I mentioned that Book View Café was debuting a new, shiny, more functional and less funky bookstore, right? That was the beta; today is the Grand Opening of the New! Improved! Shinier! Book View Café Bookstore! And in honor of it all, and to encourage folk to come see the riches--that is, the cool reading material--we have on offer, we’re giving away books, and offering a limited-time discount on BVC anthologies. Here's how it works:
Take a look around the store any time up until midnight, June 8, and choose the book you'd like—all the books that are eligible for the giveaway are marked with a big, shiny star. Then come back here and leave a comment with the name and author of the book and why you want it (we may use that comment for publicity purposes). When the promotion ends, the comment posted closest to a date and time I've already chosen is the winner, and I'll send you a coupon for the book of your choice.</blockquote>

I look forward to seeing what y'all are interested in reading. I have my favorites; let's see yours!

I had a perfectly splendid time, although I will say that I cannot 1) drink, 2) stay up late, 3) eat as much as I used to be able to. Also, having left my Claritin at home had a material effect on my clearheadedness. Still, I enjoyed all my panels (surprisingly, the Monday morning 10am panel on Children in Jeopardy in SF and F may have been the best, despite the hour and my feeling, before hand, that I had a very limited range of things to contribute. In fact, I talked my head off, the audience was engaged, my fellow panelists smart and equally talkative...I woke up, even!). And I got to see a midwestern thunderstorm! (People who don't live in San Francisco may not understand my passionate longing for thunderstorms...we don't get 'em much, and I love them.)

I bought a new pair of Laurie Edison earrings, because I so love Laurie's work. I got to read with Pat Murphy, Nisi Shawl, and Eileen Gunn (talk about your rarified company) and made people laugh. I bought a book or two, I talked with too many people to count, and on Sunday night after the Tiptree Awards and Guest of Honor speeches I stood around in the hallway on the party floor working on a free-form song spear-headed by Elise Mattheson and Ellen Klages that involved "doing wrong things with squid." (Sample verse: "You may think I'm a little bit odd, but I've got a thing for a cephalopod.")

All in all, an excellent weekend. This morning at breakfast a bunch of us more or less spontaneously broke into "We Are Wiscon!" to the tune of the current Farmers' Insurance jingle. I love my People.

Now sitting in the adorable Madison airport waiting for my flight to Chicago, and thence (we hope) home. Last time I came back from Wiscon I had stomach flu and my flights were cocked up, so I'm hoping that this time I get compensatory good flight luck. We'll see.

We're pleased to announce the publication of Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff's short story collection Shaman.

"The stories in this collection were first published in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact between 1990 and 2011. They feature the adventures of eccentric kilt-wearing anthropologist / archaeologist / xenologist Rhys Llewellyn and his able assistants, Yoshi Umeki and Roderick Halfax. Given my fascination with archaeology, first contact… and all things Scottish, I suppose these stories were inevitable.”

–Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff

Table of Contents:

Shaman
Squatter’s Rights
The Secret Life of Gods
Marsh Mallow
Simple Gifts

Want to read a sample story?

$4.99 (Story Collection) ISBN 978-1-61138-174-0

Avocado passed her driver's test yesterday, and is now s licensed driver. In fact, she's a pretty good driver for an unseasoned whelp--overestimates her ability to deal with everything under the sun, but careful and thoughtful.

Now begins a lifetime (at least as long as she lives with us) of jockeying for the car. We now have three licensed drivers in the house, and theoretically the priority of use goes: Dad, Mom, Avocado. Even before her test she was trying to organize things so that she could move up a rung or two on that ladder. Such interesting times.

Congratulations, whelp. Well done. I'm proud of you. No, you can't use the car today.

Today I got up way early and drove up to Davis to meet Sarcasm Girl (aka Julie), to do the transfer orientation thing. She took the train up. It was as I was getting off the highway, about five minutes from campus, that The Girl called. Chagrinned. Orientation is the last Wednesday in June. She is not the only one who made this error--there were half a dozen kids there (apparently there'd been an error on the website which was repaired after the kid looked at it).

So we went out to breakfast and I took her home, and then I drove to work.

It's a pretty campus, I'll give it that. I'll report back at the end of June. Sigh.

I'm delighted to say that, as of today, all of my Regencies are once again available. Book View Café announces the publication of The Spanish Marriage.

Hidden in a convent in Bonapartist Spain, Dorothea Cannowen seizes her only chance to return to England. When she discovers a stranger, wounded and delirious in the convent garden, she nurses him to health –


then begs him to take her back to England with him. But to do so — to preserve Dorothea’s reputation — Douglas Matlin counters with a proposal: marry him now, and have the marriage annulled when they reach London.

Neither of them can know that the dangers of a journey through enemy territory will bring them closer together, or that that closeness will threaten Matlin’s plans and Dorothea’s happiness.

$3.99 (Novel)
ISBN 978-1-61138-172-6

You can of course find its sister novels, Althea, My Dear Jenny, The Heiress Companion, and Lady John, at BVC too!

Okay, enough of this self-promotion nonsense.

I've been sitting on the results since the beginning of April. Such a relief to be able to say, aloud: congratulations to Jo Walton, Kij Johnson, Geoff Ryman, Ken Liu, Neil Gaiman, and Delia Sherman! Hope it was a hell of a party.

So this coming Thursday night I go off to Madison, WI for Wiscon. If you're in the neighborhood, find me here:

Saturday, 2:30-3:45
Klutz! And Dragons! Room 611 Pat Murphy and Madeleine Robins
What's it like to work at Klutz? Two SF writers will tell you, and show how to make paper dragons.

Saturday, 4:00-5:15pm
Girl Cooties: Considering the Romance Novel Assembly Heidi Waterhouse, Susan Marie Groppi, Jim Leinweber, Megan, Madeleine E. Robins
There is a lot of internalized misogyny in how we talk about romance novels and other popular writing directed at women, such as chick lit. Let's talk about why we seem to feel so conflicted about works written by and for women. Is there value in romance? Can a romance be a version of the hero's journey? Do you read romance novels? Or do you wonder why anyone calling herself a feminist would do so?

Sunday, 1:00-2:15pm
Reading: Woman Up! Conference 2 Eileen Gunn, Pat Murphy, Madeleine E. Robins, Nisi Shawl
This is the sequel to "Hot Desert Dames," which provided dessert as well as hot dames and the random guy. Featuring Pat Murphy, Eileen Gunn, Nisi Shawl, and Madeleine Robins. Will still provide dessert. Or, at least, chocolate!

Monday, 10-11:15a
Children in Danger in SF&F Senate B Michael Marc Levy, Tuppence, Madeleine E. Robins, Jenny Sessions, Ibi Zoboi
Panelists will discuss perilous settings for child protagonists in YA and adult science fiction and fantasy in recent years. Examples including Katniss in The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Bella in Twilight, and dark action-driven retellings of fairy tales.

The SignOut (scheduled)

Not to mention the Tiptree Auction, and the bar(s), and wandering down the street looking for popcorn or good Nepalese food. If you see me, say Hi!

If you have a minute, go check out Book View Café! Today we rolled out the New! Improved! bookstore. Easier to navigate, cleaner and better organized, plus, new bells and whistles (you can buy more than one book at a time! We can issue "coupons" for discounts! Joy!).

And while you're there, check out ramblin_phyl's Guardian of the Freedom, released today.

1763: all of Europe is at war with each other and the Turks are storming toward Vienna. The magical protection of Britain requires that Georgina Kirkwood, a potential Merlin, leave the secret Pendragon Society and disguise herself as man to fight for England.

Wounded and no longer able to carry a sword, Georgina is recruited by the King as a spy in the American Colonies. Transplanted to a land and people vibrant with life and ideas, she begins to question her loyalties. Only her love for Major Roderick Wythe gives her the grounding and stability to work with Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams and many other notable leaders to discover what being the Merlin truly means and to determine who she is protecting from whom.

Irene Radford has been writing stories ever since she figured out what a pencil was for. A member of an endangered species, a native Oregonian who lives in Oregon, she and her husband make their home in Welches, Oregon where deer, bears, coyotes, hawks, owls, and woodpeckers feed regularly on their back deck.

A museum trained historian, Irene has spent many hours prowling pioneer cemeteries deepening her connections to the past. Raised in a military family she grew up all over the US and learned early on that books are friends that don't get left behind with a move. Her interests and reading range from ancient history, to spiritual meditations, to space stations, and a whole lot in between.

Guardian of the Freedom (historical fantasy)
Merlin's Descendants #5
Irene Radford
May 15, 2012 $4.99 ISBN: 978-1-61138-171-9

I have got everything on my non-writing ToDo list done except for the BVC book keeping, which is about half done (maybe 2/3 done).

I'm going to have a glass of wine and watch the dog snore for a while. How about you?