Author: Jonathon

Got a interview request today that wanted to send a photographer to the house to get a picture of Jon and I. The reporter wanted a picture of us either in medieval garb or Goth clothing. Yes, our wedding was in medieval garb, and we like renaissance Fairs, but we don’t wear that kind of clothing in St. Louis in the summer on a regular basis. We also don’t wear Goth clothing on an everyday basis. Sorry to disappoint everybody, but we’re both jeans and t-shirt kind of people. Sometimes the t-shirts are black and angry, or even macabre, but the t-shirts have just as a high a chance to have animals on it, and slogans for saving the earth, as Gothic lettering. But it’s amazing how many people in the media expect us to be dressed like Dracula while we walk the dogs. I’ve lost count of the number of photographers that come to the house and wonder around searching for something scary to use as a back-drop. I actually told the last photographer from a paper that she could stop looking, that this was as Goth as it got. Which isn’t very. Again, sorry if that’s a disappointment to everyone, but it is the truth. Though, frankly, Jon and I have been debating on whether to make a room just for the photographers and such. Something dark, and scary, so that the photographers and reporters don’t look so puzzled in our bright, light-filled home. Maybe we’ll give them a room to play in so they stop asking us to dress up. Though, probably, they’d still be disappointed if we had a scary room but unscary clothes. You just can’t please some people, and I’m beginning to wonder why we try.

We don’t watch the news on a regular basis, so Darla was left to tell us that one of the crew members that is working so hard to get everyone’s power on here, died. Apparently, he died doing his job. Our prayers and best wishes go out to his family and friends. He had a job where you don’t think he might not come home. Not a policeman, or a fireman, or a convenience store clerk. (One of the most likely to get you killed jobs in this country statistically speaking.) He was searching for downed power lines. It should have been safe, but so much debris, so many trees down, that what should have been safer, wasn’t. I’m sure that our prayers are cold comfort to the people that held him dear, but it is all we can offer. That, and our thanks to him and all the men and women that are working to help us get our lives back to normal. Be careful out there guys, be safe.

I did twenty pages yesterday afternoon and into the evening. I did ten today. It was sooo good to be back to work. But I just heard on the news that there are still people in St. Louis that are without power. Some of them for nine days now. I know they can’t read this, no power, but our hearts and thoughts go out to them. It was so awful without power, I can’t imagine for nine days. To all those crews that are working round the clock to put things right, thank you again.
Interestingly, today being Thursday, is Thor’s Day. Thor is the Norse god of lightning among other things. As we modern pagans look for deities for use in a new age world, I think those of us with storm and electrical trouble could do worse than look to Thor. What is electricity, really, other than lightning broken to bit and bridle?

We’re back on line, back on the power grid. You just don’t realize how much electricity means to you, until it’s gone. You do the stupid stuff, like walking into a dark room and hitting a light switch, even though, you’re carrying a flashlight because you know the lights don’t work. I was on the cell phone to my good friend Sharon (Sharon Shinn) when the power came back on. She’d just gotten her’s earlier that day. The power came on, not with a lot of noise, but with a soft exhalation, a breath. That’s what I said out loud to Sharon, “Oh, the breath of the house.” I hadn’t realized until that moment that the house felt dead without the hum and pulse of it’s technology. Some people who are psychic, or sensitive to energy claim that computers and electricity interferes with their abilities. Maybe it does, but for Jon and I, we felt naked, and exposed without our tech. Yeah, I’m a technophobe, but not about electricity. Not about air conditioning. Not about, my computer. I MISSED my computer. Maybe this will help me get over my fear of tech. Maybe. But we’re back on line, it’s all working. Yea!
Today is Wednesday, Woden’s Day, Odin’s Day. So happy Woden’s Day. In case you don’t know he was the leader of the Norse pantheon. He sacrificed himself on the World Tree, so that he could return with the magic of runes, and writing, and he was also the giver of the mead of poetry. After he swiped it from a giant. A deity that gave the world writing, magic, and poetry, seems like a good deity for a writer, doesn’t it? Though, he is also a deity of the wild hunt, and though, he, himself, is not above trickery and deception for his own ends, he is the punisher of wrong doing, sometimes. Like most deity energy, he has many faces, and many duties. Gods like people are seldom one dimensional.

We have power again. which means that L will ba back to work soon, and so will the rest of us.
Our thanks to the work crew from Kansas City Power & Light, who spent the day working on doing the repairs in our neighborhood.
More when we’ve had some time to chill out.

Jon and I had gone out to get dinner last night, and while we were out a storm came up. We got to drive back with tree limbs on the street. Rain fell so hard that it swept across the road in rain drifts, like snow drifts. I don’t think I’d ever seen rain fall like that, so hard and solid that it swept across the road like snow. We’re all alright. But our patio furniture ended up in the water garden. The big umbrella is ruined. Amazingly the glass topped table did not break. Let’s hear it for safety glass. But Jon and I got to wrestle the furniture out of the water in the midst of the storm; lightning, wind, rain, all bombarding us while we wrestled metal framed furniture out of water. Exciting. The water lilies seem to have survived having the furniture dumped on them. Yea! Then about 2:30 AM we get a call. It’s the alarm company telling us that my in-laws alarm has gone off and the police have been dispatched. Jon called them, and he, like the alarm company, couldn’t get an answer on the main phone line. Scary. Mary’s cell phone didn’t get us an answer either. We were about to throw clothes on and make a drive to their house when we got Art’s cell phone to answer. They were back to sleep after a visit from the police. The alarm had gone off because the electricity went off. So it was all right, everyone’s fine, but sleep very disrupted.
I still haven’t gone through all the bits and pieces that need to be sorted for the move to the new office. Frankly, my head feels like mush today. Tour always wipes us out, but I’ve done better than normal. But one moment my energy is fine, the next it’s in the dumper. Last night’s excitement didn’t help the energy situation. Jon and I both feel like crap. But we’re all safe, and that’s what matters. I saw my magnolia tree bend in ways I didn’t think she’d bend. Truly impressive winds last night. Trees are down around town, but our yard was lucky. Knock wood, just smallish limbs and leaves, and frankly not much of that. We got off very lucky. Our prayers and good wishes to all that had more problems.

San Diego, California and Mysterious Galaxy. Always a pleasure to come to the store. Everyone was complaining that San Diego was having a heat wave, no, not by St. Louis standards. I realize the natives were uncomfortable, but those of us accustomed to a more brutal climimate, didn’t think it was that bad. We had somewhere around 200 people, a little over, but not sure. Because I burned through over 250 the night before I stopped around 100 so we could ice my arm. It helped a great deal. Saw a lot of familiar faces and a lot of new ones, as has been typical of this tour. The young lady who made us the Jean-Claude penguin made us a bag this time round. We’d read all the books we’d bought on the tour, and we had another plane next day, so we asked the staff at Mysterious Galay to recommend some titles. Must have books for the plane.

What happened today? A water main break that flooded the yard. The birds really enjoyed the big puddle. The break is fixed, and we have water again, yea! I got to sit in the new office and sort through things from the old office. All the sticky notes are moved over, again, yea! I went through the pile of pictures and old calendars, that I’ve been meaning to go through for the images that made me save them in the first place. Other things happened, some good, some bad, but it’s been a day. The blog for San Diego is in rough draft in my notebook, but I could not do justice to it right now, so, sorry, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I hope tomorrow is a less exciting day.

Still wasted from the trip. I’m hoping to post the blog about the last two signings tomorrow. We’re number two on the New York Times list; number one at Publisher’s Weekly; number one at the Wall Street Journal; number one at most, or all of the chain stores (truthfully I’d have to check back through messages from my editor to be certain, so I’ll say what I’m certain of); number three on the USA Today list. DANSE MACABRE has done really well. It’s sold about 40 percent better than the last hardback, INCUBUS DREAMS, and one message from someone said 50 percent better, but I’m not certain of that. INCUBUS DREAMS sold darn well, so to have a leap of that much for DANSE MACABRE is truly cool. Jon and I are off to bed now.

The biggest crowds to date (175-200) Our Thanks to John from the Playground for his help with pictures at Jack London Square. Thanks to Newt and John M (if we give your whole name, people might try to find you) for all your help at the end with the stock signing part. Saw a lot of familiar faces, thanks to everyone who made both SF signings, Like every signing, we saw a lot of new faces, too. In fact we had a lot of people say it was their first signing ever. Welcome to the family.
Los Angles was even bigger, over 250 people, not sure how many over. Many of you guys stayed until the end and went back through over and over with lots of books. Again, a lot of familiar faces, and brand new ones. Again, welcome. Though a couple of the fans were only new to the signing experience. They’d both discovered my books ten years ago when Anita was just coming out. They’ve both gone from junior high to being in their mid-twenties. very cool to think of being a part of someone’s life for so long. The event went well, but due to the crowd spilling out of the area where the mike was set up, we did an abbreviated question and answer, because a lot of the people in line were beyond the mike’s abilities to reach. Even with the crowd being larger we got out by 10:30, or so, not later. Or not later for the fans. Jon and I stayed around to sign store stock for awhile. I must admit that my arm has finally let me know that it’s still not well. The weight lifting has helped tremendously, but there is a limit, I guess. I’ve been icing the arm this afternoon before the event in San Diego. Not a good sign to be icing the arm before the event. I guess I’ve been pushing myself to get you and us out of the store early enough so we’re not all exhausted. Many of you have school or work the next day.
But I must say, thanks to all of you who have come out. You guys have been wonderful. Positive, cheerful, and just all around enjoyable. We’ve gotten nothing but compliments from all the store staff on you guys. We’ve heard again and again this tour that my fans are some of the nicest most pleasant fans that the store employees have ever seen. So patient, they say. And you guys have been, patient and nice about it. Jon and I truly appreciate it. For those of you who missed the signing in LA/Long Beach, You missed Jon having a lot of fun with the microphone, and pictures, and everything else. He was in top enthusiastic form. It sort of makes up for my more subdued style. I’d forgotten the effect a lot of coffee has on Jon. We gave it up along with soda when we changed our eating habits.
Well see you guys tonight in San Diego.