Grab a latte and find your comfy chair, Keltish is coming to YOUR house.

SUNDAY, March 21st, 2010
Keltish Online in Second Life at The Blarney Stone Pub in the original "Dublin" sim
12:00 noon - 1:00PM SLT

For information on SL location and how to listen to us through winamp or some other listening software, check out the Keltish Kalendar at our website.

Note: This is Keltish's *last* full band performance through the internet until late this year. We'll likely not be back in full force until about December, so if you've been meaning to tune in, or stop by to be a part of our "studio audience", it's now or wait 'til Christmas. Bits of "Keltish" may wander through, but if you want the original sound of Chelle, Mac and Lynne, this is your last shot for awhile. Watch here for notices on "Keltish-Lite" (Keltish-ish? Keltoid? Keltaux?) with Lynne, Mac and Elmo Balderdash (or some combination thereof).

Bookworm sighed as she finished her meal at Nell's cafe. She'd eaten lightly--partly by design, based on Zac's recommendation, and partly because of the nervousness she felt in the pit of her stomach. This was going to be something so much out of the scope of her experience, yet it was apparently such a necessary thing now...

She wandered over to the seating area, picked a book at random off the bookshelves, and sat down. After several minutes, when she realized that she hadn't taken in one word of the page in front of her, she gave up and simply sat, staring out of the window.

She wasn't sure how long it was, but suddenly she heard Zac's voice behind her. "Hello, Miss Book. Are you ready?"

Bookworm stood up and turned to face him with a wry smile. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"All right! Let's go upstairs and I'll get us set up."

She followed Zac up to the loft above the cafe level. The room was mostly bare; the wood floor contained only a large rug, on which were two cushions on either side of a chalice that held a glowing crystal. "What I've set up here is a Deryni ward circle," Zac said, seeing her close study. "Just have a seat wherever you prefer."

Bookworm nodded and sank down onto one of the cushions. She watched intently as Zac walked around the perimeter of the circle, placing ward cubes at each compass point. As he did, he said phrases in Latin. Book translated them for herself, her childhood study of that language coming back easily.

Zac bowed to the east. "Saint Michael, protect us!"
To the south. "Saint Gabriel, protect us!"
To the west. "Saint Raphael, protect us!"
To the north. "Saint Uriel, protect us!"

He came over and stood by the empty cushion. Throwing his hands up high, he concluded, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...COME LIGHT!" At those words, a glowing dome of light appeared around them. Bookworm sucked in a breath sharply, fighting down a sudden spurt of panic at being confined by something she didn't understand, and over which she had no control.

Zac smiled reassuringly and took his seat. "You're probably wondering what all that is about."

Bookworm nodded, and smiled a little weakly.

"You know how I've placed wards around your apartment to keep you safe, and around the graveyard to keep the spirits confined within?"

She nodded again.

"Well, in the tradition I'm trained in, we believe that there are forces in operation in our world which exist in the spiritual plane, not just the material one. Some are benevolent, some are malevolent, a few--like your spirits--are neutral."

"That makes sense, I think."

"When we do mental work, we shield as a precaution, because before we can learn how to tighten our shields, first we have to learn how to feel and recognize them for what they are. We have to become more aware of what is happening within us...within our minds.... And so, in a sense, before you can seal a mind, you first have to learn how to open it. And that can present certain opportunities for anything or anyone who might wish to harm us. So we ward as a precaution."

"Interesting," Book replied.

"So, to begin mental work, it helps to be physically relaxed. You'll eventually learn to shield even when you're tense, but why make this harder?"

Bookworm chuckled a little.

"Right now, I'm sensing a little tension from you," Zac said. "You seem to carry your tension around your neck and shoulders...is that correct?"

Bookworm nodded, beginning to feel a connection open up in her mind, a pathway that, it seemed, would allow thoughts and feelings to flow between them.

"OK, let's loosen that up a little bit if we can."

Book tensed up a moment, startled at what felt for all the word like a massage when she knew there were no hands physically on her. Then she closed her eyes and tried to relax into it.

After a moment, Zac remarked, "Hmm. You're definitely a little tight here, Book. Let's warm up with a relaxation exercise then. And contrary to what I've heard traditions are here, this won't entail sitting in an odd position and saying "Om" a lot." He grinned. "Close your eyes. Now try to empty your mind as much as possible, except to be more aware of what's going on within you."

Bookworm nodded, took a deep breath, then closed her eyes and exhaled.

"Feel your muscle tension," Zac said in a soothing voice. "Now, as you become more self aware and your thoughts have stilled, concentrate on relaxing each muscle group, starting at the top and slowly working downwards. Sometimes it helps to deliberately tense each section and then do the opposite and relax it."

She tried to follow his instructions, but began to feel frustration as her thoughts still raced through her mind.

Zac smiled. "Sometimes it also helps to have a focus word or thought. That's probably where the 'om' thing comes from. Nell and I both have a certain centering word that is more personally meaningful to us. Also, a visual image to focus on can help. So whatever it takes to keep your mind focus--and you'll figure that out as you learn--focus on that."

Book cast her mind back several years, to a time when she sat for nearly an entire day at the seashore, with few thoughts but those noting the beauty around her. With that image filling her thoughts, she began to still her mind and relax as Zac had instructed.

"This crystal between us is a shiral crystal, by the way. Deryni sometimes use it to help focus our minds on certain more complex tasks, especially if it would be helpful to keep our eyes open. But we probably won't get as far as shiral work, unless you end up having hidden talents neither of us suspect."

"Mmmmm," she said absently, as she continued the exercise.

"OK, you seem a bit more relaxed than at first. A bit drifty, even." Bookworm smiled at the amusement in Zac's voice, as she felt her tension leaving, even in her neck and shoulders, which had seemed to be permanently tight.

"I'm going to take your hands now." Bookworm felt her hands being gently lifted up, though she kept her eyes closed. "I'm sure you remember the last time I entered your mind. May I do that again now?"

"Yes." Bookworm steeled herself mentally a little for that, reminding herself not to tense up.

"All right then." Bookworm concentrated, trying to follow along as Zac deftly slipped his mind-touch into her mind, gently exploring the outermost perimeter of her consciousness, outlining wordlessly at first where the shielding would be if it were physical. "Within these boundaries is the essence that makes you Bookworm Hienrichs. This is what I'm trying to teach you how to safeguard from harm." She nodded slightly.

"Now, what I want to do is try to go slightly deeper, to the arena of surface thoughts. As I do, I want you to try to firm up those shields to keep me out. That might take some trial and error on your part, since you're not used to doing this consciously. You probably already do it to some extent instinctively, and once you are better trained, you'll be even more effective in your instinctive shielding. But for now, to learn to improve your shields, you have to become able to work with them consciously." Zac took a deep breath. I'll try to skirt away from any areas that I suspect might be too personal. But as I said, right now I'm mainly interested in trying to get to the level of surface thought. Ready?"

Book nodded, biting her lip just a little bit. She felt Zac's probing, and suddenly sensed...something give way, billowing inward like a curtain. An image, and feelings, from last night's party flashed to the surface.

"From what I've heard from Nell, I think you did just fine with organizing Ceejay's party," Zac said with a grin. "How's that so far?"

Her head jerked up a little. Then she smiled. " Thank you. Hindsight is always better."

"Hmmm. Let's see what else is going through that bright head of yours, Minx." He gave her a teasing smile.

Book felt another probe from Zac. She took the image of a curtain--apparently her mind's way of visualizing what was happening--and made it thicker, heavier, weighted down, turning it into an arras that hid her consciousness.

"Very good! You're making it harder for me to get to your surface thoughts," Zac said. "So, it's curtain imagery you're using, hmmm? Well, if that's working for you, that's good. I'm going to try pushing against that curtain a little bit harder now, since now you know what to expect."

Bookworm felt a stronger push from Zac and tried to turn the curtain into a wooden wall. But she felt her control slip, and the probe from Zac slipped further into her mind. She saw what he saw--an old memory, from childhood. A glimpse of teasing schoolchildren, and a book being snatched from her young hands. She felt him withdraw his mind touch.

"Is that how you got the nickname?" he asked with a sympathetic smile.

She smiled wryly. There were all too many of those memories to find, but their pain had diminished to a distant ache. "Oh, yes. I wanted to beat them at their own game, so I took it on as my preferred name."

"Children can be little beasts at times."

Bookworm sensed an undercurrent of sadness from Zac at that statement, and smiled again. "Oh, I'm sure I was beastly enough at times, in my own way."

Zac turned the conversation back to matters at hand. "OK, when I went into that area of your memory, I felt your shielding tighten around me. Unfortunately the response wasn't fast enough, but you're learning. Shall we try again?"

Book pondered a moment, assessing her readiness, then nodded.

"OK, let's do this again." Bookworm felt another probe from Zac, grabbed hold of what remained of the curtain, and yanked downward, stiffening it, and joining it to the wooden wall, completing its circuit around her consciousness. Despite that, after a moment, she felt him slip through a gap she hadn't known was there.

Zac laughed. "So, when did you get drunk and climb a tree near Piermont Landing?"

Bookworm blushed. "Ahh, that was last summer. During Dr. Obolensky's takeover."

"Ah. Yes, I remember now. You...weren't exactly yourself at the time."

Book felt a wave of compassion from Zac down their mental connection, and blushed again, trying to tamp down any errant feelings from her heart.

"Yeah, you'll have to stop drinking so much, Minx. Between Dr. O getting to you, and then Mac turning you into a lush...." Zac flashed her another teasing grin. She coughed and laughed a little.

"Well, let's see...what happens if I try to take a little peek...HERE?!"

Bookworm felt his probe trying to plunge deeper into her mind. She ran her senses around her shield, trying to find holes that she could barely sense, and suddenly, Zac was through. She saw a flash of her desk, and her hand writing in her journal.

...handsome, charming, and intelligent into the bargain.) But my heart...well, it can't seem to help but sometimes inject a wisp of "If only..." into my thoughts. Which should make our training session tonight rather interesting....

She felt his sudden shock and flustered withdrawal. "I...ah...I do apologize, Minx! Um...that is...Book!"

She flushed beet red, and felt tension rush back into her shoulders, hunching her over. "So much for diligence," she said softly, keeping her head down, unable to look up at him, afraid of what she might see in his face. The sudden absence of his connection with her mind made her eyes start to sting with tears, wondering if this revelation had hurt him, and their friendship, beyond repair.

"No need to apologize, Book. That's a known...shall we say, occupational hazard? My own mentor never did shield work with women, and when I was younger, I thought he was just being sexist. But as I gained more mind-linking experience, I came to appreciate why. It's harder to maintain personal boundaries when you've established an intimate level of rapport with them." Zac smiled wryly. "That's why I don't enter rapport with anyone lightly." He chuckled suddenly. "I assure you, Nell would tell you that once you really get to know me, this too shall pass."

Bookworm looked up at Zac's words. And then, she felt the mental connection come back. Regret at seeing something more private than the mundane daily memory he was aiming for, a feeling of admiration and respect for her. And a little awkwardness at his own consciousness of her as a woman. She also felt his desire to deal with this without hurting or embarrassing her, and smiled wanly, her habit of self-deprecating humor surfacing. "No need to worry about embarrassing me--I've managed that quite well on my own."

On the heels of that statement, she caught an image of a gawky, adolescent Zac, watching an older man with a distinguished mien. Familiar thoughts and feelings of hero-worship accompanied the image, along with a feeling of sympathetic understanding. She smiles again, a little more confidently. "Ahh. You do understand."

Zac smiled back. "Been there, yes. That was the Duke. Nell's father. I was the most wet-behind-the-ears armsman trainee-- fourteen, I think."

Bookworm nodded, letting feelings of sympathy trace back down their connection, realizing this must be one of the people for whom he and Nell were in mourning.

"I thought the sun rose and set in him. And then I was assigned to his son, and learned the flip side." He paused, and smiled. " And then I met his daughter, and the universe developed a new orbit."

A sudden thought came to Bookworm's mind--another quote from 'Much Ado About Nothing,' instantly adapted to the conversation. ' My universe has never been so truly turned over and over in love.' She immediately squelched the thought, tucking it well back in her mind, wishing she dared tell him how lucky he should feel that that had happened for him.

"I suspect you've had enough of shield work for one evening, hmmm?" Zac said.

She nodded. "Yes, I think it'd be difficult to relax enough right now."

"Try the relaxation exercise I showed you earlier. If you do that after you're in bed for the night, it can also help you fall asleep," Zac said matter-of-factly. "Shall we this again at some other time? Next time I think I'll let you suggest where you think I should probe."

Bookworm nodded, feeling some weariness starting to creep up.

"We'll just keep this circle in place. I set the wards to recognize our mental signatures, so it will let us in and out, but no one else." Zac stood up and offered his hand to Book; she gratefully took it and rose from the cushion, following him out of the circle.

"Just let me know when you're ready to try again. Shall I escort you home? It's after dark. And it's on the way back to Clockhaven anyway."

"I'd appreciate that, thank you."

He offered her his arm. "And since I am a Deryni, and too tired to bother with walking the entire way, shall I show you that trick I offered to show you before?"

"Oh! Yes, I guess so." Bookworm was mystified, as she followed him to a...something set in the corner of the loft. Zac shared a vision of the Mechanix Arms with her. There was a sudden wrench as the Cafe loft disappeared, and then they were standing in the alley to the south, right by the staircase that led to her apartment.

"That's probably a bit more advanced than I'll be able to teach you, unless you've got a lot of unexpected surprises hidden in that mind of yours." Zac grinned.

"Gracious!" she exclaimed. "Why do you walk?"

He laughed. "For one thing, Transfer Portals take a lot of energy to create. But also, it's hard to stay in fighting trim if you're lazy."

"Good point. But it certainly seems very handy!"

"It can be. And vital in emergencies." He bowed over her hand. "Goodnight, Book."

"Good night, Zac. And...I will get over it. I promise."

"Don't feel you have to rush through this stage. I assure you it's an ego boost." He winked.

Book chuckled a bit helplessly at that. "Ahh, get along with you, now."

Zac laughed and turned to head back home to Clockhaven. She watched him leave, then sighed, feeling the exhaustion of mental work--and intense emotions--seep into her body. She hurried up the staircase and entered her apartment.

Despite her tiredness, she did not go immediately to bed, but instead sat on the couch, staring at the fire, trying to assimilate all that had happened, and all she had learned. But her thoughts kept returning to the moment when her own mind betrayed her. Finally, she gave up and gave them free rein.

'All right. Enough is enough. No more of these romantic delusions. You are not in love with Zac.'

'But--' Another part of her tried to chime in.

'No buts. He is a friend, a teacher. If you can't keep it to that...then think of him as a brother.'

She called to mind her relationship with her own brother. Sure, there had been--and still was--teasing, and there'd been childish spats, but for the most part, they had been, all their lives, comfortable and loving with each other. Having such a relationship here in New Babbage...that would be no bad thing. 'Yes. A brother.'

'But--'

'I said, no buts! It's brother or nothing. Decide.'

Silence.

'Brother it is.'

Bookworm shook her head a little and smiled wryly. 'Well, now that that's settled...do I want to continue with this training, knowing that there could well be further embarrassing revelations to come?' She pondered this question, watching the flickering of the fire, weighing the pros and cons. Finally, she came back to herself and nodded once, decisively. She trusted him absolutely; she could trust him with whatever other memories or feelings would come up. While he might tease--would certainly tease, actually--he would also be sympathetic. Just as her brother would be, if he were here.

With that decision made, Book was sure now that she would be able to sleep. She banked the fire and went into the bedroom, leaving only a soft glow to barely light the front room.

Designs By Marie is happy to introduce a set of unique neko/furry tails, starting with the following three:

(Click on image for larger)



Glittery Rainbow Tail



Stars In My Tail



Fluffy Calico Tail (color-changeable)


Each tail comes equipped with auto-wag and chat and is copyable. Come Get Yours!

I've just realized that in an unconscious effort to fill the man shaped hole in my life, I've spent all day alternating between hardcore BDSM porn (thanks, Kink.com!) and season 3 of The Big Bang Theory (thanks, tvtorrents.com!)

I am as deep as an August puddle, and far more easily predicted.

((Private journal entry, but feel free to comment.))

Late night last night. Well, late for me. But it was worth it!

Today is a special day for Miss Ceejay, and I wanted to do something special for her. However, I also didn't want to compete with St. Patrick's Day, so I decided to plan a surprise party for her for the night before. However, never having done such a thing before, I wasn't really sure what to do. Somehow, I settled on a Ceejaytopia parade from the Her Dark Materials building to Huxley Hall, which route would take us right by the Cocoajava Cafe. My thought was that we could pause there and venerate our Eden, our Mecca.

I guess I should have told people that before the parade started. Ahh, well. The best-laid plans, and all that.

But the dance at the Hall was wonderful! I think people, and especially Ceejay, really enjoyed it. Not bad for my first attempt, I suppose!

But it was, after all, the least I could do for Ceejay. She was my gateway into this community; I never would have found it without her. I've known her for a long time, in many guises and roles, and I've enjoyed them all. It was wonderful to be able to give a little back to her.

My neighbor, Miss Hermit, stopped by this past weekend, wishing to chat with me about our other "neighbors." From what I can gather, she has some training that allows her to interact with them much more than most people, including myself. I told her what little I could; I'm not sure how much help it was, but we'll see.

One thing she said certainly gave me a start. When I said that I believed it was Mr. Somerset who had placed a--I think she called it a "binding"--on the graveyard, she replied that it was a pity that he'd just gotten married. "He seems attractive at a few different levels," she said.

That certainly made me blush--not because she said such a thing out loud, but because it so closely mirrored some of my own thoughts.

My head knows full well that what I'm feeling for Zac is really not much more than hero worship. After all, he saved my life! (And yes, he's handsome, charming, and intelligent into the bargain.) But my heart...well, it can't seem to help but sometimes inject a wisp of "If only..." into my thoughts. Which should make our training session tonight rather interesting, as he begins helping me with strengthening my "mental shields." I suppose this will give me incentive to be a diligent student.

I think, though, that these feeling have intensified recently, and I think I know why. With the time I've had to review and assimilate all that's happened to me in the past few weeks, I've realized just how...intimate mind-to-mind contact can be. I suppose it can't help but be intimate, experiencing another person's thoughts and feelings. I'm sure that's why Zac was so apologetic about going into my mind without permission, even though he had to do it to save me. But I felt his concern and compassion--I didn't have to try to read it from his face or actions, I felt them directly, if only for a little while. I suppose, after experiencing something like that for the first time, it's difficult to keep oneself from reading more into it than one should.

I may be articulating all this because I received a letter from Mother yesterday. I do look forward to her letters--really. They're always full of family news, and good, gossipy news of my original home. She doesn't often gently nag. But she did in this letter, expressing concerns that I still haven't found anyone with whom to share my life, and worries about me growing old alone. All I can do is tell her what I've been telling her for years--that I'm still enjoying my freedom, my friends, my work, and the social life I am slowly carving out for myself. And that isn't a lie--I am enjoying all of that.

Most of the time.

I'll not tell her, of course, of the occasional nights when I lie awake on the couch, staring at the fire, shaking with muffled sobs from the sudden emptiness I feel, wondering if I'm even capable of loving, or being loved...

Well. Another reason to be diligent student. And tonight, I'll see whether diligence will be enough.

There's an interesting rant/argument/brawl going on at AbsoluteWrite at the moment. In a nutshell, an agent who leads a well-known agency with lots of major success to her credit, posted the email query and dialogue of one unfortunate writer who started querying as to the status of his/her manuscript after it had been requested by her agency. As you can guess, people have come out on both sides of the argument, pointing out that emails are meant to be kept secret and the public flogging of this writer (the agent did cut out the novel in question and his/her name) is just not professional.

The most vocal supporter, of course, happens to be a writer who is represented by said agent. She's posted on AW and now taken to her blog for her own rant against the hapless author who dared to ask where his/her work was in the queue *after* it had been requested by the agency. Her position, from what I can gather, is that agents owe nothing to the writers even if they ask for further chapters or partials or fulls or anything.

Hurm. As Rorschach would say.

I don't have a dog in this fight, since I'm currently not looking for an agent. I'm pretty thrilled to have two books coming out with Samhain Publishing and would be darned happy to stay as one of their stable ponies for the future. But what does concern me here is the apparent lack of manners that's being shown on all sides.

When I started writing (well, aside from my epic "Be Kinder to a Binder", written and published when I was in 5th grade) computers were still in their infancy and the idea of emails were still rather new. It did hold, for the most part, that if I sent an email that it was meant to be the same as a private letter, between thee and me. And even if it went to a company,  I considered the correspondence to be private.

Now here comes a literary agent who feels that it's no violation of this unspoken agreement of privacy to post emails between an author and her representative. Even if the person in question was wrong, and I don't think anyone will ever know the full story, since we're only getting one side of it, it still doesn't justify putting personal correspondence out there on the net for all to see. That author is going to have a heck of a time submitting elsewhere, if ever. I wouldn't blame him/her for retiring from writing altogether, after this violation.

I just don't know what happened to good manners and civility. Toss the jerk's manuscript if you want, but what's the point of posting his/her emails on your blog? To embarass the poor person publically? To flaunt that you have the power over the mass of authors clamoring for your representation?

Maybe I'm just an old fogy who figures that manners DO still matter and that this was wrong, even if the guy/girl were being annoying.

Hurm.

X- Safely home from my trip! More tomorrow/ sleep now.

Just as an FYI, I've started a blog on Wordpress - it's the same posts as I have here, but I thought I'd branch out a wee bit.

http://sherylnantus.wordpress.com/

Hope to see some of you there!

:)

In aviation, holding (or flying a hold) is a maneuver designed to delay an aircraft already in flight while keeping it within a specified airspace.*

My life, while busy as a duck's feet underwater with things to do, is in a holding pattern. Has been for a while. I am staying in the same place, maintaining the status quo. Whether it feels like being stagnant or stable truly depends on the day. I am holding out for a permanent job. I am holding on waiting for a relationship. I am holding space for friends who are hurting and going through life turmoil. I am holding down the fort while Mom is away working. Holding, holding, holding.

Sometimes holding becomes juggling when I'm trying to hold too many things at once. Sometimes holding becomes clinging when I'm afraid to let go of the known and leap into the unknown. Sometimes holding becomes grasping when I'm desperately hanging on to the last thing tethering me to my all-too-slippery sanity. Most days, it feels like being caught in a calm but strong current circling around a small bay. The bottom is too deep for my anchor to reach, so I never feel truly at ease, but I also rarely get the adventure of the open sea, or the thrill of the rapids. I'm floating in the eddies and waiting for some impetus to knock me free and allow me to leave this bay. Every time I try to break free on my own, I get sucked back in to the whirlpool. Is the whirlpool all there is to life?


------------


* From Instrument Flying Handbook (Federal Aviation Administration) {via Wikipedia}

I don't ask much of my readers, but I'm asking something of you today.

Go here.

Read this.

There is more truth here than I can say, and I back her words 100%. They are in keeping with my experiences as a person who has been dealing with her bipolar disorder for over half of her life.

Comment there, if you like, but do so in a respectful manner. She's (rightfully) screenig comments initially, and if you aren't respectful, your comment will never see the light of day.

Comments here are screened as well, and disrespectful comments will bring forth the ban-hammer.

I've decided today to give you the benefit of my limited, silly ground bits of knowledge on the mystery that is, ebooks.

Yeah, yeah, I know - you've got it all figured out. Probably so, but bear with this old broad as she puts down some thoughts on electronic paper for those who may just not be as fast as you are.

Which would be, me.

;)

Ebooks come in a dizzying number of formats. Amazon's Kindle has one, Sony has one, Barnes and Noble has one, everyone has one. Why? Because they want you to buy ONLY from their store. Thus the inability for you to transfer files from one format to the other. Unless you're a hacker, in which case you are loved and adored by many a friend who weeps over their loss when they change readers.

Now, most ebook publishers will sell you an ebook in a variety of formats so that you *can* put it on your favorite ebook reader. That's why when you buy a book you get a huge zip file containing formats that you never knew existed. Or you get to choose the specific format you need and the epublisher sends it to you. Seems to me that the best, and simplest one around is PDF format - used by plenty of other files for other reasons, and thus most people already have the ability to read it on their laptop/mainframe computer.

Which brings me to the next point - ebook readers. I am still too poor to buy one and even if I wanted to, I refuse to pay more than $99 for something that basically does nothing but give me books. If I want something to multitask, I'll take the money from the Nook or Sony or Kindle and put it into a netbook with Windows when I can read everything without fear of formatting and the like. It blows my mind that no one has yet put out a nice little reader without the bells and whistles. I don't need an MP3 player, I don't need to store videos and pictures, I just want to be able to read my ebooks. Yeah. I'm an idiot.

;)

And, finally... what do you read it with?

Let me point you to what is, right now, my bestest friend for ebook reading. Calibre.

Let me say that again.

CALIBRE

Calibre is a FREE ebook program for your computer that lets you read almost every format there is under the sun, at present. You can tag your books, sort by publisher or author, skim the covers (if you have a wireless connection) and basically does everything I want in a reader.

FOR FREE.

You also have the option of the Kindle for PC. This is great if you want to take advantage of all the great FREE ebooks being offered by publishers like, say, Samhain, every month. (Go Misty Evans!) The only caveat here is that you do have to have an online connection to read the books - if you don't, you can't.

Barnes & Noble also have theNook application for PC. I haven't used this at all, since I found it pretty clunky the first time I tried it. But they also offer free books, so...

And where do you find free books that aren't linked to a bookstore? Well, try Smashwords - yes, that's my page. Shoot me. *laughs* There's also Scribd  - you can find specific types of books at the Baen Free Library or at Suvudu Free Library. There's plenty of free books out there for you to take a look at and enjoy.

Which brings me to piracy. Of course.

Please, please, please do not accept books from sources that you know to be illegal. I can start on a rant here about how you're taking money out of MY pocket and my publisher's pocket and go on, but you know it's wrong. You know that it's not right to go to a pirate site and have some badly-scanned mess of my book downloaded onto your computer with God knows what sort of viruses or spyware or whatnot along for the ride.

Please don't do it. Tell your friends not to do it, please. If you're that desperate for a copy of my book, write me an email detailing your argument and I *might* send you a free copy. No promises, but I'd rather you present your argument in a logical form and convince me of why you can't spend the price of a large coffee from Starbuck's.

'nuff said.

the idiot retires....
;)

Welcome Ladies, Greetings Gentlemen,
Hail Urchins, Children and Freaks

Thank you for attending...

=Renfold & Tremor’s=
=Carnivale D’ Arcane=
New Babbage

March 12, 13 & 14 1898

Friday, March 12th, 3pm: Performer Parade to Carnivale Grounds in New Babbage
4pm Grounds Open to One and All
Saturday, March 13th, 2pm: Big Show Begins
Saturday, March 13th, 4pm: Inner Freak contest Awards
Saturday, March 13th, 5pm: Big Show Again
Sunday, March 14th, 2pm: Finale Show

We present to you the following acts of daring agility, fearless chutzpah, devil-may-care folly and utter stupefaction!

( The Plethora of Acts that Will Amaze and Astound! )

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day - Marney the Blarney Stone!
( Click here for Pics )
You can get your copy at Designs By Marie or on XstreetSL.


x-posted to own journal

"Now where were we?"

( NSFW for bum & sideboob. )

As always, photo credit goes to Russ Matthews ( arkhamrefugee ) , and prints can be obtained by contacting him directly.