Rick James is dead, alas. Whatever problems he had, he still made some great music. I challenge anyone to listen to "Give It to Me Baby" and remain motionless. Not possible. R.I.P.

In other news, reading Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (yes, it is every bit as good as you've heard--despite a bit of a slow start--and no, you can't borrow my copy. Sorry) is making me want to write about a magic school. There's not even a magic school in the book, but every time I read about magicians--Harry Potter, A Wizard of Earthsea, what have you--I want to write about a magic school. And yet, it's been done so well by so many that I probably shouldn't. And yet, I think I might anyway. The concept I'm mulling may even turn out to be a shared-world sort of thing. It's been weighing on my mind the past couple of days . . .

The list of Honorable Mentions for the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 17 (go buy it now) is not short. This is good, because it means that many people whom I've met through workshops, conventions and online are on the list--more of them than I can list, in fact! It's exciting to be a part of that group. Hopefully those folks (you know who you are) will soon be among those reprinted. And hopefully those who aren't yet on that list will be there soon.