A Curious Statistical Anomaly

Gumshoe January 2011 now Online @ www.gumshoereview.com

Senior Editor: Gayle Surrette
Editor Emeritus: Ernest Lilley

Editorial License:
Just the Facts – January 2011 by Gayle Surrette

Original Fiction:
At the Abbey of St Dymphna by Elizabeth Creith

Columns:
US Books – Gumshoe Staff
Graphic Novels/Manga – Gumshoe Staff
Media – Gumshoe Staff
Zines & Short Fiction – Gumshoe Staff
News – Gumshoe Staff
Conventions – Gumshoe Staff

Manga /Graphic Novel Reviews:
Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp

US Book Reviews:
A Play of Piety (A Joliffe Mystery) by Margaret Frazer
A Stranger in Mayfair (Charles Lenox Mysteries) by Charles Finch
A Truth For a Truth (Ministry is Murder) by Emilie Richards
Blood Heat (Blood Lines) by Maria Lima
The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson
Death and the Running Patterer: A Curious Murder Mystery by Robin Adair
Falling More Slowly: Detective Inspector Liam McLusky by Peter Helton
Frozen Assets: Gunnhilder Mystery Series by Quentin Bates
India Black by Carol K. Carr
Love Songs from a Shallow Grave: A Dr. Siri Investigation by Colin Cotterill
Mr. Monk on the Road by Lee Goldberga
The Pericles Commission by Gary Corby
Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva
Rogue Threat by A.J. Tata
The Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman

Senior Editor: Gayle Surrette
Editor Emeritus: Ernest Lilley
Associate Editor, US: Paul Haggerty
Associate Editor, UK: John Berlyne
Columnists: Drew Bittner / Sam Tomaino / Charles Mohapel

Editorial License: Editorial Matters – January 2011 by Gayle Surrette

Columns:
US Books – SFRevu Staff
UK Books – John Berlyne
Graphic Novels/Manga – SFRevu Staff
Media Watch – SFRevu Staff
Zines & Short Fiction – Sam Tomaino
Blu-ray & DVD Reviews by Charles Mohapel
News – SFRevu Staff
Convention Calendar

Nonfiction Reviews:
Oz: Dark & Terrible Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook (ECE1001) by S. Alexander Gentry

US Book Reviews:
A Hard Day’s Knight (Nightside) by Simon R. Green
Above His Proper Station by Lawrence Watt-Evans
The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi
Amortals by Matt Forbeck
Back to the Moon by Travis S. Taylor & Les Johnson
Betrayer of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner
Black Wings by Christina Henry
Blood Heat (Blood Lines) by Maria Lima
The Boy from Ilysies (Libyrinth) by Pearl North
Citadel: Troy Rising II by John Ringo
The Clone Empire by Steven L. Kent
Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison
Frostfire: A Novel of the Kyndred (KYNDRED NOVEL) by Lynn Viehl
Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes
Hell’s Horizon (The City) by Darren Shan
Home Fires by Gene Wolfe
The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard by Robert E. Howard
Hungry For You: An Argeneau Novel by Lynsay Sands
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch
Rogue Threat by A.J. Tata
Silver Zombie: Delilah Street: Paranormal Investigator by Carole Nelson Douglas
The Soul Mirror: A Novel of the Collegia Magica by Carol Berg
Strange Wonders: A Collection of Rare Fritz Leiber Works by Fritz Leiber
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks
The White City by Elizabeth Bear

We worked during the day and managed to get SFRevu and Gumshoe Review up online for January 1st, 2011. Gumshoe has another original short story this month, “At the Abbey of St Dymphna” by Elizabeth Creith.

We added another couple of reviews today but their basically complete now. However, remember each zines has a news column and that will be updated throughout the month depending on when we get news items.

It has been a heck of a chaotic, and hectic, and every other descriptive word you can think of, month. Holidays, conventions, and family issues have taken up more time that one would think since there’s always 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week and the usual number of days in the month.

So where does the time go? I’ve been reading and writing like crazy all month and now it’s a matter of getting all the database records proofed and their status changed, getting them ready to go live tomorrow night at midnight (or rather midnight where our servers are). The new issues will definitely be available online December 1st.

Meanwhile, it’s back to work.

The zines went live last night at midnight but I added at least four from people today and expect another one or two tomorrow. So the official announcements have not yet gone out to our mailing list.  If you want to be on the mailing list just go to either SFRevu.com or GumshoeReview.com and join the mailing list. We only send one email a month — we might do a special announcement email once in a blue moon and those, as you know, are pretty rare.

I expect that I’ll soon be back to actually  making posts with content soon. In fact, I’m working on a book review for tomorrow. It’s a fun, light romance with a British slant but oh, so relevant to most of us city folks dreaming of the quiet country side.

Finally, I’ve wrestled my Jali Sweater chart into submission and have almost completed a full pattern repeat. Yeah, me! I only ripped the entire thing out and started from scratch about 6 or 7 times before the light bulb over my head went on. Boy that’s embarrassing to know that somehow you forgot how to read between casting on and following the chart. But more about that project in another post.

Well, you now know what I’ve been working on:
SFRevu.com
for all things science fiction and fantasy-ish
and
Gumshoe Review for coverage of the mystery genre.

It seems that the old saying, “the faster I go, the behinder I get” is getting a workout in my life.  The zines go live on June 1st.  But then you probably knew that.  But, I’m going to be at Balticon from May 28th to 31st — I think you begin to see the problem. Now add to the mix that I’m going to be on a couple of panels and will need to prepare for that. Then add that I’ll be helping a bit with the WSFA/Capclave table at the convention. My time is being eaten away and I still have things to do, reviews to edit, books to finish, my own reviews to finish writing. I love it when those deadlines come upon me like a tsunami of ginormous proportions — well I should learn to love them it happens so often in my life.

Meanwhile, the cat has been vaccinated, dewormed, chipped, and treated for ear mites. He needs to go back to the vet again next week to get his ears checked out again. I’m not sure how we’ll get him in the cat carrier this time. We had to pick him up and push him in last time getting all four paws into the opening. I understand that they had just as much of a fight getting him out at the vets. They turned the cage so the door was at the bottom and he still didn’t come out. The assistant held the carrier while Hyperion reached in to disengage paws.  After treatment though he couldn’t get in the carrier fast enough. It’s been a few days and he doesn’t take off when we both come out of the house at the same time anymore. It takes two of us to get him in the carrier so he’s very cautious of the two of us together.

I got the yarn for a sweater from the new Interweave Knits; the Jali Cardigan. I had to order the yarn from Lion Brand since none of the stores near me had it. I’m making the sweater in Hyacinth — which is a sort of light many times washed denim shade and no where near as dark as the swatch on the website. Now I just have to find my circular No. 6 needle long enough for the sweater. Heck I even did a swatch and washed and dried it. Love the feel of the yarn — soft and nicely drappy.

I’m really hoping I can finish this sweater in time for Readercon. It’s nice to have deadlines they make such a nice breeze as the pass you by. Who knows maybe I will figure out a way to knit in my sleep and I will finish it. I’ll try to post updates as I move along on this project.

Today was the first day of Malice Domestic 22 being held this weekend in Arlington, Virginia at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel.  This year’s guests are:

Guest of Honor: Parnell Hall

Toastmaster: Rhys Bowen

Lifetime Achievement: Mary Higgins Clark

Malice Remembers: Ed Hoch

Poirot Award: William Link

Fan Guests of Honor: Tom & Marie O’Day

We missed the first couple of program items this morning. But we did attend several others which I’ll write up later. We had to leave at 9 p.m. to get home in time to get Gumshoe Review up and online by midnight. (Also SFRevu.com ).

First impressions are that the energy level is as high and the feeling of camaraderie just as welcoming as in the past. However, the number of attendees seems lower though I don’t know the actual numbers — just the rooms don’t feel as full. However, there has been a single track of programming all day and not everyone is used to the programming starting so early so it may be that attendees just had other commitments this morning as the evening programs seems pretty full.

Malice Domestic celebrates the traditional mystery — no blood and violence on the page, that happens off to the side. But the traditional mystery can still be pretty edge-of-your-seat without overwhelming the reader with graphic details. Malice Domestic also awards the Agatha Awards.

Anyway, more later — I need sleep.