Climbing slowly back into the saddle

by Diane Duane

I just wanted to drop a note to thank all those of you who were so kind as to send sympathy messages to me (and to Peter) about the loss of his Mum.

We are both coping as well as we can: it’s obviously harder on him than on me… yet I’m in the strange situation that — because my own mother died so early in my life — I knew Peter’s Mum longer than I knew my own Mom. Mum was a tremendous presence, a vibrant personality, always fun to be around: it’s so, so strange not to be able to pick up the phone and call her to tell her about some weird thing that one of us heard or saw. We’re going to miss her so much.

Meanwhile, thanks again, everybody. Your support means a lot. (Thanks, also, to the kind person who sent me a six-month extension to my LJ account. That was so appreciated.)

There are many things to start doing around here that have gotten very behind. The Big Meow is particularly on my mind; chapter 7 is almost ready to go, so that’s my first priority. The month of July was supposed to be when I finished this book… but the month of July sort of evaporated in the face of inexorable events. Now I want to get the rest of that book done and get it out of here, to editorial. (Hi Keith!!) — But thanks, everybody, for your patience about this.

There is something else going on, though (as a result of urgings from our hardworking sysop Lee at the Young Wizards discussion forums). To celebrate the scheduling of A Wizard of Mars (Autumn ’08, wheee!), the first two chapters have been installed at the Forums, and will be available to interested parties by subscription — the proceeds will go to fund upcoming Forum expansion (which we really need: the message databases are getting huge, and the overage fees are starting to smart). If you’re interested in reading this material (some 20,000 words, and a bit more than 40,000 by the time the last teaser chapter goes up in October), check here for the details on how to subscribe. (Just a note: because the subscriptions are going through the SitePay system of the Forum provider, Groupee, you have to register for the Forums before you can subscribe. But registration is free, as it’s always been.)

Meanwhile…back to work.

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