Oh, and right now I’m reading Ellen Datlow’s Lovecraft Unbound and Poe (I’m late getting to this one), Dann & Dozois’s The Dragon Book, Dozois & Martin’s Songs of the Dying Earth (I have to dip into this), issues of F&SF and Asimov’s,  while also catching up on stories from Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, and Subterranean. I almost never read anything consistently or cover-to-cover for short fiction. I tend to dip in an out, so I’m making sure I’ve not missed anything. That said, I’ve already picked the first handful of stories for year’s best 4 (which is due at the publisher in December).

I did read a novel – Citizen of the Galaxy by some Heinlein guy – the other month, but my novel reading’s been spotty of late.  I do desperately want to find the time to read Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl and to finish Pandemonium by Christopher Brookmyre.  I’m woefully behind on my novel reading this year, as I have been the last couple.  But then, who has enough reading time :)   Onwards!

Progress is slow, but it is real. I am now taking the biggest honking great antibiotic tablets I have ever seen in my life. I’m not sure whether they’re intended to kill a bug, or me. Still, if they do their job, I’ll be right as rain shortly and that will be a great thing. I’ll then be able to sleep the night through, which will mean energy and light and happiness and normality. I have my fingers crossed.

In the meantime, Swords and Dark Magic, the book formerly known as Conquering Swords, has a publication date. It will be out in July 2010, which really isn’t that far away.  Lou and I have a manuscript we’re just filing a few rough spots off, a cover artist has been commissioned, and all sorts of other goodness is in train.  We’re both really thrilled about the book, which I think is as big and exciting a book as The New Space Opera was a couple years back. The moment Lou and I hand in the final manuscript of the book we’ll most likely post the table of contents. It’s strong, and we’re both very, very happy. There is other news, but it can wait!