Y.S. Lee's Blog, page 33

Launch parties, launch dates

Thank you to everyone who came to my many launch parties! The Twitter parties were gabby, fast-paced, a little chaotic, and terrific fun. I'm very grateful to Walker Books UK and Candlewick Press, who moderated the discussions and so generously gave away books. People asked a ton of good questions, including some that made me panic and flail and type even faster. I love being kept on my toes! If you weren't able to make it, click here to read the thread. It's a bit daunting to think all that yakking will end up archived by the Library of Congress, but it's hardly the silliest of Twitter.

photo by Annette Willis

The real live launch party was excellent, too. People came in waves, rather than in one big crush, so I got to chat with most guests. Our host was Oscar Malan of Novel Idea Books, and Joanna Malan, who provided wonderful nibbles, wine, and the most adorable kiddie drinks ever. Thank you so much.

And there's one more launch to announce: today is the German pub date for the first Agency novel, which is published by DTV as Meisterspionin Mary Quinn.

DTV has created a very cool mini-site for the series. Check it out here!

Today's blog post…

will go up tomorrow, when I've recovered from my real-world launch party and scraped together some photos. See you then!

One magickal winner, with more to come

Thanks for entering the Magickal Agency contest and spreading the word, friends. In choosing a winner, I disqualified anyone who claimed not to like olives. Then I was consumed with pity for the misguided, olive-fearing people (because you can't really claim to live a full and happy life without olives) and put you back in the contest. All right. So.

The randomly selected winner of the Stephanie Burgis prize pack, which includes the gorgeous UK edition of A Most Improper Magick and a set of...

The Magickal Agency Contest

Today is a glorious, big-news day. First, I'm so pleased to feature a double interview and contest with the delightful Stephanie Burgis. It's a double contest because we're each giving away a fantastic prize pack of each other's books (details below). And it's a double interview because I asked her 10 questions, which she twisted up and turned back on me. Plus, I can now share with you the details of my THREE launch parties: Kingston, North America online, and the UK/Europe online.

First of...

Ready – set – LAUNCH!

This week, Walker Books publishes The Body at the Tower in the UK! Here's the gorgeous new cover.

Perfection, non? This is the UK/World edition so if you're an Australian or New Zealand reader, this is the cover you'll see in November when it's released by Walker Books Australia.

Also, plans are taking shape for an actual, real-world, come-see-me-face-to-face-if-you-dare launch party. The details?

Wednesday, September 29

7 pm

Novel Idea Books

156 Princess St, Kingston, Ontario

(click here for a...

Adventures in reading

Today, I want to talk books. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Vanessa Chu, a reader who got in touch via Twitter. We stood outside an (unexpectedly) closed bookstore on Vancouver's Commercial Drive and gabbed about Victorian England, the research behind the Agency novels, and books we loved. I recommended some of my favourites and realized that if, like Vanessa, you adore Victorian novels and C19 history, you might be interested, too.

I'm a huge fan of John Sutherland because he talks a...

Sunshine at last

After 2 weeks of unremitting rain up north, we spent a few days visiting family in Newquay, Cornwall. It was time for sunshine!

Fistral Beach, Newquay. I love the way England just falls into the sea.

The harbour at Newquay. Can't you just smell the lobster traps in this photo?

Padstow harbour. When the tide's in, those fishing boats are at work.

This was my first time in Cornwall. I know there's often tension between locals and tourists ("emmets", in Cornish) but I'm not sure I can stay away. If...

Towers and walls

So, The Body at the Tower is officially published – hurray! You may have noticed the lack of an official launch party: that's because I'm saving it for September. I'm plotting all manner of good things, including an online launch with prizes. Please stay tuned for dates and details!

I'm going to continue gloating about my recent English travels. These daytrips are hardly breaking news (I'm in Tofino, British Columbia at the moment) but I really enjoyed my time in the green and pleasant land...

Notorious Victorians, farewell

This is it, the last post in the Body at the Tower blog tour, and it features the Edinburgh Seven. Sound like a group of revolutionaries of some sort, doesn't it? And they were. They were rich, educated young ladies who had the nerve to decide that they wanted to study medicine. Obviously, trouble ensued. You can read more about their story at Booksmugglers.

Then, Booksmuggler Thea reviews Body, calling it "another winning, impeccably well-written historical mystery". Huzzah!

Thanks so much...

Victorian rebels

The Notorious Victorians blog tour stops today at Laura's Review Bookshelf to consider Victorian Rebels. Florence Nightingale was a lady who defied her parents, got her hands dirty during the Crimean War, and revolutionized modern nursing as a result. Not bad!

And over at Teenreads, I'm dispensing bad advice. Ever wondered How Not to Be a Writer? I've got tips for you!