every day is International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Wretch Day around here. (And other news.)

For those of you who don't read over the weekend, Shadows and Silk is finished--or at least as finished as it's going to get for the moment. Ayame's story isn't finished by a long shot, and Storm and I may well return there in a few years to tell the story of what happens afterwards.

Today is International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Wretch Day, for all of us creators who actively enjoy giving at least some of our work away. I am not a professional writer. when I write, I am writing for a small (yet dedicated! I love you guys!) following of readers. And, you know, I'm happy with that. It gives me the freedom to write things that are unlikely to be ever comercially successful, to tell the stories that I want to read.

So Boone went to the vet this morning, to have the last of his puppy shots and get microchipped. He growled and barked at the office cats, at least until Laura went to pet them (and at that point, they became the property of Laura and therefore he is not allowed to bark at them). The office cats are extremely calm and curious, and one of them came up and consented to allow Boone to sniff noses with him. Boone was very, very pleased and excited by this.

The shots and chipping itself went well, though not without a bit of yipeing. We came back, went to Starbucks, and then I dropped Laura and Boone off at home and went to work.