Rose-Owls and Pumpkin Girls

So I have literally been sitting on this link for more than a year. It's been public that whole time: this isn't me doing the ultimate procrastination tango. It's just that I kept getting distracted, and I haven't been as awesome about non-checklist blogging as I've wanted to be. It feels like it's one of those things that has fallen by the wayside, and for that I am sorry.

Anyway.

If you click the above, you will come to one of the most beautifully impassioned "why you should read the October Daye books" posts ever written by someone who is not me and does not depend on them to pay her electrical bill. I am still, a year after first reading it (a year, time is ridiculous and I do not approve) stunned and touched and delighted.

One of the big things it touches on is the lack of sexual violence in the series, and how much of a relief that can be for readers. It's not that Toby's life is sunshine and roses--a chapter will tell you how much it isn't--it's that something that's become almost a casual signpost for evil in our media is intentionally missing. I admit, I made that choice out of exhaustion and pique. I never expected it to resonate the way it has. But I hear, quite regularly, from readers who feel like the series is safe for them, because they don't have to worry about HA HA SURPRISE DRAMATIC SEXUAL ASSAULT. And I am so glad I can provide that.

I also want to note that there's a discussion in the comments of the kind that becomes increasingly frequent as a series goes on: "When will this be over? I don't want to start until it's over." I really wish you would. The first three books are a decent barometer of whether you'll like it. At this point, Rosemary and Rue seems very rough to me in contrast with what I'm producing now, but you can get a feel for how I handle language, and by the time you reach An Artificial Night, you'll probably know whether the series is for you. That starter kit won't change if the series stops at fifteen or at fifty. I've never missed a deadline; the September 2017 book is finished and turned in, and I'll be starting the September 2018 book as soon as I get my editorial notes. I am about as close to a safe bet as you can get on this sort of thing. And, well. The electric bill.

Anyway. I just wanted to share this with you. And finally close that tab.

It's the little things.

...copies of The Winter Long and A Red-Rose Chain!

Welcome to the fifth of the Thirteen Days of Hogswatch. I will be starting a new giveaway every day between now and December 13th. Each giveaway will have different rules, and a different deadline, although all prizes will be mailed on December 30th, because I am bad at going to the post office (and also, avoiding the post office until that other winter holiday is over).

The fifth giveaway is for copies of The Winter Long and A Red-Rose Chain (October Daye #8 and #9, respectively). Because these are later books in the series, I ask that you please not enter if you haven't read the earlier books; I would feel terrible for spoiling you. This is going to be a random number drawing, because I'm about to leave for my Borderlands event. So...

1. To enter, comment on this post.
2. If you are international, indicate both this and your willingness to pay postage.
3. Name your favorite Toby character.
4. That's it.

I will choose the winner at 1PM PST on Saturday, December 12th.

Game on!