I finished Witness for the Dead and started Angel of the Crows. How did I miss that it's an AU Sherlock Holmes story? Loving it so far!

Sherlock wingfic! Good stuff. Eta wingfic is not generally my thing, but I liked Angel of the Crows a lot

Anne Rice has died at the age of 80. Her son Christopher tweeted about it, here: [link]

Archived here: [link]

In case anyone is using a screen reader, the screenshot in his tweet comes from this Facebook post: [link] — the text of which reads:

Dearest People of Page. This is Anne’s son Christopher and it breaks my heart to bring you this sad news. Earlier tonight, Anne passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke. She left us almost nineteen years to the day my father, her husband Stan, died. The immensity of our family’s grief cannot be overstated. As my mother, her support for me was unconditional — she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions. In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage, awash in memories of a life that took us from the fog laced hills of the San Francisco Bay Area to the magical streets of New Orleans to the twinkling vistas of Southern California. As she kissed Anne goodbye, her younger sister Karen said, "What a ride you took us on, kid." I think we can all agree. Let us take comfort in the shared hope that Anne is now experiencing firsthand the glorious answers to many great spiritual and cosmic questions, the quest for which defined her life and career. Throughout much of her final years, your contributions to this page brought her much joy, along with a profound sense of friendship and community. Anne will be interred in our family's mausoleum at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans in a private ceremony. Next year, a celebration of her life will take place in New Orleans. This event will be open to the public and will invite the participation of her friends, readers and fans who brought her such joy and inspiration throughout her life.

It was kind of her son to take the time to share the news in that way at what is surely a most difficult time for him.

Between Stephen Sondheim and Anne Rice, that's a massive chunk of my formative teen identity gone from this world in the past month.

Yeah, those have been biggies to lose.

Thanks Kate P for reassuring me about a 3rd book.

If the Fates Allow: A Short Story by Rainbow Rowell is quite charming and timely. I've barely read any Rowell, I may need to seek out more.

There's a new Greenwing and Dart book! Plum Duff. Of all the things I enjoy about this series, and I do enjoy it very much both taken as a whole and considering particular aspects of it, one of my favorite things is how every title is a pastry (I was going to say they are all desserts, but stargazy pie is not desserty)

My Mom just texted me to say she's begun the Expanse books, and I let her know it's okay if she doesn't like Jim Holden, almost none of the other characters do either (Roci crew excepted).

I was EXTREMELY satisfied with the conclusion to book 9.

Hooray!