Cherie Priest's Blog: It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion, page 19

A thousand teeth and yours among them

Here's recent progress on my modern gothic ghost story about a salvage crew trapped in a doomed southern mansion - now with a crunchy murder ballad center and Bonus! clandestine cemetery where the stones don't match the bodies (and were never meant to). As inspired by a (semi)true local legend:
Project: The Family Plot
Deadline: January 15, 2015
New words written: 4107 (2-day total)
Present total word count: 27,668



Things accomplished in fiction: Got ditched; got some bourbon; told a ghost story; went to settle in for the night and take a shower.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog; another trip to Walgreens; lots of laundry; a few phone calls; brief visit with neighbor; caught up on some TV with the husband.

Yardwork Other: I thought I'd take a crack at some today, but I was mistaken. It got kind of hot, and I got caught up in other things.

Other Other: Not entirely unrelated to the above...I finally have a rough draft of a pitch for a new project. I'll clean it up over the weekend, and start drumming up starter content next week. Working title: The Pyrograph.

Utterly Random Other: Yesterday I learned that I was born on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. Make of this what you will.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 178,749

For Throwback Thursday, I give you my senior portrait. Big hair, braces, and 17-year-old me as a New Romantic. BAM. Nailed it.




And because I'm shameless, and still trying to scare up more reviews and/or orders (always, yes. always.) ... here you go with all the usual links. But hey, at least I put it at the end, right?

Maplecroft at Amazon
Maplecroft on Kindle
Maplecroft at iTunes
Maplecroft at B&N (Nook and trade paperback)
Maplecroft at your local bookseller via IndieBound
Maplecroft at Goodreads

One toke over the line Sweet Jesus

Here's today's progress on my modern gothic ghost story about a salvage crew trapped in a doomed southern mansion - now with a crunchy murder ballad center and Bonus! clandestine cemetery where the stones don't match the bodies (and were never meant to). As inspired by a (semi)true local legend:
Project: The Family Plot
Deadline: January 15, 2015
New words written: 3149
Present total word count: 23,561



Things accomplished in fiction: Got rained on; got supper; went to go check out the second level of the carriage house; found a trunk full of creepy baby things and a photo album; know good and well that somebody saw something, but can't get him to cop to it.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; grabbed Krystals for lunch, and saved a plain one for the pup - who loves me forever, now; went to Walgreens; business emails and so forth; started sorting out my clothes for the change of season.

Yardwork Other: Still zilch. It's been raining off and on (sometimes, pretty seriously) since yesterday. Lots to do, and my back is mostly better...but it'll have to wait anyway.

Other Other: The other project bopping around in the back of my head is starting to gel. I might begin coughing up a proposal tomorrow. We'll see.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 174,638

Because I'm still allowed to do this oh, say, once per week...I just thought I'd post the helpful Maplecroft links - in case anyone wants to order the book or leave a review someplace. This is the first time I've done this in days! Such restraint, I have shown! I haven't even linked any new reviews!

I know it gets tiresome, really I do; but this is my job. So here you go:

Maplecroft at Amazon
Maplecroft on Kindle
Maplecroft at iTunes
Maplecroft at B&N (Nook and trade paperback)
Maplecroft at your local bookseller via IndieBound
Maplecroft at Goodreads

But the fire burned right through her

We had an adventuresome weekend over here, not least of all due to the reappearance of one adorable pooch named "Caper" from down the street. As it turns out, her owners are out of town - and someone in the neighborhood is dog/house-sitting. But at some point while the sitter was out, Caper discovered that she could bounce her way to the (very high) gate latch, pop it open, and use sheer brute force to push the (ancient and heavy) wood gate's corner juuuuuust far enough for her to squeeze out.

How do I know that? Because she performed this little trick IMMEDIATELY upon being returned to her yard. A neighbor and I then spent fully half an hour trying to re-corral her, then brace the gate so she couldn't do it again.

Anyway. Greyson says, "Thanks for the play-date!"




* * *

Semi-related to Caper's caper...I went shopping with an old friend on Saturday and found some awesome fleece Wonder Woman jammies at Target.

I say "jammies" but what I bought is basically a hooded union suit, sans footies. Naturally, I was wearing this awesome garment when my husband came home with Caper (who'd joined him on Greyson's afternoon walk), but I was 100% sober - so I changed clothes before walking our visitor back home. More's the pity. It would've made a hell of a blog post.

And here's a picture of the cat telling me that I'm not allowed to have those jammies back, because now they belong to her.



Or as the most boring man on the internet correctly pointed out via Twitter...she's yawning.

* * *

Here's today's progress on my modern gothic ghost story about a salvage crew trapped in a doomed southern mansion - now with a crunchy murder ballad center and Bonus! clandestine cemetery where the stones don't match the bodies (and were never meant to). As inspired by a (semi)true local legend:
Project: The Family Plot
Deadline: January 15, 2015
New words written: 2387
Present total word count: 20,412



Things accomplished in fiction: Finished clearing out the first floor of the old carriage house; made a couple of phone calls; got rained on; had a bright idea but it fizzled.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog; lunch with the husband; trip to grocery store; trip to the bank to deposit a long-awaited check, hooray!

Yardwork Other: Still none. It's been raining off and on today for one thing, and my back still isn't quite up to snuff. It's much better, but I don't want to run around swinging heavy garden implements willy-nilly.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 171,489

I have given up hiding and started to fight

Man, it's been a week of Mondays over here - but I'm prepared to move past all that! After all, this is the 2nd day of Halloween. [:: throws black glitter confetti ::] So it's hard to be too dismal. Unless it's the merry holiday kind of dismal, like my house right about now.

I'd post pictures of the exterior, except that I do try to preserve a modicum of privacy over here; so suffice it to say, there's a 10-foot black sparkly spiderweb, a giant red-eyed spider to call it home, and several skeleton stakes in the yard. Inside, I've got the fireplace mantles all tricked out, cobbled together an awesome table centerpiece, and I've deployed so many candles that I have literally run out of room. I had to put some into storage for later.

Now y'all just wait until I can track down my purple LED lights and the black light...then we're gonna get FESTIVE up in here.




* * *

When I say that it's been a week of Mondays, let me put it this way: I've been hella-sick. Stomach flu sick. Playing slip-and-slide in my own puke sick, and subsequently falling back-first onto a 100-year-old oak floor.

Because I know you all wanted that particular detail.

Yesterday morning I finally woke up feeling kind of hungry, and I've been keeping solid food down since then...but my back is still very stiff and bruised. I don't think anything's actually fractured; I'm giving it a week or so to sort itself out before I go chase down some x-rays. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

And hey, last night I was mobile enough (and non-pukey enough) to visit the Writing Excuses retreat over at Woodthrush. I even held it together sufficiently to serve as a guest on an episode, though I admittedly had a hard time keeping my train of thought. In my defense, it was my first day back on my feet. I was kind of shaky.

The episode airs sometime in January, I believe. I'll link it here when it goes live.

* * *
Hey - October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month ! And yesterday was National Black Dog Day (apparently). I'm just saying, if you have excess love in your life and you'd like something four-footed to impose it upon, you can do a whole lot worse than a black shelter dog.




I'm speaking from personal experience, you know.
* * *

A local acquaintance of mine is crowdsourcing his search for some old photos, and the story is a real doozy . Click the link to read about high-ranking fighter pilots in WWII, German post-war nuptials, classified documents, and a Russian spy posing as a wedding photographer. Even if you can't help David in any concrete way, feel free to go and give the post a read. I've got a lot of writers reading, here. This is bound to be story fodder for someone.

* * *

Here's today's progress on my modern gothic ghost story about a salvage crew trapped in a doomed southern mansion - now with a crunchy murder ballad center and Bonus! clandestine cemetery where the stones don't match the bodies (and were never meant to). As inspired by a (semi)true local legend:
Project: The Family Plot
Deadline: January 15, 2015
New words written: 1934
Present total word count: 18,025



Things accomplished in fiction: Unloaded a truck; got a bad idea that they're not the only ones in the house - but upon searching the place, didn't find anything. Except some handprints. And those could be anyone's...right?

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; continued recovery from ailments and injuries; visit with Greyson's Auntie Vanessa, who brought goodies to say thanks for hosting The Cooj; ran to the grocery store for milk. Such is my exciting life.

Yardwork Other: Absolutely none. Probably none until after this weekend, for the sake of my aching back.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 169,102

* * *

In closing, for giggles .

Why were you digging? What did you bury?

Busy Monday over here, with lots to cover - but I'll try to make it quick. Business first, then puppies. Scroll if you just can't stand the business bits...but stick around if you want a really good deal and/or to help a great charity.
Subterranean Press is running an ebook sale - It's a MAJOR sale, and it expires TOMORROW. Ebooks from $0.99 - $2.99. Including mine. Some of which are out of print. Just sayin'. (Dreadful Skin, Those Who Went Remain There Still, Clementine, and "Tanglefoot.")

Pat Rothfuss's Worldbuilders charity drive - Click the link for details, and to see that this is the PERFECT opportunity for you to get a signed copy of Maplecroft AND support a great cause. Pat only has a handful of these; so if you're interested, you'd best click sooner rather than later.

Direct link to signed Maplecrofts for Pat - Right here, if you're content to order without the explanation.

Paul Goat Allen on Maplecroft - Paul is an amazing fellow and well known reviewer who has said such kind things about Maplecroft that it's almost embarrassing to repeat them. Not that this will stop me. "Without giving too much away, I will say this—Maplecroft is a towering literary achievement. It’s a macabre masterwork. In terms of narrative intensity and abominable atmospherics, it’s comparable to anything Edgar Allan Poe or H.P. Lovecraft ever released." [:: dies and is dead ::]

Once more, I must provide the handy-dandy links - for those of you who may feel inclined to leave reviews or place orders. Thanks a million to everyone who has done so thus far; and my apologies to those who are tired of seeing this particular set of links. I promise I will stop at the end of the month. [:: pinkyswears ::]

Maplecroft at Amazon
Maplecroft on Kindle
Maplecroft at iTunes
Maplecroft at B&N (Nook and trade paperback)
Maplecroft at your local bookseller via IndieBound
Maplecroft at Goodreads

* * *
Here's today's progress on my modern gothic ghost story about a salvage crew trapped in a doomed southern mansion - now with a crunchy murder ballad center and Bonus! clandestine cemetery where the stones don't match the bodies (and were never meant to). As inspired by a (semi)true local legend:
Project: The Family Plot
Deadline: January 15, 2015
New words written: 904 (see explanation)
Present total word count: 16,091



Things accomplished in fiction: Excavated a little bit of the graveyard, got back to the job at hand, and took off for lunch.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog; housework; yardwork; dog-sitting (see below); visit to Mary's place before the Writing Excuses workshop gets underway.

Yardwork Other: Weeded and pruned the foundation plants at the rear of the house; got started on the back bed against the garage, but ran out of steam.

Other: I realize the word count kind of sucks, but in my defense, it was actually almost twice that. Over the weekend, I went back and re-read/tweaked the existing material, cutting out a few hundred words and adjusting some of the tone. But oh well. I'll just report the net count.

Progress on Chapelwood Draft One: DONE. Sent off to the editor on Friday. BAM.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 167,168

* * *

This morning, I posted a rather ridiculous picture of myself - in order to celebrate the awesome new tee that arrived in the mail. Behold:





And so many people asked me where I got it, that I figured I'd post the pic and link here, too. I'm here for all your #BUTTS needs. Or rather, Rich Stevens is. Click here for some #BUTTS of your very own.

* * *

Over the weekend, we pooch-sat the marvelous (and wildly misnamed) Cujo - who shall henceforth be known as simply, The Cooj. The poor fellow has three legs and a heart condition, but you'll never meet a happier dude. He and Greyson had a grand old time farting up the place - kicking around the yard, barking at the yard sale next door, and occasionally luring people over to the gate to pet them.





And a very good time was had by all :)

author, editor, wife

I've spent the afternoon trying to figure out how to talk about Eugie. Should I begin with the first time we met? 2002, at a now-defunct convention. We were both new pros. She was wearing a French maid costume and bunny ears, carrying an Easter basket full of chapbooks. Should I settle for the last time we hung out in person? A couple of years ago at FroliCon. We paneled merrily, and made inappropriate jokes. After that...health issues kept her from the usual events where we saw each other. (I swung by the Daily Dragon office a few weeks ago, like always, even though I knew she wasn't there. It wasn't the same.) We'd been loosely in touch in the meantime, but only loosely, I admit. I knew she'd been diagnosed with cancer (a tumor in her sinuses) but she was fighting it and I mean, come on. It was Eugie. She was going to be fine. I knew that last month, she entered the hospital with respiratory problems (related to the cancer treatment). It was a shame she missed DragonCon, but there was always next year. (I could always swing by the Daily Dragon office in 2015. It's only on the second floor. Don't even need the Hyatt elevator to go say hello.) Only no, I can't. Because she died today. I am stunned. I am sad for her lovely husband and family, and angry at losing yet another writer friend to cancer this year. I am confused, and frustrated. I am disappointed with the entire universe.

I'm not the kind of girl who gives up just like that

Yesterday was gorgeous and I was burned out, so I grabbed my cousin and we hit the town in search of Halloween goodies. I picked up a few things to decorate the house, and a couple of things for me, personally - though I was bereft of the holiday-themed footie-pajamas someone assured me were available at Target. I found no such jammies, dammit.

I did find an awesome glow-in-the-dark tee shirt that has Snoopy dressed like a mummy, and I'm wearing it right now. Because Snoopies gonna snoop. Or something.

Anyway, while I got some revision work done on Chapelwood (pg. 264/326) I didn't get around to any yardwork or housework - and I need to get off my ass and fix that this afternoon. So pardon me if I keep this brief.

Maplecroft links roundup!
Amy Ratcliffe at The Nerdist goes to town on Maplecroft - "Are you ready for a world where Cthulhu meets Lizzie Borden? Yes, as in “gave her mother forty whacks” Lizzie Borden. If you can wrap your head around that concept, then you’re ready for the spook-fest that is Maplecroft by Cherie Priest. It’s a tale of the supernatural, the weird, and the dark things that come from the depths of the sea. For someone like me who was already convinced that going into the ocean equals death, this book was extra scary but also reassuring. Weird, right? But I feel better than ever about my decision to not put a toe in the ocean."

Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe - Over at Tor.com I talk disgustingly delicious sandwiches, book soundtracks, and at least one anecdote I don't think I've ever offered anywhere else on the internet ... re: my catastrophic efforts to learn to surf in the early 90s.

And once again, as per usual - at least for this debut month of September - here's a list of all the typical places from whence one might order Maplecroft and/or leave reviews for it, if you are so inclined:

Maplecroft at Amazon
Maplecroft on Kindle
Maplecroft at iTunes
Maplecroft at B&N (Nook and trade paperback)
Maplecroft at your local bookseller via IndieBound
Maplecroft at Goodreads

Coming Soon: JACARANDA

I wanted to put this announcement in a separate post, so it didn't get lost in the metrics and progress shuffle: BEHOLD - the official Jacaranda announcement from Subterranean Press !

Think of this one as a postscript to the Clockwork Century, a little grace note to end upon - and click that link to learn more about who's in it, what it's about, and why I hope it will absolutely creep you the hell out.

I mean, in a good way...

It looks ugly, but it's clean

Another day of Getting All The Things Done. Or at least Making Progress On All The Things. Hey, I'll take it. First up - I must mention the ubiquitous Maplecroft order/review links, in case anyone is tempted toward either of those things.

Look into the eyes of this-here dog ... do you even KNOW how much kibble he consumes? All of it, basically. In the whole world. And kibble ain't cheap. So support your friendly neighborhood puppy - and help his mom sell some books.





Maplecroft at Amazon
Maplecroft on Kindle
Maplecroft at iTunes
Maplecroft at B&N (Nook and trade paperback)
Maplecroft at your local bookseller via IndieBound
Maplecroft at Goodreads

* * *
Here's today's progress on my modern gothic ghost story about a salvage crew trapped in a doomed southern mansion - now with a crunchy murder ballad center and Bonus! clandestine cemetery where the stones don't match the bodies (and were never meant to). As inspired by a (semi)true local legend:
Project: The Family Plot
Deadline: January 15, 2015
New words written: 1248
Present total word count: 15,187



Things accomplished in fiction: Spotted a glimpse of ghost; discovered the eponymous cemetery...or what remains of it. Wigged out a little, because this wasn't in the plan.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; ran across and scooped up dog-friend "Mike" who'd gone walkabout unsupervised and took him home to his family; did laundry; did yardwork.

Yardwork Other: Weeded and pruned back All The Roses and their beds. It took a couple of hours and now I'm stuck with thorn pin-pricks all over, but hey, that's the price of having roses. Still, I'm pooped from hauling all the clippings/weeds/etc. up the hill to the brush pile. Wheelbarrow notwithstanding, it's a workout.

Other Project's Sample Chapters: Done! Draft Zero, anyway. I'm going to put them aside until the weekend, and then clean them up/ship them off to the editor who asked for them. So that's ONE thing off my plate. (For the moment, if not eternally.)

Progress on Chapelwood Draft One: 121/325. Not bad! Will do more this evening.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 166,264

Every now and then the stars align

It's Maplecroft Monday! Because of course it is, and there are reviews to report, that's why. Many thanks, as always, to all the kind people who take the time to rate and review everywhere:

Literal Addiction : Go here to enter a drawing for a copy of Maplecroft, if you like. Even international readers are welcome! There's also an interview with yours truly, which includes a few things you won't find elsewhere on the internet, heh.

Lithium Creations : "If you’re looking for a beautifully written story of horror, genuine stuff of nightmare, Maplecroft is the story for you. Cherie Priest did her homework on Lizzie Borden and the time in which she lived. Combine such research with her vivid imagination, and she delivers a truly unique macabre masterpiece of fully realized characters given weight through historical accuracy."

CK(2)'s Kwips and Kritiques : "MAPLECROFT is a stunningly good horror tale, driven by the characters’ own impending sense of doom. Reminiscent of Stephen King’s THE SHINING, MAPLECROFT delves into the madness that lurks just underneath the surface. As evil encroaches on the town of Fall River, readers will keep the lights on, hoping against hope that the sound they hear isn’t coming for them. Highly recommended!"

Bob the Wonder Llama got bored at work : And apparently, he's been reading Maplecroft. Tentacles and coffee cups FTW!
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And, of course, because it's still that time of year - if you'd like to order or review Maplecroft, then here...allow me to make that easier for you:

Maplecroft at Amazon
Maplecroft on Kindle
Maplecroft at iTunes
Maplecroft at B&N (Nook and trade paperback)
Maplecroft at your local bookseller via IndieBound
Maplecroft at Goodreads

* * *
Here's today's progress on my modern gothic ghost story about a salvage crew trapped in a doomed southern mansion - now with a crunchy murder ballad center and Bonus! clandestine cemetery where the stones don't match the bodies (and were never meant to). As inspired by a (semi)true local legend:
Project: The Family Plot
Deadline: January 15, 2015
New words written: 1531
Present total word count: 13,939



Things accomplished in fiction: Busted into an old carriage house, and found some very strange artifacts. Also a lot of dust and some lead paint, but, well. You know how it goes.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; went to the liquor store, yay!; went to the grocery store; went to Walgreens to see about a prescription.

Yardwork Other: None today, as my attention is now divided by three different projects - and I had too much running around to do this morning. Tomorrow, I hope.

Other Project's Sample Chapters: Another 800 words, and I'm almost done with sample chapter #2! Maybe I'll be able to wrap that up tomorrow.

Progress on Chapelwood Draft One: Got through page 55 of 326 (in this format). Goal: met.

Other in General: I'm tired, man. But tonight - Sleepy Hollow comes back! [:: happydance ::] I'll probably also give Gotham a day in court, though my hopes aren't high. I'm game to be surprised.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 165,016