Yes, folks, it’s that time of year again, when naughty professors get locked away for bad behavior. Which would be a MUCH more interesting movie than what I’m currently living, believe me.

But for reals, crazy times and I’m definitely a prisoner to finals. I came home from RT sick as a dog, but had to slog through the week of school. Then came a weekend of SUCH GRADING AS HAS NEVER BEEN GRADED BEFORE (except for every other end-of-semester, of course). Now this week is more grading, senior exit portfolios, a day and a half of meta-assessment in which we have an outside assessor assess our assessment process (!?!?!?!?!), and in between lots of meetings where either brilliant students come in to get that extra bit of help they need to make their final papers/projects even better OR failing students come in to try to convince me that their zeroes deserve to be decorated with other numbers in front of them. Those meetings are less fun, and don’t work.

This heart of stone does not bleed, no matter how hard one squeezes.

All this work and no play makes me very dull, yes, but I still managed somehow to finish book six and get it off to my lovely critique partner, Diana Rowland. Then I have to give it a super-speedy bashing and get it to my editor on May 1st, slam dunking another deadline.

I am author. Hear me roar.

(I wrote “here” just then, and giggled.)

My treat for all this insanity is that I’m off to another convention this weekend. This time I’ll be in Bethesda, MD, for Malice Domestic. My lovely, wonderful friends Juliet Blackwell and Sophie Littlefield will be there and I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THEM. It makes me squirm inside, just the thought of their lovely faces and the bourbon we will consume.

So that will be a great weekend. And then we have one last week of school before finals. I only have to give one, but there will be final drafts of everything to grade.

But then summer is here! Yay! I’ll be editing book six and starting . . . whatever I start next. But in my future I do see:

Novellas set in Jane’s world (how would ya’ll like to read about the lady who captures Ryu’s heart, por ejemplo?)

For sure more Capitola, in whatever form that may be (and there is a VERY fun form I get to announce, shortly!)

More smutz (because more smutz is good smutz)

And . . . . . . . . . .Super Sekrit Project M.

M stands for?

MOESHA?

Maybe.

Have a great weekend, y’all, and if you’re in Maryland come see us!