Cherie Priest's Blog: It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion, page 73

Reaching for that golden ring we'd never let go

First up – minor victories. A wee smidge more work done on Inexplicables. Not much, no. I've been busy, I've been working my ass off to wrap up a day-job project that's eaten my life for two months, and I've been under the weather with some problems I haven't felt like mentioning online. So yeah, progress is slow. But hey. Progress. And I'm pretty happy with it.

Project: Inexplicables

Deadline: September 15, 2011

New words written: 841

Present total word count: 2131 words

And now, for links. A ROUND-UP OF THEM. As is fitting on a weekend, when I'm trying to use most of my nervous energy for other things.

Dreadnought review at MapleMuse – "While reading the novel, I quickly came to a point where I couldn't put the book down. At an even 400 pages in length, that's no mean feat." I keep hearing from people who liked this one better than Boneshaker … so if you were on the fence about that one, maybe take a stab at this one…? You never know. Zombies. Steampunk Texas Rangers. Undead Mexican separatists. And whatnot. Might be up your alley.

The King of the Nerds liked it too – "Whether you are a steampunk fan or not Dreadnought is adventure fiction of the highest caliber. Thrilling chases, monstrous contraptions, and nail-biting gunfights abound and through it all the rock that is Mercy Lynch keeps readers, and the people around her, grounded." See? Good book. You should buy it. Because I have a kitty … and she needs kibble. And January is the slow season for books everywhere, or so they tell me.

Wizards of the Coast talks gaming and writing – With yours truly and the inimitable Jay Lake, talking about how our formative years playing games has affected our life as writers – and the things we produce.

Jennifer Jackson's blog moves – My amazing agent (and long may her praises be sung) swaps off LJ for WordPress, and the result is pretty damn slick. Go read her stuff! It's informative and interesting, to anyone who is interested in publishing or speculative fiction.

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

Random selections selected randomly

The official BLOODSHOT GIVEAWAY is now closed! Please stop emailing me with addresses now! Not because I don't love you, of course, and not because I don't want to know where you live (MWOO HAH HAH HAH) … but because the winning entrants have been selected and the email with all their names/addresses has been sent to the nice man in Michigan who will distribute the goodies accordingly.

For those of you who are interested in such things, there were ultimately 572 entrants in the drawing. In order to choose the winning names, I poked about online until I found a random number generator. Then I plugged in the values (1-572) and hit "refresh" 25 times. Here at the Priest Book Channel we do strive for fairness, after all.

Anyway, there you go. Winners will be informed via receiving a book in the mail. Everyone else, my apologies – but I have many errands to run and much work to do, and I do not have a secretary-type person. As mentioned in yesterday's post, you'll just have to wait and see. Or, you can go pick up a copy via any of the usual sources (which I'll link at the bottom of this post).

Thanks so much to everyone for entering, and congratulations to the winners. Now I must pry this cat offa my lap, throw on some clothes, and start the rest of my day. Happy reading, and everyone have a great weekend!



Order signed/personalized copies of Bloodshot from the University Book Store in Seattle

Find Bloodshot at Amazon.com

Find Bloodshot at Barnes & Noble

Find Bloodshot at Third Place Books

Find Bloodshot at Powell's

Find Bloodshot at Borders.com

Find Bloodshot at Chapters/Indigo for Canadian buyers

Pick up Bloodshot as an ebook from any of the vendors and in any of the formats on the right-hand column of this page

Nab Bloodshot as an audio book – even on CD! – through any of the outlets you see on the right-hand column of THIS page

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

25 free copies of BLOODSHOT – Want one?

All right, you happy readers, you – courtesy of my awesome boss at Subterranean Press I have been granted 25 copies of Bloodshot free for the giving-away. That's right, take a chance and perhaps YOU yes YOU could receive a copy of my fabulous adventure about a neurotic vampire/thief and her wealthy blind client, now with Bonus! Cuban drag queen and military intrigue.

Do you want a copy, but (for whatever reason) not yet have one in your hot little hands?

LET ME HELP.

The rules for entry in this giveaway are simple. I will borrow them (and amend them a bit) from prior giveaways sponsored by the very same gent. This is how you go about getting one of these free copies:

1) Be a US resident. (Sorry!)

2) Send an email to cherie.priest@gmail.com with BLOODSHOT GIVEAWAY as your subject line.

3) The meat of your email should include ONLY your name and address.



I will choose 25 people at random, tomorrow morning. I will forward their contact information to the nice man at Subterranean, and he will drop the books into the mail. I won't have time to send out emails to those who've won, or not, so the only indication you'll receive is if a copy shows up in your mailbox in the next few weeks.

The one catch is as follows: By accepting BLOODSHOT, you agree to read it within two weeks of receipt and either (a). blog about your response to the book, or (b). post a reader review to Amazon.com or Goodreads.com — good, bad, or somewhere in between, it matters not to me.

I'm not asking you to say nice things about the book. If you don't like it, no worries. I won't take it personally, and I won't hold it against you — though obviously I hope you do like it, and you do want to say nice things. I am only human, after all.

So! There you have it. Hit me with your contact info if you want a book, and I will enter your name for the drawing. Feel free to link this post around, share it with your friends, or otherwise boost its signal. The more entrants, the merrier!

And for those of you who'd rather not take your chances, here are all the usual ways to go about acquiring a copy, in all its available forms:

Order signed/personalized copies of Bloodshot from the University Book Store in Seattle

Find Bloodshot at Amazon.com

Find Bloodshot at Barnes & Noble

Find Bloodshot at Third Place Books

Find Bloodshot at Powell's

Find Bloodshot at Borders.com

Find Bloodshot at Chapters/Indigo for Canadian buyers

Pick up Bloodshot as an ebook from any of the vendors and in any of the formats on the right-hand column of this page

Nab Bloodshot as an audio book – even on CD! – through any of the outlets you see on the right-hand column of THIS page

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

Looking at stars that give you vertigo

No new words written today. Yes, I know. I just announced yesterday that I was On The Case. But other things have intervened today, and there wasn't any writing, and I'm at peace with that, okay? I'll write tomorrow. I hope. That's the plan, anyway. For now, I will round up a few links, and then get back to the business of … whatever other business I have on my plate tonight. I think Nova: Science Now! is new, so I'll probably shoehorn that into the schedule someplace, as I am a big ol' dork with a moderately unhealthy fondness for Neil deGrasse-Tyson.

Anyway.



King of the Nerds critiques the Clementine audiobook – "Clementine was a fun listen and I was more than a little disappointed that there wasn't more once the novella was over. Not that things weren't wrapped up in a satisfactory manner, they were, but mostly because I had enjoyed my time with the characters so much that I didn't really want it to end."

Speaking of, here's how you can get the audiobook – Right here, through Audible. Ten bucks! Can't beat it if you try.

Urban Fantasy Investigations tackles Bloodshot – And the verdict: " Raylene's personality is awesome, she is independent, sassy and is an all around kick ass Heroine. The plot was engaging, and packed full of action. The mystery kept me thinking and guessing and I was still shocked at the end to find out what was really going on." Though I'm most pleased about the bit where the reviewer says she never got bored with it. [:: warm fuzzies ::]

My awesome friend Janet K. Lee gives awesome X-men – "Marvel is pleased to present your first look at the artist of Jane Austen's EMMA, Janet K. Lee (Return of the Dapper Men), stunning variant cover to UNCANNY X-MEN #534 depicting the one and only Emma Frost!"

My awesome friend Pete Venters is posting sneak peeks – Re: the Transmetropolitan project in which he is participating. "This is a small snippet of a sketch of something else I'm doing for the Transmet Art Book that's not actually part of my double page submission. If you're a big fan of Transmet you may recognize some faces."

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

The Blank Page: Conquered

For the last few days, I've been struggling with myself over how to start the next Clockwork Century book. Honestly, I hadn't done any writing in weeks – not since wrapping up the sample content for that steam-horror proposal – and it's always tough to get back into the habit once you've let it lapse.

Just like anything else, I guess.

But in addition to the struggle to reestablish the habit, there's also this godawful uncertainty about starting anything new – wondering if I'm getting the pitch right, hoping it's not stupid and I'm not deluding myself, and what does this damn thing want to sound like, anyway? Eventually after fiddling with it, playing with it, starting it and deleting everything a few times, something will finally … catch. And then, voila: I have a beginning.

Well, I think it's happened now.

This might not be the beginning that makes its way into the finished book. More than once I've chucked the first chapter (or two, or three) upon realizing that those early pages weren't working and the book needed to get underway differently. This is not to say that those chapters are useless – far from it. Sometimes you have to write through a certain measure of the wrong stuff in order to work up to the right stuff. It's just a fact of the process. (Mine, anyway. Your mileage may vary.)

Anyway. The next book – tentatively titled Inexplicables – is underway. I'll keep particulars to myself for a bit, if you don't mind, until I have some traction on the story. But for now, here are a few piddly stats (early stats are always piddly), and official declaration that I'm On It.

And now I have to stay on it.

Because I've told you about it.

Project: Inexplicables

Deadline: September 15, 2011

New words written: 1052

Present total word count: 1052 words

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

Functionaller. Nerdier. More podcasty.

I'll take "Things That Deserve Their Own Post" for a thousand, Alex. Answer: What is the Functional Nerds Podcast? Question: Where did Cherie go nattering on about steampunk, Bloodshot, publishing, and southern barbecue for half an hour or so? Correct. We also would've accepted, "What is awesome, and you should go click through and listen because those guys pretty much rule?"

Speaking of Bloodshot, the King of the Nerds liked it quite well. So that was one more nice bit of nerd-related news to wake up to, today.

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

I don't feel you anymore, you darken my door

Links! Some for me, for general reference purposes – and some for you, in case you are sitting on the fence with regards to any book-buying. I don't want to turn this page into a shopping network channel, but hey, it's the slow season for sales, I often post about other things … and I've got a kitty to feed. So here goes:



Bart's Bookshelf takes on Boneshaker – Thanks for taking the time, dude! I'm glad you liked it.

River City Fiction on Dreadnought – As part of their "Write Around Richmond" series. "It's far from Richmond International Airport, but I picture dirigibles climbing into a clear sky above Tredegar Iron Works. Dreadnought is the first steampunk novel I've read, and I must admit I love picturing RVA all steamy and punky."

Venus with Biceps: A Pictorial History of Muscular Women – Looks like it might be an interesting book. Will keep my eyes open for it – as I'm always interested in (a). vintage photography, and (b). historic beauty standards, and people who fell within them, without them, and alongside them.

Bitch, Please – If you're familiar with the whole Bitch YA feminist reading list fiasco, then click here to read words of wisdom from Scott Westerfeld. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it. Or click anyway, and be enlightened.

Books: Not dead yet. The Atlantic goes to town with some numbers re: the publishing industry, book sales, and analysis. Do I agree with every jot and tittle? Not necessarily. But it's nice to see someone putting down figures rather than ringing the death knell.



And because I am shameless, and I have a new book out, and I want people to buy it and read it and recommend it…(what? I said "shameless" first, didn't I?) … here are some handy-dandy links.

Order signed/personalized copies of Bloodshot from the University Book Store in Seattle

Find Bloodshot at Amazon.com

Find Bloodshot at Barnes & Noble

Find Bloodshot at Third Place Books

Find Bloodshot at Powell's

Find Bloodshot at Borders.com

Find Bloodshot at Chapters/Indigo for Canadian buyers

Pick up Bloodshot as an ebook from any of the vendors and in any of the formats on the right-hand column of this page

Nab Bloodshot as an audio book – even on CD! – through any of the outlets you see on the right-hand column of THIS page

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

Oldies but goodies … and not-so-goodies

A few months ago, I picked up a DVD of an old movie I once adored – The Private Eyes, from 1980, with Don Knotts and Tim Conway. I recall loving this flick as a little kid; I think it came on HBO in heavy rotation in '81, which would have meant I was six years old … and I watched it repeatedly, as kids are wont to do, while staying at my dad's place for the summer.

It was my favorite movie. My first Favorite Movie Ever, if you will, and upon spying the DVD I told myself that I would buy it, save it, and savor it. This would be a treat to be indulged whenever I got "caught up."

Laughable, yes I know. I'm never really caught up. On anything. But these first six weeks of 2011 have left me not so much "between deadlines" as "within some marginally more flexible deadlines than usual," and last night I was bored. Last night I thought to myself, "Self, perhaps the time has come to watch ol' Don and Tim and see how the flick holds up."

So I popped it in. Hit play.

And woo boy howdy, I kind of wish I hadn't.

(Cut to spare those who still regard the movie fondly.

Click below – or keep scrolling – to read the rest.)

Click here to read some vented woe »

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

everybody's working for the weekend

Last night I had martinis with the usual crew (plus a new-to-towner who will likely become a regular, methinks), and then I headed home to indulge in trashy television, a couple of Advil, and some laughing at the things people sent me in response to yesterday's repost of the Shakespearean Cat Break.

Anyway, here goes the week – winding down – and I have a round-up of links and whatnot to post so that (a). you, the readers, have them at your ready disposal, and (b). I do not forget them. I realize this post is another entry into the Book Channel here on the blog, but sometimes it's a necessary evil.

Seattle Mystery Bookshop – Tomorrow at noon, find me there. I will sign, I will hang out, and I will answer any pressing (or un-pressing) questions you may have about any of my books.

Bloodshot gets some love from the Vampire Book Club – "The big story will certainly be told in multiple books, but in Bloodshot I just really fell in love with Raylene. I love a strong heroine, and if nothing else Raylene is assertive and resourceful. Also, she sets a new bar for badass vampire chick. And I dig it."

Dreadnought gets some love from Paper Space Ships – "…readers get to learn more about this alternate America, complete with an independent Texas that serves as a weapons dealer to both sides, the goings-on out west and the far reach of the sap drug since the first novel. The meat of the story however, is Mercy's train ride west, full of shoot-outs, showdowns and a collection of people who can't get along all headed in the same direction."

Boneshaker gets some love from Turn The Page Reviews – "I will admit I'm not a fan of zombies, and the "rotters" created by Cherie Priest are truly terrifying because the cause behind the change from human to living dead is somewhat believable. Also her descriptions of them — I get chills just thinking of them."

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

One for the English Majors

Someone reminded me of this piece of … oh, let's call it satire … I wrote back in (Jesus!) 2004. It is in reference to the very same cat we still own and love, a cat who has a long and storied history of being a pain in the ass – but a lovable one. Most of the time.

Anyway, since it's been seven years since this bit has seen the light of day, I thought I'd repost it on general principle. Which is to say, "for shits and giggles." So here goes:



To see or not to see? That is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The stubbed toes and bruised shins of a midnight bathroom run

Or to turn on the light and blind myself,

And by such illumination avoid the furry black speedbump? To flip the switch;

Spare the cat; and by not stepping thereupon we dodge

The foot-ache and the thousand unnatural shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis an eventuality

Devoutly to be wished. To flip the switch, to see,

To see: perchance not to stumble: ay, there's the feline;

For in that bleary-eyed darkness what cats may come

When we have shuffled off these velvet covers

Must give us pause on the way to the potty; there's the respect

That makes calamity of so long life;

For who would on purpose stomp and stamp upon the house pet,

The rotten animal, the fluffy boobytrap,

The fat fuzzball, the troublesome carpet-dweller,

The insolent wee dictator and the stubby round tyrant,

That patient lurker of hallways and doorways

When she herself might her quiet way make

While bothering no one? Who then would I bear,

To grunt and sweat beneath her hefty, hairy load,

But that dread of something fanged beneath my feet,

The undiscovered predator from whose claws

No mousie escapes, puzzles the will

And makes us rather carry her around

Than step upon her for we otherwise know not where she lurks?

Thus night blindness does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native glow of the bathroom light

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought

And enterprises of liquid need and pressure

With this regard the toilet's seeker's path turns awry

And slippered feet lose the name of traction–Soft you now!

The fair Aric, Heavy Sleeper, in thy comfort

Be all my sins remembered.

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]