Right at this very moment, several dudes are digging a trench in my backyard to attach water to the bathroom of my studio-to-be. (I guess it’s still a theoretical bathroom, but the evidence is strong in favor of its future beingness.) The thing that is important here is that when they began digging a couple of hours ago the contractor knocked excitedly on the door and said, “Come quick! I found something!”

Naturally I thought: ancient pottery shards? DINOSAUR BONES? I have no idea how common it is to find Cretaceous remains under your decorative gravel, but I listen to podcasts* which suggest it does happen sometimes.

As it turns out, what we actually have is a slab of concrete running below the back gate. (Whomp-whomp, sad trombone.) In practical terms, this is probably more useful, because it’ll allow Dave to move his scooter into the relative safety of our yard more easily. BUT, I’m just SAYING, I didn’t WAKE UP disappointed that I had no dinosaur bones. Life is a state of evolution.

I also didn’t wake up knowing that The Daughters was shortlisted for the 2016 Crawford Award, “presented annually by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts for a first book of fantasy fiction.” But it was! (I didn’t win, but I still think this is very cool.) Genre is a complicated issue, and though my book is more usually considered “literary” than fantasy, I love having the mythological elements considered seriously, because they’re serious to me, and I love seeing my book in such wonderful company. So, thanks guys!

*Planet Money, I think?