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.
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.
Locus has just reported that the World Fantasy Convention has released the names of the recipients of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards. The recipients are Diana Wynne Jones and Betty Ballantine. I don’t know Betty, but I do know about her career, and she’s an extraordinarily deserving recipient. As for Diana, we were judges for the WFAs a few years ago, and I’ve read a lot of her work. She’s a wonderful, wonderful writer, and was a great correspondent. I’ve long hoped I might get to publish her someday. Whether or I do or not, though, I couldn’t be more delighted about her being acknowledged in this way. Definitely a major nod of approval to the judges and administrators for making a great pair of decisions.
