Oh, wow. It turns out that Edinburgh has a specialty science fiction & fantasy bookstore! I can't even express just how happy this makes me. And it isn't even just another branch of Forbidden Planet! (I do love that chain of stores, but it's so nice to see an sf/fantasy shop devoted primarily to books!) For the last few days, I've been sort of casually researching options for Things To Do in Edinburgh, since (weep! wail! rend hair and clothes in lamentation!) Plaisir du Chocolat will NOT be open while we're there! (And yes, we actually considered changing our travel dates so that we could visit Edinburgh after their new shop opened...but we eventually realized that that was just getting a little bit silly.) On my list of researched options so far, I had a bunch of well-reviewed vegetarian restaurants/cafés, I had the Georgian House and the glasshouses (greenhouses) at the Botanical Gardens - and now Transreal Books is at the top of the list! Especially because I saw on their front page that they have American paperback copies of Naomi Novik's 4th Temeraire book in stock - a book that won't come out in (affordable) paperback in the UK until next spring. Now I'm wondering whether I can talk Patrick into driving straight there when we get to Edinburgh, before we even check in at the bed & breakfast. Hmm....

Yesterday turned out to be a really lovely day - in totally girly (and totally unusual-for-me-lately!) fashion, I went out to the mall yesterday afternoon with Justina and her family and just wandered around trying on boots and browsing jewelry stands. It was so much fun, and Justina surprised me with the most perfect gift since she'd just finished reading Kat by Moonlight: a charm necklace that's thematically ideal. It's got Kat's magic mirror, her mother's magic books, a fan for her to carry at the ball, a locket for her mother's miniature portrait...and a key. There aren't any keys in Kat by Moonlight. So, of course, as soon as I put on the necklace, I started wondering...where will the key come into Kat by Starlight? Or will that arrive in Book 3 (verrrrrrry tentatively called Kat by Ghostlight)???? I can't wait to find out. And meanwhile, every time I put on the necklace I feel inspired and happy. :)

I put on the necklace as soon as Justina gave it to me yesterday. We bought ice cream cones on our way out of the mall and ate them outside under a surprisingly blue sky. It was pretty much the perfect afternoon.