Valentine's ARC giveaway!

[seanan_mcguire]

To celebrate Valentine's Day (and the excuse that it provides—I might as well be celebrating Champion Crab Races Day on the 18th), I've decided to do something truly awesome: a three stage ARC giveaway. Yes! Three ARCs of A Local Habitation will be awarded to three lucky entries over the course of the next week!

Here's how it works:

1. Comment on this entry telling me who your favorite character in Toby's world is, and why. Be as detailed as you want. (Yes, technically, this does make the contest open only to those who've read Rosemary and Rue. As this is a sequel, I don't feel bad about that.)
2. ...that's all, actually. Your part in things is now done.

I will select winners via random number draw tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. All winners will be selected at noon PST. All winners must contact me via my website "contact" link before eight PM PST on Sunday, or another winner will be selected, and I will shake my head in sorrow.

Game on!

Comments

[sheistheweather]

It is difficult to pick just one, to be sure.

I think I'll have to go with Toby herself because she is complex and interesting and believable. I admit, her sometimes-rather-pessimistic outlook is not my favorite thing, but overall I really love Toby.

[bercilakslady.livejournal.com]

Spike the Rose Goblin is my favorite character. Innocent in some ways, but very much not in others, loyal as faerie can be, and cute as hell.

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

Spike was definately adorable.

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

Tybalt, King of the Cait Sidhe. I found him to be one of the most honest characters in the book, with little agenda when it came to Toby, except for needling her from time to time. Almost everyone else had something they wanted from her. Of the few who didn't? None were quite as amusing as Tybalt. Favorite, hands down.

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

See, I think he does want something from her...

[valkyrwench.livejournal.com]

My favorite character in Toby's world? I have to choose? *sigh* Fine...

Tybalt. There's just something indefinable about him that draws me. As much of a pain in the ass as he can be, it seems to me there's something noble under the surface, and he's destined for greater things. Or I could just be entirely off track...

[ceosanna.livejournal.com]

I share valkyrwench's thoughts about Tybalt. There's just something more to him than what's on the surface, and I can't wait to see more of that unveiled throughout the series.

[emurphy42.livejournal.com]

Seconded! Toby and Tybalt both tease us with the idea of more complex history to be revealed later, but Tybalt more so because we've learned less about him so far. That, and I can clearly hear him in my head.

[aineotter.livejournal.com]

I love the rose goblin. When I finished reading,and ursuscelticus asked me what I thought, I said "I want a pet rose goblin!"
It's cute as anything, and wouldn't even need a litter box. Would they need antifungal powder, in our climate, instead of flea medication, I wonder?

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

I have to go with Tybalt as well. I'm sure he'll end up getting lots of votes. He just has that Bad boy with a good heart vibe.

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

The Luidaeg, definitely. Toby's bargain with her is, it seems to me, the most powerful scene in Rosemary & Rue. The character who can get you whatever you want for a price is as old as the Pied Piper, the street dealer, and the Devil who wants to trade for your soul, and those dangerous bargains fascinate me. Robert Campbell has a series about a Chicago ward heeler who uses political favor-trading to solve crimes and look after the voters in his precinct; and the Cyberpunk RPG had a character type called the Fixer, whose special street-dealing skill made him the most indispensable member of a group.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of the Luidaeg, learning about her code of trading, the things she demands in return for her help, the ironically bad outcomes to be alert for when bargaining, the consequences of promises and obligations.

The little snippets about Blind Michael also fascinate me, but we haven't been told enough yet for me to call him a "favorite" yet. He's mostly deliciously terrifying so far because of what has been left to our imagination.

[emurphy42.livejournal.com]

Not to mention Toby having the sheer chutzpah to turn the bargain around so that the Luidaeg is left owing her something, with all that that implies among the fae.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Gah, pick one. Toby I have loved ever since seeing the cover of R&R, and she also triggers my not-quite-avuncular feelings for waifs and gamines and damsels-in-distress. But on the other hand, Tybalt King of Cats. I mean, King of Cats, how cool is that? And that he lives up to that coolness, and has a cat's aloofness. How to choose?

Decision: Toby. Or Tybalt. But probably Toby. I think...

[swevene.livejournal.com]

*groan* I have to choose? *flips a coin*

Okay... Quentin! He's young, he's ignorant-but-learning, and I think that if he gets the chance to grow up (you never KNOW), he'll be a really cool person. Especially with Toby as an influence. And he is really really really cute.

[galieth.livejournal.com]

Pick one.. why do you hate us?

Can't pick one.. so I will give you the first one that popped into my head.

The rose goblin. Why: I want one.

[herefox.livejournal.com]

I quite liked the Luidaeg actually. I found the bit of her story we get fascinating and I had to wonder if it tied in at all to the missing King's and Queen's that Toby alluded to many times without going into much depth, which was a mystery that I'm hoping will be expanded on at some point.

And she was grumpy. I approve of grumpy ;-)

Great suporting characters

[greytfriend.livejournal.com]

Tybalt, of course. He's clearly the man to watch in the romance department. But I also really liked Lily and Sylvester's wife (Luna?). And of course, Spike! Who wouldn't want a Spike? So does he bloom in June?

[trixiaw.livejournal.com]

Okay, so you are probably going to get bored of this answer real quick, but I like Tybalt best.

I never knew there was a King of Cats hole in my life until you introduced me to Tybalt. There aren’t two of those in the world. I’m sure there would have been some kind of catastrophe if there was (pun unintended). I like how you are never entirely sure how he is going to react to things. Most of all I like how his relationship with Toby isn’t as simple as it seems. Your hints are so tantalising.

Well, that and the fact that I imagine him looking as a feline modified version of Dean from Supernatural might help my fondness from him a bit. ;D

[mneme]

Well, Toby. She's interestingly conflicted, and I like the combination of a heroine who's simultaneously damaged enough/human enough to empathize with and kick-ass enough to hold her own and then some.

[pyre006.livejournal.com]

I have 2 favorite characters: 1) the rose goblin Spike because I don't think there are enough faerie animals out there in literature and he reminds me of my cat Odie. 2) Lily because she is very mysterious to me and I think there's more going on with her than we see.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

I want a rose goblin for a pet. They are like kitties with attitude that don't make me itch/sneeze/stop breathing.

My favorite...

[fullcontactmuse.livejournal.com]

While I liked Tybalt a lot, he's not my favorite. I want to know more about the Mad Queen. However, my favorite is the Luidaeg. The mythology built up around her, and rightfully so, and that there is so much more to her.

[brimaresh.livejournal.com]

Evening is wicked awesome. Where's all the Evening love? Just 'cause she's a corpse for 9/10ths the book, she get no mad love? Not cool, yo. In all seriousness, I love that Evening underestimates Toby's opinion of their friendship and forces her hand. I love that Evening calls Toby, instead of someone else. I love that she is so very Fae, with everything that it entails, and even as she is dying she demands vengence.

[lorzod.livejournal.com]

My fave? Prob October Daye. I like Toby's reluctance to be a detective and to get involved with the two worlds again. She wanted to plant herself firmly in the mortal world and that didn't work for her. I love how she has a sense of honor and feels guilty about letting her liege down and what not. It just.. charms me.

[jacylrin.livejournal.com]

Somehow I'm not surprised I'm not the only one whose gut response is Spike :-). It's fae, but it's feline. Sort of. Perfect cross. And yeah, I want one :-D

[deire.livejournal.com]

Toby is my favorite character. Not everyone can come back from being a carp.

[ravenclawed.livejournal.com]

My favorite, besides Toby of course, is Tybalt. I love how he's so unpredictable, and I especially love his and Toby's banter. He's the perfect foil for Toby.

[ladyaraia.livejournal.com]

Lily is my favorite and I feel like there is a complexity there that we have yet to see the full range of.

But I will throw my hat in with those who want a pet rose goblin.

[trinybeany.livejournal.com]

i would have to pick spike because i also want one. a rose bush cat to get along with my cats would be very funny and wouldn't work out so well. fuzzbutt would be very unhappy. she'd realize that it wouldn't be so bad after she realizes that a rose bush goblin wouldn't need to be brushed.