you'd be surprised

I come here not to question your stick-shaking abilities, but merely to proclaim my love for art.

That looks glorious o_o

I've arranged, once I get my physical copy, to have it reviewed by someone that writes for a few websites.

Ooo... exciting!

they don't call me William Shakestick for nothing

Now, see, all this talk about shaking sticks has me thinking about Clem Kadiddlehopper.

I always preferred Red Skelton, personally.

Oh, hey! An actual, factual update about the print edition!

Provided time and fortune smile upon me, I'm hoping that the final, for-realsingtons files will be sent to the printer by the end of this weekend. (And I kinda have to make that happen, one way or another, because, once this coming Monday rears its ugly head, the next three weeks are looking no bueno in a serious way...)

Anyway, assuming I'm able to hold up my end of the bargain, that would put the actual books in my hot little hands around the first week of October. At which point I am going to have to get serious about figuring out logistics for getting these puppies shipped out to everyone. But I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

For now, I'm just happy to report that everyone who already asked for a copy has one earmarked for them -- provided that they still want it, of course! And I should have a couple of extras for M:EMbers who haven't yet chimed in if they decide that they'd like copies, too. But this is going to be a very short print run (read: 20 books), so please bear with me as I try to get them to where they're going -- losing one in the mail would pretty much break my heart, so I will be trying to take the time to make sure that everything is bulletproof before it leaves my doorstep.

I am as excited as I am exhausted.

Wait. "Ex" is a prefix.

Cited. Hausted. Cite. Haust?

Now I've got to look up the etymology of these words. T_T

I am really, really looking forward to this, as well as having a moment of self-reflection because of it all.

That's the same logic by which I always think that "gruntled" ought to be a word.

I mean, if someone who's unhappy can be "disgruntled," doesn't that imply that, if they were happy instead, they would then be "gruntled?"

Words are funny.



I hope it's a moment for reflection of the good variety!


* * *


Files went out to the printer today. Pending confirmation that the adjustments to the spine are correct, we're ready to print!

Very exciting!

I don't think I called dibs earlier, largely 'cause I don't really have the same sort of connection to Jakkard that a lot of y'all do 'cause I came along later, but if there's extras I'd be happy to give one a loving home. just didn't want you to go out of your way for me.

Unfortunately, no. As usual, past me is an idiot and I regret my actions.

Well, I know that I was slower than molasses running uphill in February when it came to getting the print edition of this most excellent anthology together, but even molasses eventually makes it to where it's going, because I have a UPS tracking number in my inbox today which tells me that the books are in-transit as we speak, and will be in my hot little hands by the start of next week.

Which, I am not ashamed to say, has me feeling Pretty Darn Excited.



Anyway, just as soon as I get the books, I'm going to start shipping them out to the M:EMbership. And, to that end, I'm going to need everyone's help.

So, if you're on the list of people who signed-up to get a print version, please send me a PM at some point with the following information:

1. A mailing address which you would like me to send your book to.
2. Any additional information or instructions that I would need to know to make sure that your book ends up in the right place. (This is especially important in the case of anyone who'll be receiving their book outside the United States. Please treat me like I'm an idiot who doesn't know the first thing about international shipping, and tell me *exactly* how to address the package, and if there's anything else I ought to know about sending mail to your country.)
3. Any other requests you might have!

If you'd prefer not to use your home address, for reasons of privacy, that's fine by me! Just please -- please! -- be sure that, whatever name and address you give me, you will be able to receive a package that I send there. I will only have a finite amount of copies of the book, and I don't want any of them to disappear into the depths of the dead letter office.

I'm going to mail all the books with USPS tracking, so, once your book is in transit, I'll reply to you with a tracking number which you can use to make sure your delivery shows up as expected.

Finally, if you didn't request a book already, but are interested in getting one, please send me a message about that, too, and I'll put you on the list. Provided I have enough copies to meet the demand, I'll send one to everyone who wants one. (If a wave of takers materializes, and I have to somehow ration the copies, well, I guess I'll cross that bridge when and if I get to it?)

Anyway, for something that has been over a year in the making, the finish line is tantalizingly close!

Aaaaaaand the first wave of books were mailed TODAY.

This is an actual thing that is actually happening. Can't stop the signal now.

I'll be sending mail to everyone that I... sent mail to? (Wow, that's kind of circular...)

To anyone else out there who wanted a book, but hasn't been in touch with me yet about where to mail it to, please feel free to drop me a line whenever -- there are more trips to the post office in my future, and I'll mail your copies just as soon as I know where to send them!