We had family for lunch, and we had ham, and cranberries, and cabbage and potatoes, and apple sauce, and a nice German Riesling.

We had presents. I will not give you a list of the loot, but let us say that books were represented in significant proportions (what, you expected other from this household?) - and there was also a "hidden camera" which you're supposed to hang in a tree and it'll stealth-film the wildlife that comes tracking past - I still have to figure out how to attach said item to tree, but that's another day's work.

We had Christmas music. And the tree. And the cats, who parked under the newly liberated base of the tree as though to console us for the sudden absence of the wrapped packages that had been piled around it for the last couple of weeks since the tree's been up.

We had "The Grinch" on Christmas Eve, and we had "It's a Wonderful Life" on Christmas Day.

And on top of everything else, right while we were sitting there at table, it *snowed*.

I am content and replete and grateful for my charmed life.

Hope your Christmas was just as good.

Don't look now, but Santa's left the pole...



And it's going to be a year until you hear any of the season's songs again. So, before you leave them behind, here's my very favourite carol to usher in Christmas Day:



Have a good one, everyone.

The cats have been wandering in astonishment past the suddenly unencumbered Christmas tree and looking at me with a "what happened to all the stuff?" expressions even though they spent the morning happily playing in the detritus of the stuff as we ripped wrapping paper off parcels (and somewhere underneath it all there were the cats' own presents, a couple of cat toys, and Laptop in particular is always very happy to play with her Christmas fluffies on Christmas morning, there in the midst of the shredded wrapping paper, looking very cute...)

rdeck and I got each other the first season of the "Slings and Arrows" Canadian TV series - we both loved it so much and, well, great minds thing alike. We're feeling magnanimous. ANyone out there want a copy of the first season? We're quite happy with a single one between the two of us *grin*. Aside from that, the haul of DVDs included a new copy of "Love Actually" (aince our old one went wonky and nothing appears to work in terms of fixing the DVD), "Jungle Book" (the Disney version - he's never seen it, believe it or not, and I LOVE that movie), and the ENTIRE series of "Judging Amy" - there are few TV series we want full DVD sets of, but that's definitely one of them. There was also a CD stack - including CDs by Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, The Byrds, Joan Baez, and the Spock vs. Q dialogues (never heard those? You should. They're wonderful).


Friends sent us presents, too, and one of mine was aimed at me and "the little rascals" - something called a "thing in a bag" which you put batteries in and it rustles inside a paper bag to drive cats nuts. We haven't tried it yet.

We haven't opened up my bear yet, my Denali, my chainsaw sculpture from Alaska, we're waiting for my folks to arrive to do that. But there were other bits of Alaska under the tree for us - an ulu knife and cutting board, a calendar with auroras on it, a book or two on Alaska...

We're baking a ham for Christmas lunch. The tree is sparkling, the house is full of music, and I'm going back up there to dance.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

1. Bring in UPS box from outside and place on the floor.

2. Watch with amusement while cats A and B immediately gather around the box and poke noses into same.

3. Gather up accoutrements necessary for wrapping present.

4. Remove cat A from top of box.

5. Cut piece of wrapping paper, trying to avoid stabbing cat's nose or slicing off whiskers.

6. Place piece of paper flat on the floor.

7. Remove cat A from top of box.

8. Remove cat B from the middle of wrapping paper.

9. Remove cat A from on top of the box.

10. Place box in middle of wrapping paper.

11. Persuade cat B that I don't need assistance in paper folding.

12. Remove Cat A's head from the tape dispenser in order to avoid glueing whiskers to package.

13. Remove cat B from the far side of the box where he is still trying to help me fold wrapping paper.

14. Due to optical illusions given by position of cat A on box, wrapping paper is too small for purpose. Cut additional piece of wrapping paper to complete job, repeating steps 5 - 13.

13. Place wrapped package under tree.

14. Watch in amused resignation as Cat A takes up position on top of wrapped package.

Merry Christmas to all...

No, this time it isn't a cutie being delivered for babysitting. It's one of those ones what light up and get stuck into gardens at Christmas time. This one stands 48 inches high with a good set of antlers on him, and is animated - he swings his head from side to side. He is currently glowing brightly, installed out there next to my rhododendron bushes.

Merry Christmas!

...so I sigh and pick up something from dduane, and ( here goes... )

Feel free to join in the game, whoever feels like it...

...the edits of book 2 of "Worldweavers", that is. Now I need to go through it again and figure out if I unravelled anything important when I pulled a few plot threads here and there according to editorial tweak fiat. This has to be done this week, because I have tend ays to get this draft into my editor's hands before she absonds for the silly season - sure, she'll be back in early January but I'd rather she had this from me THIS year. If she does, and she likes what I've done with it, the sooner she has it and the sooner she reads it and the sooner she makes that decision, well, the sooner my on-acceptance half of the advance gets paid. Won't happen before Christmas, but early in the new year would be just GREAT.

Then I have to gather up a bunch of reviews I've written and not sent in to SFSIte and mail those in before the end of the year.

Then I have another pow wow with my lovely agent about The New Sekrit Project tomorrow (I swear, I'll babble about that as soon as I am able).

Basically I don't think I'll hear from anyone again concerning anything writerly before 2007 after this MS goes into the editor's hands, so here's a bit of recap of the writerly 2006:

Books:

"The Secrets of Jin Shei" saw daylight in Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Lithuanian and Czech. The Italians brought out a paperback edition. German edition is supposedly due out this year too but I haven't heard anything more about that recently, so it's a waiting game. The Spanish edition went into its second printing three months after its first release in hardcover, which is fantaastic. This leaves the Turkish edition to come out next year, hopefully, of the "old" contracts; new contracts signed for this book include those for the Brazilian and the Israeli editions, pub date to be announced.

"The Embers of Heaven" came out in Australia and New Zealand roughly about this time last year, and in paperback in the UK in September. The Dutch edition of "Embers" emerged in November. Further contracts signed include Portuguese, Spanish and Lithuanian editions. It's catching up to its predecessor, in terms of languages; however, US publication remains dangling.

The "Changer of Days" books remain in circulation and are getting me quite a few fanmails.A German edition has been sold, but not, as far as I know, given a place in the publishing calendar as yet.

The Worldweavers Trilogy is a work in progress. Book 1, "Gift of the Unmage", hits the US bookstores in February or early March 2007. Book 2 is likely to go into full editorial mode in the first quarter of 2007, and as far as I know is slated for release in the spring of 2008. FOr the duration of 2007, I shall be writing book 3, the trilogy's conclusion, which is due to be submitted by September of next year and presumably meant for a spring 2009 slot. Book 2 was incredibly fun to write; book 3 is going to be a smorgasbord of all kinds of fantasy goodness, and I am actually rather looking forward to writing that. Teh trilogy has already been sold to one foreign market, Poland

Short Stories:

Submissions: five (which is five more than last year)
Acceptances: one

But then I am not a natural short story writer. These are definitely a sideline for me at the moment...

So.

I have a few more writerly and editorial chores to accomplish before the end of next week, and then I'll kick off my shoes and pour out the eggong and concentrate on enjoying Christmas before January begins a brand new working year.

I remain astonished and delighted at my life.

To my fellow writers on this forum, I wish the promise of sparkling success twinkling under your Christmas tree. To those who read rather than write, my thanks for making what I do possible, and may there always be enough in ALL our wallets for bread and for books without either of which humankind is diminished. And to everybody - in the words of the Immortal Dickens - may God bless us, every one.

THIS one has apparentlly become known as the Eye of Argon of Christmas Carols Everywhere. With reason. It utterly BUTCHERS a wonderful song. I couldn't listen to the end, I was wincing so hard I was HURTING myself. But if you can handle a few bars of execrably bad singing... it might be worth a giggle.

Now I need to go and find an antidote, quick, before this thing festers...

Have fun with the Advent Calendar - you can't cheat and peek ahead, though!