These days I've discovered a new treat called kawahagi mirin. It's basically a filefish fillet marinated in Japanese mirin and dried. I like to roast it over an open flame on the stove before eating it.

So as I was roasting two, I told Hero Material: Hey don't you think this is just like some post-apocalyptic world?

Hero Material: Huh?

Me: You know, it's like the world just exploded, and we have to cook over the open flames!

Hero Material: *laughs*

Me: What?????

Hero Material: In your post-Apocalyptic world, you can get flames by pressing a button?

Me: Well…it's kinda important to be able to make hot food…

Guess I won't last very long in Hero Material's version of the post-apocalyptic world.

Wow! Look at that octopus using coconut shells to make a shelter for himself!

Random House decided that all your eright are belong to us them. According to Publishers Weekly:

A letter sent to agents Friday by Random House chairman Markus Dohle has renewed the debate about who controls the right to publish the e-book editions of older backlist titles. In his letter, Dohle makes clear that RH believes the “vast majority” of its backlist contracts “grant us the right to publish books in electronic formats,” while older agreements “often give us the exclusive right to publish ‘in book form' or ‘in any and all editions.'” Random spokesperson Stuart Applebaum said the letter was “in the works for many weeks and is the product of the thinking of our publishers sales colleagues and others.” The letter, Applebaum added, was sent in the spirit of collaboration not confrontation, and was mailed (or e-mailed) before the holiday break to give agents time to think about its contents.

I don't know if agents feel the “spirit of collaboration”.

• Kristin Nelson's response: RH Gets Brazen.
• Dystel & Goderich's response: Random House eBook Rights Grab
• Richard Curtis's response: Random Serves Notice on Would-Be E-Interlopers

Jane from Dear Author summed up the situation well, and I wanted to highlight it:

The legal foundation that Random House rests upon is shaky at best. Author contracts are largely contracts of adhesion and as such any ambiguity is resolved against the drafter of the contract, meaning if a term “book” is deemed to be ambiguous by the court, then the interpretation that favors the non drafting party (the author) is usually upheld…. Further, the court in the Rosetta cases determined that new uses referred to new uses in the same medium (ie print), not a different one (digital). Perhaps Random House is convinced that it could convince a different judge to come to a different conclusion. This move is meant to strike fear in the hearts of authors who think to take their backlist titles elsewhere and for the majority of authors, this tactic will likely work.

P.S. For those of you unfamiliar with where the title for this blog post comes from, check out the video below. You can hear the now immortalized “All Your Base Are Belong to Us!” at the 0:18 mark.

Merry Christmas to me!

	Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik
	Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione
	On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
	Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre
	The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
	The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines
	The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and Struggle by L. J. Smith
	Skin Game by Ava Gray
	Death Angel by Linda Howard

How about you? Bought anything interesting recently? (It doesn't have to be a book.)

I got so many people expressing interest in the group. I'm happy to say that we have six people, including myself, in the weekly accountability group, and we've started our first week. Since I wanted to keep the group fairly small to keep the email traffic manageable, I'm afraid the group's currently closed.

In case you wanted to join but missed your chance, feel free to start your own group with like-minded people. Yahoo Groups is free, and it's easy to set up. :) If there's an opening in my accountability group, I'll update the blog.

Thanks and good luck, everyone!

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this video on YouTube. It's about forming a weekly accountability group. Please watch it if you'd like:

Okay. Done? :)

I think it's a brilliant idea to have an accountability group with goals that are tailored to individual members. I've been in groups like “100 words a day” or something, which is great for some people, but for me, I need more flexibility. I don't (and sometimes can't) write 100 words/day, and there are times when I want to take a week off to read or do research or whatever.

I also thought identifying the most highly leveraged activity(ies) for each week was fantastic. Not all activities are created equal, and some give you better return than the others.

So I figured I'd create a group. Laura (the lady who made the video) said she does it over the phone, but I thought maybe a mailing group might be easier, so people can post their previous week's results and share their new week's goals with the group on weekends.

Anybody with me? If so, sign up below or click here. To make the group more manageable, I'm thinking about limiting it to about 4-6 serious career-minded writers.

Thanks!

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