Want to do Christmas shopping but don’t want to face Black Friday crowds? You’ve come to the right place. Order some good books (mine) or stories (mine too!).

The publisher of my short story collection is having a sale. Check it out. Of course, it is also available as an ebook on Amazon worldwide.

I have a humorous fantasy short story, “The Year That Had a Santa Claus,” up on Amazon. Just 99 cents! Cheaper than most cards! Send some to friends! If you don’t have a kindle, contact me and I can send you a pdf and arrange payment through PayPal.

This has been a good year for me. There were times when I didn’t think so, but as it nears the end, I realize that it really was a pretty great year. I had a chapbook published as well as my first short story collection. I had great students in my classes. I get the opportunity to teach in London again this winter.

I’m also thankful for all my friends and family, here and abroad. I have two new “host grandkids” this year. I will get to go visit them soon. I got to go on a trip to Comic Con with a good friend, the first trip we’ve taken in years. I lost one of my cats but I now have an adorable kitten.

I’d also like to thank all of the people who have stopped by this blog from all over the world. A special thanks to all my viewers in Brazil!

Oh, yeah, I’m thankful that in two weeks, all grades will be in and I get to start my sabbatical. For those celebrating, have a great holiday. For those not, just have a great day and great weekend!

Ed didn’t hesitate when the salesmen told him they had a new growth formula for the turkeys. In just a few weeks, he watched his birds grow to enormous proportions. Big breasts, thick drumsticks. This was going to be a good Thanksgiving, he had thought.

They didn’t tell him about the side effects. The increased intelligence. The aggressive behavior.

Now, the turkeys held him down and had shredded his clothes with their feet, leaving him naked and well, plucked in the yard. He looked at the big tom and the huge pile of bread and vegetables thee turkeys had collected.

This was not going to be a good Thanksgiving.

This is Spidy. I may change his name to Hermes though. I adopted him on Sunday.

So, throughout November, in keeping with the American holiday of Thanksgiving at the end of the month, I am going to sporadically post things that I am thankful for, in terms of pop culture.

The first one: Thankful that the Nicholas Cage Superman was never made.

If you’ve never heard about this, you can find out about it here.

Having seen both Ghost Rider films, (Yeah, I know. Don’t judge.) I can say that I am thankful that Cage never got his hands on Superman. Despite the actor’s love of the character, I think it would have ruined it for me forever. I’m not a big Superman anyway, but please. Why did anyone ever think this was going to be a good idea? I certainly have my issues with Man of Steel, but it was at least watchable and whatever you think of Henry Cavill’s acting skills, he at least looks the part.

Anyway, stay tuned for more “Nerd Thankfulness” posts this month.

It was a great weekend at World Fantasy. I got to hear some great writers read like Andy Duncan, Greg Bechtel, and Kathleen Ann Goonan. I got to catch up with some friends like David Coe. I had some great dinners and learned a lot about things I never even know I wanted to learn about. That’s the fun thing about a conference. If you’re not careful, you may learn something.

We did get rerouted through Atlanta on our way home, but at least we got home. And now I have to stop writing because Hector, my cat, is still mad at me and wants me to hold him.

I’ve had a good time so far at World Fantasy. Today started off with some unusual conversation in the hotel lobby. The topics ranged from field dressing a squirrel, a penis museum, and a freelance frog fluffer.  I went to hear Patricia McKillip and it was an excellent reading. I gave a reading that went very well. I had a nice dinner with author David Coe and Stephen Leigh and some others. Steve and I went to the mass autograph signing and I sold a few books. All in all, a good day.

I’m now on Twitter as well @pandrewmiller1

I will be heading off to the World Fantasy Convention tomorrow. On Friday, I will be giving a reading between 2:30 and 3:00 in the Arlington Room. I will also participate in the author signing on Friday night. Don’t have a book? Don’t worry, I do. 🙂 I’ll be happy to sell you one! 🙂