Cherie Priest's Blog: It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion, page 22

I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space

Man, it has been one HELLA good Monday for Maplecroft news, I tell you what. For one thing, I got the proofs for the audiobook artwork and got to make a couple of changes before that goes off to print. (Or wherever it goes, when it's an MP3 and/or audio CD.) So yes, that will be happening - at the same time as the regular trade paperback edition, on September 2.

SO SOON. Ye gods!

And for another thing, several awesome reviews landed upon this fine day. To wit:
This awesome "epistolary" review at Book Swoon - Including such highlights as: "With your story Maplecroft, I was given the moments of a kick-ass heroine, a dark and haunting horror, and a completely new envisioned tale of Lizzie Borden's legend that was unlike anything I would have ever imagined...."

And...

And this awesome wardrobe-imagining at Book Style - Wherein the reviewer speculates with regards to what Lizzie might wear these days, down to the adorable cthulhuoid jellyfish earrings.

AND. Dropping mere minutes ago (as of me furiously typing this post) ... the exceedingly fabulous Annalee Newitz at i09.com has called Maplecroft the best damn Cthulhu novel you've read in ages !

The i09 review is thorough without being spoilery, and so chock full of generous pull-quotes that I wasn't sure what to nab for my Reviews page. But here's what I went with, and you can click the link above to read the whole thing if you like:
A warning, though. Once I started reading Maplecroft, I was basically glued to my chair until I was finished. So be prepared to lose an afternoon to this book – and to gnash your teeth waiting for the sequel to arrive (yes – it’s the first in the “Borden Dispatches” series). Whether you’re a weird fiction fan, or love true crime history, this book is a major treat.

[:: dies and is dead ::]

Honestly, I am so overwhelmed that I can't exactly remember what else I was going to post about today. There was something about yardwork, something about housework, something about a bunch of emails back and forth between editors/agents, something about getting started on Godbothering this week ... and you know what, I don't even know the rest.

So here - have a picture of Greyson and his cat-friend Watson, who joins us on our morning walks sometimes. As for me? I'm going to go run around the house doing hand-flappies for a little while.

True fact :)

I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole

Day #2 of catching up over here - and boy are my arms tired. No, wait...

All of me is tired, truth be told. Today I finished up the sig sheets for that special edition of Rogues, boxed them up and shipped them off via UPS; went to the bank; went to the grocery store; finished the last of the unpacking/putting-things-away; and went to my optometrist to get my glasses prescription.

Right now, I only have one reliable pair of specs in a current prescription - and at my Rx, that's kind of terrifying. I need back-ups, people. And I don't mean contacts, because I just can't wear those for very long anymore.

Generally speaking, glasses are one hella-expensive proposition for me, as they tend to run upwards of a grand a pop. But as of late, people have been thrusting Zenni Optical upon me...so I decided to check it out.

I'll be honest with you: It looks too good to be true. However, it's also so inexpensive that I can afford to take the hit in case it is too good to be true. Let me put it this way: I just ordered 2 pairs of glasses, with the ultra-high-index lenses (by necessity, since I want to be able to close the frames) and all the special coatings, for less than I'd pay for a single pair with insurance. Much less, frankly.

The glasses ought to arrive sometime in the next 2 weeks.
I'll let you know how it goes.

In other news, Maplecroft is picking up steam! It's now made the Publishers Weekly "Most Anticipated" list as well as the Paranormal Staff Picks list over at Penguin USA. Bonus Maplecroft factoid: It now boasts a blurb from none other than the mighty-mighty Chuck Wendig, who was kind enough to chime in on its merits! (Click here to read what he had to say.)

In other words...go book, go!

As for me, I'd hoped to have more progress to report on Jacaranda's pass proofs today - but life got in the way, and I'm only about 60% through that round of edits. With a little luck, I'll plow through the rest tomorrow or Friday; but then again, the pest control people will be back again tomorrow for the FOURTH follow-up round of work re: the exclusion service, and I expect that I will find that...distracting.

Which is to say, the rats are Highly Motivated to get under our house and into our walls. There's definitely been some improvement, mind you. But likewise, there are definitely still rodents under the floor.

So. Today's leftover work includes the last of those Jacaranda edits, two interviews to fill out/respond to, a DragonCon tentative schedule to sort and post, and a bunch of emails to tackle.

But that can wait for tomorrow. Because it's 7:00 p.m. and I declare it the end of this particular work day, that's why.

Down on the West Coast they got their icons

I'm back! Back from a most excellent (if exhausting) week in New Mexico, that is. While there, I had a wonderful and jam-packed time of reading, signing - and subjecting myself to interviews, parties, and other shenanigans. Upon arrival, I was picked up by my assigned cultural attache, Leah - who isn't actually a personal assistant, but would be a fantastic one for somebody, I swear. Throughout my time in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, she got me where I needed to be, when I needed to be there; and she made sure I had everything I needed, right when I needed it.

And she fed me a lot, which I very much appreciated. Oh - also, she loaned me a hat. I'm not usually a hat person, but this one was pretty damn foxy.



Come Wednesday, we trekked out to the Jean Cocteau Theater for the aforementioned hootenanny. Said hootenanny was hosted by the inimitable GRRM, who interviewed yours truly and Joe Abercrombie - and provoked us into reading from our most recent/upcoming projects.

There may have been drinks. Okay, there were definitely drinks. Which is why I look a little goofy in this after-party selfie.



I'm not sure why Joe looks so sinister. Like basically EVERY BRITISH DUDE I KNOW, his avatars and other assorted photographic appearances all make him look like a serial killer - but in person, he's really quite friendly and charming. WHAT IS WITH YOU GUYS? I mean honestly, now. Sweethearts, the lot of you. Not that you'd have anyone know it.

Anyway. It was a marvelous evening, even if I was wearing a dress and sitting on a bar-height chair positioned on an elevated platform, so I was terrified to cross/uncross my legs - lest I flash the entire theater. I am told that no actual flashing occurred, despite the drinks.

I hope I was not lied to.

(There will be pictures at some point - when I am made aware of them, I will link the crap out of them, rest assured.)

In other Stuff I Did Whilst Off The Internet news, with the help of Leah I toured the nifty old bits of both Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and if you're the sort who's keen on shots of very old churches, then feel free to go scrolling around in my Twitter media feed. Because you will totally find some there.

Like this one:



Right! So. Then there was BuboniCon.

Really, it was a very smooth event, and I'm glad I got to go - despite a hotel that could best be described as "kind of poltergeist-y."

Never mind all the weird noises in the night from mystery stompers in the stairwells and the peculiar alarms that kept going off on my floor...but I'm reasonably certain that when elevator doors open, you should not be greeted with a gushing deluge of water that floods the lobby and soaks anyone unfortunate enough to have been standing in front of said elevator doors.

Anyone like, um, me. Seriously. I don't even know.

But like I said, it was overall a very good weekend, wherein I got to catch up with both halves of James S. A. Corey - and meet/greet with a whole host of other nifty folks as well. (If I start trying to link everyone, I'll leave somebody out - I just know it.)

The panels were fun and well attended, my fellow guests were a fabulous lot, and Leah kept refilling a flask of rum and slipping it into my bag. Like a CHAMP.

And now I'm home! It was a long trip back, and I arrived to a bunch of packages, bills, cards, and all the assorted whatnot that piles up when I've been gone for a week. Not least of all, there was laundry (both bins, overflowing). So today has been a day of unpacking, slogging through my inbox (both virtual and literal), and repeatedly running the washer and dryer.

Also, it has been a day of being shadowed by a couple of furry, needy cuties who track me from room to room - lest I try to leave them again.



Hm...what else? Let's see. Oh yes - I also got a surprise in the mail, when all the envelopes and boxes were finally opened: Maplecroft cover flats! You can't really see it, but the title is embossed all sexy-like ... and I'm tickled stupid to have them. My baby! She's almost a real book!



And I think that brings everyone up to speed - more or less, anyway. Now I need to grab some supper, take a shower, and settle in with the signature sheets for the special edition of Rogues (coming soon, via Subterranean). There's only a thousand of them. I think? It sure looks/feels like a thousand. Maybe more, I don't know. It's a lot, and it's going to take me awhile to sort them out, that's my point.

I'm going to do it while catching up on TV tonight, with a drink and the husband by my side. Takes the edge off the cramping wrist, I tell you - and I need to kick these back into the mail ASAP. Which means tomorrow.

So. I'm finished rambling for now, but I'll be back - working on the Jacaranda proofs/revisions and probably posting more pet pictures or something.

Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you around tomorrow.
I bet.

Out-of-Office-Response

Not really, not quite - not yet, anyway, but soon. Tomorrow I'm heading out for New Mexico, and I'll be there for a week. Why, you ask? First up, this Wednesday I'll be swinging by Santa Fe for this amazing event at the Jean Cocteau Cinema - and I do hope I'll catch up with some of you there! It'll be yours truly and Joe Abercrombie; and I don't know Joe, but I'm assured that he's lovely. And I can assure you that we will collectively do our damndest to be entertaining. Maybe there will be booze. I know I always find booze entertaining.

Then, after that fine event...you can catch me all weekend at BuboniCon - where I'm co-guest-of-honor with Jack Campbell, who is also undoubtedly lovely.

It's all shaping up to be a busy week, and I don't know if I'll have any blogging opportunities - so if you really want to keep up with my shenanigans, I recommend that you add me over on Twitter , where I find it fairly easy to post pictures and offer brief, pithy, ridiculous updates. Otherwise, you're likely to find radio silence until August 5th or so.

* * *

SO. With THAT out of the way...I have some most excellent news! Maplecroft has scored a starred review from Publishers Weekly! Click that-there link to read a spoiler-free summing up of the matter, and hey, since this post is going to be front-and-center for the next few days...how about some shameless preorder links?


Maplecroft at Amazon.
Maplecroft at B&N.
Maplecroft via Indiebound.

And don't forget what your awesome auntie Delilah says about pre-orders! (Click that image to go to her website, and do consider checking out Servants of the Storm, too - for it is fabulous, I promise. I know this, because I have already read it as if by magic. Or by blurbing. Heh.)

Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare

Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 6745 (Hot DAMN.)
Present total word count: 118,093



Things accomplished in fiction: Draft Zero, ya'll!

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; grocery shopping; went to Walgreens to pick up a prescription.

Other: This is not a personal word-count record, but it's damn close. I think my highest daily output was way the hell back in 2002, and it was over 7k. But this? This is very, very nice. (I always work faster toward the end, as the story picks up speed toward the finale.)

EXTRA Other: I think this is actually the longest Draft Zero I've ever produced. Previously, it was Boneshaker ... but I think that one was around 115k. Can't remember off the top of my head.

BONUS Other: Today I also passed 150k words for the year so far. A GOOD WORK DAY, yes. But now? Now I am absolutely BEAT. And I need a DRINK. And also I need to charge up my laptop before it craps out on me.

[:: vanishes in a poof of wifi ::]

Number of fiction words so far this year: 151,086

I'd walk away like a movie star

Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 3191 (good)
Present total word count: 111,348



Things accomplished in fiction: Part one of a two-part climax. That's all you need to know. MWOOHAHAHAHA.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; several rounds of laundry, including bedding; various assorted bits of housework; Writer Business emails and so forth. Really, I'm just trying to power through and get to the end of this thing before the week's out.

Other: I suppose it goes without saying that this draft is going to run longer than 110,000 words. I'm guessing it'll be more like 115,000 , so I'm adjusting the bar accordingly.

Critter-Related Other: Today I discovered a new finch nest! Or rather...it's not half so new as I thought, because it has at least one half-grown fluffy baby bird in it (two, I think - but I'm not sure). And this nest is right under the kitchen window, sitting in the holly shrub just a couple of feet from where I wash dishes. I have no earthly idea how I'm only just now noticing it, but it's very cute and I'm glad that the little one(s) seem(s) to be doing well. No pictures, alas. I can't snap one without disturbing them, and I'm not willing to do that.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 144,341

Get a little bit suburban and go crazy

Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 3459 (good)
Present total word count: 108,057



Things accomplished in fiction: Well, some of us have escaped the castle. Sort of.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; visit from the pest-control guys that took all day; found cool old thing buried in the yard; some business email-type-stuff.

Pest Control Other: So this is apparently a banner year for "Norway Rats." The whole neighborhood seems overrun with them, and Mr. Stubbs is hard-pressed to keep up with them. Mind you, I have zero interest in trapping/poisoning them; I just don't want them trying to chew their way through my walls. Wall-chewing violates the spirit of our original agreement, to wit: "You stay out of the house, and I'll pretend you don't exist." So today we had a team of pest-control folks seal out our cellar/crawlspace (to the best of human ability), and treat the attic with a special insulation that will persuade them (and their squirrelly friends) to hang out elsewhere. Or so it is to be hoped.*

Four-Footed Other: Greyson was bereft because I wouldn't let him go hang out with the pest-control guys while they were working, so we had to temporarily deploy the baby gate. It's a tiny baby gate; he could step over it without even stretching his legs. But bless his heart, he's almost comically respectful of boundaries. And later on, the guys played chase with him in the yard, so all was forgiven.



Assorted Other: While wandering the house's exterior and getting general updates on the "exclusion" treatment ... I spotted something tangled in the roots of a tree. This something was a 2-oz. bottle with a glass rod (and its rubber stopper) stuck inside. The maker's mark on the bottom suggests that it was produced by the Obear-Nestor Glass Company - perhaps as early as 1915 or 1920.** It very likely held medicine (like iodine), or perfume.

(Small coffee mug for scale.)



Number of fiction words so far this year: 141,150


* I will only trap them as a matter of last resort, but I won't poison them, period. There are too many other things that feed on them - not least of all Mr. Stubbs and Miss Kitty, some foxes, hawks, snakes, and so forth. Also, I don't want dead rats in the walls any more than I want live rats in the walls. So there's that.
** For the new readers: Our house was built sometime between 1895-1904. No, we don't know any more precisely than that. Thanks, southern record-keeping [:: eyeroll ::].

They tell me I was born there, but I really don't remember

Here's recent progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 3040 (pretty good)
Present total word count: 104,598



Things accomplished in fiction: This castle sucks ass, y'all.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog; dog play-date over at a friend/neighbor's place; housework; yardwork; naps.

Yardwork Other: I got the new growth from those old roses lifted off the ground and affixed to trellises, yay! I also edged most of the yard with the trimmer, and did some weeding. Weeding is never glamorous, but I do love the finished result.

(The middle rose is heavily shaded by the dogwood in the front yard. Thus it hasn't quite matched the progress of the other two. Still, it's going strong! Those are 5-ft. trellises, for scale. [Minus the "feet" planted in the ground.])



Four-footed Other: Greyson's play-date with the wildly misnamed "Cujo" went well, except for how he totally got put in his place by an 18-year-old kitty who was NOT HAVING ANY OF HIS CRAP. Or his friendship. I keep telling him he'd have more feline company if he could keep his cool upon meeting them, but, yanno. He's still young and enthusiastic, and big and clumsy. AND FULL OF LOVE, I assure you - but it's hard to assure a 5-pound geriatric kitty of any such thing.

Other than that (well deserved, frankly) cat paw upside the nose, he and The Kooj (as I've come to think of him) had a most excellent time. They received nibbles of cinnamon rolls, and got to root around under an old garage. For dog funsies :)



Number of fiction words so far this year: 137,991

Flame colored paradise for you darling

I'm back!

Yes, I was gone for a week - I had company in town, an old friend who generally prefers that I not link her or post pictures of her, for privacy reasons. So, no pictures! No links! Just trust me that she's awesome, and we had a lovely time. We goofed off quite a lot, did a bit of yardwork for funsies, went shopping, got pedicures, drank fruity summer beverages on the patio, and lunched all over town.

But now she's gone home, and that means I must get back to work.

Oh, I definitely got some work done while she was here, yes - but it was all administrative-type stuff. Writer Business, if you will. (And plenty of it.) But answering emails re: convention appearances, fielding publicity requests, going back-and-forth with editors and my agent, and so forth, and so on...do nothing to contribute to Chapelwood's word count, so that's where my attention shall be directed for the forthcoming week.

I need a Draft Zero of this one before I take off for New Mexico on the Tuesday after next, that's the long and short of it. August is therefore dedicated to such diverse elements as the Princess X copyedits, ramp-up for DragonCon, publicity posts/arrangements/whatnot re: Maplecroft's debut, and probably some Jacaranda editorial, too.

Meanwhile, in the margins of those things, I need to get reacquainted with Godbothering - which I'm starting in earnest come September. (After DragonCon, basically.) I only have maybe 50 pages of content on that one (plus general synopsis), and I owe a draft back to Liz this coming January. This is totally doable, even with the other production stuff...but ONLY if I can stick to my schedule.

Sticking to schedules doesn't come naturally to me.
But you do what you've gotta.

* * *

So here's recent progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 3306 (pretty good, yay)
Present total word count: 101,558



Things accomplished in fiction: Stormed the castle. It was smelly, and very quiet...but things are about to get crazypants.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog; writer business including all the things detailed above; friend business including likewise; and it's been so long since I posted, I forget whatever else I might have put here.

Other: We were visited by a giant leopard moth. He hung out on the front porch like a boss, and I wanted to pet him SO BAD. But I restrained myself.



Yardwork Other: My friend and I picked up some tall trellises for the old roses out front, as they're really starting to grow like gangbusters - and they seem to need the structure. But it's been pouring down rain off and on (mostly on) since we bought them the other day, so they're still lying on the porch for now, dammit. Oh well.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 134,951

So he told them his scheme for a saviour machine

Here's recent progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 4243 (multi-day total)
Present total word count: 98,252



Things accomplished in fiction: Planned an escape; tried to recover from a ghostly setback.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog; writer business including (but not limited to) arrangement details re: BuboniCon and the Santa Fe event; started getting ready for an old friend's visit; had a different old friend over with her wee dog Fiona for a playdate and catching-up time. Many dog-cuddles were delivered upon that day.



Other: I didn't get any writing done yesterday, so my word count is a 2-day total between Thursday and today. It's better than a 1k/day average, but not much better. I'd really like to crack 100k tomorrow (preferably beyond that), in order to clear up a little goofing-off time for my friend's visit; mind you, I'll still need to take an hour or two each day for business (at least), but I don't know how much actual writing will occur while she's here. And remember: the goal is to have a full Draft Zero of Chapelwood before I leave for Albuquerque on the 27th.

Yardwork Other: I've excavated the vast majority of the pea gravel from the former herb garden, and relocated it for weed-control purposes to the foundation plants against the house. That doesn't sound like much, but it was a couple of hours in the summer heat with a shovel and a wheelbarrow, and now my back hurts like hell, so...yeah.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 131,645