So, the best news first: Patrick sold a reprint of his story "Uncle Vernon's Lie" to Clonepod! Clonepod is a very cool new podcast, particularly because it's been set up by middle-school students who are excited about science fiction and fantasy - a concept I really love, for many obvious reasons. :)

And I had a bit of nice news today, too. One of the things I've enjoyed ever since I joined SFWA is browsing the current list of Nebula recommendations. (It takes 10 Nebula recommendations for a story/novel/whatever to make it onto a Nebula award ballot.) Reading the list has led me to a lot of good stories that I might not have read otherwise. This time, for the first time since I joined SFWA, I saw two stories of mine on the list - "Locked Doors" and "It's All About the Shoes" have both gotten Nebula recommendations! Neither of them has gotten enough recommendations yet to make it onto any ballots, but seeing them there was a lovely burst of positive energy - perfect writing-stimulation. :)

This afternoon we went out to Borders to finally use some of my favorite Christmas presents - book tokens (gift certificates)! Since I'm in the middle of revisions on Kat, I picked up three books that looked like perfect reading material to help me stay in the right mood even when I'm not writing: Georgette Heyer's The Talisman Ring (always one of my favorites!), a biography of Beau Brummell, and another Stella Tillyard history book, A Royal Affair: George III and his Troublesome Siblings. Can't wait to get started on them!