For once, I didn't actually mind being woken up early by Mr Darcy, since it meant that I got to see the election results sooner. :)

It's been a hard couple of days, since we're still worrying about Mr Darcy's weight and trying various tactics with more or less success/stress. Yesterday, after 40 minutes (!!!) of Mr Darcy screaming non-stop until he went hoarse (and me joining in the cacophony with my own tears by the end), it was just inexpressibly lovely to read MK Hobson's article History As It Wasn't: Writing Historical Fantasy in The Broadsheet and see the nice mention of my writing there. (It was a great article in general, which I would have found interesting regardless - but as I rocked the finally-sleeping Mr Darcy in my arms, still tearful from the ordeal we'd both been through, it meant a lot to see that affirmation.)

I also managed to distract myself with a fascinating blog entry by Karen Healey, Top Ten Australasian Books Everyone Should Read. I want to read every book on that list now! I was lucky enough to read the manuscript of Karen's own upcoming YA fantasy, Guardian of the Dead, and it was AWESOME - great urban fantasy set in New Zealand, full of gorgeous Maori mythology, complicated & compelling characters, and such a richly textured setting that, even though I've never been to NZ, I felt like I was actually there as I read the book. It blew me away - I can't wait to read the published version in 2010!

And speaking of books, I keep forgetting to say that The Lone Star Stories Reader (which includes my flash fic "Giant", as well as a slew of stories by fantastic writers like Sarah Monette, Ekaterina Sedia, Martha Wells, Sarah Prineas, and many more) is available to order from Amazon. Very cool!

The funny thing is, I hadn't considered myself to be as stressed about the election as many of my friends - I voted weeks ago by absentee ballot and was trying not to let myself think about it too much until the results came in - but today, when it was finally over, I felt an enormous wave of relief - and with it, an equally enormous wave of inspiration. Suddenly, I feel ready to start writing again, after being completely blocked for the past week. Huh. I guess I had been a bit stressed about the election after all...