The best news of this weekend is: I have seen the proofs of cover art, contributors' notes and my story for the next issue of Say... magazine ("Say...have you heard this one?"), and they look fantastic! I am so incredibly psyched. I always loved the issues of Say... that I read, and I particularly love that my story "The Little Tailor" is getting published there, complete with dedication to my great-grandfather, who inspired the whole thing. (Well, really, I wrote this story in memory of two great-grandfathers and a very beloved grandfather, but my great-grandfather Moshe Gerschfeld was the one who sat me and my little brother down in his living room and told us the story of "The Little Tailor" when I was only three or four, thus starting the whole thing.) This is a very heart-invested story, and seeing the proofs for it--making it really happen!--just made me feel so good.

Besides my story, there are also pieces by Sandra MacDonald, Hannah Wolf Bowen, Sonya Taaffe, David Schwartz, Peg Duthie, Larry Hammer, Craig Laurance Gidney, Catherine Morrison, Karen Roberts, E.L. Chen, and Janni Lee Simner. I can't wait to read my copy at Wiscon!

(And, if anyone who isn't going to Wiscon wants to read a copy, the ordering details are here).

It's been sunny but cold and windy all weekend, making for a slightly schizophrenic experience on our walks. Poor Patrick has had his cold/flu virus come back after not getting enough sleep during the week, so it's been a quiet weekend for both of us. Yesterday morning we sat down and did our usual game of coming up with twenty different story ideas together. It always starts out feeling ridiculous ("I can't think of anything, this is silly, these are all really bad ideas..."), but by halfway through, our subconsciouses had kicked in, and some really neat, catchy ideas were slipping through. Now I've got three new short stories to work on whenever I next take a break from the novels!

And in good movie news, after all my qualms, David Schwartz has posted a glowing, spoiler-free review of Serenity, which completely cheered me up, and yet made me insanely jealous--drat it, I want to see it! Now! Not in October! Ah, well. He's backed up by another spoiler-free reviewer who also loved it. (Thanks to Gwenda Bond for both those links!)