Rose-Owls and Pumpkin Girls

So, uh. That happened. Deadline—the second installment in the Newsflesh trilogy—has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. This is a juried award, and, to quote the website, "The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States."

Distinguished science fiction. Screw winning (although naturally I'd like to win; I am only human, and pretending I don't dream of winning the things I'm nominated for seems needlessly coy and a little idiotic): I have been nominated for an award because I wrote something that's regarded as distinguished science fiction.

Dude. What.

Orbit, which has three books in the list of seven, has already posted a gleeful post of gleeful congratulations, which made me feel very loved. I'm seriously over the moon about this.

The full ballot for this year:

The Company Man, Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)
Deadline, Mira Grant (Orbit)
The Other, Matthew Hughes (Underland)
A Soldier’s Duty, Jean Johnson (Ace)
The Postmortal, Drew Magary (Penguin)
After the Apocalypse, Maureen F. McHugh (Small Beer)
The Samuel Petrovich Trilogy, Simon Morden (Orbit)

I am very excited, and very flattered, and yeah, a little hopeful, because who wouldn't be? This is amazing.

Yay.

First, the oddity. My friend Jeri Smith-Ready wrote a song to accompany her truly awesome ghosts-and-true love YA novel, Shade. Then she said "I am not a professional lyricist," and let me take a whack at adjusting her lyrical scansion to make it more like a Top 40 alt-rock hit. And then she posted the result, which is basically awesome. Her characters, her world, her words, my helpful hand. I'm like bacon: a little bit goes a long, long way.

Next, the reviews. Tif of Tif Talks Books has posted a review of Feed, and says, "Grant's novel combines a number of realistic elements to the zombie apocalypse, which immediately drew me in. I was pulling for my fellow bloggers, trying to figure out the mystery, but loving the paranormal aspects along the way. The Masons are likeable. The plot was addictive. And, this reader simply could not Feed on the story fast enough!" Hee. Works for me.

Kristi of Books, Yarn, Ink, and Other Pursuits has posted a truly lovely review of One Salt Sea, and says, "I thought that it would be difficult to top Late Eclipses, but I should have known better. This book builds upon everything that Toby has been through the past stories and keeps leading her down the path of change. This is definitely a pivotal book, as relationships with many characters begin, end, and transform. McGuire's ability to make Toby strong and vulnerable shines in One Salt Sea, and her continued relationship with children, her own and others, show the parallels to Toby's own views on her relationships with her mother, her foster families, and the one she is creating around her."

Awesome.

Alisa at The Book Bundle also posted a review of One Salt Sea. It's a great review, but there are no simple pull quotes; you should just give it a read.

Dawn at Absolute Forest of Words has posted a nice Deadline review, and says, "I read Deadline and while not quite the same feel, it's still an amazing book." Warning: the review contains necessary spoilers for Feed.

Finally, for right now, Tia at Tia's Book Musings, has posted a review of Feed. She didn't like the book as much of some of the reviewers, but she has some solid points, and hey, it kept her entertained. Sometimes, that's all a girl can ask for.

More later!

Newsflesh trilogy, final stats.

Start date: September 4th, 2005.
End date: September 2nd, 2011.

Volumes: Three.
Words: 455,814.
Pages: An awful lot.

...so yeah. That happened.

Last night, at approximately 9:15PM, I finished processing the last of the editorial changes to Blackout, and kicked the manuscript off to The Agent for a final typo check. She kicked it back to me this morning, and at approximately 5:21AM, I finished correcting the last of the grammatical and typographical errors. The book is back with her for a final final check, and then it's off to The Other Editor, to begin the process of transforming into something you can read.

It's over.

I have other things to do in this universe, other stories to tell and to enjoy telling, but this story, this trilogy...it's over. I am finished with the Masons. Their tale is done.

I've never finished anything like this before. I feel a little numb and a little scalded and a little overwhelmed, all at once.

Thank you. Thank you to everyone who's read these books, recommended these books, loved these books, hated these books, or interacted with them in any way. Thank you to Michael and Amanda, Kate and GP, Spider and Steve, Alan and Jude, Brooke and Vixy and Bill and Mike and Rae and Sunil and Amy and Cat and...and...and everyone. Just thank you.

Thank you for helping me tell this story. I never could have done it on my own.

Alive or dead, the truth won't rest. Thank you for helping me to rise up while I could.

Must. Post. Reviews. Must. Not. Drown in links. So here:

Man in Black Reviews has posted a fabulous review of Deadline, and says, "I commented that the Newsflesh trilogy opening was one of the better novels I have read in several years, that it had nowhere up left to go, and that the second novel, Deadline, would have no choice but to go down. I come here today to eat those words, because Deadline goes anywhere but down hill." Woo!

Blogcritics has also posted a lovely review of Deadline, and says, "Grant takes the political intrigue of Feed and ratchets it up to 11 to a stunning conclusion in Deadline. And we can only hope that the next book of the trilogy—Blackout—serves to answer some of the questions asked in the first two books. The only bad part is we have to wait a while for those answers when Blackout is released in May 2012. I'm not sure I can wait another year!!" Neither am I!

Everything's better with Feed, right? Well, Alysha De Shae has posted a lovely review of Feed. There are no real pull quotes this time, but it's a good, solid review, and I appreciated it.

Our friends at Geek Speak Magazine have posted an awesome review of Feed, and say, "I’ve lost count of how many people I have recommended this book to, and/or bought this book for. Twenty? Thirty? Fifty? Maybe more. It is just one of those rare books you start to read and then just cannot stop, no matter what else is happening in your life that demands your immediate attention. You. Cannot. Stop. And then, when you come to the end of it, you’re all like HOLY FUCK, did that just really happen? That was INCREDIBLE!" Also: "There is not a zombie story anywhere that compares to Feed. For mine, it is the single best genre book of last year, bar none."

Sniffle.

I can't top that review right now, and so I won't even try. Here. Go listen to me hanging out on the Orbit podcast, instead.

More soon.

The links. Oh sweet Great Pumpkin, the links. And now it's time for another review roundup, because I'd like to eventually be able to view my entire link soup on a single screen again. (Like that's ever going to happen.)

First up, an absolutely fucking amazing review of Deadline from Paul Goat Allen at the Barnes & Noble Book Club. Paul says:

"While I impatiently awaited the release of the second Newsflesh novel, Deadline, I knew that it probably wouldn’t be as jaw-droppingly extraordinary and satisfying as Feed—middle volumes are generally the least satisfying installments in trilogies, at least for me.

"I'm happy to report that I was wrong.

"Deadline cranks everything up to volume 11. The mythical conspiracy that Shaun and his team are striving to uncover expands to mind-boggling proportions. The pacing is breakneck, desperate, and the action is literally nonstop throughout—and that’s saying something for a 582-page book! Major characters die. Entire cities are wiped out. The end of the world approaches..."

I call this review a win, no?

With Regards has also posted a lovely Deadline review, and says, "That, my friends, is the trademark of a good novel. When a person will, quite literally, debate on whether or not having dinner is as important as reading the next chapter...Well, you know you've written a damned good story. Deadline is a fantastic novel that I cannot praise highly enough."

When I make people late for dinner, I call that an unquestionable win.

From an unexpected and awesome corner comes this joint review of Feed and Deadline from fellow Hugo nominee Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary. Howard says, "I loved Feed. The story isn't really about the zombies. It's about some bloggers who get hired to cover a presidential candidate. The zombies in this tale are more like wallpaper. That moves. And then tries to eat your face. Okay, the book IS about the zombies, but there's ever so much more to it than that. And Deadline? EVEN BETTER." Duuuuuuuuuuude.

For our LJ review of the day, have this short, sweet review from chaiya. No pull quotes, but some lovely sincerity, and a very nice review overall. Thank you!

Finally (for right now) here's The Word Zombie sounding out on Deadline. Quote: "With Feed, Mira Grant established herself as a major new voice in zombie fiction. With Deadline, she proves that 'zombie' is a superfluous addition to that accolade. Without the subtlety of her storytelling, the layers of conspiracy at the heart of this book would have ripped apart like so many sheets of rice paper. Instead, she parceled out the story with the literary timing of Stephen King at his best, while managing to do what King has suffered with so much in recent years—tying the story together in the end and leaving the reader with an emotional punch akin to being hit in the chest with a Taser."

...whoa. I'm, uh, just going to leave things there for right now.

And go call my Mom.

Nothing says "hooray for Thursday" like a review roundup. No, really. It's a totally unique way of saying "hooray for Thursday." Anyway...

The Devourer of Books has posted a Deadline review, and says, "As in Feed, the zombies are not the point, but more a part of the setting, telling a story of news, blogs, politics, and the culture of fear. It is this that makes the Newsflesh series so successful for me. Grant is using her zombie setting to tell us all a story about ourselves." Woo!

Here's something new: a Feed review posted at the Game Vortex, which says, "It is probably the best novel that I've read in years and I read more than a book a week. The real genius of the novel is that yes, it is a horror novel, but the horror is not because of the zombies. The real horror is found in the human beings that are left in the world and their actions upon each other." Awesome.

...and hey, look, it's the Game Vortex review of Deadline. This one says, "As I said about Feed, it is probably one of the best novels that I have read in years. Deadline picks up right there and continues the amazing story. When I got to the end of Deadline, I really did not want to believe that it was over. Now, I cannot wait for the next novel, Blackout." It's nice not to disappoint.

Flights of Fantasy has posted a Deadline review, and says, "If you loved Feed, I strongly advise you pick up Deadline, ASAP. It’s a good read. I finished it, cover to cover in about a day and a half or so. And if you haven’t read Feed, go pick it up." That works for me!

Finally for today, here's the Fantasy Magazine review of Feed, which says, "The sibs are entertaining company, their thoroughly extrapolated post-apocalyptic world is a terrific setting, the SF zombies are skillfully rationalized, the body count is high, and the plot delivers some unexpected twists." Rock and roll.

Rock and roll and zombies.

Who likes free stuff? I know I do! Plus I just got my author's copies of the North American edition of Deadline, which is gorgeous and makes me happy. Also I have a fantastic book trailer. So how can I combine these things?

Like this.

I am giving away two signed copies of the North American edition of Deadline to people who watch and link to the book trailer. To enter, do the following:

1. Watch the trailer, because it is awesome. If you have a YouTube account, you can also leave a comment to let Lauren, who did the graphic design, know how awesome it is. This is optional.

2. Link to the trailer. Blog, Facebook, Twitter, bathroom wall graffiti (although in that case, I want a picture).

3. Comment here letting me know that you have done both things.

...and that's all. I'll pick two winners via random number on Friday, and then? Wonderful goodness can be arriving in your mailbox! North American entries only, please, unless you're willing to pay some of the postage; shipping books outside the continent is just too expensive for me right now. :( I'm sorry about that.

But wait, there's more. I will pick a third winner, also by random number, and they will receive an exclusive button set—one each of the Feed and Deadline buttons made by Orbit for handing out at conventions. Not sold in any store! Totally spiffing!

Oh, and because this trailer launched last week, step #2 can absolutely be retroactive. So if you already blogged or Tweeted or whatever, just let me know, and I'll enter you in the drawing. Not that I'd object to your doing it again, but my goal here is not spamming the internet, because spamming the internet makes people sad and bitey.

You know what comes next:

GAME ON!

So it turns out that even being deathly ill doesn't stop the world from continuing to produce awesome things, and that's what we're talking about right now. Specifically, we're talking about the part where Orbit has created an absolutely stunning book trailer for the Newsflesh series—and if you watch to the very end, you might catch a sneak peek at the cover for Blackout! Watch the video, spread links, tell your friends. Let's go VIRAL.

Seriously, this is my first book trailer, and if I weren't so damn sick, I'd be jumping around and screaming. Please, please, check it out, spread it around, and see if we can't convince my publisher that I should always get these. Because they're awesome.

Once you've seen the trailer, why not gussy up your computer with a little bit of home-brewed awesome in the form of icons and wallpapers from the Mira Grant website, created by the ever-fabulous Miss Tara? The site itself is about to get some pretty massive updates (they were planned for this week, and then I slept for two days), but the icons and wallpapers are fresh and sweet and waiting for you right now.

Not quite the same, but semi-related, you can read my thoughts on California's recent unseasonable rains and how they relate to writing speculative fiction at Larissa's Bookish Life, where a guest blog I wrote for her has been posted. It's not as visually striking as the first two items on our list, but hey, I managed to make it vaguely applicable, right?

Oh, and hey, the Blog Critics include Feed in an article on dystopias, alongside 1984 and The Hunger Games. I directed a stage production of 1984 in high school. Seeing my book in a graphic with that book is like...whoa. I win the universe.

That's all for now. I'm going back to bed.

...also, mixing my metaphors a bit, but still, I think the statement is valid. I am running as fast as I can just to stay where I am, and while it's fascinating, it's also a bit terrifying. I am trying to do ALL THE THINGS! All the things AT THE SAME TIME! Eventually, I will spontaneously combust, and that will be funny. (Also, how is it my spellcheck knows the word "necrosis," but not the word "combust"? Oh. Wait. It's my spellcheck.)

And now, for the periodic administrative stuff.

Wicked Girls T-shirts.
Deborah is continuing to contact people, collect mailing information, and provide payment information. This is because Deborah is wonderful. If you haven't heard from her, you may be in the part of the spreadsheet she hasn't processed yet, or you may need to check your spam filter, as there are people who have been contacted who have not yet replied. Once we finish going through the spreadsheet and shaking it as hard as we can for stragglers, we will need to go to print, and any unpaid orders will be canceled. We're only printing as many shirts as have been paid for. So check your spam filter today!

Events.
I have, like, ALL THE EVENTS coming up in June and July. Seriously. Next Saturday is the big Deadline release party at Borderlands. The Saturday after, I'll be at Borderlands again, this time as Seanan instead of Mira, to do a joint event with my darling Chaz in his guise as Daniel Fox. Then it's off to Minnesota for Convergence (and Izzy's ice cream), followed by appearing at SF in SF as Mira, and finally, San Diego! My annual pilgrimage to Geek Prom is upon us, and this year I get my Amy AND my Vixy AND a convention-exclusive Monster High doll. Truly, the world is my mollusk.

Anyway, check my website for event details, and remember that even if you can't make any of these events in person, Borderlands takes internet and phone orders for signed and personalized books. They're pretty awesome that way.

Deadline.
Holy cheese, it's a book. Like, on shelves. And people are buying it, and people are reading it, and people are liking it so far. Please, if you've bought it and read it and want to talk about it, stick to the Deadline open thread? I don't want people to be afraid to read comments on other posts because there might be lurking spoilers. Thank you so much, to everyone, for everything. You've been totally amazing.

Cats.
Blue. Fluffy. Pissed off over my recent absence, and demanding I make it up to them with snuggles and scritches. I am surprisingly unbothered by their demands, and have given in wholeheartedly.

X-Men: First Class.
Opens this weekend, and anyone standing between me and the ticket booth come Saturday had better be ready for some Xavier's alumni whup-ass to be aimed their way. I need my mutants. They're an important part of a balanced breakfast. Also, the reviews have been amazing so far, which means that maybe this will be a new franchise, instead of a prequel. Look, a girl can dream, okay?

Monster High.
I WANT THE NEW DOLLS ALREADY.

...and that's it for me, for the moment. What've you got?

To celebrate the release of Deadline [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy], here. Have an open thread to discuss the book.

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.

Seriously. If anyone comments here at all, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. So please don't read and then yell at me because you encountered spoilers. You were warned.

You can also start a book discussion at my website forums, with less need to be concerned that I will see everything you say! In case you wanted, you know, discussion free of authorial influence. I will probably answer a great many comments. I may not answer all of them.

Have fun!