The finished copies of Feed landed on my doorstep yesterday afternoon, where they were promptly rescued from the rain by my mother, who was over at the house doing basic kitchen maintenance (oh, how the cats hate her and her sloshy, sloshy mop). They are...I mean, they're even prettier than the ARC, which I didn't think was possible. The covers are done in this amazing combination of matte and semi-gloss that makes the blood really pop, and they're eye-catching and utterly bleak at the same time. Orbit did a really incredible job with them. I am awed.

Time between opening the box and my mother stealing a copy: Under five minutes. At least she's consistent...

In honor of the arrival of the finished copies, and the oncoming release of the book itself (the light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train, it's a flamethrower), I've been making updates to MiraGrant.com. In addition to moving the Horror Movie FAQ to its new home (it was replaced on my main site by the Fairy Tale Survival FAQ), I've added some very important facts about Mira Grant that you should know. Not convinced of the raw danger that you face when you taunt my evil alter-ego? Take a gander at the full list of warnings. These were taken from your suggestions, and they should hopefully do a little to prepare the public for the danger that's to come.

In slightly less silly news, the first batch of icons and desktop wallpapers has been added to the site for you to use and enjoy! Tara really knocked herself out on these, and was aided by Lauren at Orbit, who was awesome enough to let her work from the original cover graphic source. I couldn't be more pleased. Check it out—I bet you'll be pretty pleased, too.

When will you rise?

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real."

Flashback: I was attending the Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco when I came across a table, staffed by a friendly, curly-haired brunette woman in round geek-girl glasses, which boasted a wide assortment of mad science-themed images, all centering around a pretty, realistically-proportioned mad scientist named Helen Narbon. This was relevant to my interests. I grabbed some of the hand-outs, chatted briefly with the brunette—who turned out to be the strip's creator, Shaenon Garrity—and moved on, unaware that I had just discovered a six-year obsession.

Narbonic turned out to be an epic tale of mad science, romance, destruction, and, of course, gerbils. I visited Narbonic Labs every day for six years. When I was in Europe, paying for DSL in exotic cafes staffed by people who liked to dodge the crazy American, I paid about half-a-quid for the privilege of my mad science fix. I have no regrets. And yes, "Oh, Helen" on Red Roses and Dead Things was inspired by this comic strip.

Narbonic eventually had to end, coming to a solid and satisfying conclusion. The strip was collected in dead tree editions, each with lovely bonus features; sadly, some of them are now out of print. Not so sadly, there are plans in the works for a single omnibus edition, which will doubtless blow a whole lot of socks off. In the meantime, the full archives of the strip are available online, along with Shaenon's ongoing Director's Cut (she's going back and adding commentary to every single day). It's so, so worth reading, although I warn you, you're gonna lose some time. (Yes, the art starts out fairly primitive. Watching it improve is one of the true joys of the strip, since the art gets more complex even as the story gets more addictive.)

But that's not the point.

After Narbonic, Shaenon teamed up with Jeffrey Wells on a new project: Skin Horse, the story of a Black Ops Civil Service Agency dedicated to helping—and almost entirely staffed by—non-human transgenic individuals. The main team consists of a genetically-engineered Siberian Husky named Captain's Fancy Valentine Sweetheart, a dangerously unstable and heavily medicated necrotic-American named Unity, a cross-dressing ex-Army psychologist named Tip, and their boss, Gavotte, who is, well, a swarm of bees.

Yes. A swarm of bees.

And did I mention the huggy cobras?

The first year of Skin Horse is available now in dead tree format, and seriously, that was the best fourteen dollars I've spent all year. (Some other amounts may have been equally awesome, but fourteen dollar amounts? Nothing beat it.) Talking lions! Killbots! Opera-singing silverfish! HUGGY COBRAS! Seriously. If you like fun, you'll love Skin Horse. Also, if enough orders come in unexpectedly, Shaenon's head may explode. You like making people's heads explode, right?

You can view the strips included in the book at the Skin Horse website totally for free, but you can't take the website in the bathtub (unless you feel like living dangerously). Go, read, enjoy, and experience the HUGGY COBRAS.

Ssssssss.

I got up this morning and checked the AussieCon website almost before I realized what I was doing. I think I dreamt there had been a mistake or something. But there was no mistake, and I'm still on the ballot for the 2010 Campbell Awards. I am no less staggered by this than I was on the day I was asked to accept the nomination. (The comic strip about looking dumbfounded is coming. I was too staggered to ink. Seriously.)

catvalente's story of sex and the city (also sex with the city) is up for the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and her reaction post made me giggle and nod an awful lot, because she's as staggered as I am. Which I guess just proves that the shiny never wears off of the world if you keep applying coats of silver polish. We're going to wear pretty dresses and go to the awards banquet together, because that's just how we roll around here.

(And I am very proud of her. Palimpsest was the little novel that could, even after everyone said it couldn't. The fact that it's on the ballot is amazing, and testifies to all things finding their place, given space enough to shine.)

In further awards-and-Australia news, Grants Pass has won the Australian Shadows Award for best anthology. This award is granted by the Australian Horror Writers Association, and is given to honor the best new Australian horror (Grants Pass was co-edited by an American and an Australian). Jennifer is now an award-winning editor! Hooray! (Also, the judge's report called out "Animal Husbandry" as a stand-out story. I am honored.)

My friends are amazing, and they do amazing things.

What a wonderful world.

One year ago today, I flew home from Seattle with a tiny, traumatized, rather pissed-off bundle of fuzzy blue and white puff stuffed into a bright pink soft-sided cat carrier.

One year ago today, I released the piece of puff into my bedroom, where it looked around, jumped onto the bed, curled itself into a comfortable ball of puffiness, and essentially said "This will do, monkey."

One year ago today, Alice Price-Healy Little Liddel Abernathy McGuire officially joined my family. And it seems like she's been with us forever, and it seems like she's been with us for five minutes, tops. I remember when her name was longer than she was! Now she's the length of Amy's leg, and making great strides toward being the length of my leg. She's like one of those magical grow-critters—the ones that swell to a hundred times their original size when submerged in water (and maybe this explains her passionate love for hanging out in the bathtub, water bowl, and toilet). She's immensely puffy, and sweet, and cuddly, and funny, and wonderful.

She's just wonderful.

I remain so grateful to Betsy for letting me have her, because she is one of the best cats I have ever owned. She and Lilly are a joy both together and apart, and Alice is a constant ball of playful, prim, perfect delight.

The Maine Coon. Because sometimes, you just need more to love.

I am delighted (and still sort of staggered and awed) to announce that I have been nominated for the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. You can view the full ballot for this year's awards by following this link to the Aussiecon 4 website.

I. Uh.

Oh my sweet Great Pumpkin and pie, you guys, I made the ballot.

I literally started screaming when I got the email—like, high-pitched, sonic screaming—followed by crying hysterically for a good half an hour. Because I made the ballot. I'm an urban fantasist! Urban fantasists don't make the Campbell ballot! (I checked the last several years, because I am insane like that.) Urban fantasists don't get to buy pretty dresses and go to Australia and maybe win a tiara!

But this one does.

Wow.

I've updated my website to reflect recent changes, I've done the Internet equivalent of making the house look nice for all the new guests that are likely to come over and check me out, and I've managed, mostly, to stop crying. I'm on the 2010 Campbell ballot. I just...

There are no words. Just wow.

...quite soon, actually. Like, in a month. Actually, like, in twenty-nine days. (That's twenty-nine days if you believe the date I got from my publisher, IE, "May 1st." Everyone else seems to think the book comes out on April 27th. I am choosing to continue believing May 1st, because at least that's two months after my last book release, not one month after my last book release, and implies that I might have had the opportunity to take a nap in the interim.)

I am terrified, elated, and a whole bunch of other things that are surprisingly difficult to describe. See, Feed was a thought experiment. It was my game of "What if...?" What if the zombie apocalypse happened...and we lived? What if society had to restructure itself around the idea that the dead will always walk? What if this wasn't going to go away? What if?

I walked around for years with a zombie world and no zombie story. I tinkered with the ecology when I got bored, working out dozens of things that will never make it into the novels (as I lack a naturalist protagonist), but which combined to make a deeper, more convincing reality when I finally started really having a party there. I periodically bitched to my more understanding friends about how I had this truly awesome world, all full of zombies and personal firearms and stuff, and no story to tell there.

Then my friend Micheal Ellis said "Well, why don't you write about a Presidential campaign?"

And it all happened from there.

I'm sure I've told this story here before, because I've told this story a lot. But I'm still so grateful, and so overjoyed, that there are no words. I love the Masons, and my weird journalistic world, and everything else about this series, and for all that I am girl, paralyzed by fear, I really am unbelievably excited that you're going to get to meet them all.

One month 'til the Rising. Wow. It's been a long time coming.

(Some of these links may be getting posted for the second time. I had a minor browser crash, and I think it restarted from an earlier session. Sorry about any confusion this may cause.)

First up for tonight's roundup, there's a discussion of A Local Habitation going on over at the dawbooks community. This is a great community for discussing the latest releases from my beloved publisher, and sometimes there are even giveaways (and other awesome things). Go, discuss, and hang out for the possibility of free books! It's a win-win situation.

Book Lovers Inc. has posted a lovely review of A Local Habitation, and says "Where A Local Habitation becomes art is that while it has so much that speaks to a classic detective story, you feel like you have fallen down the rabbit hole at the same time. The two divergent feelings co-exist with neither completely canceling the other out. You lose yourself in this wonderland, continuing to look for clues and nothing seems outrageous. The mythical and the dark realism flow seamlessly one into the other. By the end you are left with a feeling of being trapped inside the haunted house in a classic horror flick. That my friends, is art."

...um, wow. Okay; there's really nothing I can add to that. Moving along...

Don D'Ammassa included A Local Habitation in his review list, and says "Like the first in the series, this rises above the limitations of its format. It would be a shame if this got lost in the crowd of similarly conceived though far less well executed novels." Cool. Hopefully, I can get found instead.

Rhymes With Truculent has posted a review of A Local Habitation, and says "I think that this is the first time I've read a novel about fairies set in the "real" non-faerie world, and believed it." Again...um, wow. That's just a wonderful thing to hear, and I couldn't be happier. This whole review makes me happy, but that's the bit I just want to stare at for a while.

Ava has posted a review of Rosemary and Rue, and says "I loved this book. I was a little hesitant at first. From the blurbs I read, I knew the book must be a mixture of fantasy and hard-boiled, two genres I enjoy a lot but that seemed to have the potential to make a big mess when put together. I couldn't be more wrong. The narrative is consistent and concise, the characters are well-rounded and believable and the story is intriguing."

She also says "I was especially fascinated by the excellent job the author did of building a realistic main character. Let's face it, the woman's name is October Daye, she's half-fairy, she has a certain air of Legolas about her and she behaves like Humphrey Bogart minus the Y chromosome; it's a cocktail that you'd expect to turn out strange at least, or most likely awful. But McGuire shows such skill in handling her ingredients that the result is someone so believable you wouldn't be surprised to find her on the street."

That's more than I usually quote from a single review, but that's just so...this is a really "um, wow" roundup, for me. I'm getting better. I can see it, and so can the reviewers, and that just delights me all the way from my tip to my toes.

And now, bed.

It is with great delight and Muppet-like flailing that I announce that the next two October Daye novels have been acquired by DAW Books. These urban fantasy/mysteries continue the adventures of October Daye, under-caffeinated changeling detective, and will be coming soon to a world near you. They are:

Late Eclipses
The Brightest Fell

I am grateful, excited, delighted, and really looking forward to being able to bring more of Toby's adventures to the world. I'm going to be working with the same team at DAW, which is awesome, and I'm really looking forward to wading into these books and taking the steps necessary to make then wonderful.

The world gets more Toby!

One of the answers you'll almost always get when you ask an aspiring author what they need to do to further their career is "I need to get an agent." Having an agent is like having a magical unicorn that lays golden eggs, craps rainbows, and grants wishes following you around making your life awesome. Having an agent will transform your life from an abyss of despair into a happy cartoon wonderland full of sunshine and zombie puppies. And sure, we understand that might not be quite true, but we all just know that the right agent will make everything okay, forever.

My agent is not a magical unicorn, but there are aspects of the "I want an agent" dream list that actually work in the real world. I mean, it's an agent's job to understand the business side of the publishing world, partially So You Don't Have To, and partially because Holy Crap, That's Complicated. Also, getting good enough to get an agent is a sign that you've worked pretty hard, and you're pretty dedicated to this "writing" concept. It's possible for really good writers to make it without an agent. It's actually harder for really bad writers to get an agent in the first place. (To all those agents I applied to when I was a teenager: I'm sorry you had to read that. Thank you for being so nice about it.)

Almost three years ago now, a friend of mine decided to introduce me a friend of hers, one who happened to be a working literary agent, looking for clients. The Agent and I exchanged some emails, going slow, navigating the wilds of acquaintance and understanding long before we reached the point where representation would become an option. It was a courtship, rather than a barroom hookup, and I am incredibly grateful for that, because anybody who's met me knows that my full attention can be an exhausting thing. She gets my full attention a lot.

Two years ago today, she asked if I wanted her to represent me. I said "are you crazy?"

The past two years have been amazing. They have been filled with firsts, seconds, wonderful, confusing, incredible things, and The Agent has been there every step along the way to explain, encourage, and assist. I call her my personal superhero for a reason—that's exactly what she is. Books on writing will tell you that the best thing a working writer can have is a good agent, and they're right, but what they won't tell you is that it's even better to have a good agent who understand you, understands the way you work, and is willing to see what you can do together.

So here's a happy, happy anniversary to my personal superhero, to the woman who helps me understand the business side of my chosen career, and to the only person ever to respond to my description of The Worst Book I've Ever Read by asking me to send it to them. Happy anniversary. Let's have ten more of these.

The one problem with being immediately post-release for one book and pre-release for another—and believe me, I know, as problems go, this is possibly one of the best ones to have—is the speed with which links build up in my little pile o' things I need to post here. Since I need to get to work on the content for MiraGrant.com, I'm doing a roundup a little closer to the last one than I normally do, just to get them out of the way and free up a few tabs.

(I do these for reference sake, for archive's sake, and because my publisher actually does track reviews through my blog. In case you were wondering.)

First up, Sunil, who will be rooming with me at the San Diego International Comic Convention, has posted his LJ review of A Local Habitation. He had some issues with the book, which I found totally fair, but it was a generally positive review. There were no good pull quotes from this one; you'll just need to read it. Also, if you're in the Bay Area, Sunil is currently appearing in DeathPlay in San Francisco, and I highly recommend it for a night's entertainment. He's a funny guy!

My friend Will recommended the Toby books to stormfeather, who read and reviewed Rosemary and Rue. Yay! She says "The stories are intricate enough and involving, and I basically just enjoyed most of the things about these books." (She also wants to see more of the San Francisco crew, which I can guarantee in An Artificial Night. Yay!)

Harriet has posted a review of Feed over at Genre-Go-Round, and says "Feed is a profound action-packed paranormal political thriller that extrapolates from modern trends including epidemiology research, political buying, handling and spins, and blogging superseding mains stream media, but in a way that the audience would not expect." Woo-hoo! That makes me very happy. And not just because she said "politics" a lot.

There's a new interview with me up over at Dirty Sexy Books! I love this site, and this interview included some really fun questions for me to answer. (Actually, I just love interviews, period, as long as they don't ask where I get my ideas or make nasty comments about the amount of soda I consume.)

jawastew has posted a lovely review of Rosemary and Rue, and says "Rosemary and Rue is one of those novels I love and had so much fun with, I almost don’t want to screw those super fantastic feelings of glee with a review." But the review is there, and absolutely lovely. Give it a read.

bookblather has posted a review of A Local Habitation that is essentially pure comedy gold. She says "I promised myself I would be calm and coherent in this review. But I think we can all agree that that's not happening." Seriously, just...just read it (if you've read the book, she freely admits to the presence of spoilers). The laughing out loud, I does it.

That's it for right now; more to come!

First off, here is the RSVP link for tomorrow's Bitten By Books event (http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=2043). I'll be answering questions and carrying on conversation all the live-long day, and you can get extra points in the exciting site giveaway by confirming that you'll be there!

Now, on to the reviews for today. The Writing Spectacle came by Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] the funny way: it was an Amazon recommendation, selected to receive free shipping on the order as a whole. Hee! She loved it (yay), and says "Needless to say, I inhaled the book yesterday - to the exclusion of everything else. I loved McGuire's writing style..." Also: "Worth every penny." Plus, she has the best blog disclaimer ever.

Reality Bypass Books gives Toby four out of five paws, and actually took the book to DisneyWorld! Now that's love. The reviewer says "It was a fast read and while there were a few moments where I wanted to slap Toby around, mostly I understood why she was doing what she was doing and I feel like the information pertaining to the mystery was well paced. There are many of the secondary characters who I'm really hoping to see again in future books, as I feel like they have strong stories to tell and Toby is made stronger by having them there for the most part. Connor I want to slap to sleep, but maybe that's just me." (Sadly, no, it's not just you...)

Virginia at Bitten By Books has posted a review, and says "I have been eagerly awaiting the sequel of Rosemary and Rue since I first read it. The October Daye saga is enthralling, and I find myself unable to put the book down once I start it." Also "Ms. McGuire will take that storyline in future books in the series. Seanan McGuire has a compelling writing style that leaves the reader anticipating more. I know I thoroughly enjoyed A Local Habitation and will sit on my hands, impatiently waiting for the next book in the October Daye series." Um, yay much? Total yay.

Finally (for the moment), Alex at Book Banter has reviewed A Local Habitation, and says "A Local Habitation is a great sequel to Rosemary and Rue, ratcheting up the action and fear as Toby once again finds herself fighting for her life, while readers learn more of the complexities of this world that Seanan McGuire had created. The good news is, after finishing A Local Habitation, as readers attempt to catch their breaths, they won’t have to wait long, with An Artificial Night due out in September."

(Footnote: I don't edit review quotes, as a general rule, because that's not nice, but in that last quote, I corrected the spelling of my name and the title of book three. Just to be totally open, here!)

It's a good, good day.

Mindy Klasky has been talking about "author branding" lately. Is it a bad thing that my brand is "slightly maniacal but easily distracted Disney Halloweentown Princess on a never-ending quest to dominate your puny planet"? I mean, it doesn't fit very easily on a T-shirt...

Anyway, today is a day for awesome news that is awesome. Those of you who follow dianafox will have already seen the first part of this: the Newsflesh trilogy (Feed, Deadline, Blackout) has sold to Egmont in Germany. Egmont is also the German publisher of the Toby Daye books. Because of this (and some questionable black marks on Mira's legal record, but that's beside the point), they'll be publishing the Newsflesh trilogy under the name "Seanan McGuire." I like being confusing!

Meanwhile, rights to the first three Toby books (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, and An Artificial Night) have sold to Azbooka in Russia. Vixy is very excited, because she actually speaks Russian, and will thus be able to read my books in a whole new language. I'm very excited because dude, Russia.

Soon, my conquest of your world will be complete, and my collection of foreign language editions will require its own shelf.

Yay!

Behold! My first ever starred review! I clipped one sentence for spoilers, but it's otherwise completely intact, as printed by Publisher's Weekly. Look:

Feed, Mira Grant. Orbit, $9.99 (608p) ISBN 978-0-316-08105-4

Urban fantasist Seanan McGuire (Rosemary and Rue) picks up a new pen name for this gripping, thrilling, and brutal depiction of a postapocalyptic 2039. Twin bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason and their colleague Buffy are thrilled when Senator Peter Ryman, the first presidential candidate to come of age since social media saved the world from a virus that reanimates the dead, invites them to cover his campaign. ... As the bloggers wield the newfound power of new media, they tangle with the CDC, a scheming vice presidential candidate, and mysterious conspirators who want more than the Oval Office. Shunning misogynistic horror tropes in favor of genuine drama and pure creepiness, McGuire has crafted a masterpiece of suspense with engaging, appealing characters who conduct a soul-shredding examination of what’s true and what’s reported. (May)

I just want to go around telling people "I shun misogynistic horror tropes in favor of genuine drama and pure creepiness." Hell, I want that on a shirt.

Win. Win and dinosaurs and pandemics and pie.

This past Tuesday was my second book release party at San Francisco's own Borderlands Books. The folks at Borderlands are learning to believe me when I say things like "and I'm bringing a snake pit and an elephant and six dozen elvish acrobats," because, well, it's safer than the doubtful alternative. So when I said "I'm bringing Amy 'oh hai I am melting your face off with my AWESOME FIDDLING' McNally, Tricky Pixie*, and my usual cast of thousands, they believed me, and made space accordingly. This is because the crew at Borderlands is awesome.

The party was scheduled to run from five to nine, and they were kind enough to keep the bookstore, which normally closes at eight, open for an extra hour because they knew that we were coming. After mass discussion amongst the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show**, we decided to begin our invasion at four, allowing time for things to be set up, any last-minute emergencies to be resolved, and the adulation of naked cats. Because we are clever. I arrived at the bookstore at roughly four-fifteen, and was promptly beset by a) Amy in a black leather under-bust corset HELLO, b) Ash, younger of the store's two pedigreed Sphynx cats, and c) Jude, with a stack of books to be signed and inscribed. I found all these things to be utterly awesome, and managed to keep myself from stroking the books, signing Amy, and hugging Ash. Barely.

Once I was finished signing at the bookstore, I proceeded next door to the cafe, where industrious setting up was underway. The musicians bustled briskly in all directions, and the entire small room at the back of the cafe became, essentially, our green room for stuff storage and makeup application. Awesome. Alan and Jude were trying to be everywhere at once, getting things into position as they raced in a dozen different directions at the same time. The band was decked out in awesome urban pixie togs (and no one looked at them oddly, proving once again that Toby worries too much). Alan and Jude were in Bookstore Ninja black...and I was wearing electric orange and green.

Um, go Pumpkins?

A raffle table was established next to the cafe's pastry case, and the prizes were arrayed for ooh-ing and ahh-ing: signed books, ARCs, foreign editions, CDs, random goodies, brand new chimera_fancies pendants that no one had ever seen before. Marti and my mother passed out raffle tickets, while I got strips of tickets to Jude (in the cafe) and Kary (in the bookstore). Mom successfully got Alan to provide her with a vase, because Mom is sometimes bad-ass, and we got things underway a respectable ten minutes late.

The first musical awesome of the night was provided by Amy, who did a solo set with grace, aplomb, and amazing fiddling. Betsy joined her for a few songs, on cello, and Alec joined her for one on the drum. Totally rockin'. After that, the first raffle drawing was held, and people won cool things (yay). I signed a bunch of books. I signed somebody's cup. The cafe sold out of pastries and bagels. The cafe made multiple runs to buy more bread. Let me say that again: they had to buy more bread. We ate all their bread.

We rule.

The second set of the night was Tricky Pixie, and they tore it up, with "Dryad's Promise" and "Tam Lin." More raffle. And then...

...Tricky Pixie set three. Which Sooj opened, solo, with a surprise performance of her newest song. "Tybalt." About, um...Tybalt. My King of Cats. I...um...wow. I only cried a little. That means I win, right? (Actually, the song's existence means I win.)

The rest of the set was a whole lot of awesome packed into a remarkably small span of time. Amy and I joined them for the last song: a cover of my own "Wicked Girls." Hearing that whole audience singing along nearly made me start to cry again. Then it was time for the final raffle drawing of the night (our table included donations from both the bookstore and the band, by that point), cleaning up, and heading home.

We got back to Concord way, way past pumpkin-time...and it was so very worth it. So, so very worth it.

I can't wait to do it all again.

(*Consisting of Betsy "I am too awesome to exist in fiction; only reality can contain me" Tinney, SJ "what do I know from alligator I ask you could you die" Tucker, and Alexander James "no, no, that's okay, you can trust me with your wine, women, and song" Adams. Tricky Pixie is twenty pounds of awesome in a ten pound sack.)

(**Sadly, this iteration of the Traveling Circus was missing several members of the sideshow, including Vixy, Brooke, and Tony. Their absence was deeply felt by the remaining members of the Circus, although we soldiered bravely on. We have great hopes for September's Circus, which will be in celebration of An Artificial Night, and will be designed to basically blow the roof clean off the bookstore.)

Well, here we go again: I will be descending on San Francisco's own Borderlands Books, accompanied by Amy McNally, Tricky Pixie, and my usual entourage of deep weirdness. The event starts at five and runs until nine (they've extended the bookstore's hours JUST FOR US), and will include a whole lot of awesome packed into a reasonably small span of time.

The schedule for the evening:

5:00 PM: Welcome to our party.
5:40 PM: Perhaps you would like some music.
6:00 PM: Perhaps you would like to win things.
7:00 PM: More music?
7:30 PM: More prizes?
7:45 PM: Assuming people are not too busy buying books and drinking coffee, Seanan will read something.
8:30 PM: Last music of the night.
8:50 PM: Last chance to give the bookstore and cafe money before we say goodnight.
9:00 PM: Last raffle drawing of the night and we close the evening.

Raffle prizes this time include pendants by Mia of chimera_fancies (and they are insanely gorgeous, seriously), signed books, albums, games, the German edition of Rosemary and Rue, and more. Remember that Borderlands will take requests for signed books, so if you can't make it, you can contact the store to request a copy signed for you. I do hope we'll see you there, and if you can't be there in the flesh, the store is astral projection-friendly.

Book release party!

Hello, and welcome to my journal! I'm pretty sure you know who I am, my name being in the URL and all, but just in case, I'm Seanan McGuire (also known as Mira Grant), and you're probably not on Candid Camera. This post exists to answer a few of the questions that I get asked on a semi-hemi-demi-regular basis. It may look familiar; that's because it gets updated and re-posted roughly every two months, to let folks who've just wandered in know how things work around here. Also, sometimes I change the questions. Because I can.

If you've read this before, feel free to skip, although there may be interesting new things to discover and know beyond the cut.

Anyway, here you go:

( This way lies a lot of information you may or may not need about the person whose LJ you may or may not be reading right at this moment. Also, I may or may not be the King of Rain, which may or may not explain why it's drizzling right now. Essentially, this is Schrodinger's cut-tag.Collapse )

As I've mentioned before, I qualify for the Campbell Award this year, and I'd really like to win the tiara, because receiving a tiara in Australia, the Land of Poison and Flame, would be basically a defining moment in my Halloweentown Disney Princess existence. (Receiving a tiara is always awesome. Receiving a tiara in Australia proves that I've been asleep for the past three years.) Some of my friends have made Campbell Awareness posts, spreading the love and letting it be known that I'm eligible. Specifically...

catvalente posted to give me her endorsement, and also link to my comic strip about why I want a tiara (because let's face it, it's eye-catching). talkstowolves posted a long, bullet-pointed endorsement (with, again, the comic strip). Both pointed out that urban fantasy is rarely represented on these ballots, so...let's change the world!

Meanwhile, theferrett (who is also eligible for the Campbell this year and next year) posted about reading Rosemary and Rue, and the difficulties of my specific literary style. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

On to the reviews and interviews and whatnot! First up, Larissa, of Larrissa's Life, conducted an interview with, well, me which went up today. Learn about some of my favorite things, and enter to win an autographed copy of A Local Habitation. Fun for the whole family! Larissa also posted a review of Rosemary and Rue. She says "The plot of this book was great, fast paced and riveting. I could not stop reading for a second and was almost blind sighted by who the villain really was." She adds, "I absolutely recommend this book to any UF lover out there." Go, read, enjoy, and enter to win!

janicu has posted a lengthy review of A Local Habitation, and says "I liked this one better than the first book. I love the heroine and the pacing of the story seems just right." More, "I highly recommend this series if you like Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs or Ann Aguirre. The author writes complete installments but threads each book with hints as to the ongoing drama of Toby's life,and anticipating what could happen next is delicious. This is actually a series that I hope won't end at three books." You and me both!

Robin at Romance Reviews Today has reviewed A Local Habitation. Robin says "A Local Habitation is the second novel in this series, so some history is alluded to, but this does not affect the reading of this novel. It is a gripping mystery in a very well constructed otherworld. October is a great character, as are the supporting characters. There are some interesting romantic moments both expressed and constrained between Toby and three of the male characters, but business comes first. Quentin is a seemingly normal teenager caught in events out of his depth." Also "A Local Habitation is a wonderful urban fantasy readers will love." Well, they seem to so far...

s00j doesn't do many book reviews, but she decided to review A Local Habitation, because she is lovely. Sooj says "There's no doubt in my mind after reading this second October Daye novel that our heroine is made of sterner stuff (mostly coffee, if we are in fact what we eat) than me, and I do not envy her. Toby's pretty good at her job, but she can't stop people dying. Not even her friends, not even her superiors among the immortal Fae. If you thought she was strong in book one, Rosemary and Rue, you're not gonna believe all the crap she has to go through to make it to the end of A Local Habitation in one piece." She also says "If you couldn't put the first book down, make sure you set an alarm for a dinner break once you open this one. You'll need it. Once the action starts, it just gets weirder (and darker; we're not messing around here), and it doesn't waste any time. The only way in which A Local Habitation will do you wrong is that it will end, and it'll end in a pretty merciless way. But I find that, as with Rosemary and Rue, it's more than worth the ride." Yay!

Don D'Ammassa included A Local Habitation in his recent short reviews, and says "Like the first in the series, this rises above the limitations of its format. It would be a shame if this got lost in the crowd of similarly conceived though far less well executed novels."

And on that sweet, delightful note, I'm gonna end this post. Cheers!

Uh-oh, look out—Borderlands Books in San Francisco, California is being awesome again. As many of you know, Borderlands is basically my "home" bookstore; I spend way too much time there, enjoying their awesome, annoying their cats, and feeding cupcakes to the staff. They've recently opened the Borderlands Cafe, a friendly, comfortable, welcoming place to sit, have a cup of coffee, read a magazine, and experience general awesomeness. Because of this, they're updating some things about the bookstore, and—best of all—they're having some sales.

First up is the OMG AMAZING gift certificate sale, which I wanted to highlight because it's not geographically restricted. Here's a quote from the store newsletter:

"We're going to offer one hundred special gift certificates. Each one will cost $100. Unlike a normal gift certificate, it won't give you $100 of purchasing power at the store...it'll give you $120. But also unlike a normal gift certificate, you won't be able to use it until the 1st of August this year. In other words, you buy the certificate this month and in five months or so you gain $20.

If you do the math, it seems like a crazy deal since, if it were a loan, it works out to more than 40% interest over a year term. But, from my standpoint, it's not bad at all. First off, you'll be spending the certificate on inventory at the store, which I get at a discount. Second, it is much simpler for me and has a much surer result than jumping through all the hoops necessary to get a loan for the business. For you it's a great deal since the return (if it were an investment, which is isn't—the people in charge of looking at securities and investments wouldn't like that at all) is much better than you could expect from almost anything else that you could do with a hundred bucks.

The certificates are transferable if you want to buy one for someone else and they're good for anything in the store, including special orders. But you might want to act fast. I'm only going to issue 100 of them and when we're out, we're out and it's not an offer that I'm likely to repeat.

If you live outside of San Francisco or even outside of the United States, you can participate in this as well and I hope that you do. We are happy to sell these certificates by mail and, since we'll be tracking the purchaser names, certificate numbers, and balances, you can buy one and then use it for mail orders to your heart's content. Plus there's an added bonus—the person in the United States who orders one of these certificates and who is located the farthest from San Francisco (based on the billing address of their credit card) will get an added certificate good for $10 and usable immediately after the 100th certificate is sold. And, not to leave our international customers out, we'll do the same thing for the international customer who's the farthest from San Francisco (and that is going be be based on their mailing address). Just give a call or drop us an email and we'll be happy to set you up."

So a) contact the store, b) buy a gift certificate, c) in five months, get $120 worth of books for $100 in actual money. Um, wow? Also, please note that the certificates "mature" at the start of August, and I have a book coming out at the start of September...

There are also bunches of awesome physical sales running through the month of March; you can read about them in the store newsletter. Finally, remember that Borderlands is happy to take orders for signed books. To quote their event policy:

"All events are free of charge. You are welcome to bring copies of an author's books purchased elsewhere to be autographed (but we do appreciate it if you purchase something while at the event). For most events you are welcome to bring as many books as you wish for autographs. If you are unable to attend the event we will be happy to have a copy of any of the author's available books signed or inscribed for you. We can then either hold it until you can come in to pick it up or we can ship it to you. Just give us a call or drop us an email. If you live out of town, you can also ship us books from your collection to be signed. Call or email for details."

Awesome! Enjoy the awesome, exploit the awesome, turn the awesome to your own gain, and help support my favorite local bookstore.

I originally made this list a while back, after reading Maxim's list of "200 Movies Everyone Should See" and discovering that their horror movies seem to have been chosen through purely arbitrary measures, largely having to do with how much gore could be splattered on the screen. That doesn't work for me all that well, being as I am not a fan of the "gore porn" sub-genre of horror. Since it's been a year and a half since then, and since that year and a half has included a lot of horror movies, I've decided to update my better, more carefully considered list. IE, "the horror movies I say everyone should see."

( We cut because we care. Also because failure to cut results in a much higher bodycount, and nobody wants that. Well. I want that. But I'll be merciful, just this once.Collapse )

***

What did I miss?

So it's the day after the official release of A Local Habitation [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy, and that means it's time to do a big ol' review roundup. A lot of new reviews of Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] have been cropping up as people realize the series exists, so today's roundup is a mixture of the first two books.

Melancholy Musings has a short, sweet Rosemary and Rue review—short enough that I don't really have any pull quotes, but it's still a nice review, and I really appreciate it. Yolanda also has a short Rosemary and Rue review, and what it lacks in quotes, it makes up for in awesome. Hooray for reviewers!

Speaking of reviews it's difficult to quote, the_wanlorn has posted a review of Rosemary and Rue that is a) absolutely hysterical, and b) not exactly linear in that way which lends itself easily to quotations. But there's lots of caps-lock, and it nearly made me snort soda out my nose, which is sort of an endorsement.

Meanwhile, over at Horror Web, Penny Dreadful has posted a review of A Local Habitation. She says "This is a world worth diving headlong into, a story with depth and detail you can lose yourself in and you might not want to ever get found. The characters are emotionally riveting; you feel for them, especially October. Sure, sometimes you might want to slap her around a little bit—that's ok, so do a lot of the other characters." Also "Horror fans will not be disappointed. Mystery fans will be kept on their toes. October’s world is well worth visiting, time and time again. Good thing McGuire isn't thinking of leaving it anytime soon." (I'll be doing an Interview at Horror Web soon. Watch this space for details.)

Heather at Darkly Reading has posted a review of Rosemary and Rue, and says "This book is a 4 out of 5 stars for me, the book is a great introduction to a new heroine Toby in one of my favorite locations—San Francisco." Works for me!

To bring the balance back into favor of the new book, here's a review of A Local Habitation from The Book Pushers. They say "Ms. McGuire's October Daye series does not shy away from showing how the Sidhe have a very different viewpoint on life and what death really means. I also got to see the manifestation of power and what it means to have and control that power." Also "I enjoyed reading it and look forward to the next installment in October Daye's life, An Artificial Night." (Warning: review contains mild spoilers for Rosemary and Rue.)

The Bibliomaniac has posted a lengthy review of A Local Habitation at The Discriminating Fangirl. She says "To be fair, I admit to being a sucker for all things Fae. This doesn’t mean that any book set in Faerie or with Fae characters gets a free pass from me; on the contrary, it means I hold them to a much higher standard. Not once does the writing here rely on stereotypes, clichés, or lazy plotting, putting her in the company of such writers as Melissa Marr, Holly Black, and yes, Neil Gaiman. I predict that, before very much more time passes, McGuire will be known as well as any of them."

On that note, I am done with today's roundup, and will now go in pursuit of sweet caffeine. Mmmmm, caffeine. Savior of blonde girls everywhere...

My beloved Amy, savior of tired blondes, fiddler to the very gods themselves, arrived last night on a plane from Alabama, where she'd been visiting her sister and staying with my Halloween Family (the Crowells). Amy is key to my survival during Release Week Madness, being a very focused and centered individual whose primary purpose in life sometimes seems to be keeping the various members of her extended campana from self-destructing in a variety of exciting ways. I love Amy very much.

In preparation for her visit, I placed an order with my favorite cupcakery, Cups and Cakes, which is located conveniently close to my office. Specifically, I ordered an assorted dozen cupcakes, to please please please include the Mudslide (slightly bitter dark chocolate cake with Bailey's and Kahlua buttercream icing). After a long day spent dreaming of cupcakes and fiddlers, I left the office and went to make the pickup, only to learn to my delight that my personal favorite flavor, the Peanut Butter and Jelly, had also been included in the assortment. (Sweet grape cake with peanut butter buttercream. Basically, these cupcakes are felony-level delicious.) Victory!

As Amy's flight was not for several hours, I also grabbed a couple of spare Mudslide cupcakes with which to bribe Jude, who was on-duty at Borderlands Books, where I intended to kill some time. Borderlands is an excellent place to sit and work, at least if you're me, and find the smells and sounds of a well-maintained bookstore endlessly soothing.

The cupcakes and I reached the bookstore without incident, and I promptly plied Jude with her delicious cupcake-y treats, thus convincing her to allow me to sit and work. (It didn't take much convincing, or really, any convincing; Borderlands is very pro-authors actually finishing books, providing we're not breaking anything while we do it.) Alas, it turned out that Ripley and Ash, the store's hairless cats, were less well-inclined toward my literary aspirations. The afternoon went something like this...

"Mow."
"No, Ripley, you can't have my lap. I'm working."
"Wow."
"Okay, you can have half my lap. But I'm still working."
"Yow."
"Just let me shut down my laptop, and I'll pet you."
"Now."
"...stop speaking English, it's creepy."

Ash, meanwhile, rode the Kitty Crazytrain around the store until it became time to groom herself, at which point she perched on my arm and licked her naked arms with blithe abandon. I think, perhaps, that I spend too much time at Borderlands, as the cats have now started to regard me as furniture.

In the "spending too much time at Borderlands" category, local folks please remember that I'll be at the store on March 9th for the A Local Habitation release party. We'll have live music from SJ Tucker, Betsy Tinney, Amy McNally, and potentially more; a raffle with some awesome, awesome prizes; a reading from A Local Habitation; and the Great Pumpkin only knows what else. It's gonna be an awesome time, and I'd love to see lots and lots of you there.

Borderlands Books. Because sometimes, we like our cats with a side-order of Nair.

So I currently have all of Tricky Pixie (S.J. Tucker, Alexander James Adams, Betsy Tinney) inhabiting my house. This is pretty awesome, since they're pretty awesome people, and I've been spending a lot of time with them (as one does). If you'd like the chance to spend some time with them, and are in the San Francisco Bay Area, well, tonight's your chance!

Tricky Pixie at Borderlands Cafe.

When: Friday, February 26, from eight to ten PM.
Where: Borderlands Cafe, 870 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

To quote their website:

Borderlands is delighted to welcome SJ Tucker back! "Telling a story is sometimes like weaving a spell. Images and concepts wrapped in rhyme and rhythm are a gift to the imagination. S. J. Tucker specializes in such magic and such gifts, enfolded and delivered in folk rock music that moves the body and soul." S. J. performs at Borderlands on Friday, February 26th 2010 at 8pm, joined by brilliant cellist Betsy Tinney. Do not miss this celebration in song—our last event with SJ was standing-room only, so come early!

So come! Witness! Enjoy! Be amazed! And get a delicious taste of what's coming up at my book release party.

See you there.

I'm a writer. I've been a writer for as long as I've had a grasp of written language, although my earliest works were, admittedly, not all that complex. I get asked "when did you start writing?" pretty commonly in interviews, and my response is always something along the lines of "I have no idea, in the womb, maybe, I don't know." Because really, I don't.

So as we continue our countdown (five days! Sweet pumpkin pie, five days!), here's today's list:

5 Reasons I Love Writing.

5. Stephen King put it best when he said that writing is like a form of telepathy. I make things up, I write them down, and then you can see them, in your mind. You "hear" dialog that I wrote. You "meet" people that I invented. When I write, I am Emma Frost, and that is awesome.

4. Writing continually surprises me. No matter how long I do it, no matter how much time I spend working to improve, I still find myself staring at things on the page and going "whoa, where did that come from?"

3. Writing comes with a very concrete and visible reward for hard work. If I write 2,000 words, I have 2,000 words that I didn't have before. If I write a book, dude, there is now a book in the world that didn't exist before I started typing. Me! I made that! It's incredibly fulfilling. Very few things in life are this immediately fulfilling.

2. I have to work to write. It's my hobby and what I do to relax and it makes me happy, but it's also work. If I don't revise, edit, check my spelling, check my continuity, and basically do hard labor, I don't get good books. I feel like I've done something when a story is finished, and that's amazing.

1. When I'm writing, I make all the rules. I don't think there's anything better than that.

Our countdown to book release has reached lucky number seven, which means we're exactly one week out, and that it's sort of a miracle I'm sleeping at all. Ah, the glorious crazy of an author getting ready for their drop-date. How did I live before I knew this feeling?! Oh, right. With a lot less flailing. Anyway, here's today's countdown entry:

7 Things You Should Know.

7. A Local Habitation is the second book in the series, following Rosemary and Rue. You don't necessarily need to read Rosemary and Rue first, but I think that it helps. Possibly quite a lot. Remember that there's only so much recapping that can go into a book before it turns boring.

6. The word "series," not "trilogy," applies to the October Daye books. A trilogy is a closed, three-volume unit. While I am currently contracted only for the first three books in the series, there's a lot more story after that. Which means I'd really like A Local Habitation to sell super-well, so that I can get a contract for the next set of books. Take two, they're small.

5. A Local Habitation is the first of the three books I have coming out this year. The second is Feed in May (as Mira Grant), and the third is An Artificial Night, in September. I currently have only one book scheduled for 2011, Deadline, again in May (and again, as Mira Grant). This seems likely to change.

4. Remember, every time you buy a copy of Rosemary and Rue, a pixie gets its wings. (Contrarywise, every time you buy a copy of Rosemary and Rue, you can elect to have the Luidaeg part a pixie from its wings in a violent and thoroughly unpleasant fashion. She'd like that. She'd like that quite a lot.)

3. Thankfully, I finished Deadline just in time, and am now spending my evenings watching Disney Channel sitcoms, drawing comic strips, and drinking port. I appreciate this small break in my borderline-hysteria.

2. I really and truly appreciate every one of you for being here, for commenting, for participating in giveaways, for discussion, for dissension, for buying my books, for reviewing my books, for recommending your own books, and generally just for existing. It does a lot to keep me getting out of bed in the morning. Which may be faintly pathetic, but I have a book coming out in a week, I'm allowed to be faintly pathetic. It's actually in my contract.

1. I am possibly the luckiest Halloweentown Disney Princess in the world, and I know it.

As I wander the back alleys and the sleezy bars of the Internet underworld—the place I call home, because nowhere else will have me—I made the acquaintance of a seedy-looking, well, let's stick with "gentleman" by the name of Anton Strout (antonstrout, for the eight of you who don't know him already). He and I have established a polite working relationship, wherein he tolerates the fact that my ways are not like his Earth ways, and I don't send an army of kobolds over to his place to rough him up. It works out pretty well for both of us, really, since I like being tolerated, and he likes not being beaten by kobolds.

Anton's a good guy, a good author, and more importantly, he's damn funny (which is something I prize greatly, from Bureau 13 to The Middleman). Why am I telling you all this? Because his third book, Dead Matter, is out today, and it's awesome.

Dead Matter is the third adventure of Simon Canderous, a psychometric employee of the New York branch of the Department of Extraordinary Affairs. To semi-quote my review of Simon's first outing, take one part Men In Black, two parts Bureau 13, three parts "I can totally see this as a Phil Foglio comic book adventure," and mix thoroughly. Simon's luck is marginally better than Toby's, in that he spends slightly less of the book knocked unconscious than she tends to, but other than that, he's another bad plan minefield walking through an unsuspecting world.

And it's awesome.

Dead Matter is officially available right now, and will be sharing a three-title book display with A Local Habitation in Barnes and Noble stores around the country. In honor of this fun, frightening event, I present another shot of my resident Pretty Little Dead Girl, this time in her formal role as a member of the Department of Extraordinary Affairs. I recommend staying on her good side, and not submitting to any body cavity searches, as there's no real way of being sure that she's not planning to do something nasty.

Happy new book day, Anton!

First up, do you remember when I met with that reporter, and there were all those things I wasn't supposed to talk about? Well, the article has finally appeared in my local newspaper, and is available now for you to read and enjoy. Marvel at how non-terrified the reporter seems! Delight in the funky quotes from my friends, peers, and former teachers! And be glad you can't see the picture from the print edition, 'cause it was terrible.

Meanwhile, I've been doing my pre-release tour of the wild book blogs, and have written a guest blog for SFF Insider in which I discuss the differences between Toby's world and the fairy tales we all remember.

I also dropped by Confessions of a Wandering Heart for a guest blog, this one on what it's like to be (and put up with) a working author, especially one with my...amazing talent...for stacking deadlines right on top of one another. It's a gift. And a curse.

And now, some reviews. Fresh Fiction has reviewed A Local Habitation, and says, "Seanan McGuire has built a beautifully detailed world here—so much so that at times, especially early in the book, I felt a bit lost, not having read the previous novel. But the characters are what drew me in: Toby is a tough, cynical heroine, yet like many of us mere mortals, she is still searching for her place in life; Quentin at first seems to be a stereotypical teenager but develops surprising maturity and courage; no character is stock or trite—everyone is fully realized, with quirks, moods and abilities, from the Dryad April to Tybalt, King of Cats. Fans of urban fantasy should definitely check out this series!"

Cool. Library Journal has spoken up, and says "Second in an urban fantasy detective series featuring a resourceful female detective, this sequel to Rosemary and Rue should appeal to fans of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files as well as the novels of Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, and similar authors." Good company to be in!

Lurv ala Mode is a great review site that's always been awesome to me, and the latest long, detailed review of A Local Habitation is no different, managing to be detailed and meaty and yet also spoiler-free. The review begins, "I’m not big on fae as the main character type in fantasy books. They’re a very hard sell for me and I don’t tend to cut this particular type of mythology and lore much slack. I’m not a fan of the wispy, airy quality that comes with so much of it. I like it dark. I like it gritty. I like it with a lot more meat on the bones. McGuire’s series, two books strong now, answers this need." Yay!

It goes on to say "Coming in second in a series is pretty tough. I think firsts in a new series have it tough as well, but seconds do for different reasons, namely can they live up to a hugely successful first. Considering how much I loved the first book, I think A Local Habitation continues the adventures of October Daye just about perfectly. There’s no doubt that Toby is a fresh and wonderful character in the urban fantasy genre. Without a doubt in my mind, I’m definitely looking forward to more. The third book, An Artificial Night, releases September 2010."

And that's all for today.

Yesterday, I was demonstrating to a friend of mine (who finds my fascination with ASL charming, if odd) that I can now sign "Behold! For now I wear the human pants!" My grammar is a little wonky, but I'll be seeing Judi in a few weeks, so right now I'm just working on getting the signs committed to muscle memory.

A Deaf gentleman about my age saw me signing, and got very excited. He came over, and signed, "You know ASL?" (In the case of signs that I don't know myself, but whose meaning was evident from context, I'm including them to form actual sentences.)

I signed back "A little." Emphasis on "little."

He asked what I knew...so I showed him. Around the time I hit "working in a mine for our robot overlords" and "did I say overlords? I meant protectors," he started to look, well, dubious. Like there was a chance I thought I knew some ASL, when really, someone was messing with me.

Then I signed "The Turtle can't help you."

His eyes widened, and he proceeded to finger-spell "IT?" I nodded. He made an "S" sign, followed by a gesture like putting on a crown. I nodded again. He got even more excited, especially since now he knew I actually understood my messed-up assortment of signs. He had me teach him "robot overlords," and he taught me the sign for "weird."

ASL and Stephen King: bringing the world closer together. The best part is that, for once in my life, I can legitimately say that the Turtle did help us.

I hereby officially declare it time for a DINO DANCE PARTY. And why is it DINO DANCE PARTY time, that rarest and most glorious of all events?

I'm getting a bookstore display. Look!



Going from left to right, we have Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros, Anton Strout's Simon Canderous, and my own beloved October Daye. They're hot. They're here. And they're heavily-armed, so I recommend against ticking them off.

Dude, I'm getting a bookstore display.

This is awesome beyond words.

A friend of mine once started talking to me about God talking to Moses on the mountain, and handing down the commandments, and everything. Which led to the point that my patron deity doesn't really do commandments.

"Well, why not?" was asked.

"Um. Can you see Coyote giving commandments?" I replied.

...but of course, the damage was done, and I had to think about this now. Because that would be the way that my brain works, whether I want it to or not. Stupid brain. And now, after several days of thinking about it, I give you...

The Commandments of Coyote.

I. Thou shalt have as many Gods and Spirits and Personal Trainers and Gurus as you like before Me, but you shalt not let them block the exits, for this is considered a fire hazard. More importantly, thou shalt not permit them to take the last beer, for that beer is Mine. Seriously. Don't.

II. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, but thou art totally welcome to admire her ass when she walks by, and if it happens to come out that they are in an open relationship, dude, tap that ass as much as all parties involved are willing to allow. Same goes for thy neighbor's husband. Coveting is sort of stupid, but sex is just plain fun, unless thou art doing it entirely wrong.

III. If thy neighbor says "Hands off my wife, dude," thou shalt listen and back off. If thou dost not listen and back off, thy neighbor will be totally justified in hitting you about the head and shoulders with gardening tools, and don't think that I'm going to step in there and stop him.

IV. Adultery is actually pretty fun. Commit it all you like. Just make sure everyone is cool with it, or I will not help you out once the hitting gets started.

V. Thou shalt not eat poisoned bait. If you do, don't come whining to Me about it, because I am very unlikely to care. Once it is in your mouth, it is your problem, not mine.

VI. Of course thou shalt kill. Carnivores do that. Also, swatting mosquitoes, sort of instinctive. But all creatures are alive before you kill them, and so thou shalt respect them in their lives and in their deaths. Thou shalt not kill without reason. Thy neighbor tapping thy wife's ass? Is not a reason. Don't make Me set a plague upon thee. Thou wouldst not enjoy it, I promise.

VII. Thou shalt not hoard. Seriously, here. If you have enough, share. Only asshats bogart life.

VIII. Thou shalt not be a martyr. If you have one beer, drink it. Do not give it to Me and then expect adoration. Dude, that was your beer, I did not break your arm to get it. Give what you can give, and expect neither praise nor worship. You are not being morally superior, you are being a decent human being. There is a difference.

VIV. Assume this is it. Maybe there is an afterlife; maybe not. Maybe there is reincarnation; maybe not. Not only am I not saying one way or the other, please consider the fact that I probably get a say in whether you come back, and if you are the sort of person who doesn't do anything with one life, why should I waste My time giving you another one? Live like you get no second chances. You'll have more fun.

X. Are you going to eat that?

Every year, I see heartfelt denials of Valentine's Day, calling it the worst day in the world to be single, a "Hallmark holiday," and a crass excuse for commercialized pink. And I admit, I've had some bad Valentine's Days. Most of them happened in high school, when people were no longer required to make sure they brought a sufficient number of little paper hearts for the entire class. It hurt like hell to see the popular kids walking around with sacks bulging with tokens of their admirers' affections, while I was lucky if I got a single card. It sucked. I don't even mean "it sucked to be single," because I wasn't always; I just had a tendency to date outside my high school, which meant that I was, for all intents and purposes, the person saying "I wish you could meet my girlfriend, but you can't, because she lives in Canada."

Every year, I see heartfelt praise of Valentine's Day, calling it the one day when it's still okay to be a blatant romantic, the day where you can wear your heart on your sleeve and no one will call you an idiot. I've had a few Valentine's Days like that, too. Seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Miriam during a special Valentine showing—and "seeing" is a very generous word for what we did, because really, we spent the entire damn movie sitting in the back of the theater making out and giggling. And that was what we wanted. Stretching out on a bench at the pizza parlor with my head in Tom's lap, smelling hot tomato sauce and stale corn chips and warm denim, which was, for years, the most romantic perfume I could possibly imagine. He told me he loved me on Valentine's Day. We didn't exchange gifts or even cards, but who needed them? Not me, not that night.

Every year, I watch the various establishments that sell "romance" attempt to convince people that Valentine's Day will be a failure if they don't buy that expensive jewelry or those expensive chocolates or that lobster dinner. And every year, I watch people make each other happy with so much less, and so much more. I don't want diamonds. I really don't care whether dinner is nine or ninety dollars a plate. What I care about is spending a day that's about love with people that I love, whether it be filos, agape, or eros, doing things that I love, and being glad to be alive.

Ryan sent me roses. Rob not only called to wish me a happy Valentine's Day, he took it with good grace when I wailed that I was trying to work and essentially hung up on him. Amy hasn't called, but then, Amy's currently busy being awesome (she's at a convention, she has her fiddle, we all know how this works). I have cards and flowers and cats and I'm getting work done, and it's been a wonderful day.

Here is your Valentine from this California coyote girl, and with it, my deepest wish that you and yours be joyful today. Whether you're alone, together, or covered in scorpions, be joyful, and be loved. They gave us a day for love. I think we should take advantage of that.

Our lovely original winner, antigoneschase, has decided that since she won an ARC of Rosemary and Rue, she'd like to spread the love around, and asked me to draw again. So I did, and our new winner is...

...shawntutt!

Yup. It's that time again. The time when my collection of links has become ludicrously large enough to force my hand and generate a post of review and interview links. In fact, let's start with the interview links, since I'm in pre-release madness right now. Fun for the whole family!

The delightful Realm Lovejoy not only interviewed me, she drew a picture of Toby. Wow! She'd previously interviewed my agent, who introduced the two of us, and I couldn't be more pleased with the interview as a whole. (I may have already linked this. I can't remember, and in the case of data failure, it's best to take a second shot.)

Book Bound invited me over for an interview, and we had a dismaying amount of fun. Check it out, and learn more about my writing habits, what I think one should do with canned peas, and, naturally, my cats. This was a cheery, macabre conversation, and I'm happy to share it.

In the "reviews" division, Jennifer Brozek has reviewed A Local Habitation for Flames Rising. She says "This is an excellent standalone book that may be read without reading the first book in the series while still fitting into the supernatural world McGuire has created to overlay the San Francisco Bay Area," and "Over all, A Local Habitation is an excellent book that continues October Daye's story after a fourteen year curse, a hell of a wake up, the murder of her only friend and her attempts to make sense of a life that refuses to cooperate. This is my favorite urban fantasy series to date and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next installment." Yay!

Jenn at I Read Good has posted her review of Rosemary and Rue, and says "Rosemary and Rue is the great book set in the world of Faerie." She also says "Seanan McGuire has put together a great book. Toby's an interesting protagonist and you really want her to succeed in her mission." Rock on.

AJ reviewed both books in one huge, delicious sandwich. AJ says "At last, urban fantasy done right! Oh, I'm sure there's plenty of good urban fantasy out there, but it's hard to find amongst the books that feel more like mis-shelved romance novels. Seanan McGuire's October Daye series gives us that perfect melding of "real world" and magic, with just a dash of romantic subplot, enhancing the main story rather than derailing it." Of Rosemary and Rue: "It's a pretty fast-paced page turner and kept me in the dark about who the killer was until the end." Of A Local Habitation: "I enjoyed this one even more than the first, as Toby and a young faerie squire named Quentin find themselves investigating a series of mysterious deaths—in a software company run by faeries. Finally! Faeries not just able to use technology, but outright embracing it."

The Discriminating Fangirl has posted a review of Rosemary and Rue, and says "I'd been waiting for this book for quite a while. It was worth the wait." At more length: "McGuire's grasp of dialogue is realistic, with different quirks of speech for each different character; I’ve read a number of books lately where everyone talked exactly alike, so much so that each exchange could have been stamped out with a cookie cutter. The description here is lush and decadent, vividly describing both the mundane setting of San Francisco and the otherworldly vistas of the faerie realm. The action sequences and plot twists were fast-paced and kept my heart pounding. The mixture of noir detective story elements (reminiscent of the best work of Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett) with the urban fantasy setting makes Rosemary and Rue stand out from the crowd of other urban fantasies."

Whee!

Finally for this roundup, it's not too late to potentially win a free copy of Rosemary and Rue! Hie ye over to the Confessions of a Wandering Heart and find out how.

1. My beloved personal superhero, dianafox, is giving away a copy of A Local Habitation. Read her post for details (and don't ask me about them, since it's not my giveaway). Here's your opportunity to make my agent give you stuff! A chance like this doesn't come along every day, not even for me!

2. You still have four hours in which to enter my random drawing to win a copy of Feed. I'll be picking a name at noon California time, and all you have to do is leave a comment. You now how to leave a comment, don't you? Just type some things into your browser and click.

3. The fantastic talkstowolves has gone to the trouble of working up a linked list to all the free fiction on the Locus recommended reading list! These are the stories that professional reviewers selected as the best of 2009, and they're totally free for you to read. So if you get bored, you should do that.

4. There is no number four. Move along, citizens, move along.

I sometimes wonder if horror directors go to bed at night dreaming that someday, one of their movies will become a classic; someday, one of their movies will spawn an iconic monster that people will be screaming over for generations to come. Sadly, most of them won't make it. Even the ones who create a truly iconic villain won't necessarily get an iconic monster, because an iconic monster must be somehow generic enough to be used and abused by others, even as the person who first brought it to the screen is generally credited for its creation. The werewolf, the mummy, the vampire, even the mad scientist...they all had to start somewhere. Sure, most iconic horror movie monsters existed before the movies that gave them a terrifying life, but it's the cinematic realities that we remember. At least until the lights go out.

George Romero set out to make a creepy little movie with a social commentary and a shoestring budget. He succeeded in making history.

The concept of the ghoul or walking corpse has existed for centuries—maybe for as long as mankind has been aware that death exists—but it wasn't until Romero that it shambled into the modern age. Night of the Living Dead opened the doors to a new sub-genre of horror, a shambling, biting, hungry sub-genre that wouldn't rest until it had consumed the world. Zombies don't need sleep. They're already dead.

Without Romero, we wouldn't have Night of the Comet, Slither, Night of the Creeps, the Evil Dead trilogy, a large portion of Rob Zombie's musical catalog, or the Zombie Prom episode of Wizards of Waverly Place. We wouldn't have my own Feed, and that would make me a very sad girl indeed. George Romero changed the world. Maybe he did it on purpose, maybe he did it by accident. In the end, it doesn't really matter. He did it.

Here's to you, George Romero. And when you die, we're feeding your corpse into a wood chipper. Just to be sure.

"Hey, why didn't you mention that Rosemary and Rue made the Locus Recommended Reading List for 2009?"
"I didn't think of it."
"Well, you should."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"It's not braggy?"
"MENTION IT."

So here, by order of one of my many secret masters, is the official mention: Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] made the Locus Recommended Reading List for 2009, under the "Debut Novel" category. I am...honestly stunned and bewildered and amazed and delighted, and a whole lot of other things. Like, emotionally, I'm scrambled eggs right now.

In case you don't know what Locus Magazine is, it's essentially the trade magazine for the science fiction/fantasy/horror literary community. They publish announcements, interviews, reviews, and basically anything else that readers (and writers) are likely to really care about. It's pretty awesome. The first time my name was in the magazine, I screamed and bought three copies. Now? Now I'm just looking stunned (and buying three copies).

This time last year, I was paralyzed with fear over the upcoming release of my first book. Now, I'm paralyzed with fear over the upcoming release of my second book, and still utterly over-the-moon and waiting to wake up. Also, if you haven't read Rosemary and Rue yet, you should get a copy.

Locus says so.

I get off work at four in the afternoon; my flight last night didn't leave the airport until nine. This left me with a five-hour gap and, since there was nothing I was really dying to go to the movies for, I decided to just head for the airport, get through security, and settle on the concourse to get some serious writing done. (I would have stopped at Borderlands to get the new issue of Locus, but their shipment hadn't arrived yet when I had to leave the office. That's what Monday is for.) I was flying Virgin America, and since BART runs literally into the SFO International Departures Terminal, getting there was a piece of cake. I like cake!

After dropping off my luggage and confirming that my flight hadn't been canceled or anything stupid like that, I started for security. Airport security encounter one: a security guard was walking by with a kind of dog I'd never seen before hauling him along as it happily sniffed its way through the airport. I stopped.

"Oh, wow! Is that the contraband dog?"
"Yes, she is."
"What kind of dog is she?"
"She's a Dutch Shepherd."
"Oh, wow. Can she check my things for contraband?"

The security guard looked surprised, but allowed as how the dog could check my things for contraband if I really wanted her to. She did so, with much tail wagging and adoration. So here's a big thanks to Susie the contraband dog, who made my travel experience safer.

From there, I went to the actual security line, where my large laptop was pulled out for an explosives swab. Cool by me. The woman doing it swabbed down the outside, and then asked if she could open it and swab inside. (Like I was going to say no? To the TSA?) I said sure, but warned her that she would encounter a lot of cat hair. She opened the laptop.

"That is a lot of cat hair."
"I have a Siamese and a Maine Coon."
"Really? I have a brown mackerel tabby!"
"Mine's a blue classic tabby and white!"

...so if you got stuck in an inexplicable delay at the SFO International Terminal security checkpoint last night, sorry about that. I was talking Maine Coons with the TSA lady.

And after all that? My flight landed forty-one minutes early. Yes, early. The pilot actually apologized for the fact that we had reached Seattle almost an hour ahead of schedule, and I got to call Vixy to tell her that I was already there. This wasn't easy, since I think she thought I was calling about a delay, not to say "come get me."

Best travel experience ever.

At the risk of sounding sappy, here are things that make me happy.

I think that everyone has certain things that make them unconditionally happy. Because it is a stressful and dismal day, I'm updating my list of some of the things that work for me. It's good to be happy.

( What makes Seanan happy? Well, among other things, people using cut-tags for long entries makes Seanan happy. If you want to know what else works for her, click here.Collapse )

So that's my list. What's yours?

My dear friend Adam Selzer (adamselzer) is a professional author, smart aleck, and ghost tour guide. If you've ever wanted to see the haunted side of Chicago, he's your man, and he even promises not to let you go with Resurrection Mary unless you really, really want to. He writes YA and middle grade books which are just an amazing amount of fun, and today, yes, today, his latest masterpiece is available to the masses:

I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy]

It has thrills, chills, comedy, tragedy, and an awesome soundtrack including songs by yours truly, my beloved Vixy, my equally beloved Dr. Mary Crowell, and more. Adam is an awesome dude and an awesome author, and this promises to be an awesome book. No matter what your age is, if you love witty writing, glorious snark, and, of course, zombies, this is the book for you.

Go ye forth, and shamble into glory.

Once again, my big list o' holidays* says that today is a holiday that is very important to me, and makes a big impact on my life. Maybe not as big an impact as Virus Appreciation Day (October 3rd), which I celebrate every year by not unleashing the pandemic, or Cuckoo Warning Day (June 21st), which is best celebrated by evolving parasitic wasps into telepathic humanoids, but still, it's important to me.

Today is Australia Day.

So today we celebrate the existence of Australia, the continent which proves that evolution did a lot of drugs when it was young. Today we celebrate the fact that Australia is full of things that want to make us all die, the fact that Australia is frequently on fire, and the fact that Australia essentially hates humanity. Specific things to celebrate about Australia include venomous snakes, spiders the size of dinner plates, marsupials, really interesting money, the koala (which will totally rip your face off if you poke it), and the cone snail, which is the size of a man's thumb and can kill you extremely dead. This is why you do not fuck around with the native wildlife of Australia.

Tonight I will celebrate by going to Kate's house to eat tasty Indian food and tell her things she never wanted to know about the many ways in which Australia can render you extremely deceased. There will be expository hand-gestures, and possibly even diagrams. Kate puts up with a lot from me, really. And later this year, I'll belatedly celebrate Australia Day by actually going to Melbourne, Australia, for the glory of WorldCon.

Thank you for existing, Australia! Today is your day. Your venomous, deadly, kicking-your-ass, being eaten by koalas day.

Hooray Australia!

(*I have a list containing a holiday for every single day of the year. Some days have more than one holiday listed. The world needs more excuses for a party.)

In addition to writing more books than is strictly good for me*, I write a lot of short fiction and even a few essays. I love the act of writing, the process of editing and finishing something, and some stories want to be shorter than novel length. Some stories need to be shorter than novel length. I really love "Lost," but it would lose a lot of what makes it work (at least for me) if I tried to stretch it out much longer. "A Citizen in Childhood's Country" is the same way. I may go back to that universe, but the story itself is complete and closed.

Anyway, this year, I joined the writing staff of The Edge of Propinquity as one of their universe authors, telling the story of Rose Marshall, whose adventures began the night that she died. I'm currently committed through 2010; after that, Jennifer (the managing editor) and I will look at my time commitments, and decide whether I'll be chasing Rose down the highways of America for a second year. This is actually awesome, because it means I get to treat my twelve stories as a self-contained "season." I keep picturing it as a television show on HBO or maybe the BBC, complete with opening credits and screaming theme music. It's fun.

talkstowolves has posted a long, lovely Rose Marshall retrospective, including a review of the first Sparrow Hill Road Story, "Good Girls Go To Heaven." She says...

"In one short story thus far, Sparrow Hill Road has managed to introduce me to an area of folklore previously unconsidered and left me considering it (i.e. truck-drivers and highway diners); evoked a believable urban legend and made the central figure of that urban legend multi-faceted and sympathetic; and enchanted me and fired my imagination with the intoxicating glimpses of a myriad of Americas, clothed in daylight, twilight, midnight. The other sides. The ghostside."

Also...

"I absolutely cannot wait to see more of this series unfold and discover where Rose Marshall goes. Also, though I am always excited to investigate my best-loved field, I cannot deny that Seanan has provided me with a fresh infusion of enthusiasm for urban folklore."

Meanwhile, over in the Livejournal Doctor Who community, the author and essay list for Chicks Dig Time Lords [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] has been announced. This is my first real non-fiction sale, and I'm thrilled. Especially since Tara, my dear friend and graphic designer, is one of the book's two editors, which makes this very much a "family affair."

Chicks Dig Time Lords is small press, and won't be available in all stores, but can be ordered online, and I hugely recommend it for fans of Doctor Who. Yay!

It's gonna be a fun, fun year.

(*I have three coming out in 2010: A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, and my debut as Mira Grant, Feed. It's a wonder I get any sleep at all.)

This year for her birthday, my mother requested tickets to see the Norton Buffalo tribute concert at the Fox Theater in Oakland. She's been a huge fan of his for longer than I've been alive, and a whole bunch of his friends, musical partners, and former bandmates had put the concert together as a benefit for his family, since Norton left some pretty hefty medical bills when he passed away. This seemed like a fantastic birthday present, since it didn't require any real thought on my part, and I got her tickets. Life was good.

Yesterday morning, Mom came out to Kate and GP's to clean the bathroom. (My friends are gradually starting to hire Mom to do basic housework. This is awesome for everyone involved, as it means Mom has money, and means things wind up glitteringly clean. She's like the 409 Fairy.) Once there, she informed me mournfully that she'd mis-read her tickets, and that she felt like a total idiot—she thought the concert was Saturday, and it was actually Friday that she had tickets for. She was trying to stay cheery, but she was pretty clearly depressed about it.

Enter Craigslist. Within ten minutes, I had a guy in Alameda (about a twenty-minute drive away) who had an extra ticket in hand, and was willing to sell it to me. Kate printed directions for us, and I hauled Mom away to Alameda. She spent most of the drive looking pole-axed and telling me that I didn't have to do this, thus proving that she doesn't always know me very well.

Somehow, we didn't get lost on our way to perform what really looked like a drug deal: we pulled up to the curb, I hopped out of the car, and a man in a parka ran over to me. He handed me a bright green envelope. I checked the contents, handed him cash, got back in the car, and drove away. I am amazed we didn't get pulled over.

(My little sister called while we were on the way into Alameda, very worried about Mom, and wondering if there was anything we could do. I said we were on our way to pick up a ticket right that minute. Nothing I have ever done in my life has made Rachel that happy.)

During the drive back to Kate's, we actually drove through a rainbow. It ended on the freeway; it ended on us. I have never seen anything like it.

Mom picked me up from Kate's last night around midnight, after I got back from Burns Night and she got back from the show. She was glowing. They played for over five hours. She wound up two back from the stage. Her camera is full of pictures. She got a concert poster and a T-shirt.

Best birthday present ever.

I am pleased and delighted to announce that I will be the Guest of Honor at GaFilk 13 (dun dun DUUUUNNNN) in Atlanta, Georgia. The convention will be held the weekend of January 7th to 9th, 2011, and includes the following exciting guest selection:

Guest of Honor, Seanan McGuire
Toastmaster, Matt Leger
Interfilk Guest, Howard Scrimgeour

This is Georgia's very own filk convention, and I've never been before, so I am like, super excited. It's also going to be the first convention I've attended in Georgia since DragonCon like, ten years ago, and I'm really looking forward to the chance to spend more time in a kick-ass state. Hope to see you there!

So y'all probably remember my deep and abiding love of the amazing wearable fairy tales made by chimera_fancies. Let's just say that if I have an impractical retail addiction, it's this woman's jewelry. (Also art supplies and BPAL, but that's another matter.) Every piece she makes is unique and incredible, and the fact that she has used my art to create her art makes me believe that the world can be a better place.

Well, starting tomorrow (at 7AM PST), she's going to be doing her Valentine's Day/Spring sale. You can see some amazing preview pictures by clicking here; these are but a small taste of the gorgeous wonder that is to come. To quote the lady herself:

"Like last sale, I'll put up several batches over a couple of days at different times so people in different time zones and on different work/life schedules have a chance to look. Will be first come/first purchased based on email only. Doing this one in plenty of time to get things out for Valentine's, I think. I will mail directly to gift recipients if you like, with notes included if you wish."

Her prices are reasonable, her pieces are amazing (and surprisingly sturdy; note that the cats have as yet failed in their many, many attempts at killing mine), and these are some of the best Valentine gifts I've seen in a long while. Seriously, look and be amazed.

Wow.

My flight back from Seattle to San Francisco touched down about twenty minutes before eight last night. We were actually early, which was a trifle annoying, as it meant that all the post-landing announcements interrupted the episode of The Wizards of Waverly Place that I'd been watching (yes, I am a total dork). Oh, well. At least it was one I'd seen before. I collected my suitcase from the baggage claim, met Mom at the escalator, and was promptly toted across the Bay Area to home, where I was greeted by a stack of mail and two incredibly irritated blue cats.

People who haven't met my cats often fail to understand exactly how good they are at making their annoyance known. These people need to be shut in a room with Lilly, Alice, and an empty food dish for half an hour. At the end of this time, they will understand a) that my cats are perfectly capable of explaining, in the detail, their displeasure, and b) I should get hazard pay for entering the house without feather toys and treats.

Thankfully, my girls aren't good at being mad for long. After a night of cuddling and a morning spent watching Boa vs. Python (with the pair vying for dominion over my lap), I seem to have been essentially forgiven. They still aren't letting me out of their sight, but that isn't all that unusual.

Over the course of my time in Seattle, I ate cupcakes, baked a turkey, made insane numbers of cookies, saw Die Hard for the first time, went to several bookstores, gave a concert, embarked on a successful quest for cranberries, reached 90,000 words on Blackout, formally turned in the first Sparrow Hill Road story, watched all of season one of Glee, played with kittens, rewrote about half my website, and hugged many people I love.

It was a good holiday break. I hope yours was just as lovely.

As is the tradition around here, I present the set list for my latest concert appearance (Wayward Coffeehouse, December 2009). The set list includes annotation and lyric links, because otherwise, it's not so helpful.

The Wayward list, with arrangement notes, was as follows:

1. "Counting Crows." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony Fabris, guitar; Betsy Tinney, cello.)
2. "Mama Said." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
3. "Take Advantage (of Me)." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
4. "Carnival Glass." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
5. "Paper Moon." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
6. "Dorothy." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
7. "Evil Laugh." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
8. "Still Catch the Tide." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.) Talis Kimberley cover.

There was a break here. During the break, I read from chapter four of A Local Habitation. It seemed to go over well. Yay!

9. "In the Foam." (Seanan, vocals.)
10. "Fox Hunt." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
11. "Oh, Michelle." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
12. "Dear Gina." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)
13. "Tanglewood Tree." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.) Dave Carter cover.
14. "Wicked Girls Saving Ourselves." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.)

Encore: "Archetype Cafe." (Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.) Talis Kimberley cover.

These are some of my favorite people to perform with, and we were performing in a venue that's warm and welcoming in every possible way. The only thing that could have made this show any better would have been adding an Amy (the experience of hearing her play with Betsy was one that I won't get over with any time soon), and maybe a wading pool filled with autumn mix and lizards. I'm a fan of both autumn mix and lizards.

As always: "Take Advantage of Me," "Paper Moon," "Dorothy," and "Evil Laugh" are on Stars Fall Home (studio). "Oh, Michelle" and "Dear Gina" are on Red Roses and Dead Things. A distressing number of the other songs in the set will be on Wicked Girls (good luck guessing which ones).

Closing with "Wicked Girls" followed by "Archetype Cafe" was just...it was amazing. Vixy and I finished "Wicked Girls" hand-in-hand, and I basically wanted to either conquer the world or go home and hug for approximately a thousand years. It was a beautiful night, and it was made all the more amazing by the people who were there.

Sometimes I feel so blessed.

First off, huge, huge thanks to everyone who came to the show at the Wayward Coffeehouse. We'd been somewhat concerned that we wouldn't be able to drum up an audience, it being Boxing Day and all, so imagine our delight when we wound up playing to an essentially full house! (If you couldn't attended, snowcoma has posted a lovely and detailed review.) A good time was had by all.

If you're curious about what kinds of things we performed, all three of my albums are currently available through CD Baby, as is Thirteen, the first album by Vixy and Tony. Or you could take a gander at The First Rule of Flying: Songs From The Black II. This is the latest collection of music from The Signal, an awesome Firefly-themed podcast, and includes songs by all of the people previously named. Plus it's free, which makes it an awesome taster.

In literary news, Lurv ala Mode has named Rosemary and Rue as an Honorable Mention for Best Read of the Year. This is a review site run by a reviewer I have come to very much respect, and I'm delighted to be on the list. Maybe next year, I can make it to one of the named slots!

I'll post another review roundup soon. For now, I leave you with the knowledge that 2009 is almost over, and the world hasn't ended yet. Oh, and I made a metric fuck-ton of rosemary shortbread last night. I rule.

Happy winter!

Pretty much every culture I'm aware of has some sort of winter celebration, whether it's religious, secular, or somewhere in-between (since killing a dude to bring back the sun doesn't necessarily imply a particular faith, but definitely implies a belief that something out there takes requests). The depths of winter are the time when we most need to have faith in something, because in the days before cheap insulation, imported food, and really good central air, failure to have faith meant that you were prepared to have the sun go away forever. That's my favorite thing about this time of year. Everybody gets something they can celebrate. Even if all you're celebrating is not being the dude who finds the bean in his bread.

I celebrate my family, both blood and chosen. I woke up beneath a veil of purring blue cats. I spent the morning at the International House of Pancakes with my mother, my little sister, and my little sister's girlfriend. And now I'm on my way to Seattle to spend a week with Vixy, who might as well be my sister for as much as I love her, and Tony, and Jennifer, and all the other members of my extended family that I can cram into my days. I won't see everyone this week; not everyone is there to see. But I celebrate them all.

I celebrate reconstruction. We all burn bridges in our lives, either accidentally or on purpose, and while we may be sorry that we did it, it's hard as hell to shape the ashes back into something useful. In the last year, I have been fortunate enough to rebuild some bridges that provided essential access to the highways of my heart. Just as importantly, I've finally admitted that some bridges needed to be condemned, and ordered them quietly, respectfully torn down. I am happy with the choices I have made, and with the bridges I have built.

I celebrate my writing career. I've been a writer for as long as I can remember. I was explaining the plot of a short story to my mother the other day, and she said "You always have to be writing something, don't you?" I'm not sure even she realizes how true that is. It took me a long time, and a lot of effort, to get to where I could say that my work was of publishable quality, and there are days when I wake up and go "Wait, what? Was there some sort of mistake?" The sight of my book on store shelves has made me cry more than once. It's just amazing.

I celebrate the fact that we are living in the future. I'm writing this entry from 36,212 feet; I know that because the Virgin America trip display tells me so. I can send new stories to my beta readers without the words ever having touched paper—in fact, at least one story managed to make it to print without ever, so far as I know, being printed in any form prior to the page proofs. I can post this entry, and you can read it no matter where in the world you are. We are accessible to each other in ways we have never been before, and for all that it's a double-edged sword, I can't imagine living any other way.

I celebrate you. I celebrate the fact that you have things in your lives to celebrate, and those things are not the same as mine, and that's amazing. I celebrate the fact that we have all shared another season (although not necessarily the same one, since it's summer in Australia), and the world has continued to turn.

Have a wonderful winter. I promise that if I get any say about it, the sun will be coming back again.

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through my mind
Were hitchhiking ghost-girls and struggles unkind,
And fairy tale murders and pandemic flu—
My friends hope my holiday dreams won't come true—

And Tara has finished the graphics so fine
To help and promote that new novel of mine
(The sequel to something you just might have read,
With Toby and Tybalt and new things to dread).

My tickets are purchased, my plans are all set,
I'm wracking my brain to guess what I'll forget,
And Vixy and Tony are waiting with glee
For the holiday gift that I'm giving them—me.

Two thousand and nine is a year nearly through!
Oh, the things that we did, and the things left to do!
I'm still with the agent who signed me last year,
She still knows I'm crazy, and yet she's still here.

The first of the Toby books sits upon shelves,
Full of wise-cracking Cait Sidhe and put-upon elves,
And two more adventures are coming this year,
Which ought to be good for your holiday cheer.

In March, Habitation, in May, you'll get Feed
(My evil twin, Mira, knows just what you need),
While "Sparrow Hill Road" will take twelve months to drive,
And Rose knows that nobody gets out alive.

InCryptid and Velveteen, Babylon Archer,
And so many more are prepared for departure
At seanan_mcguire the updates are steady—
I'm keeping you posted. You'd better get ready.

The year yet to come will bring wonders galore,
And I can't start to guess at the great things in store,
So whatever you celebrate when the world's cold,
Be it secular, modern, or something quite old,

I hope that you're happy, I hope that you're warm,
I hope that you're ready to weather the storm,
And I wish you the joys that a winter provides,
All you Kings of the Summer and sweet Snow Queen brides,

And I can't wait to see what the next year will bring,
The stories we'll tell, and the songs that we'll sing.
The dead and the living will stand and rejoice!
(I beg you to rise while you still have a choice.)

The journey's been fun, and there's much more to see,
So grab your machete and come now with me,
And they'll hear us exclaim as we dash out of sight,
"Scary Christmas to all, and to all a good fright!"

Since we're counting down to the release of A Local Habitation—seventy-one* days, but really, who's counting? Beyond, I don't know, me—it seemed like a good time to get some awesome new graphics out into the world, courtesy of the always-spectacular taraoshea. And so, without further ado, I direct you to take a look at the Icons and Wallpapers Page of my website. Go ahead. I can wait.

Now, aren't those amazing? The icon and wallpaper sets at the top are totally new, designed to go with A Local Habitation; we'll be adding a few more in January, but this was just a mind-blowingly awesome start. If you scroll to the bottom (or make use of the handy new navigation bar, of which I am justly proud), you'll find the wallpaper and icon sets for Winterfluch, the German edition of Rosemary and Rue which comes out this January. Tara did a remarkable job of recreating the feel and emotion of the cover without using any part of it in her graphics: that's all stock photography and CGI magic. She also relabeled several of the original Rosemary and Rue icons with the new title, so as to create a wider range of choices (this is going to be standard with non-U.S. releases).

I am beginning to get excited and scared and all that other good stuff. But the new graphics are gorgeous, and I totally recommend taking a peek.

(*Seventy-one is the twentieth prime number, and is the twin prime of seventy-three. It's also the permutable prime of seventeen. This has been your moment of prime number math geekery for the day. Sadly, I feel better now.)

First up, my short story, "Let's Pretend," will be appearing in the anthology Ladies of Horror, coming out in 2010. "Let's Pretend" originally appeared at The Edge of Propinquity (where my Sparrow Hill Road series will be launching in January). It's one of my rare vampire pieces, and is...nasty.

(It's also one of those stories that really makes me want to write "DVD extras" for a lot of my work. The first draft was written during a game of Three Beers and a Story. How do you play? Well, you drink three beers. And you write a story. Personally, I prefer Three Long Island Iced Teas and a Story, but that's sort of the X-Games variation.)

Secondly, the Orbit catalog for Spring/Summer 2010 is live, and includes the official press release on Feed. The book is available for pre-order now, and I am beginning to accept its reality, which is both exciting and terrifying. How did I get here? Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?

Finally, because it is THE MOST AWESOME OMG, Barnes and Noble has named Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] as one of the best urban fantasy releases of 2009. You'll pardon me while I scream like a girl, won't you?

2009 is drawing to a close; the number of days it has left to present me with awesome things is dwindling steadily. But this is a year that brought me my first anthology, my first novel, my first book release party, the first gathering of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show, my first Maine Coon, my first solicited artwork-for-pay that wasn't a personal commission, my first solo guest of honor slot, and so much more. 2009 is going down in the record books as a pretty good year to be a blonde.

Thanks for being here.