I have finally gotten through the rising action and I have reached the earth-shattering kaboom. Which means I will be taking a moment before writing to organize it. And cry a little.

I just typed "Chapter 26." Chapter 26 is the new Chapter 25, and Chapter 25 was supposed to be the start of the climactic space battle. I may actually cram one more scene into the new Chapter 25, though, which was previously the second half of Chapter 24, except Chapter 24 got to be sixty pages long, because the scene that is now supposed to start Chapter 26 (formerly 25) may go better in Chapter 25 (formerly 24.)

This book is going to be seven hundred pages long. I wish I were even kidding.

Zeno's novel is in full force. I have written 16,800 words since Sunday, and I'm just about to OD on overly sweet multi-shot espresso drinks and get back at it, and I feel like the end of the damned book just gets further and further away.

I will not be done by Friday. But I may still pull off the next-week deadline if I manage to stay knuckled down. (I am taking Saturday off to give my brain and hands a break.)

In lieu of content, here are the songs I have been listening to obsessively while working this week.

Because I've heard from some who were worried: I'm fine. I'm in Wisconsin with Scott and nowhere near Boston today--or this month. My half-marathon was last month, and was not related in any way to the Boston Marathon. 

Thank you to all the fire, EMS, bomb squad, police, and other first responders working to protect and heal Boston today. Thank you the hospital trauma staff, blood donors, and Samaritans.

My best wishes to everyone affected.

For those of you not in Boston and not from Massachusetts, today is a state holiday (Patriot's Day) and so the library in Copely Square was closed.

Be aware that as of this writing, police and other emergency services are still sweeping the Boylston Street/Copely Square area;

that the T stations closest to the affected area are closed;

that cell phone service has possibly been shut down in downtown Boston in order to prevent remote detonations of any further potential explosives;

that so far reports of devices in Cambridge and elsewhere in the Boston Metro Area have been unsubstantiated, but that may change and that many "suspicious packages" are bags abandoned in the chaos by bystanders;

that the area close to the main Boston Library campus is not considered safe and police are reporting (and in at least one case, controlled-detonating) additional explosive devices;

that two devices exploded in trash cans on Boylston Street about ten seconds apart, at the Marathon Finish line;

that a third device exploded inside the JFK Library that may be related; this now appears to have been a fire, per the Boston PD;

that a fire in a facilities room at an area hotel is not related;

that there are possibly unsubstantiated reports that the Lenox and Mandarin Hotels have been evacuated; 

that there are at least two dead and multiple seriously injured;

that you should not go to the area;

that police are asking everyone in Boston to stay home, if possible;

if you are already near the site of the explosions, you should leave immediately, per the Boston Police.

There are some reports that BPD is asking people in bars and restaurants in the area to stay indoors while a sweep for other devices is carried out.

Consider following @Boston_Police and @BostonGlobe (and @CambridgePolice) for the most verifiable updates. There's a lot of fog of war spreading on social media. It is irresponsible to speculate as to the motives and persons behind this at this time.

Be careful, stay clear, text or IM your loved ones rather than calling; check rumors before retweeting; watch out for scam artists!

It's okay to turn off the coverage. I'm about to do that myself.

If you are checking on a runner, you may be able to find information here.

If you are looking for someone else or if you wish to let people know you are okay, you can check in here.

If you wish to donate blood, go here. The Massachusetts Red Cross is reporting that they have sufficient blood supplies on the shelves, however.

Making Light entry, with fans checking in.

Google person finder

Five chapters left to write on Steles of the Sky, racing my deadline. Very productive day today, and now I am going to give myself a bit of a rest so I can do it again tomorrow.

The good news is the weather is still crap, so really, there's no reason to want to go outside.

Oh wait, that's not actually good news. Year without a summer much?

I'm thrilled that Range of Ghosts is the 2012 Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Epic Fantasy! The other SF/F category winners are John Scalzi and N. K. Jemisin.

Yay books!

I'll be a Guest of Honor at RavenCon in Virginia next April! And I will be joining That Boy I Like at NYC ComiCon for One! Day! Only! in October.

And now, back to the word mines.

travel and appearances 2013:

Boskone: Boston, MA, February 15-17 2013
Signing: New England Mobile Book Fair, Newton Highlands MA, March 20, 2013
Signing: Bookpeople, Austin TX, March 27 2013
Signing: Dragon's Lair, Austin TX, March 28 2013
Minicon: Minneapolis, MN, March 30-31 2013
Signing: Uncle Hugo's Bookstore, Minneapolis MN, April 13, 2013
Up in the Aether: Detroit, MI, May 23-27 2013
4th Street Fantasy: Minneapolis, MN, June 21-24, 2013
American Library Association (guest speaker): Chicago IL, June 28-30 2013
ConVergence: Minneapolis, MN July 4-8, 2013
Readercon: Burlington, MA, July 11-14, 2013
Space City Con: Houston, TX August 2-4, 2013 (Literary Guest of Honor)
Lone Star Con (San Antonio Worldcon): San Antonio, TX, August 29-September 1 2013
Context: Columbus, OH, September 27-29 2013 (GoH)
Signing (and Scott Lynch's The Republic of Thieves book launch!) : Pandemonium, Central Square, Cambridge MA, October 8th 2013
NYC ComiCon: NY NY, October 11th 2013 (only)
Viable Paradise: Oak Bluffs MA, October 12-16 2013 
World Fantasy Convention: Brighton England UK, October 31-November 3, 2013


2013:

Steles of the Sky rough draft: March 2, 2013
Book proposal madness!
OWW EC: March 15, 2013
Metatropolis III story: March 31, 2013

OWW EC: April 15, 2013
Popular Science flash: April 22, 2013
"Dark Leader": April 2013
Steles of the Sky final: May 1, 2013
"Green and Dying": May 1, 2013
Venusian story: July 1, 2013
Hieroglyph story: August 10, 2013
"Something's Gotta Eat T. rexes": October 2013

An Apprentice to Elves: ?


2014:

Karen Memory: January 6, 2014


travel and appearances:
RavenCon: North Chesterfield, Virginia, April 25-27th, 2014 (Guest of Honor)
ConVergence: Minneapolis, MN, July 3-7, 2014
Finncon: Jyväskylä, Finland, July 11-13, 2014 (Guest of Honor)
Worldcon: London, England, August 14-17, 2014



No fixed deadline:

Smile (unless its name is actually Salt Water)
Unsuitable Metal
Gotham Jazz
Untitled Gangland Urban Fantasy That Keeps Bugging Me
"Gallowglas"
"Untitled Space Opera Thingy" aka "Periastron"
"Posthumous Jonson"
"Steel"
"On Safari in R'lyeh and Carcosa with Gun and Camera"
"This Chance Planet"
"Flush"
"Coronado"
"Patience and Fortitude"
"A Time to Reap"

Have some Elvis Costello (and Fiona Apple), in honor of the day.

Well, I learned last night that I can deadlift three sets of 140 pounds, which made me feel pretty good about myself. (My squat is nowhere near there yet. Someday, I hope it will be.)

Today, I learned that in my shoulders and neck, I have trapezius muscles, deltoids, and this little dude called the erector scapulus. And I also learned that they have ways of making their opinions known.

Picture Binkley saying calmly, "'Ben-Gay,' Please."