Kim Harrison's Blog, page 122

Snow?

Guy tells me we're going back to winter for a couple of weeks.  I just looked at the 10-day forecast, and I'm seeing cold, not snow, which is okay.  Hey!  It's Michigan!  That's how we do things up here.  (laugh)  I might go out and put a few leaves on the tender sprouts I uncovered this last weekend.  They're all hardy plants, but why stress them if all I have to do is invest a few minutes of my time?  Besides, it will get me out of my office for a moment, and sometimes, a moment is all you need to catch your second wind, find that new idea, see that unexpected but logical jump of thought.  My mind has been jumping lately, and it's been an interesting week as I touch on about three different stories in my head, balancing, evaluating, tidying up–each one separate but impacting the other by triggering new thoughts, new directions.  It's been relaxing, almost, finding new space.

Yesterday, though, was a PR day, and I cleared my inbox down to about five things that I simply can't move forward on until a later date.  Today is a work day, and I'm all jazzed up about it.  I've not had a good, "get lost in the work" day for almost a month, and I'm hungry for it.  Ahhhhh.

The birds are starting to pair up and set up territories, which is kind of fun since I'm now starting to see some regulars at the bird bath and feeders right outside my window.  There's one robin in particular who is a very aggressive bather.  Nice to have them back.  I've missed them.

Daytona Beach News

I have some of the last PR pieces trickling in for you today if you are interested.  I had a lovely interview with Sherry while on the road.  She actually remembers me visiting the area in 2006 for a romance conference, and it made for  a nice chat.  I've no plans to go back anytime soon, but you know how I love my warm, sunny beaches! Interview.

I had a great weekend of relaxation.  Spent a lot of time with my folks, and even got into the yard to clean the leaves out of the front corner garden.  Clean-up was a lot easier this year.  It took me only a few hours rather than the ten I put in last year, and it's actually ready to plant when the time is right.  (Too cold for about another month.)  Bulbs are coming up everywhere, even my basement.  (sigh)  While bringing out the yard furniture, I found a bucket of tulips that I missed putting in the ground last fall.  Luckily, the ground was soft enough to work, though a bit wet, and I have them in the ground.  We'll see what happens, but bulbs are tough, so I'm sure I'll get at least some greenery.  (laugh)

Hollows Cliff Notes

Okay, I've been trying all morning to get this video punched into the drama box, but it's not in a format that wordpress understands, so there is no way it's going in there, not even in HTML code.

However, if you are trying to get someone hooked on the Hollows and are having a hard time describing it, (I know I do) my publisher and I have put together a video synopsis of Rachel's past couple of years.  I've got it at the front page of the website. www.kimharrison.net Enjoy!

(I'm still not giving up, so I might get the video here eventually.)

I've got a picture of spring for you instead.  The first is the crocus that coming up under the heated pan of my bird bath.  The second is what it's supposed to look like this time of year without the aid of artificially warm dirt.  If you look at the first photo, you can see just to the left of the flower that someone has shreaded the hat I knitted for my gargoyle (decorated for Christmas) and used it as insulation.  I wondered where it had gotten to.  How cool is that?

Boards on my ceiling . . .

I think it's a bit of overkill on Guy's part, but there are boards on my ceiling.  Seems that when we fixed the foundation by raising one side a good four inches, and a center wall six, (and put a supporting wall back in where someone had taken it out) we cracked the caulk around the upstairs tub and it's been slowly gathering water above our downstairs ceiling.  I knew there was an issue, but I'm not convinced that it's not a cracked pipe.  In any case, we have boards on the ceiling until we go somewhere for spring break and the guys can get in and fix it.  Ahhh the joys of restoring a 120 year old house.  This is irksome, but not tremendously difficult compared to what we've done already.  Sort of like a boob lift.  -ha!-

I spent what time I had yesterday getting all my names straight for the Hollows Insider, which is available for pre-order, by the way!  No cover yet, but it's there.  I am so jazzed about this that I can't stand it.  A few years ago, my editor came to me and asked for a world book, citing a few in the industry so I could get a feel for what they wanted.  Dates, figures, character descriptions, maps, you get the idea.

Well, I tried.  I really did.  I blame it on the MPL.  I wanted a real certificate, so I spent an entire day trying to figure out how to make one, and I did.  Once I had that, I wanted Rachel's driver's license, a menu from Juniors, and a walking tour of downtown Cincinnati.  It just got worse.  I added pictures, (Thank you, Mark!) and spell books, and journal entries, and performance reviews, and police reports, and newspapers.  It evolved into an entire story line that explained the Hollows while giving that same dry information most world books contain.  I had fun–too much fun, as I cramped my writing schedule and ate up my vacation.

Heart in my throat, I bundled it all together and sent it to New York, knowing it was not what they were expecting, but hoping they could see what I saw.  This could be beautiful, colorful, and utterly unique.  And I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Wrote another Hollows book, and waited until I got the news that they could work with what I gave them and I wouldn't have to rewrite the whole thing to make it easy to produce instead of beautiful to hold.  Now I can't wait for you to see it.  There's just a few pieces missing, and I'll be asking you for that over the course of the next few months with several contests where you can submit pictures for the newspaper pieces.  I'll give you the caption, and you get creative.

But today?  Today I'll spend today going over chapter one a last time for content before hitting chapter two for accuracy.  Then it's wash, rinse, repeat until I'm done.  And then . . .  And THEN . . . .  I AM WRITING SOMETHING NEW!  I've got all summer to play with an upcoming anthology, and I've got tons of ideas that only need a little space to play in.  Yay!

HOLLOWS INSIDER

 

Guesting at Barnes and Noble today

I'm guest blogging over at Barnes and Noble today, taking your questions on the spot and chatting with the regular and newbies that drop in, so come on over and see what's shakin' bacon.  (grin)  Barnes and Noble Paranormal and Urban Fantasy chat.  (The first page is happy comments.  The questions/answers start at page 2.)

I've got two good nights sleep under my pillow now, and I can definitely say that spring is in the air, as clichéd as that is.  It's not the dampness, and it's not the birds singing.  It's not the supple bend to the twigs as I test them for life.  It's literally in the air.  I'm seeing that transparent glow in the early morning that means the sun is hitting at just the right angle.  It's gone now but it will be back tomorrow, rain or shine. Ahhhhhhh.

I'm looking forward to spending some time at the keyboard today, finishing the polish on the Hollows Insider.  Yesterday was my tax-prep, and I got it all done in one go, which surprised me.  The verdict?  I spent too much on signing clothes and coffee at my favorite hangout with a writer friend/confidant.  My  office supplies column was a bit high, too, since I've now got a new office and had to furnish it.  I don't even want to know what we spent on promotion.  (Guy has that dept, but I did help design/price out the things, and rudimentary addition is not beyond me.  -laugh-)  Which reminds me.  If I didn't come near your city this year, you can still get a freebie by sending me a business-size envelope SASE with two stamps on it to:

PO Box 66

Chelsea MI, 48118

We gave away a ton, but we planned for a few extra so we'd have something to give away until the next release.

I've got a few more interviews and such that will be popping up over the next couple of days, and I'll let you know when they go live.   See you at B&N!

Travel Day!

The tour is officially done as of 4:30 am this morning, as I crawl out of my last hotel and find my way to the airport.   It's dark out as I sit in the airport and write this, and the sun will be setting by the time I touch down in Michigan, going from 84 degrees farenheight in AZ to 40 in Michigan.  I'm sort of looking forward to another sunrise at 3,ooo feet.  Hope I get on the correct side of the plane.

I've heard that it's still snowing in MI, and I was hoping that it would be done with the white stuff by the time I got home, but I don't really care.  It was a fabulous tour, with some unexpected surprises and having the chance to meet some of you that I've been talking to all year.  But I'm ready to be home, back with my dogs, my kids, and a cup of tea that is made with water that hasn't been boiling since six am.  ;-)

I'm going to take tomorrow off from the drama box, so see you Wednesday!

 

Tucson Festival of the Book, pt 2

It's the second day of the festival, and I'm ready for it!  Yesterday was fabulous as I got to sign under the open sky with the wind and sun–much better than in a store.  And there was fair food!  Yum.  It was the first "honest" food I'd had in three weeks, and it tasted exactly how I imagined it would.  The corn on the cob was heaven. I have pictures up of my first panel but most of them are of me and some of the familiar faces I ran into, some for the first time actually meeting him/her, but familiar nevertheless. Pictures of the Day

Today I've got a panel at 11:30 on Modern Hero/ines in SF and Fantasy, (which I don't really have a lot to say about) and then my own panel at 4:00 that I'm going to run like a regular event, with Q&A and a short reading.  They will both be down in the Integrated Learning Center, room 140, which I'm told seats 150 people.  If they run it like yesterday, they will only let 150 people in due to fire codes.

Tucson Festival of Books

I'm in Tucson for a few days, and soaking in the heat.  (Ahhhh, I love the dry, hot desert, though it just about wipes Guy out when it gets cooking.)  It's Tucson's festival of the book, and it's my last stop on the way home.  Today, I have a panel at 1:00 on World Building at the Intergrated Learning Center right down in the University.  I also have a booth signing from 3:00 to 3:30 at booth 249-251.  (Hosted by Mysterious Galaxy!  Yay!)  I'm not sure where the booths are, but if you look for the people in yellow shirts, they can tell you.

Looking for more information on how to get here and what to do? Here's their website.

There's tons to do down here, and I plan to spend a wonderful day taking in the sights.  Tomorrow I have a panel on Modern Hero/ines in SF and fantasy, and then my own panel on SciFi/fantasy/horror, (which I will open up to Q&A almost immediately so I can answer your questions instead of just standing up there and blathering on and on.)

 

Sacramento was fab!

I had a great day in Sacramento yesterday, with an interview on NPR's Insight with Jeff.  I've got the link here.  Capital Public Radio I think I'm in about 30 minutes.  It was a great interview, and I hope I can go back again someday.

I was also out at Borders for a fabulous signing.  We had a lot of great questions and it was wonderful seeing so many familiar faces that I'd missed last year.  Here I am with my roadies!  Thanks, guys!  It was a wonderful event!  More pictures.

Today is a travel day, and then the book festival at Tucson!

 

The home stretch . . .

The tour is winding down, but I'm in Sacramento today, signing at Borders Books & Music on

2339 Fair Oaks Boulevard at 6:00 pm tonight. It's my only California stop this year, and I really enjoyed the day off yesterday shopping down by the river, getting out and recharging my batteries with wind, sun, and water.  I also have a radio spot this morning at ten, Pacific time, which should be fun, on KXJZ radio, 90.9 FM. I have a link that I think will let you listen to it. KXJZ I imagine they will archive it, upon which I'll make it available to you guys. Tomorrow I may be late in posting as I'll be traveling to Tucson for the book festival.