Summer is flying by

What happened to June? I spent most of the month in Tennessee visiting family, but evidence I was also in Orlando has surfaced all over the web. Erica Lawson has posted video that purportedly shows me speaking at GCLS. It was all a haze, but there you have it — sure looks like me. If you have an hour of your life that you won’t want back, good hearing and a strong Internet connection:

Part 1… Part 2 … Part 3 … Part 4

Here also is a pic someone sent of the First Dance after the Goldie awards. For those who’ve never attended GCLS, it’s become tradition to raise money for GCLS scholarships by auctioning off certain authors who will take to the floor with the highest bidder. It’s easily the most anxious moment of the whole summer, waiting to see if someone will bid and for how much. Then there are the catcalls to “Take it off!” I let auctioneer Lois Glenn remove a sandal one year, but that’s the limit of my exhibitionism.

I was thrilled to be won — for the second time — by Rosa Moran, a wonderfully generous fan of lesbian fiction. I’ve known Rosa since the old Xenaverse days, and indeed she’s one of those lovely people I talk about in my keynote, someone who steps up for others in the lesbian fiction community, and also helps to keep the Xenaverse fandom alive. She was honored in 2010 with the Director’s Award for her support of the GCLS, and I was very proud to win this dance. You can’t really tell from this photo (thanks, Nancy!), but I promise you we’re both having fun.

I posted a note last week on Facebook that I had started my next book, Rhapsody. I’m several chapters deep now and the chemistry of my main characters is starting to take shape. I’ll be taking on all three of those challenges I mentioned in my speech.

Hope your summer is grand!