It’s probably crass to talk about money and how one spends it, but after quite a long wait and quite a few emails and instant messages back and forth, I got the second installment of my novel advance for A Gathering of Doorways.

Here’s a quick list of how I attempted to stimulate the economy, single-handedly, with my novel-advance moolah:

• A spiffy new camera, a Sony Cyber-shot W290  (see picture!)
• A funky new lamp for my desk to replace the ancient, dusty version I was using
• A bunch of meals and one ghost tour of the dungeon in Charleston, SC
• 25 discounted copies of The Wannoshay Cycle (note — 4 of my giveaway copies are accounted for already, so act fast!)
• Books for Mitch and Drew (Backyardigans for Drew, a pop-up cat book for Mitch)
• UPDATE: Also got a copy of David Anthony Durham’s Acacia, at last, after reading so many good things about it. It’s next on my list, after I finish the stories in Firebirds. Yay!

I was hoping to find a good office chair for at home, but those suckers aren’t cheap. I’m still leaning toward the Let’s B chair by Steelcase, but I’d like to try one out before buying it. And we also want to get a screen door for our back door. Maybe I’ll get them when my final installment of my advance arrives…