Publisher’s Weekly reports that CHARLES N. Brown has been presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Writers of the Future weekend. I literally could not be happier.  I can’t imagine anyone who deserves such an award more than CHARLES, and am delighted that someone else agrees with me. He’s been a vital part of science fiction and fantasy for more than 40 years, and we’re very lucky to have him working our field. He also makes a great turkey stuffing, has fantastic taste in scotch, knows some awful jokes, and is exactly the kind of friend you want when things get tough.  Mazel tov!

Eclipse continues its race towards publication. The Night Shade posse have just given me permission to give you a peek at the cover of Eclipse 1. There may be a tweak or two, but essentially this is it. Nice, huh? I am very happy.

I was woken early by Sophie coming into our bed. She was very sweet, but sleep quickly went out the window. I suspect it might have been something to do with the rain. Jessica was up a little later, but having been sick with a virus off and on for the past week or so, is less than her usual sweet self. That means things are bit more stressful than they otherwise might be, but we’re still having a reasonably quiet morning. I had hoped to join some friends catching up with Marion McNamara this morning, but family commitments have overtaken that. I need to spend some time working on The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year 2 and editing Locus reviews today, so I hope we can catch up before she heads back to Adelaide.

Yesterday, I got to see a near-final cover for Eclipse 1, which I’m very happy about. When I saw the artwork that the publisher had chosen I was concerned about how it would work as a cover, but Michael Fusco has done a terrific job. I’ll get a copy of the final cover up here just as soon as it’s signed off on, but I’m definitely pleased with it.

…arrived today. it’s real!  cover should be soon, and then real books. i’m excited. it feels very unreal.

Feeling a bit low and out of it. Listening to old Little River Band tracks because of something Bob Lefsetz wrote about visiting Australia. He waxes about “Home on a Monday”, not knowing that the Hoodoo Gurus‘ “1000 Miles Away” is the best song ever written about coming from Australia and finding yourself on the other side of the world. There’s a kind of melancholy in both songs, though, and that feeling carried through my reading a Vanity Fair article about Arthur Miller’s son, who was born with Downs Syndome and sent to an institution. It’s very sad, though it says something that his son has grown into the person he apparently has.

Other than that, I’m measuring days to see how they fit the schedule I have. Travel is mostly booked and done, barring some fiddling with details about connecting flights to Canberra and hotels here and there in the US. I’m reading, reading, reading, though apparently nowhere near as fast as the Not if You Were the Last Story on Earth crew, who are trying to find everything published in 2007, or as near as they can. I’ve been reading for year’s bests for a few years now, and what I’ve learned is that no one can read everything (you can’t find everything!) and that no-one agrees what’s good. Still, I am reading some great stuff, often in odd places. I need to tell you about Steve’s So Fey, and will soon. I also want to recommend a handful of odd but interesting things. It’s a good year for science fiction and fantasy, for what it’s worth. More soon.