Children shouldn't play with dead things, you know...

It's the middle of August, and that means it's time for another mile along the route that runs from Sparrow Hill to the Last Chance Diner; it's time to take another trip in the company of Rose Marshall, crankiest hitchhiking ghost this side of the Atlantic Ocean. We only have four more stops before we reach the end of this particular road trip, and things are getting a little darker all the time.

Issue 56 of The Edge of Propinquity is live, and with it, the eighth of the Sparrow Hill Road stories is available. "Dead Man's Curve" follows Rose as she tries to take a night off in the company of some college kids...only it turns out they're on a mission, and it's one that just might get them killed. When Rose Marshall tangles with amateur ghost-hunters, it can only end in tears.

There are a lot of stories trapped and tangled in the twilight. This is only one of them. But it's the one I have to tell.

Welcome to the ghostroads.

When I have a brand new hairdo...

I am going to Australia.

I am going to Australia, and I have been nominated for the Campbell Award.

Because I am going to Australia, and I have been nominated for the Campbell Award, I am attending the Hugos.

Because I am attending the Hugos, I needed a dress.

Originally, I was having a dress made, but time got away from us, and now this year's fabulous pumpkin patch of a dress will be next year's fabulous pumpkin patch of a dress (which gives me something to look forward to in Reno). I wound up in the unexpected, somewhat awkward position of needing to find a formal dress at basically the last minute. Oh, and did I mention that I have a wacky build and wear a size 16-18 right now? SUPER-FUN.

Thanks to a fantastic crew (Kate, HappyCat, Jeanne) and a fantastic saleswoman at the Walnut Creek Nordstrom's, we found me a dress. Floor-length, one-shoulder, teal and peacock, Grecian-cut...seriously, I put this thing on, and I am suddenly both thirty pounds lighter and thirteen feet tall. It is A DRESS OF MAGIC.

Because I have a dress, I needed shoes and jewelry.

Due to the cut of the dress, a bracelet was mandated; no necklace, which eliminates most of my jewelry collection (I'm planning to carry a Chimera Fancies pendant in my strapless bra, because I am a superstitious bunny). I found a lovely blue and silver swirl bracelet, and ordered a pair of beautiful blue glass earrings from Beckett's Etsy store. My shoes are two-inch tarnished silver heels with a sling-back.

Because I have shoes, I need a pedicure. Because I have a formal dress, I need a haircut.

Being a girl is difficult, yo. But it's all going to be worth it. My little sister (#2, the gothic Betty Page) spent yesterday working out my makeup, and Cat and I are going to have our hair done before the Hugos. I will look like a princess. A weird blue princess who may have a chainsaw somewhere under there, but still, they don't depose you for that.

I am going to Australia, where I will wear my dress. To the Hugos, where my name is on the printed material.

Wow.

That is all.