Rose Marshall has come a long, long way since she died in Buckley Township, Michigan, and now, with the stakes getting higher every time she turns around, she's finally doing what she's needed to do for a while. She's finally looking for help. Of course, on the ghostroads, even the help can harm you...

Issue 52 of The Edge of Propinquity is live, and with it, the fourth of the Sparrow Hill Road stories is available. "Building a Mystery" takes us deep into the ghostroads, and all the way along the back of the Old Atlantic Highway, where the routewitches may hold the key to Rose's past—and to her future. All she has to do is survive...and for the dead, that can prove to be surprisingly hard.

There are a lot of stories trapped and tangled in the twilight. This is only one of them. But it's the one I have to tell.

Give a girl a ride?

It is now April 15th, which means a) I am way closer to the release of Feed than my nerves appreciate, and b) it's time for my monthly current projects post. This is the post wherein I prove to the curious that I either don't sleep or have access to some mechanism for stopping time (don't I wish). There's a reason I start to giggle and twitch whenever someone asks me "What are you working on?", and this post provides a bit of explanation. It also serves as something I can point to when the question gets asked, which it does. This is the April list of current projects, because I am the gift that keeps on giving.

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

Please note that the first two Toby books (Rosemary and Rue and A Local Habitation) are off the list because they are now in print. Feed is off the list because it is in the process of being printed, and it's too late for me to make changes of any kind. The third and fourth Toby books (An Artificial Night and Late Eclipses) are off the list until The Editor tells me otherwise. Discount Armageddon and Deadline are off the list because they have been turned in to The Agent.

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

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

So currently, I am...

...working on The Agent's revisions to Deadline, all of which have been totally awesome, erudite, and coherent (at least so far; for all I know, I'm going to hit page 200 and suddenly she'll be demanding I insert evil clowns and flying monkeys). I'm addressing the manuscript 10% (IE, fifty pages) at a time, so that I can imagine a little progress bar guiding me sweetly toward the conclusion of draft two. Currently, the status bar stands at 20%. Since I started work yesterday, I am not yet freaking out over this.

...hammering away on The Brightest Fell (Toby Daye, book five), which, like, woke up one morning and just decided that it wasn't going to suck anymore. Seriously. This book has been a petulant brat for ages, and then bam, all of a sudden, it was all "La la la, I am ready to play nicely with the other children." So now I'm burning pages, the stakes are getting higher, the action's getting tighter, and Toby's having one of her Worst Weeks Ever. I'm always happy when Toby is having one of her Worst Weeks Ever. This is why Toby will eventually find a way to kill me in my sleep.

...getting content up on MiraGrant.com. If you go there right now, you'll still get the splash page, but I promise you, Behind The Scenes, Things Are Brewing. We'll be ready to launch super-soon, and when we do, look out world! Tara has done an incredible job with the site design, and Chris has done an equally incredible job with the coding. And of course, there's things afoot over on the Orbit side of things, and soon the whole world will be asking the question that's been gnawing at me for a while now: When will you rise?

...writing two short stories for the same anthology, since that's the only way to have a proper cage match between the two (thus letting me determine which one works better). In this corner, Toby, Danny, and Quentin do stuff involving poking things with sticks and following the basic rules of horror movie survival (IE, "When the house tells you to get out, you leave"). In this corner, Alice, Thomas, and the mice go wandering around the woods looking for fricken nests, and face the usual dangers inherent in doing what a tribe of talking pantheistic mice tells you to do. Fun!

...finishing the sixth Sparrow Hill Road story, "Last Dance With Mary Jane," in which we finally find out what actually happened on the night Rose Marshall died. This is sort of where the series turns, and where everything else that happens becomes inevitable. I'm really excited.

...really in need of a nap.

I will have a silly, silly contest starting later today, and remember, the various cage matches are still going on. Help Toby deliver the ULTIMATE SMACKDOWN, thus earning her a pretty tiara that she won't wear and a Starbucks gift card that she will use up in an afternoon.

As it is March 15th, marking the middle of the month and the defeat of my sanity, it's time for me to make my monthly current projects post. This is the post wherein I prove to the curious that I either don't sleep or have access to some mechanism for stopping time (don't I wish). There's a reason I start to giggle and twitch whenever someone asks me "What are you working on?", and this post provides a bit of explanation. It also serves as something I can point to when the question gets asked, which it does. This is the March list of current projects, because I am the gift that keeps on giving.

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

Please note that the first two Toby books (Rosemary and Rue and A Local Habitation) are off the list because they are now in print. Feed is off the list because it is in the process of being printed, and it's too late for me to make changes of any kind. The third and fourth Toby books (An Artificial Night and Late Eclipses) are off the list until The Editor tells me otherwise. Discount Armageddon and Deadline are off the list because they have been turned in to The Agent.

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

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

With a lot of road behind her and a lot of road left to go, Rose Marshall—the Shadow of Sparrow Hill Road—is only starting to understand just how the stakes are capable of getting. The darker story is beginning to show through, and even the dead may not survive it.

Issue 51 of The Edge of Propinquity is live, and with it, the third of the Sparrow Hill Road stories is available. "Tell Laura I Love Her" offers a glimpse into Rose's past, and the way that it can echo forward to destroy her future. But how much future is there, really, for someone who died more than fifty years ago?

There are a lot of stories trapped and tangled in the twilight. This is only one of them. But it's the one I have to tell.

Give a girl a ride?

Rose Marshall, also known as the Girl in the Diner, the Shadow of Sparrow Hill Road, and the Lady in Green, has had a pretty rough road of it so far...and things aren't getting any easier from here.

Issue 50 of The Edge of Propinquity is live, and with it, the second of the Sparrow Hill Road stories is available. "Dead Man's Party" takes us deeper into the twilight, and a few miles further down the ghostroads, where vengeance sometimes comes with a price that's a little bit too high for anyone to pay.

There are a lot of stories trapped and tangled in the twilight. This is only one of them. But it's the one I have to tell.

Give a girl a ride?

It's Lupercalia, and more, it's time for me to make my monthly current projects post, wherein I prove to the curious that I either don't sleep or have access to some mechanism for stopping time (don't I wish). There's a reason I start to giggle and twitch whenever someone asks me "What are you working on?", and this post provides a bit of explanation. It also serves as something I can point to when the question gets asked, which it does. This is the February list of current projects, because I am the gift that keeps on giving.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Also...

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

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

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

It's gonna be a fun, fun year.

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

Ever wondered what really happened to Rose Marshall, the pretty little dead girl who started it all? Well, you can finally find out...starting today.

Issue 49 of The Edge of Propinquity is live, and with it, the first of the Sparrow Hill Road stories is available. "Good Girls Go to Heaven" introduces you to Rose Marshall and the ecology of the ghostroads, where death is not forever; it's not even for tonight.

There are a lot of stories trapped and tangled in the twilight. This is only one of them. But it's the one I have to tell.

Give a girl a ride?

It's the ides of January, and that makes it time for the monthly current projects post, wherein I prove to the curious that I either don't sleep or have access to some mechanism for stopping time (don't I wish). There's a reason I start to giggle and twitch whenever someone asks me "What are you working on?", and this post provides a bit of explanation. It also serves as something I can point to when the question gets asked, which it does. This is the January list of current projects, because I am the gift that keeps on giving.

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

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

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

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

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

My recent radio silence has been the result, not of traumatic head injury or watching all of The West Wing in one huge gluttonous marathon, but of having a lovely time in Seattle with some of my favorite people in the world. (Seriously, I sometimes think my definition of "absolutely perfect" would include a guest list of about eight people, bribing Betsy to let us come have a kitchen party at her place, and "accidentally" cutting the phone lines.) Also, everyone here tends to sleep until noon when not actively poked with sticks, and I get up at seven-thirty, so I've been doing a lot of catch-up work, very little of which sparks my brain to post.

I shall say interesting and insightful things later; for right now, this is a random time for random things, because I need to clean up my tabs again.

rivkat has tossed a short review of Rosemary and Rue into the fray, and says "It's a good debut, giving information at the right pace and creating an engaging urban fantasy world." I approve.

There's also a short review over on Just Finished, which says "McGuire, a local author who is also a must see feature on the local SF convention scene due to her off the cuff witty remarks, does a good job with the first book of this planned series." (Also, the complaint that I sometimes get overly wrapped up in things that won't happen for eight books is fair. I've gotten much better about it, promise.)

Vixen's Daily Reads posted a review, and says "I read this a few weeks ago, but wasn't sure how I would write a review that would do this justice. I honestly still don't think I will do the book justice, but I want to write the review before the new year. This is one of my favorite books of the year. This is an amazing, intelligent, action packed story that I could not put down once I started it. Well, I had to put it down to sleep at some point, but I didn't want to." I'm in your library, stealin' your sleep!

2009 is officially used up, and I've made jennifer_brozek's (who edits The Edge of Propinquity) Best Reads of 2009 list! Yay! In related news, the first Sparrow Hill Road story is turned in, and should be going live on the 15th of this month. Watch for it!

Finally, for the good of all, here are Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling. Thanks to The Oatmeal for educating us all.

And therein endith the random. For now.

So in the last seventy-two hours, I have...

...finished "Good Girls Go To Heaven," the first Sparrow Hill Road story, and returned it to my editor for review. (I like to be early, so that there's time for me to be thoroughly edited.) I'll probably be starting "Dead Man's Party" in a day or so.

...finished "The Alchemy of Alcohol," my first-ever steampunk story (also my first story about Mina Norton, alchemist, bartender, and exceedingly cranky native of San Francisco). It was ludicrously fun to write. Mina is refreshingly annoyed.

...started "Gimme A 'Z'!"—which, as you can probably guess from the title, is the next adventure of the Fighting Pumpkins cheerleading squad. The wearing of little pleated orange and green skirts is clearly dangerous, given the trouble these girls manage to get themselves into.

...started "Slow," a much more viscerally upsetting zombie story. It's a zombie week here at Casa de Blonde.

...written way too much of Blackout, which probably explains why I have so many zombies on the brain right now. I love this series a lot. I'll love it even more when I get about another five thousand words on in the current book, since that will mean it's time to pause, consider, and process edits. (Yes, I really do schedule everything.)

...finished reviewing my page proofs for Feed. Alive or dead, the truth won't rest. Rise up while you can.

My new website will be going live real soon now, which means new material, including the Toby FAQ and the Sparrow Hill Road landing page. Watch this space for details. I am now going to go extract my Maine Coon from my purse.

Good girls only make the news one way.
Special reports when the kids go to bed
And the ghouls come out to play.
Good girls make their marks and fade away,
People say their prayers and they shake their heads
And they bury them anyway,

And they'll tell you "she was lovely,"
Though they all forget the names
Of the ones who pay the good girl's fee
Down the rocky road to fame—

        So when the crossroads call and your faith is thin
        And you're afraid you might explode,
        Go and talk to the girl in the green silk gown
        Who walks on Sparrow Hill Road...

Rose Marshall was sixteen the year she died: 1945, when Franklin D. Roosevelt began his fourth term as President of the United States and World War II came staggering to a close. A lot of people have said a lot of things since then. She's been called everything from angel to devil. Some people say she makes men race with her and drives them to their deaths. Some say she's trying to save the drivers from that same fate. They whisper her name everywhere from Michigan to Maine, from Wyoming to Washington...but no one really knows the truth. No one knows what really happened that long-ago night on the blind curve at the top of Sparrow Hill Road.

Not until now, anyway.

I am pleased as punch to announce that I will be joining The Edge of Propinquity as one of their 2010 Universe Authors. Starting in January, I'll be inviting you to ride along on the way to Sparrow Hill Road, where a girl named Rose Marshall raced, and died, and rose again to walk the world as an urban legend of a very special kind. I've been looking forward to telling her story for a long time. I finally have the chance to do it. Here's hoping you'll come along for the ride.

Come on, now; let me tell you about Rose Marshall, the sweetest girl that you'd ever see. They always say that the good die young...