throw another bear in the canoe

Award-winning author Catherynne Valente is offering her new YA novel, The Girl Who Circimnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, on the internet on a donation model. Basically, she provides the content free, and you get to decide what it's worth to you.

You can listen to a podcast of the first chapter below, or click through to read the first chapter (and possibly donate) here.



This is a business model very much like what we're doing with Shadow Unit, and I'm thinking it's dead cool that writers are now able to bring you their work as a sort of performance. I think of it as the rebirth of storytelling, in a fashion.

So I just dyed my hair purple, and I do not have pix, because my camera has decided its having a "lens error," which apparently means I have to take it to the camera shop and have them poke it.

However, I assure you, it looks *awesome.* Next time, I shall use the bleach more extensively, because what I have now is a browny-plum with beautiful violet highlights, and what I would like next time is just beautiful violet hair with browny-plum lowlights.

Go, Manic Panic.

However, as a consolation prize, I have the new, improved Chill cover.



Yeah, I like it. And it's even a scene from the story and stuff.

Awesome purple hair totally makes me climb better. I sent a 5.9 I've been thrashing at for ages and two new 5.8s, and got stuck in the same (&^)^(* place I have been on the 5.10 I'm working on, but getting up to the crux was easier.

I'm doing something wrong, I know it. I just have to figure out what.