New pictures of River! (Who has eczema, very bad, and just got put on steroid cream by the doctor. And who's getting glasses soon, what with being all nearsighted from the glaucoma. Oh, poor kid, you break my heart! But you are still so happy!)

The Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing podcast recently interviewed Neil Gaiman, and a couple of people commented/e-mailed to let me know Neil had mentioned me in the course of the talk. So I listened, out of pure self-interest, and found a very interesting and funny interview largely about Neil's first time teaching Clarion (something I aspire to do myself someday!). He does mention me -- in a funny way, too -- but listen to it anyway, as it's good overall.

Somehow I didn't notice that the artwork for Blood Engines by Daniel Dos Santos is a finalist for this year's Chesley Award in the paperback category! (Dan won a Chesley last year, is nominated a couple of times this year, and I bet he will be next year too, maybe even for Poison Sleep and/or Dead Reign.) The winners were expected to be announced at Worldcon, but were delayed; they'll be announced sometime in the near future.

Ah, sweet weekend. Many of my friends are off gallivanting it up at Worldcon, and I hope they're having a blast, but I'm just as glad to be here at home with a quiet couple of days ahead of me. (And it's only 20 days until we head for Hawaii....)