Here is your weekly status on the pre-orders for Wicked Girls, my third studio album (and the official follow-up to Stars Fall Home). For details on the album itself, please check out my albums page, where you can find the track listing, several of our featured performers, and the truly kick-ass cover art. Pre-orders are being sold to pay for duplication and mastering, and the album will not go to press until they have closed.

To place your order, go to:

https://seananmcguire.com/secure_order.php

Pre-orders follow this price scale:

* $18.00 USD: First domestic pre-order.
* $16.00 USD: Second domestic pre-order.

* $20.00 USD: International pre-order.
* $16.00 USD: Second international pre-order.

This is because of the way the mailing costs work. A third CD would cost the same as a first; this assumes that the CDs are being shipped together. So two CDs to the same US address would be $34.00, but two CDs to two different US addresses would be $18.00 each. Hope that's not too confusing.

(Basically, all pre-orders are a base cost of $15.00, plus shipping.)

Since we also need to pay mixing costs, we're taking album sponsors; you can submit sponsorships through the order form. We'll do our best to include all sponsors in the liner notes, although late sponsorships may not be included.

We have sold 168 pre-orders out of a possible 300, meaning that 132 pre-orders remain. Don't miss your chance to pre-order! All pre-order CDs will be signed and numbered.

Questions? Comments? Glee!

When last I left this incredibly delayed trip report, Jeanne and I had managed (finally) to touch down in Melbourne, following an unplanned jaunt to Sydney (during which we were not permitted to leave the plane). After fleeing the airport, we caught a bus to a bus terminal, where we caught another bus to our initial destination, the Hotel Promenade. We were going to be staying there for the first few days, before transferring to the WorldCon hotel block to join our fannish compatriots.

Since neither of us really wanted to be jet lag's bitch for the duration of our vacation, we basically went to the hotel, dropped everything off, and left, heading out into the wonderful world of Australia. Goal: stay awake until a reasonable bedtime. Jeanne, being foolish, allowed me to pick our activity...and that, o best beloveds, is how we wound up spending the better part of an hour walking pointedly toward the distant glories of Victoria Market. Jeanne has gone walking with me before, and understands that a) I think of anything under five miles as "a little ways," and b) I will always know how to get back to where I started. So she felt just fine following me around Melbourne, which is probably for the best.

Wonderful discovery the first: 7-11 has come to Australia. And while a chain store may not be your idea of a wonderful discovery, I consider anything that gives me cold fizzy caffeine to be an absolute miracle. There is no Diet Dr Pepper in Australia, but Coke Zero is an acceptable substitute. Luckily for everyone's survival.

Wonderful discovery the second: on the way to Victoria Market, we found a little alley that contained a) an Indian place that fed me delicious goat curry, and b) a chocolate place that made insanely decadent and delicious drinking chocolate. These calories would see us through the rest of our journey.

On! To Victoria Market! Where we looked at things ranging from the standard "rook a tourist, win a prize" assortments known to markets the world over all the way to Australian opals and wonderful handmade children's toys. I bought a mobile with pirates on it for Brooke's upcoming spawn. Jeanne bought some opals. Both of us agreed that the local seagulls were awesome, and that it was time to walk back to the hotel.

On leaving, we found a pet store with a large reptile selection, and Jeanne tolerantly allowed me to go in and coo at all the adorable snakes and lizards. Because that's just how we roll.

Walking back down Elizabeth St. allowed us to stop at multiple shops that had interested us on the way to the Market, including Minotaur, a science fiction specialty shop that felt sort of like the Australian answer to Forbidden Planet. They didn't have any Toby books, but they did have several copies of Feed, which I gleefully signed. Yay for signings! They seemed rather stunned to have a genuine American author in the store scribbling on things, but didn't ask for ID, which is good, as I don't have any ID for Mira.

We returned to the hotel, ate in the restaurant (decent, not great, but definitely filling), and went to bed early, only to awaken equally early. Like, "before six o'clock." Oops. We got up, found breakfast, and started our day of killer attack tourism. Destination one: the Melbourne Aquarium.

Now, I could say lots of things about the natural beauty of Australia's natural wildlife, or the cheekiness of eels, or the fact that holy crap, manta rays can apparently be as big as minivans. I could mention the giant lionfish, and go on at great length about the penguins. But I won't. Why? Because HOLY CRAP BEST OCTOPUS EVER. Seriously, their Giant Pacific Octopus renewed my faith in the universe. Poor Jeanne had to keep coming back and hauling me away from the tank, and my octopus communion. He was a rockin' and a rollin', and I wanted nothing more than to stay with him all day.

Alas, it was not to be. Farewell, sweet octopus. We lunched on pumpkin and potato pizza (not kidding), and went in search of the local Lush, since Jeanne needed conditioner. I know, I know, tourism, we're doin' it wrong. Still, when we found the store, we discovered that Australia got exclusive shower gel, and I claimed a bottle of Black Pearl in the name of AWESOME. Between that and the octopus, I was a happy, happy girl. Jeanne also got a local phone, since she's smart that way.

We returned to the hotel to drop off our things before we went looking for dinner, which was really the capper on our awesome day, because we discovered—quite by accident—An Alley of Wonders. Lots of little restaurants, all of them competing for the right to feed us dinner. We settled on a place that gave us free sodas and served me kangaroo steak, since I had to eat it at least once. It tasted sort of like a cross between goat and rabbit.

Australia: awesome so far.

Yeah, I'm Skippy McPosts-a-lot today, aren't I? Forgive me. It's been a hard Monday.

Anyway, I'm drowning in links, and that means it's time to clear a few of them away. In honor of An Artificial Night (that being my most recent book, and all), it's a Toby-centric day, and we're starting with a review from Renee's Book Addiction, in which she says, "As with book two (A Local Habitation), An Artificial Night not only lived up the the high expectations, but took the series in ever more interesting and complex directions." The rest of the review is lovely, and you should read it. Also, it's technically a review of the audio book, which is super-fun.

Karissa, at Karissa's Reading Review, has reviewed An Artificial Night, and says "This was a great installment in this series. The book was different from the previous books in that most of it takes place in the Summerlands and it is more of a questing/adventure type of story. I loved it." She says a lot more, and very well. I'm pleased.

What's a review roundup without a Livejournal review? Silly, that's what, so here it is. kay_gmd says "I'm not generally an emotional reader, I can definitely be taken away by a story, but this is the first time I remember crying while reading. As a caveat I am pregnant, and I'm told that while pregnant I'm more inclined to such things. (It was late in the book, so I'm not going to tell you where it hit)." Yay! I made...a pregnant woman...cry. Er. Please don't hit me.

Phantastic Student has posted a review, and says, "An Artificial Night took the background from the second book, used it and added to it. It took the toughness, grittiness and heartbreak from the first book and compounded it. It took the best of both books, used it and made it better. It totally kicked ass. McGuire's hit her stride and is going to keep going." Woo! EPIC WIN.

Here: have a second Livejournal review. markbernstein has posted a review of An Artificial Night, and says, "More important, this is the book in which we leave behind Toby, the reluctant private investigator and damaged person, and truly meet October Daye, knight of Shadowed Hills and hero. Here in full display is the moral determination, the unshakable loyalty to family and friends (that has in turn inspired the love and loyalty given her, which is key to the book both plotwise and thematically), and the near-pathological stubbornness that together form the core of Toby's character."

Awesome. And that's all for now. Good night, moon.