Clarion, here I come!

I'm busy packing for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Workshop and trying to finish some writing and editing assignments before I leave Sunday. I don't know whether I'll have a chance to post live while I'm gone, but I have some posts scheduled to self-post, including an interview with a debut author. When I come back from Clarion, I hope to have many tips to share with you.

In the meantime:

Contest winners!

As already announced, Charles Gramlich and Ken Schneyer each won an Oriental carpet bookmark for guessing why my skin is so pale. I had expected to receive the bookmarks by now, but they haven't arrived. I will get them to you as soon as possible.

My husband came home from his trip to Ireland and we went through the contest entries (names cut off). Twenty-seven years of marriage must have given us the same sense of humor because we both had the favorites. The winner of contest 2 is the person whose guess of what my new cuneiform tattoo says came closest. The tattoo (if looked at in a mirror) says "lady scribe." The late-entering team of Allie, Cassie, and Renee came closest with their guess of "Your humble correspondent."

The winner of contest 1 is the person with the best comic rejoinder to the question, "What does your tattoo say?" The team of Allie, Cassie, and Renee again wins with "I fell asleep while the artist was doing the other tattoo and when I woke up he was doodling on my ankle." However, since you guys already won contest 2 and since I don't want to be accused of nepotism, the prize goes to Rae Ann Parker for "You mean you can't read it?"

Winners of contests 1 and 2 will receive flashlight keychains, Oriental carpet bookmarks, and either an ARC of my book or the book itself.

Thanks, everyone, for entering my contest, and congratulations to Charles, Ken, Cassie, Allie, Renee, and Rae Ann!

New blog!

While continuing this blog, I am joining several other people in starting a new writing blog called Novel Spaces at http://novelspaces.blogspot.com. The blog will debut 1 July. Stay tuned for more information next week.

My book cover!

The ARCs for Like Mayflies in a Stream will go out in a few days, and this is the cover they will wear. The final cover will look much the same when the book comes out about 1 October, with a flattering (I hope!) blurb replacing "Advanced Reading Copy" in the bottom bar.

The picture shows the protagonist Shamhat, a priestess and scribe, and the wild man Enkidu.

I am truly delighted with the cover, both because the image is beautiful and because the artist has taken pains to get the historical details right, from the oil lamp to the White Temple of An to the mat on the floor.

My FaceBook fan page!

My editor created a fan page on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=93594758291. If you're a FaceBook member, you can join the page (I think that's the right term) and keep up with signings, contests, and other book-related events and information.