On my way out of town

I realize it's something like 6:00 a.m. West Coast time, but I'm awake and I figured "to hell with it," so I'm up for a shower and packing and other assorted day-startings. I'm headed for the airport in a couple of hours anyway, and I guess it's nice to have a little breathing room on that front. So often, I set the alarm for fifteen minutes before I have to hit the road, fling myself out of bed, throw my clothes on in no particular order or arrangement, and dash out the door before I am fully lucid.

But that's how it goes when flights are so often scheduled for Ridiculous Early and one lives a half hour from the airport … not that it isn't worth it, when it comes to events like the one that went down last night.

The Fountain bookstore is a warm, eclectic joint in a very cool part of town, owned and staffed by fantastic people (one of whom was the fellow who lured me out there in the first place). The crowd was amazing – standing room only and highly enthusiastic – and the shop itself is an awesome old cubby with hardwoods everywhere and shelves up to the ceiling. I can't recommend it enough; I love indie stores as a general rule, and this one has character out the wazoo. Marvelous place, marvelous people, marvelous hot dogs right next door. Two thumbs and a couple of big toes up!

(For what it's worth, I signed lots of stock there last night – so if you want signed copies of … well … pretty much anything of mine, swing in to shop or keep an eye on their website.)

As always, I send out my undying thanks to everyone who came out to see me, and to the bookstore folks who went to the trouble of putting on the show. These things aren't easy, and they only come together with the help of many hands.

* * *

In unrelated but also cool news … I have officially received my first starred Kirkus review for my upcoming Urban Fantasy Bloodshot – due out at the end of January. I am, of course, delighted!

(And a little stunned, considering that this will be my tenth novel … and to date, Kirkus hasn't cared overly much for any of the rest. Kirkus thought Boneshaker was okay. But that's about as high as the praise ever got.)

The review's most quotable bit reads as follows: "A refreshing and addictive lure for readers uninterested in fangs, bats, capes and hissing." But I shall post the rest of it below – under a cut for those of you who are scrolling down my blog and/or LiveJournal … and merely a few lines down for anyone who has clicked directly into this post. The full review is rather in-depth, and though it doesn't really spoil anything, it does give plenty away up front.

Consider yourselves warned!

And happy scrolling/clicking.

Click here to read the review, ye mighty, and tremble »

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