Looking for a new cat? Consider this lady --

Those of you looking for a new cat, take a look at this darling Maine Coon/Rag Doll mix -- about five years old, and apparently a sweetheart. She needs a home!

http://www.mainecoonsavers.com/animals/detail?AnimalID=3535083

Grumble. Not enough peace and quiet around here...

Well, the car gets fixed at obscene rates, and now the printer refuses to print. I'm on my second cartridge. A friend thought it might need cleaning, but I have blackened a linen towel with distilled water, and run the clean platen feature numerous times, but so far, it won't print a page for me. I'm left wondering if there's any chance they'll take back the blasted cartridge? An HP Laserjet 1022. And it was supposed to be a good printer -- but it has never been satisfying.

On top of this, I had the stress of filling out on-line a health insurance application. I had done a paper version first, so I would have the dates and particulars, right? Everything on the web site opened up into still more questions. If I had high blood pressure I'd be in trouble. Then they call you to ask questions, and your answers are probably not what they expect. This has been going on for two weeks.

But my health insurance is now over $600 a month, coming out of savings. If these people took me at the listed rate, even with a year before they paid on anything I currently see a doc for, I would be doing much better. So it was worth a gamble.

This has slowed writing to a crawl. I wish I wasn't still so easily flustered by my bizarre life. But I am, and it effects things. Sigh.

Between games? Join the tagging game...

Well, of course writers try to figure out ways to draw people's attention to their work. Reviews help the most, but there are other things. One thing people can use at Amazon.com is clicking on the tag trees at the bottom of pages, leading off to other books in a topic/subheading. This can take you to something as nebulous as "science fiction" and as specific as "lost colony" or "Liaden Universe."

Whenever you visit a page of a book you like? Take a look and see if there are tags for the book. If so, click on the ones you agree with, and add any you think should be there -- I think we're allowed 15 per book. If not, start some tags for it!

It's a small thing, but it can be a tiny help for a book you like. And unlike reviewing, you don't have to focus your mind for it. (In fact, you can even "Like" books now -- Facebook strikes!)

If you feel like tagging, start with mine and move out through the other suggested books on the page. You'll hit a lot of good books, many of which you'll have read! ;^)

Fire Sanctuary

Fires of Nuala

Hidden Fires

Night Calls

Kindred Rites

Wings of Morning

Oh -- While retrieving these links, I noticed that Pam and Jennifer each reviewed Kindred Rites and Night Calls. Short and enticing -- thank you both! When I go to try and sell Spirit Tracks, how many reviews these books have may help (or hurt. Again -- who knows? Rumor has it that once you've rolled over to 20+ reviews, your book shows up more often in "suggested" lists.)