Diane Duane

We are ineffably elated to confirm that Good Omens will return for a third season! This calls for a round of hot chocolate and sweet treats!

…Wow. For So You Want To Be A Wizard to be mentioned in the same breath as Treasure Island, Charlotte’s Web, The Phantom Tollbooth and Watership Down is seriously heady stuff. My thanks to Leah Libresci Sergeant for the rec!

Opinion | To build a delightful library for kids, start with these 99 books The war over children's books is depressing. As a reset, we asked parents from across the political spectrum to tell us which books they consider essential.

New at the "Food and Cooking of the Middle Kingdoms" website: Honey-Candied Apples. https://foodandcooking.middlekingdoms.com/honey-candied-apples/

Caution: contains bats (2), black cats (2), haunted houses (1), zombies (lots!), and Ultimate Evil kicking back with a pumpkin spice latte to watch it all get real. At
for : NOT ON MY PATCH. http://bit.ly/YWNotOnMyPatch

One Christmas. One tree. And one little saw-whet owl who’s very annoyed that they chopped down her tree and hauled it (AND HER) off to Manhattan.

OWL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, a canonical work in the Young Wizards universe, tells the story of what the Owl did about this deeply annoying situation... and is the first canonical Young Wizards material ever to deal with the year 2020. Here’s your chance to see familiar characters from the 2008-based New Millennium Editions timeline, as they are in the (more or less) here and (relatively speaking) now...

https://ebooks.direct/products/owl-be-home-for-christmas

Owl Be Home For Christmas A tale of Christmas (2010) in the Young Wizards universe... as an owl goes in pursuit of the only Christmas present she really wants.

Just a regretful reminder to our Ebooks Direct UK customers: Because of the way UK VAT and import requirements (including for digital items) will be changing at the end of the Brexit transition period, we will no longer be selling directly into the UK market as of 1/1/2021. So if you’ve seen anything in our store that you’d like, the next two weeks will be your last chance to grab it.

More information is at the link below. We hate having to do this: we’re so sorry.

https://ebooks.direct/blogs/news/to-our-british-purchasers-ebooks-direct-after-the-brexit-transition-period-from-1-1-21

Attn Young Wizards Discussion Forums users: by popular demand, we're upgrading... and service may be spotty in days to come. More info here: http://www.youngwizards.com/forums/showthread.php?2708-Forum-Software-upgrade-begins

Forum Software upgrade begins! Folks, This is just a quick note to let everyone know that we're about to upgrade the vBulletin forum platform software to the much newer and shinier current version -- vBulletin 5 -- with its new, feature-rich Connect package. Details about vB5 Connect's many new bells and whistles (including mobil...

Just a note for those who might be interested: I'm about twelve hours from making a go/no-go decision on the work of fiction described in the linked Twitter thread. If you're interested in being part of the choice, read down the thread... https://twitter.com/dduane/status/1329140062597115904

Diane Duane on Twitter “Hmm, I see a (forget-the-heartwarming) children’s book in this. (Because that expression says “WTF?? YOU CHOPPED DOWN MY F*CKING TREE!”) So on Christmas Eve, a MILLION OWLS mount a rescue mission from the North, pick up the tree, and take it (and their buddy) home. The End. ❤️ https://t...

Some news from the Young Wizards side of things, folks! Details here: https://www.dianeduane.com/outofambit/2020/11/06/from-the-young-wizards-universe-an-update/

From the Young Wizards universe: an update Let me start by thanking everybody who saw the previous posting discussing the changes to come to the YoungWizards.com domain, and who took the time to get back to me with their thoughts. Some response to those (and action on them) will turn up in this post. So first of all, let me answer what...

Caution: contains bats, black cats, haunted houses, suburban zombies, and Ultimate Evil with a pumpkin spice latte. At Ebooks Direct for : NOT ON MY PATCH. http://bit.ly/YWNotOnMyPatch

FYI...

We've begun reformatting / re-covering the Feline Wizards trilogy, and the new files for the first book have just gone up at the store. If you've previously purchased an ebook edition of THE BOOK OF NIGHT WITH MOON from us, we're happy to update your copy for free! Just use the Ebooks Direct contact email address to drop us a note quoting your order number, and we'll have the store send you new download links within 12-24 hours. ...Don't have a copy of the book? Find out more here, and don't forget, everything's 50% off right now! https://ebooks.direct/products/the-book-of-night-with-moon

Want to make a trailer for a blockbuster film? Here's your cheat sheet. :) ...Both "Too Close To The Knuckle" and The Best Thing Ever.
https://youtu.be/KAOdjqyG37A

How To Make A Blockbuster Movie Trailer We provide you with the winning formula that turns any trailer into the blockbuster smash hit of the season it was meant to be. Support links below: Link to ...

At Ebooks Direct: Every in our store is 50% off now and until Things Get Better... so that folks can have more reading material for less. Our "staff" are keeping the shelves stocked. :) Full inventory's here: http://bit.ly/EBD50PctSale

Storewide Sale at Ebooks Direct: everything's 50% off! We're having a flash sale at Ebooks Direct. Our store's whole inventory is 50% off. Come grab yourself a bargain from our DRM-free inventory!

I think these are Renaissance, not medieval, and don’t actually have anything to do with the plague. But it’s fun to see them getting some use again. https://nypost.com/2020/08/06/medieval-wine-windows-are-reopening-reviving-italian-plague-tradition

Medieval ‘wine windows’ are reopening, reviving Italian plague tradition It’s a quaint tradition — with a very dark history.

Something new on the To Be Written (or in this case, translated) pile: a French pastry cookbook...

https://www.dianeduane.com/outofambit/2020/07/20/a-project-in-progress-translating-la-patissiere-des-petits-menages/

For the Middle Kingdoms readership: some meta. Caution: contains history, a little geneaology, some linguistic stuff, and a bit of potential snark.

http://www.middlekingdoms.com/middle-kingdoms-meta/when-is-a-prince-not-a-prince/

When is a prince not a Prince? - MiddleKingdoms dot com About differing styles of royalty and rule in the Middle Kingdoms, and why the King of Arlen used to tease his boyfriend about which of them was more important

All RIGHT.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rules-existing-civil-rights-law-protects-gay-lesbian-n1231018?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

Supreme Court rules existing civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers The decision said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person's s*x, also covers s*xual orientation and transgender status.

From one of Peter Morwood's friends up in the Wee North. Always remember to Force-choke responsibly!

Via on Twitter.

Just so you know: The 50%-off at stays on till Things Get Better (2021? Whatever!), so folks who want reading material to take their mind off events can have it on the cheap. Our "staff" are keeping shelves stocked! 😃Inventory's here: http://bit.ly/EBD50PctSale

Via Pat Cadigan on Twitter: "The best quarantine-related thing you'll see today." https://twitter.com/Cadigan/status/1249251001774878722

Via Scott Lynch on Twitter. :) (https://twitter.com/scottlynch78/status/1243137683226050560)

(Via Derek Austin Johnson's Instagram)

https://derekaustinjohnson.tumblr.com/post/612954154695032832

The Truth of Imagination

"Sniffling in place" and other unexpected concepts: plus, a three-week sale at . Details: http://dianeduane.com/outofambit/2020/03/12/at-the-ebooks-direct-store-everything-50-off-until-march-30/

At the Ebooks Direct store: everything 50% off until March 30 (Caption: “Be like our hard-working staff! Wash your hands.”) So last night I looked at the state of the world and thought to myself, “It may be that some people will need something to take their minds off their troubles over the next couple of weeks.” I Tweeted about it at the time, and the...

So, our local excitement: we can haz lockdown! (sigh)

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/coronavirus-ireland-school-closed-public-events-gatherings-new-cases-pandemic-a9396626.html

Ireland closes all schools and says mass gatherings should be cancelled as country goes into lockdown over coronavirus ‘Collective national response will potentially save thousands of lives,’ deputy premier says

...It was only a matter of time. This website will help you create your own handwashing-mantra poster... https://washyourlyrics.com/

If anyone knows the source of this, I’d love to credit it/them...

...BTW, for those wondering about the injury: I damaged my left knee a couple of weeks ago -- in frankly mysterious circumstances -- (sitting still on the bus? HOW t.f....?) and now must go in for a scan and Ghu only knows what else, next week. Insurance won't cover this: I get to pay. So this sale is still running, for those who might like to assist... :) bit.ly/EBD50PctSale