Oops.

I completely forgot to mention here that I've posted the entire first chapter of Eye of the Beholder. Prior to this point, I'd only posted the first few pages, which were also used as an excerpt in the back of the new version of The Silver Spoon.

Here's the link:
http://www.staceyklemstein.com/EOBExcerpt.html

I'm thinking it's about eight or more "new" pages. Chapter Two will be posted in December and Chapter Three in January! : )

Other random stuff...

--I'm suffering from major gadget lust, again. I've only just recovered from desperately needing an iPhone, which I still want, and now Amazon has launched the Kindle. I'm not completely convinced it's the best ebook reader or anything, but I LOVE that you can instantly download new books from anywhere. No service plan or monthly fees. Plus, you get to skip the step of downloading to your computer and then your ebook reader. I just WANT it. But I do not have the $399 (!!!) required. Oh, well, the gadget lust will fade (eventually) and maybe the price will drop (a la the iPhone). For that price, I'm not certain it's worth it when I'm not sure I can give up the physical presence of a book. I am one of those (my dad is another I know of) who loves the smell and texture of books, the paper, the ink, the cover. All of it. Guess we'll see...

--Is it just a little bit disturbing that at least one person (possibly more) found my website by searching for the phrase "Nancy Drew bound and gagged" on Google? I have a similar phrase in my mystery bio, where I'm sort of poking fun at the series because Nancy never did seem to learn that going anywhere alone was the surest way to end up in trouble. But in this context, it's just a little...weird. : )

--Took two days off over Thanksgiving and the day after to visit with my family in Peoria. We celebrated my grandmother's eightieth birthday, which is actually tomorrow. Had amazing food, played games and just relaxed. I felt a little guilty about not writing those two days, even though what I was mostly doing was floundering, flopping around on the page like a fish out of water. But I thought about the point at which I was having trouble in the story a lot, working it through from every possible angle. For me, a huge portion of writing takes place in my head, working and reworking, long before I sit at the keyboard. And lo and behold, when I got back yesterday and sat down, the pieces all fell together. I'm sure I'll be back to floundering again soon, but it's nice to feel like I made that little bit of progress. : )

--I'm thinking about adding a page to my site, creating a list of all the stuff I'm reading (and therefore recommending). It would be good to keep track, so I can remember all the authors I want follow. Of course, I could do this just in a word doc for myself for that purpose. But I'm wondering if anyone else would be interested in it? I always like to find out what other people are reading, and except on MySpace (where there's a place to put what you're reading), I always forget to mention it here. Just let me know... : )