Progress notes for April 29, 2007

I've been reading Michelle Sagara's Cast in Shadow, and you know what, it's fun and the sort of reading experience I really enjoy. Fast-paced, amusing dialogue, and compelling characters. Aspects that I'm coming to rather demand in a book than expect more times than not. There's a lot of interesting details about the different classes of folk: Leontines, Hawks, Wolves, Dragons, and so forth. At first, I thought it was going to be very cut-and-dry, but it turned out to be much different.

Sagara moves the plot along very fast--sometimes too fast as I want to know more history and why things are happening--and I can't help but plow through the book. Funny, I had trouble just getting through Brasyl by Ian McDonald and yet here I can read easily. I do have a problem with her holding back information about Severn from the reader for almost half the novel, but meh, it's all right. I'm enjoying the worldbuilding and caste system so much that it's forgiveable. Aren't I just the nicest?

Some progress today, in which main character Emily gets the tingles to tangle with teleportation.

"The Songs He'd Sing"

New Words: 618
Total Words: 1,349
Pages: 3
Deadline: None
Reason for stopping: End of scene
Stimulants: Coffee is my friend
Songs played loudly: "Grand Theft Autumn" by Fall Out Boy
Mail: Found out that a short story of mine, "Ash Fish," had been accepted to a benefit anthology called SALT. Also, received contracts for "Birds, Gods, and the Naming of Things" for the Strange Stories of Sand and Sea anthology. Other than that, nomail. Tis Sunday!
Darling du Jour: "I have an idea." Emily stood, scratched her cat thanks under his chin, and hurried over to her computer. "Thanksgiving might come early this year."
Other writing-related work: Nopers
The Internet is full of Things: I like this blog a lot. Old photos galore!