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.

Congratulations to...

...ttamsen! Please email me your shipping information via the contact link on my website (www.seananmcguire.com), and I'll get your ARC in the mail by early next week!

One more winner will be drawn! To enter, comment on this post with your favorite character in Toby's world. I'll be choosing the last winner at noon Pacific Friday.

Rock on!

Congratulations to...

...bookblather! Please email me your shipping information via the contact link on my website (www.seananmcguire.com), and I'll get your ARC in the mail by early next week!

Two more winners will be drawn! To enter, comment on this post with your favorite character in Toby's world. I'll be choosing winners at noon Pacific on Thursday and Friday.

Rock on!

To celebrate Valentine's Day (and the excuse that it provides—I might as well be celebrating Champion Crab Races Day on the 18th), I've decided to do something truly awesome: a three stage ARC giveaway. Yes! Three ARCs of A Local Habitation will be awarded to three lucky entries over the course of the next week!

Here's how it works:

1. Comment on this entry telling me who your favorite character in Toby's world is, and why. Be as detailed as you want. (Yes, technically, this does make the contest open only to those who've read Rosemary and Rue. As this is a sequel, I don't feel bad about that.)
2. ...that's all, actually. Your part in things is now done.

I will select winners via random number draw tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. All winners will be selected at noon PST. All winners must contact me via my website "contact" link before eight PM PST on Sunday, or another winner will be selected, and I will shake my head in sorrow.

Game on!

From the new issue of Publisher's Weekly:

McGuire follows 2009's Rosemary and Rue with a fast-paced cross between a murder mystery and a slasher film, liberally spiked with magic and technology. Half-faerie PI October "Toby" Daye leaves San Francisco for the nearby County of Tamed Lightning to check up on her patron's niece, January, who's uncharacteristically fallen out of contact. Toby soon realizes that ALH Computing, the county's secret seat of power, has big problems. Someone doesn't want outsiders snooping around, and as the body count rises, Toby will risk life, limb, and soul to find out what's really going on. While most of the deaths could have been prevented with a little less plot-mandated stupidity, the world-building is solid, the storytelling energetic, and the atmosphere sinister as mythological creatures face off against mad scientists. (Mar.)

Yay! (I don't completely agree that most of the deaths could have been prevented with a little less plot-mandated stupidity, for reasons that I can't really go into beyond "in Faerie, when your liege gives you an order, you follow it, whether it's stupid or not." But that's besides the point.) Getting a good review in Publisher's Weekly makes me feel like a real girl. For, y'know, the ten minutes before I find something else to get freaked out about. Today's terrifying adversary: oxygen. It's a corrosive poison, you know.

A Local Habitation is on the verge of becoming a really and truly real book, available for really and truly real purchase at a store near you. For some values of "near," anyway.

Whoa.

We are now twenty-five days from the official street date of A Local Habitation [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy], the second book in the October Daye series. If I had a penny for every day remaining, I would have a quarter. If I had a quarter for every day remaining, I would have six dollars and twenty-five cents, which isn't really enough to do anything useful. If I had a dollar for every day remaining, I'd probably just blow it on Diet Dr Pepper and Dance Dance Revolution down at the arcade, so I guess it's for the best that I haven't got a dollar.

I guess.

I'm pretty much just as nervous now as I was this time last release, thus confirming my belief that the pre-release crazies are an ongoing condition, not a once-in-a-lifetime event. They're like the flu, rather than like smallpox (which you're only likely to catch once, assuming you can survive that first encounter). I think I would have preferred smallpox. The flu can also be fatal, and smallpox, at least, doesn't happen on an annual basis unless you're really, really unlucky. I've started having the classic* anxiety dreams, I'm twitchy, and I find myself tearing up over episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place.

I'm both excited and terrified. Terror is winning at the moment, but I'm sure that, too, will pass, given sufficient caffeine and maybe a cupcake or two (dozen). Twenty-five days and this stage of the terror will be over, replaced by new and exciting types of terror into which I can dive.

I need a nap.

(*Classic for me, that is, which means they mostly involve being late for flights, missing connections, missing planes, and Ebola outbreaks wiping out the state of California. I haven't had the "you lost your luggage on the way to the con because your plane went down and now you're dead but you can't let anybody know" dream yet, but I'm sure that's coming. It's always coming. My brain is awesome.)

"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.

Sometime in the last few weeks, reviews of A Local Habitation started trickling in while I watched, amazed and a little afraid. It's difficult, seeing a book go out into the world for the first time. (It's also hard to keep from trying to explain things to reviewers, but I manage to restrain myself. Mostly. And when I don't, it's usually because they've asked a direct question.) Since it's a shiny new month and we're on the verge of a shiny new book, here's a shiny new review roundup to try to distract me from my impending book release.

TJ over at Book Love Affair beat the crowd with the first review of A Local Habitation that I saw anywhere. TJ says "For those of you who have read Rosemary and Rue, I have to say: A Local Habitation is even better. All the things that made Rosemary and Rue such a strong debut are still there: the wonderfully damaged heroine, the melancholy story, the gritty details, the perfect rendering of San Francisco, unique and varied fantastic creatures, and I could go on a long while. However, I would say without hesitation that A Local Habitation improves in many of these areas." She also says "Toby Daye is probably one of my favorite protagonists in urban fantasy." Such statements make me a happy girl.

Suzie over at Confessions of a Wandering Heart has posted a long and fairly involved review of A Local Habitation. She says "Toby Daye is fast becoming one of my favorite heroines in urban fantasy," and "Toby is witty, sarcastic, tough, and no nonsense, yet she has a softer side—she takes care of the people she's responsible for. And she's loyal to her friends. I feel for her. I'm hoping she'll find happiness and love (with Tybalt! I love him) and I'm rooting for her to find and punish the guys responsible for ruining her life." She also says "The October Daye series has easily become my favorite faerie urban fantasy series. Toby is the kind of kick butt heroine I can admire, relate to, and root for. This series is best read in order, so if you're interested pick up Rosemary and Rue and keep an eye out for A Local Habitation in March."

Rosemary and Rue reviews keep cropping up, on Livejournal and others. Among them is this noir-informed review from bookelfe, who is a friend of several friends but doesn't know me (and was hence understandably nervous about the book). She calls Rosemary and Rue "a genuine noir urban fantasy novel" and calls out a lot of the more noir aspects of the book very nicely. She isn't too hot on the worldbuilding, saying "it's your standard almost-entirely-European mix of fairy creatures," but that's a fair cop, and she goes on to say "if you are looking for a fun mystery-fantasy read that is high on the awesome noir tropes and low on the completely gratuitous sex, maybe give this a go!" Thanks!

Karissa has posted a long, well-balanced review of Rosemary and Rue, including "There are some wonderful action scenes in this book. McGuire does an excellent job with these. The plot is fast moving and very engaging. The book was hard to put down, you always wonder what is going to happen to October next and if she will be successful in solving the murder. This is definitely not a romance book, but an action packed urban fantasy." She goes on to list the things she didn't like (which are quite well-considered), and closes with "Overall I liked the book. I think this could be the start of a magnificent series." Works for me!

John received an ARC of A Local Habitation, which spurred him to read Rosemary and Rue and post his review. I appreciate this immensely. He says "This book is everything that I love about urban fantasy. It has well developed characters, a vivid setting, a well defined world, and a story that will suck you in." He also says "Toby is an amazing character"—a statement I'm sure she'd appreciate, with all the crap I put her through—and "McGuire's plot moves along quickly, and holds enough turns to keep the reader guessing. It also leaves plenty of unresolved things to make you want to pick up the second book to see what's going to be revisited later. It's also great to see another urban fantasy book that involves other supernatural races other than vampires at werewolves." Awesome!

Our last review of the day comes from Jennifer at the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She says "Seanan McGuire begins her October 'Toby' Daye series with a bang!" I like bangs. She also says "This is a great book, full of mystery and a great story" and "This book is the first in the October Daye series and I know that I am looking forward to reading more about this character."

That's all for today. I now resume my march toward madness.

It's time to vote for the winner in our second-ever "write a poem, win an ARC" contest. Please, read, vote, and help somebody win a copy of A Local Habitation!



Voting will be open through the end of the week. I'll do the random number drawing for a signed cover flat later today.

Thanks, all!

It's currently bucketing rain here in Northern California, and I'm taking advantage of my weather-enforced house-boundness to take care of some of the things that I've been putting off—including, naturally enough, another review roundup. They're coming more slowly now that Rosemary and Rue has been out for a little while, but they're still coming, and this is actually really well-timed; I'm working on a fairly long post about reviews, so having some, y'know, reviews is a good thing.

Over at Just Finished, Rosemary and Rue has just been finished (or, well, was finished a few weeks ago; I'm behind). Quoth the reviewer, "McGuire, a local author who is also a must see feature on the local SF convention scene due to her off the cuff witty remarks, does a good job with the first book of this planned series." See? I'm witty! It's a short review, but a pleasing one.

Tiffers has posted a nicely detailed review, and says, "I haven't been this pleased with a random pick off the shelf in forever. There is excitement, magic, mystery, humor, and fairies fairies fairies. This type of fantasy hidden so well within the real world of San Francisco makes it feel real and so much easier to follow. So many urban fantasies are falling short of the mark now because they're the in thing, but this book doesn't disappoint and leaves you waiting for more." Yay!

And...that's it for today! I have some non-review links that need to be posted, but those are for another entry, thus allowing those of you who are tired of my seemingly endless review posts to skip this one without shame.

Whee!

Please remember that I am still taking entries in the "write a poem, win an ARC" contest. Please write a poem and win an ARC. Or, y'know, don't win, but write the poem anyway.

Rules are on the original post, and I'd love your participation.

...who wants to win a copy of A Local Habitation? This particular giveaway was incredibly fun the first time, and very rewarding, and that means I'm doing it again. So here's the game:

You all know that I adore structured poetry, from the haiku to the virelai. (Actually, that's a lie; I abhor the virelai. But I respect people who actually enjoy writing them.) You also know that you're a pretty creative lot. So here: the gates are thrown open! Write me a structured poem about A Local Habitation, Rosemary and Rue, or Toby in general. Since you haven't read the new book, it can be about anything from what you think it's going to be about to pre-ordering to how much you want a copy—whatever makes you happy. Any structured form is allowed, as long as you can tell me what it is when asked.

Entries will be taken through the end of the week. Then, next Monday, I'll put up a voting post, and let people vote for their favorites. The winner will receive, naturally, a copy of A Local Habitation. Just in case that's not sufficient incentive, there will also be a prize for participation—just entering a poem will enter you in a random number drawing for a signed cover flat. I don't have very many of these, so this is something pretty spiffy for you to stick on your wall.

Game on!

My links are building up again, which means it's time for a review roundup. Because that is what keeps my browser from exploding. (Archiving my reviews like this actually is helpful to me, since it creates a reasonable sample set from which to start extracting results. I probably shouldn't treat book reviews like a contagion, but I treat everything like a contagion, so I guess it's only to be expected.) Anyway...

Lady Rhian at Deep Thoughts has posted a long and detailed review of Rosemary and Rue. She says "I really liked this book. The story is fast-paced and engaging, drawing you into Toby's world and making you root for her as she struggles against villains and obstacles on her path to the goal. She's suspicious and mostly sarcastic, but you don't like her any less for it. Highly recommended." Yay, and thank you!

Night Owl Reviews is a fairly large review site, and I was delighted when I saw that they'd chosen to review Rosemary and Rue. Night Owl says "This book is haunting, even after you finish it. I was so impressed with this book that I want to read it again." Further, "This is a stellar debut from Seanan McGuire. Rosemary and Rue is urban fantasy at its best!" I like the phrase "stellar debut." I won't qualify for it ever again, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

kitsuchi says "I read a fair bit of urban fantasy this year, and Seanan McGuire's Rosemary and Rue was probably the one I enjoyed most unreservedly. A strong mystery with an engaging heroine and plenty left to explore. Also no annoying romantic options." (You can view the original post here. Also, remember that bit about romantic options; I have a post coming up on that topic.)

Over on the Bookish LJ Community, admnaismith posted a deeply humorous review, explaining how the book was specifically targeted at him. He says "Rosemary and Rue is about a high spirit, low status changeling with the whimsical name October Daye (her mundane San Francisco friends nod sympathetically and mutter about hippie parents) in a world where changelings have limited fae abilities and the sidhe and other pureblooded fae, many of whom have personal grudges against Daye, are almost powerful enough to kill her by blinking. Daye is outmatched and in mortal danger constantly, and needs to judiciously trade favors with stronger faeries in order to get what she needs to solve the crime and defeat the culprit (In this world, Bad Things happen when you are indebted to someone like, say, the Luidaeg)." He also says "Remember the name: October Daye. We’ll be seeing plenty more of her in days and books to come."

talkstowolves has posted a long and thoughtful review, complete with a disclaimer about how our friendship doesn't stop her from being critical. I love academics, and I love her review. She says "this debut novel from Seanan McGuire plays to type; yet I can say, without a doubt, that this is the best urban fantasy novel I've read in five years. I make this assertion drawing from a pool of novels by Charlaine Harris, Tanya Huff, Emma Bull, Patricia Briggs, and others." She also says "Rosemary and Rue isn't without its flaws—at times, the exposition overbalances from stage-setting to distracting, and the mystery does seem to wander a bit aimlessly in the middle—but the exhilaration of getting to know this particular San Francisco and this particular Faerie more than compensate for any of those drawbacks. Moreover, these are flaws that I don't expect will continue past this debut: the occasional over-exposition was due to initial worldbuilding, and any issues with plot pacing are overcome with experience." I have the glee. The glee is mine.

Fantasy Magazine has posted a review of Rosemary and Rue. It says "October Daye, the narrator/protagonist, is a welcome addition to the ranks of urban fantasy’s hardboiled female leads. She’s tough and smart. She’s also psychologically damaged by her changeling’s existence among the disdainful purebloods, and her secret life among the humans and other changelings. In short, she’s complicated, sympathetic, maddening, and believable." Also, "Rosemary and Rue is strong enough to win its author a large well-deserved following."

And that's today's review roundup. Whew.

(Real quick: g33kboi, this is my last call. You have won an ARC of A Local Habitation. If I do not receive email through my website "contact" link with your mailing address by bedtime tonight, I will give your prize to someone else. For serious.)

As of today, we are fifty days away from the official release of A Local Habitation [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy]. (Of course, if Rosemary and Rue is anything to go by, we're actually about thirty-five days away from my hysterical meltdown in the Borders near my office.) If I had a penny for every day remaining before the official release, I wouldn't have enough to buy myself a cup of coffee. I would have enough to make a penny roll, though, which is always soothing. I like penny rolls.

Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] was my first book. It taught me a lot about marketing, pre-release crazy, post-release crazy, going crazy from good reviews, going crazy from bad reviews, living by my own rules regarding engaging reviewers and trying to explain myself, hyperventilating when I see my book on shelves, and trying to look nonchalant when I really just want to be screaming "I WROTE A BOOK OH MY GOD YOU GUYS LOOK LOOK LOOK YOU CAN TRADE MONEY FOR GOODS AND SERVICES AND THE GOODS AND SERVICES ARE MY BOOK!!!" while jumping up and down and providing expository hand gestures. It was, in short, a learning experience, and while I'd like to claim that it has left me a calm and mature author, prepared for anything, the fact of the matter is this:

I am so totally going to cry the first time I see A Local Habitation on the bookshelf. And then I'm going to call Vixy and make shrieky bat-noises until she talks me down from my happy hysteria. Because that's just how we roll around here.

I only have one convention between now and book release—Conflikt, in Seattle—and unlike last year, I'm not the Guest of Honor, which means that I have time to breathe. Of course, I have a convention immediately after the book is released (Consonance, in Santa Clara), but again, not Guest of Honor, just Head of Programming, so I'll be able to stop and stick my head between my knees every once in a while. This is A Very Good Thing, especially since, once A Local Habitation is safely out, I'm going to be putting on my Mira-pants and going immediately into freaking out over Feed.

Fifty days. A year ago, I was worried that no one would like Toby, that she'd just disappear into the urban fantasy jungle and never be seen again. Now I'm worried about not letting people down, and whether they'll still like Toby now that she's a little more comfortable with her new apartment.

Fifty days.

Wow.

The results of the FAQ question contest:

g33kboi, you are the winner of an ARC of A Local Habitation! Please email me through my website "contact" link with your mailing address.

tigertoy, you are the winner of a signed copy of Rosemary and Rue! Please email me through my website "contact" link with your mailing address, or with the address you'd like it sent to, if you want to give it to someone else.

If I have not heard from you by the end of the weekend, a new winner will be selected, and your prize will be given to somebody else. If you think you've already emailed me, and I'm not getting it somehow, please comment here.

After going through the truly awesome questions presented for possible inclusion in the FAQ, I've settled on...

g33kboi, you are the winner of an ARC of A Local Habitation! Please email me through my website "contact" link with your mailing address.

tigertoy, you are the winner of a signed copy of Rosemary and Rue! Please email me through my website "contact" link with your mailing address, or with the address you'd like it sent to, if you want to give it to someone else.

Thanks, all!

So as you may have noticed, I love FAQs. I love writing them, I love updating them, and I love pointing people to them. With that in mind, we come to our second giveaway for the day:

Here is the current October Daye FAQ. You may notice that it's pretty sparse. That's why I'm turning to you, my best-beloved people who live free things, to ask for more questions. Be creative, be specific, be general, be pedantic, be whatever makes you happy, but ask questions.

I will be adding the best questions to the FAQ. I will also be selecting two winners from out those questions. One will receive a signed copy of Rosemary and Rue (and if you already have one, I can send a copy to your local high school or library).

One will receive a signed ARC of A Local Habitation.

I'll take entries until tomorrow morning. Now please, please, question me! Get rewarded! Flesh out my website! I'll be your bestest blonde if you will...

Today is my birthday! Yaaaaaaay! And to celebrate my birthday, I'm going to give stuff away. Because I can. (Also because it's quite frankly easier than thinking of something coherent to say. The cats still haven't forgiven me for leaving, and I didn't get all that much sleep as a consequence. What sleep I did get involved dreams that were basically a cross between Cabin Fever and Parasite Rex, so I'm understandably a little loopy this morning.)

First up, let's give away a copy of Rosemary and Rue, again, because I can. To enter, comment here. I'll do the drawing in five hours, my time, using random numbers and snazzy math to select a winner, and then I'll post a second giveaway. Many will enter, few will win, please ask your parents before calling those suspicious-looking numbers that appear during the Saturday morning cartoons.

Now I nap.

Once again, we can celebrate the awesome-ness of the geekery of the world through a spectacular book release counter! Yes, from now through the release of A Local Habitation, we'll be counting down the days to the ultimate awesome, with this totally bad-ass treat.

( Cut because we care. Also to spare your screen from going wicker-kapow.Collapse )

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.)

Once again, review roundup for the sake of posterity. (Also for the sake of closing some tabs on my browser, which is starting to rock itself to sleep at night. I am not gentle with the poor dear.)

Cheryl Morgan says that "Some books leap out at me because they are really well written. Others leap out because they have dollar signs all over them." She puts Rosemary and Rue in the latter category. As I would be totally okay with having piles of money, I am totally okay with this. She says "The book is urban fantasy cut with a Chandleresque noir detective story, and it works very well." Thanks, Cheryl!

Christina from 3 Girls and a Stack of Books (which may be my favorite blog name of the week) says "I actually liked this book. Not one I would normally like, but I do like the little plot twists that keep cropping up." Also "I love the fae mythology used to keep this book hopping and can hardly wait for the next one." Since the next one is coming out so soon it's sort of scary, she won't have to wait for long.

Delusional Ange has posted her review over at Delusional World. It's short, consisting mostly of a plot summary, but says "I was torn between four and five stars. It's a really good book." Works for me.

Finally for today, the speed-reading book nerd has posted a review. Quote, "This has been on my "get it eventually" list for awhile, but I started reading it in the store and couldn't put it down. And I'm not even necessarily into the whole evil-fairy thing." Also: "I was actually rather nervous about finding out who the killer was because I kept hoping, "please, not that one! or that one!"" These things mean I win.

For those who wonder why I keep posting review roundups: It's helpful for me to remember that people are still reading and enjoying Rosemary and Rue, and it's sort of nice to have a single tag I can click to see what folks have been saying. (Also, watching the non-Amazon reviews tells me what I need to work on in future volumes. I take notes.)

2009 has been a good year. Here's hoping 2010 is even better.

Are you wondering what to get for the person in your life who has everything? How about for that workplace Secret Santa, the one you barely know but sometimes see in the mail room? Or are you just looking for a treat to reward yourself for getting through 2009 without killing anybody with an axe? Well, then, might I recommend Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy]? Which, to make things even more exciting, made the Locus Magazine Bestsellers List for September 2009? See? It's a bestseller! That means it's the perfect winter holiday gift! (Also, it takes place at Christmas, although hopefully, your winter holiday of choice will be more pleasant than Toby's.)

If you were hoping to get a signed copy, they have them at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, and they do ship. And, of course, all three of my CDs are available through CD Baby (the live album, Pretty Little Dead Girl, is about six inches from going out of print).

By this time next year I'll have four books and four CDs to worry about, so I won't necessarily be fussing quite as much over a single title (although, having met me, like, ever, you know that I will). But anyway, in short, Toby makes the perfect holiday gift. She'll drink all the eggnog and pass out on your living room couch, and she may throw things if you try to wake her, but on the whole, she's a really mellow house guest.

Really.

I swear.

Now please get her out of my house, and into yours.

Well, here we go: the final current projects post of 2009. When next I prove that I don't sleep, it will be 2010, the last year of the first decade of the new century. It's a little boggling to realize that, well, I just frittered away an entire year, measured out in coffee spoons and word counts. And now here we are again. This post and its kin are the reason I scream like a lingerie-clad blonde in a horror movie every time someone asks me "What are you working on?" The answer takes too long to actually deliver. Anyway, this is the December list of current projects, because I am the gift that keeps on giving.

To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that the first four Toby books are off this list, because they have been finished and turned in. You can purchase Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] now. You can pre-order A Local Habitation [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] now. An Artificial Night and Late Eclipses are off the list until The Editor tells me otherwise.

The first Newsflesh book, Feed, is off the list because it has been turned in to The Other Editor. Not only that, but my page proofs have been finished and returned. You'll see this bad boy again when it comes rolling off the presses! Discount Armageddon is off the list because the first draft has been finished, and it'll be a little bit before revisions start.

The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

( What's Seanan working on now? Click to find out!Collapse )

I tend to hoard interesting links and reviews of Rosemary and Rue until they hit a certain critical mass, at which point my choices become "make a post" or "suffer from a browser crash." Because this is how I sort of preserve things for future reference, here's the latest in our "Seanan likes reviews" series of entries.

Over at ALPHA Reader, Danielle has posted a lovely, well-considered review. She says "I really loved this book" and "McGuire is currently contracted for three books, but has six planned all together." Won't she be surprised when we reach book eight? (To be clear, I am currently contracted through book three, working on book five, and clearly outlined through book nine. I clearly never want to sleep again.)

The Williamsburg Regional Library posts a daily book recommendation, and recently Rosemary and Rue was their book of the day. Their Circulation Services Director says "What makes this book original are the myriad details. A wealth of characters from fantasy—Daoine Sidhe, Kitsune, Undine, Cait Sidhe, as well as goblins, selkies, and a variety of changeling combinations populate both Faerie and the human realm. It's interesting to see how the different races interact with each other." Yay world-building for the win!

ashnistrike has posted a brief review, and says "It's very good urban fantasy—not so brilliant as to make me do cartwheels and cry because the next one isn't out yet, but good enough that I will buy the next as soon as it's available."

Our next review comes from the Warren Public Library, and says "It's a gripping mystery with a lot of urban fantasy thrown in to the mix, and as Toby delves into the dark side of her past and present (and maybe even future), you'll learn about the world of the fullblooded fairies and the halfblooded changelings that inhabit the California coast." Works for me.

Renee's Book Addiction (and, one presumes, Renee) says "This was a really enjoyable new UF (urban fantasy) series. I love stories about the fae, and the San Francisco setting really made the story vivid for me."

Finally for tonight's roundup, Felicia Day sounds off on the topic of Toby. She says "This book had a GREAT setting and environment, I was engrossed in the mystery and, (although a bit exposition-y in sections) I was along for the ride the whole way and immersed in the mythology." She has some plot issues (which are spoilery if you haven't read the book), but it was a positive review, and I couldn't be happier.

That's it for tonight. Join me next week when I try to close down Firefox without using a hammer. Again.

In January of 2010, Egmont Lyx in Germany will be releasing the German-language edition of Rosemary and Rue, retitled Winterfluch ("Winter's Curse"). German-language editions of A Local Habitation and An Artificial Night will follow (titles to be announced). You can view the Amazon.de page here, and request a copy for yourself. Assuming you speak German. Or are in Germany.

As of today, the cover of Winterfluch is finally public, and I am so very excited. Would you like to be excited? It's fun to be excited.

( Click here for the glory and excitement of my German cover art.Collapse )

It's time to get ready for the second A Local Habitation ARC giveaway of the season! Yaaaay! Now that we've all flailed around like Muppets on an electrified floor for a few minutes, here's the way this particular giveaway is going to work:

1. Get a camera.
2. Get a copy of Rosemary and Rue.
3. Get a pet.
4. Combine.

This contest, originally suggested by The Agent, is simple: take pictures of your pets (or the pets of someone else you know) hanging out with a copy of Rosemary and Rue, and submit them here. All pets are eligible. Cats, dogs, pythons, spiny African flower mantises, whatever you have and trust with your book, they're all invited to this party.

Be creative. Be dramatic. Have fun. Do not allow your Burmese python to swallow your book (it would be bad for the snake). Post your pictures here; after Thanksgiving, we'll open to voting, and winners will be selected. Winner #1 will get their choice of an ARC of A Local Habitation or a signed cover flat of A Local Habitation. Winner #2 will get whatever winner #1 didn't select, that being the way we roll around here.

Let me know if you have any questions, and game on!

According to my infallible little planner countdown, A Local Habitation will be released in one hundred and thirteen days. One hundred and thirteen is the thirtieth prime number (I love prime numbers), following one hundred and nine and coming right before one hundred and twenty-seven (my personal favorite prime). It's a Sophie Germain prime, which means that p2 + 1 is also a prime number. Two hundred and twenty-seven, totally prime. Is that not awesome?

Okay. Maybe it's just awesome if you're me. One hundred and thirteen is also a Chen prime, a Proth prime, and an Eisenstein prime with no imaginary part. There's a lot of other fun stuff you can do with this particular number, including treating it as a permutable prime (with one hundred thirty-one and three hundred and eleven). And? One hundred and thirteen is three and a half months to the release of A Local Habitation.

That's a pretty big shocker, huh?

I'm just getting really started with my pre-release madness. Wallpapers and icons are being prepared. The countdown tool is going to be assembled as soon as the graphics are ready. My website is being relaunched, streamlined and spiffed up for the sake of ease-of-use. ARCs are going out, both to reviewers and through fun giveaways. People are starting to get excited. I'm working on the next promo comic.

One hundred and thirteen days. That's, like, absolutely no time at all. That's, like, tomorrow. And immediately after that, I'll put on my Mira-pants and begin working toward the release of Feed. Last year at the San Diego International Comic Convention, you couldn't buy any of my books in the dealer's hall. This year, you'll be able to buy three.

How's that for a slice and a half of creepy pie? Mmm. Tasty, tasty creepy.

You may remember how last year, I commissioned the amazing, fantabulous, incredible Amy Mebberson to create a design for me to use as a "thank you" card. I loved the results so much that I decided I absolutely needed an updated version for this year, since the cast has changed a bit since then. Sadly, Amy is currently working for Boom! Studios, drawing awesome comic books, and is thus not available for commission work (sad for me, not sad for her).

Luckily for me, Bill Mudron—proprietor of Excelsior Studios—is currently open for commissions, and was receptive to my making pleading noises in his direction. This is because Bill is made of hammered awesome, and deserves all good things (and should absolutely be considered for all your commission needs). Bill did the cover for my third album, Red Roses and Dead Things (click here to see the back cover), in addition to several other awesome pieces for me, including Alice Price-Healy from the InCryptid series.

And now I give you...the gang:



From top to bottom (which corresponds roughly to "back to front"), you have Velma "Velveteen" Martinez hanging from the ceiling, Shaun and Georgia Mason flanking me while I attempt to work, Verity Price being friendly with mice, Rose Marshall wearing somebody else's coat and enjoying a nice beer, and October Daye, flanked by pixies and reasonably annoyed by the entire situation.

Ahem. Squee.

That is all.

First off, I apologize profusely for the lateness of this month's current projects post. While my self-imposed schedule may not matter to most, I know it matters to some, and I know that my current projects update is due on the ides of every given month. I plead jetlag and exhaustion, and will attempt to make up for it by...well, largely by demonstrating, once again, that I am not a huge fan of either free time or sleep. This post and its kin are the reason I start to twitch like a tarantula riding a record player every time someone asks me "What are you working on?" The answer takes too long to actually deliver. Anyway, this is the November list of current projects, because I am the gift that keeps on giving.

To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that the first four Toby books are off this list, because they have been finished and turned in. You can purchase Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] now. You can pre-order A Local Habitation [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] now. An Artificial Night and Late Eclipses are off the list until The Editor tells me otherwise.

The first Newsflesh book, Feed (formerly Newsflesh), is off the list because it has been turned in to The Other Editor. Not only that, but my page proofs have been finished and returned. You'll see this bad boy again when it comes rolling off the presses!

The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

( What's Seanan working on now? Click to find out!Collapse )

There has once again been a massive influx of people, due to the fact that Alice is adorable—welcome, massive influx of people; it's nice to meet you, although I realize half of you will leave again as you realize that this isn't the all-kitten-doing-weird-stuff, all-the-time channel, and that's fine—I have decided to once again do the abbreviated "here are ten things you might want to know" version of the periodic welcome post. So here it is. Ta-da! (As a footnote, Alice is aware of your worship, and was puffy all over my face at 2AM last night.)

***

1. My name is Seanan McGuire; I'm an author, musician, poet, cartoonist, and amiable nutcase, presently living in Northern California, planning to relocate to Washington at some point in the next few years. I am a very chatty person, whether you're talking literally "we're in the same place" chattiness, or more abstract "someone has left Seanan alone with a keyboard, run for the hills" chattiness. This does not, paradoxically, make me terribly good about keeping up with email or answering comments in anything that resembles a reasonable fashion. We all have our flaws. Luckily for my agent's sanity, I am very good about making my deadlines.

2. My name is pronounced "SHAWN-in", although a great many people elect to pronounce it "SHAWN-anne" instead. Either is fine with me. I went to an event where we all got name tags once, and the person making the name tags was a "SHAWN-anne" person, who proceeded to label me as "Shawn Anne McGuire". I choose to believe that Shawn Anne is my alter-ego from a universe where, instead of becoming an author, I chose to become a country superstar. She wears a great many rhinestones, because they're sparkly, and she can get away with it. Just don't call me "See-an-an" and we'll be fine.

3. I write: urban fantasy, horror, young adult, supernatural romance, and straight chick-lit romance. I occasionally threaten to write medical thrillers, but everyone knows that's just so I'd have an excuse to take more epidemiology courses. I love me a good plague. I believe that editing is a full-contact sport, complete with penalty boxes, illegal checking, and team pennants. My editing team is the Fighting Pumpkins. We're going all the way to the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS this year, bay-bee!

4. I find it useful to keep a record of the status of my various projects, both because it warms the little Type-A cockles of my heart, and because it helps people who need to know what's going on know, well, what's going on. So you'll see word counts and editing updates go rolling by if you stick around, as well as more generalized complaining about the behavior of fictional people. I am told this is entertaining. I am also told that this is possibly a sign of madness. I don't know.

5. I currently publish both as myself, and as my own evil twin, Mira Grant. My first book under my own name, Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy], came out from DAW in September 2009. The sequel, A Local Habitation [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy], is coming out in March 2010, also from DAW. Mira's first book, Feed [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy], will be out from Orbit in May 2010. I don't get very much sleep.

6. I am a musician! More specifically, I'm a filk musician. If you know filk, this statement makes total sense. If you don't know filk, think "the folk music of the science fiction and fantasy community"—or you can check out the music FAQ on my website. I have three CDs available: Pretty Little Dead Girl, Stars Fall Home, and Red Roses and Dead Things. I'm currently recording a fourth CD, Wicked Girls, which will be out sometime in 2010. I write mostly original material, and don't spend much time in ParodyLand. It just doesn't work out for me.

7. Things I find absolutely enthralling: giant squid. Plush dinosaurs. Siamese and Maine Coon cats. Zombies. The plague. Pandemic flu. Horror movies of all quality levels. Horror television. Science Fictional Channel Original Movies. Shopping for used books. Halloween. Marvel comics. Candy corn. Carnivorous plants. Pumpkin cake. Stephen King. The Black Death. Pandemic disease of all types. Learning how to say horrifying things in American Sign Language. Diet Dr Pepper.

8. Things I find absolutely horrifying: slugs. Big spiders dropping down from the ceiling and landing on me because ew. Bell peppers. Rice. Movies that consist largely of car chases and do not contain a satisfying amount of carnage. Animal cruelty. People who go hiking on mountain trails in Northern California and freak out over a little rattlesnake. Most sitcoms. A large percentage of modern advertising. Diet Chocolate Cherry Dr Pepper.

9. I am owned by two cats: a classic bluepoint Siamese named Lillian Kane Moskowitz Munster McGuire, and a blue classic tabby and white Maine Coon named Alice Price-Healy Little Liddel Abernathy McGuire. Yes, I call them that, usually when they've been naughty. The rest of the time, they're respectively "Lilly" or "Lil," and either "Alice" or "Ally." I'm planning to get a Sphynx, eventually, when the time comes to expand to having a third cat.

10. I frequently claim to be either a Disney Halloweentown princess or Marilyn Munster. These claims are more accurate than most people realize. Although I wasn't animated in Pasadena.

***

Welcome!

Remember, folks, I'm going to be doing a random drawing on Saturday to win an advance reader's copy (ARC) of A Local Habitation. You could get your hands on the second Toby book months before release day! And all you have to do is...

...click this link and leave a comment.

Seriously, that's all. Just don't leave your comment on this post, since no comments made on this post will be fed into the random number generator. Leave your comment on this post over here. Not this post. This other post.

Good luck!

I was intending to make this post yesterday, on the actual two-month anniversary of Rosemary and Rue being released into the wild. Tragically, intentions only count in horseshoes and hand grenades, and my post-World Fantasy exhaustion resulted in my spending the evening watching Supernatural and playing "Plants vs. Zombies." I'm actually not all that sorry. I really needed the rest. All that being said...

Rosemary and Rue has now been available for two full months. People I don't know and never will have bought and read my book. (Sometimes I can tell who doesn't know me, because they call me "Mr. McGuire" in their reviews. I find this adorable.) People have loved it, people have hated it, people have called it original and amazing, people have called it the usual urban fantasy fare. I have stopped having chest pains when suddenly confronted with large book displays. I have stopped having stomach pains when stores had other books in my genre, but didn't have mine. I have, in short, calmed down a lot. Much like a woman who spends a year planning her wedding, then finally realizes she can do other things, I am basically recovered.

Which is good, because now it's time to get ready for A Local Habitation. Which is, I think, a better book than Rosemary and Rue (and I do believe Rosemary and Rue to be a good book; I wouldn't have bothered trying to publish it if I didn't). Rosemary and Rue was the book that established my world, and that means that large chunks of textual real estate did have to go toward making the rules coherent and clear; without the rules, the whole towering palace comes tumbling down. It was also the book that made the largest number of introductions—much like inviting all your friends who've never met to the same cocktail party. A Local Habitation gets to skip all that, and go straight to the "smashing stuff" part of our program. I like smashing stuff.

I have learned a lot about self-promotion, event organization, not taking everything personally, keeping myself pointed in the correct direction, organization of the world in general, and not exhausting myself too much. I have learned that no matter how much I feel like I've thrown my book at everyone in the known universe, there will always be people going "Who are you again?" I have learned that a bad review is not the end of the world, and that a good review is exactly as awesome as I always hoped it would be. I have learned to take the time to breathe.

And now, in a hundred and thirty days, I get to learn all these lessons all over again.

Whee!

Well, it's November. Rosemary and Rue has been available for two months, and has been performing pretty well, thus making me feel slightly less like I need to spend all my time flailing. And I have the ARCs for A Local Habitation, which means it's time for...

An ARC giveaway!

To enter to win a copy of A Local Habitation, please comment on this entry. That's all; just comment. I'll be selecting a winner via random drawing on Saturday, so as to give people plenty of time to chime in with their burning desire to have the second Toby book in their hot little hands. (Please remember that I really really really need you to buy the book even if you receive an ARC.) I'll sign it and everything.

Well, then: GAME ON!

It makes me a little sniffly to realize that soon, we'll have the last Rosemary and Rue review roundup, because we'll be moving fully into A Local Habitation. I think I learned a lot between the two books; I think I definitely improved as a writer; I believe that people who liked the first one will be happy with the commonalities and even happier with the differences. All that being said, here are today's reviews:

Spoiled For Books has written a lovely and nicely detailed review, and says "Rosemary and Rue is fast paced and full of action, just what I like best. There is a hint of romance, but not much of it, and I suspect it will be many more books before the romance flowers into something tangible." Yay!

Suzanne, over at Responses to My Reading, has also written a nice, detailed review, which includes speculation about where the series might be going (there are no actual spoilers here for any of the future books, and some of the spec made me giggle quite a bit). The review is structured so as to be somewhat difficult to quote, but is thoughtful and thorough, and I'm happy.

Our final review for today comes from Faith Adeline, of Faith Adeline Reviews. Naturally. Well, she definitely does review, so the advertising is accurate. She says "Rosemary and Rue is a strong debut novel, and I hope the rest of the series lives up to it." (Trust me, so do I.) She also says "I'm definitely looking forward to reading the sequels, I'm sad the next novel doesn't come out until March!"

That's all for today. When I get back from World Fantasy, we'll start with the ARC giveaways and the gear-up toward A Local Habitation!

I've gotten lax about my review round-ups since we reached October, partially because the reviews tend to taper off after a book has been out for a little while, and partially because I've been deeply busy. Still, these round-ups are as much for my reference as to share the news, so it's definitely time.

First up, Rosemary and Rue is a Virginia Beach Public Library staff pick. Penelope (our reviewer) says "Author Seanan McGuire has a sure hand with her first venture into urban fantasy—it is gritty, dark, full of despair and unwanted but necessary decisions. October Daye is worth remembering, as she struggles through Faerie politics and intrigue, reluctantly gathering allies at all levels as well as coming to grips with her own personal anguish." I call that a win!

Rixo has posted a long and lovely review. She says "Rosemary and Rue is an urban fantasy that I'm actually comfortable calling that. It isn't a paranormal romance in disguise, which is a nice change of pace." She also says "The changelings' world is gritty and unforgiving; this is not a warm, fuzzy sort of book. And I like it that way."

Rhianna has posted her review over at RhiReading; she says "October's series is off to a good start with Rosemary and Rue. These are the fae most faeriephiles are familiar with but with some twists. McGuire gives readers just enough detail and hints to keep them reading but leaves a lot open for disclosure in future installments." Also, "I recommend this one for urban fantasy fans looking for something fresh and original."

It's not a review round-up without an LJ review, this time provided by quettalinde. It's an excellent review, if difficult to pull quotes from, and I'm very pleased, especially by the picture of the book propped on a bundle of rosemary. Hee!

You may remember that I did an interview with Alex from Book Banter. Well, he's also posted his review. He says "For those looking for a fresh dosage of new reading after getting the latest fix of Dresden Files, look no further than the fresh voice of debut author Seanan McGuire and the first in her October Daye mystery series, Rosemary and Rue. Think Harry Dresden, but make him female, set her in San Francisco, and accept that the world of Faerie not only exists but has portals linking to our own world and the characters of fable are very real and terrifying."

Hey, another newspaper review! This time it's in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel. "This is a great start to a new series that does a good job blending the paranormal aspect with the crime noir." That's a line I'm more than happy to start things with.

In our last entry for this round-up, Nancy Holzner provides a short and sweet review. She says "McGuire conveys the complexity of Faerie—and the difficulties that face a changeling living in the human world—without slowing down the story to dump information on the reader. The result is a richly imagined world that feels real." Also "Rosemary and Rue is the first novel in an urban fantasy series by debut author Seanan McGuire, and I’m looking forward to the next book, A Local Habitation, which comes out in March 2010."

That's our review round-up for October in October. I'm pretty pleased so far.

As it is now the fifteenth of October, it is once again time for me to make my monthly current projects post. Some people measure out their lives with coffee spoons; I seem to have taken a slightly more masochistic approach. This post and its kin, by the by, are the reason that I burst into tears and flail around like a squid on an electrified floor every time someone asks me "What are you working on?" The answer just takes too long to actually deliver. Anyway, this is the October list of current projects, because I am the gift that keeps on giving.

To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that the first four Toby books are off this list, because they have been finished and turned in. You can purchase Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] now. You can pre-order A Local Habitation [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] now. An Artificial Night and Late Eclipses are off the list until The Editor tells me otherwise.

The first Newsflesh book, Feed (formerly Newsflesh), is off the list because it has been turned in to The Other Editor, and I won't see it again until the page proofs. Ah, progress. It smells like fear and uncontrollable twitching.

The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

( What's Seanan working on now? Click to find out!Collapse )

I exist in a perpetual time-warp right now. Rosemary and Rue is on bookstore shelves, and is thus The Book I Can Discuss With People (tm). A Local Habitation is about to go to ARC format, and will thus become The Book I Can Discuss With A Much More Limited Subset Of People (tm). And in the meanwhile, I'm writing The Brightest Fell, outlining Ashes of Honor, and trying to make sure all my ducks are in a row for Tributes in the Dust.

And people wonder why the word "trilogy" has started making me laugh like a Batman villain who's just escaped from Arkham Asylum.

One of the things that's really fascinating about working at this sort of remove is that I have time to actually test my rules for functionality and long-term stability. To go with an example everyone's likely to be familiar with, look at Quidditch. Anyone who thinks about the rules for too long will realize that they have some pretty serious issues as written, but is that really the fault of J.K. Rowlings? No. She had no way of knowing that her weird little wizarding game would get the sort of scrutiny it did, and it probably seemed like a good idea at the time. (No, I don't expect to get her sort of readership. Not that I'd complain if I did...)

Right now, I'm stress-testing the fae marriage laws. At their most basic, they look a lot like mortal marriage laws: two people decide to get hitched, break out the champagne. And then they start to get complicated. For example, there aren't any social stigmas against group marriage (some fae races practice it as a matter of course, like the Centaurs and the Gremlins) or same-sex couples. Divorce when there are no children is literally a matter of going "I don't want to be married to you anymore" and posting an announcement at the hall of your local liege.

Divorce when there are children requires waiting for the children to reach adulthood, and then asking them to choose which family line they wish to belong to. Children of divorced parents can only inherit from one side of the family, because the other side must remain available to any potential future descendants (ah, immortality). (Kate points out that this probably leads to a lot of people assassinating their parents so as to inherit everything. Kate is very correct in this assertion.) This also means that the parents of a missing, elf-shot, or otherwise unavailable child must remain married until the child is either located or declared dead.

Marriage to a mortal (IE, "playing fairy bride/bridegroom") has no legal standing in Faerie (hence why changelings can't inherit), and thus doesn't interfere in any way with an actual pre-existing marriage, or prevent getting marriage. It's actually not uncommon for fae couples to fight, huff off, marry a mortal, and get back together twenty years later, having never legally been unfaithful.

World-building. It's not just for continental drift and evolutionary pressures anymore.

As of today, Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] has been out in the wild for an entire month. It's been spotted in chain stores and independent booksellers, in airports and at train stations, in basically every state in the United States and in countries around the world. We are officially well and truly past the point where my publisher can go "ha ha, tricked you" and order up a bonfire. (Not that I ever really thought that they would, but if you've ever met me, you know that I can be twitchy on an Olympic level.)

I have not yet seen a stranger reading one of my books in a public place, which is probably for the best, as I'd either start to hyperventilate or give myself brain-freeze trying to decide whether I should go over and offer to sign it for them. This doesn't stop me from watching the reading material of the people around me.

Most of the people I know have either purchased Rosemary or swear that they're going to do so Real Soon Now, Honest. (Since I don't intend to check their bookshelves for proof, these assurances are sort of pointless, but they're also really funny, so I'm willing to roll with it.) My mother has probably purchased five or more, but she's my mom, so it's okay.

The page proofs for A Local Habitation have been reviewed and returned to my publisher, which means we're on-track for book two. I'm super-excited. I'm also plinking away at book five (The Brightest Fell), which is rapidly becoming my favorite in the series to date.

Because it's an anniversary, I feel like I should do something to celebrate. So, because it makes sense, I've decided to give away a copy of Rosemary and Rue. Here's the plan:

1) Comment here, telling me why I should give you a copy of Rosemary and Rue. Do you want it for you? Do you want it for your school bake sale? Have you just been dying to test the aerodynamics of a paperback book fed through a wood-chipper? (Actually, I probably won't give you a book for that last one, but I'd love to come over and watch the experiment. With someone else's book.)

2) That's all.

I'll pick a winner tomorrow. Be detailed. Be creative. Detail and creativity count. So does bribery, but that's a distant third.

Well, Rosemary and Rue has been on bookstore shelves for a month, and that means it's time for me to split off the Toby Daye FAQ into its own page. What questions would you like to see answered? I'm dividing them roughly, for now, into "series" (IE, publication dates, number of books, typos), "world" (Toby's world), and per-book, but this could change.

Please expect mild spoilers in the comments on this thread, with the stress being on mild. I won't answer FAQ questions that read like "on page 189 you say, but on page 317...," since that's way too much of a spoiler for a publicly-accessible website.

Game on!

First up, some exciting Rosemary and Rue-related news: namely, it's going to be October's book of the month at Genreville. Genreville is an exciting genre-focused blog hosted by Publishers Weekly, moderated by some really awesome folks. I couldn't be happier.

If you've been waiting for an interview with me that dared to ask the really bizarre questions, you should take a look at this fun, flippant interview conducted by Jonathan Fesmire. Jon's a dear friend of mine, and I was his "maiden voyage" into the world of interviewing authors. Let's see if future interviews stay this surreal.

The nice folks over at BSC (a blog with the endearing subtitle of "Because We Said It") posted this charmingly detailed and lengthy review. Quoth the reviewer, "Rosemary and Rue combines mystery and fantasy to very good effect, making this book fast-paced and full of action. It's very nice to see an urban fantasy book that doesn’t include the modern trend towards paranormal romance." Also: "I would definitely recommend this book for fans of urban fantasy, as well as readers who don’t mind well-mixed genres." Yay!

Also in today's review roundup, the Suburban Banshee posted this awesome review, including such delicious quotes as "This is real urban fantasy, in short, and not the McDonald’s equivalent that’s been crowding the shelves for the last few years. Buy it, buy it, buy it, before the last few copies disappear from your bookstore." (If you could make those last few copies disappear, I'd be ever so grateful...)

Finally, I give you the review that made me squeal like I'd just been named Prom Queen at the Geek Prom, where the pig's-blood shower is a perk, not a problem: Rosemary and Rue has been reviewed on IO9. It's a long, detailed, and best of all, fair and balanced review which neither paints me perfect nor positions me for pillory. Charlie Jane is awesome that way, and says—among other things, you should really read it—"After exploring McGuire's fairy city for one dark murder mystery, I'm on board for more, and looking forward to seeing how October's tangled web of allegiances and obligations plays out over the course of the next few books."

I win at geek.

So I've been chatting with various people—now that the first rush of book release crazy is blessedly behind us—about Rosemary and Rue as a book, Toby as a character, and where I think the series is going. This has led to several of my friends confessing, usually while looking slightly sheepish, that Rosemary and Rue is Not A Perfect Book. It is, tragically, Not Without Flaw. And to this I say...

Thank the Great Pumpkin.

You see—bear with me, I swear this is relevant—I'm a Counting Crows fan. Their first album, August and Everything After, was perfect. Maybe not every song, maybe not every lyric, but as an album? Perfect. The sort of album you can listen to over and over again, finding new things, making new discoveries about the way the songs fit together, the stories that the lyrics are telling...perfect. So naturally, when their second album was released (Recovering the Satellites), they got basically panned. Why? Because Recovering the Satellites was a bad album? But it wasn't. It was actually a really good album, with a lot of really good songs. So what was the problem?

The problem was that it wasn't perfect. And once you've been perfect, people are going to start expecting perfection every single time. It's the dilemma of the student who manages straight As on a report card—once may be amazing, but when you bring home that B+ next quarter, there are going to be some pointed questions directed your way.

Now, I do think that a few of the things some people view as flaws will become less flaw-like as the series goes on. At the end of the first episode of Veronica Mars, you don't know who killed Lilly Kane, who raped Veronica, or what happened to her mother, now, do you? I'm absolutely working to make sure every Toby book has a satisfying conclusion all its own, but there are going to be some narrative threads that take a long, long time to be resolved. I'm actually crazy-careful with my timelines, and with making sure that all my guns are on the mantelpiece as soon as they need to be, just so there's no "but wait, there was no six-fingered man in the plot last season."

Yes, I will tell you who killed Lilly Kane.

Yes, I will tell you who raped Veronica.

Yes, I will tell you why every little piece of importance is important. But it's going to take a while. And I will, thankfully, probably never be perfectly perfect in an individual volume...although I, like the Counting Crows, really hope that my album (or series, as the case may be) is close enough to perfect when it's done that the flaws are forgiven.

So here's the thing: the Toby Daye books are not a trilogy. According to Wikipedia, a trilogy is "a set of three works of art—usually literature, film, or video games, less commonly visual art like paintings or musical works—that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works." So, for example, the original three Star Wars movies are a trilogy, but three randomly selected episodes of Veronica Mars are not. The Evil Dead movies are a trilogy; any three given Nightmare on Elm Street installments are not, and so on. Having three of something gives you a trio, but it doesn't necessarily give you an actual trilogy.

Why does this matter? It matters because the word "trilogy" comes with a certain degree of expectation. People say "the Toby Daye trilogy," and they're creating the idea that, come the end of An Artificial Night, everything will be finished, wrapped up nice and neat and ready to move on. They're also creating the idea that—or at least the option for—A Local Habitation to end on an unfinished note, a literary device that's become increasingly common in trilogies over the past few years. (I actually find myself getting angry at books that don't announce themselves as part of a trilogy, and then release a "middle book" with no real ending. Tell me up-front that you're writing a trilogy, and I'll be braced for the mid-trilogy cliffhanger. Tell me you're a series and leave me hanging, and you may have just lost yourself a reader.)

Rosemary and Rue has an ending. A Local Habitation has an ending. An Artificial Night has an ending. Just so you know.

It's true that currently, only the first three Toby books have been purchased by my publisher. This is because three is a very good number for proving a series has legs and can manage on its own. The sales on your first book will be first book sales—they'll be made on the strength of your cover, your back cover text, and your pre-existing fanbase, if any. The sales on your second book will hopefully exceed the sales of your first, and be accompanied by a bump in first book sales, because some people like to wait for proof that a series is actually going to, y'know, continue before they invest their time and dollars. By book three, your publisher will have a pretty good idea of whether the series is a success, and will be able to market and support you a lot better as a consequence. Three book chunks help series succeed. But they still aren't trilogies.

I have nothing against trilogies. The Newsflesh books (Feed, Blackout, and Deadline) are a trilogy. They follow the standards for trilogy pacing, construction, and narrative arc. But the Toby books are very much not a trilogy. Great Pumpkin willing and the creek don't rise, the Toby books will continue for quite some time, and range very, very far away from that initial set of three. The fact that I'm currently neck-deep in book five should definitely tell you that there's a lot more story to tell.

First off, here's some mixed-media fun stuff that's come up recently:

Behold, for it is the Penguin podcast! Behold also, for they are all talking with me about Toby and making me sing and I was so totally jet-lagged at the time that I really had very little notion of what I was saying. But I was wearing pretty wool pants and a Kelly green jacket (none of which show up on the podcast), so at least I looked good while I was babbling.

I can't get this video at the Penguin sit to play, because I'm crap with this sort of thing sometimes. But I'm in it, and that's probably good enough reason to point you at it. Maybe you can get it to go. I wish you all the luck in the world.

Over on Dreamwidth, Cynthia's posted a short-and-sweet review. It falls into the "don't quote from it, you'll wind up re-posting the whole thing" category, so I recommend clicking over and checking it out.

fireun has posted a lovely review. She says "This is the faery tale I have been waiting to read for most of my life. From Kelpies hunting in the shadows, an Undine dwelling in a park, and the King of Cats holding court, Rosemary and Rue is full of the Faerie Court as it should be- beautiful and deadly." You'll pardon me while I purr, won't you?

starlady38 has posted a review, which was pointed out to me by a mutual friend (I love it when I get reviews from people I don't know). She says "The book is a cracking good read, a real pageturner, and I don't normally care for stories about the Fair Folk (War for the Oaks being a notable, and at least slightly comparable, exception in this regard), but I have to recommend this book. Toby is a fascinating, painfully real character, as are the people who surround her, and McGuire's evocation of San Francisco, as well as of the power dynamics in the Faerie Courts (in which changelings are only a few steps up from dirt), feels very believable." Glee.

Confessions of a Wandering Heart put up a review that's even titled with awesomeness. She opens with "Seanan McGuire's Rosemary and Rue is one of the best urban fantasy novels I've read all year." She also says "The plot moves quickly—the story taking place in the span of about a week, and blends the perfect amount of fantasy and magic with mystery and crime-solving. The clues and steps Toby takes to solve Evening's murder are believable and easy to follow without being predictable. The page-turning suspense had me dying to get to the end and unwilling to put the book down. Fully developed imagery and the descriptions of the elaborate world-building rival the best urban fantasy writers (such as Kim Harrison). I became so immersed in Seanan McGuire's Faerie world that I think there were times I forgot I wasn't actually a part of it." I really could not be more pleased.

But.

I have saved the best for last.

Because today—yes, today—Rosemary and Rue was reviewed by the Onion AV Club. And they gave it an A-. Which is pretty damn close to the best you can get if the book doesn't cause spontaneous orgasm when the cover is opened, give you a back rub, and then buy you chocolates. Today is the day my geek cred increases to unheard of heights. I AM IN THE ONION.

What does the Onion say? The Onion says "Just when it seems that all the possible changes have been rung on the themes of detectives and the supernatural, along comes newcomer Seanan McGuire with Rosemary And Rue, the first in a new series featuring a changeling private eye who lives half in San Francisco, half in the Kingdom Of Faerie that overlaps it, unseen by mortal eyes," and "October Daye is as gritty and damaged a heroine as Kinsey Millhone or Kay Scarpetta." KAY SCARPETTA, PEOPLE.

The review closes with "Changelings, like all faerie folk, live long; may McGuire and these novels do the same." I share the sentiment. And I am just all a-twitter and amazed by this fabulous review.

Wow.

Tomorrow will mark two weeks of Rosemary and Rue being on bookshelves. Traditionally, this means newer new releases will begin nudging me off the "hot new wow cool" displays at the front of the store; bookstore employees will stop being mobbed by people who can't find the Science Fiction/Fantasy section; and I will begin getting neurotic about book two. But tonight, we're still in the second week of release, and that means review roundup is go!

To begin with, Mia Nutick has done a fantastic and well-detailed book review over at the Green Man Review, one of the longer-running Internet science fiction/fantasy review sites. I am honored. According to Mia, "Toby Daye is one of the best female fantasy characters to come along in a long time; she's tough, confident, and heroic but she's capable of introspection, and unlike the Mary Sues of the literary world, she's capable of failure," and "For a first novel, this is frighteningly good." I'm frightening! Grrr!

Virginia, of Bitten By Books, has posted her review of Rosemary and Rue. Yes, Virginia, there is a Toby Daye. Virginia says, "Rosemary and Rue is Seanan McGuire’s debut novel and what a novel it is! I found that I kept coming back to this book. I tried to pull away to complete another one, but the characters were always in my mind and I had to set aside the other novel to get this one out of my system. Rosemary and Rue is full of suspense, mystery and many unexpected twists and turns." I'm frightening and unexpected! Basically, I'm the wildlife of Australia.

Heather of Book Obsessed has rewarded my obsession with reviews by providing me with another review to obsess over. Thank you! She says that "As I have practically screamed from the rooftops to anyone that cared and even those who didn't—;I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!" I appreciate the human megaphone, I really, really do. She also says "The writing style is poetic and lyrical while at the same time being dark, gritty and direct, much like life itself often is. Being able to bring that to life is something exceptional and wholly worthy of applause and accolades."

Now I am happy.

Over at the Barnes and Noble Book Clubs, Paul has posted his review of Rosemary and Rue, and of its context in the urban fantasy genre. It's a great piece of work, and he says, "As the paranormal fantasy wilderness continues to flourish, one thing seems certain: the seedling novelist that is Seanan McGuire, barring any crazy lumberjack or dread blight or rotting disease, has the potential to become one of the forest’s stateliest trees..." So there will be no Dutch Elm this week, thanks.

That's our review roundup for tonight. Thanks for sticking out these two crazy-train weeks with me, and we'll see if things settle down a bit from here.

Happy Wednesday! I know I promised party reporting, and I intend to keep my word; I am, however, still too tired to do so with any degree of skill or grace, and am thus providing another review round-up, with some party reports from people with more brain than I tossed in just for spice.

First off, TJ over at Book Love Affair (who you may remember from this incredibly sweet and complimentary review) couldn't make the Borderlands party, and sent her husband in her place, because that's just what you do. He responded to this assignment by taking a really crazy number of pictures, allowing her to post a full report. I'm not a fan of having my picture taken—I know, I know, it's not like I'm shy and retiring and hence avoid cameras, but I make a lot of funny faces, and I always seem to have my mouth open when the flash goes off—but as a record of the evening, this is hammered awesome. I hope you can make the next one, TJ!

My dearly beloved artbeco attended the Friday party at Illusive Comics, and, is her wont, took a lot of really fabulous pictures of the evening. I've known and loved Beckett for more than half my life, so having her document this amazing night was really an honor and a joy. I am so glad she could share this with us.

Brooke came for the whole weekend, and decided to write everything up in one amazingly massive post of pure hammered awesome. For those of you who've missed my mother's wacky antics, Brooke is here to help you fill that gaping hole in your heart, because she took transcription. Quote of the weekend from Brooke: "Who's a mighty huntress who is also slightly moist?"

Sunil also made an amazingly massive post of awesome, complete with lots and lots of pictures of people doing things. He even got pictures of Ripley, the resident Sphinx at Borderlands. Go team Sunil!

Now, on to the reviews!

Thea and Ana are the Book Smugglers, a daring duo of book reviewers who fight the forces of bad literature while stealing gems of awesome from the vast crypts of the literary world. Well, the two of them have worked together to break into the text of Rosemary and Rue and carry out a joint review.

Thea says "There are a lot of female sleuth Urban Fantasy novels out there, and October Daye is another supernatural creature to add to the ever-growing pantheon. Ms. McGuire, however, manages to create a very unique character in a stunningly detailed, harsh world of faerie that coexists with our own. I definitely enjoyed this book and will be back to this eerie version of San Francisco very soon." She also says "In terms of world building and the urban fantasy element, Rosemary and Rue shines. My favorite aspect of this debut novel is the setting itself—Ms. McGuire juxtaposes a world of fae courts and magic, unseen by humans in the city of San Francisco. And the fae aren’t just your usual devilish pixies, winter queens or rowan men, either; Toby’s world is populated by Selkies, Undines, the Daoine Sidhe and Cait Sidhe. There are rose goblins and kelpies, doppelgangers and kitsune—and the variation is a wonderful thing to behold."

Meanwhile, Ana says "Regardless of which genre it belongs to, Rosemary and Rue is simply a good story, with great characters and above all, a fantastically entertaining world in which to submerge myself for a few hours. I can hardly believe that this is Seanan’s McGuire’s debut work and I enjoyed it so much that am ready for more. Like, right now." She also says "I started the review expecting to rate it Very Good, but managed to convince myself whist writing it that this rather, a truly Excellent novel and the series has the potential to be one of the Great Ones. I devoured it, I rooted for the main character and I think this is certainly one of the best debuts I read this year."

I win at being robbed!

maverick_weirdo posted a short, sweet review over at his journal, saying that "Rosemary and Rue is an excellent read." Succinct and charming!

Our final review for today is from SFRevu at the Internet Review of Books. Gayle Surrette wrote their thoughtful and well-balanced review of the book, saying "Having read the first two chapters, there was no way I could put the books down," and "This is an outstanding story and Seanan McGuire is a writer to watch." I'm a writer to watch! Watch me! Maybe I'll do tricks!

And that's our round-up for Wednesday. I will now take a nap.

Well, I survived the weekend, with the assistance of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show that descended upon my house and made my book release parties extra awesome. I'll be posting detailed recaps of the parties later, after I've finished catching up on all the sleep I didn't get over the course of the weekend. (Seriously, right now, my idea of a recap is something like "and then I ate candy corn, and then I signed some books, and look, a bunny," which leaves out rather a lot of important details.)

My cats also survived the weekend, which was rather more in question, since Lilly doesn't like having large crowds between her and me, and Alice is still young enough to get impressively over-stimulated. Lilly spent the first night of the invasion (when we had Betsy in my room, Mia and Ryan in the spare room, and Amy, Brooke, and I in the back room) sleeping on my chest and growling in the back of her throat, Just In Case someone decided to try slitting my throat in the night. When no one attacked me, she moved on to pissy Siamese stage two, Shunning The Human, and provided a great deal of amusement, since she shuns about as well as I drive (and I don't drive). Alice did me the immense favor of being well-behaved and fluffy in front of Betsy, who bred her, and who needed to see her being happy, healthy, and fluffy.

Today has been pretty cool so far. Everybody seems to be getting home safely (always a concern, if you happen to be me), and my house is gradually returning to normal. Since it's Tuesday, I'll be going to Kate's tonight, to eat tasty Indian food, sleep in the basement, and resume my normal existence. I'm very excited by this fact. I like things that are normal (normal to me, anyway). I'm also going to be swinging through the Other Change of Hobbit to see whether they need any additional stock signed, and to confirm the dates for the rescheduled book release party. More information as it becomes available.

Chicks Dig Time Lords is now available for pre-order! Here's a link to the Amazon page. The brain-child of the lovely taraoshea, Chicks Dig Time Lords is a book of essays about being female in Doctor Who fandom, and what the show has meant to more than a few generations of Gallifrey Girls. It was co-edited by rarelylynne. I really loved being a part of this project, and I'm super-excited about it. Doctor Who has been one of my favorite shows since I was three years old. You can get your own copy of Chicks Dig Time Lords on March 15th, 2010—two weeks after you can get your own copy of A Local Habitation!

I'm exhausted, but I seem to be over the horrible plague that hit me just before book release, which is a wonderful thing (as yes, I did fear a relapse). This weekend, I get to hang out with a huge, merry crew over at the Bohnhoff place, and then head into Berkeley to do the Solano Stroll. And oh, right, it's time to get to work on finishing Blackout.

Welcome to fall. Now the work begins.

Hey, folks! Just a friendly reminder that tonight is the Rosemary and Rue event at San Francisco's very own Borderlands Books! Featuring live music by Kitten Sundae, Brooke Lunderville, and Amy McNally, an awesome raffle of awesomeness, Pollidori Chocolates original truffles, naked cats, and so much more, we're planning to blow the doors off the place.

Tonight's schedule:

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 eating cookies, Seanan will read something.
8:30 PM: Last music of the night.
8:50 PM: Last chance to give the bookstore money before we say goodnight.
9:00 PM: Last raffle drawing of the night and we close the evening.

You do not have to be present to win, but you do need to have someone holding your ticket and ready to claim a prize for you. Prizes will be on the table, and can be claimed as winners are called.

I hope you can come!

Today's edition of the Rosemary and Rue review roundup opens with a lovely LJ review by kyleri, who says, "I devoured it. I Could Not Stop. Now, I'm a voracious reader, but usually I'll at least stop to go to the bathroom." She also says "She sucked me in, with a headlong pace, gracefully-inserted worldbuilding, and a cast of clearly-delineated, frequently sympathetic characters." I am well-pleased by this assessment.

Meanwhile, my local paper, the Contra Costa Times, ran a somewhat more critical, but still complimentary, review. Quoth the reviewer, "although I'm not a big fan of urban fantasy, I have to confess the pages turned rapidly as Toby Daye tried to solve the murder of a pureblood Faerie who lived in San Francisco." (He also says "she delivers three hundred and sixty pages of pain, suffering and confusion," but I consider that a feature, not a bug.) Check it out!

Dave Brendon has posted a review of his own, saying "As Urban Fantasy goes, Seanan has crafted a fun, intense and inventive read that’s sure to have you flipping through the pages until the wayyy early hours—you might even set the book down and then wonder why you’re hearing the early worm-catching birds!" and "reading this novel is a sure way to be submerged in the coolest faerie culture you never knew existed." He also says "If you like your faeries to be cool and city-smart and your tales intelligent and fast-paced, you will probably enjoy this book!" Well, I definitely enjoyed this review!

ravenclawed's review is short and sweet enough that if I quote it, you'll see the whole thing. Check it out. Ditto stormsdotter's review over in the Pandemonium Books community.

Donna over at Urban Fantasy has posted her review of Rosemary and Rue, and says "Toby is a refreshing urban fantasy heroine, because she’s not too powerful or perfect" and "The story is a good mix of intrigue and action, and there are a few twists that took me by surprise. The setting is detailed and has a lot of potential. Toby visits the courts and domains of various fae, and she also spends time in a changeling dive that feels a little like a sleazy imitation of the full-blood courts. Each place has a distinct, solid feel, and makes me want to see more of the world than we’ve been exposed to so far." It's a well-written review, and I couldn't be happier.

If you've been wondering what Toby thinks about all this fuss, well, Jezebel (yes, the retired succubus) managed to sneak her out while I wasn't looking, and the resulting interview is now live over on Cat and Muse. In case you're wondering, she lies. She lies like a rug. I am a sweet, innocent paragon of authorial kindness, and I don't understand what she's complaining about.

That's everything for today. Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Yesterday was my bookday birthday, when Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxies] finally hit shelves in stores across the nation. Because we are all mad here, my mother, Amy, and I decided that the best way to celebrate was by taking a trek up the length of California to sign books in every damn bookstore between Concord and Sacramento.

I never said we were sane.

The routine was pretty straightforward. One, find the bookstore. Two, scout the bookstore to see if they had any visible copies of Rosemary and Rue, as this meant we wouldn't be asking anyone to go into the back of the store. Three, find someone who works there, express that I am a local author (for increasingly inaccurate values of "local" as we moved away from Concord), and inquire as to whether I might sign some stock for them. Four, sign stock. Note that nowhere in this progression of events is anything resembling "check ID." By the eighth bookstore, I was seriously tempted to say "Hi, my name is Stephanie Meyer, and I wrote this book..."

The assistant manager at the Barnes and Noble in Albany thanked me for only using my powers for good. She doesn't know me very well.

As we made our way from bookstore to bookstore, we passed through Fairfield, California, home of the Jelly Belly factory. Amy, unwisely, said "I like sugar." My mother took this as a holy mandate demanding that we take the free Jelly Belly factory tour. I don't like jellybeans. I love my mother. I love Amy. I went on the tour. Fear my martyrdom. (Actually, there really wasn't any martyrdom, because Jelly Belly also makes candy corn. Fear me in the candy corn factory.) The Jelly Belly factory was reasonably cool. Amy and I have decided to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with jelly beans and take people swimming.

The result of all yesterday's labors? Amy has a stomachache, and there is already a "collectible" autographed copy of Rosemary and Rue on eBay for fifteen dollars. Because humanity is awesome that way.

I survived!

(I promise to post about the fact that holy cow, it's my bookday birthday, in a little bit. Right now, I'm just trying to get through the review roundup without my fingers falling off! Holy cow!)

spectralbovine is a good friend of mine, but he's also incredibly media-savvy, and very picky about the things that he likes. So I admit, I was a little nervous when he said he was going to review Rosemary and Rue. At the same time, I knew he'd be fair. Well, his review of the book is up, and he was definitely fair. Quoth Sunil, "Oh yes, I'm going there: this book is like Veronica Mars, Faerie Detective."

I love my friends.

Over at the League of Reluctant Adults, the winner of the "win an ARC and write a review" contest has posted this awesome and erudite review of Rosemary and Rue. Quoth JD, "Rosemary and Rue is a good, solid novel and a fantastic debut. I look forward to reading more about Toby and her world. It really did almost make me believe again in Faeries."

Works for me!

mneme has also posted his review of Rosemary and Rue, calling it "a fun, beautifully written, rewarding urban fantasy that I intend to reread and recommend," while judifilksign's review of the book says "McGuire does a fantastic job of creating an alternate reality that is consistent, believable and not a copy of other writers in the genre." Yay!

Our first Dreamwidth review! It comes from Four-and-Twenty (watch those blackbirds), whose review is posted here. Since I sort of want to quote the whole review, I'll just tell you to go and read it. Don't worry. I can wait.

If you've been around here for more than a few days, you probably already know that vixyish is one of my favorite people in the whole world, part of my Seattle family, and a member of the mighty machete squad, without which there would be a hell of a lot more typographical and logical errors in my books. Well, she is now also one of the reviewers to tackle Rosemary and Rue, which she did with sufficient disclaimers to keep people from looking at her funny. Vixy says "I genuinely and highly recommend Rosemary and Rue to fans of urban fantasy, or murder mysteries, or P.I. novels, or worldbuilding, or complex characters, or folklore, or fairy tales, or Shakespeare, or British folk ballads, or just plain exciting and engrossing stories that are likely to keep you up half the night reading just one more page." I say, again, that I love my friends.

We've had a lot of reviews in the past few weeks, so you might think there's nothing left that can really get me excited. Well, you'd be wrong, because waking up to discover that I'd been reviewed in the MIAMI HERALD OH MY GOD YOU GUYS got me really, really excited. Given how sick I still am, I sounded like a bat being fed into a wood-chipper. Pity poor Amy's eardrums. The MIAMI HERALD OH MY GOD YOU GUYS says "skipping Rosemary and Rue would be a sad mistake" and "first-time novelist McGuire reminds us that even in an overused setting, a well-told story with memorable characters casts magic all on its own." Also, it's the MIAMI HERALD OH MY GOD YOU GUYS.

Wowzers.

In case you're tired of straight reviews, I was lucky enough to get interviewed by Alex for the Book Banter podcast. Here's your chance to hear me, live and (mostly) unedited. (I accidentally swore at one point, and Alex kindly snipped that out, because we appreciate not getting yelled at for profanity.) The interview was recorded in the dining room of Au Couqulet, so you can also hear silverware and dishes, if you listen real close. It was a fun time, and I really recommend giving it a go.

If you enjoy interviews, I also have a fun interview up over at Lurv ala Mode, where Kendra has been just awesome during the whole book release process. Check it out!

If you don't have your copy yet, there's a random giveaway going on over at Fantasy/Sci Fi Lovin'—enter to win, or direct your friends to head on over.

Because a picture is worth a thousand words (and I want breakfast), I leave you with Amy very studiously engaging in literature on a train, and Toby Daye VS. THE VELOCIRAPTORS! Pictures and crazy courtesy of Brooke. Because we didn't have enough crazy on our own.

It's a book!