Want a guild that is fun and family friendly?
Play on Khadgar on the Horde side of life?
Want a spot on a raid team but don't have much experience?
Have experience with raiding but want a more casual/laid back approach?

Have we got the guild for you!

MyFifteenBucks is a level 2 Horde guild on Khadgar who is looking for members like you! We understand you have a life away from Azeroth (you do? Why! just kidding, we do too!). We are alt friendly as well. We are trying to raid on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Mondays are set aside for farming to help the guild bank. Fun runs (older content, transmog runs, etc) are done on Fridays and over the weekends when enough people get together and go. Anyone is free to put things onto the guild calendar.

We have a website, full bank, and facebook page!
See us in game or fill out our handy application here: http://myfifteenbucks.guildomatic.com/guild_application/apply
In game talk to any officer (tell them Mazlu sent ya!):
Bondsy/Shmngosplat/Hyramm/Tankandheals/Locknlisten: Mr Money (guild master), King of Dragon Soul
Bronwin/Aamie: Lady Cash
Mazlu/Kutka/Jazka/Josene/Terestraza/Kreleran/Tiky: Guild Web Lady aka mistress of 1000 alts
Crumb: Captain of the squishy sqad, mage tank of power!

I'm hearing from people who've found early copies of Casket of Souls, so I'm setting up the usual space for conversing, with the caveat that THERE WILL BE SPOILERS most likely, so if you haven't read the book, don't come in!

Patrick Swenson at Fairwood Press has posted the cover for my new collection, Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille.   He found this spot-on image for it, but the artist was Russian, and it took a bit to contact her to negotiate the rights.  Thank goodness we were able to, because the art is perfect for the cover story.  The collection should be out in October.

The search for the winner of this year's Meager Puddle of Limelight Award for Best Short Story Title continues with heat eight (the last of the preliminary heats).

There are nine heats in all. The winners (or joint winners) from heats one - eight go straight through. The second place finishers battle it out in heat nine to see which title joins the others in the final round.

What's at stake?
Bragging rights for the winner? An interview and/or guest post here on An Englishman in New Jersey, as well as signed copy of my book, Fur-Face, and a couple of I are a writer! pens, as shown in the pic below.You'll need an LJ account to vote, but they're free).

Poll #1842793 2012 MEAGER PUDDLE OF LIMELIGHT AWARD FOR BEST SHORT STORY TITLE: HEAT 8 OF 9
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 15

From the following list, please select any short story titles which you think should progress to the final round

Links to the other Heats and the final:
Heat one
Heat two
Heat three
Heat four
Heat five
Heat six
Heat seven
Heat eight
Heat nine
Final Round

Voting in Heats 1 through 8 will close on Sunday, June 3rd 2012 at 6:00pm (US/Eastern). Heat nine will take place soon after.

Good luck to all who take part! Vene, vidi, puddli!

Yesterday was even more entertaining that Thursday. I cracked my happy ass out of bed extremely late by my own standards, hit the health club for some time on the stationary bike, then caught breakfast in the Green Room. After some bloggery and email time and whatnot, I had my massage — And how cool is it that World Steam Expo has a masseur on retainer for the pros!? — and then went exploring. This eventually involved use of the hot tub, among other things.

I spent a decent chunk of the day hanging out with the inestimable Howard Tayler, who created a truly impressive steampunk caricature of me. (When I get home, I shall scan and post this, but at the moment it is my badge art.) Howard is his own self hanging out in the Aegis room, which is basically a camp for combat geeks. Inside the Con hotel, these cats have a rappelling tower, weapons training with actual pointy objects, a bunch of Nerf weapons, and a Victorian encampment. They are pretty much a real life incarnation of the Black Briar group in J.A. Pitt's Black Blade Blues [ Powells | BN ]. The Aegis group helped me make a notable entrance to opening ceremonies.

Also spent a lot more time partying with The League of S.T.E.A.M. and a whole bunch of other folks, including briefly running across the few people besides Howard that I actually knew before I turned up here. Specifically, Gail Carriger, G.D. Falksen (who has an important planet named after him in the Sunspin universe) and Evelyn Kriete (who is responsible for me being invited to this convention). I caught the last part of the The Men That Will Not be Blamed for Nothing concert.

I even got a bit more work done on Going to Extremes.

Today I have lunch with Howard, a High Tea to host, and a plan to hear some more excellent performances. A bit more programming tomorrow.

Interestingly, I am way off my normal schedule here, even my normal convention schedule. I'm not sure what clock I'm living on, but it's neither Jay time nor Con time. I'm just going with the flow. Which it turns out is remarkably difficult for me to do. I feel twitchy about not being up at 5 am exercising (hard to do when you're going to bed at 2 am) and why I'm not writing more.

But I'm here to have fun, which I am decidedly doing; and to see and be seen, which I am decidedly doing.

Is this what time off feels like?

Your Saturday moment of zen.



Playground equipment, 2006. © 2006, 2012, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

The current photo series is from my 'favorites' file, hence the dates jumping about



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Book Review: Grants Pass, edited by Jennifer Brozek and Amanda Pillar — A review that includes an interesting comment on my story "Black Heart, White Mourning".

The Nebula Awards 2012: A Look Back And A Look Forward — James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel in HuffPo.

Calvin and Hobbes on unfettered creativity as a writer — Hahaha.

War of the Worlds: The True Story — A new indie flick coming out that looks pretty cool.

Star Wars Turns 35: How Time Covered the Film Phenomenon

Red Planet Becomes Blue In New Mars Image

Astronauts enter world’s first private supply ship

Impacts Spreading Life through the Cosmos?

Colonel Sanders resembles Confucius — Chicken, anyone?

?otd: Charles Darwin: Man or monkey?

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5/26/2012
Writing time yesterday: 0.5 hours (Going to Extremes proposal)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 7.0 (solid)
Weight: n/a
Currently reading: Shattering the Ley by Benjamin Tate; Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht