Whatever I want to say, Neil Gaiman always seems to say it better. So for my New Year's post, I'm just going to link to his blog and quote the last bit. It's not as warm and fuzzy as I wish it could be because, while I feel very fortunate in my life, many other things aren't warm and fuzzy at the moment. Australia is on fire while Jakarta floods and other parts of the world are experiencing extreme cold. There are things that need solving and people and animals who aren't in a place of safety, but there are also wishes and hopes here for things to be what we have the potential to make them. So here's to making 2020 be what we want to see in the world and in ourselves.

"And I hope in the year to come you won't burn. And I hope you won't freeze. I hope you and your family will be safe, and walk freely in the world and that the place you live, if you have one, will  be there when you get back. I hope that, for all of us, in the year ahead, kindness will prevail and that gentleness and humanity and forgiveness will be there for us if and when we need them.

And may your New Year be happy, and may you be happy in it.

I hope you make something in the year to come you've always dreamed of making, and didn't know if you could or not. But I bet you can. And I'm sure you will."
- Neil Gaiman
A New Year's Thought  12/31/19

I have yet again neglected my blog while the last couple of months went swirling by in a rush. All of a sudden Christmas, solstice, and Kwanzaa are behind us, Hanukkah is happening, and New Year's Day is right around the corner. Whatever you may or may not celebrate, here's a poorly-focused holiday pic wishing you health and joy and stars in your eyes and toy elephants on your tree.

From Amazon:
About Jane Lindskold
Jane Lindskold From Amazon is the award-winning, New York Times best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, including the six volume Firekeeper Saga (aka "The Wolf Books"), the two athanor novels (Changer and Changer's Daughter), the three volumes of the "Breaking the Wall" series, the "Artemis Awakening" series, and many more.

She has also written in collaboration with David Weber (Fire Season and Treecat Wars) and Roger Zelazny (Donnerjack and Lord Demon).

When she's not writing or reading, she's likely being ordered around by a variety of small animals.

It was unintentional on their part, but what a perfect response to a wildlife encounter. No one gets excited, no one is confrontational, everyone does their own thing.

A contest specifically designed for new writers ("new" defined here as no professional-rate sales to date). See what C. C. Finlay, editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, has to say about The Dream Foundry's inaugural contest.

Sure would be nice if this was real instead of a mockup!