News Twitters Fast
@_TheVoyager_, my UK publisher, seems to be taunting me on twitter, sending out this desk shot of a Desert Spear hot off the presses next to a First Edition Painted Man:
Me wants it. It is my precious…
Blog
UK Adventures pt. 1: Forbidden Planet & Goldsboro Signings, April 16
As I’ve mentioned before, I will be visiting the UK next month (April 15 – 21) to promote the British release of The Desert Spear (April 1, 2010; Voyager Books). It’s a short trip mostly centered around the London Book Fair, but I will be doing some other fun stuff while I am in town, starting with two London signings on April 16.
The first signing will be at Goldsboro Books in the famous Cecil Court in West London. The good folks at Goldsboro were early supporters of me in 2008 when The Painted Man first released in the UK, stamping 150 books with my six hand-drawn character avatars, selling them in signed & numbered sets of 25, in addition to another 100 regular signed copies.
That’s right, I signed 250 books that day:
Apparently, people enjoyed those stamped and numbered books, because Goldsboro has asked me to return and sign another batch for them, this time of The Desert Spear. I’ll do this during the day on April 16, so if you’re interested in one of these limited edition books, you can pre-order one from Goldsboro now.
Of course, if you’re interested in a signing with a more personal touch, meet me at the Forbidden Planet bookstore that evening (April 16, 6-7pm). Here’s a pic from my 2008 signing:
Above from right to left we see Chantal (who is awesome) in the red and her friend Sophie (who is doubtless awesome as well, since she hangs out with Chantal) in the powder blue. In the pink is Liz from My Favourite Books, as lovely a lady as you will ever meet. I’m the doofy guy in black.
Forbidden Planet is a great store, selling comics, statues, toys, books, and gaming materials. There’s also a whole Dr. Who section, if that’s your bag. I’m a big fan of FP. We have one in NYC as well, though I hear there is something of a rivalry with the London shop. In addition to any sales my signing generated, I generated a few myself, walking out that night with a nice stack of comics. Check out their author signing table, in itself a collector’s dream:
So if you’re in London on the 16th, stop in and say hi! After the signing ends at 7, my friends and I will be heading out to one of the local pubs to enjoy a few pints of Guinness, and everyone is welcome to come along and chat at bit.
Of course, I can’t stay out too late, as I have to get up early the next day for a walk. But I’ll talk about that next post…
The Source
As you loyal readers know, I’ve been all about the Messenger these days, as he (sometimes she) has been bringing me an endless stream of awesome books. It’s one of the great ironies of life that in HS and college when I had nothing but free time to read, I was broke and had to scrimp and save just to buy cheap paperbacks. Now that I finally have money to buy nice hardcover books, they come free and I have no time to read. Alas…
But I digress.
While waiting for the Messenger is fine and good and gives a touch of excitement to the morning drudgery, sometimes, when you just can’t wait for something, it is best to go to the Source. In this case, the Random House building on Broadway and 57th street. Specifically, the office of Del Rey Books. Where the magic happens.
Unable to wait another SECOND to hold The Desert Spear in my greedy little hands, I made my way uptown to that mecca of books, and was united with my true love at last:
Here are a couple of pix of the book with an American quarter held against it for scale.
Note the thick-assedness of this 583 page monster. 240,000 words is no joke. Many readers claimed to have read The Warded/Painted Man in one night. I’d like to see you try it here, people!
Do you need more proof that Desert Spear is awesome? This month’s Romantic Times gives it 4.5 stars, and there is a nice little review in the Library Journal. I also saw an advance copy of the Booklist review, and it almost made me cream my shorts.
While I was in the office of RH publicist David Moench, I noticed an ARC of Naomi Novik’s Tongues of Serpents sitting on his desk. I have been a Novik fan ever since I saw her verbally slap Peter S. Beagle on a panel at San Diego ComicCon a few years ago after he off-handedly belittled her sub-genre. I have nothing against Beagle of course, but it was great to see such chutzpah in a young new author to stand up to a giant of the industry like that…and win. I started reading His Majesty’s Dragon that very night, and loved the hell out of it. Best talking dragon book ever! Suck it, Eragon.
Ironically, I had just done a search on last night Amazon for Naomi’s next book, and saw that it wasn’t out until July. Imagine my surprise to see it on David’s desk.
“Who do I have to fight for one of those ARC’s?” I asked. Something in my cold, even tone told David I wasn’t joking, and he handed over his own copy immediately.
“I can get another,” he said.
Score.
When I got home, I saw the Messenger had come after all, this time with a super-delicious and oddly appropriate treat. It was a copy of the Warriors anthology by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois, sent to me by the incredibly awesome Dot Lin at Tor books. I was most excited for the new GRRM Dunk & Egg novella the anthology contains, but I was thrilled to see that amongst the other fantastic authors involved in the project was another story by Naomi Novik, and one by Peter S. Beagle!
Score.
Lunacon this Weekend!
Hey Tri-Staters! I will be appearing this weekend at Lunacon in Rye Brook NY (March 19 – 21). If you’re in the neighborhood and want to stop by, I’d love to sign your books, chat, or whatever. I try to make it out to Lunacon every year. It’s a fun time with a lot of great guests. I’ll be on a number of panels, and doing a reading and a signing.
Here’s a schedule of my Lunacon events:
How NOT to get published
Friday 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Tips on submissions, contacting agents, and all the other myriad challenges that face an aspiring author. What works, what doesn’t, and what will work against you completely.
Peter V. Brett, Chris Evans [M], Violet Haberdasher, Josepha Sherman
Reading: Peter V. Brett
Friday 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Blogging, Writing, and Fandom
Saturday 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
The world continues to grow smaller as the internet brings instantaneous access to writers and other professionals. With so many writers maintaining web presence, has there been a detrimental effect on con-going? Why leave your house when fandom is just a click away?
Peter V. Brett, James Chambers, Violet Haberdasher [M], Saul Jaffe, Nathan Lilly
Autographing: Peter V. Brett, Scott Grimando
Saturday 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Emma Frost: Disney Princess?
Sunday 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
It was the announcement heard ’round the comic shop: Disney was buying Marvel and the rights to every Marvel character. Immediately, the internet explodes as panicked fans debated if Mickey was going to be the newest member of the Avengers or if Marvel was going to have to make sure all its titles were appropriate material for children under ten. The merger was completed at the end of December, with no obvious effects, but only time will tell. Were these rumors nothing more than fans’ vaunted fear of change, or will the Phoenix come back only after getting love’s first kiss.
Joshua Bilmes [M], Peter V. Brett, Lynn E. Cohen Koehler, Jonathan Maberry
Whither Wander You?
Sunday 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
The physical journey can mirror and drive the spiritual journey of the characters, while providing an interesting and amusing source of external conflict. When done poorly, it can devolve into tedium, and wreak havoc on the pacing of the novel. How do you keep one from sliding into the other? What are some of the best travel scenes we’ve written and read? Which have been done poorly? How do you write a compelling travel scene without losing the reader to what seems like a hundred pages of endless trudging through snowy wastelands?
Alma Alexander [M], Peter V. Brett, Sam Butler, Keith DeCandido, Josepha Sherman
Don’t be shy if you want to say “Hi!” between events. I love meeting and talking with readers.
Lynx
First off, a few bits of good Messenger news:
1) My US publisher, Del Rey Books, sent me an e-mail on Friday that they had received copies of The Desert Spear from the printer, and they look awesome. I am bouncing in my seat to see my samples on Monday.After three years of writing/editing and another eight months of production, I can’t wait to hold one in my greedy, greedy hands and hug it like a baby.
2) All pre-orders of The Great Bazaar have shipped, and most everyone I know who ordered one has received theirs. If you are still waiting, it should be any day now. My mom found hers in a soaking wet box on her doorstep just this afternoon. Apparently the Messenger couldn’t be bothered to ring the bell, even in the pouring rain. Thankfully, the fine folks at Subterranean Press wrapped the books in plastic, so there was no damage.
3) I’ve shipped all early requests for bookplates this past week, so if you put in for one, expect it soon. I’ll do a full post about the plates–with information on how to get one for yourself–shortly. I first wanted to do a trial run and see what it would cost to ship them to some of the more exotic corners of the world where my readers lurk and hide.
In other news my first Desert Spear Interview is live online as of last night, this one with Annie, the Superfast Reader. You may recall that Annie was one of my earliest US supporters, posting both a wonderful review of The Warded Man and an interview with me early last year. She has since moved to first place, likely because she reads so damn fast. The interview is spoiler-free, but nevertheless contains some insight into the characters and cultures in the new book, as well as a lengthy discussion of my writing process. You can read the interview here. More will be popping up in the near future.
If you’re interested in winning a signed copy of The Warded Man in paperback (on sale March 23!), head on over to Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist and follow his entry guidelines. All you need to do is send him an e-mail and you will be put into a lottery to win.
I found a funny little entry about The Warded Man on the website TV Tropes. It has a couple of spoilers, but they are invisible unless you highlight them with your mouse, so fear not if you haven’t read the book.
Lastly, if you have read The Great Bazaar and are looking to chat about it, there’s an interesting little thread on the A Song of Ice and Fire forum that google pointed me to last night. SPOILER ALERT!!! The poster pretty much gives away the ending, so if you haven’t read the story yet and intend to at some point, I STRONGLY encourage you to not look at this until you have. But if you are one of the lucky few who got the book in the mail this week and have read the 60-page title novelette, by all means, click here. I’m considering responding myself, but holding back for the nonce.
That’s all for now. I’m off to dinner/baby time, and then have an article for a German SF magazine to edit and 1,000 words of The Daylight War to write before bed.