I’m such a packrat.

There is at least 25 gigs of data on my hard drive(s) that is ancient, out-of-date, and for which I can imagine no possible future use. But just because I can’t imagine it doesn’t mean it’s not there, somewhere. Old email from my Novell days (including ancient correspondece with Schlock fans) tops the list…

I would like permission to throw all this away. PLEASE.

I’ll say it again: “I love my job.”

Make no mistake, it is a job, and it is a difficult one. For three weeks now I’ve been wondering what I was going to do with the storyline once The Longshoreman of The Apocalypse wraps up, which wrap-up I wrote three weeks ago. I haven’t scripted a word of comics since, because I don’t want to start digging a hole I can’t get out of.

I had kind of decided on a vignette format for the next book, with much shallower, shorter, faster story arcs. I had almost made up my mind to make them discontiguous, though my precious continuity would take a bit of beating. So I sat down and started scribbling vignette “mini-mission” ideas, and suddenly it came to me, that idea, that single piece of narrative cement that would hold the whole thing together.

No, I’m not going to tell you what it is.

But once *I* knew what it was I was able to re-scribble the vignettes into a cohesive plot that not only advances the overall continuity of the Schlockiverse (we’ll see Petey and the Fleetmind again) but also allows for character development, lots of BLAM, lots of different situations, and a cheerfully triumphant ending.

Oh, wait. I just gave away the ending.

Well, no. What I told you was more like saying “dinner will be followed by dessert, and the dessert will be very rich, and will include chocolate.” You’re still going to have to clean your plate, young man…

Voting is open for the 2009 Hugo Awards, the World Science Fiction Society‘s annual bestowal of honor, and the most prestigious awards in Science Fiction.

This year there is an additional category, a one-time-only Award for “Best Graphic Story,” and after a careful perusal of the rules it appears that Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic is eligible for nomination.

But is it worthy? I invite you to re-read it! And for your convenience, here is Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic as a PDF. It is a 35mb download, but it should be much more convenient than re-reading the archives on the web. Feel free to pass it around, too.

In order to nominate works for the Hugos you must have an Attending membership to either Denvention or Anticipation (WorldCon 66 from ’08 or WorldCon 67 in ’09), or a Supporting membership. The details are here. Obligatory Ethical Note: I feel confident that my web presence and active fanbase will NOT result in ballot-stuffing, since the right to nominate costs a minimum of $50. My purpose in this exercise is to ensure that those who can vote know what’s eligible, and have the opportunity to easily review it.

Now… as long as you’re nominating things for Hugos, you should know that you can nominate up to five works for each category. There are other works equally worthy if not far worthier of the “Best Graphic Story” Hugo, and at the tippity-brass-top of that list is Phil and Kaja Foglio’s Girl Genius Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones. The Foglio’s are friends of mine, yes, but their work trancends that. Girl Genius is one of the few things on the web or in print that I look at and say to myself “Wow… I wish I could do that.”

The Bad News:

I was customizing a foam tray for a completed unit of miniatures, and I inflicted a lovely tar-and-feather style burn on my hand using hot glue. This is the kind of burn where you quickly try to rub away the super-hot sticky substance (hot glue or tar) and RIP! The skin comes off with it.

The Good News:

It was my left hand.

Even Better!

It was the back of my thumb.

I’m working hard to think of this as excellent luck. I can still type and I can still draw. Sure, it smarts like a Fulbright scholar, and the wound is weeping like its dog died, but it’s on my LEFT HAND.

I should take some painkillers. Back-of-thumb second-degree burns don’t provide nearly enough endorphins.