The planners of Denvention are really on their game. I’m not sure when I’ve known about my programming so far in advance. Granted, these are preliminary schedules, but here’s the list.

Schmoozing 101 - Wed 13:00

Survival Tips for the Beginning Writer - Wed 16:00

How to Give an Effective Reading - Workshop - Fri 10:00

I’ll also be doing the Strolling with the Stars one morning, but I don’t know which one yet.

Oh, my horsey friends, please double-check my book learning.

I’m figuring that Character A will take about 2 and a half hours to cover four miles on a deer path through a heavily wooded area. She’s got about fifty very short characters with her, so isn’t walking at top speed.

Returning, she’s mounted on a horse. Is it reasonable to think that she could cover the same distance in about forty-five minutes? If she were in a hurry, (and she is) how fast could she safely go? This is a path with which she is familiar, but a new horse.

Many thanks!

And just in case someone else finds them useful, here is a site with Horse Speed in MPH and one with The Average Walking Pace for humans.

Fantasy Magazine has Sean Markey’s Sorrowbird up today. I think you might enjoy it.

I. How to Build a Mourning Dove

First, take your husband’s awkward, enthusiastic letters from the night-stand drawer, the ones he wrote on his way from England to India. Take those smooth papers and wad them up tight. Keep your sorrow out of your actions; let the sadness of the letters speak. Use your anger and frustration to ball up the papers, and marvel at the unfairness of your life. Use the hurt of your loss to crumple each piece into one tight, circular shape. These papers represent the body of the bird you will make.