I've been upgraded again at work, so naturally nothing on my computer works. They've managed to lose the drive on which all of my work is stored. I am reduced to thumb twiddling.

This month's good news for me is that my story "A Veil, a Meal, and Dust" is supposed to be published by Ideomancer in their May edition. They're still showing the April edition of the magazine, but when the May edition is released I'll let you know.

This is one of my oldest stories. I wrote it in the second week of Clarion West in 2001, and Ideomancer bought it over a year ago. I'd almost forgotten they had it, so this is a nice little bonus (sadly, they paid for it last year, so no bonus in that sense). I haven't read the story for a long time, and I'm not sure I dare. I'm sure it's full of things I would want to change now.

I've also got an article in the next Clarion West newsletter, on how to give readings. I don't think that's been published yet; at least, I haven't had my copy yet. I might post the article online at some point, when the newsletter's been out for a while. Again, I'll let you know. It was fun to write, and it was the first non-fiction I've done (since the one essay I had to write at college--yep, Physics is the way to avoid essays). I might try some more, maybe next time on something that know a bit about.

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I've finally mastered the art of ginger tea. Here's how you do it:

Get a chunk of ginger, doesn't matter exactly how much, about 1 inch by 1/2 by 1/2 is fine. Chop it into small chunks (again, size isn't so important). Put it in a teapot. Fill with boiling water. Cover with a tea cosy or something similar. Leave for at least an hour. Serve.

It's pretty nice (although it can seem bitter the first time) and totally caffeine-free (or, I have no reason to think it's got any caffeine in).

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This week's (soon to be last week's) SciFi.com story was one of the more affecting of recent months. It's "Family Bed", by Kit Reed. I guess I've probably read stories by Reed before as she's been publishing a long time, but if so, none of them stuck with me. This one is impressive and disturbing, though. I didn't think it kept the atmosphere right to the end, but until then the claustrophobia or the family bed was absolutely palpable. Don't miss it. It'll be in the archives after today, I think.

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Steph and I have been on the cusp of a lingering cold bug for weeks now. It's one of those that shows up when you're feeling tired and run down. The good news is that it's not lingering any more. The bad news is that it appears to have been lingering on the way in rather than on the way out. As a result, Steph is ill at home, and I'm feeling a bit grim at work, kind of like a hangover in the head without the benefit of having experienced the drinking first.

It is, however, a beautiful sunny day, warm, but not as hot as the weekend was, so not all is looking bad. It's hard to be completely miserable when the trees outside my office window are green and the sky behind them is blue.