Hi. This is an admin post, which theoretically is for the new people. With any luck, it will stay at the top of the blog this time.

Through your mastery of the backroads of the internet, you've found my weblog. I'm Elizabeth Bear; I write science fiction and fantasy, and I talk about that here. I also talk about my life, my hobbies, my elderly and presuming cat, and various other things, including TV shows and books I like, the ongoing saga of my recent car troubles, things I did this weekend, and so on.

This is a public blog, and I very, very rarely post anything friends-locked. You don't have to ask my permission to add me as a friend, to read or to comment. I often don't add people back, but that's because I'm swamped, not because I don't think you're interesting.

The only thing I ask is that you be polite, to me and to other commenters, and exercise the sort of common courtesy you would in someone else's living room. If you don't know what common courtesy is, ask your mother. If I think somebody is being rude, I generally explain it to them before I take drastic action, so don't fret too much.

Welcome in. There's drinks in the fridge, and if you get here early, you might score a spot in the hammock or on the futon. Feel free to introduce yourself, if you haven't before.

Watch out for the man-eating plants.