Rachel Hartman's Blog, page 32
June 15, 2012
Tiny correction
I said Monday, but I meant Tuesday. Aren’t you glad you weren’t holding your breath now?
Here’s a nice review from Janina to tide you over.
June 14, 2012
The afterlife is full of acanthus leaves
The wonderful folks at Random House have put up a Seraphina website. Go look, go look! It’s beautiful, even with my face on it!
SO MANY ACANTHUS LEAVES!
*dies happy*
*comes back, since post isn’t done*
I would also like to welcome the many new friends who have found this blog by connecting from that page. I feel like the world has suddenly grown much larger. Luckily, I have enough cookies and tea for everyone! I have infinite cookies and an ocean of tea! I’m running out of exclamation marks, howe...
June 12, 2012
No, I haven’t forgotten you
Hello, darlings! I am busily writing guest posts for other blogs, which alas leaves me relatively little time and energy for my own. I will let you know when those come out, of course, and provide the requisite linkage.
Here to tide you over is a lovely review from Janicu.There will also be a bit of fun coming up later this week (note to self, confirm this with the Olympian gods, or whomever is actually in charge), which I will also stick in front of your nose.
Less than a month to go! But I ha...
June 7, 2012
One month + three days
Is it this way with every book, or just with the first? I feel the release date looming there ahead of me. It’s a bit hard to envision what must be on the other side of it; it’s like a wall, obscuring my vision all the way to the horizon. I’m not yet sure if I’m expected to punch a hole through it with my head or climb over it. Can I find or build a gate? I am a bit intimidated by the whole thing, I confess.
Still, I hold out hope that a portal will appear and I will walk right through – maybe...
June 6, 2012
What I needed to hear:
The sublime Çetin Akdeniz on baglama, that’s what.
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Ah, this song reminds me of driving through Turkey! We went into a music shop, pointed at a baglama hanging from the ceiling and said, “That! We want to hear that!” They let us have a listen to a few discs, but Çetin won, no contest. His ornamentation was lightning fast and he didn’t have a lot of pop or new-agey back-up going on.
The people in the music store all looked at us like we were crazy, and we probably were, a little. Vancouverites o...
June 5, 2012
A few nice things
For a Tuesday, anyway.
My mother-in-law sent me this article (via her sister and niece) about new fantasy novels out this summer. Mine is mentioned in the recommendations down toward the bottom. Thank you for the vote of confidence, booksellers of Austin, TX!
The book has also been receiving a few starred reviews from the trade publications, which is very pleasing. I will put up some quotes soon on the front page, but so farSeraphina has garnered starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, The Horn...
May 30, 2012
Shifting gears abruptly
Came across this nice review today at The Bookbag. I am so tickled that the book is “classy”, especially after all my filking has other people calling me “the Weird Al of YA”. But y’know what? I’m comfortable with my contradictions. I can be both.
May 29, 2012
I live to filk another day
Oh, hi. I’ve been playing Skyrim and running errands and trying very hard not to think about the sequel, which is still in the capable hands of my editor. I’m afraid I have also been rewriting songs, which gives me a peculiar comfort. I like that there are rules – the rhyme scheme, the rhythm and melody – because that makes it an interesting puzzle to solve. This week’s bit of filking was originally “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay. Link to the source song provided in case you don’t know it. Once a...
May 23, 2012
Prog rock poultice
So where was I? Ah, right. Grumpy!
When attempting to relieve a bad mood with prog rock, Pink Floyd isn’t the only way to go. So much depends on the nature of the grumpiness. Pink Floyd should be applied when you’re experiencing a case of the Vast Existential Mopes, and/or if you see marching hammers (for that latter, maybe call a doctor too). There are certainly other variations, and other prog rock for any occasion.
Is your grumpiness dramatic and fierce? Medieval? Perfectly encapsulated by t...
May 22, 2012
Take some prog rock and call me in the morning
So okay, say you’re grumpy. So grumpy you could steam-clean the carpet with your eyes, but you won’t out of pure peevishness. So grumpy your skin turns green and your friends all call you The Incredible Sulk.
You’re grumping through the kitchen, making yourself a cup of (Nas) Tea (Mood), listening to “Firth of Fifth” againin the vain hope that it will cheer you up, when suddenly… it does. Not all the way, mind, but a little bit. Enough for a thought, like a ray of sunlight, to get through your...
