AletheaKontis.com

Here is the track listing for 2010:

1. Christmas Name Song                                    The Young Americans
2. December ’63 (oh what a night)                      Four Seasons
3. Santa, Santa, Santa                                         Gene Autry
4. Christmastime in Tinseltown                        Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
5. Every Time it Snows                                     Olivia Newton-John (featuring Jon Secada)
6. The Man With The Bag                                   Jaimee Paul
7. December                                                     DJ Antoine
8. Shimmy Down The Chimney                          Alison Krauss
9. It Doesnt Often Snow At Christmas             Pet Shop Boys
10. Merry Christmas Neighbor                        The Cartwrights (Ben, Hoss, Little Joe)
11. I Feel The Christmas Spirit                        Indigo Girls
12. True Love                                                   Angels & Airwaves
13. En Tu Dia                                                     Mariachi Nueva Generacion
14. Winter Time                                               Steve Miller Band
15. Where Did My Snowman Go?                        Gene Autry/Mitchell Choirboys
16. Hi-Tech Santa                                              Cheap Seats
17. Angels In The Snow                                      Amy Sky
18. We are Santa’s Elves                                    Cartoon Christmas songs
19. Vil Du Være Min I Nat (Norwegian)               Caroline Henderson
20. Back To December                                     Taylor Swift
21. Winterhearted                                              Xandria
22. Santa’s Got An Airplane                               Beach Boys
23. Christmas Greetings From Space                 Astronaut Frank Borman

Happy holidays to you and yours! Remember, I fully expect you all to be wearing a tiara for my birthday on 1-11-11. *hugs* Thank you!!

My 2020 Visions anthology contributor copy has arrived! (Featuring my high school reunion revenge story “Pocket Full of Posey.”)  Here it is, next to some lovely gratuitous Christmas decorations.

Once again, I love this freaking cover.

The votes are in, and everybody agrees. Mark your calendars!

What: Princess Alethea’s 35th Birthday Spectacular
When: January 11, 2011
Where: Your blog (or facebook page)
Who: YOU, wearing a tiara!

As discussed previously,35 is my mother’s favorite number. I’m only going to turn 35 once. As it happens, that happy event will occur in less than a month, on 1-11-11. (It’s a Tuesday.) If I don’t do something BIG, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life. (I generally try not to regret things.)

I’m very excited and it’s a very big deal. As I don’t have the resources to throw a ball worthy of Cinderella (yet), I still want to find a way to celebrate this day with all my favorite people in the world. That’s right, that means YOU.

So here’s the plan: on January 11th (at 11:11, if you can), post a picture of yourself wearing a tiara. Post it on your blog or Facebook, or email it to me and I’ll stick them in the photo album. Camera shy? Post the whole family, or your pets, or your teddy bear wearing a tiara. Don’t have a tiara? Make one out of aluminum foil. Go to this website and make a paper tiara in a few simple steps.

You can do it! It’s easy, it’s cheap, and you now have something to post about on a random Tuesday. Laugh! Have fun! BE ORIGINAL! You have a month to get creative. And please, spread the word! I’m only going to have one 1-11-11 birthday, and I give you all express permission to spam the world about it.

Please help make my birthday the most awesome, shiny 1-11-11 birthday a girl could have. Thank you!

Okay, guys. I need your help on this one.

My sister and I were once discussing our favorite numbers. My mother pondered aloud what her own favorite number might be. Without missing a beat, my sister and I immediately spouted “35.” It’s always been 35 with my mother. “I have told you 35 times to empty that dishwasher” or “Casey has called about 35,000 times. Will you please tell her what you’re doing tonight?” The funny thing was, until that moment, she’d never noticed. Now it’s a big family joke.

My birthday is in less than a month — 1-11-2011, as a matter of fact. Any guess how old I’ll be? You got it. My mother’s favorite number.

I remember the morning I had that epiphany — that my 1-11-11 birthday would be my 35th. I’ve always known it was going to be a big deal…I just didn’t know what I was going to do. Plan a giant party? Host my own mini convention? Fly to London? Join the circus? So many options…

And now here we are in December 2010. A year ago I quit my job and moved to a different state. I’ve spent the time living as a full-time writer: which means I’m now sharing a tiny apartment with 3 lovely people, I’m in lots of happy debt while I wait on that lovely novel advance, and the Fairy GodBoyfriend’s having all those horrible troubles with his lovely hands that so far every single doctor has given up on. (And that’s on top of all the other dramas of life we don’t blog about.) Nevermind the fact that 1-11-11 is a TUESDAY. Who has a giant party on a Tuesday?

It’s really a super inconvenient time. BUT IT’S A REALLY BIG DEAL. Sure, I could celebrate my birthday at a more convenient time, but then the whole point of 1-11-11 is kind of missed.If I don’t make something awesome happen that day, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life. And that’s the truth.

Which is why I’m asking for your help.

Leanna and I talked a lot about this while I was up in NY for the SFWA soiree. The best idea we came up with was to spread the word and have everyone I know post a picture of themselves wearing a tiara that day in honor of The Princess’s 1-11-11, 35th Birthday.

What do you think? Is this a good idea? It’s cheap and easy and totally doable and gives everyone a free blog topic that day. Do you think you, as my friends, would participate? Got any better ideas? Help!

Pass it Along: In which I find out about cool stuff and pass it along to you. Please feel free to pass it along to others!

*******************************************************

Author friend Steven Saus is running an interesting contest over on his site: Create an inspirational poster that inspires you to go out and kick ass.

Sound cool? I know I’m certainly intrigued…

Deadline for entries is December 17th. Details over on his website.

*******************************************************

Librarysciencedegree.org is trying to compile the largest database of colleges and universities in which one can obtain a degree in library science. Have one? Know someone who does? Pop on over to the site real quick and make sure your alma mater is represented.

(Both online and on-campus degrees are included.)

‘Tis the season for awards nominations and holiday card mailing…have you moved this year? Do you have a new address? Now would be the time to go into all those places — especially all those lovely writing associations you belong to (HWA, SFWA, RWA, SCBWI, YARWA, OMGWTFBBQ). People are going to want to send you things, and I know we both don’t have the money to constantly be forking over to USPS for forwarding packages.

Go on! Shoo! Do it now, before you forget.

Remember — I *did* move this year (several times), and I have a shiny new address you’re all welcome to use and share with your friends. Here it is again:

Alethea Kontis
PO Box 2024
Ashburn, VA 20146

Happy holidays!

********************************************

My 2010 award-eligible stories here, for your convenience.

In no particular order:
(F = fantasy, H = horror, SF = science fiction)

(F/H) “Sweetheart Come” from John Skipp’s Werewolves and Shape Shifters: Encounters with the Beasts Within
(F/H) “The God of Last Moments” from Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon’s Dark Faith
(SF/H) “Black Hole Sun” (co-authored with Kelli Owen) from Jason Sizemore’s Dark Futures: Tales of Dystopian SF
(H) “Life’s a Beach” (co-authored with Ariell Branson) from Jason Sizemore’s Apexology: Horror (e-book)
(SF/H) “Pocket Full of Posey” from Rick Novy’s 2020 Visions
(F/H) “Blue and Gray & Black & Green” from Michael Knost’s Legends of the Mountain State 4
(F/H) “Diary of a Ghost’s Mistress” from Shroud Magazine Issue #9
(F/H) “Red Lantern” from Shroud Magazine Issue #10 (Halloween issue guest edited by Kevin Lucia)
(SF/H) “Savage Planet” from Jessy Marie Roberts’s The Four Horsemen: An Anthology of Conquest, War, Famine & Death
(SF) “The Way of the Restless” from Jessy Marie Robert’s Patented DNA
(SF) “The Unicorn Tree” from Alva J. Roberts’s Zero Gravity: Adventures in Deep Space

If you are a member of an award-nominating society and would like to read any of these stories, please email me your request  (akontis at gmail) and I’ll be happy to send it along.

I won’t be around much today — I have to get this second wave of Xmas cards to the post office and start on the next round of edits for SUNDAY (not necessarily in that order…I was getting up in the middle of the night to write down passages and ideas, stupid busy brain).

I hope you all have a lovely, crisp Winter day. Stay warm, preferably with cocoa or cider. Mmmmm, I could use a good cup of fresh apple cider.

I am also FINALLY feeling better (thanks for asking). It took until yesterday for me to finally see improvement (read: not coughing like crazy the minute I lie down to go to sleep), but I can honestly say now that I’m on the mend. I promise I’ll sit here by the humidifier and stay out of the cold as much as possible. xox

Because:
1.) I miss Janet and Ornament Gulag
2.) Making ornaments is fun
3.) Artwork is relaxing
4.) All of my Christmas decorations are still in Tennessee, and I can’t afford (and don’t really want) to buy a bunch more stuff
5.) I wrote about 3000 words on my story and thought I deserved it
6.) Nutcrackers are awesome
7.) I’m still practicing with art markers…I need some better sketchbook paper that doesn’t bleed

This illustrates the parenting skillz of a very close friend of mine. He knows who he is.

Hooray! The 2020 Visions anthology, edited by Rick Novy, is now available on Amazon!

This volume of near-future SF stories (so near that you’ll actually be around for them when they happen), includes my story “Pocket Full of Posey.” I can’t wait to get my hands on my contributor copy. I love this cover.

Get 2020 Visions now, in book form, for only $13.95. You’re ordering books for Christmas anyway — tack it on to the end of your order to bump your total up to free shipping.I assure you, it will be worth it.

(E-book versions and other purchasing venues will happen shortly. I’ll let you know where and when those will be.)

Thank you, and Happy Holidays!