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We're having to rebuild the search server again (previously, previously). It will take a few days to reindex all the content.

Meanwhile search services should be running, but probably returning no results or incomplete results for most queries.

It's Twin Cities Pride this weekend and I'm headed in to do some preliminary setup this morning. It's been raining for days, with some more expected this weekend and 3 of the interstates are closed - what could go wrong? No, don't answer that. At any, Queen of Swords Press will have a table in the Queer Writes Test/Zone (called different things on the map), space #496. I'm "between jobs" (out of work/taking a short break) as of 7/3 so if you can't make it to Pride and are up for buying a book or two, now would be a great time. Library requests help a lot too!

Readercon 34 - I will be attending (please buy a Pride StoryBundle if you can! My half of the curator's fee is funding my trip cash for July and these are some great books. We're also raising money for Rainbow Railroad too!). My schedule is here and I'm on everything from small press publishing to aging in sf to erotica and horror to doing a reading. Looking for ward to it! Will I see you there? Let's get a meal/snacks.

I am also adding an October trip to Iowa City on 10/11 to accept a posthumous Laura Young Award for Jana from Guild of Bookworkers at their Standards Conference. That will be something of a whirlwind, but if you're in the area, breakfast on Sunday could be a thing.

I have a Seattle Worldcon schedule but it doesn't look quite baked yet. I also apparently promised a debut reading of Blood Moon, (Wolves of Wolf's Point #3) from some months back when I had 10K words...then had to revise and reset in a different character's head. Apparently, there will be a lot of writing in the next couple of weeks to get some things ready for readings at both cons!

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Well, I'm hella tired. So sleep and doing odds and ends are looking very appealing. Also writing and editing. I'm signing up for various workshops and classes and just came across a developmental editing class that I signed up for...a year ago. I should probably finish that. In a couple of weeks, I will be looking for editing, teaching, speaking, writing gigs, but I definitely need to recharge a bit. Let me know if you're interested in my sundry nonIT skills. For the IT end of things, my contracting company will keep looking and the very large healthcare co. that currently rents my services has expressed interest in having me back in another capacity so we'll see if anything works out there. In the next couple of weeks, I have vending at Twin Cities Pride this weekend (500,000+ people, 3 day marathon - come see us at the Queer Writes Tent in Loring Park!), the Inbound Book Fair for Grownups in 2 weeks (4-5000 people last year, 2 day marathon - come see us at the Fairgrounds in the Education Building!), followed immediately thereafter by Readercon (my schedule is lit!). Then back for a couple of weeks, then off to Seattle for Worldcon. Somewhere in there, I will freak about money if I haven't figured something out, but I also figure I've been planning for this for the last year and if I don't seize the moments where I can, when will I?

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personal update

Which sums up so much, really. In a very short time last week, the following things happened:

I successfully sold one of Jana's design bindings (my personal fav, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) to a book collector. Not the institution I had hoped for but still good news and very helpful.I also managed to rehome/sell a bunch of her reference books and remaining tools with someone else who was one of her students and a colleague.
I got news that Jana is getting a posthumous Laura Young Award from the Guild of Bookworkers this year in Iowa City. One the one hand, this is "Yay! Awesome!" and very well-deserved, On the other, I am kind of resentful that this recognition couldn't have come in the Before Times so she could have enjoyed it, given that was when she did the bulk of the work that is being honored. But so it goes. Now I have to figure out how I'll fit in a trip to Iowa City in October, especially as I may be unemployed.
Because that is the other thing that happened on the same afternoon last week. I got word that my contract wasn't going to be extended so I'm out on 7/2. On the one hand, this fairly toxic project was starting to be bad for my mental health, especially after what I've been through already this year. On the other, super fond of the paychecks and not yet in a position for retirement to be more than a good joke amongst friends. And, of course, Readercon (midJuly) has been a goal for ages and is partially paid for and Worldcon in Seattle (mid August) is paid for with the exception of hotel, food and sundries and I have a roommate and a friend to travel on the train with, so cancelling is not on the table.
I did go to 4th Street Fantasy over the weekend and had a perfectly nice time with friends. And I wore my Alice B. Readers' medal pinned to my chest like a Napoleanic general all weekend because I'm not going to get another lifetime achievement award (in all likelihood) so I'd best appreciate it while I can.
I had a really nice queer elder moment this weekend. A local young person is trying to spin up a homemade scones delivered by bike business that I have ordered from a few times and they reached out on Sunday to ask if they could stop by to give me some scones since they had extra from their last sale. We had a nice chat and i enjoyed the intergenerational bonding. Will try and do more of this!
I watched "Ballerina" and "In the Lost Lands" in the last week and they are both terrible in different ways, but also action-packed and entertaining fun. Very, very high body count and quite gory if those are things you wish to avoid.
Things that would be helpful as I embark on another effin' round of job hunting:

Job referrals for analyst gigs - as much WFH as possible. Shu is not doing well and I'd need to pay someone to check on him otherwise (this is what I do when I have all day events, given his shot schedule).
Check out the Pride StoryBundle - buy one if you can, encourage your friends to do the same, recommend it to others and boost if you can't buy. Melissa and I split the curator's fee so the more we sell, the better we do. It also means more money for the publishers and authors as well as for Rainbow Railroad so very much a win/win.
Hire me! I edit, I coach people on publishing and marketing, I can format ebooks, give talks, teach classes and workshops and all that good stuff. I write fiction, nonfiction and media tie-ins - invite me to write or edit for your project!
I have a Patreon that supports both me and Queen of Swords. The tiers are nonsense at this point - everybody gets something and any amount helps.
Buy books or get your library to buy Queen of Swords Press titles. Reviews and recommendations help lots too!
Stay tuned - I'll be putting stuff up for sale online, including finally getting Jana's boxes up on my Ko-fi. I'm looking at article pitches and CFS and crowdfunding a Queen of Swords Press project. Oh, and finally writing that next novel and digging into writing a new short story collection and more.

Am I aware of what's going on in the outside world? Yes. Doing what I can to make things better where I can, but I also gotta consider what happens to me, my cats and so forth so that needs to be the priority. Hugs all around if you need them.

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May 2017

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Rebuilding journal search again

Readercon schedule, TC Pride and more!

How am I viewing my looming unemployment, you ask?

And here we go again...

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