Chat fizzle

If you tried to join the Book View Cafe Author Chat last night and couldn't get into the site (tinychat) or got booted off, you are in good company. I tried all evening and could not even make it into the chat room. A bunch of BVCers were able to get in but got timed-out after a few minutes. What happened still a mystery, since all the trial runs worked fine. Sigh.

Stay tuned...

Why I Am Not Wearing Green

The reasons, let me count them for you.

Mostly, because the ostensible reason is to show one's pride in being Irish on the occasion of the name-day of the patron saint of Ireland. I am not Irish. There is almost zero probability that this nice Jewish girl has any Irish ancestry whatsoever. There are many aspects of Irish culture I appreciate and I have great sympathy and solidarity with the historical struggles of the Irish. I honor them best by practicing my own integrity.

I am not Christian. Jews disagree on whether it is appropriate to participate in cultural holidays derived from Christian observances. I feel strongly that it is a matter of personal conscience. I resent being pressured to do so, under threat of being pinched.

Here's the big one. Regardless of the verneer of "fun," this is assault. Think I'm being too grim about it? Talk to any survivor of violence. It's not fun, it's recreating trauma. I don't invade other people's physical integrity this way and if you do it to me, I may well introduce you to a few of my favorite kung fu techniques.

So let's be kind to one another and enjoy this beautiful spring day!

DRAGON LORDS & WARRIOR WOMEN

Here's the Table of Contents for the Book View Cafe anthology Dragon Lords and Warrior Women edited by Phyllis Irene Radford and illustrated by Ursula K. by Le Guin:

High Fantasy

1. "Eagle's Beak and Wings of Bronze" by Deborah J. Ross
2. "One Small Detail" by Katharine Kerr
3. "Hero" by Sherwood Smith

Fantastical Others

4. "Kind Hunter" by Pati Nagle
5. "The Merrow" by Steven Harper
6. "Night Harvest Cuvée Rouge" by Vonda N. by McIntyre
7. "Repo Babe" by Jennifer Stevenson

Modern Fantasy

8. "Grow Your Own" by Brenda W. by Clough
9. "East of the Sun, West of Acousticville" by Judith Tarr
10. "Headless Over Heels" by Chris Dolley
11. "Somewhere in Dreamland Tonight" by Madeleine Robins
12. "Daddy's Big Girl" by Ursula K. by Le Guin

Fantastic Merlin

13. "Taco Del and the Fabled Tree of Destiny" by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
14. "The Thief of Stones " by Sarah Zettel

Ancient Fantastics

15. "Not My Knot" by Irene Radford
16. "Dusty Wings" by Nancy Jane Moore
17. "Heart of Jade" by " by Amy Sterling Casil
18. "Feather of the Phoenix" by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
19. "The Natural History and Extinction of the People of the Sea" by Vonda N. by McIntyre