I'm crying while I'm reading the news. Farrah Fawcett died today. I'm not usually one who cries much over celebrities or death, but I'm crying for her.

I was never a big fan of hers, but she exploded into the public eye at a time when I was down and alone and needed to believe in beauty and hope. I wore my hair in a Farrah shag -- who didn't, that summer? Woman's Day (or was it Ladies' Home Journal?) had directions for how to cut it yourself at home, so my mom used that to cut my hair, and then I cut my daughter's hair in the same style. And I walked a little taller because it didn't matter what had happened in the past, there was still the future ahead.

It doesn't seem right that someone so vibrant and beautiful is gone. But I suppose that's the way of the world.

(cross-posted to Cowgirl in New England

http://bonniers.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/it-was-a-deer-tick/

A local print zine is looking for stories -- their requirement and my question are over here. A friend wants me to submit, but it's sooooo out of my normal genres...

The second book of Chris Evans' Iron Elves, The Light of Burning Shadows, will ship 28 July. I've been waiting for this for months, have had it on preorder ever since I finished reading A Darkness Forged in Fire, which is the best book I've read in ages, fantasy or not. Chris writes beautifully, and the story crackles along at breakneck pace. Every fantasy trope you could want is here, only turned on its head or combined in new ways. Skunk dragons? Yes! These elves don't fear metal, they sacrifice parts of themselves for the power of muskets. There are dark evil things resurrected from the depths, dead who aren't really dead, and good guys who aren't that good, bad guys who might have their own side to the story, and bad guys who are deeply and truly evil.

Highly recommended. Seriously. Especially for fans of military fantasy. Chris is a military historian and editor by profession, and the quality shows throughout.

I posted photos from my recent travels -- the Montana trip, the bridal shower, and the Detroit baseball game.

I did the meme that asks you to pick ten random characters, then answer some silly questions about it. It's posted at my writing blog. It was quite fun, especially imagining Jennifer from Not Forgetting conspiring with Miss Anna from Chandler's story and Lady Amira from the genie story...

Brief trip summary here: http://bonniers.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/im-back/ I'm trying to upload photos now.

On vacation until 2 June.

I have writing stuff and laptop with me, but probably won't have internet access -- I'll see everybody when I get back!

Happy birthday queenoftheskies! I hope it's the beginning of a year so wonderful it makes up for all the shit you've had to go through...

A young man at EMC in San Francisco needs a bone marrow transplant if he's to survive aggressive leukemia. He needs a donor of mixed Caucasian/Asian (preferably Japanese) ancestry. More details here: http://bonniers.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/searching-for-marrow-donor/

Feel free to link or forward to anybody you know who might fit the profile and be willing to help.