590 q-tips I now have... crazy.

My belly feels like it is growing at a ridiculous rate. I can feel her when she's shifting position in there now, not just when she kicks. The bad news is I think she's found my bladder and is playing "make mum run to the bathroom" with it. Still working on the name thing, though we're closing in on a few good candidates.

Went to ICFA and World Horror since I last posted. Both were great: fun, but tiring. Ft. Lauderdale was warm and muggy, but not crazily so. Had some good meetings and ended up with 4 interviews in the can, when we had only scheduled one. Got to hang out with Gary Wolfe and Graham Sleight a bit, had a fantastic lunch with Geoff Ryman (more joke swapping, the repetoire continues to grow), had a wee spot of late night by the pool hanging out with guitar and singing and conversations (my favorite part of ICFA actually). I wonder how Orlando will compare...

WHC was in Toronto, a city I had never visited before, always a plus. I got to a lunch with Guy Kay, hung with John & Traci and Chris & Allison a bit (my favorites to see at cons). I hadn't spent much time with Liz Gorinsky or George Mann before, and am pleased to have done so now. Roberta Lannes is a kick, and I hope she will keep coming to cons. Didn't get to hang out with a few folks I had hoped to spend more time with, but isn't that always the case. Seemed like it was over before it really got going (mostly since my late-night partying days are on hold right now), but I was still exhausted by the time I got on the plane.

Edited 60-some pages of Clute, Straub, and Wolfe down on the plane, eventually to the requisite 25 (with some help from Tim!), a task I wouldn't wish on anyone. Got the horror essays in shape. Did photo layouts for both ICFA and WHC, which is by itself more than we would usually put into a single month. My god, it was a crazy issue. But it's done, and I have no more special issues coming out or travel planned till after the baby arrives. Thanks to everyone that helped us ID folks -- that's always the tricky part. AndI hope everyone enjoys our Look at Horror. We try to keep the dark stuff in the mix, sometimes more difficult depending on what is being published... Last year's issue was light on the articles, this year's is more substantial. Gives us a chance to dig in a little deeper and see what the folks who are on the inside have to say about it.

Belly, by request

Have received requests for belly updates... I've had about every prenatal test known to mankind, and they've all had good results. It's a girl, and we have about 15 names in the running, so the debate continues. I'm about ready to have a "Name That Baby" contest.

At 28 wks out of 40, I'm starting now to freak out slightly about the whole birth gig. Under strict orders from my doctor not to let anyone tell me birthing horror stories, and other than a certain writer/med student telling me about how smelly newborns, and births in general, are, I've managed to. I've gained about 15 pounds, which combined with my inability to work out earlier this year because of my back & shoulder problems, leaves me feeling like a whale! But a happy whale. Wondering when my belly button will disappear...

Lunar Month 8, 28 wks LMP (26 wks gestation)

Baby weighs 2.22 lbs or 1005 grams. Baby is 14.8 inches or 37.6 cm long

DreamHaven and more...

We received a note from Greg Ketter that DreamHaven Books was broken into this week, and though insurance will cover what was taken, the robbers wreaked havoc, destroying the office, etc. More about this can be found on Neil Gaiman's blog. This is a hard hit for them, and they are an important part of the community. Please take a moment to look at their online catalog, show some love, and buy something you've been wanting.

On that note, I like a good deal as much as the next person, but I also try to keep in mind that if I don't shop regularly from my local stores like Dark Carnival, Other Change of Hobbit, and Borderlands, they will go away. You can't replace the feeling of going into a brick-and-mortar store chock full of the books you want to read, yet every year we lose more specialty stores, with people shopping from the chains and online mega-retailers in increasing numbers. So in addition to taking the time to show some support for DreamHaven, remember to shop at a local bookseller, as well. Thanks.

Tahoe

Weekend in the Sierras with Dina, Brian & Hannah, JR, & Amelia -- not much snow, but we went sledding, took a hike by the lake, played liar's dice till the wee hours...

Surprise, surprise.

I just converted my blog to Google, and a pile of posts came tumbling out asking to be moderated. So to all those whose posts weren't showing up (JP especially, who tried multiple times before giving up entirely) -- sorry! I wasn't deleting you, I didn't have comments set on moderate, and I have no idea why some came through but others didn't. Weird, but I'm a n00b anyway and expect stuff to not work. It seems to be fixed now, at least. And I changed the song I had up from Peachfish. Couldn't stand listening to myself sing flat!

Spike is kicking regularly, which is comforting. Without that, I have nothing other than my ever-expanding waistline to let me know things are still going well in there.

Things are crazy at The Mag. Trying to get the horror coverage together and the awards ceremony organized, while doing a Forthcoming Books issue and still looking for a replacement for Karlyn, who quit last month. So we're short-staffed and overloaded with work. Eh, business as usual, but it would be nice to have a new person in place to start picking up the slack. We'll get there. We've got a bunch of applicants, but it's such a particular kind of job....

Five Things You Don't Know About Me.

Memes, memes, the magical fruit...
Abi, stinkbug that she is, memed me. I never do these things, but for her, this once....

And this is harder than you might think, for someone with ZERO sense of privacy. I keep thinking up these morbid confessional tidbits that won't do at all. Ah well, here goes:

1. OH, THE DOMESTICITY
I knit. Not very quickly, and certainly not very well. But I do knit. I know, not exactly mind-blowing, but I'm warming up...

2. THE NICKNAME
My nickname (in my family) is BR. At about the age of three, I announced I wanted to be a football player. To be later modified to aspirations of kangaroo-hood. This was followed by a brief period of wanting to be a bunny rabbit, which unfortunately stuck, and my nickname throughout my childhood (and for a few family members even still today) was BR. You can figure out what it's short for.

3. ZOOM-ZOOM
Okay, more contemporary stuff: Every time I see one of those commercials on the telly with high-performance cars zoom-zoom-zooming along Black Rock salt flats, with their synchronized fishtailing and all that, I feel extremely jealous. I would love to drive like that. Left over from my motorcycling days, maybe. I love the feeling of riding the perfect line, but pushing it fast enough that the tires are just on the edge of tearing off the asphalt.

4. SPIKE
Hmm, this is getting tricky... I can do that same thing that Martin can with his eyes, in fact we compared techniques when I was out visiting in Scotland, but have no pictures of myself doing it.... That's copying, anyway. Let's see.... Oh, my yet-to-be-born baby, now a whole 22-weeks old (in utero) and who will make her grand entrance sometime this June, has been dubbed "Spike" by Gary K. Wolfe, and now is referred to by that name at The Mag. Go figger... Spike....

5. A TUNE
How about a song? I doubt anyone reading this has actually heard my old band, Peachfish. This is our bass player Alex and myself, singing a "bar hall" tune.


Cafe de la Presse © Peachfish 1999

Wow, am I a lame blogger, or what? Despite regular pangs of blog guilt, I still have failed to post anything lately. All those photos I was gonna put up, brilliant witticisms to drop on the unsuspecting masses, groovy links to clever postings by other folks, yeah... that was gonna be great. But after working all day on my computer at The Mag, I just don't find much energy to get back online at home.

I do have an excuse for all that exhaustion though -- I'm pregnant. Wacky, huh? 16 weeks. It's a rollercoaster, but I'm enjoying it. I kind of go from random euphoric moments of bliss to wanting to rip people's heads off for moving too slowly in the grocery store... but I *am* trying to keep all the hormonal swings in check. If I growled at anyone at WFC, accept my heartfelt, pregnant apologies.

I also just stopped fitting into all of my pants in one fell swoop last week, which is a bummer. I've still got six months to go!

So virtual smooches to all my friends; I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday, and have a drink for me on New Year's Eve. Toodles!!

In case you haven't actually seen the geek chart.

Fave photo of the con.

October has arrived

It's been a rough year. I caught myself reveling in the cold weather and fog we've had the last couple of days, knowing that it's the season changing, and wanting to move forward. Looking forward to winter, snowboarding, family gatherings. I've been keeping myself busy, looking forward to World Fantasy in Austin, one of the places I always wanted to go to with the band since the music scene supposed to be great there. But we never made it.

Photos are from Mzmelia's & my cablecar adventure in the city.

Reading: THE FACTS OF LIFE, by Graham Joyce
DREAMS OF ENCHANTMENT, by Graham Joyce
THE KEEPER, by Sarah Langan

I flew through DREAMS OF ENCHANTMENT. Really couldn't put it down till it was finished, then I dug out the other ones by Graham I hadn't gotten to. THE FACTS OF LIFE had the same feel, similar characterizations, but different time and place. Both could be called fantasy, or could be read as straight fiction, but the feeling is definitely fantasy for me; that sense that things are always slightly tweaked. I am always impressed at his ability to draw the reader into the families he writes about. An excellent writer, all around. Starting TWOC tonight.

THE KEEPER I read a month ago or so. I hadn't heard much about, and was surprised to enjoy it, having never heard of Langan. Nothing wowee zang-bob new about it, but fun, in that dark way horror can be fun.

Wow

I got a Hugo. Wow, again. What a crazy thing. It's for the magazine, but I am sure not going to knock it. It's sitting there on my dining room sideboard in all its chrome-and-navy blue glory. My first time up onstage with such a big crowd in a long time, and I was really nervous.
The convention was fun, but weirdly frenetic. I spent a hilarious evening with Paolo Bacigalupi and Blake Charlton, discussing the various implications of furries and plushies and steatophygia until the wee hours of the morn. The rest of the nights seemed to pass in a blur -- thank you everyone who contributed to my intoxication -- but I met some new folks and got to see some of my favorites.
We had the whole staff there, which was a kick, and a luxury. Mzmelia and Kar did a fabulous job selling subscriptions and the new anthologies, and we may have covered our expenses and then some. Had some good discussions on the future of the field, what science fiction is becoming, what will happen to fantasy when the boom busts (if it does), how horror fits into it all. As always, I wish I could have spent more time, had more one-on-one conversations, etc. I walk away with one phrase recurring in my head: Brook no bullshit. There's a lot of posturing at these things that I find unnecessary. H.E.'s grabbing Connie onstage was reprehensible, and out of respect for her, I drop it there.
All in all, I think it was a success and am trying to figure out how to get to Japan next year.
Photos to follow.
xoLiza
Reading: CELL by Stephen King
UNLUNDUN by China Mieville

more yet

Went with best friends to mountains and played on rope swing at lake. Saw snakes. Miss old times terribly.

JCS

I'm watching Jesus Christ Superstar. What an experience. This came out in 1973, and my older sister used to listen to the soundtrack album over and over again. She and I would act out the parts, me way too young to understand any of it. I actually have the album, and no turntable to play it on. See my eyes, I can hardly see.

I'm going to Writer's of the Future, in San Diego, I think. First solo mission.

OK, I'm back on the blog track. It's good to be back. This is a picture of me and my mum; I can't describe to you how sharp, no clever, wait maybe... no I can't describe her right. She rocks.

Been avoiding you

Okay, not really you. But I haven't been able to find the time to figure out a profession-appropriate version of my life to relate.

Jonathan Strahan's anthologies fell into our communal lap. So we're publishing them under Locus Press. They're great, and it's a very cool experience. Our friends at various publishers, as well as independents Nightshade and Tachyon, and Eileen Gunn and John Berry, have been giving us their most sage advice. John Picacio is letting us use a couple of images for nothing close to what he's worth these days, and it's just cos he's such a fucking nice guy. Tim Pratt has put to good use his InDesign and graphic design skills, which we don't get to take advantage of as much as we should. They will stand on the work of the authors and editor alone, but we're doing our best to present them as they deserve to be presented. And, of course, it's way to much to be putting on one plate, but my eyes are always bigger than my stomach.

On to the Nebula weekend. I love Arizona, I have to say. Heat agrees with me. Not so much the humidity, but heat I can do. Met Harlan Ellison. Hung out with Connie and finally had a real conversation with her daughter Cordelia, an opportunity I will not let slip by again.

Then there was World Horror. Meals at Tommy's Joint with 10+ people. Conversations with Chris Roberson. I was really tired the whole time, though. Becoming more and more fond of Jeremy and Jason of Nightshade. Did not get to spend enough time with John and Tracy. Next time.

That's all I've got for now. My life is too much with me to describe. But there is hope still. And work is good.