chimera_fancies is gearing up for the big Rosemary and Rue pendant sale (details and specifics posted here; suffice to say, it's gonna be awesome). To prepare for the sale, and give everyone a chance to get the shiny, she's started by posting three auctions of pendants she feels best represent the book. Click a pendant to go to the associated auction:

1. .

2. .

3. .

Enjoy, and remember, not my auction, so take your questions to chimera_fancies!

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!

So the fabulous Mia, of chimera_fancies, is one of the most talented fairy tale jewelry makers I know. Her pieces are unique works of art, made from recycled books and magically transformed into something far greater than the sum of its parts. I own more than a few of her pendants. I'm going to wind up owning more than a few more. You've heard all this before. So why am I saying it again?

Because she has a pendant sale coming up, probably starting on or around November 18th (I'll post the exact date as soon as I have it, and so will she). Not just any pendant sale, incredible as her work is. An extra-special, extra-collectible pendant sale. Because, you see, she got her hands on an ARC of Rosemary and Rue. ARCs are not intended for resale; they're transitory things, unable to stand up to the stress of multiple re-readings. So Mia, mindful of the ARC's tragically short lifespan, took and transformed it into more than fifty gorgeous pieces of wearable art. I'm very serious. These pendants are some of the best work I've ever seen from her. She's growing as an artist with every piece she does, and for this set, she really busted out all the stops.

All pendants have been signed by me, in either black or silver Sharpie, depending on the base color. The exact method of pendant sale will be determined by Mia; it may be the random pick method she used for the Halloween sale, it may be something else, but either way, it'll be posted on her journal before the actual sale begins. All pendants will be $22, which includes postage.

These really are incredible. I couldn't be happier, or feel more honored, to be working with someone who does such amazing things.

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!

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.

1. We're over a month out from the publication of Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy], and the book still seems to be going over generally well. It's selling briskly, it's received a lot of positive press, and people look excited about book two. This makes me happy, as I, like all authors, am highly neurotic. (Remember, urban fantasy novels set in San Francisco make the perfect gift for any occasion! Buy two, they're small!)

2. The cover for A Local Habitation [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] is now up on Amazon, displaying my awesome new front cover blurb from the lovely Ms. Charlaine Harris herself. Yes! She likes my book! I am basically on top of the world right now.

3. Since it gets asked with fair regularity these days: no, "Wicked Girls Saving Themselves" has not been recorded on any of my three currently available albums. It's the title song on Wicked Girls, which is going to be released in late 2010. I don't have a full finalized track list for the album yet, but it's definitely going to include "The Ghost of Lilly Kane," "Writing Again" (by Brian Gunderson of We're About 9), "The True Story Here," and "Counting Crows," among others. The theme for this album is, essentially, the strength to rise above your story.

4. All three of my currently extant albums remain available through CDBaby.com, but I can't promise how long that's going to be the case. My stock assessments are always a bit questionable, given my tendency to discover CDs under the bed, but I'm going to say that there are between 150 and 180 copies of Stars Fall Home remaining, and I'm not currently intending to reprint the album. Pretty Little Dead Girl is in slightly better shape, being the live album and hence a slower seller, but I still wouldn't malinger forever on placing an order, or that order may not be place-able.

5. The cats are reacting to my current illness by behaving like this is Kitty Christmas, and basically running the Blue Cat 500 all around the house. They know I can't do anything to stop them. Remind me again that I actually like my cats? Because I am so not getting that right now.

6. Paging silvertwi. I do not yet have a mailing address for you. You have forty-eight hours to supply me with same, or your prize will go to somebody else.

And now we must rinse.

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.

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.

Let's go back in time, to Friday, September 4th. (Feel free to make Wayne and Garth time-travel hands. They're like jazz hands, only awesome.) Rosemary and Rue has been available for purchase for less than a week. My house has been thoroughly invaded by book preparation, and also by Amy, who arrived while I had Martian Death Flu and didn't run screaming. My sanity is at a record ebb, since there's so much that needs to be done.

What a perfect time to have a party.

My first book release party was scheduled to happen at Illusive Comics, a comic book store in Santa Clara, California, owned and operated by my friend Anna. It was nepotism that got me the gig, I make no bones about that, but I really wanted a South Bay appearance, and she really wanted an excuse for a party, so hey, nothing wrong here. (My book release was Anna's first-ever non-comic book event. To say that we were both a little nervous is like saying that millipedes are a little over-equipped in the "legs" department.

While I spent the day at my day job, slogging away and trying not to chew through my fingers, the invasion began. Members of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show poured in from all over the place. Vixy, Tony, and Betsy came from the Seattle area; Brooke came from Vancouver, Canada; Sooj and K came via car from their ongoing magical musical road trip; Mia and Ryan came from Portland, Oregon. (Mia and Ryan, in fact, came at 5:27 AM. Because driving from Oregon to California is awesome.) They slowly filled my house to capacity, frightening the cats and waiting to pounce.

Amy spent the day at Kristoph's, doing awesome fiddle things, and when I called to ask her for an ETA, said that Kristoph would be delivering her to the house. Score! Everything's better with Kristoph.

Mom collected me from the train station, and we arrived home to find it occupied by a Mia, a Ryan, a Brooke, and an Amy. Hugs happened, followed by rapid-fire gathering of the things we'd need for the evening, and then we were off to the hotel where Vixy, Tony, Sooj, and K were staying, to collect the four of them (plus Betsy, who'd initially gone to the hotel when she arrived) and all their musical instruments. Mom had wisely borrowed a van from a friend for the weekend, and we filled that thing to capacity. More hugs were exchanged, and we took off in three vehicles, after a short stop at the 7-11 for provisions. (This is where I mention that my little sister, Rachel, and her girlfriend, Chris, were also in the van.)

We were off! We were running! We were on fire! We were...lost in very short order, leading to my mother stopping at a gas station for directions, while I went into the bathroom to throw up from sheer panic. I don't handle being late very well.

Still, wrong turns and panic attacks aside, we got there only fifteen minutes after the official start, and were met at the curb by the first of what would be many, many bags of candy corn. Inside, the joint was jumpin', and Anna was doing a brisk business in copies of Rosemary and Rue, as well as a few precious copies of Ravens in the Library. (We rapidly sold out of Rosemary and Rue.) The musicians gathered at the back of the store to tune and prepare; I went behind the counter to start signing things and eating candy corn. Blonde does not live by candy corn alone, and Ryan II was dispatched to bring me back delicious samosas. Mmmmmmm, samosas.

I signed more books. Anna looked increasingly wide-eyed as we packed more and more (and more and more) people into her little store. The Magic: the Gathering players set up between us and the bathroom looked more and more concerned that we were going to eat them. My food arrived. I ate my food. Time for music!

Much of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show had never actually shared a stage before that night, although all of us had played with some combination of the others. We opened with "Wicked Girls," and more than half the room was singing along. I nearly cried. From there, the music was a selection of offerings from each of our musicians—Vixy and Tony's "Thirteen," Betsy's "Wildlife," Sooj's version of "Tam Lin," Brooke's "Rosemary and Rue," and Amy doing mad reels like she thought the night might actually catch flame. Paul Kwinn even joined us for one number, and we did "This Is My Town" live for the first time in years. "Dorothy" was added to the set at the last minute—it turns out Anna, who used to publish the comic that inspired the song, wanted to hear it! Who knew? (This is by no means a complete set list.)

We closed the night with "Alligator In the House," with hugs, with laughter, and without an unclaimed copy of Rosemary and Rue in sight. The Circus was officially underway—and what a magical beginning! Could it get any better?

Actually, yes. It could. Next up, Saturday, San Francisco, slinky Sphynx, and serious sirens seriously invading one of the Bay Area's best independent bookstores. It's time for the Circus to hit Borderlands like a meteorite hitting a cornfield in a horror movie! Yay!

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.

So—as you all probably know by now—last weekend was the first-ever assembly of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show, an amazing conglomeration of incredibly talented people who came together, as if by magic, to help make the book release parties for Rosemary and Rue even more awesome than they might otherwise have been. Seriously, it was incredible. It was like I made a wish-list of everything and everyone I could possibly have wanted to be there, and while I didn't get everything I asked for, I got so much of it that it would be insanely greedy to go "but wah, where's my pony?" I felt loved and honored and truly blessed to be surrounded by so much pure hammered awesome.

Actual, physical attendees who traveled more than a hundred miles to run away with the circus included...

* Amy McNally, from the depths of Wisconsin.
* Vixy and Tony, from Seattle, Washington.
* Betsy "Alice's breeder" Tinney, also from Seattle.
* Brooke Lunderville, from Vancouver, Canada.
* Mia and Ryan, from Portland, Oregon.
* SJ Tucker and K, from here, there, and everywhere.

Our parties were confirmed for Borderlands Books, in San Francisco, and Illusive Comics, in Santa Clara. (The third event, at Other Change of Hobbit in Berkeley, was unfortunately cancelled due to staffing conflicts.) Jude and Alan at Borderlands, and Anna at Illusive, were wonderful at helping to set up timing and guidelines before the events, and without their amazing support, our kitchen party wouldn't have been half as good.

But that's not the half of it.

Mia Nutick (copperwise) is the proprietor and creative force behind chimera_fancies, where she recycles old fairy tale books into works of wearable art. Her pendants are incredible, unique, and highly coveted by those of us who know about her—she's like the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab of jewelry, only everything she makes is a Limited Edition, and that edition is limited to one. Her sale days are sort of like watching piranha go for a cow. A pretty, sparkly, amazingly collectable cow.

Because I love Mia, I asked her if she'd be willing to recycle her review ARC (she does book reviews for Green Man) into pendantry for my book release party. Because she loves me, she said yes. And because she loves everyone, she made more than forty pendants from a single ARC, bringing them all with her down the coast to California. Five were selected to be put into the raffle at our Saturday night event. Various others were claimed by members of the Traveling Circus, because we wouldn't have time to peruse the sale table during the event itself. And all of them were signed by me, making them even more amazingly special. Pendants, handmade made from an ARC of Rosemary and Rue, signed by the author? Pardon me while I flail.

Here are a few of the glorious goodies:



Naturally, not many of them went home with Mia. If you're going all wide-eyed and "want," fear not; I sent her home with a slightly battered ARC that had been sent back to me by a reviewer, and she's going to be making a second batch, this one for Internet distribution. You can check the sale rules and price ranges at chimera_fancies; she's going to be shipping me the pendants when they're done, so that they can all be signed prior to the sale, and expects the batch to be available sometime in the next month or so. I'll post sales announcements here. If batch two is anything like batch one, they're going to be gorgeous.

Mia wasn't the only one contributing to making the event incredible. I contacted Dawn, proprietor of Polidori Chocolates, and asked if she might be interested in doing a line of truffles based around the book. Yeah. Toby-themed chocolates. We went there. We went there like it was a gold-star vacation destination with the possible added bonus of a volcano that we could toss people into for fun. And the results were incredible.

Dawn provided four flavors of truffle that were, quite simply, divine. Our truffle-tasting party on Friday night was an exercise in pure decadence. To quote one of the attendees (Book Love Affair) of Saturday's event: "Take careful note of the box of Polidori truffles, because apparently they were made by God himself. Or that's how they tasted anyway. Polidori must mean 'God of Sweet Things' somewhere."

The flavors, themed after characters, were...

Toby. Espresso ganache with cocoa nibs, enrobed in sweet milk chocolate, and tasting of paradise.
Tybalt. Dark chocolate with a mint ganache, topped with a sharp, surprising ripple of lemon.
Lily. White chocolate ganache flavored with green tea, enrobed in chocolate, topped with a whisper of ginger.
Devin. Chocolate enrobed vanilla ganache with a bite of black pepper, warm, spicy, and wicked-tasting.

There are not words for the incredible awesomeness of these chocolates. Polidori's Etsy shop has been closed for the summer, due to the issues inherent in shipping chocolates when you're a small operation, but should be re-opening soon, and will have the Toby truffles available for your decadent enjoyments. Imagine eating a box of these while re-reading your favorite chapter...yum.

Honestly, I won at event prep right out the gate, and I cannot thank the people involved nearly enough.

Next up...Friday, getting lost in Santa Clara, herding cats, and too much candy corn!

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!

Hey, guys, remember, tonight is the first Rosemary and Rue [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxies] book release party. We'll be at Illusive Comics in Santa Clara, California, starting at 7:00 PM Pacific Time.

Illusive Comics is an awesome mix of comic books, games, and genre fiction, run by the intrepid and delightful Anna Warren, who is presently enormously pregnant. We'll have cake, snakes, and a rare California appearance by Kitten Sundae, one of the most kickin'-cool bands to hail from the Pacific Northwest. Come for the book, stay for the live music, the cool company, and the opportunity to walk away with a "no shit, there I was" story of your very own.

Mia of chimera_fancies will also be in attendance, and the shinies she has with her are the sort you have to see to believe. Plus you can meet my mom, and see just how serious I really am (very).

Hope you can be there!

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!

First up, the bad news: due to circumstances beyond reasonable control, the release party at the Other Change of Hobbit (originally scheduled for this coming Sunday) has been postponed until sometime in October. There are a bunch of factors that went into this, but at the end of the day, it comes down to "no one will be there to run the store" (sort of an issue). I went by yesterday and signed stock, so if you really want a signed copy, but can't make any of the other events, you can get one there. I'll announce as soon as we reschedule.

Now, in somewhat happier news...

Friday night, I'll be at Illusive Comics in Santa Clara (see store website for address and directions). The party starts at seven, and will definitely feature live music and cake, in an awesome, family-friendly comic book store setting. Kitten Sundae will be there, as will Amy McNally, and Mia Nutick of Chimera Fancies (possibly with something AWESOME that you just have to see). There isn't a hard cut-off point, but I recommend coming early, before I've eaten my body-weight in frosting and started climbing the walls.

Saturday, we'll be at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, starting at five in the afternoon (again, check store website for address and directions). As an important note, the Bay Bridge will be CLOSED. If you're not starting in the City, you'll either need to plan to take BART, or find another means of getting there. The bookstore is right between two BART stations, and there's very limited parking anyway, so this actually isn't that big a deal.

Saturday is going to run from five to approximately nine, and will feature live music, readings, and AN AWESOME RAFFLE! Drawings will be held at six, seven-thirty, and nine, and you must be present (or have given your ticket to someone else when you left) to win. The prizes must be seen to be believed. You can get a ticket one of three ways:

1. Show up.
2. Buy something from the bookstore (anything).
3. Bring baked goods (or rum balls, if your name is Joey).

More information to come!

Hey, guys. I realize I've been as scarce as a quality script in a box of direct-to-video horror franchise installments, but I have a totally valid excuse: namely, the plague. I came down with a cold on Tuesday morning that I thought was in the "spend a day in bed and be all better" category, and turned out to be in the "have no memory of Wednesday or Thursday, don't start feeling human again until Sunday morning" category. Seriously, it was just a cold, but I haven't felt this bad due to an infectious agent in years. I wasn't even together enough to whine about the speed of viral amplification. It was scary. Amy arrived Friday morning, and says, of my condition, "You'd just crawled out of a somnolent alien slime pod."

See? I was too sick to even remember being abducted by the aliens! My germs have all the fun. Anyway...

Rebecca at Dirty Sexy Books—which you may remember posted a truly awesome review of Rosemary and Rue, saying, "I predict that this new series will be an urban fantasy powerhouse"—was kind enough to let me come back for a really fun and funny interview. I'm really enjoying the opportunity to do interviews around the Internet, especially since everybody keeps coming up with such different questions. (Questions I have yet to get, sadly: "How do you say your name?" "Do you really sleep with a chainsaw?" "What was the cause of the Black Death?")

Meanwhile, Erin (of Erin-Go-Blog!) decided to go ahead and throw her two cents into the ring, with a rockin' Rosemary and Rue review. Erin says...

"Seanan McGuire's first novel, Rosemary and Rue, is for anyone who has ever believed in faeries, for anyone who has ever wished to step into a wardrobe and out into a world that is magical and every bit as real as our own."

...and...

"If you like paranormal fiction, grown-up faerie tales, urban fantasy, tight prose, well-drawn worlds and characters, sarcasm, murder mysteries, or any combination thereof, pick up Rosemary and Rue. You won’t be disappointed."

Yay, Erin!

It's not a review roundup without a LiveJournal review, and today, markbernstein is filling that role, with his thoughtful and considerate review of Rosemary and Rue. Mark says...

"The things that most matter to me in a book, that draw me in if done well, are world building, characterization, and humor. McGuire is strong in all of those areas."

...and...

"Rosemary and Rue is about more than the detective plot. It's about re-establishing connections, dealing with guilt, and (to steal a phrase from the book) finding the way home. This adds a depth, a feeling of meaning, that far too many series books lack."

Closing out tonight's review roundup, we have Doug at Sci-Fi Guy, posting his fabulous and shiny Rosemary and Rue review for the consideration of the world at large. Doug says...

"Rosemary and Rue has a rich undercurrent of menace and constant threat of implied violence in its' portrayal of the fae creatures and customs that creates an atmosphere ripe with tension that perfectly complements the action. The fae world is a harsh one and the life of the Changelings even more so. Toby's pursuit of the truth is relentless and I can't remember the last time a main character was put to the test with such fervor. The central mystery and final outcome has enough surprises and twists and turns to satisfy serious mystery buffs."

Swoon. Also...

"Rosemary and Rue also has a delightfully fresh narrative voice. Every page has interesting turns of phrase and observations. It would have been easy to select dozens of quotations to share. The writing style alone would have been enough to keep me turning pages."

...oh, and...

"Rosemary and Rue is a startlingly good debut novel and destined for my top 10 list for 2009."

...and...

"With a dark, edgy mystery, plenty of magic and mayhem, humor and horror, Rosemary and Rue has something for everyone."

Maybe I'm silly—absolutely I'm silly, have you met me? Silly is a part of my religion—but I sort of feel like, if I'm going to do Dead Girls for the books of my friends, I ought to do one for my own book. Just so that Toby doesn't feel like she's being left out and, I don't know, come for me in the night.

Not that she won't be happy to do that anyway, given half a chance.

With Rosemary and Rue officially hitting shelves one week from today (and unofficially hitting shelves all over the planet as I speak), I'm a little tense, twitchy, and flipped-out, but I've mostly reached a state of mellow acceptance. I expect this to last, oh, about as long as anything else has in the past few weeks, but at least I'm getting work done during this little lull.

So here's our Mel, reminding you what's important for the weeks to come:



Thanks, everybody, for being a part of the pre-release madness. It's been awesome.

Let's open today's edition of the review post with something a little different: an interview! The charming and delightful Debbie Ohi interviewed me for her Inkygirl website, which is a fantastic resource for writers at every level of the professional scale. I had a great time chatting with Debbie, and I'm so, so thrilled to have been able to contribute to Inkygirl on some level. Check it out!

Mish posted this sweet mini-review based on the DAW sampler, and I really hope the rest of the book can live up to the expectations it managed to raise. To quote:

"So far I've really liked or loved McGuire's writing, which is witty, intelligent, imaginative, and thoroughly enjoyable. Imagery swirls around the reader as they're drawn into the story. With an eerie knack for portraying the grim, McGuire is able to create original stories, which isn't easily or often done."

I am pleased. I am also a featured release at White Dwarf Books. Life is pretty good.

The ever-charming wendyzski has posted a glowing review in which she helpfully points out that book two is out in only six months. Insanity for me, a lot less time to wait for you. So that's a good thing. Meanwhile, kyleri has also posted a review, thus making this a week rich with good things. See also: "She sucked me in, with a headlong pace, gracefully-inserted worldbuilding, and a cast of clearly-delineated, frequently sympathetic characters."

The wonderful Kristen, over at the Fantasy Cafe, has posted a lengthy and thoughtful review of Rosemary and Rue. Quick quotes:

"Though this is the first book in a series, there was a satisfying conclusion without any major cliffhangers. However, there were definite hints of things to come that made me eager to read the next book."

...and...

"Rosemary and Rue was a solidly entertaining debut novel, although it did not get me involved in the story immediately. However, I liked the characters and world well enough that I reached the end wishing I had the next book available."

I'm going to chalk that up to the "win" column for the week, because I can.

There's a relatively short review from Kimberley Swan over at Darque Reviews, and she says "This story should appeal to fans that enjoy their fantasy with a large dose of mystery." Works for me.

And that's the day in reviews!

Yesterday's excitement (and the ongoing reports of Rosemary and Rue sightings everywhere from California to Scotland) aside, we're still ten days out from the official "this is when the book hits shelves" release date. Because the book doesn't have a fixed street date—I am not, my mother's enthusiastic ravings aside, Stephen King—it's perfectly okay for bookstores to be selling it now, if a little hard on my nerves.

Tonight, I fly to Seattle for the Grants Pass launch event (with cake!) and Vixy's birthday (also with cake!). A week from today, Amy arrives, and will be staying through to the end of the various book release parties, because she is a good and wise and wonderful Amy that way. Two weeks from today, I'll be at Illusive Arts Comics and Games in Santa Clara, celebrating my book release with the first of three local-area book events.

I am elated and terrified, which is very odd to experience. It's sort of like being at the top of that first big hill on a roller coaster. On the one hand, you stood in line for this, possibly for hours; you had plenty of time to say "no, you go ahead, I'm just going to go get myself a corn dog and laugh at your plight as you go off to play with physics." On the other hand, it's way too late to get off the ride now, and now's when you have second thoughts, such as "can I really make physics my bitch?" You'll have a wonderful time once you start to plummet. The psychological hang-time is still not all that much fun.

I've been trying to get to the point in my life and career where I could write this post for over a decade now. I've been standing in line for this moment for the last year and a half, since the day The Agent called me and said "We got DAW." But wow, am I going to scream when the falling starts. Ten more days.

Ten more days, and I know damn well and good that as soon as we reach the bottom, I'm just going to go and get back into line. Roller coasters rule.

I realize that we're eleven days early. That's probably why I feel like I'm having a coronary right now. That having been said, the first sighting-by-author of Rosemary and Rue in the wild has officially occurred, at the San Francisco Borders located at 4th and King.

I am on the very front of the "selected paperbacks" rack.

I am face-outward on the science fiction and fantasy shelf (where, thanks to an accident of alphabetization, I'm located about a foot from Stephanie Meyer).

They have, from quick count while hyperventilating, about twenty-one copies out and on display. If you're not going to make the book release parties, or want to buy multiple copies, or just can't wait, this would be a dandy time to go and make the books go away, so that I can keep on breathing.

Nnnnghg.

It's time for the latest Rosemary and Rue review round-up. This keeps me from building up a collection of links the length of my arm. I appreciate not having a collection of links the length of my arm. It's soothing.

To start with, oneminutemonkey has a fair and balanced list of the things that Rosemary and Rue will and will not do for you. I want to add to these lists. For example, Rosemary and Rue will neither cure leprosy nor give you smallpox. See? It's fun!

Meanwhile, Night Owl Romance offers a more serious review. I'm a Night Owl Romance top pick, which is pure hammered awesome in a solid-gold bucket, and means I get extra candy corn tonight with dinner. Anyway, Night Owl Romance says:

"This book is haunting, even after you finish it. I was so impressed with this book that I want to read it again. Faerie and our world exist side by side; this is what urban fantasy is all about!"

Awesome.

Meanwhile, queenlyzard has posted a thoughtful review, based on her getting an early copy of the book at the San Diego Internation Comic Convention. She says:

"It was very good. I won't jump out and say it's the best supernatural mystery I've ever read, and it certainly wasn't the most surprising as far as plot-twists, but it was well-worth picking up."

This actually makes me really happy, since again, it won't cure leprosy. I was even happier to see:

"I didn't catch a single typo or grammatical error, which is both very refreshing and downright amazing in a first novel."

Shout-out to my darlings in the machete squad! Full contact editing is in the house.

Finally, I have a review from Bookpage, wherein they say:

"McGuire successfully blends Robert B. Parker-like detective fiction with love and loss, faith and betrayal—and plenty of violence. The first in McGuire’s planned trilogy, Rosemary and Rue will have readers clamoring for the next genre-bending installment."

I'm always amused by carefully gender-neutral reviews, and even more amused when they call this a trilogy (oh, you have no idea...). But also, yay! I love it when I get to be genre-bending. It makes me feel all warm and fulfilled. Or maybe that's the candy corn I had for lunch.

It's a good day.

In two weeks, Rosemary and Rue will be on bookstore shelves. That means that I have thirteen days left in my "days before Rosemary" countdown. Thirteen days. That's just...it's so bizarre. I mean, I've been working with this world, this character, this vast, sprawling story, in one form or another for more than a decade. And now, in thirteen days, anybody will be able to just walk into a store, slap down their money, and walk out with Toby in their hands. Anybody.

That's incredible.

So many good things in my life have been associated with the number thirteen. It's my favorite number. It's also Vixy's favorite number, and meeting her was one of the things that's made the last five years of my life so fantastic. I sold the first three Toby books to DAW on May 13th. Thirteen is the sixth prime number (here's the math geeking you've been waiting for); it's lucky and unlucky at the same time, which is basically the story of my street pennies-and-swamp pratfalls existence, in a nutshell. And now I'm in the middle of one of the most amazing thirteens of my life. Thirteen days before my first book comes out.

That's still incredible.

To celebrate, I'm running an ARC giveaway through Goodreads; it's completely random, and I have no influence over the results, so please don't try to bribe me with candy corn. Not for that, anyway. I'm always open to being bribed with candy corn for other reasons, like, say, you want the sky not to fall on your head. Give me candy corn, and I will continue to do my best to keep that sky right up there where it belongs.

I'm also putting together a list of Things You, Too, Can Do To Help, because it seems like a good way to calm myself down. I like making lists. Making lists is soothing. Oh, and I'm twitching. I'm twitching a lot.

Thirteen days. This is becoming so damn real.

I have a few more ARCs to give away, and I'm stumped. So how should I give them away? (Hint: saying "give them to me" will actually not endear you, unless you finish that sentence with "I do all the buying for a major bookstore" or something similar, and can present credentials.) Have you got a favorite review site? Have I missed a contest? Should I abandon them on BART cars? What?

Propose anything. I am open to the crazy.

EDIT: So it's said, the "abandon on BART cars" option was a joke. I won't do anything that involves releasing ARCs into the wild, outside the bounds of the standard social contract, with no idea where they went. Not okay.

1. BART is not on strike. I would say "yay, the unions reached a settlement," but since I left Lilly alone with my Internet-equipped computer just before the strike was called off, I'm going to opt for "yay, my Siamese is not fire-bombing the California coastline to protest Mommy not coming home for a week." Don't mess with the Siamese. You will regret it.

2. Fourteen days. Just saying.

3. My new Netbook is a joy and a wonder, except when it's royally fucking stuff up. Most recently, it has elected to royally fuck up the .ms of Red Hood's Revenge that I was giving a quick polish for Jim. I'm attempting file recovery now, and if that doesn't work, I'll just go through the .ms a second time. Thankfully, it was relatively clean.

4. Also thankfully, my Netbook did not elect to royally fuck up the latest draft of The Brightest Fell (Toby Daye, book five). This is A Very Good Thing. I would be substantially less sanguine about that particular rewrite. There might be screaming, and possibly the eating of human flesh. Mmmm, human flesh.

5. The incredibly awesome stick insect that has been sticking to Kate and GP's front door frame for the last few weeks was gone this morning when I went out to meet the bus. I wish him all good things in his future endeavors, and hope that he is not inside the house, preparing to crawl into someone's ear.

6. I have decided that I don't like second books in trilogies that don't admit to being trilogies when I pick them up. There will be more on this later.

7. I want a nap.

How's by you?

Okay, free stuff, part one:

I belong to the Book View Cafe, a group of over twenty professional authors exploring the wonderful options available to us through the Internet. What does this mean to you? It means, among other things, "free online fiction." Yeah, I thought you might like that one. I'm a Friday girl in the rotation, which means my short stories go online (when they're available) on Fridays—and this week is no different. So take a look at this week's dark fairy tale offering...

Knives.

If you missed last week's story, a little moral fable with vampires in, it's also available to read:

Anthony's Vampire.

Go, read, enjoy, and explore the many wonderful things that the Book View Cafe has to offer.

Free stuff, part two:

There are some truly incredible new icons and wallpapers available on my website icons and wallpapers page. Seriously, these just took my breath away when Tara sent them to me. (Remember, my graphic designer, taraoshea, is available for freelance work! You just can't keep her.) I absolutely could not be happier with these gorgeous giveaways, and they're totally available for you to use on your computer, journal, or whatever.

Happy cat is happy. Free stuff is free.

Pardon me while I take a few moments to catch up on reviews that managed to somehow slip past me when they were first posted (or wound up in my "post about this" file, and didn't get grabbed they should have been). Also, some new stuff. Yippee!

First up, Book Love Affair posted a truly charming and complementary review, which delights me. My favorite quotes:

"Give Rosemary and Rue a shot. The October Daye series is sure to have a legion of fans before long. And because the series is just beginning, one may as well start out following Toby from the beginnning."

...and...

"Just keep this in mind: September 1st, September 1st, September 1st. Any fan of urban fantasy or San Fran native should be going out to pick up a copy of McGuire's debut Rosemary and Rue. You won't be sorry."

See? You won't be sorry!

Meanwhile, the Insights of a Deranged Book-A-Holic posted this awesome review, stating that "Rosemary and Rue is the quintessential Dark Fantasy novel and a must read for anyone looking to add to their new favorite authors." So, y'know, yay for that. (Also yay for the expression of jealousy toward anyone who's had the chance to read books two and three. Behold, for now I wear the series pants.)

The delightful folks over at Aphelion—the webzine that runs the syndicated form of my "Thoughts On Writing" series—posted their review in this latest issue, causing me to squeal and dance around. My favorite quotes:

"Seanan's fairy tale noir is gritty, bitter, beautiful, strange, bewitching and ugly all at once, and vividly unforgettable."

...and...

"Rosemary and Rue is a marvelously original story that will stay with you, leaving you taking second looks and sideways glances just to wonder what might be hiding behind the world you walk through."

It's been too long since we've had a good LJ review. twfarlan fixed that for us, when he posted his review (sharing space with a review of GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, no less). He calls me out on one of my weaknesses—I really get tired of describing exactly what everyone looks like, and tend to come from the Stephen King school of "why, honey, they look like you unless it matters"—but otherwise seems to be well-pleased. Yay!

Finally, Mysterious Galaxies has included Rosemary and Rue in their latest batch of reviews. Maryelizabeth calls Rosemary "a fascinating and fresh take on well-traveled territory" and "my favorite new urban fantasy debut." So I'm happy.

And that's our reviews for today. Remember, nothing says "love" like reviewing your friendly neighborhood fairy tale noir author in as many places as possible!

We didn't get many entries, but the ones we did get were uniformly stellar. After debating, bickering, and poking the various entries with a stick, the following entries have been chosen as our winners. Yes, winners. I couldn't narrow it down to just one (hence the bickering, which swelled to include half my proofing circle), and so...

Winner, Static Media: phoenixechoes.
Winner, Moving Media: galieth.

Congratulations to both our winners! Please email me at my LJ email address, or through my website contact link, to provide an address where your ARC can be sent. Please do not use the LJ "direct message" function, as this will lead to a (potentially substantial) delay in my getting your ARC into the mail.

Thanks to everyone for participating. We're almost there!

So Kmont, over at Lurva ala Mode has posted her full review of Rosemary and Rue, which was a fantastic way to start my return from WorldCon. Quoting a bit:

"Worldbuilding. Oh, it’s oh so lovely. There are books where this area of fantasy feels effortlessly done and this is one of them. Too, it is infused into the book. It's as if the author planted a beautiful, huge tree, it sprouted and from its branches the rest of the book just flowed. I'm not usually a fan of the faery tales, the ones that deal directly with faeries, courts, and all the mystical qualities that come with them. With some books the worldbuilding feels too wispy, as if a slight breeze could knock it all down. Other times it's so heavy and cumbersome it’s ridiculous. I don't want to feel weighted down by a faery story, but I don't want it to be vague either. I felt that McGuire did an excellent job of turning San Francisco into more than a city, into something otherworldly and real, if not surreal."

...and...

"Another great new series to start the journey with, and I cannot wait for more. Very highly recommended."

Color me delighted. Meanwhile, Dirty Sexy Books was kind enough to provide a totally kick-ass review—I got their coveted top rating!—and I couldn't be happier. Again, to quote:

"I predict that this new series will be an urban fantasy powerhouse. It was beautifully woven and heartbreakingly tragic; I felt tears pricking my eyes after the prologue, and I don’t consider myself a complete softy. I admire Seanan McGuire’s prose for making me feel the magic with all five senses, and whether it was beautiful or terrible, it was always alien and strange. I felt like a trespasser who was given a secret tour of a San Francisco that no human will ever see and live."

I kinda want to get "urban fantasy powerhouse" tattooed on my wrist, where I can just look at it when I'm down. Also, I envy her skill with plot summary. Hers begins "The story begins fourteen years ago, when October Daye was a wife, a mother, and a liar..." That's so perfect. I'm jealous.

Finally, I have a review in the new issue of Romantic Times...and they gave Rosemary and Rue four and a half stars. HOLY CRAP. I mean, just...HOLY CRAP.

Twenty days.

We're almost there.

In twenty-six days, Rosemary and Rue will be available on shelves all across the country. Anyone who's pre-ordered from Amazon will be receiving their copy. This includes, I know, a great many people outside my home country. So in twenty-six days, Toby will be on her way around the world.

I fully expect to be finished with my first editorial pass-through on Feed by the end of the weekend. The book has become tighter, faster, slicker, and yes, even better than it was when I started. I should need another week or so to get edits back from the early-reader pool and do my serious editorial rewrites (some of which have been tabled for now, to preserve momentum), and then I'll be ready to turn it in. Which is good, because that leaves me free to go crazy over Rosemary.

In six months, twenty-seven days, A Local Habitation will be following Rosemary and Rue onto store shelves. You'll be able to walk into a bookstore and say "I want Seanan McGuire's book," and the response will be "which one?"

In two and a half weeks, I'll be flying to Seattle to appear with a whole bunch of awesome authors in the official Grants Pass book launch extravaganza. I will sign books. Books that were available in stores. I will eat cake. I will not cry.

In a few minutes, I'll zip my suitcase, load it into my mother's station wagon, and take off for Canada, where I'll be attending WorldCon not as a fan, not as a convention organizer, but as an honest-to-the-Great-Pumpkin professional writer. I'm allowed to have professional opinions now! I'm going to be on panels where I get to talk about them, even, and I get to wear my pumpkin-orange LA Confidential dress again, and hug my editor, and generally be a Halloweentown Princess to the stars.

Here I go again.

See you soon.

So I was interviewed over at Words to Mouth, by the charming and erudite Carrie Runnals. I enjoy giving interviews, in much the same way I enjoy writing bios for my website. I am also inevitably convinced that I came off sounding like a chirpy sunshine-and-rainbows-and-Marburg moron. It's fun living inside my head. That's where all the weasels are.

Anyway, if you hie on over to the interview and leave a comment before August 31st, you can win a free copy of Rosemary and Rue. "But wait," you cry, "I've already pre-ordered!" Or perhaps, "I don't want to wait that long!" But oh ye of little faith, don't you think you could come up with something awesome to do with an extra copy of Rosemary and Rue? Donate it to a library. Leave it as a tip for your favorite diner waitress. Wedge that shaky bookshelf with something other than your Algebra textbook, thus saving yourself from the curse of the crazy Classics major. Whatever makes you happy! The possibilities are truly endless.

I have at least two more interviews coming up in the next few weeks, and it's beginning to make me a little bit twitchy. Again, I love giving interviews, it's all just...very real these days. My soundtrack for the past few weeks has consisted (when it wasn't endless versions of "Rain King") of "Writing Again" and "Moving Too Fast" from The Last Five Years. Sample:

Did I just hear an alarm start ringing?
Did I see sirens go flying past?
Though I don't know what tomorrow's bringing,
I've got the singular sensation things
Are moving too fast...

It's an excellent song, sung by a character I very much identify with (except for the part where he's a Jewish New Yorker, rather than an Irish California blonde). And wow is that how I spend a lot of timing feeling just now.

So go, comment, maybe win a book, and make Carrie feel like interviewing me is a really awesome idea. Whee!

One month from today, Rosemary and Rue will be on shelves everywhere in the United States.

One month from today, all those Amazon pre-orders will start shipping out, arriving at their destinations bright and shiny and ready to be read.

One month from today, I stop freaking out about my book release, and start freaking out about my book. Which only seems like a nice change from a safe distance. I haven't been standing at a safe distance for a while now.

One month from today.

Dear sweet Coyote, we're almost there.

cassildra got to ride home from DucKon with the gentleman who won the Rosemary and Rue ARC (hi, Trevor!), and posted this lovely and thoughtful review to let us know what she thought of the book. Hint: she liked it.

Meanwhile, the Park Avenue Princess posted her lovely review of the book, including a great deal of pinkness and enthusiasm. I favor pinkness and enthusiasm. Give 'er a look.

Finally, and less strictly Rosemary-related, antigoneschase posted a fantastic batch of "Wicked Girls" icons over on her journal. These are beautiful. Check them out!

The DAW Summer Samplers were distributed this past weekend at San Diego. Because I am a loving blonde who wants you to be happy, I have posted the Rosemary and Rue sample which they included on my website. Here you go:

Two chapters of Rosemary and Rue for your enjoyment and love.

With only thirty-four days between us and publication, excitement is high, sleep is low, and I need a nap.

Hey, folks! Lots of you suggested fanart contests of one type or another, but we've had very few entries in the latest ARC giveaway! Please join in the fun, and make something surreal for the rest of us to stare at.

Remember, original art, photography, icons, and just about anything else are being gleefully accepted.

Oh, and I got home alive from San Diego.

First off, giveaway #6 was won by stormsdotter, for her fantastic (and first) suggestion of fan-art. stormsdotter, email me your mailing address, and I'll pop an ARC into the mail for you when I get home.

Now, it's difficult to do fan-art for a book you haven't read yet, so...

I am taking entries in three categories. Photography (take a picture you think represents what you've heard about the book; post with as much or as little doctoring as you like, make a poster, whatever suits your fancy); icons (text, graphic, whatever makes you happy); and all other (actual art, collages, photo manipulation to turn people into elves...).

Post your entries here. I'll leave this open for two weeks, and then announce the winner or winners, depending on quality and quantity of entries. Please feel free to comment on and assess the entries as they go up.

Game on!

10. I will be on a plane for San Diego in a little over twenty-four hours, on my way to the San Diego International Comic Convention. The SDCC is one of my favorite conventions, because it is, for all the chaos, really remarkably relaxing. I go, I smile, I speak, I shop. And shop, and shop, and oh, yes, shop. I love flea markets, and the SDCC dealer's hall is like the world's best combination of "the comic book store" and "the indoor flea market." Only this flea market has an artist's alley. Life is good.

9. As part of my preparation for San Diego, I took my mother for a pedicure last night. (There's logic here, I swear. The logic is largely "I didn't want to walk home after getting my nails done.") Neither of us is much of a pedicure girl, but sometimes it's nice to just let somebody attack your heels with a pumice stone. Besides, I have super-cute shoes for the parties in San Diego—kitten-heeled green Italian leather—and they require having super-cute toenails to go with them.

8. Alice woke me up five minutes before my alarm by kneading the hell out of my hip, and then throwing herself down across me like a fuzzy blue blanket possessed of most imposing puffiness. This was far, far more pleasant than being woken by the actual alarm could possibly have been, and made hauling my carcass out of bed much easier. After the Blue Team decided to let me get up, that is. Between the two of them, I really don't get to do much that my cats don't approve of.

7. Next up in my reread of the collected works of Stephen King: The Stand. This is one of my five favorite books of all time. Just having it in my purse makes me happy. (Not as happy as IT, which is why IT is slated for rereading at the end of August/beginning of September, but surprisingly close.)

6. According to this week's new releases list, the next volume of the collected hardcover Creepy comes out tomorrow. (Ironically, I won't be able to pick it up until next week, since, well, San Diego, but just knowing that it's on the trucks makes me happy.) These books are basically my childhood in handy, easy-to-shelve form, and their very existence enhances the universe incredibly. I am a happy girl.

5. Rosemary and Rue comes out in forty-one days. Forty-one is the thirteenth smallest prime number. (The next is forty-three, with which it comprises a twin prime.) It is also the sum of the first six prime numbers (2 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 11 + 13), and the sum of three primes (11 + 13 + 17). I love forty-one for being prime, and I love Wikipedia for knowing all this crap.

4. I have a hula hoop! And when I get home tonight, I get to use my hula hoop! I get to stand in the front yard and hula like I've never hula'd before. Well, actually, just like I hula'd last night, only maybe a little bit better, because I've had more practice. I can't take my hula hoop to San Diego, so I have to get my hula in now, while I still can.

3. Rebecca has BPAL waiting for me in San Diego. Specifically, Rebecca has a fresh bottle of Bad Luck Woman Blues (basically my signature aromatherapy calm down Seanan, you can't unleash the pandemic perfume) and a bottle of the new Zombie Apocalypse scent. I am a lucky girl.

2. I have season one of Leverage on DVD. Tonight, I will sit on my couch, ink art cards, and watch con men, thieves, and grifters as they do their con man, thief, and grifter things, and my cats will purr, and the DDP will be cold, and the tomato sandwiches will be incredibly drippy and get all over the damn place, probably causing at least one incident with my art supplies, and life will be good.

...and finally...

1. I am healthy, I have a cute haircut, I have orange toenails, I have a book coming out in less than a month and a half, I have wonderful friends, I have beautiful cats, and I'm about to take off for the world's biggest comic book convention. Life doesn't suck.

How's by you?

It's Monday—a new week, and one week closer to the release of Rosemary and Rue—and I thought it might be good to provide another review roundup. Because I can. Also because it means I can just hit the "reviews" tag and see all my reviews on one clear page. I love the LJ tagging feature. I would go mad without it. Anyway...

thedalikiss was fabulous enough to post a lovely mini-review in the 100 or More Books community. This is because she's a wonderful human being. Yay!

The equally wonderful HagelRat posted a thoughtful and well-reasoned review over on her blog, thus delighting me entirely. It makes me happy when I see people post reviews. I'm a cheap date, I know.

Harriet posted her review in several places, including Worlds of Wonder. Her review provided my "happy blondes are happy, and just don't destroy North America" quote for today, namely:

"ROSEMARY AND RUE is a winner in a sub-genre that has been butchered recently with zillions of imitations."

Pardon me while I die of happy. And that's our Monday review roundup!

So someone commented on my guest blog at the League of Reluctant Adults—where you still have an hour to comment and be entered to win an ARC of Rosemary and Rue—that...

"Charlaine Harris plugged this book to a crowd of 500+ people at her signing in Oak Brook, IL this past Monday. She was asked what she was reading and she said she was enjoying this ARC immensely. Scores of people around me were scrambling to write down the name..."

This sort of made my jaw hit the floor, because, um, well, HOLY CATS. And being me, I went looking for any other information about this particular event.

What I found was Charlaine's blog. Specifically, her current books entry. Specifically...

"One of the DAW editors sent me an ARC of Seanan McGuire’s first book. It's a winner."

...and...

"I think any of my readers will enjoy this book, and surely any of Patricia Briggs' readers will, too."

I think my head is going to explode.

djonn decided to surprise me with another stealth review of Rosemary and Rue. He liked it! I am glad. (I don't assume my friends will enjoy my book, because that would be silly. I admit that it's a little more exciting when people I don't know like my book, but that's just because I know the total strangers have no reason to soft-shoe when I suck. My friends would at least find a nice way to say "wow, sweetie, you got punched in the face by the stupid fairy this morning, didn't you?")

Lurva ala Mode was one of the first sites to pick up on the news about the Toby Daye books, and did an absolutely glowing new author spotlight a few months back. Well, their review of Rosemary and Rue has just gone live, and it's awesome. I fully support any review that says people need to look for Rosemary and Rue on shelves on September 1st. Remember, buy early, buy often, help me keep my cats in scratching posts.

It's a good day.

It's July, it's a week to the San Diego International Comic Convention, and it's been a while since I posted a Rosemary and Rue ARC giveaway. These things aren't intrinsically connected, but my need for distraction makes them acquire a natural bond. At the same time, I feel the need to be more creative than my exhaustion is presently allowing. So here's the deal:

1) To participate, comment on this post with a suggestion for what the next ARC giveaway should be. Get creative! We've had a poetry contest and a LOLtest so far—is it time for round two? Is it time for a break-dance competition? "Conquer a nation, win an ARC"? Well, maybe not that last one. Try to make it something that people can actually accomplish.

2) Weigh in on other suggestions, if you feel the urge to do so.

3) Just before I leave for Comicon, I will select one of the suggestions to be ARC giveaway #7. The person who makes the winning suggestion will be the winner of this giveaway.

Game on!

I'm a guest blogger over at The League of Reluctant Adults! A loose confederacy of urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and gonzo magical realism authors, the League is sort of one of the super-teams of the genre. Not like the Justice League. More like that one team that had Squirrel Girl on it.

Anyway, if you head over to the League, comment on my guest post, and get lucky, you could win both a) an ARC of Rosemary and Rue, and b) the privilege of having your review posted on the League's site for everyone to see! It's a gamble! A gamble with awesome!

Here in the land of reviews I've already received...

antigoneschase posted a lovely and heartfelt review over in her blog, and you should totally admire her awesome.

paradisacorbasi managed to post the first totally stealth review I've received—she managed to keep the fact that she'd gotten hold of an ARC secret until her review was ready! World of wow!

It's an awesome, and frantic, week around these parts, I swear.

Rosemary and Rue was just reviewed by Publishers Weekly.

To quote (just a little, although wow do I wanna quote a lot more), "Well researched, sharply told, highly atmospheric and as brutal as any pulp detective tale, this promising start to a new urban fantasy series is sure to appeal to fans of Jim Butcher or Kim Harrison."

There is absolutely no way this football is being yanked away from me.

Holy cats.