I’m writing, too, never fear, and Palace of Scoundrels and Do No Harm will be out next month to prove it. Buuuuut my budget kinda got blown out of the water this month when 1) I forgot to budget for the cost of an out-of-town convention, 2) one of our cats had a rather expensive vet visit (turns out his kidneys are failing, but the vet said it’s VERY early stages and he could survive for another 1-3 years or even longer. As he’s already 15.5 years old, I’ll be grateful for any extra time I get with him) and 3) Shutterstock surprised me by renewing two photo packages without me expecting it, so that was a surprise hundred on the Amex.

And since the Amazon royalties this month have already been spoken for, I’m falling back on my (ahem) awesome jewelry-making expertise to wire wrap some gorgeous semi-precious cabochons and get them out where customers can buy them. Of the cabs shown below (left to right), I’ve already wrapped and sold the tiger’s eye, I’m going to wrap the dragonstone next in antique brass, the fossilized coral is waiting for some bronze wire and sheet to come in (I’ve been inspired by a Game of Thrones character, what can I say), a friend has already claimed the azurite/malachite, and the labradorite and amethyst will be wrapped in sterling silver if I can figure out where the hell I put the SS I bought last month.

On the left, by the way, is Irena, the tiger’s eye cab wrapped with gold wire, gold beads and brick seed beads. When my buddy Peter heard that I’d bought the cab he said, “Mine! Just tell me when you get it done.” I love it when people do that.

On the right is a piece of picasso marble wrapped in gunmetal wire with silver, black, and base metal beads and a black crystal drop. I couldn’t resist calling it Winterfell — the streaks on the marble look like a forest in winter. Also, I may have been bingeing on Seasons 3 and 4 of GOT, I dunno. This one is still available if anyone has a hankering for it — $40 plus $3 shipping in the US.

In between the writing and the jewelry making I have to finish a quilt for a friend, get some cleaning and laundry done, and finish a long-pending video project for a buddy. But it’s a hell of a lot better than being bored, right?

In other news, I think I may have added a new actor to my favorites stable. I blame myself for avoiding GOT for so damn long, but now that I’m watching it I have to admit that I’m rather taken with Rory McCann, that tall Scottish drink of water who plays the Hound. I’m also kicking myself because he was at LoneStarCon 3 a couple of years ago making the rounds of the room parties, and I thought, “Meh. An actor. Whatever. I’m going to bed.” I swear, one of these days I’m going to stop sabotaging myself…