YOU'RE HAVING A WHAT?!

(baby girl #2 will arrive mid-May 2009)

World Fantasy in Calgary

World Fantasy was great, over too quickly, and still exhausting. The con itself was in a perfect hotel. Chris Roberson held court in the lounge, and a steady supply of Aussies and Brits also helped keep things lively in the bar. I never really got to dig in there and join in the random, comical conversations that happen in the bar at a good con -- but that's how it always is for me. A little more work than fun. But the work is good, so...

Had dinner with Guy Gavriel Kay and Garth Nix, a couple of the nicest writers you could meet. Wandered around the city with Garth, Shaun Tan, and Jonathan Strahan, then again with Jen West & Ken Scholes after our interview -- which was a lot of fun by the way, and I hope to see it in the Feb or March issue. Dinner with Chris Schelling was a blast -- the restaurant was just over the top, and our waiter had no idea what to do with us.

Didn't get to hang with John Picacio enough. Or Lou and Chris and Allison. Did wander around happily with Daryl Gregory on Friday night. At least I think it was Friday. Oh yeah, Sarah Palin was in the bar; it was definitely Friday. In the way the certain topics repeat themselves during a convention, I ended up in separate but similar conversations with Marc Gascoigne, Lou Anders, John Silbersack, and Diana Gill about the value of SF that brings back the feelings of books we first read as young SF readers, but without the markers that chase off today's young readers (ie saving up boxtops to send away for the free spacesuit and other novel 50s conventions). I like complex SF as much as the next person, but we need some gateway books to get the new readers interested, and YA ain't gonna do it alone. I didn't get my books from the children's section when I was a kid...

Discussions on urban fantasy with Diana, Ginjer Buchanan, Ellen Datlow, Jennifer Heddle (who for some reason I had never hung out with before, but she's great), Beth Meacham, Liz Scheier, and others left me feeling better equipped for the urban fantasy issue I'm putting together for next year -- to look at what's out there, what's good, what's being confused with para-normal romance, etc.

We had a great interview with Graham Joyce, one of my favorite writers -- despite the fact that he doesn't write SF ;). He is a kick to to hang out with. Especially over some whisky. (No really, if you haven't read something by him go read something now. Anything. My favorites are The Facts of Life, The Limits of Enchantment, Smoking Poppy, The Tooth Fairy, Do the Creepy Thing, and I'm reading How to Make Friends With Demons right now.)

Calgary came with a couple of problems. The bone-dry air and the altitude (it's the "kilometer-high city" -- nothing too extraordinary but I do live at sea level) left me suffering from random headaches. And there was a noticeable smell there. One person told me it was from the cattle ranches outside of town. Someone else said the construction site down the block had hit a sewer line. Didn't really make a difference why, it just stank. Like poop. Inside the hotel. Unfortunate. Especially since I am olfactory enhanced in my secondigravidas state.

I made it back from the con to hit the ground running hard here at the mag. We're getting both the awards writeup and con report in this issue instead of breaking them up, which is a huge amount of work for the shortened Thanksgiving sched. But I just handed off the bulk of the work to production today, and it's gravy from here. Great to see you all there! (Thanks to Mzmelia who let me steal from her photos.)

It was fun, but boy was it hot.

In the market in Puerto Vallarta, past the garlic and the dried chiles and just at the bin of overripe mangoes and papayas, there was a smell, really a musk, so disconcerting and memory soaked I had to stop in my tracks to process the experience. I don't even know what the exact memories were, just a full body sort of deja vu, entirely provoked by the smell.

The rest of the trip was mostly unremarkable. Funny how that works. It was nice to be a family hanging out, instead of a family just trying to get all the day-to-day crap done. The hub drank a few too many beers and got a rip-roaring sunburn. I got to play in the ocean with Kyra. We were stunned by how expensive it all was, slapped in the face by the value of the US dollar. I didn't have access to the Internet, so managed to not think about work for several days in a row.

PV is not the Mexico I am in love with, though. Similar, but not the place I used to escape to in my 20s, living in a palapa with a Zapotecan family, reading and swimming and sleeping and beating back my workaholism. I don't really think that Mexico still exists.

It's been a strange week.

Went to my 20-year high school reunion last weekend. I thought perhaps, that after 20 years, the specific high school experience would be not as important to people as having grown up together; the fact that some of these folks went to school K through 12 with me would mean more than the rest. A lot of them were my good friends until middle school when, alarmingly, appearance became more important than... well than anything else. I was wrong. Several people with whom I had been very good friends as a child just seemed remote and uncomfortable. Maybe it was just them. On the other hand, I was pleased to discover that Craig Ruffolo is just a really nice guy, and Josh and Brenda and Charles, among others, continue to be very cool and I was happy to reconnect with them.

The picnic on Sunday, however, was much more laid back. Everyone's kids were running around together. Joe Poppas and I geeked out on SF for a good 45 minutes. Made me feel better about the whole thang.

The strangest moment of the entire weekend was when someone I had considered to be my personal tormentor, the overly handsome male peer in high school whose pointed comments about my appearance and intelligence always stung fiercely (WS for those who would know him), who continued his reign of abuse long after the generic cuts of middle school had ended.... well, he came up to me and said he just wanted to say hello before I left the picnic on Sunday. I was floored. Dumbfounded. If I'd had any idea that he would come up to me, I would have had some pithy offhand remark at the ready. But instead, I made polite conversation, and left in a state of shock. I asked Matt if he thought maybe he'd wanted to say he was sorry; Matt said perhaps that was the apology.

Go figure.

Regardless, I'm done with summer. Bring on the snow!

It was, at least, entertaining in Denver. I'll never forget drinky time.

Home from Denver and Worldcon.

Fun little fact about the Mile High City: it takes 3 months to acclimate to the altitude, till the nausea and fatigue and general malaise (genius or no) finally relent, due to the extra pint of blood your body creates to port around the necessary oxygen for day-to-day functioning. So going there for 6 days is just long enough to truly experience what high altitude feels like. Not a great place to be hungover. Fortunately I managed to go to bed early the first few nights, not get too saucy the big nights, and by the time Sunday rolled around I was going to bed right after dinner. Makes me feel old, but I'm not suffering quite as much, perhaps, as some of my counterparts.

Got to:

See Daryl Gregory again and do an interview with him. He's fun and smart and writes great stories; go read one now.

Hang out with the other 2/3 of my dastardly trio: Blake Charlton and Paolo Bacigalupi. They are just a hoot, and if I could bottle the fun we have I'd be a millionaire.

Saw Jay Lake who again reminded me how cool he is. Never fails. Talked to: Annalee of I09 about blogging and journalism, who patiently dealt with my barrage of questions; David Louis Edelman; Kim Greyson; John Picacio, still the hardest working artist out there; Lou Anders, who made me feel like I might be on track after all; of course all the off-site Locus folks like Gary Wolfe, Mark Kelly, Jonathan Strahan, Graham Sleight, Beth Gwinn; the Hades of Edge SF, who are a couple of the nicest people you could hope to meet; Irene Gallo; Liz Gorinsky, who once again managed to lead the late-night breakfast charge (yay Liz!); Jeremy Lassen; Chris Roberson & Allison Baker (holla!); Vivian Perry, who came to my rescue with a Hugo Awards ceremony dress loan; hmm, who am I forgetting? A ton of people, I'm sure, but it was great to see everyone.

Of course there were many meetings and interviews and publishing discussions and gossip and panels and I am so tired now. But happy I went.

If I can get my butt in gear I will post photos.

Toodles.

Happy Birthday!

Kyra turned one in June.









That was fast.

Locus Awards

The Locus Awards in Seattle were a hit. Bill Gibson's interview with Nancy Pearl was better than I had thought it might be, and the audience was definitely into it. She has her own action figure -- that is very cool. The reception after was small and friendly (except for the errant nutjob who wandered in and had to be escorted out) and gave me a chance to meet some of the folks running Clarion West. I'd never been to the campus at the University in Seattle -- it's beautiful. Made me wish I could go back to school.

Locus Awards ceremony went over without a hitch. Connie, of course, was brilliant as MC, and Duane of University Books said they did all right selling books, which is a good sign. We could probably do one more year at the hotel, then we will be too big for their largest space if the event keeps growing the way it has. On the down side, the SF Hall of Fame ceremony was smaller this year. I know there are a lot of people who think they'll go one of these times, just not this year, but if that keeps up it won't be an event anymore. We'll have to try to drum up more support next year. The SF Museum, on the other hand, seems to be doing very well now and is planning new exhibits for 2009. There is a palpable enthusiasm from the curatorial staff that I haven't seen there since they first opened up.

Feeling blah

I've been reading my friend netmouse's website, and feeling a bit underwhelmed by my own attempts to get back in shape after a long year of no working out (injury followed by pregnancy followed by having an infant to take care of...). Everyone keep saying, "You just had a baby. Stop worrying about it." But I've got to start worrying about it at some point, or I'll just never get back in shape.

I don't fit into my gi.

Those that know, might be able to imagine how depressing that is. I have to order a larger one through my dojo. Agh.

In other news, my baby is awesome. I know, we all feel that way about our own. But she is.

ooh baby

Kyra at work.


Hangin' out at home.

Hugos

It's really the whole staff at Locus, and all the hard work and love that goes into the mag that makes it happen.

All Hugos (the physical award) are not created equal, and this one looks especially cool. Imagine that on the ole mantel. Congratulations to everyone who won, especially my friend and co-worker Tim Pratt, who won for his story "Impossible Dreams".

I would have loved to have been able to go to Japan for Worldcon this year, but giving birth to my daughter was certainly the best reason for missing it. She is asleep in my lap as I write this, my little rockstar.

She's been going into work at Locus with me for the past few weeks, with only a couple of rough spots so far. It's great to be back; I really missed it. I think it's actually going to work.

The 2007 Hugo Awards, held at Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention, on September 1st 2007, are as follows:

• Best Novel: Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge [Tor, 2006]
• Best Novella: “A Billion Eves” by Robert Reed [Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2006]
• Best Novelette: “The Djinn’s Wife” by Ian McDonald [Asimov’s July 2006]
• Best Short Story: “Impossible Dreams” by Tim Pratt [Asimov’s July 2006]
• Best Related Non-Fiction Book: James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B Sheldon by Julie Phillips [St. Martin’s Press, 2006]
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro. Directed by Guillermo del Toro [Picturehouse]
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Who - “Girl in the Fireplace” (2006) Written by Steven Moffat. Directed by Euros Lyn [BBC Wales/BBC1]
• Best Editor, Long Form: Patrick Nielsen Hayden
• Best Editor, Short Form: Gordon Van Gelder
• Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola
• Best Semiprozine: Locus ed. by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong and Liza Groen Trombi
• Best Fanzine: Science-Fiction Five-Yearly ed. by Lee Hoffman, Geri Sullivan, and Randy Byers
• Best Fan Writer: Dave Langford
• Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu

The winner of the John W. Campbell Award
for Best New Writer is Naomi Novik.

Almost back at the mag...

Feeling like I'm up and running again here, which is great. Signed back on at the dojo, and could finally have my black belt by next year if I really stick to it. I've been back at the mag for two days a week for the past 3 weeks, trying to minimize the mountain of work I have to do to catch up. Everyone there has been great about the baby, and very patient.

I'm just mastering the art of getting out the door with baby, which is hugely liberating, though not always entirely successful.

Wow, Facebook is wacky. Someone invited me on, and then suddenly it seems like everyone is on there, and just newly on there, too. I'm not really into the various networking sites -- I have something minimal up on MySpace; I'm on Tribe but really only for local events. But Facebook seems to be more interactive and social. Still deciding if it's worth the time or not...

So here are some more photos, and a video clip.

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.