Author Archives: Kate

Kage Baker, believing as she firmly did that any good thing was worth over-doing, actually observed several New Years during a single calendar span. There was the birthday year, of course. That diminished a little in importance with every annular … Continue reading →

Kage Baker. (That’s not a spanner; that’s my classic opening line). Frost, wind storms, reactions to flu shots. Possible flu anyway. Power fluctuations due to the lines freezing and/or being blown down. Political dingbats yelling loudly in every medium, about … Continue reading →

Kage Baker intensely disliked cold weather – despite which, she spent half her life in Central and Northern California, where frost is common and snow is not unknown. The light, she said, was better – and one can always add … Continue reading →

Kage Baker always said that one of the worst doldrum periods in the year was the first fortnight of January. She herself tried to hibernate through it. However, deadlines being what they were and increasing every year, she tended to … Continue reading →

Kage Baker and I always observed the full 12 days of Christmas. Partly because it was an old custom, and Kage liked those; partly also to stretch out the season of Yule. After the buildup to Christmas Day, she found … Continue reading →

Kage Baker always maintained that one of the reasons she wrote books was an overwhelming case of  l’esprit de l’escalier – that formulation of the scathing retort only after you have left the party or argument or debate. The perfect … Continue reading →

Kage Baker felt that the first weeks or so of every new January were not just for new starts – they were for planning. Contemplation. A quiet mustering of forces, preparatory to taking on the world yet again. For one … Continue reading →

Kage Baker usually spent New Year’s Eve sick. This was because she tended to catch colds during Dickens Fair, which matured into stately bronchitis by the time the New Year rolled around. Luckily, we seldom went anywhere at New Year’s … Continue reading →

Kage Baker liked having a quiet Christmas Day. Maybe because we almost never did. We were the travelling Aunties, appearing at odd times from strange places, bearing unusual gifts and tales of wonder. I blew back into Los Angeles yestreday on … Continue reading →

Kage Baker said repeatedly that the world actually ends all the time. It’s just that no one really notices. So it spins on, and whatever is happening is what always happened, and no one is the wiser. If the world … Continue reading →