I’m off to Florida tomorrow, to attend the International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts, where I’ll be presented with the Crawford Award. Very excited, naturally, but it’s been hectic around here lately. Renovating my office, which has included scraping paint off all the woodwork and sanding and restaining and finishing it, as well as the painting of the walls themselves, and working on final edits to my next novel, which I’ve found out will be released at the end of this coming November, and also I’ve been interviewing for a full time position at my university, and preparing a presentation I need to give in the final round the week after I get back from Florida. All this and also grading essays and preparing for classes and thinking about the Future, and trying to get in social time with family and friends. I’m feeling scattered and spread thin, so I’m looking forward to several days in Florida, and being poolside at some point, soaking up light and heat. This winter has sapped me of much of my energy, and I need a good break to refill. In any case, I’m off to pack. Back in a week.