RAVENS are in the house

They’re here. They’re REALLY here. Copies of RAVENS IN THE LIBRARY exist. Phil and Sandra received 700 copies of the books today. Pictures exist, of the two editors holding the books up, on various social sites. They’ve dropped off some of the books to the first Seattle retail outlet, The Dreaming. The books, themselves, LOOK gorgeous. They’re also FAT.

I am so stoked, all I can do is SQUEE around the house and online. I’ve edited and re-edited this post in the hopes that I got the words out and in the right order. Tonight was our bi-weekly D&D game but… I think I’m a bit too hyper and RAVENS crazy to pay too much attention to the HUGE level raising battle my character took part in (and without armor I might add). Sorry Kender, niraja and ed, thanks for dealing with me.

Saturday, we wake at “way too early A.M” and drive 3 hours North to Seattle for the packing party. I will take pictures and continue to wander around SQUEEING.

A Quiet Sunday Spent Reading

Kender’s snowboarding on Mt. Hood today. Which means I get a nice day to myself. Slept in late, thanks to the new curtains that block out all the light. On awaking, I decided to plunge in and finish Inkdeath, the last book in a trilogy by Cornelia Funke. Imagine the ability to read things in and out of books and then figuring out how to read yourself into the story. That’s the premise to this series. Indeath wraps up the stories and gives all the characters a fitting end. (Although I get the impression that maybe… just maybe… more can be written about this world.)

West 4

The room seemed really still, as if no one was even in the room anymore. Kaylee held her breath as the thought of her Gran having passed away into the next world without giving her the chance to say good bye or tell her gran how much she really did enjoy being a part of her world. She pushed through the curtain, almost as if it were another sacred veil that she had to walk through to attain another goal. The room felt warm and dry on her skin. All the candles were lit and their light flickered in the waxy base. Kalyee looked around the room and saw more vibrant colors than she ever expected.

West 3

When she opened her eyes again she felt as if she was a completely new person. She inhaled deeply and let the waves of knowledge flow over her as she recalled what the colors of the auras surrounding all living things meant. “Red is the color of passion and fire,” her mind repeated to herself, “Green is the color of life and giving.”

West 2

Kaylee spun on her heels and went to go put the mask down before she threw it against one of the walls and smashed it to bits. She was so very angry, and feeling betrayed, although she was not sure why and where the feeling came from. “Was I just a pawn? And if so, who has been working on playing me?” she thought as her hand shook as she gently set down the mask on the shelf where she had uncovered it from a pile of pelts.

West 1

The skeleton bone mask felt warm and buzzy in her tanned and warm hands. It reminded her of how the air felt during an electrical storm where it was all charged with ozone and staticky. However there was no ozone smell and the static feeling was being conducted through the skull and going into her own body.

She gently hefted the mask up and held it way over her head. She took a deep breath and pushed the air deep down into the center of her entire being. Past her heart and down near her stomach, into her diaphragm where the air filled her entire body and stablized it for the ritual. She carefully lowered the mask so it fit onto her head and was amazed at how solid and form fitting it felt on top of her head. She breathed deeply and heard the sound of air being inhaled bounce off the innards of the skull and into her ears. She turned to look at the circular creation laying on the floor and smiled.

East 6

It rained all night long, with the wind howling at the cottage, threaten to bowl the whole place over and topple the world she carefully was beginning to know. Kaylee tossed and turned in her bed and did not seem to be able to calm her body to the point that sleep came easy to her.

She thrashed and tosseled in the sheets and soon they were all tied up around her in knots. Her body grew warm and hot to the touch and it felt as if she was getting a fever. Her forehead broke out into a light sweat and her eyes darted behind her eyelids.

East 5

Kaylee paced and attempted to get comfortable in her home. But the wind and the nagging doubt seeded in her by Bobcat would not let her feel secure. She turned the Sphene over in her hand and looked at it closely with the light of the fireplace. It was indeed a pretty stone. She set it down in front of her and focused her attention on the stone. The room felt warm against her skin and she closed her eyes and yawned.

East 4

On the third day, Kaylee woke up earlier. No sun met her rising. Instead she awoke to the howling snarl of a blustery windstorm smashing up against her cottage. It was loud and she wondered whether or not it was going to send the small sphere cottage spiraling down the slightly sloping gassy landscape that it was on. The wind rattled against the door and knocked at the windows and Kaylee knew she was going to be in for a rough day.

She slowly crawled out of bed and shivered. Large and foreboding clouds loomed low in the sky, blocking any chance for a decent glimpse of the sun. The fireplace was dark and black and occasionally small plumes of smoke and ash rose and hovered when small pufts of wind gust their way down the chimmney of the domicle. Kaylee frowned and wished that there had been a nice warming fire to help shake away some of the wind that she knew she was going to have to deal with that day.

East 3

Once again, when the sun rose and met the small round window in Kaylee’s cottage, it warmed the room up so much that she could no longer sleep. She sat up in bed and wondered exactly how long she was resting and what time it really was. Of course, she did not have a watch with her, only the weather and the sun and the sky to tell her in approximate values. She rubbed the sands of sleep from her eyes and stretched out long. Her legs were a bit sore from all the hiking and climbing that she did yesterday.