Random bits, stuff, and things.: seanan

Random bits, stuff, and things.

Happy Superbowl Sunday, if you like the sports, and happy Superb Owl Flight Day, if you don't like the sports. May your favorite team do the thing and win the points, and may the Superb Owl soar above your home without pausing to claim tribute in His mighty talons. It's random crap time!

So I realized that I never posted this awesome photo set by my darling Ryan. He took many, many awesome pictures of my custom Alice Price-Healy doll, repainted by the incredible talent over at Retrograde Works. I cannot praise either of their work highly enough. The pictures take my breath away. So does the doll.

Here is an old but beautifully informative post on word counts and how long your novel should be. Naturally, there will always be exceptions, but this is a good way to make yourself pause and go "why is my YA really 120k?" or "is my epic fantasy really done at 75k?" Fun for writers of all ages!

I genuinely want this board game to exist. Except for the part where all play sessions would end with hysterical sobbing and a mysterious lack of alcohol. WHERE HAS THE RUM GONE?!

If you're reading this today—yes, today, the day I posted it, not some weird day in the future that has become "today" through the alchemy of time—you should know that Feed is a daily deal on Amazon. You can get the eBook for $1.99, which is pretty damn amazing. If you've been waiting to pick it up, now's the time!

And that, as they say, is that. Hope you're all well. Hope the Owl doesn't carry you away.

Because the Owl just might, you know.

archangelbeth

February 3 2014, 00:53:40 UTC 3 years ago

New comment

Feed ebook has hit #78 overall! (I already bought it a while ago, Amazon tells me. Huh.)

Congrats!

...I will stay indoors so the Superb Owl doesn't get me.

seanan_mcguire

November 21 2014, 17:24:14 UTC 2 years ago

Woot!

elsewhereangel

February 3 2014, 00:56:25 UTC 3 years ago

I wish I had known of the Superb Owl before now! So glad you posted of its existence!

November 21 2014, 17:24:26 UTC 2 years ago

The Superb Owl sees all.

November 22 2014, 02:58:56 UTC 2 years ago

Do you have any idea how exciting it is that you wrote back just when I was starting to go on about Hogswatch?!?!

Well done!

tanknz

February 3 2014, 01:10:37 UTC 3 years ago

Happy Superbowl Sunday! I don't quite like the sport, but good luck for anyone anyway!

November 21 2014, 17:24:37 UTC 2 years ago

Basically, yeah.

faecat

February 3 2014, 01:16:25 UTC 3 years ago

I am shoving Feed at everyone I know, plus I finally ordered another replacement for my paperback box set because I loaned my first two sets out to people and then forgot who had them :)

November 21 2014, 17:24:46 UTC 2 years ago

Yay!

geekhyena

February 3 2014, 01:19:35 UTC 3 years ago

That is an amazing doll! It captures her perfectly. And I more excited about the Puppy Bowl than the Superb Owl. Owls are nice, but the Puppy Bowl has a hecukva halftime show!

November 21 2014, 17:24:58 UTC 2 years ago

Truth.

deire

February 3 2014, 02:16:32 UTC 3 years ago

I have a 6 pound puppy. Every night I walk him, the owl flies nearby to hoot. I'm kind of wondering if the Owl MIGHT carry him away.

carmy_w

February 3 2014, 19:52:59 UTC 3 years ago

We have two Yorkie mixes, both in the 5-6 pound range. We also have what I think is a pair of barred owls or great horned owls in our neighborhood (can't ever see them, but I can't imagine smaller owls being heard inside my very well insulated house!).

We keep a very close eye on them in the evening and at night.

November 21 2014, 17:25:06 UTC 2 years ago

Awww.

November 24 2014, 01:48:42 UTC 2 years ago

You would like him. He has an orange butt-mark shaped like a pumpkin, so I call him "Pumpkin Butt". He opens garbage cans by leaning on the flip trigger. If he were bigger with more reach, he would join your cats in their quest for world domination. As it is, I believe he might settle for central Michigan.

February 3 2014, 02:17:13 UTC 3 years ago Edited: February 3 2014, 02:17:20 UTC

Also, I decided that for 1.99, I needed Feed on my Kindle, too.

November 21 2014, 17:25:23 UTC 2 years ago

Hooray!

maladaptive

February 3 2014, 02:23:37 UTC 3 years ago Edited: February 3 2014, 13:56:15 UTC

re: word count

My mind is currently being blown by the debate between actual word count vs. manuscript (page # x 250). I've never heard that before so tested it on the manuscript I sent for Harper Voyager's open call, and Courier New adds 150 pages from TNR, which they requested (and 20,000 "words"... wow.) I like that short story subs keep things so much simpler.

November 21 2014, 17:25:44 UTC 2 years ago

It's always fun, watching people try to adapt to new standards.

yellowblackhaze

February 3 2014, 22:48:20 UTC 3 years ago

I do actually enjoy the NFL from time to time, although I prefer Aussie Rules (sometimes known as the AFL), but I'd really love a Superb Owl. Aren't all owls superb?