I realized, a week or two ago, that I've lived here, in this house, in Providence, longer than I've ever lived at any one address. We took up residence here on June 2nd, 2008 – four years, three months, and twenty-six days ago. Which beats my previous record by at least a couple of months. Sounds weird, I know. Back about 2005, my mother and I sat down and tried to make a list of every place – house, apartment, etc. The list numbered in excess of fifty addresses, and back then it was 50+ over only forty-five years. I won't get into all the sordid hows and whys. But, yeah, here on this street in Providence, this building erected in 1875, it holds the record. Ironically, we hope to move soon (that's called a punchline).

And here by the ocean, the sky's full of leaves.
And what they can tell you depends on what you believe.
It's a maze. ~ "Amazed," Poe

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Ebay, kittens! The taxman cometh! Please, have a look. Round three of the "pay the taxes" auctions is drawing to a close, and we have two distinguished wallflowers.

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I am weary at being at war with Fay Grimmer, and so the past two days have been spent in a sort of détente, seeking a route by which I can finish this thing without recourse to serious violence. Or worse. I cannot love, or even like, every book I am called upon to write. What I can do is survive this book. I mean to survive the writing of this novel. It will be completed on Sunday, the 22nd of October. I only have to write 1,700 words a day. Or 425 words per four hours per day (lone day off to see the autumn foliage in Vermont and/or New Hampshire). Easy as falling off a log.

Writing for Sirenia Digest #82 is, essentially, taken care of, and the issue will go out the first week in October, to make up for being so abysmally late with #81. By the way, comments on the latest issue would be very, very welcome.

Meanwhile, I'm also working on Alabaster: Boxcar Tales, to be serialized in twelve issues of Dark Horse Presents, beginning in November. The past couple of days, Steve Leiber and I have been editing and tweaking artwork and text for the first installment.

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To sovay and various other friends, L'shanah tovah.

And now, off to the front lines.

Girded,
Aunt Beast

* With thanks to handfulof_dust and a nod to Ruzena Danielova and Randy Newman:

I just want you to hurt like I do.
I just want you to hurt like I do.
I just want you to hurt like I do.
Honest I do, honest I do, honest I do. ~ Randy Newman

Wait. Has it become "politically incorrect" to say that we have enemies? Does the Outrage Brigade object? Well, whatever. To quoth Brown Bird:

We file down our fangs,
On the bones of our foes...

...be they human, or be they paper...