The Day in Spikedluv (Monday, June 30)
Jul. 1st, 2025 07:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spikedluvI was relieved at 5pm. I stopped at the library again to return a book I finished reading this afternoon. After I got home I did a load of laundry (washed and dried), hand-washed dishes, scooped kitty litter, and took a shower.
I finished the Duncan Kincaid book I was reading and watched the first half of the new Hannah Swenson movie.
Temps started out at 54.1(F) and reached 89.2 (at 5pm when I got home; Pip said it had gotten up to 93). I’m really glad I wore shorts even though it was a cool morning, because it heated up quickly.
Mom Update:
Mom felt alright today. ( more back here )
Rebuilding journal search again
Jun. 30th, 2025 03:18 pmalierak posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_maintenanceMeanwhile search services should be running, but probably returning no results or incomplete results for most queries.
Readercon 2025 Schedule
Jun. 30th, 2025 03:50 pmoracneMy schedule is finalized! I didn't list participants in case there were changes.
Who will I see at Readercon next month?
The Works of P. Djèlí Clark
Salon I/J Friday, July 18, 2025, 1:00 PM EDT
Our Guest of Honor P. Djèlí Clark rounded out his first decade as a published author with a Nebula and a Locus for his fantasy police procedural novel, The Master of Djinn, and both those awards plus a British Fantasy Award for his monster-hunting novella Ring Shout. His short story "How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub" is short-listed for the Hugo this year. As a History professor at University of Connecticut, he investigates the pathways leading from West African storyteller/poets (griots, a.k.a. djèlí) to the American abolitionist movement. Help us celebrate the works of our honored guest!
The Purposes of Memorable Insults in Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Salon I/J Friday, July 18, 2025, 5:00 PM EDT
Some of the most quotable lines in science fiction and fantasy are zingers. Wit can do a lot to build a character, a world, and a universe, and has the ability to either support or undermine reader expectations. This panel aims to explore and elaborate on the use of wit—and especially takedowns—in literature, exposing how a verbal jab can serve as more than just a punchline.
Moving from Traditional Publishing to Self-Publishing
Salon G/H Friday, July 18, 2025, 7:00 PM EDT
It's becoming increasingly common to hear of authors whose self-published work was so successful that they were picked up by a traditional publisher. But what of the authors who have gone the other way, by turning their backs on traditional publishing and going into self-publishing? Panelists will survey the varying reasons for making this transition, how authors have navigated it, and what this might say about the state of publishing overall.
Kaffeeklatsch: Victoria Janssen
Suite 830 Friday, July 18, 2025, 8:00 PM EDT
Meet the Pros(e) party
Salon F Friday, July 18, 2025, 10:15 PM EDT
Program participants are assigned to tables with a roughly equal number of conferencegoers and other participants, and then table placements are scrambled at regular intervals so that everyone gets to meet a new set of people in a small-group setting. Think of it as a low-key sort of speed dating where you need never be the sole focus of anyone's attention, and the goal is just to get to know some cool Readerconnish people. Please note that this event will include a bar and is mask-optional, unlike most other programming.
The Works of Cecilia Tan [I'm moderating this one]
Salon I/J Saturday, July 19, 2025, 12:00 PM EDT
Our Guest of Honor, Cecilia Tan, has a publication history that spans Asimov's, Absolute Magnitude, Ms. Magazine, Penthouse, and Best American Erotica, among others. Writer and editor of science fiction and fantasy, especially as they intersect with erotica and romance, she is also the founder of Circlet Press, an independent publisher that specializes in speculative erotica. Her own writing earned a Lifetime Achievement for Erotica in 2014 from Romantic Times magazine. She also contributes to America's other pastime, baseball, in her role as Publications Director for the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Come hear our panel discuss Cecilia's many talents and accomplishments.
Un-Kafkaesque Bureaucracies
Salon I/J Saturday, July 19, 2025, 7:00 PM EDT
In fiction, bureaucracies are generally depicted as evil in its most banal form, yet many of the actual bureaucracies that shape our lives exist to protect us from corporate greed. How can—and should—we tell other stories about bureaucrats and bureaucracies, particularly as the U.S. stands on the precipice of disastrous deregulation? And might fantasies of bureaucracy (such Addison's The Goblin Emperor and Goddard's The Hands of the Emperor) be the next cozy subgenre?
The Endless Appetite for Fanfiction
Create / Collaborate Saturday, July 19, 2025, 8:00 PM EDT
In an article of the same name (https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/endless-appetite-fanfiction), Elizabeth Minkel discussed how "2024 was the year [fanfic] truly broke containment—everyone seemed to want a piece of the fanfiction pie, leaving fic authors themselves besieged on all sides." Attempts to steal and monetize fanfic proliferated, as did reviews treating living authors as distant and unreachable. What do these trends say about larger changes in attitudes toward stories and creators? How can fans of all kinds nurture supportive connections to authors?
The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, June 29)
Jun. 30th, 2025 07:21 amspikedluvI had scheduled it so I would be relieved at ~3pm so I could actually make supper, so when I got home I did more dishes, emptied the dishwasher, made supper, did even more dishes, shaved, tossed a load of bath towels into the washer and remembered to also put them in the dryer.
I finished Fugitive Telemetry and started the next Duncan Kincaid book, and watched the current ep of Resident Alien.
Temps started out at 61.5(F) and reached 78.2 (that I saw at 3:30pm), but 85 according to Pip. It was cool in the morning, but sunny with a nice breeze in the afternoon.
Mom Update:
Mom was tired today. ( more back here )
Into a Bar, Slipping in Under the Wire
Jun. 29th, 2025 11:20 pmprzed![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
intoabar challenge deadline. But somehow, I did!
So, here it is, Illya Kuryakin walks into a bar and meets...Bucky Barnes!
Two of my biggest fandom collide! I couldn't have picked a better pairing myself.
Title: Jazz and Vodka
Author: P.R. Zed
Word count: 8,879
AO3 Link
The assignment let me pull out a fragment I've had kicking around forever with young KGB agent Illya Kuryakin getting pulled in as a last minute replacement for the Winter Soldier's handler. Which turned it into a multi-timeline 8K mini-epic. (When I told him what my word count was looking like, my husband just said "Of course you did.")
The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, June 28)
Jun. 29th, 2025 07:08 amspikedluvI did manage to get stuff done before I left the house: two loads of laundry (one dried and folded), hand-washed some dishes and did a load in the dishwasher, scooped kitty litter, took the dogs for a short-ish walk, and dropped a book in the library return box on my way to mom’s. I did more hand-washing of dishes when I got home and tossed some laundry into the dryer.
I watched the current ep of Murderbot, finished my book and started another (Fugitive Telemetry, finally). And, of course, attended Ian’s graduation party.
Temps started out at 64.4(F) and reached 87 (according to Pip). He couldn’t have been far off because it got HOT. (It was still 79.2 when I got home after 7:30pm.) My sister had moved Ian’s party from a tent at her house to the local fire house because we were supposed to have scattered thunderstorms all day, but we didn’t get any.
Mom Update:
Mom did well yesterday. ( more back here )
The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, June 27)
Jun. 28th, 2025 07:03 amspikedluvI stopped at Stewart’s for milk after dropping Grant off at the garage. I threw a load of laundry into the washer, hand-washed dishes, cooked hot dogs for Pip to heat up for supper, stirred together two cabbage salads for Ian’s graduation party (one with pineapple and one without to put on pulled pork sandwich if they want to do so) and scooped kitty litter. (I also had to cut up chicken for the dogs’ supper and pack my ‘lunch bag’.) (As you might imagine, it felt like I was running a race to get all of this done before I left to relieve my sister.) When I got home I tossed the wet clothes into the dryer, did up more dishes, and took a shower before I sat on the bed with a towel wrapped around my hair to decompress a bit.
I finished the current Amelia Peabody and started a new book, and took a short nap (which was just enough to reinvigorate me, rather than leave me lethargic).
Temps started out at 58.8(F) and reached an unknown high; it was 66.4 at 6pm when I got home. It was overcast all day, but I felt lucky we hadn’t had the forecasted rain, which then came in late afternoon. Thankfully it had finished before I needed to carry all my bags out to the car.
Mom Update:
Mom seemed tired when I arrived. I think yesterday’s activity took a lot out of her. ( more back here )
The Day in Spikedluv (Thursday, June 26)
Jun. 27th, 2025 10:51 amspikedluvI filled my gas tank after dropping Grant off at the garage; hand-washed some dishes and scooped kitty litter before heading to mom’s. (I also cut up chicken for the dogs’ meals and packed my own ‘lunch bag’.) After I got home I threw in a load of laundry to wash while I did up the dishes in the sink and then got ready for bed. After ‘decompressing’ for a while with some games on my phone I got to bed just before 10pm, which is late for me. I slept like a rock, though.
I read more fanfic and more Amelia Peabody.
Temps started out at 66.6(F) (which is weird since the high is only supposed to be 68) and reached an unknown high, as I was never home to check. It was much cooler than the previous 80s/90s days. Yes, I can complain when it’s too hot AND when it’s too cool! I want a nice median temperature. It’s already summer and we never got spring!
Mom Update:
Mom was feeling a malaise this morning when I arrived. ( more back here )
The Day in Spikedluv (Wednesday, June 25)
Jun. 26th, 2025 08:26 amspikedluvI hit Walmart, Price Chopper and the Pharmacy while I was downtown and got in a longer walk around the park. Before I left the house I heated up a ham steak on the stove and frozen peas in the microwave for Pip to heat up for supper tonight. I also did the usual amount of hand-washing dishes and scooped kitty litter.
I read some fanfic and more Amelia Peabody.
Temps started out at 75.6(F) and reached at least 88.0. That was the temp when I left the house for mom’s just before 11am, but Pip said it got to 92. Less stifling than yesterday and there was a breeze that had a coolness to it. I still wouldn’t have wanted to be out there all day. Just walking to the mailbox was uncomfortable.
Mom Update:
Mom is doing okay; no major ups or downs today. ( more back here )
Wednesday Reading Meme & Books 46 & 47 of 2025
Jun. 25th, 2025 07:52 amspikedluvWhat I am Currently Reading: The Ape Who Guards the Balance (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters.
What I Plan to Read Next: Still a variety of library books out, so one of those.
Book 46 of 2025: Water Like a Stone (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) (Deborah Crombie)
Good book! ( spoilers )
I enjoyed this book and have already requested the next. I'm giving this one five hearts.
♥♥♥♥♥
Book 47 of 2025: To Darkness and to Death (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries) (Julia Spencer-Fleming)
I enjoyed this book, but even as I was reading it I was thinking it was a very weird mystery. With so many bad choices. It felt like a comedy of errors. ( spoilers )
Still enjoy the main characters and plan on reading more, but only giving this book three hearts.
♥♥♥
The Day in Spikedluv (Tuesday, June 24)
Jun. 25th, 2025 07:40 amspikedluvI read fanfic and more Amelia Peabody, and finally watched the current ep of Resident Alien. Pip suggested I stop at Dairyland on the way home from mom’s so I picked up soft vanilla ice cream in a dish for him and a milkshake for myself.
Temps started out at 77.9(F) and reached 94.7 (that I’m aware of). I made a couple trips outside (to check mom’s mail and other errands) and it was stifling. There was a breeze, but it was a hot breeze and didn’t help much. The temps are supposed to drop a tiny bit today and be 69 on Thursday, which made both mom and me go o_O.
Mom Update:
Mom is showing more improvement physically; she stayed awake almost all morning and we chit chatted a bit. ( more back here )
Pride Book Bundles
Jun. 24th, 2025 09:40 amoracneItch.io gives authors a larger portion of the royalties, which is why I've been giving them some promotion. My lesbian erotica reprint collection, "Spicy Sapphic Treats," is in the Contemporary and Historical bundle as well as the big one.
The Day in Spikedluv (Monday, June 23)
Jun. 24th, 2025 07:12 amspikedluvI read fanfic and re-watched the current ep of Murderbot.
Temps started out at 79.9(F) (and already humid) and reached 99.1. It was SOOO hot.
Mom Update:
Mom slept most of the morning. ( more back here )
The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, June 22)
Jun. 23rd, 2025 07:08 amspikedluvTemps started out at 67.8(F) and reached high 80s. (Again, I wasn’t home to check.) Thunderstorms rolled in around 4am, which woke everyone up, and dropped quite a bit of rain between then and 8am. It didn’t rain again, and remained overcast, but it was hot and humid.
Mom Update:
Mom continues to do well. ( more back here )
The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, June 21)
Jun. 22nd, 2025 07:24 amspikedluvTemps started out at 61.3(F) and reached 87 (according to Pip, since I didn’t get home until after the temps hit the high). It was hot, but I luckily spent most of the day inside an air conditioned house.
Mom Update:
She is doing well. ( more back here )
The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, June 20)
Jun. 21st, 2025 07:28 amspikedluvTemps started out at 59.4(F) (and windy) and reached 74 (that I saw at 6pm, though Pip said it got to 78). The day started off windy and cool, but the sun came out so it was really nice, if still windy.
Mom Update:
Mom is home! ( more back here )
The Day in Spikedluv (Thursday, June 19)
Jun. 20th, 2025 08:00 amspikedluvI finished reading a book, watched an HGTV program, talked to mom on the phone twice, and took a nap. (The heat and humidity did me in, I think,)
Temps started out at 70.0(F) (and was already humid) and reached 91.4. The only saving grace was that there was a breeze. We had on/off rain later in the evening, which netted us a double rainbow! And lowered the temps.
Mom Update:
Mom did not come home today. ( more back here )