Sunny today, thought there were some clouds and nearby thunder about 2 p.m. But the thunder faded and there was no rain. Any day without rain. Currently, it's 89˚F, with the heat index at 94˚F.
I don't remember the last day I stepped outside the house. Weeks now.
This morning, after a quick breakfast, I sat down and by 9 a.m. I'd written 1,047 words on something I'm calling "In Utero, In Tenebris." I've had to briefly set The Night Watchers aside, just for the three days I think it will take me to write this story. I'll use the story for Sirenia Digest #172, May 2020, which will patch the very fucking last of the gap left by last year's inability to write. I'll be sorta all caught up. Sorta. But we'll get to the last two months, by and by. Later on and in the fullness of time. Ten things at once, please.
I had a hot bath today.
I also did some mosasaur-related paleo' today, and I read "Fingerprinting snakes: Paleontological and paleoecological implications of zygantral growth rings in Serpentes" (2018) and "Using External Vertebral Growth Rings to Assess Longevity in the Bengal Monitor (Varanus bengalensis)" (2003). And speaking of all thing herpetological, I really wanted to attend this years ASIH meeting – albeit remotely, via Zoom (this year's meeting is hyprid and everyone attending in person receives a COVID-19 test before they can enter the convention center). But even with the sizable discounts I get by being a member of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and attending remotely, combined savings of $125, the meeting would still cost me $125. And this is why more people cannot afford to attend professional conferences. I would far rather take that $125 and put it towards my actual research, and I know a lot of people are in the same boat.
Today, the postman brought copies of the Brazilian (Portuguese language) edition of Two Worlds and In Between, retitled O Mundo Invisivel Entre Nos. And I gotta say, this the second or third most beautiful edition of any of my books ever produced. In every way that a book can be beautiful. They actually outdid the Brazilian edition of The Drowning Girl, and that's saying something. And we're not talking about a special edition. This is just a plain ol' regular hardback, and it is breathtaking. No, I'm serious. Lately, I am not given to hyperbole, not even when I'm whoring myself to sell books. Thank you again, Darkside. Watch this space. I might auction a couple of these. Honestly, my books have done so well in Brazil, that if we all survive this fucking plague, I swear I'm gonna try to arrange a mini-tour, just to say thank you, for the beautiful books and the readers. This one took quite a while to come out. I think I sold them the rights to translate and publish Two Worlds and In Between not long before we left Providence, but it was well worth the wait.
I'll post a photo or two tomorrow.
That's enough for now, don'cha think?
Later Tater Beans,
Aunt Beast
3:40 a.m.