After over a year’s hiatus, Chapter 7 of Diane Duane’s self-published-over-the-net novel, The Big Meow, has finally been released to subscribers! Check out the first six chapters, posted for free, and hopefully, you’ll decide to become a subscriber. After the year that Diane has apparently had (multiple family losses, multiple medical issues including gall bladder), a few extra subscribers would be a good thing.

Diane Duane shares her reminiscences on the passing of Madeleine L’Engle over here.

Especially when they’re for friends.

Especially when I’ve never actually met them.

Peter Murray was one of the Seniors on Diane Duane’s YoungWizards.net. I just found out that he’s been sick for a while, and passed away today, with his family at his side.

Dai stiho, cousin. Give my best to the One.

Update: just got this quote off the IRC announcement of his passing.

<@LazyLeopard>
Death is cruel, and not just to the one who dies.
Peter’s was not a quick death, nor an easy one. Be
angry at that cruelty. Be sad. Mourn for him. Then go
out and live, because only by living can we give death a
poke in the eye.

Diane Duane celebrates “Pixel-stained Technopeasant Day” by releasing the first story she had published, “Parting Gifts“.

Outside her dream it was winter, and night. But Sirronde wandered beyond the gates of dream, straying a long while among the golden landscapes of long-dead summers, until at last she came to the forges of evening. She stopped by the smithy door and looked into the smoky, dim-lit, lightning-smelling place, where in a pit banked deep with sunset fires a young woman was forging souls.

As Sirronde watched the woman reached into the pit, not with tongs but with her bare hand. She plucked out one soul that burned at white heat and began to beat it out on a cloud-gray anvil with a hammer wrought of thunder. A great shower of blue sparks went up as she worked the soul into the shape she needed. Some minutes passed before the woman glanced up at Sirronde. When she did, breathing hard, she smiled; but the smile was abstracted and brief. “I have a job for you,” she said.

Some of you know that I named my elder daughter after a character of Diane Duane’s. Today, the last book in her series which featured that character was released as a PDF on the Simon and Schuster website. I’m about halfway through: I can hardly wait for the bus ride home so I can finish it. :-)

I see I forgot to link when Chapter 3 went up, and I missed the Chapter 4 release by quite a bit. Oh, well.

If you like the free chapters that Diane has posted, please subscribe and give her the incentive she needs to finish the book. I want to find out what happens! :-)

Apparently they’re not quite “live”, but they just had a major revamp. Looks interesting so far…

Thanks to Diane for the update.

Chapter 2 of Diane Duane’s third Feline Wizards book, The Big Meow, is now available to the public. If you like the first two chapters, please consider subscribing to the full book. Not only will you give Diane the money she needs to spend the time to finish writing TBM, but you’ll make it look reasonable for the next author who wants to try writing for the readers instead of the publishers.

Chapter 2 of Diane Duane’s third Feline Wizards book, The Big Meow, is now available to the public. If you like the first two chapters, please consider subscribing to the full book. Not only will you give Diane the money she needs to spend the time to finish writing TBM, but you’ll make it look reasonable for the next author who wants to try writing for the readers instead of the publishers.

In December, I mentioned Diane Duane’s interest in finishing her Feline Wizards series, if there was actually a market for it. Well, it turned out that several people were willing to step up with hundreds of dollars worth of challenge grants, all of which were promptly met. So, Diane polished off the first chapter and put it up for the subscribers last week. It was up to her usual high standards, including a reference to Blue Harvest which unfortunately sailed right over my head (oh, so that’s where the bald spot came from…).

Today, she posted it for all to read. If you like it, please subscribe so that she has the money to finish it! :-)