I'm going in for minor surgery today (don't worry, it's really, really minor) and this weekend my roommates and I are doing a yard sale, basically to clean out the basement as one roommate moves out. Why I scheduled these two things for the same week, I haven't a clue. Hopefully it'll be exactly as the doctor says and not only will I be able to drive home from the surgery (it's that minor), I'll still be able to push my HUGE desk out of my room. I've decided that having a desk in my bedroom just encourages me to pile things on it, because having a laptop means you can work from anywhere. So I'm replacing the desk with two beautiful bookshelves with little leather crates/boxes to hold the things the desk drawers used to hold, and giving myself back about 8 square feet of floor space. Now I'll be able to reach the closet and maybe that will help me not pile things on the desk that will be gone. :)

As far as actual editing goes, well, it's life as usual. I have all sorts of interesting things happening at work, which I can't really blog about just yet, and just a lot of editing to hit deadlines. I got two books out to copyedit last week, and it's on to the next book. Busy busy busy.

One thing I CAN tell you is that I can officially announce a new series by jeffsampson which I'll be working on. Here's the Publisher's Lunch announcement:

Jeff Sampson’s THE LIFE AND DEATH OF EMILY COOKE, the first in a dark fantasy series about Emily Webb, who at night transforms from shy and mousy geek girl into a wild thrill-seeker, to Stacy Whitman at Mirrorstone.

There's a WHOLE lot more to the story, but I don't want to give away anything! Keep your eye out for more on it in the future, though.

This new move is freaking Mogget out. He hasn't come out from under the bed on his own in two days. 

Well, I take that back. At night, when the scary shadows are lessened by the darkness, he will come out if the bedroom door is closed. I'm keeping the litter box and the cat food in my room for now, because he's so scared of the ceiling fan in the dining room that he claws me to get away (which promptly reminded me to trip his claws!).

So, for your amusement, a record of the move, from the cat's point of view. Well, from my POV looking ON the cats, because the idea of a cat-cam, while funny, is kind of impractical.






I've given up on trying to entice him out with catnip and treats. He wouldn't even come out for his regular wet food at suppertime. I put boxes under the bed (the same I had under there in the old place) to make the space a little smaller, thinking this might encourage him to venture out at least into the room, but he just hides at the side of the boxes now, under the dust ruffle still. He will reach out and swat at his favorite toy (feathers on the end of a stick with a bell), but he won't come out to chase it, or the balls or mice he loves. 

I've given up for the night, and perhaps giving up itself will help him, because then he won't feel badgered. But I do worry that he won't get enough to eat or drink. I'm assuming he'll come out if he's hungry enough. I'm also assuming he'll come out tonight like he has the last couple of nights--he's apparently more comfortable exploring the house when no one else is moving around, because the presence of humans besides me freaks him out (which is par for the course--he didn't like it when I had visitors in my own apartment, either. He's just not used to other people besides me, no matter how much I try to help him with that).

So, any suggestions on helping Mogget? I'm hoping it's temporary, and that once I get everything unpacked and can start leaving catnip out in more places, making the house more kitty-friendly, that sort of thing, he'll be fine, but especially the idea of getting him used to other humans is something I don't know how to help him with and nothing I've read addresses introducing cats to new humans.

Hope you all had a great weekend. Back to work tomorrow--with probably a week of evenings unpacking and rearranging!

I must say, there was a reason I loved Romper Room as a kid. I waited and waited, and she never did say she saw Stacy. But I had hope every time.

So if you've been reading this LJ for a while, you know how facinated I am to connect with people all over the world. Well, the next best thing is to connect with people from home. Or is it the other way around? All I know is, I've had a recent visitor from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I must say hello, because how could I ignore my alma mater? (Sort of. I spent 4 1/2 years there but ended up graduating from BYU.)

So to you fellow Illinoisans out there, welcome! (Even if you're not an 8th-generation one like me. :D Which of course my being in Seattle makes many a farm-bred relative ask, "What do you need to be all the way out there again for, anyway?" To which I point to my old friend from my Galva High School class who lives in Tacoma and say, "It's not just me!" Which reminds me that spring is coming and I need to make a field trip to the Tacoma Museum of Glass. Can you believe I've lived here nearly two years and never taken my high school friend who works there up on the offer to see it??? I can't.)

Off to read a book, and I'm not sure whether I want to go blast the Marching Illini to embrace "Alma Mater" going through my head (yes, I played mello and LOVED being in the band that Sousa loved) or go find something to take the nostalgia away.

Thanks for all the SF suggestions a few posts back. Now I'm madly scribbling down all the books I should be reading. Someone mentioned Robin Hobb, which reminds me that I have an ARC of Shaman's Crossing I've been meaning to read because a friend loves her work. (Yes, I know Shaman's Crossing came out long ago. But it's the only one I have on my shelf. Not to hand at the moment, obviously, but anyway!) Wait, though--is Shaman's Crossing the first or the second in that series? Which Robin Hobb should I begin with?

I've arrived safely in Illinois, and am lounging at my grandma's kitchen table borrowing a signal from a neighbor somewhere. It's pretty warm for around here--it's been in the 50s, compared to the normal teens and 20s. No snow. :( Even after watching White Christmas the other day! A train is rolling past--Galesburg is a major train hub for Burlington-Northern. In fact, I took the train here from Chicago this afternoon. So much more relaxing to spend three hours on the train knitting and watching a movie on my laptop than renting a car in Chicago and driving down.

Spent the evening last night with an old roommate in Chicago. I love that city. I get homesick every time I'm there, even though I only lived there about a year and a half. It's just so good to catch up with girlfriends you haven't seen in forever. All sorts of gossiping ensued, of course.

Stopped by the office of the magazine I used to work at, got a chance to chat with my former boss and her daughter about children's books and all sorts of catching-up sorts of things. My former boss was saying that she and her husband are starting to plan what to do with the business when they finally decide to take a less active role (they're both far past retirement age, but their family business is a huge part of their life, and they've stayed dedicated to it for over 30 years now). In the course of the conversation, she told me how her husband (the publisher) suggested that "couldn't we just get Stacy to come back and be a higher editor?" That made me smile. Despite the electromechanical industry not being my life work the way I feel about children's books, the time I spent at that company was a great experience, and they gave me the start I needed. Both Elsie and H.B., the wife and husband who I spoke of above, are long time veterans of journalism and publishing, and they have been dear mentors. I still do a freelance article for them from time to time.

But it was tempting, if but for a moment, to hear her say that, not only because it's a great compliment, but because I love Chicago and I would love to live there again someday. Then of course reality sets in and I think about giving up my current job. No way! Seattle it is. :)

Days and days of knitting and watching movies and playing with my nephews and helping my grandma bake Christmas cookies await. I love this time of year!