Cherie Priest's Blog: It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion, page 79

Clockwork Century Channel for Tuesday

Joe Sherry has some thoughts about women in science fiction – Going so far as to talk about his ten favorite science fiction books by women. It is exceedingly kind of him to name Boneshaker as one of his picks. Thanks, Joe!

Cool reader costume – This is Adrienne, who was roaming around SteamCon – though we never actually managed to meet. More's the pity! I love her get-up, and not just because she used "Briar and the Bainbridge Island renegade dirigible camp as inspiration."

Mike Mignola on Hollywood, Jack Kirby and one strange night in Prague – You should totally watch this video, because (a). Mike is a hoot and a half, and (b). Dreadnought shows up in the background. Well, it put a smile on my face, anyway …

The Atomic Fez has thoughts on Dreadnought – And I am pleased that he wants to give it to young female readers in search of a hearty role model. No pressure, or anything! But you know what I mean :) Many thanks, Ian!

The Denver Examiner pokes Boneshaker with a stick – And likes it, which is great. However – maybe I'm misremembering, here – it feels like this is approximately the umpteenth version of the Examiner to do a Boneshaker review. Don't get me wrong – I'm delighted that their writers are enjoying my material, of course! But it seems odd. Or maybe it's only early, and my critical thinking skills aren't what they could be.

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

Bloodshot in PW

This is such a funny book for me – it'll be my tenth, and it's a very different style from my previous stuff … which Kirkus loved (if you'll recall), and Publishers Weekly mostly likes. I'll put the review behind a cut, so click below to read it.

Priest ... dives into urban fantasy with this entertaining conspiracy thriller »

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

Weekend Round-Up

I've spent the weekend doing Christmas shoppy-type things, partly alone, partly in the company of my husband and/or Ellen (with whom I hit up the Urban Craft Uprising). Today will be more of the same, though perhaps I shall strike out on my own. I have two sets of people yet to cover, plus a birthday present for my mom; and I will probably cover the very last of everything on Tuesday.

THIS IS MY PLAN. Yes, I can hear the gods laughing.

But what can I do? My Ganymede editorial letter landed on Thursday, so I am once again under deadline in a season of mayhem, and if I don't get these things squared away now, heaven knows when or if I'll be able to address them. Regardless, I can't leave you nice folks without your daily allotment of links, now can I? No, of course not. So here goes:

The San Francisco Chronicle weighs in on Dreadnought – (Via the SFGate) – I'm always quietly chuffed when people notice and/or point out that what I do with steampunk isn't necessarily what you expect to see from steampunk … yet there's no question of it qualifying as such. Thanks, SFC!

The Dirty Sexy Books blog tackles Dreadnought as well – This one surprised me. I mean, dirty? Yes. There is a lot of dirt (and guts, and mud, and whatnot) in Dreadnought; but I'm the first to admit it's none too sexy. Still, the reviewer enjoyed it, so I'm certainly not complaining. Thanks, DSB!

Not complaining about these Bloodshot reviews, either – I didn't know Amazon would let you leave reviews for books that aren't out yet, but apparently they have this "Amazon Vine" program full of special people who get to do just that. Which is awesome – at least for me! And at least for Bloodshot, which the early readers seem to have loved. One of those reviews made me laugh my ass off, but I won't tell you which one. If you read them, you can probably figure it out. Thanks, AV reviewers!

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

Maplewood

It's Friday night, and as soon as the husband gets home from work we're heading out to go Christmas shopping … but before he gets here and I log off for the night, I wanted to take a minute to thank the folks at Maplewood K-8 in Edmonds, for having me out there this afternoon. The faculty was awesome, the kids were fantastic, and I had a hell of a time answering questions about zombies and vampires for 40 minutes, I tell you what.

Holy crap, sometimes I'm so lucky I hardly recognize myself! What a great school, great kids, great people, great afternoon. Thanks again for having me out, and for the bright, warm reception on this cold, dark day.

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

these words no longer have a hold here

This morning I have only a loose assortment of blogging bits for your reading pleasure – due largely to the fact that I'm heading out to chat with a bunch of 7th and 8th graders shortly after lunch. This will no doubt be fun! 7th and 8th graders are, in my general experience, a pretty cool bunch of kids; but this does mean that all the usual day-time work should probably happen before I leave.

Also, I still have to figure out what I'm going to talk about. Ahem.

Yes. Well. I'm sure I'll come up with something. Usually teachers want me to inspire and inform the students, and fire them up about their educational experience forty-five minutes before sending them home for the day … but that might be a bit above my pay grade.* I will probably end up nattering on about zombies, ghost stories, and video games.

Stay in school, kids!

But first, a couple of things I wanted to post before I forgot:

Early Bloodshot review – Courtesy of the Intense Whisper page (and one of the Authors After Dark bloggers). Hurrah, she liked it! And she is fully in alignment with every single reader/reviewer [which I have seen] so far, in that she loves the ex-Navy SEAL drag queen. Man, if I'd known there was such a hunger for good drag queen action in urban fantasy, I would've written this sooner.

The Manor of Mixed Blessings is once again kitten-infested – This time it's just one kitten, mind you. But he/she is pretty damn adorable. The newcomer is a cow-kitty who will be vetted, "speutered" (as the case may be) and up for adoption ASAP, as Andrea already has a full household of rescues, thank you very much. This kitten is roughly in the north Virginia area – and I say "roughly" because Andrea has been known to drive quite some distance in order to place foundlings in good homes. Click over to see the pics and/or consider a four-footed addition to your family.





* There is no pay grade. I'm volunteering, wee!

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

December 2, 2010

Hey everyone – it looks like Dreadnought is getting some friendly attention over at Goodreads … where it's up for a 2010 Goodreads Choice Award in the science fiction category. This is awesome! I love Goodreads – and I love the readers over there. So if you're a member, and if you're interested in doing so, by all means feel free to troop over there and vote.

Vote for Dreadnought if you liked it, or vote for something else as you see fit. I'm just here to hook you up with the satisfying clicky links.

Though of course, if you did enjoy Dreadnought and you don't mind saying so … I'd be deeply grateful if you'd take a moment to leave it a review on your favorite site of review-leaving. Goodreads. Amazon. Barnes & Noble. Powell's. Whatever makes you happy. All are appreciated!

* * *

In other news, as of Tuesday I am officially finished with all my public appearances this year. (Except for a visit to a school tomorrow, but that's not exactly public.) On the one hand, this feels like a huge weight off my shoulders – given how much running around I've done in the last few months; on the other, it's only a brief reprieve … because the travel starts again in January.

No, seriously. I have at least one major out-of-town jaunt lined up for every month through May.

Click here to get a look at 2011's schedule, and see if I'm coming to a place near you. If you'd like to see me come much closer to a place near you (wherever that may be), drop me a note and I'll see what I can do. Or what my publisher is willing to do.

Fair warning: This year I am attempting to limit Big Travel Things to once per month, or twice at most (in case of family events, like my brother's graduation) … rather than the Vancouver/ Portland/ Denver/ San Francisco/ Madison/ Richmond run I made over eight weeks in 2010. I love you guys, and I love to visit readers – but that was deadly, and I have learned the hard way that I need more down time than I thought I did.

Anyway, thanks for reading, folks – and I'll see you where I'll see you!

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

December 1, 2010

Last night the folks at the Tacoma library were wonderful, once I finally got there (stupid rush hour traffic. stupid Capital Hill.) – and I can't tell you how much I appreciated everyone who threw the event, and everyone who came out for it. You guys were great!



Today will be a day of catching up and running around – because yesterday afternoon, I finally submitted the revisions on Hellbent. This means that for an uncertain window of opportunity, I have NOTHING ON MY PLATE except for my day-job work.* That'll change. Heck, it'll probably change quite soon; I know Liz is working up the Ganymede editorial letter, and it could land in my inbox at any moment. But until that happens, there is Christmas shopping to accomplish! And all the errands I haven't been running because I've been buckled down with nose to the grindstone, getting Hellbent's rewrites done by the end of November! And maybe I'll even take a moment to buy myself a tasty lunch!But first, I give you links:

Boneshaker gets some French lovin' – Which sounds totally dirty, but isn't. I assume. Because my French is pretty rusty. But I am assured that the review is good, so hey, I'll take it.

Bewere the Night is up on Amazon – With a shiny, spoooooky cover. This is the were-creature anthology (edited by Ekaterina Sedia) wherein my story "The Heavy" is reprinted. I'm tickled, really. I always liked that story, and I'm happy to see it get some more play.

The Book Lady discovers steampunk – She also came out to the Fountain to hear me read/natter on when I was in Richmond, and she reviews the whole shebang: steampunk, me in person, Boneshaker, etc. Thanks so much, Book Lady!





* Sort of. This afternoon I'm heading over to the University Book Store to sign orders; then later I' doing a video chat with a book club; and on the third I'm driving out to talk to 7th and 8th graders at a local school; and on the 7th I'm going to a charity banquet, and so forth, and so on.

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

Reminder

Today – 7:00 p.m. at the Tacoma Public Library – I will be there, attempting to be entertaining! I've never been to this particular library before, though I'm looking forward to it; and I'm looking forward to seeing all you readers who might be persuaded to show up despite the (frankly kind of awful) weather.

Or maybe it's waaaaay different in Tacoma. But here in Seattle it's windy and messy, and I'll drive through it – you just watch me.

It is my intention to leave at 5:00, which might seem like overkill … but there's a huge spread when it comes to how long it takes to get between these two cities. I've made the drive in as little as thirty minutes, and as much as 2-1/2 hours. Since I'm leaving around rush hour, I'm planning for something close to the worst. If it turns out that I've been overly cautious, that's okay – I'll find a Taco Bell and make myself comfortable until showtime.

See you tonight!

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

as our ashes turn to dust we shine like stars

Tomorrow, at the Tacoma Public Library – I will be your dancing monkey! Or at least, I will be your monkey who reads on cue, cracks silly jokes, and answers your questions. The event gets underway at 7:00 p.m. in the Olympic Room of the main library.

SF Signal gives Boneshaker a friendly quick-and-dirty – Concluding that, "…the story and characters rock. I love the strong female characters (and there are several!) and the way all the characters progress in the story coming to grips with their past and their futures." Thanks, SF Signal!

Just A Guy Who Reads Books gives Dreadnought a similar treatment – And the Guy in question gets thoughtful about … um … some recent very public gripes vis-a-vis steampunk in general and my work in particular, which is nice of him. Thanks, Guy!

Top 10 Steampunk Holiday Gift Guide – Over at the Convention Fans blog, Boneshaker makes the grade!

The Novel Hunter reviews Boneshaker too – So it's been a very bone-shaking week, apparently – and that's great! Of course I'm happy to see this book getting love more than a year after it was released. The Novel Hunter concludes: "Bottom line, if you like steampunk, zombies, airships, adventure, or any combination of the aforementioned, then this is a book for you. Hell, even if you don't like those things, give Boneshaker a try. I guarantee you'll be entertained. There's a reason it won the "Best SF Novel" award from Locus." Thanks, TNH!

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

November 28, 2010

What a long strange week/weekend it's been. First, we had Thanksgiving, then we were treated to Mary Robinette Kowal on our couch Friday night – which was fun for me, but the circumstances were less than ideal for her.

Mary was stranded in Seattle following a comedy of errors involving her car … a comedy of errors which has only recently (as of this afternoon) resulted in her successful return home to Portland. Click that link above, visit her blog, and follow the hilarity for yourself. It's kind of epic.

Bless her heart, she is truly cursed in the travel department; and frankly, I'm thanking my lucky stars that our vehicle didn't randomly explode while she was accompanying me around town for errand-running. IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. And given the circumstances surrounding her trip back to Oregon, I find it rather amazing that it didn't.

* * *

In other news, I'd like to be out Christmas shopping today but noooo … that's not in the cards. If I want to hand in these Hellbent revisions by December first, I need to buckle down and do the last of this frantic wrinkle-ironing while I have the peace and quiet of an absent husband and a cat who's fallen asleep face-down on her catnip crabbie.*

Speaking of Hellbent – 'tis the sequel to my upcoming masterpiece of neurotic vampires, Men In Black, and Cuban drag queens … Bloodshot. You may recall that this epic tome of conspiracy, mayhem, ghouls, and glitter earned me my very first starred Kirkus review. (ahem)

Anyway, Bloodshot comes down the pike at the end of January – so you'll be hearing a lot more about it in the upcoming weeks. But for now it's Hellbent up the wazoo for yours truly, and I suppose I shall get back to it.

[/zoosh]

* Yes, a small crab toy made out of cotton and stuffed with catnip. It's her baby, and she loves it.

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