Scarlet Letters

In case you hadn't noticed, this blog is on semi-hiatus. Not that I don't enjoy sharing the menfolk's shenanigans and my latest rants, but there's a lot of things up in the air right now and I need to focus for a bit. However, the Fall Deathmarch must stomp on! Each year I say I'm not going to do this to myself, and each year I give in. Coming up: • St. Louis SPJ Student Boot Camp, Edwardsville, Ill. Sept. 23 (journalism) • Archon, Collinsville, Ill. Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (books and art/Literary Underworld) • Imaginarium, Louisville, Ky. Oct. 6-8  (books and art/Literary Underworld) • Leclaire Parkfest, Edwardsville, Ill. Oct. 15 (books and art) • journalismSTL, St. Louis, Mo. Oct. 23 (journalism) • Heartland Book Festival, Cape Girardeau, Mo. Oct. 28 (tent. - books) • St. Louis Indie Book Fair, St. Louis, Mo. Nov. 3-4 (books) • Contraception, Kansas City, Mo. Nov. 10-12  (books and art/Literary Underworld) • Edwardsville (Ill.) Winter Market, Dec. 2 (...

Yes, sometimes even reporters get a little time off. I won't be on Facebook while we're on vacation, but I'll likely be Tweeting on the personal account at @edonald if I see something amusing. I'll switch off the automatic feed so the Facebook crew won't be deluged with my blather, but if you actually want to see what we're up to, follow me there. I will blog if I feel like it. If you all have news, contact my bosses at Ye Olde Newspaper. Public officials, please remember you are still under adult supervision. No scandals or exciting chases, please. If you're planning crime, please hold off until I get back. [Redacted] is certainly not allowed to resolve itself without me. In fact, no news is allowed to take place for the next two weeks. We are going to have fun as a family and hang out with good friends. And I'll have the joy of changing Boy's bandages three times a day, so that should be fun. (He's going to be fine.) See y'al...

Oh, just pick a state, willya... I greet you from a lovely bed and breakfast in Charlestown, Indiana. It's a charming mansion with many rooms decorated in a comfortable, Victorian-inspired style, a billiards and music room downstairs and lovely gardens, at least what I could see when I arrived after dark. So far I approve. The only downside of the room: No desk, and I neglected to charge the laptop, so I can't work at the nifty writing-desk in the hall. Therefore I have the laptop balanced on my knees in the Victorian contour chair so I can write this blog. The things I do for you people. Today was supposed to be a leisurely drive to the Louisville, Ky. area to explore the area before the marketing symposium for writers at Karen's Book Barn , the store hosting me and many other authors this weekend. Of course, I got hit with about five errands to run "on my way out of town," no less than two minor crises, and got twenty minutes away from home before ...

So let's recap, friends and neighbors: This weekend: • I have a signing at Maeva's in Alton on Friday night - " Writers of the Riverbend ." • On Saturday, I work for Ye Olde Newspaper. • On Sunday, I am running a fundraiser at Pottery Hollow for the Relay for Life team. This requires baked goods, as treats were promised to the people coming to paint things. I might be able to get away with cookies and punch. • Meanwhile Boy goes through his Ordeal for the Order of the Arrow. Next weekend: • I am doing a signing in Louisville, Ky. I am leaving on Thursday so I can do some photography on Friday before the signing on Saturday. • But as soon as the signing is over Saturday, I have to book it back to Illinois. Because... • Sunday is the 175th anniversary of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church . I am responsible for the coffee hour baked goods. And coffee hour is, as we all know, the eighth sacrament of the Episcopal Church. • Therefore all baking must be done...

Each year, I swear I'm not going to do this to myself anymore. I keep swearing.... No Dragoncon for me this year, and at the moment, I do not have any Atlanta stops planned. If there seems to be sufficient interest, I may plan a bungee stop in the spring tour, but in the meantime, I hope my Atlanta fans have an awesome Dragoncon! Buy lots of books! Sept. 9-11: Memphis, Tenn. on personal business, but am happy to meet with anyone for books or art! Deadline for ordering is Sept. 8. Sept. 17-21: New Orleans, La. for the Excellence in Journalism conference , at which I am honored to represent the St. Louis Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists as president and delegate. A reminder to the STLSPJ crew: if you have any opinions you wish to express on the issues we will debate at EIJ, please contact me in advance. I'll be traveling via Memphis in case anyone wants to meet up. Sept. 25: Back home. Booked to moderate/host the St. Louis Society of Professional Jo...

We spent the last four days relaxing with my dad and stepmom at their house at the Lake of the Ozarks. It was a wonderful respite, and delightful to see the folks, whom we get to see far too little now that they're retired. (Well, sort of retired. Karen's still doing therapy, they wrote a book together, Dad's thinking about picking up one class a semester...) For everyone who said "Tell your folks I said hi," your good wishes were duly passed on. Dad took us out on the boat, where the menfolk caught a lot of snarled fishing line, and there were many bites.... from mosquitoes. Not so much the fish. At one point Dad declared a spot was "fished out," and I replied, "Don't you actually have to catch a fish for that to happen?" Hee. We went on a tour of the Missouri State Prison in Jefferson City, which was fascinating! Photographs are pending, and possibly a short story or two. I may write up a separate post on that experience later thi...

Day Five of the Virtual Tour In Which Elizabeth Doesn't Have to Split Cab Fare With Strangers. Courtesy of the fine folks at  Seventh Star Press  and Tomorrow Comes Media, I'm doing a blog tour and interview blitz this week. Today's batch includes a lovely review and another interview - aren't you people sick of me yet? Highlight of the review from Bee's Knees: "Donald is one of those writers that paints such a vivid painting of her world, I can see myself walking the streets of Memphis watching the nightlife unfold in front of me." And if you're wondering what the snarky taglines above are talking about, here is a link to my ongoing feud with American Airlines: Escape From Orlando . Add your own Snake Plissken jokes. I apologize, con-prep ate me and I missed a day. Posts to date: • Interview with Elizabeth Donald , hosted by Deal Sharing Aunt • Review of Nocturne Infernum by Bee's Knees Review • Interview with Elizabeth Donald , hos...

I want to begin by saying this: American has always been good to me. And up until a certain point, they handled the debacle that was Flight 1660 from Orlando to Chicago mostly with competence and grace. The journalism convention had been marvelous (different post pending on that) and I had a late flight out of Orlando, connecting through O'Hare to get home to St. Louis. My good friend Mark was on call to pick me up at the airport. I survived Orlando's horrendous security line, losing a hair clip to the scanner, and managed to snag a cup of Cuban coffee on my way to the gate. Trouble was brewing. The plane had not yet left Miami because of a mechanical problem. Now, I try to be fairly sanguine about such things: I'd rather they fix the plane than let me become a smoking hole in the ground. But I was getting nervous, because I only had a 55-minute window to change planes at O'Hare. The American staff told us that anyone with a connecting flight should come see them ...

Two time zones, three airports, four hours' sleep and five cabs in a 27-hour marathon brought me home today. Yesterday. I think. I no longer remember what time zone I'm in or where I'm supposed to be, and this is posting tomorrow morning anyway. I stepped off the plane and went right back to work, and I am so tired I'm surprised this afternoon's story is in English. For those who followed my misadventures on Twitter, I am going to hold off on narrating the insanity that was my return from Florida until I know how the story ends. Suffice to say it was the worst transportation mess I've ever been in, and hopefully ever will be. My brain is still trapped at baggage claim in Chicago and my energy is stuck in a kiosk in Orlando, so I will hold off on anything more substantive until they catch up. I will report on the amazing Excellence in Journalism conference, which I cannot recommend more highly to any journalist in our field; on the delights of seeing Florid...

Home again, for slightly more than 48 hours this time. Dragoncon was a pile of fun with very few sour notes, and despite the utter insanity of trying to get in and out of Hotlanta with 85,000 of my closest friends, I had a wonderful time. I am not going to try to list all the people who were awesome this weekend, because I will inevitably leave someone out. I will note that Keith, Wrenn, Meredith and Heather were the best of roomies; it was always a party in our room. It was delightful to see old friends, meet new ones, and share the good words with all the terrific people in the panels. I am always grateful and honored to be among Dragoncon's guests, and the show never disappoints. (Boy enjoyed all the cosplay pictures, by the way. And he is squeeing all over his vintage-style Captain America poster. It's possible I raised a geek.) In case you missed it: The Daily Dragon  did an interview with me , and I also participated in an author roundtable discussion on tradit...

Actually, you stand a pretty good chance of finding me this year. Due to postal shenanigans, my name didn't go out in time for me to snag panels, so I'm a late addition. My panel schedule is pretty light. Does that mean I might actually get to attend a panel I'm not on? Shush with the crazytalk. Thursday: Traveling to Nashville. Hi, y'all. Friday: Traveling to Atlanta. - Panel: "And That's the Truth!" on building a career with nonfiction. 2:30 p.m. Hyatt Embassy. Saturday: Atlanta. - Panel: "For Survival: Four Days Later" on basic survival techniques once you've lived past the initial Big Whatever. 4 p.m. Westin Chastain. Sunday: Atlanta. - Panel: "Developing Characters Who Come Alive," and I'm the moderator. Eeeek. Someone gimme questions! 2:30 p.m. Hyatt Embassy. - Reading: Whatever I decide. Any suggestions? Offering a free limited-edition chapbook of Gethsemane  while supplies last. 5:30 p.m. Hyatt Vinings, to be...

I have really got to stop doing this to myself. I am too old to run around the country like this. First, I must offer my regrets to the fine folks at River City Comic Expo in Little Rock. There will be many fine guests there this weekend, so please show up and visit with them! So that kicks me off at Dragoncon , where some postal shenanigans unfortunately delayed my official confirmation and thus my panel schedule is pretty light. At the moment, all I know about are panels on the Writers Track at 2:30 pm. Friday and Sunday, an Apocalypse Rising panel at 4 pm. Saturday, and my reading will be at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. More panels may be added in the future, and I will offer chocolate and a free limited-edition chapbook to attendees at the reading on Sunday. Naturally, a limited presence means less opportunity to sell books, especially in a zoo like Dragoncon among 65,000 of my closest friends. But I will be there, and I'm bringing the new book as well as some older titles and out...

Our awesome bungee trip to visit the folks this weekend came with an extra bonus. Well, besides retrieving the Spawn. It was a bungee trip because I had to work Sunday, so we booked it back in the wee hours of Sunday morning so I'd be back to start my shift. But at least we had 48 hours to hang out with my dad and stepmom at their awesome lake house. Friday was highlighted by parasailing over the Lake of the Ozarks. Boy and I had the most awesome time. It was an amazing experience, with a spectacular view and not at all scary or insecure - hell, the seats on the Sky Screamer at Six Flags sway more than that parasail harness did. Jim did not fly. Jim is a giant chicken-man who stayed on the ground sipping beer with my folks. He still owes me for the hot-air balloon ride that didn't happen the day after we got engaged, and now he owes me parasailing too. Bawk bawk bawk, husband-o-mine. Wahoo! The next day was a ride on their boat, which they still  haven't named,...

Why is it that the massive disasters strike just when it's most inconvenient? And is there any way I can blame Isabel the Ghost for this? Look, we don't have huge amounts of money. We manage to keep our heads above water by dogpaddling really really fast. We put a bit of our paychecks aside each week into two funds: one for Christmas, and one for "vacation." Now, "vacation" is a malleable concept. This year, "vacation" meant the Fourth of July in Memphis, which allowed Boy to see his father and allowed us to pick up Stepson for his summer visit. That put two teenage boys in the house (milk count: nine gallons in six days) and the costs of two outings: a day at the St. Louis Science Center for Jim to do the male bonding thing over the robots exhibit - pout, I had to work - and our annual sojourn to Six Flags. This is why we are both sunburned within an inch of our lives. It was a crazy, loud, fun week, and that our savings were pretty well dep...

With Hypericon behind us, we enter a two-month lull in touring. I'm going to pretend that means I will be able to catch up the LitUnd inventory and bookkeeping, redesign LiteraryUnderworld.com and port to a new vendor, edit two books in the queue and finish rewriting Banshee's Run as I manage Julnawrimo next month . Pause for laughter. All those things have to be done before Labor Day, however, because I've been accepted at Dragoncon again and thus I will wend my way to Atlanta in September. That kicks off one of the most grueling schedules I've ever set for myself. First it's Dragoncon for the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta. I'm a solo act at that one. Then I go back home - for two days. Then it's off to Louisville, Ky. for Imaginarium, the second weekend in September. This will likely be a Literary Underworld event, with the usual cast of characters and the Traveling Bar (of Doom). Then back home, for three days. I fly to Florida that Thursday ...

It could have been worse, or so I keep telling myself. The price tag for my stupidity is pretty high, however. A new hard drive with lifetime warranty, plus data retrieval of whatever they can rescue from my dead drive. A new battery, required because my laptop was declared vintage within the last couple of weeks. That means Apple will no longer manufacture the parts, and since my battery was about to die, I needed to get a new battery while they're still available. Therefore I was going to postpone my planned RAM upgrade until I could recover from this financial gut-punch. However, I figured out that if I did the RAM now, it wouldn't cost me any additional labor costs and it came with a lifetime warranty, as opposed to the 'crack the case and pray' warranty that comes when I do the work myself. Total cost: $525. To be fair, the cost would have been the same if I hadn't been stupid. However, I wouldn't be sitting here praying that they are able to rescue ...

Tomorrow is The Boy's 16th (!!!) birthday. And Friday was my dad's decidedly-not-16th birthday. So we spent the last four days visiting Dad and Stepmom at the Lake Castle, enjoying a late Christmas and double birthday getaway. When The Boy was born, my dad told me very sternly, "Now, make sure he gets a separate birthday celebration every year. None of this setting aside one Christmas present and calling it his birthday present. The birthday is a totally separate thing." I grinned and said, "Dad, are we working out some childhood traumas or something?" He muttered something under his breath. Snerk. It's not just that a weekend at the lake is a chance to catch up with my dad and stepmom, or that their house is big, comfortable and warm.  (Ye Olde DSG Inc. gets a little drafty in winter.) It's also wonderfully quiet. Our cells barely work. It's delightful to be mostly beyond the realm of electronic communication. Conversation, with words and ...

Good lord, 2014. You were a crazy year. Let's see, what were the highlights? In the life of my family, 2014 was a rollercoaster. Babies and weddings, weddings and babies, with a bonus college round for Jim. • I celebrated my last birthday, folks. I turned 39 in March, and from now on I will be 39 plus tax, thankyouverymuch. If we gather in Memphis next March for cake and ice cream, there will be no number beginning with a 4 involved. Harrumph. • My stepdaughter, Mallory, had an exciting year as well! First she became a wife... Jim is pretending he isn't crying as he's about to give away his daughter. ... and then a mom. Which makes me a grandmother. Welcome to the world, Isabella! • Speaking of babies, my sister went and had herself one! Although little Olivia's timing meant that Melanie sadly had to miss our wedding, the world is a better place for more headstrong Donald women running amok in it. Here, meet my new little niece! And from all ...