Just picked up: The new guest chair plus side table for the office:

The chair is deeply comfortable, I have to say. As in, when you sit in it you have roll to save against catnapping. I mean, if you want to save against catnapping. And why would you? We had the chair special ordered (here’s the generic version) so the upholstery matched the rest of the room’s decor and to make Krissy happy, since she’s already made clear that it’s her chair (Athena’s already colonized the chaise lounge).

I like it both in its look and because it’s part of my office’s further evolution from a style I choose to call Particleboard Convenient to something that better expresses my own personality. I go into my office now, and it’s my office, if you know what I mean. We have a few finishing touches to go — I have to get matching blinds, put things back on the wall and I have to drag the library out of the basement and put it into the new shelves — but even without those the office is much more homey place than it was before.

When I finally get those finishing touches in I’ll be posting a whole tour of the office. Until then: Hey, look. Chair.

As earlier noted, the reason I wasn’t here much in the last week was because I was at the Viable Paradise writing workshop, at which I and other science fiction pros offered advice and information to newer writers. The workshop this year was very good; I expect you’ll see a number of VP14 students selling their works sooner than later, since in at least one case my advice about a story was “I have no advice to give you. This story works. Send it out.” This is not to say I won’t claim credit for this and other students’ successes when they inevitably happen, mind you. Oh, that writer? Was a student of mine, you know. Everything they know? From me. Yes, indeed.

For the VP14ers and others who are interested, here’s my rather meager Flickr set from the week.

This particular VP session was ever-so-slightly melancholy for me because I won’t be an instructor next year; I have plans for next October which I can’t detail at the moment because they’re not totally set yet, but when they are you’ll probably agree it’s pretty cool. But it means not being at VP, which makes me sad. In the three years I taught there I made a number of good friends, benefited from the wisdom of my fellow instructors,  and I also learned about myself as an instructor of writing, primarily that I can be a pretty good instructor of writing. I wouldn’t necessarily have laid money on that one before I did it. It’s an interesting thing to discover about one’s self, and for me a good thing. I do like being useful to other writers; I like to think I’ve been useful to these VP students. Especially since I plan to take credit for their success anyway.

In any event, I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to have three very good years teaching at Viable Paradise. I hope the instructor who replaces me next year feels as happy to be there, and gets as much out of the workshop and the students, as I have. I don’t doubt that they will.