Kim Harrison's Blog, page 39
October 31, 2014
It’s Halloween! And somewhere in the chaos, I had time to...
It’s Halloween! And somewhere in the chaos, I had time to gather with my family for our yearly pumpkin carving. We’re ready for the horde of ghosts and goblins, and maybe a kick-butt princess or two. But last night was the Hollows final tour event.
Tink loves a duck! as Jenks would say. We had a great time. Here I am with all my roadies, and what a crowd we had! Lots of familiar faces, even if some of them were in costume. There’s a higher resolution photo behind this one. Just click it to get to it, and lift it for your own use.
Here are the finalists in the costume contest, but trust me, we had lots of characters roaming the store from David to Sara Jane, to Maria, Editor of the Hollows Gazette. Pictured here from left to right is Al, the burning bunny, Ivy and Rachel, me, Rachel and Trent, and yes, even the dreaded T4 angel virus, complete with wings. :-) You can see more of the costumes in the bunny cam photos. There’s even a Mr. Fish.
Here are my scrip readers! I tried something new and took three pages from The Witch With No Name, and six brave souls read them. I don’t think I’ve smiled that much in a long time. Thanks, Guys. You totally rock!
Al comes face to face with his blue butterfly. :-) Neither one knew what do do.
We had cookies, a tattoo station with Rachel’s pack tattoo, and yes, even wine tasting!
My jaw just about hit the floor when I finally signed every book and made my way up to the front where the canned food had been collected. I think I just about cried. You guys are truly the best. Everything you brought in is going to go to the Ann Arbor Food Bank. Thank you so much. Your generosity is humbling. This is me and some of the ladies running the event, Lynn, Nicola, and Pat (my book hero who handled all the pre-ordered books you guys purchased.)
As usual, I left lots of signed stock, so if you missed out and want a first-edition, blue butterfly copy, Nicola’s has them.
Thanks for a great tour, everyone! Like I tell all the book stores, I have the BEST readers.
October 30, 2014
Farewell Hollows event, Nicola’s Ann Arbor
Tonight’s the night! The last Hollows event, though you know you can always bring your Hollows questions and books to my future events. (We’re aiming at a September 1st, 2015 release for the next, non-Hollows adventure.)
But tonight, it is all about Rachel, Trent, Al, Jenks, Ivy, and the rest of the Hollows gang. I’ve been in touch with the people at Nicola’s, and they have told me that due to the large size of the event, they are going to close the store at 5:30 to set up, and then re-open at 6:15–so don’t panic if you get there and it looks closed. There’s a library just to the left of them, and a Starbucks in the next shopping area at the grocery store. (Just saying . . .)
Bring your tomatoes! This is a designated tomato stop. :-)
Dress up as your favorite Hollows character! We’re having a contest with prizes.
There will be wine tasting, cookie eating, temporary tattooing, book-tote giving, and yes, the Q&A.
If there are enough takers, I’ll even have a few passages from the book “scripted” out, and we’ll have YOU GUYS do a mini-script reading with other Hollows-minded people.
I’ll even have a basket of milkweed seeds to give away. Yep. My monarch milkweed set seed, and if you have a scrap of sunny yard, you can take some seeds to help the Monarchs. If you have a farm, you can take an entire pod! They might not set seed the first year, but hang in there. Mine didn’t.)
If you have called Nicolas for your free ticket, there will be a table at the front of the store to pick them up. It’s one ticket per person so we can keep track for the fire codes, so if your plans have changed and you’ve got more people in your party, give Nicola’s a call NOW! There are a few tickets left. (734-662-0600)
If you are still looking for a personalize book by mail, we will try to accommodate, but no promises at this late date. I usually only do signed books after my last event at Nicolas, but this is the last place that you can get one signed to you, and I know life interferes sometime. ( )
The store is terriably excited about needing to close the store for the event, but it means that the only sales they will make that night will come from you. (Psst! Christmas is coming, and if they don’t sell books, anyone’s books, not just mine, while I’m closing their store, they won’t have me back for this size of an event again.
I think that’s it unless I forgot something. Hope to see some of you there!
-Kim
Houston’s Murder by the Book
My Poison Pen Roadies! Guy doesn’t remember sending all the T’s to Houston, but there they were! Thanks for coming out, Guys. It’s so gratifying to see all your smiling faces. Some of you are, ah, starting to look familiar . . . (laugh)
I was able to share the spotlight with the writing team of Ilona Andrews, which, if you haven’t heard, is a husband and wife team who write urban fantasy. It was their release day, and I was honored that they let me sign with them. We had a great Q&A.
This is why I’m glad I write young adult as well. :-)
The Poison Pen really got behind the Hollows tomato drive and collected cans/nonperishable’s all week for the Houston food bank. Thank you, everyone who brought out tomatoes! Your generosity never fails to amaze me. :-)
Both Ilona and I left lots of signed stock, so if you missed out on the event, there are signed books available. Just click here to see the rest of the photos!
October 28, 2014
Sudden Backtrack-read it AFTER Witch With No Name
I know I said I wasn’t going to have a post today, but the car to the airport doesn’t get here for a few hours, and I forgot that today is release day! Sudden Backtrack, the Al short, is out today!
It’s available across all devices, including your laptop if you download the right app. DON’T read it until after reading The Witch With No Name. You’re going to want Al to have the last word.
It’s not a lot of pages, hence the .99 price, but it does answer why.
Barnes and Noble : Nook
Amazon : Kindle
Also, I had a nice interview with the Detroit Free Press this weekend, and it’s up on line. 
October 27, 2014
Fighting the good fight
It has been a really odd fall so far, and after a few days of starting out wet, the battle of the leaves has begun. If you might remember, I live in an urban forest, one that is currently unzipping its canopy as the hundred year old trees are starting to come down due to simple age. But there’s still a lot of trees left, and they are dropping their leaves in earnest this last week.
Twenty-five years of knowing how each other works has Guy planning his strategy and me out cutting down perennials a few days before the leaves begin to fall in earnest so it’s easier to rake when they do come down. In comes the fencing, statuary, and plant supports and even the outdoor furniture and sun shades. A few days later, and Guy comes along and rakes the leaves up. He’s been out there a few times now, and it’s finally starting to look like we’ve been working at it. I don’t want to say we’ve been playing catch-up. More like catch-it-in-time. But just barely.
I’ve had years that I wasn’t able to get into the garden in the fall sufficiently, and it’s an unholy, cold, wet mess in the spring, so this is where my attentions have gone the last couple of weeks. The tubs of Halloween are still in the basement, but you can’t do everything, eh?
Pumpkins, 2013
Still, tonight is pumpkin carving and chili with the entire family, and that’s a trick in itself considering we are spanning ages from 19 to 78, so no real complaints from me.
Tomorrow and Wednesday I’ll have no post as I’ll be traveling to and from Houston for a final event out there, and then it’s the good-bye event at Nicola’s. Oh! I called the store, and the event at Nicola’s starts at 6:30.
October 24, 2014
October 23, 2014
B&N, Comic Con New York Video
One of the perks of being a CCGOH is that you get time on the stage without the large panel. I’ll be honest. Keynote speeches are not anything that I’ve taken the time to practice as I have running tour events, and the thought of that stage alone without the give-and-take I usually get in a Q&A was not comfortable. Until . . . I found out my friend in the industry, Jim Killen, was going to be up there with me. (Happy sigh of relief!)
Click to go to interview
We had a great interview, and Josh Perilo made a professional-grade interview of it. So check it out! Jim and I talk about the new series and the upcoming last Al short briefly, but most of it is all Hallows and saying good-bye to the characters we’ve followed for a decade.
On the Harrison front, we had our first real frost, and things, they are really changing. It was a beautiful night with clear skies, and the air was rare. Even the Sandhill Cranes are croaking, gathering in fields for the trek to warmer fields. They sound like dinosaurs, and I’m proud that my small town is trying to promote them as a tourist attraction and wild resource instead of shooting them for the significant damage they can do in the farmer’s field.
Though you can still find lots of nice color, we’re down to a few holdouts on our street. This is a Japanese Maple that I’ve had in the ground for about four years and it is doing great. It still has all its leaves, but after last night . . . I think it’s going to drop today if it gets warm. Through it you can see one of our 100 year old maples. They had great color this year, and I recently found out that it’s an official survey marker. !!
October 22, 2014
e-The Witch With No Name at a mm price
The internet connection in my office is not good. Oh, it used to be, but the provider keeps tweaking the bandwidth down and my boys keep drawing a little more until it’s useless. Upgrading to a new router helped for a while, but slowly . . . surely . . . it goes away. And now, my Verizon card, my backup connection that I use while on tour, is not connecting. Either they are down, or the software is out of date, or my computer ports have gotten old, meaning I am again standing at my kitchen counter doing my internet-heavy, morning work. sigh
Some really good news if you’ve been waiting on the price drop for The Witch With No Name. For a few days, Nook is offering it for an unreal 8.49. (The price of a paperback!) Just a few days, mind you, but if you’ve been waiting, or know someone who would curl up and scream if it showed up unexpectedly in their Nook, here’s your chance to share the love. The link goes to a B&N page with lots of special deals, so check it out!
The Witch With No Name Nook Special
As for me? I’m going to my office now. Going to work on Peri. I got the backbone of dialog down yesterday for an unexpected chapter, and I am eager to see it fleshed out.
Oh, and if you get your fix with Kindle/Amazon, they have dropped to almost as small a price. 10.67 the last time I checked.
October 21, 2014
Wine, costumes, cookies, and yes, some signing
I’m always trying new plants out in my office, and this year, I’ve got a miniature grapevine to nurse through the winter. It sort of got dried out when I brought it in, dropping all its leaves as the tag said it would, but since I’ve never had one, I wasn’t sure if it was because it was time or that it got dried out. But this week when I was watering, I found a small bud of green. Yay! I didn’t kill it! Even better, this sounds like something it’s supposed to do.
I’ve been busy this week with Peri, but the Hollows isn’t quite done yet. Not by a long shot, actually, (you heard about Al’s short, right?) and if you are thinking of going to Ann Arbor’s, final Hollow event, (10/30) you should call the store for your ticket. It’s free, but as usual, they appreciate it if you buy a book, any book, while you’re there to help defray the cost of having me in there, chasing other customers off with our shenanigans. And we will be shenaniganing. There will be wine tasting, cookie eating, swag giving, costume contesting, and roll playing (if we get any takers.) We’re nearing the cut-off for attendees, so if you’re in the area and want to come out, give Nicola’s a call to arrange your ticket at:
734-662-0600
Nicola’s Books
Westgate Shopping Center
2513 Jackson Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
nicolasbooks@tds.net
Nicola’s DOES and WILL have for the event, and it’s not too late to have me sign the last Hollows hardcover for you and get it in the mail if you can’t attend. (International is okay, but email them at the above address for a shipping quote.) but they won’t be personalized as Nicola’s are.
It’s a one ticket, one person event only because we’re getting close to the fire codes. Chances are we won’t get to that cut off, but if you know you’re bringing someone with you, get a ticket for them, too.
And I’ll see you there!
October 20, 2014
Bribe Cookies
The leaves have been falling for a while now, but I’ve not done a thing to rake them up. This weekend was the first dry day, so you’d think that that’s where I’d be, but no–before you can rake, you have to cut everything back and down, and it’s just now that things have begun to die back.
Yesterday I made a sizable dent in what needs to be done. There’s still a lot left, but at least now I have a section of yard that’s ready to rake–if I can convince someone to do it. Shouldn’t take too much. I already made the “bribe” cookies. My best yet, I think, as I made a double batch and cut them extra thick.
I loved getting out in the dirt for a few hours, and there is truly no scent like that of yellow and red leaves, sort of a waxy, not unpleasant vegetation decaying smell. It was there when I got out of the car last week, and it will remain until the scent of unfallen snow slips into the low areas. (And unfallen snow does have a scent. It’s a mix of temp, pressure, and moisture, but “scent” is the closest thing I have to name the sensation. Maybe it’s a Michigan thing.)
So I’m working on Peri today. She kept me up last night. I’ve really not had a chance to focus on her for almost six weeks, and I’m seeing a few things I need to change in the present work. However, I’m not going back and changing them . . . yet. Just a few notes in the margin and then forge on as if I made the changes. Otherwise, I’ll spend the next six weeks looking at the exact same pages.
