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With apologies to George Gershwin (Well not really)
Summertime
And the livin' ain't easy
The state's a-burnin'
And the temps are way high
Asphalt melts
The car handle's searing
It burns off your fingers
Makin' you cry.
Ah, Arizona in June... Four major wildfires now getting under control at last. Time for the chubascos--the summer thunderstorms--to start rolling in. But first we'll have two or even three weeks of teasing clouds and building humidity.
Believe it or not, I love it here in June. Yeah it's hot, but everything slows down for the heat. My son and I went to the movies Sunday morning, and when we came out of the theater (frozen) the searing sun honestly felt great--for the first fifteen seconds, anyway. If you turn your oven on broil and stick your hand under the element (no, don't touch it!) you'll get an idea of what I mean. Seriously, the sun feels that close.
We forget how hot summer gets like a woman forgets the intensity of labor pains--the memory comes back real fast each time you go through it. We forget about door handles and seat belt buckles until that first touch again. Tucsonans fight for tree shade. We ALL buy windshield screens. We keep potholders or towels in the car, wrap carseats in lambswool or terrycloth, and never, ever, ever leave a pet in a vehicle. You can tell the newcomers by the way they think leaving a window partway open will make a difference. HAH! Noobs. And just a reminder: it's a $25,000 (yes 25K) fine to leave a pet in a car in AZ, plus criminal charges if it dies. Sadly, people leave babies and children in their cars, and we all get to read those tragic stories of stupidity.
Anyway, 114 yesterday at my office, 117 on the car thermometer. You know you've become a true Arizonan when 95 feels balmy, like it did last night at 10PM.
Still, I'll take this any time over 80 degrees and 90% humidity.
Summertime
And the livin' is easy...
Gemini, sign of the Twins. Those born under this sign think they can live two lives at once.
Yes, I am a Gemini--with multiple personalities. I hate not having something to do, but sometimes I overwhelm myself and impose impossible deadlines no left-handed person would expect. (Since left-handed people are the only ones in their right mind...)
Right, then. I'm working on compiling my research on Welsh immigrants in the Southern Arizona Territory into a non-fiction book, just to have a number of them together. Thought I had it all organized. But no...double verification of information to be sure it's accurate is slowing me down. Plus, I want pictures wherever I can. Ah, therein lies the rub. The Arizona Historical Society owns a ton of photos but charges--get this--$38 per photo for publication. The usage fee is higher for online publication. Oh and did I mention this has to be paid upfront and they will take "six to eight weeks" to get them ready? Huh? What's to get ready? You have them cataloged, I'm requesting them by number, you pull them out, scan them onto a 10-cent cd and put them back into the file. At the absolute earliest, if I request and PAY this week, I could have the cd in hand by July 20th? And they wonder why people cop them off the internet... I won't, but geez. Still, I found photos in the archives I've not seen anywhere before, so I'll just have to cough up the dough somehow by Thursday, since the research facilities are only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays thanks to the State of Arizona's budget restraints.I REALLY wanted to have this in print by the West Coast Eisteddfod, but...we'll see.
Working on my Revolutionary Era novel is progressing slowly but I've found some excellent information to incorporate. Plus I met with my friend, Ibby whose ancestor is the adventurer on whom we are basing the story.
Marketing my novel continues . It is the Never Ending Story. Blog posts, contests, Facebook--and now people are encouraging me to do Twitter? And Within The Mists , the short story involving selchies, is scheduled for release in July, so I need to get the word out about that one. At least Dragon & Hawk is now out in print so feel free to tell your local bookstore to order from Champagne Books-- they'll get a bookstore discount.
Gecko Gals Ink, our author group in Tucson, is in the throes of planning a writing seminar on October 1, 2011. This is our pay it forward effort for writers in the area who need information. We're calling this one "Book Bound: Getting it Together & Getting Published." Lots of information to condense and share, but I have time to do that a little later.
O'r gorau, 'te, time to get back to the "day off" chores of laundry, errands, and cooking before I have a Gecko Gal meeting and my guys have a baseball game tonight. My son is pitching--and I'm going to miss it. (But I'll get to another of his starts later this season, promise. I didn't miss any Little League or Pony League starts, and only a couple of high school games due to work, so he can cut me a little slack here! 
)
And tomorrow is another day writing physician reports and manipulating people--oh I mean adjusting spines. heh heh...
Jude
I have been informed by my publisher that my "Welsh-tern" Dragon & Hawk is now available in paperback!
Normally Champagne Books releases a novel in ebook formats first, then paper in about four to six months. Well, ta-da! This has only been two months, so I am totally excited!
SO... for those of you who love the feel of a real book, here is the link:
Can't wait to get my promo copy!
Jude
Dark Fantasy author Ashley J. Barnard interviews me on HER blog today:
Wherein we talk about Gila Monsters, Flying Horses and writing. Stop by and comment!
I'm so excited! An author friend just notified me that Fictionwise, one of the largest ebook listings on the interwebs, has my novel Dragon & Hawk listed as Number One in Historical Fiction sales today! Of course, that can change by the minute, but it's pretty darn exciting from this end. Here is the link: Historical Fiction on Fictionwise .
For those of you in the UK, this novel is now available on Kindle through Amazon.co.uk - and it would be lovely if you could hit the "like" button and tag it to help other folks find it more easily. The beauty of ebooks is there are no shipping charges, no boxes to deal with, and you have instant delivery. No need to even have a Kindle reader - Amazon has a free download program for you to read Kindle books on your PC, laptop, iPhone or iPad.
How cool, eh?
This has been some kind of week...
Sunday evening brought such excitement... Yes, I received a call from Ceri Shaw!
(Well, and then there was the little announcement from President Obama.Hoo-YAH!)
Back to Ceri: I am very excited to be coming to the West Coast Eisteddfod in September. I mean, whoa - there's the possibility of meeting DGJ in the USA ( if the lad can raise the dosh), and finally meeting Mona Everett in person, who has been a wonderful supporter of my writing since I started. Ceri's phone call also revealed he wants me to help judge the contest for the best Male National Welsh Costume. I'm hoping there are a few Tom Jones impersonators, Richard Burton look-alikes in Cleopatra Roman centurion skirt garb, or Torchwood dudes. ( I really miss Ianto the Tea Boy!) So I'm quite looking forward to that entire event.
This week I also learned that my novel, Dragon & Hawk , is now not only available on Amazon Kindle, it's now also available from Amazon Kindle UK. This is the first time my book has been easily available across the Pond. If you don't have a Kindle, no worries. They have a free download for you to read Kindle books on your PC, iPad or iPhone. And it's less than 5!
And last but certainly not least, Champagne Books has contracted to publish the third book in the series, tentatively titled Dragon's Blood , sometime in Spring 2012. Guess I'd better get busy writing that fourth one, eh?
