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Category: Workplace issues

Against a background of prismatic dandelions, the words say, “When you become grateful for small pleasures, your outlook changes and opportunities seem to open up everywhere in your life.” The background is an image licensed from 123rf. The quote is courtesy of Kerri Richardson’s blog post, “Keep the Gratitude Going.”
The “Gratitude Series”

The “Gratitude Series”

The “Gratitude Series” first saw daylight on this blog 10 years ago. Recently I’ve been diving deeply back into the archives of this blog, and finding all kinds of interesting things – but they’re “antiques” from a contemporary point of view. Ten years ago, in 2015 we did havesmartphones. The iPhone had been introduced eight years earlier. But back then, bloggers knew that most people would be reading our posts on desktop computers with what we now consider slothlike modems….

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This square image has a variegated background with a tan-edged, variegated rectangle on a layer floating above the background layer. Three square images from the blog post are arranged on the diagonal across the middle. They overlap each other – but not enough that we can’t see what they are. Design by Jan S. Gephardt.
A Mixed Bag in April

A Mixed Bag in April

I had a mixed bag in April, when it comes to posts on The Weird Blog . . . and also when it comes to just about everything else, too. My ongoing book review work continues. However, I prefer to blog about books and share their reviews in themed groups of three to five. I didn’t have neatly themed groups of much of anything in April. Book review topics were only one category of “hodgepodge” in April. I’m also transitioning…

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Weird Sisters Publishing: We have tales to tell. This picture shows covers for The XK9 Series, Deep Ellum Stories, and The Windhover Tetralogy.
Artdog Adventures is Going Weird!

Artdog Adventures is Going Weird!

Artdog Adventures Blog is moving! This blog will now merge with The Weird Blog on the Weird Sisters Publishing website. Please mosey on over there, to read my (and my sister’s) latest thoughts on books, art, publishing, and more! Thank you for being a devoted follower. I hope this change doesn’t cause you too much inconvenience, and I look forward to seeing you in the future on The Weird Blog! Changes can be Good This move allows us to optimize…

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This photo by Pascal Gephardt shows the Weird Sisters Publishing Dealers Table at DemiCon 34. Tyrell Gephardt stands behind the table. On the left-hand side, from top to bottom of the display, are copies of Dora Furlong’s “One of Our Own,” then Lynette M. Burrows’ “My Soul to Keep,” “If I Should Die,” and “Fellowship.” On the table level are Jan S. Gephardt’s “The Other Side of Fear,” “What’s Bred in the Bone,” and “A Bone to Pick.” In the middle of the table, we attached badge ribbons to bookmarks and business cards with information about the books the quotes come from. To get a badge ribbon, table visitors also had to take the attached information. On the right side of the table, from top to bottom, are Randal Spangler’s hardbound, fully illustrated children’s books, “D is for Draglings™” and “The Draglings™’ Bedtime Story.” On the next level are “The Draglings™ Coloring Book” and the three volumes of Karin Rita Gastreich’s “Silver Web Trilogy,” “Eolyn,” “Sword of Shadows,” and “Daughter of Aithne.” On the table level are G. S. Norwood’s “Deep Ellum Duet” and M. C. Chambers’ “Midsummer Storm” and “Shapers’ Veil.” Tablecloth design is “Nebula 2,”
My last DemiCon?

My last DemiCon?

By Jan S. Gephardt DemiCon 34 may have been my last DemiCon. I have a lot of great history with DemiCon as an institution, and as an eagerly-anticipated annual event. I’ve blogged about it in this space for the last several years, as veteran readers of this blog may recall. It was the convention that primarily inspired my 2019 post “Why I go to SF Conventions.” For a profile of DemiCon at its recent best, take a look at my…

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“Stress overload makes us stupid. Solid research proves it. When we get overstressed, it creates a nasty chemical soup in our brains that makes it hard to pull out of the anxious depressive spiral.” — Gail Sheehy
Pushing The Envelope

Pushing The Envelope

By Jan S. Gephardt For me, this past month has been one long (exhausting) experiment in pushing the envelope. You may know this phrase, which originated in the aeronautics field. It passed into more common usage after Tom Wolfe’s 1979 book The Right Stuff (about supersonic aeronautics and the early US space program) was made into a movie by the same name in 1983. In aeronautics “the envelope” means the limits of an aircraft’s performance capability. Pushing past it is…

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L-R: Aaron Hollingsworth at a recent book-signing; the Weird Sisters Publishing banner for the dealers room table, and Jan with Weird Sisters books at Archon 44.
Packing up for Archon

Packing up for Archon

By Jan S. Gephardt This week I’m packing up for Archon 45. I’m set to depart on Thursday, and I have a very full weekend planned. If this blog post is a little shorter than some, it’s because this week, of all weeks, time is of the essence. In addition to all of the “necessary maintenance” stuff there is to do on any given week, packing up for Archon tops the priorities! It’s a broad-spectrum effort. If you’ve followed this…

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It is not enough to be busy . . . The question is: what are we busy about? – Henry David Thoreau
Using My Time Well

Using My Time Well

By Jan S. Gephardt Am I using my time well? It’s been my most persistent self-question this summer. I “wear a lot of hats” these days, which means I’m busier all the time. I’m quite possibly doing more things and being more productive than at any other point in my life. But am I using my time well? I’m the Chief Cat-Herder and Manager of Weirdness for Weird Sisters Publishing, which means I’m not only an author, I’m also involved…

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A Clean Home Never Goes Out of Style
A Spotlessly Beautiful Home

A Spotlessly Beautiful Home

By G. S. Norwood The other day I happened across a list of suggestions from Good Housekeeping magazine on how to maintain a spotlessly beautiful home. The list outlines all the things I should clean every day, once a week, once a month, or a few times a year, so the house stays lovely, with only a little effort on my part. It read like one of those hopelessly outdated articles from the 1950s on how to make your husband…

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ConQuesT 53, Memorial Day Weekend 2022, Sheraton Crown Center, Kansas City, MO.
Pack Up and Do It Again

Pack Up and Do It Again

By Jan S. Gephardt It’s time to pack up and do it again. When we have two sf conventions in one month, it’s something of an endurance run. My son Tyrell Gephardt and I just start getting sorted out and rested up (in my case this month also healed up), and it’s time to do it again. As I noted last week, Demicon 33 was a good convention for me – but it also took a toll. Now it’s time…

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Two hall costumes and a display-model T.A.R.D.I.S. from “Dr. Who.”
The Best and Worst Time

The Best and Worst Time

By Jan S. Gephardt I’ll spare you the Charles Dickens opening line, but DemiCon 33 Weekend really was the best and worst time I’ve had at a convention in ages. Regular followers of this blog have already figured out that I came home from it with a bad cold. No, it wasn’t classic “con crud.” That’s some new thing you contract at a convention, when you encounter something your immune system can’t fight (possibly because you partied for several nights…

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