Kim Harrison's Blog, page 107

If you are in Michigan . . .

If you are in Michigan, or more specifically, Lansing; or if you are within driving distance, or just like a road trip, I am doing a precious few appearances to celebrate the release of THE HOLLOWS INSIDER this week and next.  This is very much a spur of the moment deal, so there will likely not be the number of people usually present at one of the signings related to the regular spring tour.  That means smaller numbers, and more of a chance to get your backlist signed.  Not to mention getting your hands on the first-edition, glow-in-the-dark Hollows Insider.  (Only the first editions will glow.  Pre-orders from Amazon and Borders should get the first editions, but after that first week or so, you never know.  It depends on sales. Signed books are going to be even more rare as I'm not getting out much.)  Guy and I are also debating taking some free Madison books to the two signings to give away that might otherwise be a Manic Monday.  Speak of which, I've got one going today at noon.  Info is down below.

But as for the signing, I will be kicking off the release of THE HOLLOWS INSIDER at Schulers Books and Music tomorrow night after normal work hours.  I've signed at Schulers before, and I love the store.  They have a nice place for me to hide before the event.  (ha!!)  And coffee/tea to enjoy.  I hope to see some of you there!

Schuler Books & Music  2820 Towne Center Blvd; Lansing MI

7:00 pm

Manic Monday!!

Because we clearly don't have enough to do this week, Guy and I are going to have a Manic Monday this afternoon for several sets of the first three Hollows books in German–plus the chance for a signed, glow-in-the-dark cover of the Hollows Insider.  If you speak it, or know someone who does, or simply want three signed books, Now is your chance.

 Guy will begin taking orders at noon today, EST.  (Don't email him now.  Wait for noon.)  One set per person, please.  The cost covers the shipping and handling.  USA shipments will take two weeks from when we ship, international will be a bit longer as there are forms to fill out and longer shipping times.

Shipping and Handling is $14.38 in the US, $33.58 to Canada, and $53.38 everywhere else.  We are going to try to ship to Germany this time, but please allow a generous time for the books to get to you as everything gets hung up in customs.  To make this as painless as possible for Guy, we are taking Pay Pal only.  Unfortunately we can't combine any other merchandise in with this, but you will get a collector card that is promoting both THE HOLLOWS INSIDER and A PERFECT BLOOD (It's got the cover on it.  Bea-u-tiful!)  Everything will come Priority Mail.

If you are interested, at noon, EST today, (no earlier) send an email to Guy at vampcharms@comporium.net with the words German editions 1-3 in the subject line.  If you are among the  fifteen, he will send you an invoice, so please include your shipping address in your initial email. If you are among the first 16-27, you have the option to pick up just DWW.  The cost will go down accordingly, and you will have 24 hours after hearing from Guy to accept or decline the smaller shipment.  If you do not include your shipping address in the initial email, he can not ship you your book(s), and your order will not be acted on.  PayPal doesn't always put the address in, and it's frustrating.  We don't do anything with your address but ship you your book(s).  We don't have the time to do anything wicked, and I hate it when people sell mine, so . . .

[image error]We don't have a lot of these, and because of the nature of them being translations, I have no idea how fast these are going to go.  As a bonus, the first 10 sets will go out with a signed HOLLOWS INSIDER cover as a thank you.  As usual, I'll update this post when they are gone to help avoid confusion.  If you miss out, I'll be having more shipping and handling give aways.  We also still have the Pale Demon Freebies available for the price of two stamps, which are also going out with the S&H books.

PS.  Weekend was beautiful in Michigan.  I got one more ride in on my bike, tidied the yard, and made a pie.  Yum!

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Weekend Projects

Lately, my weekend projects have been taking me all week to get done, but done they do get.  A few weeks ago, I talked about trying to felt some of my knitting.  Well, I finally got my first felting project done.  It took a while longer because I didn't exactly follow the instructions and knitted them two layers thick.  Guy has been using the pot holder, but the mitt is too small for him.  (Guess what?  Felting shrinks your work!  Kind of like editing . . .)  I knew this would happen, but I wanted it done and it is, what it is.  My real goal is a hat.  I've got one made, but it was with a different yarn and it didn't felt up as well.  (test piece) I can use it as decoration, but it's not really what I was looking for.  (shrug)  It's all therapy, anyway, something creative I can to with color and texture unlike creativity with words and images.

Yesterday was a good day at the keyboard.  I finally got that last chapter done, and wow, I sorta saw that coming, but not Trent's spelling room.  The depth one room can give a person is amazing.  I can't wait for you to see it.  I wanted this to be my last run through before I sent it in to my editor, but I want to go over it one more time–just to nail down a few things.  For you guys who are keeping track, this will be one rough draft and three revisions before my editor sees it.  (And you thought it all came out looking perfect the first time.  It's ugly, I tell you, ugly.)

[image error]Look for a manic Monday on Monday.  Guy is putting one together, and I'm thinking I might be able to slip a few glow in the dark covers in there.

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United Kingdom Reissue covers

The UK is going to be reissuing the earlier titles soon, and I am lucky enough to be able to give you a first look at a few of them.  Lookie, lookie!  Aren't they beautiful?  Love, love, love these.  I've been all morning trying to get these on my website's revolving banner, but it's as if there is a ghost in the machine.  The HTML is not how I left it, and I only got one out of three working.  Weird stuff going on . . .

We've also got the first Halloween photos coming in.  yay!  Contest  Something for every category, already!

 

 

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Kim Harrison's Annual Halloween Costume Contest, 2011

Yep, it's that time of year again, and I am gearing up for another costume contest.  I've been doing this since 2007, and every year it gets better.  Some of you have participated in past years, but do go to the website and read the rules and guidelines.  I've got a new email to send your submissions to, and I'd hate for your entries to be lost.

As in past years, I'm putting up advanced reader copies (ARC) of A PERFECT BLOOD for the winners of each category. The contest is open to readers worldwide.  I'm not sure what I'm going to give to the grand prize winner, but I'll come up with something. . . .  They will also get the ARC.

Don't submit pictures unless all involved agree, and in the case of minors, parent's permission is required. Sending me a photo means you want it on the internet. I pick the category winners by what I feel like and how full the moon is, but the grand prize is chosen randomly from category winners. Chances of winning depend upon number of entries, and there is no cash value for the prizes. Please drop over to the website for the full rules and regs and a description of the categories as well as the email to send your entries to.  Kim Harrison's Annual Halloween Costume Contest.

I wish I had a photo to decorate this post with, but with the trip to NY for comic con, I have yet to decorate.  (sigh)  This weekend, I think.  (grin)

Here are links to past winners.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  You guys will always blow me away with how great you are.  :-)

2007

2008

2009

2010

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Interviews and videos

This morning I'm very excited to get to my desk.  Yesterday I finally finished the latest run through of the Hollows book after A PERFECT BLOOD, and today I will write the new last chapter.  I'm thinking I can use the original last chapter in a dream at some point.  I don't use lost chapters very often, and I don't do dream sequences but rarely, but in this case, I think it will work perfectly in the last book.  The original ending was so very happy, and though I have a happy new ending in mind that a lot of people are going to enjoy, (la, la la-a-a, la, la-a-a-a, la.) it doesn't have the idyllic feel that the first did.  It was almost a dream to begin with.

This new last chapter has been on my thoughts for at least three weeks, and I've gone through three incarnations of it in my mind as I weigh what I need to have in it, who needs to be there, and what has to be accomplished.  Once I have that, I have to figure out where to set it, and that seems to be the problem.  I don't like going somewhere new for the last chapter, but I've done it before, so it's not out of my writing character.  Today is going to be exasperating, hair pulling, and absolutely wonderful.

The interviews and videos made at Comic Con are starting to pop up!  First is an interview I did with Thea at Book Smugglers.  Book Smugglers is a well-known blog focusing on genera fiction, and it was an honor that I was asked to talk to them.  NEW YORK COMIC CON 2011: A CHAT WITH KIM HARRISON

I also have a three-part, publisher-sanctioned, commercialized video of the last panel, WE'RE NO ANGELS.  It is kind of clunky at the start, and the focus isn't that great, (at least on my machine)  There's also a book in front of my face the entire time, which might be why I didn't have a clue they were making this.  But it makes for a good listen, at the very least.  WE'RE NO ANGELS.

 

 

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Slow start, fast finish?

I'm getting a very slow start this morning as I baby myself back into the swing of things.  New York is fabulous, but the energy there drains me and I usually come back slow and sluggy until I can recharge.   I do have a couple of cool things for you, the first being that the picture pages for Comic Con are up.  I had a great time getting out and to NY.  I don't get to the East Coast very much, so it was a treat.  Two panels, two official signings at the Harper and Del Rey booth, and lots of interviews that will be popping up as they hit the internet: it made for a very busy weekend.  Comic Con NY pictures.  There are no readers like NY readers.  You guys are fabulous!  Thank you for coming out to see me.  :-)

Also, new link to I09 article on Friday's panel.  check it out!  

If you have been haunting my FB page, you know that I have promised you the tour cities for A PERFECT BLOOD.   I'm so excited!  There are a lot of new venus this time.  Just so you know, I don't have a whole lot of say in the matter, but my promotion person tells me that she lurks on my FB and watches where the requests for signing come in, so asking me to come to your state (on FB) is not an exercise in futility.  -laugh-  Even my PR person listens to you!

Kim's tentative tour schedule for A PERFECT BLOOD: 10-City Author Tour:

Atlanta

Boston

Boulder/ Denver

Detroit

Ft. Lauderdale/Miami

Los Angeles,

San Diego

San Francisco

Seattle

Washington, DC

If your city is not on the list, do keep in mind that this is the "first draft" and it can, and likely will, change.  I am thrilled that things are moving forward already, and I'm getting excited about freebies and tour -t's.  Look for the T's come late November.  Guy and I are kicking around ideas, and I'm thinking gray and silver . . .

Today, though, I'm digging back into the final few chapters of the next Hollows book in the schedule after A PERFECT BLOOD.  It's looking good.  Nothing like a week of forced separation to get the ideas flowing!

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Signing at NYU bookstore

Here is my schedule for today for the NY comic con.  Hope to see some of you there!  I hear there are still tickets available to get into Comic Con today, but the weekend is already sold out.  Wow!

4 pm: FREE SIGNING at HarperCollins Booth #944  Kim Harrison, HOLLOWS INSIDER Comic Con commemorative poster signing (free)

6 pm: SIGNING  Kim Harrison signing graphic novel at Del Rey booth #1040

8:45 pm: LITERARY PANEL   DEMONIC HOTSPOTS, INFERNAL PIT STOPS AND THE BADLANDS: THE GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIP TO HELL

Room #:1A15  Moderator: Diana Gill, Harper Voyager  Authors: Patricia Briggs, Anton Strout, Rachel Caine, Christina Henry, Kim Harrison, Edward Lazellari, Duane Swierczynski

And a link to the website to see some of the photos taken last night at the NYU bookstore.  :-)  I have to say that it was facinating to see that the audiance was primarly people on my FB, with more than a few familiar faces. I couldn't give them any Hollows Insiders, but we took names and addresses, and they will get one of the glow-in-the-dark first editions signed to them when they hit the shelves on the 25th.

Travel day/signing at NYU bookstore

It's a travel day, so no long post from me this morning.  I hope to see some of you tonight at NYU. I have a feeling it's going to be a smaller event due to the circumstances but you never know.  :-)

6:30 PM Kim Harrison at NYU Bookstore for signing and Q&A

726 Broadway (at Astor Place)

And then it's Comic Con!!

Kim Harrison Signing tomorrow in NY

I'll be spending most of today packing up for Comic Con NY, getting ramped up for my first ever, and likely only, east coast signing this tour season in New York City!   I also wanted to give you the heads up that I will be doing two signings in Lansing and Ann Arbor later this month for the release of THE HOLLOWS INSIDER.  Below is my official schedule, but check the website or the CC schedule for last minute changes.

October 13-16 New York Comic Con, NY

Thursday:

6:30 PM Kim Harrison at NYU Bookstore for signing and Q&A

726 Broadway (at Astor Place)

Friday:

4:00 PM Kim Harrison, HOLLOWS INSIDER Comic Con Commemorative Poster Signing at the Harper Booth.#944. (free)

6:00 – 7:00 PM, Kim Harrison, BLOOD WORK signing at Random House booth, #1040.

8:45-9:45 P.M.Demonic Hotspots, Infernal Pit Stops, and the Badlands: The Great American Road Trip To Hell panel. Room 1A15 :Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Anton Strout and Edward Lazellari, Rachel Caine , Christina Henry, Duane Swierczynski.

Saturday:

12:00 noon, Kim Harrison, HOLLOWS INSIDER (ticketed signing; early/pre-onsale release of new book; Q=100) at the Harper booth, #944. (Get tickets at the booth?)

Sunday:

WE'RE NO ANGELS: The Leading Ladies of SF/F

Sunday, October 16 : 2:30pm-3:30pm : Room 1A23 : Patricia Briggs; Alison Goodman, Kim Harrison; Jeaniene Frost; Marjorie M. Liu, Sabrina Benulis and Kristen Painter.

and for the HOLLOWS INSIDER . . .

October 25, Lansing MI (release day)

Schuler Books & Music

2820 Towne Center Blvd

Lansing MI

7:00 pm

November 1 , MI

Nicolas

2513 Jackson Av,

Ann Arbor, MI

7:00 pm

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And it was all yellow . . .

Everything outside my window is yellow this morning, the trees, the ground, the air.  Everything.  I think it's cool that in the trees everything is yellow because the green is just not there anymore and the yellow that has been there all the time come through, and on the ground the green is simply hidden by that same yellow, (what was once hidden is now hiding what once hid it) and the air is yellow because of all the orange light bouncing about.  There are only one or two days like this out of the entire year, and only a few hours where the light bounces like this.  You've got to be in the right spot at the right time, and hope there's no wind.  I'm glad I got to see it.  Yellow air tastes different.

I found something fun for you over the weekend.  I know I keep talking about it, but the first ten pages of the Hollows Insider are up for your viewing pleasure.  These first ten pages give you a good idea of how the book is set up, each chapter beginning and ending with one or two interoffice memos from Kalamack Industries, followed by Devin's journal entry, and then the supporting documents that he has found or is using to further his claims that Rachel is a menace and should be put away before she destroys Cincinnati.  It's only ten pages, so you don't get to see anything but the banshee in this excerpt, but I've got them all listed right down to the trolls.  Enjoy!