Cherie Priest's Blog: It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion, page 44
December 14, 2012
B&N December Feature
Hey everyone - The Inexplicables is the December feature over at the B&N sci-fi/fantasy book club. Head on over there to join the conversation, up to and including the ongoing battle re: whether or not steampunk is all played out. And stuff.
Click here to party .
Click here to party .
December 13, 2012
The dog days are over
Today has been a dog day indeed. I mean, every day I wake up to Greyson snuffling at the side of my bed, telling me it's time for breakfast ... so they're all dog days, these days. But on his walk this morning, we met another dog: a darling, half-grown pup of some sort, maybe a lab/pit mix, wearing a collar but no tags. He was running loose - perilously close to a very busy road - and in short, he followed us home.
In the last month or two, we've had two dogs and one cat die on this same road within a couple blocks of my house. I couldn't have lived with myself if this little guy had joined the ranks.
So I let him and Greyson go romping around the backyard, and I called the animal shelter that works with our neighborhood association.* They agreed to take the pup - so we drove him out there, where I felt like a giant heel about handing him over. The baleful look he gave me as they led him away ... it would've haunted my nightmares.
Except.
Later this afternoon, in response to my posting on the neighborhood email list, someone recognized him! A very nice woman called his owner, who rushed home from work to find that yes, his puppy had escaped and gone walkabout. Bada-bing, bada-boom - all's well that ends well and no puppies were hit by cars.
Then later, we kept a dog play-date with a woman in our neighborhood who has a Newfie about Greyson's age.
We met at the dog park, and indeed, he had a wonderful time playing with all the dogs - particularly the Newfie, who out-weighs him by about forty pounds, hahahaha. (Most of the time when he meets other dogs, he's the biggest party present and he can't really cut loose for any rough-and-tumble time. But this evening he rocked his inner wolf and went to town - yet even so, he was gentle with the smaller dogs when they joined in.)
I was very proud of him. He wasn't aggressive, he wasn't shy; he didn't wig out when he got his head humped. He didn't start any trouble, and he made some new dog and people friends alike.
We really are terribly lucky that he's such an agreeable little gentleman. Now if we can just get him to stop puking and foaming at the mouth in the car, we'll be golden. By the time we reached the park, he looked like he was either slurping Mentos and Coke or suffering from rabies.
We realize that his trouble with the car is at least partly severe anxiety (maybe mostly, at this point). For awhile, if we were out around the neighborhood and he saw someone loading or unloading an SUV out the back hatch ... he'd have a panic attack and try to cross the street to run away from it. We assume it's because prior to his adoption, he'd never been anywhere in a vehicle except to the vet or the pound.
Therefore, we're working on getting him used to the idea of CAR = FUNTIMEZ. NO SRSLY - FUNTIMEZ.
So far, so good. We've taken him through the Krystal drive-through for cheese sliders a couple of times, which was met with wild approval - and this jaunt to the dog-park seems to have made his day. His week. His life.
As of late, he's only thrown up on the way to/from the vet. It's not because he's psychic; it's because it's a much longer drive, bless his fuzzy heart.
Anyway, I call it "progress."
And I think we're gonna make this dog-park thing a habit.
* Stray and dumped animals are a known quantity in the neighborhood; a handful of very committed, organized people are really doing their level best to address the situation in a humane and helpful fashion.
In the last month or two, we've had two dogs and one cat die on this same road within a couple blocks of my house. I couldn't have lived with myself if this little guy had joined the ranks.
So I let him and Greyson go romping around the backyard, and I called the animal shelter that works with our neighborhood association.* They agreed to take the pup - so we drove him out there, where I felt like a giant heel about handing him over. The baleful look he gave me as they led him away ... it would've haunted my nightmares.
Except.
Later this afternoon, in response to my posting on the neighborhood email list, someone recognized him! A very nice woman called his owner, who rushed home from work to find that yes, his puppy had escaped and gone walkabout. Bada-bing, bada-boom - all's well that ends well and no puppies were hit by cars.
Then later, we kept a dog play-date with a woman in our neighborhood who has a Newfie about Greyson's age.
We met at the dog park, and indeed, he had a wonderful time playing with all the dogs - particularly the Newfie, who out-weighs him by about forty pounds, hahahaha. (Most of the time when he meets other dogs, he's the biggest party present and he can't really cut loose for any rough-and-tumble time. But this evening he rocked his inner wolf and went to town - yet even so, he was gentle with the smaller dogs when they joined in.)
I was very proud of him. He wasn't aggressive, he wasn't shy; he didn't wig out when he got his head humped. He didn't start any trouble, and he made some new dog and people friends alike.
We really are terribly lucky that he's such an agreeable little gentleman. Now if we can just get him to stop puking and foaming at the mouth in the car, we'll be golden. By the time we reached the park, he looked like he was either slurping Mentos and Coke or suffering from rabies.
We realize that his trouble with the car is at least partly severe anxiety (maybe mostly, at this point). For awhile, if we were out around the neighborhood and he saw someone loading or unloading an SUV out the back hatch ... he'd have a panic attack and try to cross the street to run away from it. We assume it's because prior to his adoption, he'd never been anywhere in a vehicle except to the vet or the pound.
Therefore, we're working on getting him used to the idea of CAR = FUNTIMEZ. NO SRSLY - FUNTIMEZ.
So far, so good. We've taken him through the Krystal drive-through for cheese sliders a couple of times, which was met with wild approval - and this jaunt to the dog-park seems to have made his day. His week. His life.
As of late, he's only thrown up on the way to/from the vet. It's not because he's psychic; it's because it's a much longer drive, bless his fuzzy heart.
Anyway, I call it "progress."
And I think we're gonna make this dog-park thing a habit.
* Stray and dumped animals are a known quantity in the neighborhood; a handful of very committed, organized people are really doing their level best to address the situation in a humane and helpful fashion.
December 11, 2012
This is all Chris's fault
By "Chris" I mean the darling and divine Christopher Golden, of course ... he of the marvelous books and groovy blog. For you see, he has tagged me. And now, in accordance with internet tagging principles, I must respond.
I think the idea is to fill out this questionnaire with regards to any impending projects you have hitting the market, so this one catches me at a funny in-between time; for you see, The Inexplicables came out a month ago, and my next book (Fiddlehead) won't be out until this time next year.
So I'll get a little fancy with this. THAT'S RIGHT, Y'ALL. We are going OFF SCRIPT up in here. (If in fact this is off-script at all. It might not be. I'm frankly a bit unclear - which should not reflect upon Chris, natch. It reflects only on me, and my iffy reader comprehension when it comes to following directions.)
In short, I will answer these questions with regards to a project I'm developing right now - partly because I am majorly enthusiastic about it, and partly because why the hell not.
Ahem.
The Next Big Thing: Maplecroft
Where did the idea come from for the book? A bizarre real-life murder mystery from early in the 20th century.
What genre does your book fall under? I've had a lot of fun with steampunk, and I predict yet further fun to come - but I want to take a detour and go back to my horror roots. If pressed, I might describe this one as a "steam-gothic."
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Hmm... I'd love to see Ron Perlman in the role of the retired physician - a brilliant, dignified man of science gently unraveling as he comes to terms with the supernatural; Jim Parsons would be a divine unwilling villain - a professor from a New England university undergoing a terrible transformation (and it'd be nifty to see him in a serious role); Jennifer Connelly would be great as a woman confronting the impossible, struggling toward a science that will explain the utterly unexplainable; and Mary Elizabeth Winstead could be keen in the role of her young lover.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? I'm going to be cagey about that, as the hook isn't something I want to make super-public yet.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? All my books are represented by my agent, Jennifer Jackson at the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Still not there yet. But I've pulled together a proposal and some sample content - and that took me several months. If I hadn't been traveling so much and/or otherwise busy, it wouldn't have taken nearly so long; but I've been noodling on the project in my spare time, which has been less than copious as of late. I will finish a draft in 2013.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? At the risk of sounding overly ambitious, I'd call it kin to Dracula - as it's essentially a turn-of-the-century horror story told in an epistolary style.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? A penchant for taking low-brow pitches and treating them with utmost seriousness.
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? Maplecroft isn't specifically, literally Lovecraftian ... but I'd like to think it's the kind of story that Lovecraft might've read about in the newspaper as a child - and served to inform his later work.
And here I go - linking the folks in the Tagged-By-Chris party: S. G. Browne, Caitlin Kittredge, and Amber Benson. Hot damn, I am in some fine company!
Okay, NOW I'm supposed to tag four or five other people and keep spreading the meme around ... but while I was out of town on tour, it's like every-damn-body did this meme but me. Well, me, and the super-cool Delilah S. Dawson, who was the only sucker willing writer who took me up on the tagging.
So how about this instead? If you are a writer with a project pending, knock yourself out. YOU ARE TAGGED. Link yourselves in the comments of this post. And that way I will have sort of, lazily, but technically, followed instructions.
(Sorry Chris! You know I love ya! But you also know that the record will reflect ... I am not much in the way of a brilliant organizer...)
:)
I think the idea is to fill out this questionnaire with regards to any impending projects you have hitting the market, so this one catches me at a funny in-between time; for you see, The Inexplicables came out a month ago, and my next book (Fiddlehead) won't be out until this time next year.
So I'll get a little fancy with this. THAT'S RIGHT, Y'ALL. We are going OFF SCRIPT up in here. (If in fact this is off-script at all. It might not be. I'm frankly a bit unclear - which should not reflect upon Chris, natch. It reflects only on me, and my iffy reader comprehension when it comes to following directions.)
In short, I will answer these questions with regards to a project I'm developing right now - partly because I am majorly enthusiastic about it, and partly because why the hell not.
Ahem.
The Next Big Thing: Maplecroft
Where did the idea come from for the book? A bizarre real-life murder mystery from early in the 20th century.
What genre does your book fall under? I've had a lot of fun with steampunk, and I predict yet further fun to come - but I want to take a detour and go back to my horror roots. If pressed, I might describe this one as a "steam-gothic."
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Hmm... I'd love to see Ron Perlman in the role of the retired physician - a brilliant, dignified man of science gently unraveling as he comes to terms with the supernatural; Jim Parsons would be a divine unwilling villain - a professor from a New England university undergoing a terrible transformation (and it'd be nifty to see him in a serious role); Jennifer Connelly would be great as a woman confronting the impossible, struggling toward a science that will explain the utterly unexplainable; and Mary Elizabeth Winstead could be keen in the role of her young lover.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? I'm going to be cagey about that, as the hook isn't something I want to make super-public yet.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? All my books are represented by my agent, Jennifer Jackson at the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Still not there yet. But I've pulled together a proposal and some sample content - and that took me several months. If I hadn't been traveling so much and/or otherwise busy, it wouldn't have taken nearly so long; but I've been noodling on the project in my spare time, which has been less than copious as of late. I will finish a draft in 2013.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? At the risk of sounding overly ambitious, I'd call it kin to Dracula - as it's essentially a turn-of-the-century horror story told in an epistolary style.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? A penchant for taking low-brow pitches and treating them with utmost seriousness.
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? Maplecroft isn't specifically, literally Lovecraftian ... but I'd like to think it's the kind of story that Lovecraft might've read about in the newspaper as a child - and served to inform his later work.
And here I go - linking the folks in the Tagged-By-Chris party: S. G. Browne, Caitlin Kittredge, and Amber Benson. Hot damn, I am in some fine company!
Okay, NOW I'm supposed to tag four or five other people and keep spreading the meme around ... but while I was out of town on tour, it's like every-damn-body did this meme but me. Well, me, and the super-cool Delilah S. Dawson, who was the only sucker willing writer who took me up on the tagging.
So how about this instead? If you are a writer with a project pending, knock yourself out. YOU ARE TAGGED. Link yourselves in the comments of this post. And that way I will have sort of, lazily, but technically, followed instructions.
(Sorry Chris! You know I love ya! But you also know that the record will reflect ... I am not much in the way of a brilliant organizer...)
:)
December 6, 2012
Softer than satin was the light from the stars
Hello everyone, I'm back! Well, okay - I've been back for a week or so, but much as the week following my last absence, obligations piled up while I wasn't looking and I've been performing catch-up work ever since.
Such catch-up work has included (but has not been limited to) such diverse elements as Christmas shopping for my rather ridiculously large family; wrapping said presents; performing a crap-ton of overdue yardwork; several rounds of laundry; a full round of other assorted houseworkings; filling out three email interviews plus follow-up questions; scanned all my receipts from the Epic Tour and subsequently invoiced the nice folks at Tor; filled out some tax paperwork and shipped it off, along with some of the holiday gifts (but not all of them yet); bought and trimmed a Christmas tree - our very first in our new house!; and generally unpacked, culled the inbox, and decompressed.
Sort of. I also wrote 5000 words on a short story that's due at the end of this month, and ultimately wrapped up a draft this evening - which I'll clean up over the weekend and send off to its intended editor. Then I need to sit down with the Fiddlehead editorial letter and get to work scrubbing that manuscript into shape.
So. Um. If I'm still quiet... or quiet-ish through the end of the year, I hope you'll forgive me. Once the Fiddlehead deadline is out of the way, I'll have a lot more room to wiggle, as it were, and will be dragging myself back into the sunlight. Or onto the internet on a more regular and likely frivolous basis. As the case may be.
Meanwhile, here's a short video of Greyson performing a magic trick - that is, making a cheese Krystal disappear. Behold the happy puppy dance, in all its bouncy glory! And Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Festive et cetera to all and sundry...
Such catch-up work has included (but has not been limited to) such diverse elements as Christmas shopping for my rather ridiculously large family; wrapping said presents; performing a crap-ton of overdue yardwork; several rounds of laundry; a full round of other assorted houseworkings; filling out three email interviews plus follow-up questions; scanned all my receipts from the Epic Tour and subsequently invoiced the nice folks at Tor; filled out some tax paperwork and shipped it off, along with some of the holiday gifts (but not all of them yet); bought and trimmed a Christmas tree - our very first in our new house!; and generally unpacked, culled the inbox, and decompressed.
Sort of. I also wrote 5000 words on a short story that's due at the end of this month, and ultimately wrapped up a draft this evening - which I'll clean up over the weekend and send off to its intended editor. Then I need to sit down with the Fiddlehead editorial letter and get to work scrubbing that manuscript into shape.
So. Um. If I'm still quiet... or quiet-ish through the end of the year, I hope you'll forgive me. Once the Fiddlehead deadline is out of the way, I'll have a lot more room to wiggle, as it were, and will be dragging myself back into the sunlight. Or onto the internet on a more regular and likely frivolous basis. As the case may be.
Meanwhile, here's a short video of Greyson performing a magic trick - that is, making a cheese Krystal disappear. Behold the happy puppy dance, in all its bouncy glory! And Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Festive et cetera to all and sundry...
November 28, 2012
Last Legs of the Tour
So! I've been home for the last week or so, mostly playing catch-up from the week or so that I was out of town, natch. Thus my failure to blog, for which I do hope you will pardon me. However, I am not done yet: No indeed, for there are two more stops along this tour, starting tomorrow night.
With that in mind - Atlanta area folks, you can catch me tomorrow evening, 7:30 p.m. at Charis Books and More (1189 Euclid Ave, NE Atlanta, GA 30307, in Little Five Points).
And after Atlanta, on November 30 you can find me in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at 7:00 p.m. courtesy of Flyleaf Books (752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd; [Historic Airport Rd] Chapel Hill, NC 27514). I know I was just in Chapel Hill a few months ago for the marvelous ConTemporal, but I had so much fun that I'm happy to return!
All the usual rules apply. Bring whatever you like, and I'll sign it; you don't need to buy it at the host store, but if you're able, it'd be nice if you could buy something there. These places go way out of their way to bring in authors like me, and I want my appearance to be worth their trouble.
Look, I'm not gonna lie - I'm always a little nervous doing events close to home, as they tend to be less well attended than events farther afield. At present, I'm trying to make the case for more southeastern events in general; but not to put too fine a point on it, I'll need your help to make that happen. So come on out! I will try to be interesting and/or funny. Or at least I'll sign whatever you want, so long as it's not a body part.
Okay? Okay. Thanks so much to everyone who's come out to see me so far, and to all the great shops and bookstore workers who have been so kind during this epic jaunt back and forth across the country. You guys are the best - and I couldn't do it without you.
Anyway ... see you soon, Atlanta and Chapel Hill!
And now I have to go finish packing ...
With that in mind - Atlanta area folks, you can catch me tomorrow evening, 7:30 p.m. at Charis Books and More (1189 Euclid Ave, NE Atlanta, GA 30307, in Little Five Points).
And after Atlanta, on November 30 you can find me in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at 7:00 p.m. courtesy of Flyleaf Books (752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd; [Historic Airport Rd] Chapel Hill, NC 27514). I know I was just in Chapel Hill a few months ago for the marvelous ConTemporal, but I had so much fun that I'm happy to return!
All the usual rules apply. Bring whatever you like, and I'll sign it; you don't need to buy it at the host store, but if you're able, it'd be nice if you could buy something there. These places go way out of their way to bring in authors like me, and I want my appearance to be worth their trouble.
Look, I'm not gonna lie - I'm always a little nervous doing events close to home, as they tend to be less well attended than events farther afield. At present, I'm trying to make the case for more southeastern events in general; but not to put too fine a point on it, I'll need your help to make that happen. So come on out! I will try to be interesting and/or funny. Or at least I'll sign whatever you want, so long as it's not a body part.
Okay? Okay. Thanks so much to everyone who's come out to see me so far, and to all the great shops and bookstore workers who have been so kind during this epic jaunt back and forth across the country. You guys are the best - and I couldn't do it without you.
Anyway ... see you soon, Atlanta and Chapel Hill!
And now I have to go finish packing ...
November 14, 2012
Drink all day and we talk 'til dark
Hey everyone - this is a PSA re: my impending blog absence. To wit:
I'm on tour for The Inexplicables!
Yes! Flying all over the place, and therefore, unlikely to do a whole lot of posting. You're only getting this-here entry right this moment because I have a smidge of spare time before my first event, at the Poison Pen in Scottsdale, AZ.
Therefore, if you'd like to keep up with me for the next week or so (and then after Thanksgiving, when the journey continues afresh) ... please jaunt over to my Twitter feed and entertain yourself accordingly.
Got it? Right. Good. Because baby, this trip is just getting started.
Therefore, if you'd like to keep up with me for the next week or so (and then after Thanksgiving, when the journey continues afresh) ... please jaunt over to my Twitter feed and entertain yourself accordingly.
Got it? Right. Good. Because baby, this trip is just getting started.
November 13, 2012
Happy INEXPLICABLES Day!
Hello everyone! Today it is Inexplicables day! Yes - ladies, gents, and the otherwise affiliated - today my FOURTEENTH book is cast out into the marketplace.* It feels positively surreal ... GOOD, yes. But surreal.SO. PLEASE, if you could be so inclined, take a moment to take a peek at my newest project.
If you'd like to read the first chapter of The Inexplicables, you can click right here and find it live on the Macmillan page. And when you're finished with that sample, if you're game and/or curious, you can still click over to Goodreads and throw your hat in the ring to receive a free copy from Tor.
AND. DON'T FORGET. I'll be striking out on tour TOMORROW yes TOMORROW - and if I'm going to be in your neck of the woods, I will cheerfully sign this book or any other (WHICH I HAVE WRITTEN, natch) according to your preference. For that matter, you may rest assured that I'll leave a stash of signed books in my wake, so if such a think might make a kick-ass Christmas or birthday present for someone you know, then LET ME HOOK YOU UP.
Tour dates and locations listed here.
As always, thank you all for reading, thank you for blogging, thank you for spreading the word among friends and family and other assorted persons with whom you are acquainted. Below you'll find a list of handy-dandy links that should, I hope, make nabbing this book ALL THE EASIER.
Thanks again, to all of you, everywhere...
Click here [under e-book Agency] to buy The Inexplicables in a variety of e-book formats
The Inexplicables at Amazon.com
The Inexplicables at Barnes&Noble.com
The Inexplicables at BooksAMillion.com
The Inexplicables at Powells.com
Search for The Inexplicables at an independent store near you
Rector "Wreck ‘em" Sherman was orphaned as a toddler in the Blight of 1863, but now he's all grown up - and on his eighteenth birthday, he’ll be cast out out of the children's home.
But Wreck’s problems aren’t merely about finding a new place to live: for years, he’s been quietly breaking the cardinal rule of any good drug dealer and dipping into his own supply. Now he's pretty sure he’s being haunted by the ghost of a kid he used to know - a kid who disappeared six months ago, and is almost certainly dead. If so, this old friend would have every reason to pester Wreck, since Wreck's the one who got him inside the walled city of Seattle in the first place.
Maybe the ghost is just a drug-fueled misfire of a guilty conscience, but Wreck can’t take it anymore. So he sneaks over the wall.
Inside, he finds the wasteland of Seattle every bit as bad as he’d heard, chock-full of the hungry undead and utterly choked by the poisonous, inescapable yellow gas.
And then there's the monster. Rector's pretty certain that whatever attacked him was not at all human—and not a rotter, either. This was something different. Arms far too long. Posture all strange. Eyes all wild and faintly glowing gold and known to the locals as simply "The Inexplicable."
* If you count Fort Freak - which I did not write in its entirety, but I wrote the whole interstitial ... and I worked every bit as hard on that as I ever worked on any project that was all my own.
November 8, 2012
Little birds looking down at the battle grounds
Three things today shall make a post. No more than three, because I have to log off and go finish folding laundry and then pack for the literary festival tomorrow. Sorry. But it's three really GOOD things, so there's that:
A Blessed Unrest - My darling muppet-fae wonder of a friend, Meredith Yayanos, is half of a musical duo known as "The Parlour Trick." Right now, she and her partner Dan are pushing a Kickstarter; and yes, ordinarily I eschew linking such things, but THIS ONE ... this one ... you guys. I NEED for this Kickstarter to get funded, so that I can get the album they plan to record - because when they do, then I will sit down and write the World's Greatest Victorian Ghost Story. Which I am pretty sure cannot be written without this music. So. Help a sister out, would you? I've already thrown some pence in the bucket, and now I am crossing the ever-living hell out of my fingers.
Shelf Awareness likes The Inexplicables - The review itself is slightly spoilery, but not tragically so. Here's the highlights reel, as copied over on my "Reviews" page for the sake of reference: "While the sequels Dreadnought and Ganymede expanded the fictional territory across much of North America, Priest circles back to the Pacific Northwest in The Inexplicables, subtly pivoting her story in a new direction.... Just as Rector and his friends roam up to the edges of their territory, she’s probing the world that she’s created, teasing out new aspects of the familiar landmarks, then laying out early signs of the next direction–because it’s very clear that there’s at least one more installment of the Clockwork Century yet to come. Newcomers can pick up The Inexplicables without any substantial difficulty, but there’s an extra layer of enjoyment if you know the backstory – and its three predecessors are just such fun, anyhow."
A Blessed Unrest - My darling muppet-fae wonder of a friend, Meredith Yayanos, is half of a musical duo known as "The Parlour Trick." Right now, she and her partner Dan are pushing a Kickstarter; and yes, ordinarily I eschew linking such things, but THIS ONE ... this one ... you guys. I NEED for this Kickstarter to get funded, so that I can get the album they plan to record - because when they do, then I will sit down and write the World's Greatest Victorian Ghost Story. Which I am pretty sure cannot be written without this music. So. Help a sister out, would you? I've already thrown some pence in the bucket, and now I am crossing the ever-living hell out of my fingers.
Shelf Awareness likes The Inexplicables - The review itself is slightly spoilery, but not tragically so. Here's the highlights reel, as copied over on my "Reviews" page for the sake of reference: "While the sequels Dreadnought and Ganymede expanded the fictional territory across much of North America, Priest circles back to the Pacific Northwest in The Inexplicables, subtly pivoting her story in a new direction.... Just as Rector and his friends roam up to the edges of their territory, she’s probing the world that she’s created, teasing out new aspects of the familiar landmarks, then laying out early signs of the next direction–because it’s very clear that there’s at least one more installment of the Clockwork Century yet to come. Newcomers can pick up The Inexplicables without any substantial difficulty, but there’s an extra layer of enjoyment if you know the backstory – and its three predecessors are just such fun, anyhow."
November 7, 2012
Time to knock the train off the rails
Even though I promised I would do no such thing, I ended up sitting around with the husband to catch the election results last night. I had EVERY INTENTION of playing Resident Evil 6 and waiting for the final announcement on the other side of all the drama, but something about hot butter rum and NBC's shiny graphics kept me glassy-eyed and glued.
I am not gonna lie: I almost cried with relief when Obama won ... and that's all I'll say on the subject.*
Anyway. Moving right along.
I've randomly chosen five winners for the ARC giveaways, and at this point, I've emailed all five to ask for snail mail addresses. I've heard from two, and if I don't hear from the rest by Monday, I'll pick someone else. Nothing personal, but I've got work to do - and if I don't get these mailed off next week, God knows when it'll get done.
And I want these things out of my office.
In other news, I'm about to leave town yet again - but not for the tour, not quite yet. No, first up is the Dahlonega Literary Festival this coming weekend, where you can catch me and a whole host of other writers hanging around the historic town square. So if I'm slow with the emails or updates, I do hope you can forgive me.
Speaking of - next week I'm setting off on this year's book tour for The Inexplicables! Click here to see if I'm coming to your area - and if so, then I do hope you'll come out to see me. I'm happy to sign books (any of them, not just the one I'm touring for), and I will no doubt leave a trail of signed books in my wake at these various stores - for I usually sign all the stock they'll give me. So you holiday shoppers out there ... heads up!
I'm just saying.
* People who post hateful screeds and/or try to start fights will find their comments deleted and themselves blocked. I don't barge into your house and show my ass; don't come to my place and do likewise. It's not polite. And it's a shame about this footnote, but last night's FB firestorm drove home the fact that I need to put it here.
I am not gonna lie: I almost cried with relief when Obama won ... and that's all I'll say on the subject.*
Anyway. Moving right along.
I've randomly chosen five winners for the ARC giveaways, and at this point, I've emailed all five to ask for snail mail addresses. I've heard from two, and if I don't hear from the rest by Monday, I'll pick someone else. Nothing personal, but I've got work to do - and if I don't get these mailed off next week, God knows when it'll get done.
And I want these things out of my office.
In other news, I'm about to leave town yet again - but not for the tour, not quite yet. No, first up is the Dahlonega Literary Festival this coming weekend, where you can catch me and a whole host of other writers hanging around the historic town square. So if I'm slow with the emails or updates, I do hope you can forgive me.
Speaking of - next week I'm setting off on this year's book tour for The Inexplicables! Click here to see if I'm coming to your area - and if so, then I do hope you'll come out to see me. I'm happy to sign books (any of them, not just the one I'm touring for), and I will no doubt leave a trail of signed books in my wake at these various stores - for I usually sign all the stock they'll give me. So you holiday shoppers out there ... heads up!
I'm just saying.
* People who post hateful screeds and/or try to start fights will find their comments deleted and themselves blocked. I don't barge into your house and show my ass; don't come to my place and do likewise. It's not polite. And it's a shame about this footnote, but last night's FB firestorm drove home the fact that I need to put it here.
November 6, 2012
It's all fire and brimstone baby, so let's go outside
Today has been a day of small, niggling tasks that I've put off for too long - all that boring behind-the-scenes stuff that I'd love to have someone else handle, but it's just me, so I have to do it.*
Mostly I performed internet maintenance issues, including a revamp of the graphics on my website to reflect the next book, as well as a general updating of the Clockwork Century - cleaning up the links, adding the information for The Inexplicables, and adjusting the content.
[Edit: The Clockwork Century site is having some intermittent issues; servers are in NYC, and only recently came back online. No need to email me if you can't reach it right now.]
These things took awhile, not least of all because I am no great genius with either Photoshop or HTML. My skills are adequate at best, and even then, I achieve "adequate" only after a few hours of blood, sweat, and tears.
So the day kind of feels like a waste, though I know it wasn't.
BUT CHERIE some of you may cry DID YOU NOT GET OUT THERE AND ROCK THE VOTE? In fact I did. A couple of weeks ago. Tennessee allows early voting, and I took advantage of it. Got myself a sticker and everything.
I haven't missed an election since I turned 18. Too many people worked too hard to make sure I have that option.
Anti-Suffragette meme wars waged in postcards
More anti-suffragette posters and images
Reason why women shouldn't be allowed to vote
92 years of women voting
Pro-Suffrage postcards
And now? Now I'm going to settle in for the evening with my pets, my husband, some rum, and some video games. I don't think I have the stomach to watch the results come in; I don't need the high blood pressure, and watching the numbers trickle to the public will just stress me out.
I'll hold my breath and see what happens.
* The first [and furthermore, every] person who suggests I hire a secretary gets a boot to the head. Even if I had the time and energy to hire and train one, I don't have the money to pay one. So forget it.
Mostly I performed internet maintenance issues, including a revamp of the graphics on my website to reflect the next book, as well as a general updating of the Clockwork Century - cleaning up the links, adding the information for The Inexplicables, and adjusting the content.
[Edit: The Clockwork Century site is having some intermittent issues; servers are in NYC, and only recently came back online. No need to email me if you can't reach it right now.]
These things took awhile, not least of all because I am no great genius with either Photoshop or HTML. My skills are adequate at best, and even then, I achieve "adequate" only after a few hours of blood, sweat, and tears.
So the day kind of feels like a waste, though I know it wasn't.
BUT CHERIE some of you may cry DID YOU NOT GET OUT THERE AND ROCK THE VOTE? In fact I did. A couple of weeks ago. Tennessee allows early voting, and I took advantage of it. Got myself a sticker and everything.
I haven't missed an election since I turned 18. Too many people worked too hard to make sure I have that option.
Anti-Suffragette meme wars waged in postcards
More anti-suffragette posters and images
Reason why women shouldn't be allowed to vote
92 years of women voting
Pro-Suffrage postcards
And now? Now I'm going to settle in for the evening with my pets, my husband, some rum, and some video games. I don't think I have the stomach to watch the results come in; I don't need the high blood pressure, and watching the numbers trickle to the public will just stress me out.
I'll hold my breath and see what happens.
* The first [and furthermore, every] person who suggests I hire a secretary gets a boot to the head. Even if I had the time and energy to hire and train one, I don't have the money to pay one. So forget it.
It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion
Hello everyone! It's awards season and this is my job, so please click through and take a peek if you are so inclined. Don't worry - it's short! I only published a couple of things this year, and I in
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