Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: accomplished
  • Music: Gary Jules, "Mad World."

Time for class: "The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell" available now!

The Rising only lasted for three years. The repercussions will last forever. For Elaine Oldenburg, those repercussions are about to change everything.

"The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell" is available now from most ebook outlets. This Newsflesh-universe story fills in a piece of the past that has previously been left hidden, for good reason. Join Elaine as she tries to get her students out of an outbreak alive, and without casualties. (Try not to read the blurb on the landing page, as it's way spoilery.)

She's not going to save them all.

I'm really excited about this one. It's a story I've wanted to tell for quite some time, and it pulls no punches, which is always nice for me, since I fancy myself a horror author. Better yet, it will prepare you for what's to come. (It will also help feed my cats. As always, a major concern.)

This will also serve as your discussion post.

Zombies!
Tags: mira grant, short fiction
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ashabardon

July 15 2014, 16:23:27 UTC 2 years ago

I thoroughly enjoyed it, dark as it was. That's the Rising (or this case the post-Rising world) for you, zombies don't spare anyone.

I'm really looking forward to the next Newsflesh book!

seanan_mcguire

July 15 2014, 16:47:40 UTC 2 years ago

So am I, although I'm really worried people will be disappointed when they realize that no, really, it's NOT about the Masons.

ashabardon

2 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

2 years ago

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ashabardon

2 years ago

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museclio

July 15 2014, 16:43:13 UTC 2 years ago

Done. Oh dear sweet non-existent deity. OW. As a former teacher. OW.

seanan_mcguire

July 15 2014, 16:47:52 UTC 2 years ago

*beam*

museclio

2 years ago

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groblek

2 years ago

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phoenix_singing

2 years ago

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annathepiper

July 15 2014, 16:54:48 UTC 2 years ago

Hurray! I'll be buying this. I approve of feeding cats.

seanan_mcguire

July 15 2014, 19:54:41 UTC 2 years ago

Yay!

shanejayell

July 15 2014, 17:31:52 UTC 2 years ago

I don't think the blurb is spoilery... we have a good idea what's coming.

vixyish

July 15 2014, 19:14:39 UTC 2 years ago

I thought maybe not everyone would realize right off the bat who Elaine actually is.

pujaemuss

2 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

2 years ago

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talekyn

July 15 2014, 18:46:47 UTC 2 years ago

Purchased from the BN site, will download at home! You know how excited I am for new Newsflesh stories!

seanan_mcguire

July 16 2014, 15:47:54 UTC 2 years ago

Almost as excited as I am!

talekyn

2 years ago

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anne_d

July 15 2014, 18:53:49 UTC 2 years ago

Got it and downloaded it, but I'm going to wait until after lunch to read it.

seanan_mcguire

July 16 2014, 15:48:05 UTC 2 years ago

Good call.

pujaemuss

July 15 2014, 19:14:13 UTC 2 years ago

Read it at 12.02 this morning when my Amazon preorder dropped it onto my phone. Then went and cuddled my daughter for a while. No reason.

PJW

pujaemuss

July 15 2014, 19:18:10 UTC 2 years ago

Incidentally, thanks so much for warning about the spoiler on the blurb. I *loved* the way we found out who Elaine was, what broke her and what led her to become who we know. Went back to reread her scenes from the original trilogy and have become convinced that you already knew her whole backstory before you wrote Blackout and Deadline. Is that right?

PJW

seanan_mcguire

2 years ago

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kath8562

2 years ago

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ladymurmur

2 years ago

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jenk

2 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

2 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

July 16 2014, 15:48:57 UTC 2 years ago

Very welcome.

phoenix_singing

July 15 2014, 20:36:27 UTC 2 years ago Edited:  July 16 2014, 12:26:20 UTC

I read it at lunch.

The sound of sanity breaking. Damn, woman. I'm just going to go home and cuddle my daughter.

But seriously, well done. I look forward to more Newsflesh as a zombie looks forward to eating brains and other assorted human parts.

Better yet, it will prepare you for what's to come.

This intriguing statement. :O

Edit:
Also, the reveal was flawless. Even though I accidentally got spoiled, I just...aaaaahhhhhh. I wanted to hug Alaric so many times. And Elaine. Our poor, dear Elaine. I felt like I was on the journey to madness with her.

seanan_mcguire

July 16 2014, 16:18:21 UTC 2 years ago

I am so glad it worked so well for you.

My best friend, whom Elaine is based on, side-eyed me a LOT while I was writing this one.

phoenix_singing

2 years ago

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anne_d

July 15 2014, 20:41:26 UTC 2 years ago

I read it. Seanan, you just keepkeep on breaking my heart. I'll be over here, in the corner, sobbing quietly to myself...

anne_d

July 15 2014, 20:43:48 UTC 2 years ago

By the way, I avoided blurbs for this like the proverbial plague, so I was quite surprised when I found out who Elaine is. Good job.

seanan_mcguire

2 years ago

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umadoshi

July 15 2014, 21:58:21 UTC 2 years ago

Coincidentally, I gave myself the day off today, and spending a couple hours immersed in this was wonderful.

Better yet, it will prepare you for what's to come.

Oooh. I realize this may be a question with a "you'll find out later!" answer--and fair enough, if so!--but does "what's to come" mean in the direct aftermath of this 2036 story, or in the 2044 time of the narrative frame? (Or both, since Alaric was talking about having found her? *g*)

(And re: your comment above about the upcoming novel, I solemnly swear that the fact that Georgia is forever and always my favorite will in no way keep me from being thrilled and delighted by a new Newsflesh book despite it having nothing to do with her. You've built a huge and fascinating world, and I'm excited to see into any part of it! ^_^)

seanan_mcguire

July 16 2014, 16:18:57 UTC 2 years ago

You'll find out later! :)

jammiesest

July 16 2014, 00:09:30 UTC 2 years ago

Yesterday was mah burfday, and this is the present I gave myself. Thank you so much, Seanan! <3

seanan_mcguire

July 20 2014, 15:18:32 UTC 2 years ago

Happy burfday!

jammiesest

2 years ago

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amanda_nye

July 16 2014, 00:23:14 UTC 2 years ago

MINE!

seanan_mcguire

July 20 2014, 15:18:42 UTC 2 years ago

YAY!

silvormoon

July 16 2014, 00:40:28 UTC 2 years ago

Just finished reading it a little while ago, and I must say, kudos to you! That was absolutely gut-wrenching in all the best ways. What a lovely birthday present for me. :D Anyway, now I feel like I need to reread the original trilogy so I can fit this new information into my mental map of the world, so I reckon I'll start that tomorrow.

seanan_mcguire

July 20 2014, 15:18:58 UTC 2 years ago

Thank you!

kurai

July 16 2014, 00:55:46 UTC 2 years ago

Ahhh, I just finished it. It was so hard to read at times because I knew horrible things were going to happen, but I had to continue on because I wanted so badly to know how it was all going to turn out. I loved it. Thank you for sharing Elaine's story. :)

seanan_mcguire

July 20 2014, 15:19:12 UTC 2 years ago

You are very welcome.

lots42

July 16 2014, 03:55:22 UTC 2 years ago

I have no idea how to buy an ebook. I feel like a caveman.

seanan_mcguire

July 20 2014, 15:19:52 UTC 2 years ago

So do I, a lot of the time.

arib

July 16 2014, 03:57:48 UTC 2 years ago

Apparently, I'll need to wait until Amazon and Hachette settle their differences before I can buy a copy for my Kindle. A pox on both their houses.

grenacia

July 16 2014, 16:29:19 UTC 2 years ago

It can be bought for the Kindle, Amazon just makes it ridiculously difficult to find. If you search for the title, it shows up, but if you search for the author and scroll through books, it mysteriously doesn't:

http://www.amazon.com/Day-Dead-Came-Show-Tell-ebook/dp/B00LLINQD8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405528013&sr=8-1&keywords=dead+came+to+show+and+tell

Though I'm unhappy with Amazon, I decided to go ahead and buy it for my Kindle rather than buy some other format and deal with trying to convert it.

jenk

2 years ago

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museclio

2 years ago

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dragonflymn

July 16 2014, 04:00:08 UTC 2 years ago

So....Today is my oldest son's birthday. He would have been 20. I say would have, as he died at two and a half. It is a testament to how much I adore EVERYTHING YOU WRITE that I not only bought a story I was sure would have dead kids in it, I read it today of all days. That being said I am really sad one girl is at camp and the other is at her dad's and the boy is 15 and will hug me for about 10 seconds before deciding it's not OK any more.

phoenix_singing

July 16 2014, 13:54:46 UTC 2 years ago

Not Seanan, but I just want to offer you so many hugs.

seanan_mcguire

2 years ago

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notalwaysweak

July 16 2014, 04:56:52 UTC 2 years ago

You know how they say in the movie industry that one shouldn't work with animals or children? I think this proves the reverse: animals and children should be cautioned against working with Mira.

I accidentally saw the Foxy spoiler, but I still felt for Alaric as it all unfolded. I was delighted that Maggie got a mention.

You're horrible and this was fantastic.

seanan_mcguire

November 13 2014, 17:53:40 UTC 2 years ago

Yay!

frith_in_thorns

July 16 2014, 15:42:54 UTC 2 years ago

So I started reading this last night, continued on the morning bus into work, and finished it in the staffroom at lunchtime. Yep, it was a totally appropriate place to read this :P And I loved it! My favourite stuff is always a tie between the politics and the logistics of the post-Rising world, so thanks for cramming in loads of both!

(And noooo I totally didn't spend idle moments today wondering which of my pupils were above the amplification threshold. Nope.)

(Also my school would be really hard to defend against zombies in.)

seanan_mcguire

November 13 2014, 17:53:55 UTC 2 years ago

Excellent. :)

groblek

July 16 2014, 19:57:43 UTC 2 years ago

I'll read through this thread when I finish the story, and probably comment again, but I couldn't resist. I needed something to wash out the mental taste of a series that just disappointed me, and by page 8 on my iPad, you've got me so busy shivering from the horrors of the Rising that the other book's echoes are long gone. You're serious about pulling no punches, that's for sure. What did it for me was the sixth paragraph of the main body, with the matter-of-fact discussion of the consequences of a quickly contained amplification and the school nurse's duty to administer lethal injections to the infected students. The consequences of the Rising are more brutal than I'd managed to think through reading Newsflesh.

So, well done, and I'm going to enjoy this one, then hug Josh close and have nightmares for a long while.

groblek

July 16 2014, 21:59:56 UTC 2 years ago

And done. You wrung out my emotions, made me weep shamelessly (sanity breaking), and generally took me on an amazing ride. That was excellent, though I'm not sure it'll be safe to reread anytime soon. Also, Josh is getting all the hugs tonight.

seanan_mcguire

2 years ago

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pusifoot

July 16 2014, 22:05:44 UTC 2 years ago

I am *so* excited for this! I'm just reading the Newsflesh trilogy for the first time now and the worldbuilding is some of the best I've seen. I'm holding off on the short story until I finish the series because I want to avoid spoilers but I'm very much looking forward to reading it when the time comes.

seanan_mcguire

November 13 2014, 20:10:30 UTC 2 years ago

Yay!

Tara Allred

July 17 2014, 00:32:37 UTC 2 years ago

Wow - LOVED LOVED LOVED the book. Started it at lunch on Tuesday and couldn't tear myself away.

I love the surprise and I love how you didn't make it part of the climax. It was just a small little aside that packed a huge punch of revelation :)

I absolutely adore how you start your chapters in most or all of the Feed universe with a blog post or letter or excerpt from a communication. I can't tell you how much I enjoy those. With this book, I particularly reveled in how much tension these chapter starters built.
It reminds me of Feed and the chapter when Georgia died - you started off the chapter with a "postcard from the wall" from Georgia. The idea that you could kill Georgia seemed inconceivable (saying this like in Princess Bride :D), but instead of feeling like it gave everything away, I instead was overwhelmed with huge tension and I was that much more enthralled and tightly gripping my Kindle. I never forgot how it was to read that chapter in Feed. What you did in "Show and Tell" was like that Feed chapter, but for the entire book. Awesome.

Very minor thing - Surprised the publisher (or whoever handles this) didn't include Half Off Ragnorok (Intrepid book 3) in the list of books you've written, even though it came out almost a year ago.

seanan_mcguire

November 19 2014, 21:53:56 UTC 2 years ago

This was an Orbit book, and they're not always dedicated to keeping up with my DAW publications.

ladymurmur

July 17 2014, 01:44:42 UTC 2 years ago Edited:  July 17 2014, 01:45:46 UTC

My sweetie is in the living room playing some shoot-the-zombies game, and the moaning + moody background music floating down the hall made for quite the soundtrack as I read. I felt so... so... SO...!!! for Elaine through this all. And for Alaric. And Scott and Brian and the janitor and... and... and...

This story is so harsh and so honest and so...! Apparently it has left me bereft of the ability to communicate without copious use of ellipses.

Please take this for the compliment it is, because I'm going to go crawl under the blankets and shiver quietly with my stuffed animals now. Not taking the laptop. The keys make too much noise as I type, and the fan would turn on at the worst moment. Okaythxbye.

seanan_mcguire

November 19 2014, 21:54:10 UTC 2 years ago

Aw.

Hugs.

adafrog

July 17 2014, 03:13:02 UTC 2 years ago

Oh wow. Very intense. It was horrible, but not at the same time. I mean, you wanted to know that everything would be okay, but you knew it wouldn't, and it never would be, and I can totally see why she split afterwards. Just the thought of having to kill someone, and the fact that they taught teachers to do it. Very real.

(Actually, it made me think about the zombie horses you had in the trilogy. As I was putting mine in the barn and feeding them. lol Freaky.)

seanan_mcguire

November 19 2014, 21:54:32 UTC 2 years ago

I really appreciate exploring those side roads.
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