Feliz Snakelianos de agua...

Erm... Or something. It's probably good I don't speak a word of Chinese, because that would be even less intelligible.

So what am I on about?

Yesterday, which I don't remember the word for in Spanish (ayer?), not that that matters, since this has nothing to do with Spanish except in my ability to mangle a title... but yesterday was the Chinese New Year... and THIS YEAR is the year of the SNAKE (specifically, the water snake)!!! (get it now?)

So what does that mean for everybody?

Well that depends what sign YOU were born under and how compatible that is with snakes. As a horse, I'm not particularly hopeful, as snakes are known to spook horses... but so is pretty much anything small. I got thrown from a horse once because of a rabbit. Wasn't a particularly scary rabbit... just one that moved fast and startled the horse.

This is a broad band water snake: you don't suppose he gets WiFi?

But water snakes are creative, intelligent, compassionate... all sorts of good stuff. So you can put away any snakiphobia you have about it. Snakes are charming, but the water snake seems a little more... real—less enchanter, more reality based. Not that we go in much for reality around here, but some of those snakes can be pretty freaky. Oprah is a water snake, which surely you ALL find reassuring.

So wishing you all a magical, amazing year!!!


In OTHER News...

I finished BIG EDIT for What Ales Me (my first shake at editing a book, I do small edit with notes, BIG EDIT where I address all the big things the notes pointed out, then SMOOTHING). So today I start smoothing. I have one reader lined up, but if anybody else is interested in a developmental read of it (micro-brew, Portland based)--developmental means NOT line editing, just notes of the big stuff—what is working, what isn't, spot any plot holes or missed opportunities..., I'd love another reader or two. Ideally it will be ready for that in maybe 7-10 days.

I have a HUGE HUGE exciting thing happening to a friend. But I can't tell you. *ducks*
(I will shout as soon as I can)

Two days left to first ABNA cuts... so that's something...