Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire

  • Mood:
  • Music:

The things my friends put up with.

The mail at my house tends to arrive in the late afternoon. Once I judged that the mailman would have had sufficient time to navigate the horrifying suburban wasteland in which I live, I opened the door...and stopped.

Even around here, it's not every day that a big blue biohazard bag hits my porch. I'm just saying.

I picked up the bag, checking the tags in the vague hope that it had been mis-delivered to my house, and was actually intended for the mad scientist down the way. Nope; there was my name and address, along with the ominous routing tag for Sweden. Yes, Sweden, land of chocolates and, quite possibly, human organs and anthrax. I mean, why else would it have been secured with two heavy plastic zip-ties?

Lacking anything better to do with the bag, I took it inside, cleared the cutting board, and put it down. Then, after a quick check of my time zone-based options, I called Cat. "I have a big international biohazard shipping bag in my kitchen," I informed her, without preamble.

"What?" She was laughing. This is because humor is the best defense against me sometimes.

"Big international biohazard bag. I need you to call the CDC if I start screaming and drop the phone."

"Um...okay."

It took several minutes with the industrial-grade scissors to work my way into the bag, which kept producing more and more ominous routing stickers as I ripped my way inside. Finally, I ripped away the last layer, and shrieked happily.

Cat did not hang up and call the CDC. All those of you not currently trapped in the blasted quarantine zone that used to be California, you can thank her.

"It's the British edition of Feed!" I told her exultantly.

"Oh, good."

I have the UK copies of Feed! They're so pretty! They're only subtly different from the American edition—redder blood, because presumably the Rising is still fresher in England's memory; the word "bloggers" is actually on the back cover; no number "one" on the spine; a quote from Publishers Weekly on the front—but having them fills me with deep, atavistic satisfaction. This is the first British edition of one of my books. I am PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, yo. The cast of Doctor Who could wander into a Waterstone's and just pick up one of my books, without worrying about the import sticker. I'm global. And stuff.

This is even better than illegal human organ trafficking. I'm just saying.
Tags: cat valente, feed, good things, mira grant, other editions, publishing news, so the marilyn, zombies
  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

  • 88 comments
Previous
← Ctrl ← Alt
Next
Ctrl → Alt →
You bring up a good marketing point for the rest of the trilogy: Every single copy should wrapped in a biohazard blue baggy. Only two things come from the bookstore in baggies: Porn and Zombie books.

Unfortunately, that would do the land fills no good but still it could look cool on the shelf.

BTW, do I even want to know why they sent it in blue biohazard bag?
I have absolutely no idea why they did that. But I'm really happy that they did.

theashgirl

7 years ago

I'll have to remember that you like biohazard bags as gift wrap ;)
Brooke regularly gifts me with biohazard bags. I use them for my lunches. (But not for air travel.)

admnaismith

7 years ago

admnaismith

7 years ago

Deleted comment

I don't have a functional camera right now, unfortunately.
This is the time on sprokets when we (happy) dance.

And clearly, the UK publishers know you well. "We're sending an author copy of Feed to McGuire." "So wrap up in brown paper or something. You need a box?" "No, I'll just use the big blue biohazard bag. She'll like that."
And she DID!
Hoorah hoorah!! OH that is so awesome! GO Seanan!!!!!

Now if we could only have been there and opened the bag WITH you, how cool would that have been!

We could have ALL 'sploded!
I could have parceled out the death!

You need to come over and meet Alice.

mythos_amante

7 years ago

seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

mythos_amante

6 years ago

seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

mythos_amante

6 years ago

seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

So, you can tell us now... What else was in the biohazard bag?
Packing materials and air.

admnaismith

7 years ago

I’m so glad someone at the Post Office didn’t freak out about you receiving biohazard materials in the mail. Though that might have eventually led to free publicity...
Yeah, I keep expecting the tag saying "TELL PEOPLE TO STOP MAILING YOU THAT SHIT." But it hasn't come yet.
Yes, Sweden, land of chocolates

Now, now...If The Simpsons taught us anything, it's that GERMANY is the true Land of Chocolate ;-)
Mmmmmmmm...Germany chocolate.

admnaismith

7 years ago

ladyfox7oaks

7 years ago

technoshaman

7 years ago

keristor

7 years ago

emberleo

7 years ago

So your friends have to put up with your being thrilled? Geeeeeeeez. What a long suffering bunch.

Congrats! And.... The real test will be if Arther Dent takes one along when Earth is destroyed, :) It would be an apt antidote for Vogon poetry. Because it's the best!

My friends will eventually have to put up with my total devastation of the planet. Won't that be fun? Yay!

kyrielle

7 years ago

I saw it at Borders in Oakbrook, IL; there was one copy in Science Fiction, and two copies in the "employees choice" area. Handwritten little blurb and everything.

There's only one copy in each place now.
Squee!
Yay!
I'm so pleased. :)
Love how they delivered it! So appropriate! Congrats!
And so unnerving!

Deleted comment

Statler and Waldorf. Just sayin'.
I'm in the blasted quarantine zone! Does that qualify me to purchase a copy of the UK edition from you? Please?
Yes, I believe it does. :) Go ahead and email me, and we'll make for to go.
This is great! Didn't you enjoy the scary packaging, though?
I did!
I've got an entire roll of Biohazard stickers, remnants of a more innocent time when putting one on something you own (like luggage) wasn't a call for people to give you the ol' hairy eyeball.

You're going to be at Baycon, right?
Nope. I'm at Marcon that weekend. It's been on my appearances page for months now.
:D :D :D

I am going to start checking shops, Amazon UK has release date as June 3rd so it might appear soon. I can't wait to be able to buy a book of yours in an actual shop :D
Squee!
Wow, you are WAY braver than I am... not that this is a surprise.

I have to admit, I figured it was something to do with FEED when I started reading, but I think I'd still be like "um, how do I open this?!" if I were in your place...

--Ember--
It helps that I use biohazard bags for my sandwiches. I'm desensitized.
Malmo, Sweden! All my mail from DAW comes that way, too. It's a plot, I tell you.
There must be a vast international book clearinghouse there or something.

la_marquise_de_

7 years ago

seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

That is so awesome that it arrived in a biohazard bag. The mail carrier must be scared of you now though. Unless they already had reason to fear you. In which case they are now MORE scared of you. Not to mention any neighbors that saw the bag.

I suppose you'll never have to worry about the post leaving a parcel out in the rain now.
The mail carriers have been scared of me since the box that hissed at them.

vixyish

7 years ago

seanan_mcguire

7 years ago

Today's "Frog Applause" seems apropos:


WIN.
Yay for a British edition. Looks like I will get hold of my copy of Feed before the bookshop manages to import "A Local Habitation". They have promised to refund me if they can't get "A Local Habitation" but I want the book not the refund.
I can understand, and approve of, this sentiment.
OUTSTANDING!! It'd be even cooler if there was a UK edition that came wrapped like yours did...

BTW, it is YOUR FAULT nothing is getting done at home...I'm partway thru the US version of FEED and cannot put it down!
I would apologize...

...but I'm not actually sorry.

mskauri

7 years ago

That's just utterly brilliant.

No, seriously, totally brilliant.

The Stig approves. We think. (Some say that he's a zombie in a racing suit, and he feeds on the brains of racing commentators and is thus always hungry. All we know is, he's called the Stig.)
Heeeee.
Much squee!
OMG JUNIPER LEE ICON I LOVE YOU.

Ahem.

Sorry.

allaboutm_e

7 years ago

Previous
← Ctrl ← Alt
Next
Ctrl → Alt →