In the December issue of Wet Ink..., I wrote a brief review of Jacqueline Carey's two-volume masterpiece, The Sundering. If you missed the review, or if you'd like to learn more, pop on over to Joyful Jubilant Learning. This month is all about books, and I jumped at the opportunity to write a longer piece on these magnificent novels.

In other news, I'm on pins and needles these last two weeks of March as I wait for news from The Writers of the Future Contest. I'm not exactly holding my breath, but I really enjoyed writing this quarter's submission. So wish me luck!

If you didn't get your flu shot this year, dear friends, it's not too late. Flu season is not over, and as God is my witness, you do not want to get the newest version of this horrific bug.

This one has it all: splitting headache, marathon vomiting, congestion as thick as concrete, racking cough, crippling aches and pains throughout your entire body... I even pased out a couple of times. (The doctor says that's a vagal nerve response. I begged her to remove the culprit, but apparently vagus nerves are not optional equipment.)

I seem to be through the worst of it, but heed my warning: get the flu shot. Please. Bad bugs should not happen to good people, but unfortunately they don't discriminate.

Other than flu-related public service announcements, here's what's up in EM Sky news...

• The March issue of Wet Ink... will come out within the next day or two. Remember, the newsletter is completely free, including original essays, special offers, and sci-fi/fantasy book reviews every month. If you aren't already receiving the newsletter, you can sign up for it here.


• Sylvarion's Challenge has undergone a significant formatting overhaul this past month. I've restructured the chapters into shorter, more digestible segments, and under the new system the book is up to chapter fourteen, at about 41,000 words to date. Thanks, everybody, for keeping the faith--we're really coming along!


• The new commenting system seems to be working beautifully, but if anyone is having trouble signing in with TypeKey, please let me know. Registering with TypeKey is completely free and will not add you to any e-mail lists whatsoever. It is simply designed to keep spambots off my happy, spam-free site.

As always, if you have any thoughts or comments for me, feel free to leave them on the blog or just drop me a line. Thanks for reading!