In which Seanan takes care of a link.

[seanan_mcguire]

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.

Comments

[marziek.livejournal.com]

What a smashing and accurate review of the series. And yes, so very glad that the rape trope (cannot even believe that is a thing) is something I will ever have to deal with in your books. Thank you.

[seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com]

I sometimes think I may have a survivor story in me, because of my own past. But if I decide it needs to be written, it will be tagged and flagged to hell and back.

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

Thank you for including me on this journey.

[seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com]

Thank you for coming along.

[beccastareyes]

One thing about the October Daye series* is that it feels like a good form of serialization. Each book brings things to a good closure, while making it clear that there is an overall arc, both in characters and in ongoing mysteries and conflicts.

Like, if this most recent one was THE last one, I'd be sad, but not tearing the wallpaper sad that I would have been if, say, the Newsflesh series hadn't gotten Blackout. Which is a better way to handle a longer series, since it is a much longer wait until the payoff of The Concluding Book.

* And the InCryptid series now that some books have come out and we know more about the state of the world.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

That's great.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I am also very glad that I don't have to worry about sexual violence in your books.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that, from a slightly different perspective. A friend gave my non-reader 13 year old one of your books (Discount Armageddon) and now he's a 17 year old who reads for fun. Without that safety, that wouldn't have worked. Thank you for that gift

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

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[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

Count me as one of those who hopes Toby's stories--or at least stories about her world--never come to an end, because I enjoy reading about her so much.

I don't think I ever even thought about the lack of sexual violence in the books, maybe because I avoid such things like the plague, and from the very first one I've always felt these books were safe, in that regard at least.

[mahariel.livejournal.com]

It didn't hit me until after I'd read the first few Toby books, when I picked up another modern fantasy novel where the assault of the main character was an integral plot point, that I realized how much it meant to me to know I would always have a safe place to retreat when I needed it. I can never thank you enough for that.

[davidgoldfarb.livejournal.com]

The Toby Daye books were on my "someday" list. Then I saw Rosemary and Rue on the freebie table at LoneStarCon a few years back. One giveaway yielded eight more purchases. (Which of course was exactly what they were hoping for.) Now I just have to get around to InCryptid....

[damerell.livejournal.com]

Discount Armageddon's quite short, meaning it's an evening to try it, not a week's commitment like Strange and Norrell [1], and the series is certainly my favourite of our hostess's work (notwithstanding the slightly Buffyesque "how can this secret remain secret" issue...)

[1] not that it isn't good, just not short.

[kviri.livejournal.com]

"When will this be over? I don't want to start until it's over."

I've done this, sometimes, and one of my favorite things about the Toby Daye series is that it makes me not regret jumping in right away. There are overarching storylines and unanswered questions after every book, but each one tells its own self-contained story and provides a satisfying conclusion to that story. It makes waiting for the next installment an exercise in "I can't wait for more of this" anticipation, rather than "ARGH, I'm not going to get any sense of closure on this for a whole freakin' year" frustration. Thank you for that. :)

[archangelbeth]

I will go read the review in a moment, but I just wanted to flail and squee that: An Artificial Night is so good that honestly, people should read up to that to get to that book. Because, I will admit it, murder mysteries -- however much they are a major theme of the series, for good and sufficient reason -- do not get me flailsquee like a good take on "how many miles to Babylon?" will.

*flailsquee*

May the series continue to pay your bills for a long, long, long time.

[mirandafloyd.livejournal.com]

I'm stealing the word flailsquee. It's too perfect. 😀

[hsb.livejournal.com]

One of my best timed impulse purchases was the first 8 books in a kindle bundle (not discounted, but one download). I went on holiday, got really sick and still enjoyed my holiday, because I had Good Books

H

[melchar.livejournal.com]

First - thank you SO MUCH for no rape tropes. [shudder, squeegee off the slime from -some- other series.]

Second - I'm one of those folks who like to read a complete series, if it has a beginning/middle/end. However, if it shows every sign of going on, I -prefer- them. Example - I couldn't NOT read 'Feed', but I twigged to it, when 'Deadline' came out .. had to read both .. and then just fretted till 'Blackout came out.

But for the Toby series, I read the first 3 [because of 'Feed'] .. then just picked them up in order because I didn't have the feeling that you were going to stop her story .. because it's just the sort of thing that can keep going on. Yay!

[[Kind of like Glen Cook's Garret series - another fantasy with a difference - and appealing characters - but no fear of the author suddenly killing everyone off.]]

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Yay for positive recognition!

[mirandafloyd.livejournal.com]

Oh! They hit on everything I love about this series. I couldn't have said it better myself. I read this series for the first time this past October and then immediately re-read it in December. It's almost perfect and as my first UF series, I've been diving into other UF series and find I can't get enough. So Thank you so so much!!! 😀 I devoured the entirety of the Incryptid series (including ALL the amazing shorts!) over my Christmas vacation and I'm so excited about getting a book from Antimony's (hopefully crazy) point of view!

[isolde-deely.livejournal.com]

so they are sent up in September so, we can get them in on an October day? (runs and hides now)