Been nothing but busy. Too much to do, not enough time, blah-blah-blah, but hey, soon announcements will come and wrath will follow, and all will be right once more in the world. Galley pages for Walking Dead are almost completed, next come the ARCs, and then, I am told, April 28th sees the birth of a bouncing baby novel. Mark your calendars. Or don't. They're your calendars, after all.

It's freezing, literally, here in Portland today. Hovering in the mid-20s, and for those of you that scorn, I would simply remind you that this kind of thing is, ahem, unusual in our neck of the woods. The weather has forced Portland into a semi-carbonite freeze, ie, the schools have closed, so both kids home, which is really conducive to getting work done, let me tell you. We spent the weekend in LA, visiting Andrew and Xtie along with my brother, Nick. Snuck in an hour to meet up with Geoff to discuss upcoming plots, events, stories, and like entertainments. The heart of the trip was the DeFilippis-Weir tree-trimming where our children assisted in the decorating, a first for them, and a treat, what with our lack of treenesses. All sorts of drama getting back due to weather, only to discover we could've stayed an extra day and no harm done.

Irony.

Less ironic, my birthday present from my bride arrived a few days ago. One of these, made by the fine folks at Darkwood Armory, with a companion three quillon dagger.

Now I just need someone to fence with. Gombach, if you're reading this, that's me calling you out!