That means, “At last,” in case you didn’t know. My internet service provider has been down all morning, and I was reduced to typing messages to myself.

Anyway, here are some cool places I’ve been this week.

Because of all the SOPA/PIPA hoo-hah, I looked up some information on Intellectual Property. I also read a most interesting article by Cecilia Tan, a publisher, on Digital Book World, entitled “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Ebook Piracy“. Intriguing title, yes?

Author Lois Winston has a good article on Five Scribes on the subject of rejection, with a list of the top 10 reasons a manuscript is rejected. Some are beyond our control, but most are not. It’s probably a good idea for all of us, whether we write or not, to take a dispassionate look at the reasons people do poorly in our chosen line of endeavor and another dispassionate look at our own practices. We don’t need to be defeatist because some things are matters of chance or circumstance until we’ve optimized everything WE can.

The How To Write Shop is chock-full of information and resources. Check it out!

Crabfu Steamworks has a super-fantastic post on how to draw Steampunk Machines. That car at the top? I have that car in a story! Only now I know how it works! Is that cool, or what?

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a cold, and I’m going to crawl off somewhere and sneeze.

WRITING PROMPT: Give a cold to a very dignified character.

MA