Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire

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A few bits and pieces for a Thursday morning.

My darlingest dearest Paul Cornell asked me to write a post about one of the twelve days of Christmas for his blog, and because he has a newborn son and thus gets to ask me for free content without being looked at sadly, I wrote a post about the hidden blackbirds that come on the fourth day. Four colly birds for all of you!

Jennifer Brozek had a lovely dream and I was in it and it was wonderful, and now you can see it in illustrated, murderous form. Happiness and joy.

This Etsy store has the best handmade catnip eyeballs in the world. There is no joy like watching a cat gleefully maul a giant human eye. NO JOY IN THIS WORLD. Plus we've sold out their stock like, twice since I discovered them. Let's do it again.

I have a Tumblr now. Tumblrs are cool. And while this won't be true for long, if you go there right now, you'll actually get a lovely graphic illustration of how many fucks I have left to give. Hint: not many.

In limited edition news, A Fantasy Medley 2 and When Will You Rise remain available from Subterranean Press, and Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots remains available from ISFIC Press. Velveteen is available in hardcover and ebook formats, the others are hardcover only.

Now, this is important: all three of the books listed above are limited edition, and the print runs are really small. So while they're available now, they won't be available forever. Please keep that in mind, because I will just look sad and shake my head if asked in six months whether I have any for sale. Also, you can get When Will You Rise and Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots signed and personalized for the holidays by contacting Borderlands Books.

And that's the news.
Tags: cats, good things, jennifer, limited editions, mira grant, publishing news, short fiction, silliness, toby daye, velveteen vs.
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  • 36 comments
I love your description of jumping into snow for the first time on your post on Paul Cornell's blog. It made me laugh so hard I snorted.

I grew up in New England, so I've always been familiar with the characteristics of snow. After blizzards, I'd make an igloo out of what my dad shoveled out of the driveway. I remember being made to stay inside during recess on days I hadn't worn my winter boots, and the bundling-up process of going sledding. Snowsuits were warm and dry, but it was like being wrapped in cellophane. A whole elementary school class full of kids in snowsuits sounded like a bonfire.

Snow is one of the reasons I love libraries the way I do. Because my boots were frequently leakier than my sneakers (ah, the joys of hand-me-downs of cheap goods), I spent a good portion of the winter months indoors, and I couldn't just sit there envying my classmates all recess. So I helped out at the school library, stamping due date cards and putting books in order on the book return cart. Imagine my astonishment when my classmates who had waterproof boots started volunteering, too. I resented them a little for it. It was my library, dammit!

Then I learned that my classmates needed to be taught the ropes, and that I was ahead of them for the first time in my life. They were nice to me in the library, even if just because it was so quiet and the librarian would hear if they made fun of me. It became a haven, where my shyness and love of words wasn't a hindrance, but a bonus.

So, yes. Snow is cold. I'd be a very different person without that fact.
Snow is TOO cold. Do not want.

alicetheowl

4 years ago

I'm going to start reading Velveteen today/soon!! Yay!!
You are in for SUCH a treat. Vel was my gateway drug to Seanan's awesomeness.

spectralbovine

4 years ago

greyduck

4 years ago

seanan_mcguire

4 years ago

Visiting the Tumblr was worth it for the Second Breakfast Club post, which somehow I'd not seen until today.

Also: Hell yeah Sailor Moon.
Awesome.
I bought several pairs of catnip eyeballs! They're going to be best :)
They really are.

phoenixsansfyr

4 years ago

I almost want to get a tumblr just for all the lovely Sailormoon stuff out there.
I know, right?
Oh, nice tie-in with the solstice rituals and all. I am also a native Californian, and snow is far too cold for me.

That's interesting about calling vs colly birds. I wonder if My Daughter the Linguist might have any insights on the evolution of the term. Or I could just do the research myself... It's a fun think, anyway.

Ooooh, catnip eyeballs, I must order some for the Resident Felines! They will have the additional fun feature of grossing out the Husband, heh heh heh.
You really should! They're fabulous cat toys.
Thanks for the Tumblr link, twas cool. I'll have to keep an eye on that one.
Rockin'.
I just picked up my e-book version of Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots.

You could have mentioned that it was available through Amazon since the ISFIC Press website was chucking a hissy fit over my card.
I had no idea.

Seriously. I don't buy ebooks, and I don't know who ISFIC is distributing through. So I didn't even realize you could get it through Amazon.

kohi_no_tora

4 years ago

seanan_mcguire

4 years ago

billroper

4 years ago

Catnip eyeballs? Buying some now!
Good call!
Does 'remain available' on A Fantasy Medley 2 mean it's *released*, or am I misparsing? (Because if it does, I need to investigate why they haven't sent my copy. Ordered back in July!)
It means you can order it right now (and you have!), because copies exist, but so far as I know, they haven't started shipping yet. They only just switched from "pre-orders" to "in production."
As a fellow native of coastal California, your description of a white Christmas being a foreign thing feels very familiar to me. I am firmly of the opinion that snow is something that should require a special trip to go visit, should one feel so inclined. I had never heard of the four colly birds, so thank you for today's new nugget of knowledge.
You're welcome!
When I first found those very same catnip eyeballs a couple years ago, I bought the jumbo mixed bag... giggled uproariously when I received/opened it (and all these two-packs of ginormous eyeballs fell out)... then gleefully proceeded to gift kitty friends with eye-color-matched toys. Yes, they were a HUGE hit. Yes, my own boycat (still-to-this-day) LOVES his own, (now-)ratty, felted blue eyeball. [pause for thought] Huh. Maybe it's time for a new bag, eh? :D
New bag means fresh catnip. I cannot recommend highly enough.
Etsy and Tumblr mentions in the same post? Oh, yes. :D
Yay!
I bought catnip eyeballs for my 2 cats on your recommendation for their Christmas presents, and had to give them early as one of them was so interested in the envelope. They have only been interested in one catnip toy ever (they obviously have snooty tastes) but the younger one is obsessed with the eyeballs and constantly cuddles them and plays football. The older one pretends he doesn't care, but when he thinks I'm not looking he licks them lots.
That. Is. AWESOME.