Newsletter: Late October...2020 Was Many Things...

 

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2020 was many things... Some we expected, some took us utterly by surprise. Some quickly passed -- and others we are still grappling with. Now that I've had a chance to settle back home after being evacuated for a month due to the California CZULightning wildfires, I am filled with gratitude for the friends, readers, neighbors, family, and strangers who were so unfailingly kind and supportive.  As the season turns from summer's brutal heat toward winter's equally brutal (think mudslides!) but different weather, I am personally focusing on what has sustained my family and myself through the ordeal that has been this year. You, my fans and friends. My wonderful editor and publisher and agent. The beautiful (if a bit singed) place in which I love. And especially the stories that fill my mind and my life. Those I write. Those I treasure by other writers. Many thanks! Deborah First things first: Here is (Red) Sonja smooshed against Shakir. Considering that the first time they were introduced, she a mere wee kitten, she threw herself on her back and screamed, I'd say they have established trust, if not outright affection for one another.

What's new on Darkover?   My agent once told me that waiting on publishers was akin to watching the movement of glaciers. I suspect this has never been more true than now, when my publisher's offices are closed due to the pandemic, and everyone is overloaded. In the meanwhile, here is a snippet from The Laran Gambit, in which Bryn, our viewpoint character, crashes on Darkover with her father and mentor. The title is a working version and will probably be changed. And this is unedited text, so it, too, may undergo the alchemical transformation of editing.   ~~~~~~~ Bryn forced herself to lay back down and breathe slowly. It was harder than she expected. She imagined the inside of the tent — their pocket of air — turning stale. What were the symptoms of anoxia? She couldn’t remember — didn’t that mean her brain was deprived of oxygen? A part of her, that terrified monkey at the back of her brain, yammered at her to get out now. Panic will only use up the air faster. Think!

Newsletter: From Darkover to Zucchini Pickles

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My dear friends, When I began this newsletter, I promised I wouldn't deluge your Inbox. I wanted to send you mindfully curated nuggets of news (and kitten photos). I suspect that under the influence of pandemic brain, I've veered too far in the opposite direction. I've run the risk of being downright taciturn. Nowadays, though, keeping in touch has become more important than ever.  So here are news and other goodies. Please let me hear from you in turn! Collaborators available for pre-order! Collaborators is all set for a release date of October 1, 2020. It will be available in a range of formats, most of which can be pre-ordered: Amazon (ebook and trade paperback) B & N (ebook, trade paperback, and hardcover/laminated cover) Kobo  and other ebook retailers...  Or ask you bookstore to order through Ingram: Trade paperback: 9781952589003 Hardcover/dust jacket: 9781952589027   `````````````````````` I'm setting up a blog tour for the week of the book's release (October 1). If you would like to review it, please let me know (which ebook format you prefer). For a limited time, it's also available through NetGalley.

What's new in the world of the Bloody Sun?   A Heat Wave in the Hellers, a collection of my own Darkover short fiction, reprint and original, continues selling well. It's available in ebook and trade paperback formats from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, other ebook retailers, and your friendly independent bookstore. It's also available through Overdrive, so if your public library subscribes, you may be able to read it there, too.  I reduced the price of the ebooks from $6.99 to $2.99 as part of #StayHomeAndRead, and plan to keep the price at that level.   ~~~~~~~ I had hoped to give your further news about release dates for The Laran Gambit (temporary title) and Arilinn (which I'm 3/4 through the first draft), but alas, the pandemic has affected publishing in many ways, so right now my editor is looking at 2022 and 2023. I'll keep you posted as the schedule firms up. Summer bounty, or -- What do I do with all the zucchini?   It is a truth universally acknowledged that everyone with a garden must therefore grow too much zucchini. (I use the term loosely for any of many varieties of summer squash -- pictured above, with the single cucumber, yellow crookneck, Romanesco/"steampunk," light yellow Clarimore, and Astia, a smallish green zucchini.  We eat it, raw and cooked, and I chop and freeze it (for soups, as the texture suffers). Zucchini egg foo young, zucchini lasagna, zucchini "ribbons" in place of pasta, what else?  Zucchini pickles! (Shown here with frozen and dried apples, and a jar of dried catnip). My family loved these, so the next batch I'll can properly in a boiling water bath. But here's a quick, easy version for you to try.   ````````````````````` Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles   1 lb zuccchini, cut or sliced as desired 1 tsp peppercorns or pickling spice 1 c white vinegar 1 c water 1 T coarse-grained salt Place the zucchini and spices in heatproof jars (I used pint canning jars). Make brine by mixing vinegar, water, and salt in a pan and boiling it to dissolve salt crystals. Pour over squash. Cover, let cool, and refrigerate at least 4 hours before enjoying. They keep in the refrigerator about a month. If they last that long. You can also use this quick method for other vegetables, like cucumbers, asparagus, green beans, cauliflower...even jalapenos. Or a mixture thereof.   Last but not least, a word from the kittens. Now almost 2 years old, (Red) Sonja takes a break from the summer heat. You'll notice that although she is a small cat (just a tad over 7 lbs) she manages to occupy two baskets. Stay cool, everyone!

 

Here's my latest newsletter. Please subscribe here! Newsletter: April #StayHomeAndRead Goodies Stories Help Us Through Tough Times Whether you are an essential worker, coping with added stress but determined to play your part, a student taking classes remotely, a retired person whose income may be secure but who is at high risk, an unemployed or furloughed worker, or a small business owner forced to close up shop, the pandemic takes a toll on all of us. I wish from the bottom of my heart that I could wave a magic author's wand and keep you and your loved ones safe in all senses of the word. Alas, not even on Darkover is that possible. Nevertheless, I hope the items in this newsletter help to brighten your day. #StayHomeAndRead I've reduced the prices of my indie ebooks to make them more available to my readers. A Heat Wave in the Hellers, and Other Tales of Darkover and Other Worlds: Early Novels are $2.99, and everything else* is $0.99. You can find them at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other vendors. (This doesn't apply to my traditionally published books, as the publisher sets the price, but the anthologies I've edited for the Marion Zimmer Bradley Trust -- Lace and Blade, and the Darkover anthologies, for example, are reduced in price, too.) *Jaydium, Northlight, Azkhantian Tales, Transfusion and Other Tales of Hope, Pearls of Fire, Dreams of Steel, and Ink Dance: Essays on the Writing Life. Collaborators has a release date, October 1, 2020, in both ebook and print. It's now available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and other ebook vendors.  (The print edition from Amazon won't go live until then, but B & N allows pre-order for both editions.) Your local bookstore can also order print copies from Ingram. It will be available through Overdrive, so you may be able to borrow it from your public library, as well. If you enjoyed it, please post a review! Radio Interview! On April 21, 2020, I was interviewed on the British radio station, Chat and Spin. Here's the link to the program. My interview begins 1 hour 37 minutes into the program. I've been invited back for June, so stay tuned!

Newsletter: Some News, Some Hope, Some Kitten Pictures...

Some news, some hope, some kitten pictures... Let's face it, the national news has been anything but inspiring. Nevertheless, we shall persist in supporting one another, our families and communities, and in writing -- and reading! -- great books. First, the writing news: DAW, my publisher, plans to release The Laran Gambit in 2021. Stay tuned! My agent has sold the audiobook rights for all my Darkover books (including The Laran Gambit ) to Recorded Books. I'll let you know when there are more details. I've resigned from Book View Café and my books are no longer available there. If you have previously purchased one and need to download it again, you should be able to do so, but if you run into any problems, let me know and I'll make sure you get it. I plan on offering special sale prices at other venues from time to time, and of course my annual winter giveaways. Meanwhile, almost all of my books are available through Overdrive at your public library. Enjoy! Now, an illustrated Journey of (Red) Sonja the Kitten Here is Sonja in fall 2018, about a month old. She's just been picked up by the shelter. Poor thing is covered in ringworm, half-starved, and terrified. They were going to euthanize her the same day, but a worker realized she was a Maine Coon and called a private shelter that specializes in that breed...

Here she is after being with us a few months. The ringworm is cleared up, but she still looks a bit dazed. And here she is today, fully aware of how gorgeous she is, affectionate, playful, and bursting with personality. Really, says Sonja. Copyright © 2020 Deborah J. Ross. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 1412 Boulder Creek CA 95006 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Feline Repose

Look who my daughter found, reclining on her bed...

(This is Sonja, about 16 months old.) Turns out that Shakir is not the only one who loves to sleep on his back.

Today's Kittens

Freya and Sonja hanging out on the cat shelf overlooking the garden.

Today's Kittens

For some reason, Today's Moment of Art didn't load properly, so here are three of our four cats, peacefully enjoying their view of the garden.

Kitten Hooligans

The kittens are now about 5 months old and have turned into a couple of hooligans. Most of the pics I took turned out blurred because they're moving so fast. Nonstop wrestling, then falling over, then more wrestling alternating with getting into whatever mischief they can... They are well matched. Although Freya (dilute torbie) is about 6 weeks younger, she's bigger and heavier. Sonja may end up bigger, but had a rougher start in life. It's unusual for a red/orange kitty to be a girl, but she is.

Kitten Detente

Our two girls are getting along famously.

The one-eyed dilute torbie (tortoiseshell tabby) is Freya.

The red and white (with golden eyes) possible Maine Coon mix is (Red) Sonja. She's 6 weeks older but had a really rough start in life, so is slower to catch up. They're both about 4 1/2 lbs now.

Interestingly, when they play neither is dominant.

Kittens Watching Videos

Some days, we all just need a few kitten endorphins to get through the day. Our two hang out in my office. Freya, on the left, is 6 weeks younger than Sonja, on the right. They're the same weight, although Sonja is rangier. Sonja had a particularly rough start in life, so she may be slower in her growth. Poor sweetie was so thin when we got her, you could feel all her ribs and her spine. Now she's on her way to being a butterball. Both of them love watching the fishies in these videos.

Welcome, Freya! (Kitten Endorphin Alert)

Photos by Sarah Wheeler. Cuteness by Mother Nature.

Kitten Video 12-2-2018

We recently acquired a kitten from the local animal shelter. She's about 9 weeks old, and had one eye removed due to an injury. So of course her name is Freya, wife of Odin. (From all accounts, Freya was the ultimate party girl.) She's still settling in, isolated in my office. My daughter "The Kitten Whisperer" took this footage of me playing with her. This is the day after Freya arrived, so she's still a bit hand-shy. Since then she's become much more bold in initiating physical contact with her humans. Enjoy!