Today is the Day!

Today...
Today is the day that LORD BOBBINS AND THE ROMANIAN RUCKUS is officially released. It is my eighth full novel. It's strange to think that I will have two more coming out in the next 12 months. Busy guy, I am.

I didn't sleep well. I have a bit of a lingering cough that annoys me, but mostly I didn't sleep because of what I call "new class" energy. Anytime I'm going to get to speak in front of people for the first time, I tend not to sleep well. Whether it was before the first day of a new semester when I was teaching, or before I was going to present or speak at a conference or panel, I have never slept well the night before such an event. Most of that gets attributed to the whole "fear of the unknown" thing. Part of me is laid-back and goes with the flow. The other part of me is a massive control freak who wants to know how everything is going to lay out before I get somewhere. These two halves are at constant war in my brain. It's hectic in my head.

I have been seeing a bunch of pictures from TeslaCon in my newsfeed of Facebook. It looks amazing. Despite having known Eric since the first year of TeslaCon, and despite having written scripts and other things for it over the years, I have never attended. I am excited to show up and participate. My friend, Carol Kaufman, asked me if I was going to be putting on my goggled top hat and spats. I don't think so...I'm not one for dressing up. I loathe occasions where I have to wear a tie. Those that know me know that I really only have two looks: jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, or jeans and a button-down plaid shirt. I'm not what you'd call a Fashion Icon. My biggest choice for today is whether I'm going sweatshirt or button-down. If I go button-down, I might get wild and add a jacket--but that's about it. In a perfect world, I'd never put on a suit or tie again.

I'm nervous and excited to see people's reactions to the book. I've gotten a few pieces of feedback from beta-readers, and my friend, Maddy Hunter, sent me a lovely email last night about how much she was enjoying it. When you spend a year and change with something bouncing around in your brain, you want people to like it.

I haven't really decided anything about what I'm going to say at the panel. I figured I'd do some sort of half-assed introduction to it, and then sort of talk about the origins. If people have questions, so be it. I only get an hour, and I want to be around to sign books for people, so I have to be brief. Anyone who has had to sit through one of my English classes knows that I can be effusive.

In honor of the book's release, here's some tidbits about it:

--The hero's name, Nicodemus Clarke, is clearly a subliminal reference to Indiana Jones. Nic-o-DE-mus. In-DI-an-a. Four syllables each, plus a single syllable surname, plus the accent on the "DE" sound in each. That was done on purpose. (I think for every nerd boy like myself in my generation, Harrison Ford is, and will forever be, the man.) I also wanted a surname that sounded like a first name, since I would be referring to the characters by surnames so much in the book. Also, Nicodemus is one of my favorite character names. Anyone who has read MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH knows what I'm saying.

--This book is easily the funniest book I've ever written. I'm not going to say it's a laugh-a-minute riot, but it has a few good lines. For those who know the Lord Bobbins character, it will have an extra level of humor because they know how he talks and presents himself, but I tried to convey as much as Bobbins as I could through the prose.

--Bobbins' airship, ENDEAVOUR, is a reference to one of my favorite mystery writers, Colin Dexter. Dexter wrote the Inspector Morse mysteries. In the eighth Morse novel, THE WENCH IS DEAD, Dexter finally revealed Morse's first name, Endeavour. Prior to that, when someone asked Morse for his first name, he would dourly reply, "Inspector."

--I had to research Romanian words for this book. The named Romanian characters have authentic Romanian names. Romania is a cool country, and it wouldn't have served to have Romanians with names like Dave and Keith. The castle Bobbins inherits in the book has a Romanian translation. Roughly, it translates to "Castle of the Black Crow."

--The story is based on a story I tried to write twice before for TeslaCon, back when I was still trying to use Bobbins as the main character/audience vehicle. It didn't work because Bobbins needed to retain an air of mystery and distance from the reader. Perhaps after the Con, I'll post the prologue from that book to better explain the central story.

In about three hours, I'll be loading books into my van to haul to TeslaCon. I hope to meet everyone who preordered a copy and thank them personally. I want to get as many pictures of people in costume with the book. I better make sure my cell phone has a full battery.

I think I'll have a few copies of AFTER EVERYONE DIED available, as well.
For those without tickets, my part of the event starts at 1:30 in Maker 1 at the Madison Marriott West. I think they will let you sneak in just for that part of it, if you want to show up and say hello.

I'll be the big fat guy who looks like a nervous wreck.

Hope to see you there.

--Sean