Po Na Gar Temple, Nha Trang
Street of Hoi An
(My camera died halfway through Hoi An–luckily I have my sister’s for the rest of the trip. Also, we’re definitely entering the Internet black hole from this stage on, as neither my grandma nor the friend we’re staying at while in the Mekong Delta will have any Internet connection)
So, starting from Sunday, I’m not going to be the world’s most available person.
That’s because I’m leaving two weeks for Vietnam with my family. Program includes Hanoi, Hoi An and Saigon. This is the first time I go to Vietnam, and it’s going to feel… peculiar.
Haven’t committed yet, but there’s a very good chance I’ll be taking my laptop (several of the hotels have wifi) and do some occasional email checking. Also, this isn’t going to be the last you see of me by any means, as I’ll be doing a series of guest blogs (more details on that later).
So, Christmas is starting to loom large, and I have very nearly finished my gift-shopping (well, except for the cards, and the tree which are still MIA. At least we got the nativity scene). Going to be very dark here, as I’m leaving for Brittany on the morning of the 24th, and not coming back until the 30th. There will be internet in a very limited fashion. Hopefully, writing will happen, in a less limited fashion.
Meanwhile, I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas, and a very happy New Year’s Eve.
(yup, it’s a Chinese Catholic icon. I thought it looked awesome)
Time for Villa Diodati again: starting from tomorrow, I will be sharing a house with Sara Genge, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, Stephen Gaskell, Ruth Nestvold, Jeff Spock, and Deanna Carlyle
(and Floris Kleijne, albeit briefly, as Floris is currently awaiting the birth of his first child and can’t make the whole weekend). As usual, we will eat like princes, share gossip and learn from each other.
However, the house does not come with an internet connection, so expect to see very little of me on the web until Monday (there might be a brief interval of connectivity while I’m in the Thalys, as they have wifi). Blog’s going dark again.
Meanwhile, if you happen to be anywhere near London on Saturday, my publisher Angry Robot is having their UK launch party at Forbidden Planet from 12:30 onwards. Authors like Colin Harvey, Dan Abnett and Andy Remic will be there to sign books and answer questions (the AR crew will be there too, as well).
(I only found out about this after VD was already booked, otherwise I would have had to think long and hard which of the two events I was going to…)
So, we’re back. Arg. Zombie-jetlagged (the plane landed in Paris at 3:00 am Canada time), and frustrated (we waited one hour for our luggage), but home.
At least, temporarily. We’re leaving again tomorrow for the last leg of the summer holidays (after the Worldcon and the week in Montreal). Destination: Spain, in the Sierra Nevada. Program: pool lounging and book catching-up. Also, writing catching-up.
I’ll have Internet access, but it’s likely to be intermittent, so if you haven’t heard from me in a while, that’s why. (I’ll continue to post con reports, probably more once every two days or something like that).
Speaking of which, books bought in Montreal:
