Lisa Mantchev's Blog, page 11

SteamCon Itinerary

I will be in Bellevue, October 14-16th, with all my shiny gear, my steampunk nanny, and the Doom!

Schedule:

Putting Steam in Steampunk: Making fiction come alive in the imagination relies on the ability to tap into the sensory input of or audience and readers. Learn tested techniques for bringing your work to the next level.
Lisa Mantchev, Ren Cummins
Regency A
Friday, 3:00 PM-4:00 PM

Non-Human Characters: Your character is a human-hating robot; how do you write about it's feelings without assigning gender or other human characteristics?
Lisa Mantchev, Andrew Mayer, Burt Webb
Regency B
Friday, 5:00 PM-6:00 PM

Backstage at the Théâtre Illuminata
Reading from So Silver Bright
Auditorium
Saturday, 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Autograph Session
Autograph Table (Artist Alley)
Saturday, 12:00 PM-1:00 PM

Hero Building: What makes a hero? Is it the villain or rising to the challenges put before him?
Lisa Mantchev, Andrew Mayer, Ren Cummins
Regency C
Sunday, 10:00 AM-11:00 AM

Party Favors

So Silver Bright is making its way into the world, and I want to say thank you to all of the theater's Patrons and supporters. Below are two (of four) character sketches of Bertie, drawn by the awe-inspiring Jason Chan and crafted into wallpapers by the lovely alaskanmermaid .


First, Steampunk Bertie:


And second, Pirate Bertie:



Just a small gift, from author to reader to say THANK YOU.

And stay tuned... more presents forthcoming in the form of hardcovers, rose rings, and more artwork!

Here There Be Spoilers

I wanted to do an open mic, ask-the-author-anything, fire the book cannons at will thread for SO SILVER BRIGHT. So, if you have questions, nitpicks, rants, raves, want to share your favorite lines from any of the books or poke me with a sharp stick, the comments section is now open for such business.

THERE WILL (PROBABLY) BE SPOILERS. You Have Been Warned!

And this book makes three

So Silver Bright is sitting next to me, wearing a birthday crown and having a piece of cake (chocolate ganache... some sort of special bookday powers are keeping the fairies out of the frosting.)

The lovely seanan_mcguire recently posted an excellent set of Do's and Don'ts for her release of One Salt Sea.  If you are at all inclined, love the theater series and want to see it do well, please mosey over and read. Might I particularly recommend the "DO buy the book as soon as you can" as an appetizer. "DO ask your local bookstore if they have it on order" is also excellent today, and "DO post reviews on your blog or on Amazon.com." I will also add B&N.com and Chapters Indigo to that list,.

AND NOW, THE BLING.

I have hardcover copies of So Silver Bright to give away, as well as five "rose rings" (as featured on Jason Chan's excellent cover art.)


There will be a bazillion and one ways to enter... ok, perhaps not quite that many, but all of them require making some noise. So...

1) Use your favorite social media outlet to talk about the book release, linking to your online bookstore venue of choice (blog/Facebook/Tweet/Tumblr, or all of the above, one entry for each.) PLEASE tag me @lisamantchev on Facebook posts and use the #sosilverbright hashtag on Twitter!

2) Post a review to your blog, Amazon, or B&N.com. (Two entries for each review.)

3) Take a picture of yourself with your copy of the book., or a picture of the book "in the wild." These should be posted in your social media outlet of choice (one entry for each post, so if you post the picture on your blog, your FB, and link to it on Twitter, you get three entries.) You can also post them in this thread or the release day page on Facebook!

4) Celebrate the day in the most theater-appropriate manner you can imagine. This might include: costuming, desserts, glitter, handsome boys, coloring your hair, or calling in a scene change. The fairies only ask that you remember how they feel about musical numbers... But post pictures to your social media outlet of choice (one entry for each post.) You can also post them in this thread or the release day page on Facebook!

Once you have performed these random acts of cupcakery and silliness, you can email your point total ( lisa at lisamantchev dot com ) with the subject line SO SILVER BRIGHT RELEASE DAY CONTEST. PLEASE include your mailing information and links where applicable. Open until Friday, September 16th at midnight PST. Winners will be notified as soon as humanly possible. This is an international contest, open worldwide.

I will be also giving spot prizes as possible to entries of super-creativity and/or anything that makes me laugh out loud (or cry.)

Thank you for taking this journey with Bertie, the fairies, and me. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Coming soon to a bookstore near you

Or perhaps it's already there!

Author copies are in the house:



Looks like a trilogy to me!



Tune in tomorrow for a chance to win a ring donated by the lovely Mrs. Edith of the theater's Wardrobe Department to celebrate the launch!



Happy author has tied tinsel (Hair Flair) upon her person:



Don't forget, I have local events this time around!

1) The Sequim library on Tuesday, September 13th at 6 pm (there will be brownies, candy, and balloons, plus costume bits and books for sale!)
2) Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo on Saturday the 17th at 6:30 pm
3) University Bookstore in Seattle on Friday the 23rd at 7 pm
4) Third Place Books in Seattle on Sunday the 25th at 3:30 pm

Signed books can be ordered and shipped! :)

A hazard to myself and others

There's a lot to like about home ownership... the fact that I can paint the dining room cranberry and the kitchen French vanilla. That no landlord can give us 24-hour notice for anything, and the fact that we don't have to answer to anyone when one of the dogs eats a baseboard.

The downside is... hey. We are the landlords. Something needs fixing, and we're gonna have to do it. Upkeep? Our responsibility. That's how we've spent the better part of three weeks prepping the fencing and decking for stain.

And what else is a bored author to do when her husband covers the siding with plastic, I ask you? Amuse herself, that's what.

Test

Dang. It's been so long since I posted an entry, I've forgotten the way of it.

Also, my Rich Text buttons seem to have disappeared. I will add this to the vexations of the day, which include a child who wants to plan her birthday party THIS SECOND RIGHT NOW HOW ABOUT NOW AND WHAT ABOUT NOW? and the shirt I bought, spilled coffee on, pretreated, then discovered was not color-fast, at least when pretreated. Shirt: ruined. Also ruined: TinyDoom's adjacent shirt.

Frack.

*makes a "Not Suitable For Human Interaction" label and sticks it to my forehead*

Memealicious!

Via stillsostrange  :

If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach. -- Alfred Hitchcock, 1899 - 1980

If I wrote Cinderella, what would you immediately be looking for?

Shoes, Ships, Sealing Wax

At last, some news! I have here the first confirmed events for SO SILVER BRIGHT:

Liberty Bay Bookstore
Poulsbo, WA
September 17th at 6:30 pm

University Bookstore
Seattle, WA
September 23rd at 7 pm

As always, there will be fairy dust and cupcake magic involved. There is a chance we will schedule a second Seattle event, so stay posted for that.

If you live somewhere other than the enchanting Emerald City, your best bet to have me come to your town and sign books is to have your favorite bookstore or library contact the fabulous folks at Feiwel & Friends to set something up.

In other book launch madness, I've been quietly plotting over here (hence the silence on my part) and there will be exciting arty things to share in the coming weeks, including brand-new artwork by Jason Chan. I will also be giving away signed copies of EYES LIKE STARS and PERCHANCE TO DREAM, to catch readers up before the curtain goes up on the third act.

Attention: Seeking Professional Pie-Flingers!

The Management is now accepting applications for the position of Pie-Flinger. Applicant must remit photographic or videographic resume, demonstrating ability and dexterity with either pie or tart.

Compensation: one ARC of SO SILVER BRIGHT. (Already won an ARC but still want to apply? Management will compensate you with assorted theater goodies.)

What SORT of pie: Custard pie, cream, or fruit. Will also accept an aluminum pie pan filled with whipped cream, in a pinch.

Target: A willing target, please. :)

Method: Whichever you prefer. Allow me to recommend this article on How To Clown About With Custard Pies

Resume Format: Take a picture or video of your dessert carnage, considerable extra consideration given to well-shot videos, and upload said pics or video to your blog or Facebook account with a link to this entry. ARCs will be awarded to pie-flingers and those who promote this open job position on blogs and FB and Twitter.

Send resume/links to the destruction to my email account (lisa at lisamantchev dot com) with the subject header:  APPLICATION: PROFESSIONAL PIE-FLINGER by midnight PST on Wednesday, June 22nd. Winners will be chosen shortly thereafter.

Contest open internationally, but please note international entries in your email submissions.