Eagles Over the Kennebec

Sigh

Tomorrow is Monday. And things were going so well. Has anybody else noticed that this happens every dern week?

Today I received an email from a young man who wished to know what the "difference" was between the editions of Fledgling and Saltation that will eventually be coming to a bookstore near you, via Baen and the Simon and Schuster distribution empire, and those that will be mailed to subscribers from the authors.

The answer to that question is: Subscription books will be signed. This is a small and entirely inadequate way to say "thank you!" to all the people who believed in the projects and supported our work.

I'll eventually get this information up on the Saltation website, in case there are other curious souls out there, but ...not tonight.

I hope everyone had a pleasant weekend, be ye mothers or be ye not.

Me, I'm going to take a well-earned break from this curst machine and go wash the dishes.

Progress on Longeye

51,205 / 100,000 (51.2%)

So, hey! We did the closing. And it was easy and smooth and now we know what amount to write the check for every month, foreverandever. Or at least the next 30 years. So, all good.

As reported in kinzel's blog, various things are moving apace, not counting, I suspect, the Authors. The new beta page for Fledgling is up here. Comments are being taken here, which is part of the Fledgling/Saltation community.

For those who have been even busier than we've been, an Announcement: There will be a WorldCon this year. It will be held in Denver. It will also be held in August, therefore establishing a lack of Herr Heisenberg's involvement in the proceedings. Read all about it here.

We -- that's Sharon Lee and Steve Miller -- will be attending this Denver WorldCon in August as panelists. We have train tickets! We have hotel reservations! We have Plans, Big Plans, to ride a vintage wooden carousel, which may not pan out, but! it's always good to have plans.

In addition to Plans and train tickets, we have the lovely and talented gilraen2, who has taken on the task of arranging a Friends of Liad breakfast. Because she is a splendid and organized person, we will be selling tickets in advance (Is this not a thing of beauty? Why didn't we think of that?) but! (you knew that was coming) we need a central place at the convention to do this piece of business. We had become accustomed to doing our con-related at-con business from the Meisha Merlin table, which is no longer possible.

Is there anyone (actually, lots of anyones, so nobody gives up their whole con for us -- that would be Too Awful) who is willing to man a Liaden Universe® fan table (I have no idea if it's even possible to reserve a fan table at this late date)? Can someone think of a central location where tickets could be sold *other than* a Liaden fan table? Suggestions welcome.

In other news, I've updated the Saltation subscription meter. As of this writing, 628 books have been adopted, with only 572 remaining.

I've also been writing, a little, and very much need to write this weekend, a lot. Anybody who has some spare energy, send 'er this way. Thanks.

Progress on Longeye

46,943 / 100,000 (46.9%)

jaylake was diagnosed with cancer last week; the outlook is good (or as good as it can be with word "cancer" in play) he'll be undergoing surgery and various other unpleasantries in the next few weeks. Pull for him in spare minutes, right? Good thoughts do count.

The Instant Re-fi is on its way to becoming a reality. We're closing on Thursday morning at the credit union, and we'll even get a break on the monthly mortgage payment -- so, hey, we can budget in a breakfast out once every couple months on the savings.

I have updated the subscriptions for Saltation. Six hundred and twelve of the eventual hard copies have found homes -- only 588 to go!

In related news, as people realize that they ordered a copy of Fledgling and their wife/mother/boyfriend/SO/hamster also ordered a copy and really they only want one -- there are a few Fledglings available for adoption. If you missed subscribing and would like to, drop me a note at fledglingATkorval.com (where @ replaces AT). There are only a few of these, so do write first to make sure they haven't been Snapped Up(tm).

I see another buncha new names on the flist! Welcome! Pull up a chair, grab a drink, tell me a little bit about yourself and how you happened by, if the mood is on you. If not, that's cool, too.

I'm sporadically present here on LJ now and for the foreseeable future. The book that had gotten stuck has finally come unstuck, but I'm very close to deadline, and words to write before I sleep.

For those playing along at home...

Progress on Longeye

44,942 / 100,000 (44.9%)

...being one of the Rare Occasions in which Rolanni Actually Talks About writing...

For those joining us in mid-semester, the Contract Between Writer and Reader is this: I, the Writer, agree to tell you, the Reader, a lie, hereinafter referred to as a story. You, the Reader, agree to suspend your disbelief in this falsehood until the end of the story, OR until I, the Writer, drop the cake.

That's it; that's the Whole Contract. People occasionally add ancillaries and addendums, to kind of stack the deck in their favor, like with any contract. I submit that those are artificial conditions which serve only to distort the core principal.

For instance, I, the Writer, do not agree to:
1) never kill off a beloved character
2) always provide a H(appy) E(ver) A(fter) ending
3) always write the same book
4) always write the same kind of book

You, the Reader, do not agree to:
#adore everything I write
#finish reading a book that doesn't work for you
#buy a book in a genre you loathe, just because I wrote it

One Writer, indeed, may write across several genres, which would pretty much guarantee numbers 3 and 4, above. This is where it pays Readers to be advertent: If you want, say, a Liaden Universe® novel, and the cover says, oh, "fantasy" or "mystery" -- believe the cover.

As a Reader myself, I find it pays to treat a familiar author writing in a genre other than what I consider to be Their Usual as I would a Brand New Author -- I examine the book, read a few chapters, and decide if I like what I'm seeing enough to buy into the whole fabrication. That's valid; it's well within the realm of the contract; nobody gets mad, or feels betrayed.

If I decide that this particular lie isn't my cuppa, that doesn't mean that the story is wrong*; it doesn't mean that the author has forgotten how to write*, or is jerking fans around* -- it doesn't even mean that the author has sold out*. It means that the author has written a book that isn't to my taste. That's OK; the best of friends sometimes disagree.

Even within genre, a writer can vary the way in which she presents her lies. We here at the Confusion Factory have for instance produced a "car chase novel"** (Agent of Change), a "book where nothing happens"** (Local Custom), "Mills and Boone in space"** (Conflict of Honors), and "kiddie sf"** (Balance of Trade). Sometimes, we tell linear lies; sometimes the story sweeps around in a seeming lazy spiral; sometimes we leapfrog time and space.

These are all valid types of falsehoods and techniques for delivering lies. None of them is inherently "wrong," though they certainly are different.

Now, it may well be that you, the Reader, prefer a story that is more linear, and have no patience with spiraling narratives. That's OK. You, the Reader, are the Sole Judge and Arbiter of what lies you find most amusing. However, the story is not "wrong" because it's not to your taste; it's just -- not to your taste. This is comparable to Rolanni's refusal to allow "sushi" in the same sentence with "dinner."

God, She Knows, sometimes Writers flub. No one is immune to dropping the cake; there are dern few perfect books out there. Every story I've ever written has had at least a few crumbs between the margins. That's OK, too, as long as the Reader can continue to buy into the story. If the writer has really screwed up, and Readers are thrown bodily out of the story, well -- that's covered in the contract. It's a sad event, for the Reader and for the Writer. Writers work really hard to avoid Utter Fumbles, but...we're human beings. Sometimes, we fall. When that happens, about the only thing that can be done is to admit that you screwed up, get up, dust off your jeans, and try again.

To reiterate: The contract between Writer and Reader is a simple, public contract, guaranteeing the Writer the ability to write the stories she wishes to write and the Reader to read those stories she wishes to read.


--------
*excerpts taken from my email files

**excerpts taken from rejection letters and/or reviews

Alert FoL Sasha Wagner lets us know that Liad is prominently mentioned in Elizabeth Litchfield's prize-winning essay A Library of Love: Changing the social order one couple (or threesome) at a time.

A week or so ago, we were amused to learn that Dragon Tide and Liaden Universe® Companion Volume One (available from SRM Publisher were listed as best-selling books 20 and 8 respectively on Uncle Hugo's Top Twenty, reported in the April 18 Entertainment Weekly.

This week we are extremely pleased to see that Dragon Tide (SRM) tied with trade paper runner-up Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (Del Rey)on the Locus Bestseller List for May 2008.

I wonder: How many people here can pick up a piece of 70 lb bond and a piece of 20 lb bond, and feel the difference?

Special bonus question: If you wished to print something on the community printer, and you happened to notice that said printer was out of paper, would you be prone to completely overlook the full case of 20 lb printer paper under the printer table, where it's always kept, and ransack shelves where printer paper has never been kept, tearing open random reams of card stock, thesis paper, broadsheet, and colored paper in a variety of hues, until you located said 70 lb bond and loaded the printer with it?

Extra-special bonus question: Both drawers?

In honor of Steve's (aka Elan Neruda's) talk at the Second Annual Second Life Book Fair, fairgoers were able to download a discount coupon at the SRM Publisher booth, said coupon being good for one free copy of The Tomorrow Log mass market paperback (a $6.99 value!), plus postage.

There are still some promotional copies of The Tomorrow Log mass market available, entering coupon code SLBF2008 at check-out will get you that free book or -- it will give you a $6.99 discount on any book in the SRM catalog.

Just to tempt you: There are only about 400 copies of Liaden Universe Companion Volume One in mass market left, and SRM does have in stock Meisha Merlin editions of Partners in Necessity, Plan B, The Tomorrow Log, Balance of Trade, and, of course, chapbooks Dragon Tide, Necessary Evils, Calamity's Child and many more. That's a lot of good reading -- and a discount, too!

Word from the loan officer is that we should have a determination this week. This depends upon the speed with which the Federal Government, having provoked this mess, sends in their paperwork.

The day-job is gearing up for finals and commencement. Thursday is the History Majors Dinner, which means I'll spend some part of tomorrow talking to Catering and quadruple-checking the relevant arrangements. In addition, the new HR honcho is putting together all kinds of Employee Events over the next couple weeks, which we-the-staff are expected to attend. I think his timing could have been better...

Wednesday, Steve and I will be reading from Crystal Soldier and from Crystal Dragon, then talking a little bit about using SF in the classroom. The event is part of Educator Appreciation Week and will be held at the Augusta Barnes and Noble, starting at 5 p.m. If you're within the sound of my voice, come on by! I'm told that there will be door prizes!

In and around all of the excitement above, I need to write 2,000 to 3,000 good -- and excellent would be better -- words every day for the next few weeks in order to meet the extended deadline for turning in Longeye. Between Friday and today, I wrote 6,540 words, which is...impressive, in my terms. Unfortunately, instead of being impressed, I'm jittery because it's Not Good Enough.

Ah, the joys and pathologies of the writing life.

Because I was busy writing Not Enough Words, I did not answer any email, including inquiries regarding Fledgling and/or Saltation (see? I told you this was how it was going to be) or do the data entry that would allow me to update the Saltation book counter. A fast and dirty eyeballing leads me to the conclusion that we're at 588 books claimed; 612 still up for adoption.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and understanding in re the email situation -- I'm really not ignoring you. Well, OK, yes. I am ignoring you, but it's for a Really Good Reason.

Progress on Longeye

36,547 / 100,000 (36.5%)

I have been told that in nations with socialized medicine (my correspondent uses the UK as their example) a person who has broken their hip will wait an average of three months for treatment.

Can anyone tell me if this is so?

Thanks.

Thanks to everyone who offered (and gave!) stars and support. Much appreciated.

The weekend has seen several things moved from the have-not-done to the have-done list.

1. The second-round papers for the re-fi went into the mail to the loan officer on Saturday morning, so we're free of the need to fill out any more paperwork on that front at least until, oh, Tuesday.

2. Caught up on all the Fledgling and Saltation related email (though not, alas, on any of the other backlogged correspondence), caught up the data entry pertaining thereto, posted the results, and (yet another) Rule Change on the Saltation page. Short form: In perusing the Baen contracts, we discover that the the cap for Saltation subscriptions is set at 1,200 books. That means that everyone who subscribed to Fledgling can also get a Saltation, so their books will match. That had worried me, and now I'm relieved.

3. Purchased Binjali the Altima a new muffler, new struts, new brakes, and a new headlight. Ow! Ow! Ow! But, hey! It's now practically a brand new -- and definitely safer! -- car.

4. Got some sleep, but I want more, on account of, well, I'm tired. Maybe in June.

5. Chopped onions and sweet peppers and froze them, because -- yes, I'm weird -- I find chopping vegetables soothing.

6. Went through the Baen contracts.

7. Wrote chapter eight of Longeye, sigh. Much stronger. So late....


The lasting fame and fortune thing -- still not yet. In blanket answer to those who asked, I think we may be talking degrees. That's grounds for an interesting conversation, but -- not tonight. At least, not from me, tonight. If somebody wants to posit a theory, go for it.

Also? Didn't quit the day-job this weekend. Didn't even come close.

I see a buncha new names in the flist. If you're so minded, step up and introduce yourselves and tell me how you happened by. If you're not so minded, that's OK, too. In either case -- welcome, enjoy, have fun!


Progress on Longeye

24,923 / 100,000 (24.9%)

Yes, that's me in the icon.

I. So far this week, we (or I, or Steve) have:

1. Filled out, photocopied and conveyed the refinance paperwork to the bank.
2. Had several phone calls with the loan officer, and the appraiser.
3. Exchanged several emails with Madame the Agent.
4. Received from the loan officer Even More Paperwork® to fill out.
5. Received from Madame the Agent the contracts referenced in I(3) above.
6. Gone to the day-job Every Single Day and done Actual Day-job Bidness. Go, me. I wanna gold star.
7. Continued SRM Publisher bidness-as-usual.
8. Attended a Library Trustees Meeting.
9. Wept, railed and swore that this book could not be written.
10. Finished picking out the seams, from which seven Good Chapters and True have been salvaged.
11. Written a chapter of Saltation.
12. Gotten Argent the Subaru inspected.


II. So far this week, we (or I, or Steve)have not:

1. Quit the day-job. Go, me. I wanna gold star.
2. Achieved Lasting Fame and Fortune.
3. Answered the several dozen emails in my inbox, wondering if Fledgling and/or Saltation has been reserved in my correspondent's name.
(PSA: This will go faster, guys, if, while you're waiting (and you will have to wait: we're in The Book On Deadline Comes Before Coffee Itself Mode), you scope out your PayPal receipts and/or your checkbook. I'm not being mean, but I am being realistic. And testy. OhMyYes, definitely testy.)
4. Read or filled out the second round of paperwork from the bank.
5. Signed the contracts referenced in I(3) above.
6. Purchased Binjali the Altima a new muffler, new brakes, new headlights OR new shock absorbers.
6. Gotten anywhere near enough sleep.

As reported elsewhere.

Attention: Subscribers to Fledgling and Saltation, Fans of Theo Waitley, Friends of Liad, and All the Ships at Sea

Now it can be told.

Baen Books will be publishing the dead tree edition of Fledgling and, when it’s ready, Saltation. That’s the short form and it is Wonderful News Indeed.

The slightly longer form is that subscribers to Fledgling and/or Saltation will receive their books as promised. Baen will supply a portion of our advance in books, enough to cover the subscriptions, which we’ll sign and mail from the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory – that’s 1,200 volumes for Fledgling, and up to 1,000 Saltations.

The rest of the books will go into Baen’s regular distribution channel and will be available from your favorite bookstore. For those who prefer ebooks, both novels will be available through Baen Webscriptions.

As with any negotiation, there was some give-and-take involved. Part of this negotiation revolved around the form in which the books will be published. There exists the possibility – the language is in the contract – that Baen will decide not to publish a trade paper edition. If they make that decision, then subscribers will receive hardcovers.

Publication dates are not yet in hand; as soon as we have them, we’ll shout them from the rooftops. We did want to give this wonderful news to everyone who supported us and our work as soon as we were certain ourselves.

We’re very grateful to Toni Weisskopf at Baen, and to Jenn Jackson, our agent, who both did master class piloting in order to bring this one safely to port.

A sort-of meme via matociquala.

How many novels have I/I-and-my-co-author written?

Novel 1: A Kinzel novel; I've forgotten the title, if we gave it one beyond The Naming of Kinzel, written for Donning Publishers, who then turned down the completed manuscript, which has long since been lost. 1980, I guess...

Novel 0: A romance novel set in Hatteras Village, North Carolina. Gave it up as a bad job about 30,000 words in. This manuscript has also, mercifully, been lost. At a guess, early 1981 -- shortly after the Kinzel debacle, in any case.

Novel 2: Agent of Change. Written in 1984. Rejected by Ace (that took nine months, because Ginjer kept thinking she'd see us at a con so she could let us down easy. Rejected on the grounds that it was "John LeCarre in space," which is still one of our best rejections ever. I mean, this is a bad thing how?). Rejected by DAW (that took three days, so you see that things do average out). Purchased by Del Rey in December 1986; published in February 1988.

Novel 3: Conflict of Honors. Written in 1985 while we were waiting to hear about Agent, and submitted to Del Rey in September 1986. Accepted September 1987. Published July 1988.

Novel 4: Carpe Diem. Proposal and first 60 pages sent to Del Rey in November 1987; editor hated it. Wrote the book anyway and sent it to Del Rey via our agent in October 1988. Accepted with the gracious note, "Well, Catherine[our agent] talked me into it." in November 1988 (go, Catherine!). Published November 1989.

Novel 5: Media Res, later titled Plan B. Proposal and first 100 pages sent to Del Rey in 1989. Rejected. Devastated authors put project aside. Completed in June 1996. Purchased by Meisha Merlin in February 1998. Published in February 1999.

Novel 6: The Tomorrow Log, written in 1991. Rejected by: Del Rey, Daw, Roc, Ace, Avon. Purchased by Meisha Merlin May 2002. Published in February 2003.

Novel 7: Local Custom, written in 1992 because hey, I'd always wanted to write a Regency Romance without, yanno, actually having to do the research. And who was gonna tell me not to? Rejected by Del Rey, Bantam/Spectra, Tor, Baen, DAW. Sold to Meisha Merlin as part of a seven-book package in February 1998. Published in February 2001. Won second place for the Prism Award as best Futuristic Romance in 2002.

Novel 8: Scout's Progress, written in 1993, because if you get one brother, you get them both. I'm just sayin'. Rejected by Avon, Tor, Del Rey. Sold to Meisha Merlin as part of a seven-book package in February 1998. Published in February 2001. Won first place for the Prism Award as best Futuristic Romance in 2002.

Novel 9: Barnburner, Jen Pierce Maine Mystery #1, written in 1994. Oh, this is a good one. Deep breath. Ready? Rejected by: Tor, Avon, Mysterious Press, Bantam, Doubleday, Harper, Random House, Fawcett, St. Martins, Walker, North Country Press, Dead Letters. Published by SRM Publisher, Ltd. in 2002.

Novel 10: Gunshy, Jen Pierce Maine Mystery #2, completed in first draft, April 1995, then filed, because what was the point? Revised and published by SRM Publisher, Ltd. in August 2006.

Novel 11: I Dare, written in 2001, as part of Meisha Merlin seven-book deal. Published in Feburary 2002.

Novel 12: Balance of Trade, written in 2002. Published by Meisha Merlin in February 2004. Edited to add: Steve reminds me that Balance won the Hal Clement Award for Best YA Science Fiction published in 2004.

Novel 13: Crystal Soldier, written in 2004. Published by Meisha Merlin in February 2005.

Novel 14: Sword of Orion, written in early 2005. Published by Phobos Books in November 2005. Work for hire.

Novel 15: Crystal Dragon, written in 2005. Published by Meisha Merlin in February 2006.

Novel 16: Carousel Tides, finished in November 2006. Still looking for a home...

Novel 17: Duainfey, first book of a duology sold on proposal to Baen, 2007. Turned in October 2007. To be published September 2008.

Novel 18: Fledgling, completed in first draft October 2007. Web serialization.

Novel 19: Longeye, in process, second book of the above duology, sold to Baen. Scheduled for April 2009 publication, assuming the authors get it done, ahem.

Novel 20: Saltation, web serialization. In progress.

Novel 21: Sequel to Scout's Progress sold to Baen on proposal.

There! Now wasn't that easy?

Loan papers have been filled out, to the best of our ability to fill them out. We await the Fed's paperwork, which they're sending by slowboat, after mandating a stupidly short turn-around time for what is, let us be fair, a massive project. I have a Mountain of Photocopying yet before me...Thank ghod the college has high-speed, two-sided copiers, and I have ca$h on my ID card.

In other news, subscriptions for Saltation have reached the top of the mountain and are rolling down the other side. Yes! Five hundred and five books have been ordered; only 495 now need the promise of homes.

This morning thus far Steve and I have shared cuddles, breakfast, and sighs; bills have been paid, and bookkeeping has been done. Scrabble has taken to the high ground in Steve's office and Mozart is camped out on the bed.

...and it's time for me to go to work.

See you on the flipside.

As you know, Bob, the Federal Government is working like a lunatic thing to shore up the mortgage industry. You may have asked yourself, as I have, where they're coming up with the money in these lean times, having already spent every dime in the treasury.

Well.

Let me tell you a story.

Eighteen years ago, Steve and I "bought a house" as the saying goes. What we actually did, of course, was Acquire a Mortgage. Because we live 'way out in the country, we got ours with what was then called the Rural Housing Service of the federal government.

This mortgage has many idiosyncracies, as you might expect from a government program. For instance, payments are tied directly to income-before-expenses, reviewed annually. Every year, I get to educate a new "counselor" on the realities of freelance incomes. Also, because of the income-before-expenses side of things, it's a little hard to, how shall I say this, save money. But, hey, it's our mortgage, and no one else was stoopid enough to take on a couple of freelancers, so we love it for the ugly child it is.

Yesterday, we got a letter in the mail from Rural Housing, which now sports some highfalutin alphabetsoup name. We have...

...wait for it...

We have...

90 days (from the date of the letter) to refinance our house

Yes! On top of everydamnotherthing we have to do before June 1, now we have to figure out how to refinance an elderly raised ranch located in the heart of Central Maine in the middle of a housing slump.

Because, yanno, the government needs money. NOW.


...if you want me for any little thing, I'll be hiding under the bed.

Liaden Universe® InfoDump #67: Full of Crunchy Goodness

In this Issue:

Still Partying After All These Years
Anniversaries, Part One
SRM Publisher News
Saltation Rule Change
Fledgling News
Ace Reissues
Baen Contracts for New Liaden Novel
Webscriptions to Publish Chapbook and Novel
Anniversaries, Part Two
Liaden Universe(R) Companion Volume One Available in MMP
Meet the Authors
Anniversaries, Part Three & Four
Blogs

( It's all behind the cut )

Remember that input we'd asked y'all to provide?

This just in from The Nice Editor Lady (TNEL) at Ace.

I give you...

The reissue schedule for the mass market Liaden Universe® novels!

Agent of Change -- December 2008
Conflict of Honors -- January 2009
Carpe Diem -- February 2009
Plan B -- June 2009
Local Custom -- July 2009
Scout's Progress -- August 2009
I Dare -- September 2009
Balance of Trade October 2009
Crystal Soldier -- November 2009
Crystal Dragon -- December 2009

...with very little cheating, a year of the Liaden Universe®. I kinda like the four-month gap between Carpe and Plan B, commemorating as it does the (muchmuchMUCH) larger original gap between those two books.

...it's not that I don't have a sense of humor (which I've been told); I have a lively, if occasionally inappropriate, sense of humor. It's because April Fool's Day has, IMNSHO, become a forum for abusive behavior couched as "jokes," which allows the perpetrator to take and hold the dubious moral high ground of "You can't take a joke!"

And besides, today is the Anniversary of an Event far closer to my heart than the tedious demonstration that the People Are An Idiot.

Today marks the Thirtieth Anniversary of the merging of the Lee and Miller households into the Lee-Miller Household, aka The Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

Let there be music, wine, ice cream, and dancing!

Remember I told y'all to go see Janis Ian if she was ever performing at a Venue Near You?  Here's where she'll be over the next couple months.

More information and tour updates at:  http://www.janisian.com/tourinfo.html

Mon-Tue	Apr 21-22	Osaka, Japan	Billboard Live	www.billboard-japan.com
Thurs-Sat	Apr 24-26	Tokyo, Japan	Billboard Live	www.billboard-japan.com
Mon-Tue	Apr 28-29	Fukuoka, Japan	Billboard Live	www.billboard-japan.com
May 4		Seoul, South Korea	Venue TBA
Sat	May 17	Concord, MA	Emerson Umbrella	978-369-2585 www.aai-nature.org/	Animals for Intermediaries Benefit
Thu	June 5	Woodbury, TN	The Arts Center of Cannon County	800-235-907 www.artscenterofcc.com
Thu	June 19	St Louis, MO	The Sheldon Concert Hall	www.metrotix.com 314 534-1111	Television show taping!
Sat	July 5	New York, NY	Folk Music Festival - Govenors Island	212-602-0768 www.trinitywallstreet.org
Sun	July 6	Huntington, Long Island	Huntington Arts Festival - Chapin Rainbow Stage	631-271-8423          www.huntingtonarts.org
Wed	July 30	Cleveland Heights, OH	Evans Ampitheater of Cain Park	216-371-3000 http://www.cainpark.com
Sat-Sun	July 26-27	Hillsdale, NY	Falcon Ridge Festival	860-350-7472    www.falconridgefolk.com
Tues	Aug 5	Bethlehem, PA	Musikfest 2008, Liederplatz Stage	610-332-3378 www.fest.org
Thurs	Aug 7	Alexandria VA	The Birchmere	703-549-7500    www.birchmere.com
Fri	Aug 8	Chicago IL	Old Towne School of Folk Music	773-728-6000    www.oldtownschool.org/
Sat-Sun	Aug 16-17	Philadelphia, PA	Philadelphia Folk Festival	215-242-0150 www.folkfest.org
Thur	Nov 13	Wilmington, DE	Grand Opera House - Baby Grand	302-652-5577 http://www.grandopera.org/
Fri	Nov 14	Sellersville PA	Sellersville Theater	215-257-5808 www.ST94.com
Sat	Nov 15	Millburn NJ	The Sanctuary Concerts	973-376-4946  www.sanctuaryconcerts.org

It has come to my attention that I will be traveling this summer (via train, all the way to the City in the Clouds and back). This means that I will have to find locks, at least two, for my beloved purple backpack (which, by the way, clashes or works against every article of clothing I own. And that is why I Love It. Here's a picture). I thought, of course, that this would be an Easy Project, but locks have gotten complicated since the last time I felt the need to lock something up. (Come to think of it, the dufflebag that goes into through transit prolly ought to get locked, too. My previous philosophy regarding these things was that, if somebody wanted a ratty pair of jeans so bad that they were willing to