The author, as photographed by Cedar Sanderson while we were discussing curious tomes of half-forgotten lore in a friend’s secret library.
Alma T. C. Boykin was born in the Midwest, moved to the Great Plains, and after a brief period living in places where trees almost outnumber people, returned to the plains. She escaped college with a BA, worked for a living, then returned for an advanced degree some years later. When not writing or rotating the cat, she teaches and does a few other odds and ends. Hobbies include cooking, reading, hiking, geology, astronomy, and music.
Why “Cat Rotator’s Quarterly?” Rotating one’s cat is a writer euphemism for pure procrastination.
To contact the author: AlmaTCBoykin AT aol DOT com. Please replace the all-caps words with the appropriate symbols.
Cat Rotator's Quarterly 
Hello from the Book Loving Dragon!!!
I showed your article about the Celts to some re-enactor associates and one of them about blew a cork. [eye-roll] He was going on about the “Celts” being Indo-European, or something. I was going to suggest that he talk to you, but the comments section on that page or closed. Is there an e-mail addy that you use for such?
BTW, I found the post interesting. But I am not so convinced that I know the “truth” that I can’t consider other possibilities.
By 750 BCE, the majority of peoples between the Alps and the Baltic, and in much of Iberia and Nothern Italy, were of Indo-European descent. The Indo-Europeans arrived in eastern Europe around 6000 BCE, and moving farther west across most of Europe by 2500 BCE, so there’s not really a conflict. My e-mail is AlmaTCBoykin AT aol DOT com.
You have comments turned off on most of your posts? Or is something wrong with my browser, which is frequently the case?
Anyway, I was looking at catching up on my reviews. I know I reviewed Fossils and I’m fairly certain I reviewed Uplands but neither appear in my list. Is there anyway to tell whether Amazon deleted them after deciding we were friends? That would be most unfortunate.
The comments are supposed to be off after 14 days, because that’s where the spambots tend to show up. (Usually. Some days I’ll get a wave for reasons known only to Ghu.) But sometimes I have to remind WP to allow comments in general.
No, I have no way of knowing if the ‘Zon has deleted something unless I request it be deleted (which has yet to happen). Your being a friend shouldn’t have anything to do with it, because I’ve reviewed other Huns’ books without getting dinged.
I have too. Yours seem to be the only ones.
Apparently, zon made some kind of bot to make those decisions, from what I have read.
THey said zon will tell the poster if asked. I’ll try to figure that out.
I’ll try posting another as well.
Moo. Finally found this place. Yes, I can be a bit, er, languid.
You have an … interesting… comment about trees; do you have something against them, or do you just find them odd?
Personally, I prefer living among trees, especially since I’m in a place too wet for forest fires.
And I’m glad to hear the why of your nickname with the cat.
No, so long as I can see hazards coming. I once had a tornado sneak up on me when I lived in the Southeastern US because I couldn’t see the storm for the trees. I get almost claustrophobic if I can’t see the horizon at least once every few hours. Scattered trees are great. Solid canopies that hide the weather make me uncomfortable.
I have no idea if/when you’ll ever see this, but this appears to be the only way to get in touch with you. I’m interested in Merchant and Magic, but at my age (75) I simply don’t buy books without knowing how long they are. Respectfully, I think writers (and publishing companies) do a great disservice to readers when they don’t tell us how many pages a book is, or how many words. If someone charges $4.99 for a 200 page book, that’s the mathematical equivalent of buying a 320 page mass market paperback for the usual $7.99. If the 200 page book costs $6.99, that’s the equivalent of paying roughly $10.51 for a 300-page paperback. So, please tell, me: how many pages (a paperback page is usually 250-300 words), or words in Merchant and Magic? Thanks
Merchant and Magic is 74,700 words, including the brief “For Further Reading” page at the end of the book, so 250 paperback pages at 300 words/page.
Amazon used to include a page equivalence as well as the file size.
Thanks so much for the fast reply. As soon as I finish this note, I’ll go buy…and look forward to reading it. Personally, I don’t trust the accuracy of AMZ’s algorithms in deciding page size. And file size is absolutely meaningless in relation to any understanding of page length or words. Respectfully, I think it would be a good idea to take a moment to modify the blurb, and just put at the end something to the effect of: Approx. 250 pages. 74,700 words. That way everything a reader needs to make an informed decision (cover, blurb, price) are all at the top of the screen and no need to go scrolling down to hunt for more information. Just my USD .02. Again, thanks.
TxRed, you were kind enough to tell us the name of the kitty you use for your avatar pic. I’ve forgotten it. Would you please repeat it here for all your fans?
Dragon is the kitten’s name. Or was, since by now he’s a cat. 🙂
Hi, is the contact form working ?
If you are trying to contact me personally, please use the e-mail address on this page.