Rosemary Kirstein

I’ve been making hand-bound blank journals for years. Back when I was writing The Lost Steersman, I got the idea to take it a step further, and tried making my own paper for the journals.

I made the paper out of recycled materials, and at that point, a lot of what I was recycling were printouts of early drafts of the The Lost Steersman.

At some point it occurred to me: instead of completely pulping the paper I was using, what if I kept some bits of shredded draft un-pulped? And let random words show up in the newly-made paper? How cool would that be?

Pretty cool, as it turned out.

But in the end, making my own paper was too time-consuming, and after a while I set it aside, and never used the pages I made.

The other day, I found them again. I wanted to do something special to donate to the Con or Bust auction, so Aha! said I.

Here’s the result:

click to embiggen

Ribbon is real silk, just like they make in Alemeth!

I love the way this turned out.

The book is 4 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches tall.    The shredded bits toss up random words within the paper.

mysterious fragments of words

I love the paper – it’s interestingly rumpled.    It works pretty well (if bumpily) with a fountain pen, but not well with a felt-tip.   I think a dip pen would work.   Ballpoint is not good at all. But colored pencils are very good — the paper has some bite to it.  I have not tried watercolors, but the paper has been treated to be not overly-absorbent.

What would YOU put in it?

So, hey — this could be yours.   Head over to the Con or Bust auction site and bid!

Also:  I’m including two loose squares of the same paper, so that you could test your writing implement or artistic medium before committing to marking the actual book.

And:  Bonus copy of The Lost Steersman itself!

All this for — well, you decide.

You can’t buy it here, you have to go to the Con or Bust Auction.

gold-trimmed little snail embellishment

Hey, it’s time for the annual CON OR BUST fundraising auction.

I’ve participated in the past, and shall do so again this year… although I have not yet decided what to offer for auction.

I’m thinking, hand-bound blank book — I haven’t made one in quite a while.   But if I run out of time, I may have to default to the old reliable autographed copies of my novels…

Here’s the official announcement for the auction:

Originally posted by kate_nepveu at announcing 2012 Con or Bust auction

I am pleased to announce this year’s auction to support Con or Bust, which helps fans of color/non-white fans attend SFF conventions. Bidding starts Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 12:01 a.m. EST (GMT -5) and ends Sunday, February 25, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. EST. You may post auction offers and make donations now.

For more details, please see these updated posts explaining how to:

• make an auction offer;
• browse auctions;
• bid on an auction;
• pay for an auction or donate; and/or
• request assistance.

As a reminder, Con or Bust is now helping fans attend all cons of their own choosing, not just WisCon as in the past. (Requests for assistance to attend cons in April, May, and June 2012 will be taken from February 15 through 25; see the “request assistance” link for more details.) Because the demand for assistance is greater than before, please spread the word widely!

More information about Con or Bust.

I’ve been off the grid, still working overtime at the DayJob to catch up from my vacation.

Plus: spent Monday getting a routine diagnostic test, and a less-routine but still not alarming second diagnostic test. So, hey! Extra day of missed DayJob work to make up, isn’t that lovely.

And thanks to all this, momentum on The Seekrit Project has faltered. Dammit. I shall try to recover it in days to come and on the weekend.

On the upside, the auction for Con or Bust is closed, and my items gained a nice chunk of bucks for the cause, thanks to a wonderful fan who I won’t name here, in case he/she wants to remain in the background (but he/she could speak up in the comments, if he/she wants to…).

You can’t bid any more, but if you just feel like throwing money directly at them, you can do that, too.

Hey! I saw the ISS and shuttle Discovery pass by overhead the other night. So lovely. I always keep a lookout for viewing opportunities.

No, it didn't look like this, I was on the ground!

Ack. Must get back to work, else I’ll never catch up!