exanimateAnd nearly asphyxiated myself on the Tilex fumes, but that's life, I guess. Augh.
In celebration, some Link Salad:
Malaria No More is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing the spread of malaria, as you might guess from the name.
From the website:
Transmitted by mosquitoes, malaria causes 350 to 500 million infections each year, threatening 40% of the world’s population. The disease strains health systems and economies. Because of malaria, sick children miss school, local agriculture and economies wane, tourism suffers, and foreign investment is stifled.
Nevertheless, despite the horrors that malaria is causing everyday, there is hope. While malaria may be one of the world’s most deadly diseases, it is also entirely preventable and treatable. The United States eradicated malaria over 50 years ago.
One of the tools it uses to do this is the distribution of the new design insecticide-treated bed nets, which are each good for approximately five years. (The old style bed nets had to be retreated every few months.) A $10.00 donation purchases a net that will protect a family from malaria while also paying to educate them in its use.
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tamnonlinear offers a little (awesome) fanfic: 7 Things That Never Happened to Tam Lin.***
John Scalzi weighs in on what authors know about their characters and don't tell.
I know all sorts of things about my characters that never make it into print. But it sure informs what does make it into print. Is it canon? Well, it will be when I write the Official Atlas of Valdyrgard....
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jimhines offers a new-novelist's view of the road to publication, complete with the books that fell by the wayside. Coincidentally, my first novel published was also my fourth novel written (not counting juvenilia, of which there are several.)***
And tonight, I get to go fall off walls.