kitties

Tuesday, Dec 3rd, was the equivalent of emotionally speedrunning my life. I do not approve nor do I recommend. It was one of those days that even my editor would look at and say, “Isn’t that a bit much? Maybe spread those events out over the novel instead of a day.”

Bad: Mena stopped eating and drinking on Monday. She was still hiding on Tuesday morning. The Husband and I had already decided she needed to go to the vet. Mena loves her treats.

Good: My cat lover advent calendar and the Husband got me froofy coffee. (Little things count.)

Good: Our 2x a month housekeeper arrived!

Bad: Our housekeeper noticed our refrigerator suddenly wasn’t working. Through investigation, 8 outlets in the kitchen and family room weren’t working. This is something that happened years ago. Got fixed. Broke again.

Good: Plugged the refrigerator into a different plug and it worked. No spoiled food.

Bad: Had to find an electrician.

Good: Not only found an electrician, they were able to come out on the same day, AND were able to fix the issue.

Bad: That was $$$ money we didn’t expect to spend (but that’s what emergency funds are for).

Good: Started a new D&D game at the house. Session 0. Figuring everything out.

Bad: Vet called. Mena has feline pancreatitis. No cure, some mitigation. Caught it early. Mena was kept overnight for more observation. We will see what we need to do when we pick her up today. (Good things: It had nothing to do with the anxiety drugs Mena got put on because of the kittens nor was it due to the arrival of the kittens. This would’ve happened no matter what.)

Good: I sold a little short story I love to a new pro-paying market. This is a short story that has been rejected 20+ times. I’m so glad it found a home.

Other things happened that weren’t big enough to make the list. Also, several of my friends are going through rough times. I know I’m not the only one having a hell of a week (and it’s only Wednesday). Sometimes life is like that. I just wish it wouldn’t involve my cats. Mena is only 12. She’s sweet and silly and doesn’t deserve the pain she’s in now.

My life is all kittens and work right now. Freya and Mimir arrived on the 8th of November, one day after we got home from our Canadian trip that was such a blast! The twins (siblings technically) were less than 2.4 lbs each. They are so small and so cute!

The girl is Freya and the boy is Mimir. We wanted siblings because we knew they would be good for each other. Especially while we integrated them into our household with two senior cats. (More on them shortly.)

Fierce Freya is fearless and, frequently, brainless. She has no survival instinct. She will base jump from any height, chase a hissing Mena, and generally not be aware that anything could be harmful. Especially giant lumbering people who want to step where she wants to run under.

Mighty Mimir switches between Meek and Mighty. He is always hesitant of new things and people at first. Then he becomes as fearless and brainless as Freya. He usually is the first to escape the quarantine zone. Most of the time, he listens when another cat hisses.

As for the senior cats, Leeloo is interested in the kittens. She will go sniff them then back off when she realizes they are not her Maus. (She still misses Isis and Pharaoh.) She hisses at them when they get up in her grill, and that is usually enough for both kittens to back off. If not, she’s bapped Freya and both kittens submitted.

Mena, on the other hand, lives in the House of Hisses and Growls. She wants nothing to do with the little interlopers who have stolen her place as the baby of the family. She frequently hisses at the barrier or the door to the kitten room so hard that she gives herself a coughing fit. Feliway doesn’t seem to be helping. I may have to get some kitty Prozac for her. She seems to be afraid of the kittens. Especially Freya, who doesn’t seem to understand what hissing means.

Still, I have hope and patience for the clowder to integrate. It will take time and understanding. Maybe drugs. Right now, the kittens are too small to have the run of the house, and they haven’t finished having their vaccines. This week they get access to my bathroom, the kitten room, and my office. Maybe next week, the whole top floor of the house so that the senior kitties can get some peace and quiet downstairs.

But, as of right now, my entire world is finishing up the first issue of Augment magazine, and dealing with kittens who have no survival instinct.

I’m now home from an 8-day trip to Ottawa, Canada as one of the Editor Guests of Honor at Can-Con and to spend time visiting Marie and her partner and their clowder. This was my first trip to Ottawa. I hope it will not be my last. I had such a good time. I will miss them and Canada, but I am happy to be home. (Because: Kittens!)

As has become tradition after a convention, I tell you 10 things that may or may not have happened. 8 are true. 2 are lies.

1. I may or may not have done shots with Arley Sorg at Can-Con.
2. I may or may not have revealed some personal secrets to people new to me.
3. I may or may not have discussed being in a feud with Sarah Gailey. What’s the feud about? We don’t know—yet.
4. I may or may not have convinced the Husband to do something extremely silly.
5. I may or may not have taken my GoH costume judging duty quite seriously and argued my case with fellow judge Arley Sorg.
6. I may or may not have absconded with Greg Wilson (and others) for a private conversation to plan shenanigans for Worldcon Seattle 2025.
7. I may or may not have received an insightful tarot reading from a stranger.
8. I may or may not have helped Ed Greenwood and Marie Bilodeau learn a new game called Gudnak for reasons.
9. I may or may not have accidentally gone into a secret sex shop in a mall that looked like a toy store—blades, bongs, and butt plugs, oh my! (Marie takes me to the best places!)
10. I may or may not have visited an underground bunker and discovered that US history from the outside looking in is…telling.

Did I mention kittens?

Some gentle, general reminders about me.

If you’re here, on my website, and not signed up for my MailerLite newsletter, please sign up for it. It averages once-a-month because my PA (the GlitterMinion) makes me do it. You get to hear about what I’m doing, where I will be, and what open calls I have. Plus you get free fiction. Who doesn’t love a bit of free fiction? (Also, if you are on my Googlegroup newsletter, that group will be deleted 1 Feb 2025.)

If you would like to send me an email, I have a contact form for that. If you would like to send me something in the post, I have a P.O. Box for that. Email is checked more regularly than the P.O. Box. Please don’t send time sensitive stuff in the post without giving me an email ping.

For social media, I am most active on BlueSky and Facebook. I do have an Instagram account and it mostly has stuff about cats and books. Occasionally, there may be other stuff, too.

I am a full-time working author and editor. This means: I am very busy—I never have less than three projects going at any one time. That I appreciate it when you buy my books, review my books (even something as simple as “I really liked this book!” helps), and/or support me on ko-fi. That said, I am always happy to answer questions or lend a helping hand—if time, funds, and schedule permits.

I adore my cats beyond all reason. They rule the roost. I love the Husband even more than writing and I’m so grateful he supports me. He rules my heart. I appreciate my house, my books, my stuff, and my home office that much more since the pandemic started. I have a lot to be grateful for, and I will always try to keep things on the lighter side of life.

I am a Democrat who believes Love is Love. I am a gamer who is happy you are my neighbor no matter where you are from. I am a woman who believes trans rights are human rights, trans women are women, trans men are men, and all women should have the right to choose what happens with their body. I’m a former latchkey, semi-feral Gen X, 50+ year old woman with occasionally colored hair not normally found in nature. Sometimes I am fed up. Sometimes I am tired. Sometimes I’m trouble. Just so you know what you’re in for.

Gen Con is always an exciting time. This year was no exception. Between the panels, workshops, and business meetings, there is no way I could summarize everything that happened. However, my “To Follow-up On” list is about a mile long. So many good memories. Among them may be the following…

1. Declined an offer from Marie Bilodeau to steal a chair for me.
2. Had a lovely 10 second interaction with the DnD Shorts guy in the Dispel Dice mosh pit of a line.
3. Discovered that Phil Lee IS the power behind the throne of Cat Labs.
4. Already have business meetings scheduled for Gen Con 2025.
5. Plotted shenanigans for WorldCon 2025 in Seattle.
6. Signed an editor-publisher anthology contract for something new and exciting.
7. Caused one of my planes home to need to be rebooted to fix something (darn QA effect aura).
8. Announced an open call to a new magazine I am editing.
9. Made Mike Stackpole blush and shocked Brandon O’Brien.
10. Upheld the pact and bought dice.

The kitties took last night to be mad and today they are loving, needy, and shedding all over me. There is nothing like travel to make you appreciate what you have at home.

My next convention is Can-Con where I will be an Editor Guest of Honor. This will be my first time in Ottawa, Canada.

Awards: This year, I have two Scribe Award nominations. The first is for short story: Valdemar – “Needs Must When Evil Bides.” The second is for Shadowrun: Auditions, the first novel in The Mosaic Run duology. I am particularly chuffed about the short story nom. It’s been a donkey’s age since that’s happened. Also, it’s always a thrill to be mentioned in Locus magazine.

GoFundMe: One Booth to Record Them All. Pretty Please. Tren is on tap to record the Shadowrun: Elfin Black audiobook. Help him get to it faster! (Also, help his sleep schedule and his health and to future proof his career.)

MailerLite: I have a new newsletter group that I will be transitioning to over the next few months. You can check it out directly from my new website (look at the top of this page). Get a free story when you sign up!

Publication: Raven Oak and I have a co-written story in the Gen Con anthology, Interdimensions. It is called “Eye of the Beholder.” I really like this story. It’s crime story with a hint of magical realism.

Publication: My fourth Shadowrun novel, Shadowrun: The Mosaic Run, has been released! While it is the sequel to Shadowrun: Auditions, it can be read as a standalone novel.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

I am a duck right now. Smooth and serene on the top and paddling like mad underneath. It’s been a busy six weeks since I blogged—for good reason. It’s that whole you only see 10% of the iceberg thing.

First, there was Origins Game Fair. It was a good convention where I was a dealer and a panelist. Plus, I had many meetings where new projects were planned out. It’s one of my favorite things to do—meeting up with my editors and authors face-to-face. Unfortunately, long work conventions are exhausting. Also, we came home with an unwanted guest: Covid.

Despite masking and air purifiers and hand washing/sanitizers, I caught Covid. I’m not sure exactly where or when, but by Sunday evening of the convention, I felt like hell—which means I had to have been contagious for 1-3 days. Be it an errant button press or a handshake and then forgetting to sanitize, or being coughed on (there were a LOT of coughing people at Origins), after four years of diligence, my number was up.

I got Paxlovid on Tuesday after the convention, and we were hoping that it had passed the Husband by, but no such luck. By Thursday the 27th, he was sick. He got his Paxlovid on the same day. We had diametrically opposed reactions to Covid. I felt better as of the 2nd day of the meds and started testing negative as soon as the five days of Paxlovid was done. The Husband on the other hand, tested positive for Covid for almost two full weeks after he finished the meds and even had a rebound where he started feeling better, but then got much worse.

“A simple cold” my ass. We spent three full weeks living on separate levels of the house, running the air purifiers, and masking. It was like living with a roommate you barely tolerate. It sucked. Seriously. The Husband’s asthma is still acting up. Needless to say, we will be masked for Gen Con.

While we were suffering from Covid, life continued on. We’d contracted with Catio Spaces for a custom catio as our 16th wedding anniversary to us and our kitties. It’s lovely. Big enough for chairs for us to lounge in. Leeloo loves the catio. She demands it be opened in the morning and spends most of the day out there. Mena also likes it, but not like Leeloo. She’ll wander out there every other day or so.

Finally, the main reason there hasn’t been a blog post in six weeks is the fact that I have a brand new website. After 20+ years of hand coding my website with raw HTML, I decided it was time for a change and hired Caro from GoCreate.me, a terrifyingly competent and efficient web developer. Caro is amazing, and you should hire her if you want a new website with all the bells and whistles. There are so many new things to learn!

There’s more to do on the website, but the bulk of the fit and finish is done. Also, if you want to send me a postal letter or donate books to my TARDIS Little Free Library, I have a new PO Box address:

Jennifer Brozek
P.O. Box 121
Bothell, WA 98041

So, what to you think? Do you like my new website?

Oh yeah. I’ve been nominated for two Scribe awards! One for Shadowrun: Auditions (YA/MG novel) and one for Valdemar: “Needs Must When Evil Bides” (Short story). I’m particularly pleased with the short story nomination. It’s been forever since one of my shorts has been nominated.

Running a kickstarter is not for the faint of heart, lemme tell you that. I am one giant Muppet flail right now. But “Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980” is 31% funded as of the uploading of this blog post. I am beyond thrilled that we’ve come so far. Of course, I’m nervous as hell that we won’t make it. I just gotta believe in this passion project of mine.

The Husband wrote his own blog post for our launch that I didn’t see until it went live. It made me feel a little sappy (Facebook link). I have the best husband ever!

Also, I have a post over on Cat Rambo’s blog, “On Eating Frog Legs and White Asparagus.” It’s all about me learning to be fearless when encountering foreign food while I lived in Belgium.

As I’ve said before, this project is near and dear to my heart. I’m excited to be able to send you my epistolary story and to bring joy to your mailboxes. Yes, actual snail mail that’s not spam, bills, or politics! Keep spreading the word. I know we can make it to $5,000 and I hope we get to unlock some fun stuff for everyone with our stretch goals.

“Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980” is a cozy, middle grade-appropriate, ghost story, loosely based on fictionalized me at ten years old while living in a 300-year-old manor house in Belgium. The story will be told through 24 physical letters (already written) over a one-year period. This is the kind of odd project I could never sell traditionally, so I’m rolling up my sleeves and doing it myself. Won’t you be my penpal?

Leeloo is waiting for you to support her servant so her servant can get back to servant duties…

The rough draft of the current novel in progress is done and now I’m in the process of fixing it. Have a Bubble & Squeek!

Interview: I was interviewed by Kevin of Productivity Alchemy on episode 337! I had such a blast with this one. We talked about all kinds of things.

Kickstarter BackerKit: I am launching a Kickstarter for in late March 2024 called “Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980.” It is a cozy, Middle Grade appropriate, ghost story, loosely based on fictionalized me at ten years old while living in a 300-year-old manor house in Belgium. Won’t you be my penpal?

Publication: Shadowrun: Auditions (The Mosaic Run Collection). My four YA Shadowrun novellas with a new through-put line and an extra short story–in ebook and print. Also linked on the HWA Seattle chapter page because it is cool.

Publication: 99 Fleeting Fantasies anthology in ebook and print. Flash fiction stories from all over the world! Featuring stories from Cat Rambo, Charles Stross, Crystal Frasier, Jody Lynn Nye, Jonathan Maberry, Premee Mohamed, Seanan McGuire, Wole Talabi, and many more!

Shoutout: Brandon O’Brien is having a poetry workshop on March 13! I’m most definitely going to to. You should too.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Twitch/YT: Shadows of Nox YT channel now has all of The Broken Hearts Club Buffy RPG Live Play mini-arc. I play Bethany, a psychic who isn’t having a great time but does meet some very cool people.

Leeloo being cute!

I have finished the rough draft of the current novel-in-progress. It’s not done by any means, but now I have the whole of the story in my head and I can see so many places that need fixing. However, I haven’t started fixing the novel yet. I’m in that in-between phase that few authors ever speak of.

It’s the “Flailing About” Phase.

My experience is that I have just spent the last 4-6 weeks on “deadline mode.” This mode includes things like “no internet before word count” and “2000 words a day” and “hard core focus on the novel” and nothing else. Lots of creative people know what that’s like.

But, just like post-con blues are a thing, so is the post-novel flap. You’ve known what you were to do everyday for a month without exception. You’ve gotten into the groove. But now the groove is gone. It’s almost like discovering you have hands and discovering your pants have no pockets. What the heck to you do with your hands now?

If you are a regular writer, I recommend a quick once-over, adding all the things you know you need to add RIGHT NOW. Then putting the manuscript away for three months while you write something (anything) else. But, as I am a media tie-in writer, too, I don’t have time for that. I need to turn in the polished manuscript within 3 weeks. That’s my deadline.

But I don’t wanna. I don’t wanna work on the novel. I don’t wanna do the work I know I need to do. What do I want to do? I don’t know and I don’t wanna figure it out. See: flailing about.

Usually I have a bunch of interviews lined up to work on. Which I did this time, too. But they are done. And I polish-edited a short story and turned it in already. I have 3 more short stories to write but I’m not anywhere near doing them. I haven’t even outlined them on paper. Maybe I have in my head, but I don’t want to face the tyranny of the blank page. It is so much easier to fix what’s on the page than to create it wholesale.

Which leads me back to…start the next pass on the novel…and I don’t wanna.

Thus, I’m writing a blog post about the situation. I’m sure other authors have written about this phase of the novel writing process, but I figured it couldn’t hurt if other authors (and readers) understood a little more of what some authors (at least me) sometimes go through. The process of writing and editing novels is always changing, but I think the general phases of the process remain the same.

See? That’s about 500 words of verbal flailing and “productive procrastination” to help me avoid the edits I will begin next. Or tomorrow. It all depends on whether or not I figure out something else to do to avoid what I don’t want to do now.

But still, by tomorrow, I will roll up my sleeves and dive into fixing the novel because this is the “post” part of my mantra of “fix it in post.”

Have a cat picture. Here’s Mena in her tower.