Woot! My short-short story "Crow" has just been published online at The Town Drunk. You can read it here! "Crow" is another chick-lit fantasy story...or fable, maybe, in this case? I love The Town Drunk's layout, and the editors were a total pleasure to work with. I'm very happy to see "Crow" published there!

One of the nicest things for me about the past week is that I've been getting up early enough on weekdays to share Patrick's morning writing sessions. It's just so much easier and more fun to write with a partner sitting across the table from me. Even when we don't talk to give each other direct encouragement, just the sound and sight of him typing away is amazingly motivating. Also, I try to finish my daily 1,000 words as quickly as possible so that there's time every morning to read them out loud to Patrick as he gets ready for work afterwards. It's well worth the early wake-ups!

And in other news, I've been reading Maria Snyder's Poison Study, which is lots of fun (and feels a bit like an adult version of Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia books). I found it for £1.49 at a thrift shop last week and bought it even though I felt a little unsure of whether I'd like it or not. It was definitely a good purchase - I'll look for its sequel on Amazon, or in the bookstores in Michigan in a couple of weeks.

What else should I look for? Any recommendations? Every year when we come to America I go on a big book-buying orgy to pick up all the American fantasy and YA books I can't find in the shops in England (and sometimes haven't even heard of before we arrive in America). I know I want to look for Maureen Johnson's Devilish and Maria Snyder's Magic Study (and, on a different note, Loretta Chase's Not Quite a Lady, because there is No Way I can possibly wait until June, when it comes out in England, to read it!)...what else? Any suggestions would be awesome.