Rose-Owls and Pumpkin Girls

So it turns out that there are some admin tasks that I was really good at when I had a day job, but am not so good at when "wander away from the computer and watch an episode of Law & Order" is on the table. The review roundup is one of these tasks. I will strive to do better, if only because my notes file is becoming impossible to navigate. This is the first step toward doing better.

Brewing Tea & Books has posted a review of Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots, and says, "This book is in one word: Fun." The review goes on to say "But if I have to write a bit more, since one word reviews aren’t very interesting now are they. The book is not only very entertaining and funny, it is also very intelligent and thought-provoking." (Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots is available now from ISFic Press, or via Borderlands Books in San Francisco; they should be getting a shipment soon, and books ordered from them can be signed or personalized.)

Jennifer Brozek has reviewed Half-Off Ragnarok, and says, "Half-Off Ragnarok is my favorite book in the InCryptid series thus far. I thought Verity was interesting but I’m half in love with Alex. The whole Price family is a hoot and Shelby is an interesting wild card in the mix. If urban fantasy, intriguing animals, and fast-paced adventure is your thing, you’re going to love Half-Off Ragnarok. Highly recommended." Woo!

Vampire Book Club has reviewed Ashes of Honor, and says, "Let’s cut to the chase. Ashes of Honor is THE book." I'm...just going to leave that there and wander off. Because dude.

Amazing Stories has reviewed Chimes at Midnight, and says, "Urban fantasy novels are big right now and it’s hard not to love Toby Daye, the unlikely knight and changeling protagonist of Seanan McGuire's popular series set in magic-rich San Francisco. Chimes at Midnight is book seven in the on-going series and, now we’ve met the characters and had hints dropped about the history of the Kingdom in the Mists, the story is getting fascinating." Woo!

Finally for today, Whatchamacallit Reviews has reviewed Games Creatures Play, and had this to say about my story: "Seanan McGuire takes readers into her Incryptid world. Fans of the series will enjoy reading a fun roller derby story from the youngest sibling (and only sibling not to get a book yet) Antinomy’s POV. Readers who have not read the series should read the series, not because they need to in order to understand this short story, just because it this is a fun and entertaining series."

That's all for now: more to come, including a focused roundup about Sparrow Hill Road, shortly.

...a copy of Chimes at Midnight!

Welcome to the third of the Twelve Days of Hogswatch. I am starting a new giveaway every day between now and January 6th (the day after my birthday). Each giveaway has different rules, and a different deadline, although all prizes will be mailed on January 9th, because I am bad at going to the post office.

The third giveaway is for a shiny new copy of Chimes at Midnight, the seventh October Daye adventure. This is going to be a random number drawing, because I am sleepy (that's been happening a lot lately). So...

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

I will choose the winner at 1PM PST on Monday, December 30th.

Game on!

To celebrate the release of Chimes at Midnight, here. Have an open thread to discuss the book. Judging by the comments I'm seeing, some of you have had time, and I'd really, really rather book discussion (sometimes including spoilers) didn't crop up on other posts.

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. (I will not reply to every comment; I call partial comment amnesty. But I may well join some of the discussion, or answer questions or whatnot.) I will be DELETING all comments containing spoilers which have been left on other posts. No one gets to spoil people here without a label.

You can also start a 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, since I always wind up getting involved in these things.

Have fun, and try not to bleed on the carpet.

It's August, and that means the seventh October Daye adventure, Chimes at Midnight, will be on shelves soon. But what if you don't want to wait?

That's where this entry comes in. I am giving away two copies, one purely by RNG (random number generator), and one by a slightly more stringent standard: pictures. I want to see pictures of you reading Toby in the strangest place you can think of or access easily. Museums. Hot air balloons. Your own bedroom only covered in Care Bears. Or pose the books with pets or toys, whatever suits your fancy.

To enter the RNG drawing:

1. Leave a comment on this entry.
2. If you are international, indicate a willingness to pay postage.
3. That's all.

To enter the photo drawing:

1. Leave a comment on this entry either including or linking to your photo. YOUR COMMENT MAY BE MARKED AS SPAM. I WILL MANUALLY UNSPAM ALL COMMENTS.
2. If you are international, indicate a willingness to pay postage.
3. That's all.

Yes, someone who posts a picture is automatically entered in both drawings, while someone who only leaves a comment is entered in only the RNG drawing. One entry per person, please—if you're planning to take a picture this weekend, please don't leave a comment without a picture. No matter how cool you think a picture is, please do not reply to other people's comments, as this confuses the RNG. Both winners will be chosen by RNG; if the RNG picks a non-picture entry for the second drawing, we will choose again.

Winners will be chosen on Wednesday, August 21st, and books will be mailed that Friday, getting them in your hands before the book comes out. So you've got the weekend to shutterbug!

GAME ON!

The ARCs of Chimes at Midnight arrived last night, and gosh and golly, they are amazing! So pretty. So real and in my hands. I am overcome with delight. And naturally, I am already starting to go "oh jeez get them out of my house, there are so many of them, get them out of my house."

So...

ARC giveaway! This first dance with the free stuff wolves will be the ART CHALLENGE. Post your Toby-inspired art (drawing, painting, manipulated photo, cosplay, animated .gif rendered funny by context, jewelry, anything that is visual and artsy) on this entry, or post links if your material is hosted elsewhere, and indicate whether you are in the US or international (and if international, whether you will pay postage).

On May 28th, having returned from the wilds of Disney World, I will select two winners: one via our old friend, the RNG, and one by going "that one is my favorite, it should have a book."

Game on!

We're halfway through November, and I have to say, it's weird reaching this point in the year and not being in the process of getting ready to head for Disney World. Like, every morning I wake up going "is it Disney o'clock yet?", and then every morning I have to realize that Disney o'clock isn't coming back until May. Boo.

Anyway, this is the post in which I tell you what I'm working on, and you finally understand why I don't have time for tea. To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (Midnight Blue-Light Special, Parasite). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

Not everything on this list has been sold. I will not discuss the sale status of anything which has not been publicly announced. If you can't remember whether I've announced something, check the relevant tag. Please don't ask why project X is no longer on the list.

( What's Seanan working on now? Click to find out! )

Total words: 122,700.
Chapters: Thirty-one.
Pages: 412.

Reason for stopping: draft one is finished.
Music: Delta Rae.
The cats: Lilly, bed; Alice, unknown; Thomas, bed.

Did somebody get the number of that truck?

Well, there you go. Draft one is done. I have edits to process, corrections to make, structural elements to adjust, and lots and lots of trimming to do—the book is currently somewhere between five and eight thousand words longer than it needs to be, the length of a short story, if you wanted to write a short story made up mostly of "just," "that," and assorted wishy-washy modifiers. But the words are on the page to be mucked about with. The first draft is finished.

I am exhausted and I feel sort of beaten, but the draft is done. Tonight, I will drink deep from the keg of victory. BRING ME THE FINEST MUFFINS AND BAGELS IN THE LAND!

Draft!

I...appear to have missed a month. Which is a little terrifying, given how careful I have reliably been about making these posts. There you go: that is how fried I was over the Hugos. Here, then, is the September 2012 current projects post. Most of the year is gone. Like, we are in the final color block of my planner, and it's terrible.

Anyway, this is the post in which I tell you what I'm working on, and you finally understand why I don't have time for tea. To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (Midnight Blue-Light Special, Parasite). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

Not everything on this list has been sold. I will not discuss the sale status of anything which has not been publicly announced. Please don't ask.

( What's Seanan working on now? Click to find out! )

Words: 2,208.
Total words: 63,005.
Reason for stopping: chapter fifteen is done, so I'm going to work on something else.
The cats: Alice, spare room floor; Thomas, kitchen sink; Lilly, parts unknown.
Music: random shuffle.

I could keep going, to be entirely honest: I know what the shape of the next chapter is, and I could push my way into it. But I wouldn't finish another chapter tonight, and I'd rather send this out to the Machete Squad now, while there's time for them to do something about it, than force my way onward and maybe not get them a draft until the weekend. So you see, I can be taught.

(Besides, the other thing I'm working on right now is potentially my "here, have a new book" reward, and that means I'm on a bit of a self-imposed deadline to get it wrapped up.)

I am really crazy-happy with how things are shaping up. I have the normal contradictions and conundrums of a first-draft book that's only a little over halfway done, but they're resolving themselves quickly, and it's a good story. I'm going to rock it.

Words: 2,762.
Total words: 50,050.
Reason for stopping: it's time for bed.
The cats: all three, on the bed.
Music: random shuffle.

I have this horrible suspicion that I'm like, 500 words from the end of the chapter, and if I just soldiered through, I'd be able to wrap chapter twelve up tonight. But that way lies madness. If I forced myself through 500 words without reaching the end, I'd try for another 500, and then it's two in the morning and I still have to be up at five for work. So I close the file for now, content in the knowledge that I broke 50,000 words tonight.

Oh, right: I BROKE 50,000 WORDS!!!!!

This is one of the big milestones, the point where there's enough written that abandoning the book is no longer an option; for right or for wrong, this is your foundation, now cope. I figure this book is going to be in the 109,000 to 116,000 word range, which is about average for a Toby book these days. So this is no longer the magical halfway point that it once was, but it's still a pretty big deal, and I should be able to get through another 10,000 words by the end of the weekend.

Progress!