Whoops. Over a month since the last journal entry. What's with that?

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The best tea in the world is officially Tea Rose from Betjeman and Barton. Trust me. Not only does it taste wonderful (mellow and subtle and more delicious with every sip) but watching it uncurl like a sea anemone is simple cool.

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My short story, Crab Apple, that appeared in the February 2005 issue of Realms of Fantasy is going to be reprinted in David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer's Year's Best Fantasy #6. My first appearance in a Year's Best. Naturally very, very happy. :)

I notice that Tim and Greg's story Robots and Falling Hearts is also going to be in the anthology. Cool company (and an excellent story).

Year's Best Fantasy #6 is going to be published by Tachyon Publications. Can't wait.

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I started a new novel about two weeks ago, maybe a little less. Writing Secrets was real pulling-teeth stuff, but then I had this new idea and I've been averaging about 1,000 words a day since. For me, that's a whole lot of words. And I'm enjoying writing it a hell of a lot more, too. This one really is my fun novel. I can throw random trolls, gods, nanobots, hacking and dark elves all in the same few pages without caring. Who couldn't love doing that? All I need are a few robots and it'll make absolutely no sense at all!

Still need a title for it, though.

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Steph and I started viewing houses yesterday. The first thing we learned was not to agree to view a house at 9.30 on Saturday morning when we don't have a car to get there and it's almost 2 hours by bus and train from here. Man.

No luck on the houses we saw yesterday. The first one was great--good size, newly refurbished and decorated, with everything fitted--except that it had a cellar that obviously constantly flooded, had muddy floors, crumbling walls and ceiling, etc. Steph says it was like the dark id beneath the happy exterior. To me it was more like a hiding troll. No thanks.

The second house obviously didn't have structural issues, but it also didn't have central heating and hadn't been redecorated for decades. Not that the decoration was in bad condition, just that neither of us could imagine spending more than a few minutes in it. Talk about bad taste! We might still have gone for it if the asking price had been twenty thousand less, so we could have had it redone, proper heating and so on put in, before we moved in. Too expensive.

Anyway, the area we were looking at was majorly lacking for a dog. Not a patch of grass within five minutes walk.

So, we're going to spread our search a bit.

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My favourite new album is Comalies by Lacuna Coil. Steph bought it for me. She has such good taste. :) Now I have to start looking into their back catalogue.

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Iain Rowan sent me this link. Now I know what I want for my birthday! Very, very, very cool.