It's review roundup time! The time where the points are made up and the prizes don't matter. Today's reviews are all blasts from the deep past, beginning with...

From 2012, Fangs For the Fantasy has posted a good, thorough review of An Artificial Night, and says, "Relatedly, Toby is a much stronger, more active participant in this book. She isn't being constantly injured and recovering (though she is injured) nor is she flailing around without seeming to know what to do next and letting events happen. She's more active, she’s leading the plot, she's directing the plot and she's resolving the plot very much on her terms." There's also some excellent, spot-on commentary about diversity in the cast as of this point in the series.

From 2011, SFFWorld has posted an excellent, if spoiler-heavy review of Deadline. Not recommended unless you've read Feed. The review says, "The Newsflesh Trilogy is turning into one of my favorite SF stories and one that is continuing to surprise me&mdsp;up until the very end of Deadline. This second installment raises the stakes considerably and brings new players into the game, while maintaining the blistering pace of Feed, its predecessor. I can’t say enough good things about this novel, which has made the concluding volume Blackout, quite possibly my most anticipated novel publishing in 2012." Yay!

From 2012, Cannonball Read has posted a review of Late Eclipses, and says, "While I’ve enjoyed the previous three October Daye books, and especially admired the world building, this is the first one I actually had trouble putting down." Neat!

Also from 2012, Cannonball Read has posted a review of One Salt Sea, and recommends you not start at this point in the series. I love this sort of recommendation.

Finally (for now), from 2012, Fangs For the Fantasy has posted a review of One Salt Sea, and says, "All in all, this book got so much right. The balance between emotion and plot, the pacing, the main character and the rich, amazing world that it not only continued a great series in the same line but took it a step higher as well. I loved this book and am eager to read the second one&mbspthis series is heartily recommended." I'm assuming "second" means "next." She also fairly called me out on "crazy" as shorthand in the early Toby books, and I've tried to unpack more about what's actually going on with fae biology and behavior because of critiques like this one.

You may have noticed that all these reviews are old, and that newer reviews are getting rare. There's a reason for that. Whether I'm more secure (I don't feel like I am), more exhausted (I do feel like I am), or whether more bloggers have just moved to Goodreads and Amazon, I don't pull as many review links as I used to. That may change when I finish clearing the backlog, or I may decide that this ship's time has sailed.

We shall see.

Con or Bust is a project of the Carl Brandon society, which is, to quote their website, "a 501c3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction." To help this mission happen, Kate Nepveu administers the Con or Bust auctions, which help fans of color get to conventions. It's an awesome cause, and it delights me.

This year, Orbit and I have donated two signed sets of the Newsflesh series to the auction. They're being mailed by my publisher, so will not be personalized...but they're being mailed by my publisher, which means there's no chance the mail sack gets forgotten next to the front door for three weeks when there's a new Pokemon release. Everybody wins!

Especially our community. Because what Con or Bust does is make our community better by making it more awesome.

So take a look, and check out the rest of the offerings while you're there.

...a copy of Deadline, by Mira Grant (US edition).

Welcome to the eighth of the Twelve Days of Hogswatch. I am starting a new giveaway every day between now and my birthday. Each giveaway has different rules, and a different deadline, although all prizes will be mailed on January 9th, because I am bad at going to the post office.

The ninth giveaway is for a copy of Deadline. This is going to be a random number drawing. So...

1. To enter, comment on this post.
2. If you are international, indicate a willingness to pay postage.
3. That's it.

Please remember that all giveaway rules are non-negotiable. Failure to follow the rules of a giveaway will mean that you cannot win, even if the RNG picks you.

I will choose the winner at 1PM PST on Tuesday, January 7th.

Game on!

...the German editions of Deadline and Blackout, by Mira Grant.

Welcome to the seventh of the Twelve Days of Hogswatch. I am starting a new giveaway every day between now and my birthday. Each giveaway has different rules, and a different deadline, although all prizes will be mailed on January 9th, because I am bad at going to the post office.

The seventh giveaway is for the German mass-market paperbacks of Deadline and Blackout. This is going to be a random number drawing. So...

1. To enter, comment on this post.
2. If you are international, indicate a willingness to pay postage.
3. That's it.

Please remember that all giveaway rules are non-negotiable. Failure to follow the rules of a giveaway will mean that you cannot win, even if the RNG picks you.

I will choose the winner at 1PM PST on Tuesday, January 7th.

Game on!

I'll be honest here: I haven't been capturing most reviews of late, because the urge to read reviews has declined dramatically over the last six months or so. This may have something to do with the fact that I have at least a hundred unposted, and I'd like to be able to fit my links-in-waiting on a single screen before I die. So I'm hoping that, by doing a few solid roundups, I can get my groove back. This is the first.

My Friend Amy's Blog has posted a review of Deadline, written before the release of Blackout. There are no good pull quotes, although it's a very thoughtful review; there are Feed spoilers and comparisons throughout.

Want Some has posted a review of Feed, and says, " Tl;dr: Not your average zombie fare, highly recommended, part 1 in the Newsflesh Trilogy." I kinda admire the brevity.

Errant Dreams has posted a review of One Salt Sea, and says, "All in all, I found One Salt Sea to be another solid addition to the October Daye series. Its slower emotional pacing (because of the similar kidnapping plot) gave me a chance to sit back and watch changes being played out without the entire combination being too overwhelming." And this is why sometimes, types of case repeat.

Happy Booker has posted a review of Feed, and says, " My masochistic heart can do nothing but rate this book a full 5 stars. I have to commend Mira Grant on how she managed to create such a compelling story and include zombies (which I don't even like btw) and introduce me to these amazing characters that I have no choice but to fall completely in love with and then, without warning, take it all away. I can almost picture the sadistic smile on this author's face as she gleefully ripped my heart out, stomped on it, then poked it a few times with Shaun's zombie stick, leaving me a broken, sobbing mess. Nice, Mira Grant, very nice." Yay!

Finally for today, Morgan and Whitney have dished on Discount Armageddon. Lots of fun, some great points; I recommend taking a look.

Next, the weather.

Links blah blah oh sweet Great Pumpkin SAVE ME FROM THE LINKS. Anyway...

The Telegraph has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "Intelligent and exciting, Deadline raises the bar for the genre." Short, sweet, perfect.

SFFWorld has posted a review of Feed, and says, "Feed is a brilliant novel that embraces the tropes of the zombie story, expands the zombie mythos, speaks to modern fears, plausibly renders a political landscape, and forces the reader to turn the pages to see what happens next." Yay!

Romance Reviews Today has posted a review of One Salt Sea, and says, "If you love fantasy, and particularly urban fantasy, do not miss this series. The author possesses great depth in her vision." Awesome.

Mervi's Book Reviews has posted a review of Late Eclipses, and says, "Once again, McGuire blends action, humor, and pretty dark themes excellently. However, there's again an air of tragedy on the story." Toby is the fairy godmother of tragedy, it's true.

Old Firehouse Books has posted a review of Feed that is deeply personal and very well-balanced. I have no pull quotes from this one, but you should definitely check it out.

This is also where I want to take a moment to note that while I am still cleaning out the old reviews in my link file—I thought they were important enough to save, I'm not going to just delete them—I have gotten a lot less likely to add new reviews, because I am a lot less twitchy on a day-by-day level. This is why there are fewer reviews of newer books. This will change, I'm sure, as I launch new universes, since I'll still be deeply insecure about them.

Reviews!

So you may have noticed that review roundups are getting more and more out of date. This is largely because my link file is getting more and more out of date, to the point that I actually forgot to set alerts for a few books. I wish this spoke to a growing serenity, but it really sort of speaks to the opposite, so...whoops. Anyway, here: have some reviews.

Bookshelf Bombshells has posted a review of Feed, and says, "You wouldn't expect a book that’s laden with so many technological details (the genesis of the virus, the virus’s after-effects, biological scanning equipment, and the various gadgets that the bloggers use) to be a gripping, fast read, but it really is." Aw, yay.

Ranting Dragon has posted a review of One Salt Sea, and says, "Read this book for the action. Read this book for the worldbuilding. But most of all, read this book for the characters and the story. McGuire truly hits her stride in this novel, and it shows, both in pacing as well as her character work." Glee.

Persephone Magazine has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "I was pretty critical of the first book in Mira Grant's zombie-tastic Newsflesh trilogy, Feed. The second book, Deadline, was everything I wanted Feed to be. It was a tighter story, it relied less on clever tricks and more on great storytelling, the characters were richer and deeper, and the whole book was cleaner and felt more intentional." Hooray!

Galavanting Girl Books has taken a slightly different approach, posting, not a review, but a breakdown of October Daye herself as a heroine. It's a really well-done review of Toby's growth over the first five books, without spoilers, and ends with, "Toby Daye I really hope faerie isn't done screwing with you. I love you, but I'm not ready to let you go yet." How much love? All the love.

Rescue Fins has posted a review of Feed, and says, "It's common enough for zombie literature to be used as a medium for discussion of social issues and underlying societal fears, and Grant's book does that brilliantly, taking on not just government control and the trade-off between freedom and security, but tackling the sociology of fear itself." I love it when people catch that, I really do.

So that's five reviews, which makes for a roundup. I'm getting my link file under control, and while I don't know how long I'll continue posting reviews in this format—it's time-consuming, which is bad, but it's also a great way to point out thoughtful, interesting book blogs, which is good—but at least I've started my day by getting something done.

Review roundup speed round because OH SWEET GREAT PUMPKIN, THE LINKS. So shorter pull quotes, but functional connections to great review sources.

Geek Speak Magazine has posted a review of Deadline, and calls it "a worthy successor indeed to its progenitor."

The Outhouse has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "this is definitely a good story."

Full-Hearted Life has posted a twofer review of Feed and Deadline, and says, "Anyone who loves a good story with strong characters and excellent writing is going to love these books."

Erin Griggs has posted a review of Feed, and says, "Feed is smart, snarky, and sucks you in. Go read it."

Chicks With Crossbows has posted a review of "Countdown", and says, "All of the questions you’d ever wanted a zombie film to answer, Grant takes on."

Finally for today, Book Fetish has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "Deadline is as close to a perfect read as you can get."

And on that note, happy Tuesday!

My foot's giving me trouble again, which means I'm hopped up on painkillers and not the best judge of what does and does not make sense. To celebrate this legally altered state, here. Have a review roundup.

Well, this is sort of a review and sort of an ongoing game of verbal volleyball, but here: have the long-belated link to the Babel Clash I did with Devon Monk. I really miss the Borders Blog. It was a great community, and they rustled up some excellent postage. Plus they let me talk about the cold dead eyes of Care Bears.

Random Reads posted a review of Feed and Deadline, and says, "Grant constructs a very detailed and well researched world with wonderful, sympathetic characters. The action starts immediately and once it hooks you in, it doesn't let go. The pace is unrelenting, climaxing in a tragic denouement, with a scenario that I've never before seen an author attempt. I could not put this book down." Awesome.

Russ Allbery has posted a review of Feed, and says, " I utterly fell in love with this book; the world is a better place because it exists." Awwww. (The review also contains some absolutely fair criticisms, and I salute the reviewer for offering them.)

Blogcritics has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "Grant takes the political intrigue of Feed and ratchets it up to 11 to a stunning conclusion in Deadline." Victory!

And now for something completely different: Reflections on Reading Romance has reviewed Home Improvement: Undead Edition, and says, of my story, "Despite the absence of my favorite, hottie Cait Sidhe king Tybalt, the story is a delight and a great example of McGuire’s style. Definitely recommend this one!" Also: "For me the Patricia Briggs, Melissa Marr, and Seanan McGuire stories were definite highlights of the collection and more than made the purchase worth the price." Win.

I am well-pleased.

I'm still sick (but getting better), and so, in order to keep myself from dwelling on the frailty of the flesh, here is a review roundup. Yay.

Yeti Stomper has put me on notice with great aplomb. I am honored and afraid. And also amused.

Broad Universe has posted a review of Late Eclipses, and says, "This is an exciting book for fans of Seanan McGuire and the October Daye series. It hints at so much more to come and I can't wait to find out what's next." There's an interview with me attached to the review. Bonus!

The Word Zombie has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "With Feed, Mira Grant established herself as a major new voice in zombie fiction. With Deadline, she proves that 'zombie' is a superfluous addition to that accolade. Without the subtlety of her storytelling, the layers of conspiracy at the heart of this book would have ripped apart like so many sheets of rice paper. Instead, she parceled out the story with the literary timing of Stephen King at his best, while managing to do what King has suffered with so much in recent years—tying the story together in the end and leaving the reader with an emotional punch akin to being hit in the chest with a Taser." ...wow.

Apex has posted a review of One Salt Sea, and says, "This seamless expansion of the fae world in and around the story being told is one of my favorite things about McGuire's writings. She is a master at informing the reader without the dreaded info dump. One Salt Sea is a worthy addition to the marvelous October Daye series and one I will happily reread again." There's also an interview after the review. Yay!

Rie has posted a review of Rosemary and Rue, and says, "I really enjoyed Rosemary and Rue, though it took me a bit to get a handle on the new style after reading some of Seanan's other work first. It was an entirely new pacing and flow, and the switch was not an automatic one. I don't want to imply that the plot is slow moving—it isn't, it's a rich, complex plot that has an appropriate pace for its style and genre—it just wasn't as non-stop action as Mira's Feed." Since this is something I worry about a lot, this is reassuring to hear.

...and that is all for today. I'm tired, and need a nap.

Whee!

Jill Bearup has posted a review of One Salt Sea, complete with recreation of the book's cover, and says, "One Salt Sea is gorgeous. Well-thought-out, sparklingly witty, and heartbreakingly sad all at once." Aw, yay.

Genre Reviews has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "There are a couple of plot twists that from a lesser writer would feel gimmicky, and with someone else I'd roll my eyes and whine about them. Coming from Grant, however, I have to believe she's building up to something, and I'm more than willing to let her do the convincing, because at this point she's earned that bit of reader trust." Readers who trust me make me happy. (Warning: review contains Feed spoilers.)

calico_reaction has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "Because at this point, she's more than earned my trust as a reader. I think most, if not all, of the major complaints (unless you just didn't like the characters) people had in Feed are addressed here, and they're addressed in such a way you know it's an organic part of the story, not just the author plugging in a bit to respond to critics of the first book." More trust! And more spoilers! I love calico_reaction's reviews; even when they aren't glowingly positive, they're honest and well-thought out, and very worth reading.

Publishers Weekly has reviewed A Fantasy Medley 2, and says, "Seanan McGuire’s “Rat-Catcher,” set hundreds of years before her October Daye books, is both charming and gut-wrenching. Tight ties to established settings are sacrificed for the sake of accessibility, resulting in four excellent stand-alone stories." Woo! Shipping soon!

Mandy Reviews has posted a review of Blackout, and says, "Grant will pull you through her world at break-neck speed, she demands you stay on the ball, use that grey matter (sorry, couldn't resist) and keep up with both the characters and the science." Mmmmm. I love reviews that talk about the science.

Erin at the Toasted Cheese Literary Journal has posted a review of Ashes of Honor, and says, "Toby's world gets richer and deeper with every book, a testament to McGuire's worldbuilding ability. I've never found a trip into Toby's San Francisco (and the pockets of Faerie that overlap it) disappointing, and I'm always looking forward to the next time I can return." Yay!

That's all for right now. Bit by bit, I will conquer this link file. BIT BY BIT.

...someday.

It's...kind of bad around here right now, guys. As in "the links are taking over." So here are some reviews from the files, as I struggle to conquer Link Mountain before it develops a healthy ski industry.

Geek Girls Rule has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "I cannot stress this enough, if you like fast-paced, gripping psychological fiction with a horror bent, do yourself a favor and pick up these books. Right now, after reading the ending, I'm unsure whether I want to punch Ms. Grant/McGuire or kiss her or shake her hand." When I inspire the threat of punching, I know I'm doing it right.

One More Page has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "Deadline by Mira Grant definitely exceeded all my expectations. I love it when a book does that. Even if I have to wait for a whole year for the conclusion of this wonderfully terrifying, expletive-inducing trilogy, I have a good feeling the third book will shoot straight up the ceiling with its awesomeness." Look, I said that these were older reviews...

The Outhousers have posted a review of Deadline, and say, "I would highly recommend this book not only to fans of Urban Fantasy or zombie novels, but to anyone looking for a good series to read. Mira Grant is the pseudonym for author Seanan McGuire, so fans of hers should jump on this series as well. It's out now in paperback." I love it when Mira's fans remember me.

Aliverse has posted a review of Feed and Deadline, and says, "These are two action-packed zombie novels with heart and intelligence. More importantly, they are well-written and have characters you fall in love with. You will care about them. You will root for them. You will cry for them. (seriously, not hyperbole)" I know I cried, so hey, it doesn't read like hyperbole to me!

Necroscope, the Australian Zombie Review Blog, has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "I'm not going to ask you to go out and buy a copy of Deadline. I'm telling you. Do it, and do it now. And pick up a copy of Feed also, if by some miracle you've not done so already. This is not negotiable." Okay, I like this reviewer.

And that's it for right now. Look for a Toby-centric review roundup, coming soon.

I'm still recovering from Disneyland, which means I'm slow-moving and easily confused, sort of like the last dinosaur standing at the Cambrian border and going "Huh, I wonder if that comet wants to be friends with me." Here. Have some reviews. This is what my brain can handle.

Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus has posted a conversational review of the overall Newsflesh trilogy. This is a really nifty format for reviewing! I like it a lot, although it sort of prevents pull quotes. Spoilers abound, naturally, as they're discussing the series as a whole.

Geek Girls Rule has posted a review of Ashes of Honor, and says, "I enjoyed this book immensely. It was everything I want and expect from a Toby Daye novel: A fast read, an emotional roller coaster, with a fairly intricate plot." Spiffy! Also, she refers to "the Simon Torquill Traveling Show of Evil Bullshit." I would like tickets to this midway, please and thank you.

Kathy Takes On Books has posted a review of Ashes of Honor, and says, "McGuire is colorful and describes people, scenes, and battles beautifully. She does an incredible job of blending the supernatural wonders of the fae with the down home qualities of Toby and overlaying it all with very human values." I am colorful because I am secretly a Disney princess.

Jonathan Crowe has posted a review of the overall Newsflesh trilogy, and says, "The devil is in the details, which McGuire just nails: the testing and decontamination protocols, and how people's lives are distorted and diminished by them. The books say quite a bit about fear and security theatre that is certainly applicable to contemporary events, but McGuire isn't beating you about the head with an agenda here. The books' focus is first and foremost on the characters, their cares and their wants, and McGuire imbues them with life and affection, and she makes you care about them." Spoilers abound.

Calico Reaction has posted a review of "San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats," and says, "The overall story, a documentary of sorts, was so sad. And yet, weirdly cathartic. I can't describe it any other way. There were so many fantastic little moments where my heart ached for these people, especially as the story reached the end." I so want to write Space Crime Continuum fanfic, I can't even.

Finally for today, CC2K has posted a review of Ashes of Honor. Um. An advance review, originally, which says something about how behind I am on these. Anyway, she says, "If you dig urban fantasy, this is one of the best out there. If you're looking to try the genre for the first time, this series could be the place to start." Dude.

That's all for today. Catch you when I'm less prehistoric.

I am about to leave for Worldcon, which means my brain is like a mutant gerbil running on a wheel that powers a nuclear reactor. It's a little painful. Anyway, in an effort to keep the gerbil busy (and thus keep it from accidentally melting the West Coast), where is a file-clearing review roundup. (Hint: the file is not actually clear.)

Mike Jones, who has known me since I was fourteen, reviewed Deadline and Blackout for Tor.com, and says, " Bottom line: you're not going to find a better political thriller/science fiction/post zombie apocalypse adventure out there. If you do, tell me so I can read it!" Aw, yay.

Little Red Reviewer actually reviewed my short story, "Crystal Halloway and the Forgotten Passage," and said, "As I am quickly learning, Seanan McGuire is pure magic." I AM A UNICORN OF GOODNESS AND JOY. And zombies.

Journey vs. Destination has posted a review of the Newsflesh trilogy, and says, "The zombie book got me on the first page. It sucked me in so much that at the end of the first chapter of my free book, I went back to the first book in the trilogy, bought it, and devoured it. Then back to the Hugo packet to read the second. Then bought the third." Best recommendation ever.

Let's mix it up a little: Leigh Caroline has posted a review of Discount Armageddon, and says many things, although there are no good pull quotes. Check it out.

Geek Speak Magazine (to which I am an occasional contributor) posted a review of Blackout, and says, "Mira Grant's finale to her trilogy is among the more satisfying conclusions to a series I have ever read, one where even the dreaded coda to the tale (and believe me, I usually hate anything smacking of an epilogue) does not detract from the overall feeling of triumphant, if a tad bittersweet, closure." I am well-pleased.

And finally for today, Read This Book Damnit has posted a review of Discount Armageddon, and says, " In short Seanan McGuire has done it again. From fae in San Francisco, to a post-apocalyptic zombie future, and now a tango dancing cryptozoologist, she has entertained me with every book I've read to date. I hereby formally suspend any future disbelief in her choice of subject matter to write and will, instead, just shut up and read." VICTORY!

With that, I take the gerbil for a walk.

...merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

Today's first review comes from libris_leonis, who has posted a review of "Countdown", and says, "This is a grim, compact little story that works really well, but also really grimly; not uplifting, but certainly excellent, although it does require knowledge of the Newsflesh world to really work to its full effect." Yay!

You know, that review was so nice, let's visit the reviewer twice. libris_leonis has also posted a review of "San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats", and says, "Overall, "San Diego 2014" showcases Grant's best talents; emotionally resonant and effective work, drawing out similarities between characters and readers, and the occasional (more common here than across the rest of the Newsflesh cycle) reference to modern geek culture. A very nice novella." Hooray!

Sadly, one reviewer does not a full roundup make, and so we move on. The Mad Reviewer has posted a review of Blackout, and says, "Funny, dark, suspenseful and full of plot twists, Blackout was no disappointment. And it even had a satisfying, if not entirely happy, ending. What else could I really ask for?" A pony. You can always, always ask for a pony.

Persephone Reads has posted a review of Late Eclipses, and says, "For every knock she takes—and this installment’s knocks would make a heavyweight prizefighter proud—Toby finds a way to get back on her feet. She’s not invincible; she sways and stumbles, but she stands when others might fall. In these pages, Toby’s brand of strength and vulnerability found its sweet spot. It’s no great shock that I continue to be a pom-pom wielding, card carrying member of her cheer squad." Go Fighting Pumpkins!

The Family Addiction has posted a fun, and funny, review of Discount Armageddon. There are no really good pull quotes this time, but it's definitely worth clicking through.

A Modern Hypatia (love the name) has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "Deadline is also an amazingly strong second book—often the weakness of trilogies. There are some places that's obvious (especially the end), but the beginning does a great job of easing you back into the world and reminding you how things work before the story accelerates (which it does quite rapidly.) And then there's a solid plot that both serves this book, but is clearly laying down foundation for a powerful conclusion." Victory is mine!

Finally for today's extremely random review roundup, Monsters and Critics has posted a review of Home Improvement: Undead Edition, and says, "This collection is a treat; the stories are strong and most reward the reader with a pleasing plot twist. The paranormal element added to the mundane yet trying experience of home or business renovation was an inspired theme certain to strike a cord with anyone who has lived the experience. Just the thing to enjoy on a languid summer day with a tall glass of cold lemonade." Works for me.

So that's me purging a little more of the link file. Look for more of these in the next few weeks, as I struggle to get things under control before Ashes of Honor hits shelves.

The odds are decent that you've seen this by now, if you were online at all this past weekend. But since I'm going to be posting about the Hugos a bit this week, I thought it might be kind of me to put the whole ballot up here for people to review. If you don't need to know, don't click the cut. Life is simple!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Hugo Awards, they are given each year at WorldCon to celebrate the best the science fiction and fantasy fields have to offer. They are voted on (and people are nominated by) the members of the World Science Fiction Society. You can become a member by joining the current year's World Science Fiction Convention.

This is important, and we will talk more about it later. But what you should know right now is a) if you're going to WorldCon, you can vote, and b) if you're not going to WorldCon, but you want to have a say in what we, as a community, recognize, you can obtain the right to vote by purchasing a Supporting Membership to the current WorldCon. Supporting Memberships cost $50, and get you access to the entire electronic Hugo Voter's Packet, which contains all the nominated fiction of the year, as well as other exciting goodies. This is a more than $50 value, grants you the opportunity to find out what we as a community think warranted inclusion on a Top 5 list for the previous year, and lets you be a part of making history.

And now...the ballot.

( Click here if you're curious, or just want the reminder.Collapse )

...and between myself-as-me and myself-as-Mira, I am on the ballot four times. Which is the first time a woman has ever been on the ballot four times in a single year. I'm nominated for...

Best Novel, Deadline.
Best Novella, Countdown.
Best Fancast, The SF Squeecast.
Best Related Work, Wicked Girls.

I am both insanely excited and paralyzed with fear, which means I feel sort of sick to my stomach. Thank you, thank you, thank you a thousand times to everyone who nominated; it means the world to me, and we have made history this year.

Congratulations to all the nominees, especially Jim Hines (Best Fan Writer), Betsy Wolheim (Best Long Form Editor), the voice of Toby, Mary Robinette Kowall (Best Novella), Paul Cornell (Best Novelette) and my beloved Cat Valente (Best Novella). I'll post the full ballot soon, when I get over the twitching and the nausea.

Thank you so much. This is such an honor. I am so lucky. I can't stop crying.

Thank you.

Now is the time on Sprockets where we continue trying to murder the link file, in part because the remains of this cold have left me cotton-headed and glassy-eyed. Now is not the time for deep thoughts. Now is the time for links and listlessness. And so...

Look! It's the Salon Futura interview I recorded immediately after winning the Campbell! Just in case you were starting to think I was exaggerating about the size of this file. Sniff. I miss my tiara...

And here's another interview, this time with Fantasy Faction. There were some interesting capitalization and punctuation choices made in the transcription of this interview. Read it, and marvel!

The Guilded Earlobe did seven questions with Mira Grant. Thrill as I defend zombies as being for everybody, not just for the boys, and explain why I should have a tank. You think I should have a tank, don't you?

The wonderful Kenda at Lurv ala Mode had me stop by to explain a bit about surviving Faerie; I may eventually use this format again, because it was disturbingly fun. Seriously. Best guest post ever.

Oh, right, I promised you some reviews. Here's Fantasy Faction's review of Feed, which says, "To be blunt, I find Feed to be one of the best novels about zombies that I have ever read." Moving on! To...

The Fantasy Faction review of Deadline, which says, "I don't think that Grant should have done anything differently with Deadline. This book was amazing, and an excellent continuation of the Newsflesh trilogy. I know that I will be reading this book, and Feed, again before Blackout releases next year. Probably a few times, if I'm to be honest. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the story, but at the same time I'm so sad for it to come to an end."

I am, too.

And that ends this roundup.

My link file isn't "out of control," it's totally in control...of everything. Including, possibly, the laws of physics. Here is a ten-link roundup focusing on Mira and Mira's books, to try and get the file back down to size. Not that it's going to work.

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Tired cat is tired. Have some links in lieu of actual content.

Hey, what's that at #8 on the Barnes and Noble Book Club list of the best paranormal fantasy releases of 2011? Is it Late Eclipses? Why yes, I do believe that it is.

And what's that at #19 on Ranting Dragon's best fantasy releases of 2011? Is it Deadline? Again, yes, I do believe that it is. Both my personalities get the love!

Meanwhile, over at Chicks With Crossbows, there's some Tybalt-hunting funny business going on. Now, I don't know whether I'd go looking for Tybalt, since if I found him, I might also find Toby, and she might be annoyed about me bothering her resident Cait Sidhe monarch, but I'm glad someone took the risk! Totally hysterical.

Oh, and also, what's that appearing on both best of 2011 lists? Toby books and Newsflesh books, oh, my!

And those are today's links. Real content later.

So, uh. That happened. Deadline—the second installment in the Newsflesh trilogy—has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. This is a juried award, and, to quote the website, "The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States."

Distinguished science fiction. Screw winning (although naturally I'd like to win; I am only human, and pretending I don't dream of winning the things I'm nominated for seems needlessly coy and a little idiotic): I have been nominated for an award because I wrote something that's regarded as distinguished science fiction.

Dude. What.

Orbit, which has three books in the list of seven, has already posted a gleeful post of gleeful congratulations, which made me feel very loved. I'm seriously over the moon about this.

The full ballot for this year:

The Company Man, Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)
Deadline, Mira Grant (Orbit)
The Other, Matthew Hughes (Underland)
A Soldier’s Duty, Jean Johnson (Ace)
The Postmortal, Drew Magary (Penguin)
After the Apocalypse, Maureen F. McHugh (Small Beer)
The Samuel Petrovich Trilogy, Simon Morden (Orbit)

I am very excited, and very flattered, and yeah, a little hopeful, because who wouldn't be? This is amazing.

Yay.

Blah blah review roundup blah blah links eat world blah blah I will run out of bullets before I run out of reviews. And so...

Ages and ages ago, John Joseph Adams interviewed me about my Newsflesh-universe short story, "Everglades," published in his anthology, The Living Dead 2. It's a fun interview, and he asked some really excellent questions. Check it out.

Pen and Ink, Camera and Keyboard has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "Deadline is a great book, it’s well written and genuinely enthralling." Works for me!

Jordan Wyn has posted a review of Feed, and says, "As with most successful dystopias, Feed takes the world we know and pushes it farther." I, and my love of Orwell, salute you.

The Guilded Earlobe has posted a review of the Deadline audiobook, and says, "Listeners will miss elements of the first novel, particularly the covering of the Ryman campaign, yet will enjoy getting to know some new characters, and finding out more about some old ones. Add to that a lot of great zombie action and a brilliant ending, and readers will be beating down Ms. Grant’s door demanding the finale of the trilogy." Woo!

Underground Reading has posted a review of Feed, and says, "Feed is a great zombie thriller—this already makes it a rarity, and it needs no additional layers of meaning to be a worthwhile read. Ms. Grant uses the setting of politics to create a background of tension and as a vehicle that keep the protagonists moving and motivated. She also uses blogging as a method of getting her protagonists not only involved in the action, but also actively pursuing it. Feed isn't secretly about politics or journalism, it is overtly about zombies. This is one case where we should celebrate a book at face value, without trying to stretch it into anything more." Hee!

And that's it for right now, even though it barely represents a dent in this cursed file. One day, it will eat me.

First, the oddity. My friend Jeri Smith-Ready wrote a song to accompany her truly awesome ghosts-and-true love YA novel, Shade. Then she said "I am not a professional lyricist," and let me take a whack at adjusting her lyrical scansion to make it more like a Top 40 alt-rock hit. And then she posted the result, which is basically awesome. Her characters, her world, her words, my helpful hand. I'm like bacon: a little bit goes a long, long way.

Next, the reviews. Tif of Tif Talks Books has posted a review of Feed, and says, "Grant's novel combines a number of realistic elements to the zombie apocalypse, which immediately drew me in. I was pulling for my fellow bloggers, trying to figure out the mystery, but loving the paranormal aspects along the way. The Masons are likeable. The plot was addictive. And, this reader simply could not Feed on the story fast enough!" Hee. Works for me.

Kristi of Books, Yarn, Ink, and Other Pursuits has posted a truly lovely review of One Salt Sea, and says, "I thought that it would be difficult to top Late Eclipses, but I should have known better. This book builds upon everything that Toby has been through the past stories and keeps leading her down the path of change. This is definitely a pivotal book, as relationships with many characters begin, end, and transform. McGuire's ability to make Toby strong and vulnerable shines in One Salt Sea, and her continued relationship with children, her own and others, show the parallels to Toby's own views on her relationships with her mother, her foster families, and the one she is creating around her."

Awesome.

Alisa at The Book Bundle also posted a review of One Salt Sea. It's a great review, but there are no simple pull quotes; you should just give it a read.

Dawn at Absolute Forest of Words has posted a nice Deadline review, and says, "I read Deadline and while not quite the same feel, it's still an amazing book." Warning: the review contains necessary spoilers for Feed.

Finally, for right now, Tia at Tia's Book Musings, has posted a review of Feed. She didn't like the book as much of some of the reviewers, but she has some solid points, and hey, it kept her entertained. Sometimes, that's all a girl can ask for.

More later!

Moshe posted his review of Deadline. He didn't like it very much, which is absolutely his right as a reader, and some of his points as to why he disliked the book are interesting and thought-provoking for me. Most of the time, I don't link to the negative reviews, both because I try to be fairly positive (biosphere ignition and all), and because I don't want to risk accidentally sending a swarm of people over to yell at a reviewer* for being wrong.

(*All reviews are matters of opinion. One man's trash is another man's treasure is a third man's raw materials for their planet-buster earthquake machine. Please do not yell at reviewers, unless the reviewers are saying things like "and this book is so bad that it proves the author likes to microwave kittens." If I am accused of being a kitten microwaving fiend, feel free to step in.)

I did not meet this reviewer's expectations, and my ending did not meet his standards for "this is how a book should end." That is fair, and I am sorry, although I stand by the shape of the story. I do find it interesting that there's often this assumption that a) things are artificially inflated into trilogies, and b) my publisher forced me to end Deadline the way that I did. So I wanted to state two things, for people who may have been wondering:

This was always a trilogy. It's a trilogy not because people expected it to be, but because that was the shape the story took. I started writing Feed (then Newsflesh) as a stand-alone book, and watched as it turned into something longer, a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Acts one, two, and three. We went to Orbit with three books, one finished, one half-finished, and one heavily outlined. The next project I'm planning to undertake as Mira Grant is a duology, rather than the admittedly more marketable trilogy. Why? Because that's the shape of the story.

The ending of Deadline (then The Mourning Edition) was always exactly as written. Why the stress? Because when you read the book, I want you to understand that the book's last line was in the original pitch package. Orbit had absolutely nothing to do with that ending. If anything, they might have encouraged me to provide something a little more concrete, and a little less "now is the time that the house lights come up and we all go to intermission."

The Newsflesh trilogy is a Schwartz musical, not a Sondheim; it's a 1980s horror film, not a 1950s monster mash. That's just how the story is shaped. I'm really sorry if I let any of you down, or if you don't like this shape. But it was my choice, not my publisher's, and it was dictated to me by the way the story needed to go. I will always go the way the story needs to go, even if that way isn't the one that's guaranteed to make the most people happy.

Treasure, trash, or death ray. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

Newsflesh trilogy, final stats.

Start date: September 4th, 2005.
End date: September 2nd, 2011.

Volumes: Three.
Words: 455,814.
Pages: An awful lot.

...so yeah. That happened.

Last night, at approximately 9:15PM, I finished processing the last of the editorial changes to Blackout, and kicked the manuscript off to The Agent for a final typo check. She kicked it back to me this morning, and at approximately 5:21AM, I finished correcting the last of the grammatical and typographical errors. The book is back with her for a final final check, and then it's off to The Other Editor, to begin the process of transforming into something you can read.

It's over.

I have other things to do in this universe, other stories to tell and to enjoy telling, but this story, this trilogy...it's over. I am finished with the Masons. Their tale is done.

I've never finished anything like this before. I feel a little numb and a little scalded and a little overwhelmed, all at once.

Thank you. Thank you to everyone who's read these books, recommended these books, loved these books, hated these books, or interacted with them in any way. Thank you to Michael and Amanda, Kate and GP, Spider and Steve, Alan and Jude, Brooke and Vixy and Bill and Mike and Rae and Sunil and Amy and Cat and...and...and everyone. Just thank you.

Thank you for helping me tell this story. I never could have done it on my own.

Alive or dead, the truth won't rest. Thank you for helping me to rise up while I could.

Yes, it's another super-sized review roundup, because seriously, if I don't get some of the links out of this file, I'm never going to find the floor. Fifteen links, all confirmed as currently valid, no waiting.

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Must. Post. Reviews. Must. Not. Drown in links. So here:

Man in Black Reviews has posted a fabulous review of Deadline, and says, "I commented that the Newsflesh trilogy opening was one of the better novels I have read in several years, that it had nowhere up left to go, and that the second novel, Deadline, would have no choice but to go down. I come here today to eat those words, because Deadline goes anywhere but down hill." Woo!

Blogcritics has also posted a lovely review of Deadline, and says, "Grant takes the political intrigue of Feed and ratchets it up to 11 to a stunning conclusion in Deadline. And we can only hope that the next book of the trilogy—Blackout—serves to answer some of the questions asked in the first two books. The only bad part is we have to wait a while for those answers when Blackout is released in May 2012. I'm not sure I can wait another year!!" Neither am I!

Everything's better with Feed, right? Well, Alysha De Shae has posted a lovely review of Feed. There are no real pull quotes this time, but it's a good, solid review, and I appreciated it.

Our friends at Geek Speak Magazine have posted an awesome review of Feed, and say, "I’ve lost count of how many people I have recommended this book to, and/or bought this book for. Twenty? Thirty? Fifty? Maybe more. It is just one of those rare books you start to read and then just cannot stop, no matter what else is happening in your life that demands your immediate attention. You. Cannot. Stop. And then, when you come to the end of it, you’re all like HOLY FUCK, did that just really happen? That was INCREDIBLE!" Also: "There is not a zombie story anywhere that compares to Feed. For mine, it is the single best genre book of last year, bar none."

Sniffle.

I can't top that review right now, and so I won't even try. Here. Go listen to me hanging out on the Orbit podcast, instead.

More soon.

I am officially too tired to brain. Wait, no; that's not entirely true. I am too scatter-pants to brain. I need more sleep, but I'm also trying to think about like twenty things at the same time, which doesn't help with the braining. Someone come over and give me a booster shot of single-mindedness, because I am out.

Anyway, here, have some interviews I've done recently, because they're fun.

Ramblings of a Teenage Novelist is a relatively new blog, and demonstrated "if you don't ask, you don't get" by requesting an interview about the Mira Grant books. I was glad to oblige, and some awesome questions got asked! Check it out.

Remember the whole thing with Feed being up for a Shirley Jackson Award and me being basically dead of amazed? Well, here's my official interview for the award site, about suspense and research and plausibility. I squealed when I got the request. It made the nomination way more real.

Amazon Omnivoracious posed some excellent questions about the world of Newsflesh, which I was happy to answer. It's hard doing the interview circuit right around the time of a book release; I keep needing to find new things to say. Go see if I succeeded.

Finally, not quite a review, but: Georgia Mason made io9's list of the Top Ten Investigative Reporters from Science Fiction and Fantasy. They're from the future, you know. Them liking me melts my blackened little serial killer heart.

Now can I have a nap?

The links. Oh sweet Great Pumpkin, the links. And now it's time for another review roundup, because I'd like to eventually be able to view my entire link soup on a single screen again. (Like that's ever going to happen.)

First up, an absolutely fucking amazing review of Deadline from Paul Goat Allen at the Barnes & Noble Book Club. Paul says:

"While I impatiently awaited the release of the second Newsflesh novel, Deadline, I knew that it probably wouldn’t be as jaw-droppingly extraordinary and satisfying as Feed—middle volumes are generally the least satisfying installments in trilogies, at least for me.

"I'm happy to report that I was wrong.

"Deadline cranks everything up to volume 11. The mythical conspiracy that Shaun and his team are striving to uncover expands to mind-boggling proportions. The pacing is breakneck, desperate, and the action is literally nonstop throughout—and that’s saying something for a 582-page book! Major characters die. Entire cities are wiped out. The end of the world approaches..."

I call this review a win, no?

With Regards has also posted a lovely Deadline review, and says, "That, my friends, is the trademark of a good novel. When a person will, quite literally, debate on whether or not having dinner is as important as reading the next chapter...Well, you know you've written a damned good story. Deadline is a fantastic novel that I cannot praise highly enough."

When I make people late for dinner, I call that an unquestionable win.

From an unexpected and awesome corner comes this joint review of Feed and Deadline from fellow Hugo nominee Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary. Howard says, "I loved Feed. The story isn't really about the zombies. It's about some bloggers who get hired to cover a presidential candidate. The zombies in this tale are more like wallpaper. That moves. And then tries to eat your face. Okay, the book IS about the zombies, but there's ever so much more to it than that. And Deadline? EVEN BETTER." Duuuuuuuuuuude.

For our LJ review of the day, have this short, sweet review from chaiya. No pull quotes, but some lovely sincerity, and a very nice review overall. Thank you!

Finally (for right now) here's The Word Zombie sounding out on Deadline. Quote: "With Feed, Mira Grant established herself as a major new voice in zombie fiction. With Deadline, she proves that 'zombie' is a superfluous addition to that accolade. Without the subtlety of her storytelling, the layers of conspiracy at the heart of this book would have ripped apart like so many sheets of rice paper. Instead, she parceled out the story with the literary timing of Stephen King at his best, while managing to do what King has suffered with so much in recent years—tying the story together in the end and leaving the reader with an emotional punch akin to being hit in the chest with a Taser."

...whoa. I'm, uh, just going to leave things there for right now.

And go call my Mom.

Well, I promised two copies of Deadline and one set of promotional buttons, to be given out via random number generator. The numbers have been generated, and the random has spoken. Your winners are...

Deadline winner #1: briargrey!
Deadline winner #2: arison!

And the winner of the buttons is...

irish_ais!

If you have won a prize, please contact me with your mailing information via my website contact form by noon PST on Sunday, June 19th. Anyone who does not contact me will have their prize given to someone else. Sorry about that.

Thanks to everyone who played, and watch for more giveaways coming very soon!

Nothing says "hooray for Thursday" like a review roundup. No, really. It's a totally unique way of saying "hooray for Thursday." Anyway...

The Devourer of Books has posted a Deadline review, and says, "As in Feed, the zombies are not the point, but more a part of the setting, telling a story of news, blogs, politics, and the culture of fear. It is this that makes the Newsflesh series so successful for me. Grant is using her zombie setting to tell us all a story about ourselves." Woo!

Here's something new: a Feed review posted at the Game Vortex, which says, "It is probably the best novel that I've read in years and I read more than a book a week. The real genius of the novel is that yes, it is a horror novel, but the horror is not because of the zombies. The real horror is found in the human beings that are left in the world and their actions upon each other." Awesome.

...and hey, look, it's the Game Vortex review of Deadline. This one says, "As I said about Feed, it is probably one of the best novels that I have read in years. Deadline picks up right there and continues the amazing story. When I got to the end of Deadline, I really did not want to believe that it was over. Now, I cannot wait for the next novel, Blackout." It's nice not to disappoint.

Flights of Fantasy has posted a Deadline review, and says, "If you loved Feed, I strongly advise you pick up Deadline, ASAP. It’s a good read. I finished it, cover to cover in about a day and a half or so. And if you haven’t read Feed, go pick it up." That works for me!

Finally for today, here's the Fantasy Magazine review of Feed, which says, "The sibs are entertaining company, their thoroughly extrapolated post-apocalyptic world is a terrific setting, the SF zombies are skillfully rationalized, the body count is high, and the plot delivers some unexpected twists." Rock and roll.

Rock and roll and zombies.

Item the first: remember that I currently have a random-number giveaway for Deadline and some swag gathering entries. I'll be picking my three winners tomorrow. For details on how to enter and what you can potentially win, please see the post I've linked above. Go ahead. I can wait.

Item the second: this has literally been sitting in my link soup for a year, waiting for me to find something that makes it topical. As I have failed, I am now providing the link in isolation, because it amuses me. Moshez comments on zombies and weapons, and why my Horror Survival FAQ is sometimes sub-optimal. Join me in giggling.

Item the third: while I'm linking to random crap that makes me smile, here. Have the Animal Review review of the deep sea anglerfish. They give the anglerfish an overall F for being horrifying and upsetting and not really very friendly at all. Amusingly enough, these are all the reasons I give the anglerfish an overall A. For AWESOME.

Item the fourth: I can't remember if I ever actually linked to these, despite their being, you know, mad awesome, so here. Have a link to some absolutely gorgeous icons that were made using lyrics from my latest album, Wicked Girls. The icons, which are by snowishness, cannot help but make me happy, and so I am sharing them with you.

Item the fifth: Megan Lara's art is pure hammered awesome.

Item the sixth: I managed to find the Dead Tired Frankie Stein doll last night, which means a) I now have all the individual Dead Tired dolls except for Cleo De Nile, who I'm hoping to find this weekend, b) everyone at my local Toys R Us knows me on sight, and c) I am a total nerd. I am, thus far, a total nerd who has managed to resist the lure of the ball-jointed Soom doll, however, so I'm calling this a win for me, even as I call it a loss for my shelf space.

Item the seventh: I am so tired it physically hurts. I have to sleep tonight, or I'm just going to dissolve off my own bones like an overcooked chicken or one of those airline passengers in the first episode of Fringe. I didn't sleep at all on Tuesday night, and last night was our first really hot night of the summer, so the cats kept waking me up to freak out. Please play nicely today, as I may start to tremble and cry otherwise.

What's news with you?

Who likes free stuff? I know I do! Plus I just got my author's copies of the North American edition of Deadline, which is gorgeous and makes me happy. Also I have a fantastic book trailer. So how can I combine these things?

Like this.

I am giving away two signed copies of the North American edition of Deadline to people who watch and link to the book trailer. To enter, do the following:

1. Watch the trailer, because it is awesome. If you have a YouTube account, you can also leave a comment to let Lauren, who did the graphic design, know how awesome it is. This is optional.

2. Link to the trailer. Blog, Facebook, Twitter, bathroom wall graffiti (although in that case, I want a picture).

3. Comment here letting me know that you have done both things.

...and that's all. I'll pick two winners via random number on Friday, and then? Wonderful goodness can be arriving in your mailbox! North American entries only, please, unless you're willing to pay some of the postage; shipping books outside the continent is just too expensive for me right now. :( I'm sorry about that.

But wait, there's more. I will pick a third winner, also by random number, and they will receive an exclusive button set—one each of the Feed and Deadline buttons made by Orbit for handing out at conventions. Not sold in any store! Totally spiffing!

Oh, and because this trailer launched last week, step #2 can absolutely be retroactive. So if you already blogged or Tweeted or whatever, just let me know, and I'll enter you in the drawing. Not that I'd object to your doing it again, but my goal here is not spamming the internet, because spamming the internet makes people sad and bitey.

You know what comes next:

GAME ON!

I received an email this morning that said, very politely, that while the writer loved my books and had enjoyed them greatly, they were no longer a fan and would not be buying any of my work in the future. Okay, fair enough. Why?

Because Deadline doesn't have a proper ending, and they don't want to encourage this behavior from publishers.

Okay. Look: if your definition of "proper ending" is "the story is over, and I can walk away satisfied and never need to read another volume," then no, Deadline doesn't have a proper ending. I have often said that the only time it's appropriate to end on a cliffhanger is in the second book of a trilogy, and Deadline ends on a pretty major cliffhanger. I can't apologize for that. It's the nature of the trilogy structure that part two will often end on a cliffhanger, and is allowed to do so. I don't end series books on cliffhangers; the Toby books, and the InCryptid books, all have solid, closed endings. I try to make sure there's always more story, but you can still walk away if you need to. This book is not those books.

Let me be clear: Deadline has an ending. There is a point where it ceases to be Deadline, and becomes Blackout, and that point is where the book ends. The Newsflesh trilogy is three books long, and those books are intrinsically linked, but each of them begins, and ends, at a certain place. The thrust and mood and structure of each volume is different, and when you pick up Blackout, you'll be reading a very different book, even if Deadline ended with some pretty major questions unanswered. I didn't pick that end point arbitrarily. I picked it because that was where the story of Deadline ended, and the story of Blackout began.

I completely understand and appreciate frustration over unanswered questions, unfinished measures, and endings that don't appear to end. And I also understand why some people have chosen to buy Deadline and put it on the shelf to wait for Blackout. I wrote back to the person who emailed me and said that I was sorry, I hadn't done it to increase sales or because my publisher made me; I ended the story where I did because that was where the story ended. And I stand by that.

Deadline may not have a "proper" ending.

But it has the right one.

So it turns out that even being deathly ill doesn't stop the world from continuing to produce awesome things, and that's what we're talking about right now. Specifically, we're talking about the part where Orbit has created an absolutely stunning book trailer for the Newsflesh series—and if you watch to the very end, you might catch a sneak peek at the cover for Blackout! Watch the video, spread links, tell your friends. Let's go VIRAL.

Seriously, this is my first book trailer, and if I weren't so damn sick, I'd be jumping around and screaming. Please, please, check it out, spread it around, and see if we can't convince my publisher that I should always get these. Because they're awesome.

Once you've seen the trailer, why not gussy up your computer with a little bit of home-brewed awesome in the form of icons and wallpapers from the Mira Grant website, created by the ever-fabulous Miss Tara? The site itself is about to get some pretty massive updates (they were planned for this week, and then I slept for two days), but the icons and wallpapers are fresh and sweet and waiting for you right now.

Not quite the same, but semi-related, you can read my thoughts on California's recent unseasonable rains and how they relate to writing speculative fiction at Larissa's Bookish Life, where a guest blog I wrote for her has been posted. It's not as visually striking as the first two items on our list, but hey, I managed to make it vaguely applicable, right?

Oh, and hey, the Blog Critics include Feed in an article on dystopias, alongside 1984 and The Hunger Games. I directed a stage production of 1984 in high school. Seeing my book in a graphic with that book is like...whoa. I win the universe.

That's all for now. I'm going back to bed.

Now that you've had about a week to read and enjoy Deadline (and to jump in over on the spoiler thread, which is rocking and rolling like whoa), it's time for a party! Specifically, it's time for a Borderlands Books party, which are some of the best parties in the world.

Since this is a Mira Grant party, it's going to be somewhat more low-key than a Toby release. We'll have readings, signings, Q&A, and, of course, cupcakes. The festivities will begin at 5:00 PM, and continue until 8:00 PM, with cupcakes served at 6:30, to divide the evening. Which brings me to...

The first Q&A will be held from 6:00-6:30 PM, and it will be a spoiler-free session. I'll repeat that before we start. Some people still haven't read Feed, and I'd like them to have the chance to get in, say hello, grab books, get a cupcake, and run without having the ending of the book spoiled for them.

If you can't make it, remember that the bookstore does take internet and phone orders, and I'd be happy to sign and personalize anything they have on hand. You can find contact details on the bookstore website.

Hope to see you there!

...also, mixing my metaphors a bit, but still, I think the statement is valid. I am running as fast as I can just to stay where I am, and while it's fascinating, it's also a bit terrifying. I am trying to do ALL THE THINGS! All the things AT THE SAME TIME! Eventually, I will spontaneously combust, and that will be funny. (Also, how is it my spellcheck knows the word "necrosis," but not the word "combust"? Oh. Wait. It's my spellcheck.)

And now, for the periodic administrative stuff.

Wicked Girls T-shirts.
Deborah is continuing to contact people, collect mailing information, and provide payment information. This is because Deborah is wonderful. If you haven't heard from her, you may be in the part of the spreadsheet she hasn't processed yet, or you may need to check your spam filter, as there are people who have been contacted who have not yet replied. Once we finish going through the spreadsheet and shaking it as hard as we can for stragglers, we will need to go to print, and any unpaid orders will be canceled. We're only printing as many shirts as have been paid for. So check your spam filter today!

Events.
I have, like, ALL THE EVENTS coming up in June and July. Seriously. Next Saturday is the big Deadline release party at Borderlands. The Saturday after, I'll be at Borderlands again, this time as Seanan instead of Mira, to do a joint event with my darling Chaz in his guise as Daniel Fox. Then it's off to Minnesota for Convergence (and Izzy's ice cream), followed by appearing at SF in SF as Mira, and finally, San Diego! My annual pilgrimage to Geek Prom is upon us, and this year I get my Amy AND my Vixy AND a convention-exclusive Monster High doll. Truly, the world is my mollusk.

Anyway, check my website for event details, and remember that even if you can't make any of these events in person, Borderlands takes internet and phone orders for signed and personalized books. They're pretty awesome that way.

Deadline.
Holy cheese, it's a book. Like, on shelves. And people are buying it, and people are reading it, and people are liking it so far. Please, if you've bought it and read it and want to talk about it, stick to the Deadline open thread? I don't want people to be afraid to read comments on other posts because there might be lurking spoilers. Thank you so much, to everyone, for everything. You've been totally amazing.

Cats.
Blue. Fluffy. Pissed off over my recent absence, and demanding I make it up to them with snuggles and scritches. I am surprisingly unbothered by their demands, and have given in wholeheartedly.

X-Men: First Class.
Opens this weekend, and anyone standing between me and the ticket booth come Saturday had better be ready for some Xavier's alumni whup-ass to be aimed their way. I need my mutants. They're an important part of a balanced breakfast. Also, the reviews have been amazing so far, which means that maybe this will be a new franchise, instead of a prequel. Look, a girl can dream, okay?

Monster High.
I WANT THE NEW DOLLS ALREADY.

...and that's it for me, for the moment. What've you got?

The countdown sort of scrambled my ability to stay afloat in the link soup over here, and so, in an effort to stop myself from drowning, I present Deadline reviews and interviews. Because otherwise, you may never find my body.

Our friends at BookBanter have posted a conveniently spoiler-tagged for Feed review of Deadline, and say, "Once again Grant has achieved the incredible with a long story of over six hundred pages that will have you wide eyed and mouth wateringly hooked from the very first to the very last. Middle books in trilogies are often weak compared to the strong start and captivating end, but Deadline is a worthy next installment that is as good as Feed in many ways, making it feel more like a continuation of the same book." Also, I am compared to Stephen King and Dean Koontz, making this THE BEST REVIEW EVER.

Keeping up our BookBanter party, I did an interview for them as Mira Grant, and we discuss lots of lovely things, including what Seanan and Mira have in common, what Mira does for fun, and what's coming up next. You should give it a read! Plus you can win a book if you do.

Kind of an interview and kind of not: I did another Big Idea piece for John Scalzi's Whatever, this time all about the concepts and science behind Deadline. It was fun and challenging to write, and you should definitely stop by and see what drove me to another 150,000 words of sheer insanity.

My Bookish Ways has posted an excellent review of Deadline, and says, "Sometimes it's hard to follow up such amazing work, and sometimes second novels in a series suffer a bit. Not Deadline. It's just as good as Feed, and you'll find yourself plowing through this 600+ page novel in no time. I missed quite a bit of sleep finishing this one up. Was it worth it? Totally." I am the cause of insomnia!

Finally (for now), Pen and Ink, Camera and Keyboard has posted a nice review of Deadline, and says, "Deadline is a great book, it's well written and genuinely enthralling." Also: "The build up at first feels off with a climatic introduction and action packed first chapters, only for everything to simmer down. That's until you realize that something big is building and when you finally hit the last act, well the terrible realization of the sheer scope is palpable. There's a section where Shaun and co are driving home and it's like the eye of a storm...the eerie silence before the shit hits the fan."

I cause insomnia AND terrible realizations! I win!

And that's all for the moment. I will now go sleep the sleep of the just and exhausted.

To celebrate the release of Deadline [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy], here. Have an open thread to discuss the book.

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.

Seriously. If anyone comments here at all, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. So please don't read and then yell at me because you encountered spoilers. You were warned.

You can also start a book discussion at my website forums, with less need to be concerned that I will see everything you say! In case you wanted, you know, discussion free of authorial influence. I will probably answer a great many comments. I may not answer all of them.

Have fun!

August 1st, 2014.

Kellis-Amberlee unified the world in a way that nothing had ever unified it before, or ever would again. Cities burned. Nations died. Tokyo, Manhattan, Bombay, London, all of them fell before an enemy that could not be stopped, because it came from within; because it was already inside. Some escaped. Some lived. All carried the infection deep inside their bodies, deep inside their very bones. They carried it with them, and it lived, too.

The Rising was finally, fully underway. Mothers mourned their children. Orphans wailed alone in the night. Death ruled over all, horrible and undying. And nothing, it seemed, would ever make it end.

RISE UP WHILE YOU CAN.

Berkeley, California. July 31st, 2014.

Marigold felt bad.

There had been a raccoon in the yard. She liked when raccoons came to the yard, they puffed up big so big, but they ran ran ran when you chased them, and the noises they made were like birds or squirrels but bigger and more exhilarating. She had chased the raccoon, but the raccoon didn't run. Instead, it held its ground, and when she came close enough, it bit her on the shoulder, hard, teeth tearing skin and flesh and leaving only pain pain pain behind. Then she ran, she ran from the raccoon, and she had rolled in the dirt until the bleeding stopped, mud clotting the wound, pain pain pain muted a little behind the haze of her confusion. Then had come shame. Shame, because she would be called bad dog for chasing raccoons; bad dog for getting bitten when there were so many people in the house and yard and everything was strange.

So Marigold did what any good dog in fear of being termed a bad dog would do; she had gone to the hole in the back of the fence, the hole she and her brother worked and worried so long at, and slunk into the yard next door, where the boy lived. The boy laughed and pulled her ears sometimes, but it never hurt. The boy loved her. She knew the boy loved her, even as she knew the man and the woman fed her, and that she was a good dog, really, all the way to the heart of her. She was a good dog.

She was a good dog, but she felt so bad. So very bad. The badness had started with the bite, but it had spread since then, and now she could barely swallow, and the light was hurting her eyes so much, so very much. She lay huddled under the bushes, wishing she could find her feet, wishing she knew why she felt bad. So very bad.

Marigold felt hungry.

The hunger was a new thing, a strong thing, stronger even than the bad feeling that was spreading through her. She considered the hunger, as much as she could. She had never been the smartest of dogs, and her mind was getting fuzzy, thought and impulse giving way to alien instinct. She was a good dog. She just felt bad. She was a good dog. She was...she was...she was hungry. Marigold was hungry.

Something rustled through the bushes. The dog that had been a good dog, that had been Marigold, and that was now just hungry rose slowly, legs unsteady, but willing to support the body if there might be something coming that could end the hunger. The dog that had been a good dog, that had been Marigold, looked without recognition at the figure that parted the greenery and peered, curiously, down at it. The dog, which could not moan, growled low.

"Oggie?"

***

We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by.

When will you Rise?

[Note: As today is Sunday, and the book is actually released on Tuesday, I'm going to leave yesterday blank, and just keep posting from here.]

Atlanta, Georgia. July 30th, 2014.

The bedroom walls were painted a cheery shade of rose petal pink that showed up almost neon in the lens of the web camera. Unicorns and rainbows decorated the page where the video was embedded; even the YouTube mirrors that quickly started appearing had unicorns and rainbows, providing a set of safe search words that were too wide-spread to be wiped off the internet, no matter how many copies of the video were taken down. The man sitting in front of the web cam was all wrong for the blog. Too old, too haggard, too afraid. His once-pristine lab coat was spattered with coffee stains, and he looked like he hadn't shaved in more than a week.

"My name is Dr. Ian Matras," he said, in a calm, clear voice that was entirely at odds with his appearance. "I am—I was—an epidemic researcher for the Centers for Disease Control. I have been working on the issue of the Kellis cure since it was first allowed into the atmosphere. I have been tracking the development of the epidemic, along with my colleague, Dr. Christopher Sinclair." His breath hitched, voice threatening to break. He got himself back under control, and continued, "Chris wouldn't sanction what I'm going to say next. Good thing he isn't around to tell me not to say it, right?

"The news has been lying to you. This is not a virulent summer cold; this is not a new strain of the swine flu. This is, and has always been, a man-made pandemic whose effects were previously unknown in higher mammals. Put bluntly, the Kellis cure has mutated, becoming conjoined with an experimental Marburg-based cure for cancerl. It is airborne. It is highly contagious. And it raises the dead.

"Almost everyone who breathes air is now infected with this virus. Transmission is apparently universal, and does not come with any initial symptoms. The virus will change forms under certain conditions, going from the passive 'helper' form to the active 'killer' form of what we've been calling Kellis-Amberlee. Once this process begins, there is nothing that can stop it. Anyone whose virus has begun to change forms is going to become one of the mindless cannibals now shambling around our streets. Why? We don't know. What we do know is that fluid transmission seems to trigger the active form of the virus—bites, scratches, even getting something in your eye. Some people may serro-convert spontaneously. We believe these people were involved with the Marburg trials in Colorado, but following the destruction of the facility where those trials were conducted, we have no way of being absolutely sure.

"Let me repeat: we have been lying to you. The government is not allowing us to spread any knowledge about the walking plague, saying that we would trigger a mass panic. Well, the masses are panicking, and I don't think keeping secrets is doing anybody any favors. Not at this stage.

"Once someone has converted into the...hell, once somebody's a zombie, there's no coming back. They are no longer the people you have known all your life. Head shots seem to work best. Severe damage to the body will eventually cause them to bleed out, but it can take time, and it will create a massive hot zone that can't be sterilized with anything but fire or bleach. We have...God, we have..." He stopped for a moment, dropping his forehead into the palm of his hand. Finally, dully, he said, "We have lied to you. We have withheld information. What follows is everything we know about this disease, and the simple fact of it is, we know there isn't any cure. We know we can't stop it.

"Early signs of amplification include dialated pupils, dry mouth, difficulty breathing, loss of coordination, personality changes..."

***

Please return to your homes. Please remain calm. This is not a drill. If you have been infected, please contact authorities immediately. If you have not been infected, please remain calm. This is not a drill. Please return to your homes...

When will you Rise?

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and support leading up to the release of Deadline, the second book in the Newsflesh trilogy. I'm both excited and terrified about the idea of this book hitting shelves. I'm also about to go mostly offline—yes, even more than I have been since I left for New York—as I attend Wiscon, in Madison, Wisconsin. So here is the obligatory "ways you can help this be awesome, or at least non-traumatic."

Buy the book.
For bonus points, buy the book on or after Tuesday, when it is officially in stores. Any copies purchased before the release date don't count against my first week numbers, and those are the numbers that get a person onto the New York Times list. I would like to make the print list. I would have it framed, and then carry a picture of the framed list to show to anyone who says that girls don't like zombies. It would be brilliant. So please, buy the book, and if you can make yourself hold out, buy it once it's actually supposed to be on that shelf.

Write a review.
Amazon, Good Reads, your own personal blog, wherever. Word of mouth counts for a lot, especially during release week, and having reviews reminds people that a thing is worth reviewing, if that makes sense. I'm not saying "only post good reviews," because dude. But any review would be awesome.

Check your local library.
Most library systems allow you to request that they carry books. This is one of them.

Rise up while you can.
We only fail if we're afraid.

Reston, Virginia. July 30th, 2014.

It had taken six of the Valium pills John kept hidden at the back of the medicine cabinet, but Alexander Kellis was finally ready. He checked the knot on his rope one more time. It was good; it would hold. Maybe it wasn't elegant, but he didn't deserve elegant, did he? He destroyed the world. Children would curse his name for generations, assuming there were any generations yet to come. John was gone, forever. It was over.

"I'll see you soon, sweetheart," he whispered, and stepped off the edge of his desk. No one would find his body for weeks. If he reanimated, he starved without harming anyone. Alexander Kellis never harmed anyone.

Not on purpose.

***

Please return to your homes. Please remain calm. This is not a drill. If you have been infected, please contact authorities immediately. If you have not been infected, please remain calm. This is not a drill. Please return to your homes...

When will you Rise?

Denver, Colorado. July 27th, 2014.

Denver was burning. From where Dr. Wells sat, in the front room of his mountain home, it looked like the entire city was on fire. That couldn't possibly be true—Denver was too large to burn that easily—but oh, it looked that way.

In the house behind him he could hear the sound of shuffling, uncertain footsteps as his wife and children made their way down the stairs to the hallway. He didn't move. Not even to shut the door connecting the living room with the rest of the house. He was lonely. His city was burning, his research was over, and he was lonely. Couldn't a man be lonely, when he was sitting at the end of the world, and watching Denver burn?

Daniel Wells lifted his scotch, took a sip, and lowered it again. His eyes never left the flames. They were alive. Even if nothing else in the city he called home was alive, the flames were thriving. There was something comforting in that. Life, as a wise man once said, would always find a way.

A low moan sounded from the hallway right outside the front room. Daniel took another sip of scotch. "Hello, darling," he said, without turning. "It's a beautiful day, don't you think? All this smoke is going to make for an amazing sunset..."

Then his wife and children, who had finished amplification some time before, fell upon him, and the man responsible for Marburg Amberlee knew nothing but the tearing of teeth and the quiet surrender to the dark. When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't Daniel Wells anymore. Had he still possessed the capacity for gratitude, it is very likely that he would have been grateful.

***

Please return to your homes. Please remain calm. This is not a drill. If you have been infected, please contact authorities immediately. If you have not been infected, please remain calm. This is not a drill. Please return to your homes...

When will you Rise?

Just a handy reminder for those of you who may be present at Book Expo America this week:

I (Mira Grant) will be signing at the Orbit booth from four to five PM today, or until people stop coming up and thrusting things at me to have them signed. Will there be copies of Deadline? Statistically speaking, that seems very likely indeed...

Hope to see you there, if you're in the area at all!

Berkeley, California. July 27th, 2014.

"Get those walls up! Cathy, I want to see that chicken wire hugging those planks, don't argue with me, just get it done." Stacy Mason rushed to help a group of neighborhood teens who staggered under the weight of the planks they'd "liberated" from an undisclosed location. At this point, she didn't care where the building materials came from; she cared only that they were going to reinforce the neighborhood fences and doors and road checkpoints. As long as what was inside their makeshift walls was going to make those walls stronger, they could start tearing down houses and she honestly wouldn't give a fuck.

Berkeley, being a university town in Northern California, had two major problems: not enough guns, and too many idiots who thought they could fight off zombies with medieval weapons they'd stolen from the history department. It also had two major advantages: most of the roads were already half-blocked to prevent campus traffic from disturbing the residents, and most of those residents were slightly insane by any normal societal measurement.

The nice lesbian collective down the block had contributed eighty feet of chicken wire left over from an urban farming project they'd managed the year before. The roboticist who lived across the street was an avid Burner, and had been happy to contribute the fire-breathing whale he'd constructed for the previous year's Burning Man. Not the most immediately useful contribution in the world, but it was sufficiently heavy to make an excellent road block...and Stacy had to admit that having a fire-breathing road block certainly gave the neighborhood character.

"Louise! If you're going to break the glass, break it clean—we don't want anyone getting cut!" They really, really didn't want anyone being cut. The transmission mechanisms for the zombie virus were still being charted, but fluid exchange was definitely on the list, and anything getting into an open wound seemed like a bad idea. "We gave you a hammer for a reason! Now smash things!"

The distant shrieks of children brought her head whipping around, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Then the shrieks mellowed into laughter, and she relaxed—not entirely, but enough. "Damn dogs," she muttered, a smile tugging at her lips. "Exciting the children and stopping my heart."

"Mrs. Mason? I can't figure out how to make the staple gun work." The plaintive cry came from a young woman who had been Phillip's babysitter several times over the summer. She was standing next to a sheet of plywood with a staple gun in her hand, shaking it helplessly. It wasn't spewing staples at the moment; a small mercy, since the last thing they needed was for everyone to get hit by friendly fire.

Stacy shook off her brief fugue, starting toward the girl. "That's because you're holding it wrong, Marie. Now please, point the staple gun away from your body..."

The comfortable chaos of a neighborhood protecting itself against the dangerous outside continued, with everyone doing the best that they could to shore up their defenses and walls. They'd lost people on supply runs and rescue trips, but so far, everyone who'd stayed on the block had been fine. They were clinging to that, as the power got intermittent and the supply runs got less fruitful. Help was coming. Help had to be coming. And when help arrived, it would find them ready, healthy, and waiting to be saved.

Stacy Mason might be living through the zombie apocalypse, but by God, the important word there was "living." She was going to make it through, and so was everyone she cared about. There was just no other way that this could end.

***

If you are receiving this broadcast, you are within the range of the UC Berkeley radio station. Please follow these directions to reach a safe location. You will be expected to surrender all weapons and disrobe for physical examination upon arrival. We have food. We have water. We have shelter...

When will you Rise?

Allentown, Pennsylvania. July 26th, 2014.

The people outside the prison could pretend that the dead weren't walking if they wanted to. That sort of bullshit was the province of the free. Once you were behind bars, counting on other people to bring you food, water, hell, to let you go to the bathroom like a human being...you couldn't lie to yourself. And the dead were walking.

So far, there hadn't been any outbreaks in Brandon's wing, but he knew better than to attribute that to anything beyond pure dumb luck. Whatever caused some people to get sick and die and then get up again without being bitten just hadn't found a way inside the building. It would. All it needed was a little more time, and it would.

Brandon was sitting on his bed and staring at his hands, wondering if he'd ever see Hazel again, when the door of his cell slid open. He raised his head, and found himself looking at one of the prison guards—one of the only guards who was still bothering to show up for work.

"You've got a visitor, Majors," said the guard, and gestured roughly for him to stand. Brandon had learned the virtue of obedience. It was practically the first lesson that the prison taught. He stood, moving quickly to avoid a reprimand. Never doing anything to earn a reprimand, that was the second lesson.

There had been other lessons since then. None of them had been pleasant ones.

The guard led Brandon through the halls without a word. Some of the prisoners shouted threats or profanity as they passed; Brandon's role in the Mayday Army was well-known, and was the reason he was given his own cell, and not allowed to mingle with the general prison population. As the situation got worse, his future looked more and more bleak. Outside the prison, he would probably have already been lynched. As if it was his fault somehow? That bastard Kellis was the one who built the bug. He should be the one getting the blame, not Brandon—

The guard led him around the corner to the visiting room. There were only two men standing there. One was the warden. The other was a slim, dark-haired man Brandon felt like he should recognize. Something about him was familiar.

"Brandon Majors?" asked the man.

"Yes?" Maybe he was from the governor. Maybe he had come to pardon Brandon, and take him away from all this; maybe he understood that it wasn't his fault—

"My name is Alexander Kellis."

Hope died. Brandon stared at him. "I...you...oh, God."

Alexander looked at Brandon—the little ringleader who had managed to bring about the end of the world, the one whose name was already dropping out of the news, to be replaced by Alexander's own—and said, very quietly, "I wanted to meet you. I wanted to look you in the eye while I told you that this is all your fault. History may blame it on me, but neither of us is going to be there to see it, and right here, right now, today, this is all your fault. You destroyed my life's work. You killed the man I loved. You may very well have brought about the end of the world. So I have just one question for you."

"What?" whispered Brandon.

"Was it worth it?" After five minutes passed with no answer, Dr. Kellis turned to the warden. "Thank you. I'd like to go now." They walked away, leaving Brandon standing frozen next to the guard.

That night, Brandon's cell was somehow left unlocked. The next morning, he would be found dead in the hall. None of the other inmates saw what happened. At least, that's what they said, and this one time, the warden chose to believe them. It wasn't his fault, after all.

***

Please return to your homes. Please remain calm. This is not a drill. If you have been infected, please contact authorities immediately. If you have not been infected, please remain calm. This is not a drill. Please return to your homes...

When will you Rise?

Denver, Colorado. July 26th, 2014.

Suzanne Amberlee's nose had been bleeding for most of the morning. It had ceased to bother her after the first hour; in a way, it had even proven itself a blessing. The blood loss seemed to blunt the hard edges of the world around her, blurring things into a comfortable gray that allowed her to finally face some of the hard tasks she'd been allowing herself to avoid. She paused in the process of boxing Amanda's books, wiping the sweat from her forehead with one hand and the blood from her chin with the other. Bloody footprints marred every box and wall in the room, but she didn't really see them anymore. She just saw the comforting absence of Amanda, who was never coming home to her again.

In Suzanne Amberlee's body, a battle was raging between the remaining traces of Marburg Amberlee and the newborn Kellis-Amberlee virus. There is no loyalty among viruses; as soon as they were fully conceived, the child virus turned against its parents, trying to drive them from the body as it would any other infection. This forced the Marburg into a heightened state of activity, which forced the body to respond to the perceived illness. Marburg Amberlee was not designed to fight the human body's immune system, and responded by launching a full-on assault. The resulting chaos was tearing Suzanne apart from the inside out.

For her part, Suzanne Amberlee neither knew nor cared about what was happening inside her body. She was one of the first to be infected with Marburg Amberlee, which had been tailored to be non-transmittable between humans...but nothing's perfect, and all those kisses she'd given her little girl had, in time, passed something more tangible than comfort between them. Marburg Amberlee had had plenty of time to establish itself inside her, and, paradoxically, that made her more resistant to conversion than those with more recent infections. Her body knew how to handle the sleeping virus.

And yet bit by bit, inch by crucial inch, Kellis-Amberlee was winning. Suzanne was not aware, but she was already losing crucial brain functions. Her tear ducts had ceased to function, and much of her body's moisture was being channeled toward the production of mucus and saliva—two reliable mechanisms for passing the infection along. She was being rewired, inch by inch and cell by cell, and even if someone had explained to her what was happening, she wouldn't have cared. Suzanne Amberlee had lost everything she ever loved. Losing herself was simply giving in to the inevitable.

Suzanne's last conscious thought was of her daughter, and how much she missed her. Then the stuffed bear she was holding slipped from her hands, and all thoughts slipped from her mind as she straightened and walked toward the open bedroom door. The back door was propped open, allowing a cool breeze to blow in from outside; she walked through it, and from there, made her way out of the backyard to the street.

The disaster that had been averted when the Colorado Cancer Research Center burned began with a woman, widowed and bereft of her only child, walking barefoot onto the sunbaked surface of the road. She looked dully to either side, not really tracking what she saw—not by any human definition of the term—before turning to walk toward the distant shouts of children playing in the neighborhood park. It would take her the better part of an hour to get there, moving slowly, with the jerky confusion of the infected when not actively pursuing visible prey.

It would take less than ten minutes after her arrival for the dying to begin. The Rising had come to Denver; the Rising had come home.

***

Please return to your homes. Please remain calm. This is not a drill. If you have been infected, please contact authorities immediately. If you have not been infected, please remain calm. This is not a drill. Please return to your homes...

When will you Rise?

July 20th, 2014.

The anchorman had built his reputation on looking sleek and well-groomed even when broadcasting from the middle of a hurricane. His smile was a carefully honed weapon of reassurance, meant to be deployed when bad news might otherwise whip the populace into a frenzy. He was smiling steadily. He had been smiling since the beginning of his report.

He was beginning to wonder if he would ever stop smiling again.

"Again, ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing to be concerned about. We have two particularly virulent strains of flu sweeping across the country. One, in the Midwest, seems to be a variant of our old friend, H1N1, coming back to get revenge for all those bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches. Symptoms include nausea, dizziness, disorientation, and of course, our old friend, the stuffy nose. This particular flu also carries a risk of high fevers, which can lead to erratic behavior and even violence. So please, take care of yourself and your loved ones."

He shuffled the papers in front of him, trying to give the impression that he was reading off them, and not off the prompter. Audiences liked to see a little hard copy. It made them feel like the news was more legitimate. "The second strain is milder but a bit more alarming. Thus far, it's stayed on the West Coast—maybe it likes the beach. This one doesn't involve high fevers, for which we can all be grateful, but it does include some pretty nasty nosebleeds, and those can make people seem a lot sicker than they really are. If your nose starts bleeding, simply grab a tissue and head for your local hospital. They'll be able to fix you right up."

He was still smiling. He was never going to not be smiling. He was going to die smiling. He knew it, and still, the news rolled on. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have to beg you to indulge me for a moment. Some individuals are trying to spin this as a global pandemic, and I wish to assure you that it is nothing more than a nasty pair of summer flus. Please do not listen to reports from unreliable sources. Stick with the news outlets that have served you well, and remember, we're here to make sure you know the real story."

"And...we're clear!" said one of the production assistants, as the cheery strains of the station break music began to play. The anchor kept smiling. "Great job, Dave. You're doing fantastic. Can I get you anything?"

"I'm good," said the anchor, and kept smiling. No one seemed to have noticed that they had no footage, no reports from experts or comments from the man on the street. All they had was a press release from the governor's office, and strict orders to read it as written, with no deviation or side commentary. They were being managed, and no one seemed to care, and so he kept on smiling, and waited for the commercial break to end.

There was no footage. There was always footage. Even when good taste and human decency said not to air it, there was footage. Humanity liked to slow down and look at the car crash by the side of the road, and it was the job of the news to give them all the wrecks that they could stomach. So where was the wreck? Where was the twisted metal and the sorrowful human interest story? Why did they have nothing but words on a teleprompter, and silence from the editing room?

"And we're back in five...four...three..." The production assistant stopped in mid-countdown, eyes going terribly wide. "Dave? Do you feel all right?"

"I'm fine. Why?" He kept smiling.

"You're bleeding."

The news anchor—Dave Ramsey, who had done his job, and done it well, for fifteen years—suddenly became aware of a warm wetness on his upper lip. He raised his fingers to touch it, and looked wide-eyed at the blood covering them when he pulled away again. He smile didn't falter. "Oh," he said. "Perhaps I should go clean up."

When the broadcast resumed, his co-anchor was sitting there, a cheerful smile on her face. "We have an update from the Centers for Disease Control, who want us to reassure you that a vaccine will be available soon—"

***

News anchor Dave Ramsey passed away last night of complications from a sudden illness. He was forty-eight years old. A fifteen year veteran of Channel 51, Dave Ramsey is survived by his wife and three children...

When will you Rise?