Chloe Neill's Blog, page 119

100 Days Until HEXBOUND!

Only 100 days until the release of HEXBOUND, and all the Jasony, Adepty, Sebastiany goodness. More details soon about the HEXBOUND blog tour, swag, ARC contest, and sneak peeks!

Random Bits

1. Doesn't Babington House in Somerset seem like the kind of place where Darius West (GP head) would live? (Ed. - You'll be actually meeting Darius in HARD BITTEN.) (Via Sage & Style)





2. Hoosier Mama: This got added to my Must Visit list for my next Chicago trip (Spring 2011?). Lemon chess pie? Chocolate cream pie? Yes, please. (Via Serious Eats)

3. Pretty food from What Katie Ate. (Via Simplesong)

The Momentum

The hardest part of writing a novel is, for me, the initial 20,000 words or so. The book has no momentum, so it feels like every 500 words is a slog to get through. And then, about 25,000 words or so, the book begins to magically take shape. Enough scenes are written that the book has some flow, some emotion, some forward inertia that begins to move things forward. . . until I hit 70,000 words or so, at which point I'll be sick of writing it.

But for now, the sweet spot! Yay!

Songs for Scenes (1)

HARD BITTEN Chapter Two . . . Kiss With a Fist by Florence + The Machine

HARD BITTEN cover is done!

And it's GORGEOUS!!

Top 40 Buildings in Chicago

Chicago Magazine has offered up the Top 40 Buildings in Chicago. You can start with Number 40, Old St. Patrick's Church, and work your way forward!

(Above - No. 26, Lake Point Tower)

Those crazy Adepts are at it again!

"Artificial Caverns are Expanding Beneath Chicago"

Due to Chicago's ongoing TARP project—its Tunnel And Reservoir Plan—there are now "109.4 miles of tunnels bored beneath the Chicagoland area." According to Tunnel Business Magazine, this massive network of new subterranean space includes "deep tunnels, drop shafts, near-surface connection and control structures and dewatering pump stations," all embedded beneath the
city.

(Story and image via Tunnel Business Magazine, via BLDGBLOG).



Can't you to...

Swag Fail

Soooo....as may be obvious from the recent lack of posts, I have been swamped lately. And, I got crazy behind on sending out swag during the last Blog Tour, so there were a few stragglers who still haven't gotten their swag yet. But NEVER FEAR--the last of them went into the mail today, so they are on their way! Promise!

Custom Pencils

It's nearly fall, when minds turn to apples, pumpkins, college football and freshly-sharpened pencils.

Speaking of the latter, I recently had some great luck with custom pencils from Write-On, and thought it would be fun to order up some CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES and DARK ELITE pencils featuring quotes from the series.

So let me know: What's your favorite one-line quote from SGB, FNB, TB or FIRESPELL?

Mark Your Calendars for Chicago's 2010 Renegade Craft Fair

If I could be in Chicago September 11-12,* I'd be haunting Mallory's and Catcher's neck of the woods--Wicker Park--for the annual Renegade Craft Fair, which features indie crafters selling their handcraftiest wares.

Sayeth the RCF website: All of Division Street, between Damen and Paulina, will be chock full of incredible handmade goods made by over 300 craftspeople from all over the nation, crafting workshops + demonstrations, live music + other features!



* - I'll be assisting SHB with an art...