Zoom.

First off, yay, "I Am Thinking of You in the Spaces Between" is a Million Writers Award Notable Story. :)

I need to write more short fiction. And poetry. The Accursed Novel has taken over.

Speaking of The Accursed Novel, I did get back on it on Friday. Brutal chapter argh. Will do more today.

Weekend was good - I actually got some socialization in, both one-on-one with thewronghands and at a party! Also we painted my office yesterday. Silvery grey. Also I did the first coat in the kitchen this morning (first rollered coat; Judah's in charge of the cutting in), and will do the second in a bit.

Other people whose "grippers don't work", as lawbabeak puts it - any tips for stuff like house-painting? I've been doing hand exercises whenever I have to reload the roller with paint, and sometimes I just have to guide the roller as flat-handedly as possible. I welcome suggestions. "Just let the mens do it" is not a viable solution; Judah's essentially working two jobs and can't get this done any faster than he already is, and it is so far beyond Adam's skillset.

We are leaving for Wiscon (Chicago first) on Wednesday. I have a lot of meep about this! I don't feel as prepared as I'd like to in general, and those extra days in Chicago on either side are nervous-making - I know how to feed myself safely in Madison. I don't in Chicago. Figuring this stuff out on the fly can be stressy and distressing. I'm stocking up on Larabars, which I find revolting, but they'll provide me with calories while I search for actual and non-odious food.

And there are just so many other things that need to get done before I'm gone for a week. Meep.

I'm breathing.

So today, writing, second coat of paint (and fervent wishing that I had the fine motor skills required to cut in so that room could be *done*), and making the grand list of everything that must get done.

Hi. How's your Monday?

The Care and Feeding of Shira at Wiscon

Totally copied and pasted from last year, with minor updatery.

Say hi!
I know a lot of people! This means I will often be with people. Please do not let this dissuade you from coming up and saying hi - my friends are friendly people too! I may take a sec to recognize you, or I may recognize you instantly. It will be a surprise to all of us, what happens. Seriously, though, I do love meeting people, and I'll be sad if I don't get to meet you, so come say hi. I'll be the short one.

No, really, I'll be the short one.
4'11". Further data: Curly calico hair that currently hits my shoulders, rectangularish gunmetalgreyish glasses, almost certainly wearing fabulous jewelry. Curvy. Probably accompanied by the delicious Judah (see his profile pic).

Gender
I identify as genderqueer, but I use female pronouns. Some people can totally tell when I'm feeling more on the male side of the gender spectrum, and some can't; I don't expect you to. Keeping in mind that I'm not cisgender is good enough for me.

Please don't.
* Wiscon is less crowded than other cons, so my startle reflex is less primed, but still: grabbing or hugging me from behind or playing Guess Who will not work out in a way that you enjoy. I would love to hug you! Make sure I know you're there first.
* Having my hair played with is a very intimate thing. If you're not sure if we're that intimate, we're probably not. If you think we might be, ask. :)
* No photographs, please! If you do catch a bit of me in a photo you must post to Facebook, don't tag me.
* I am currently on leave from BARCC due to vicarious trauma. For self-care reasons, I need to not spend the con talking about rape and other sexual violence. If you bring it up, I'm likely to safeword out of the conversation. All of my dealing-with-sexual-violence spoons right now need to go towards Cicatrix and general recovery from constantly doing anti-sexual-violence stuff; I am taking this break now so I can get back to this work and be healthy about it. I can help you better long-term if I'm not worn to a frazzle, and unfrazzlement takes time.

Logistics
I'm arriving Friday morning, leaving lateish Monday or early Tuesday; rooming with Judah. If you don't have my cell phone number and feel that you require it, e-mail me.

My body wants to kill me.
* Seizure response info can be found here.
* The anti-seizure med I'm on is colloquially known as "the one you can drink on". Please do not look askance at me when I have a Manhattan; it is totally okay by my neurologist. Note: I do need to have my last drink ~2 hours before bedtime, because of my other evening meds. (Fending off "are you sure that's safe?" is not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things, but it gets wearying to do so again and again, so I tell you.)
* I have celiac disease. This makes the "feeding' part of "care and feeding" difficult. I believe Wiscon's restaurant guide has a list of GF-friendly restaurants. I would love to go to lunch or dinner with you. Please understand that when I need to know what restaurant first, it's not that I'm being a diva, it's just that I don't want to be sick for a week. If I say no, it's not that I don't love you, it's that I'm not sure about my ability to eat safely where you're going. You don't have to amend your dinner plans for me, it's cool, we can hang out later! Indian food tends to be safe, and there's an Italian place nearby that has GF pasta.
* I feel like I don't have to emphasize this as much at Wiscon, because Wiscon is more disability-aware than other cons. But basically, I am a grown-ass woman and I can manage my disabilities, and I know people mean well when they constantly touch base about whether I'm okay, but it gets tiring and I get to feeling othered. So please assume that I am okay. If I do need any kind of assistance, I promise I'll let you know.

Where I'll Be
Dishing out cookies at the Gathering, on my panels, at my reading! I will be attending the Dessert Salon and the Genderfloomp dance party, and I'll probably be bouncing merrily along the sixth floor all night. Like Edward Bloom, I am a social person.

My Schedule
Friday
1:00-4:00pm: Coffee, Tea, and Subversion: Enjoy coffee, tea, ice water, and/or cookies! Members of the Interstitial Arts Foundation serve up refreshments and a bit of chat about the interstitial arts and the work of the Foundation. (As usual, I'm looking for Lovely Assistants! Hang out with me at the Gathering and dish out cookies!)

9:00-10:15pm: The Moment of Change: Feminist SFF Poetry Open Mic : Come join the authors of the "The Moment of Change" for an open mic evening in celebration of the first-ever anthology of feminist speculative poetry! "The Moment of Change" is edited by Rose Lemberg and forthcoming from Aqueduct press, and includes poems by Ursula K. Le Guin, Nisi Shawl, Amal El-Mohtar, Delia Sherman, Vandana Singh. Bring your own feminist speculative poems to read, and join Rose Lemberg, Shira Lipkin, Sofia Samatar, and Alex Dally MacFarlane for an open mic extravaganza to celebrate the release of the anthology and feminist speculative poetry in general.

Saturday
2:30-3:45pm: Crossing boundaries and bending genres: Meet the Interstitial Arts Foundation:
Larissa N. Niec, Ellen Kushner, Rose Lemberg, Shira Lipkin, JoSelle Vanderhooft. The Interstitial Arts Foundation (IAF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, support, and promotion of interstitial art: literature, music, visual and performance art found in-between categories and genres--art that crosses borders. One of the specific goals of the IAF is to foster conversations among artists, academics, critics, and enthusiasts--conversations in which art of all types can be spoken of as a continuum, rather than as a series of hermetically sealed genres. Currently, the IAF is seeking to grow and develop new projects. In this town meeting-style session, we seek input from (1) artists and writers about ways in which the IAF might be of value to them as they seek to promote their boundary-crossing work, and (2) readers and enthusiasts about needs they perceive for the support of literature and other art forms that expand the conventional boundaries of gender and other restricting borders.

4:00-5:15pm: The Wild Ones reading!: Q: "Hey Jane, what are you rebelling against?" A: "Whadda you got?" Rose Lemberg writes about liminal identities, naming magic, languages, and birds. Shira Lipkin will bring you to the home you never knew you'd lost. Alex Dally MacFarlane lives and works in London, where the foxes cross paths with her at night. Patty Templeton writes hellpunk in a hand-basket, full of ghosts, freaks, and fools. Join four women of varied writing styles for a ruckus of a reading.

Sunday
1:00–2:15pm: Blogging While Female: Shira Lipkin, Jacquelyn Gill, Susan Marie Groppi, Michelle Kendall, Therese Pieczynski. Online writing has become an indispensable tool for authors and fans, however abusive behavior is rife and women bloggers are disproportionately targeted. Even women writing online about seemingly inoffensive topics---technology or fashion or book reviews or gaming---attract far more abuse than men blogging about identical topics. In reaction, many women curtail their public presence by writing under pseudonyms, screening their audience, or simply spending less time online, leading to under-representation in the larger blog-o-sphere. What strategies can women bloggers employ to minimize abuse, while still making themselves heard and maintaining a conversation? Can online platforms do more to help? What can male allies do to change the underlying culture?

2:30–3:45pm: I may be blonde, but I'm not 20 and I don't actually physically kick ass. Shira Lipkin, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Holly McDowell, Karon Crow Rilling, Nancy Werlin. Is anybody else tired to death of young, sexy, kickass heroines with attitude? Where are the heroines whose brains are more important than their brawn, whose understanding of human nature is more important than their facility with firearms? Are there no mature women who are interested in things that go bump in the night?

As usual, if you can only get to one thing, get to my reading! I am so excited to be reading with rose_lemberg, alankria, and pattytempleton!

Speaking of my panels.

Anyone got suggestions for this one:

I may be blonde, but I'm not 20 and I don't actually physically kick ass.
Is anybody else tired to death of young, sexy, kickass heroines with attitude? Where are the heroines whose brains are more important than their brawn, whose understanding of human nature is more important than their facility with firearms? Are there no mature women who are interested in things that go bump in the night?