So I am utterly delighted to be returning to Borderlands Books in San Francisco, California this coming Saturday, March 25th, where I will be celebrating the release of Magic For Nothing alongside the fabulous Mishell Baker, who is celebrating the release of Phantom Pains. In my case, that's the new InCryptid; in her case, it's the new Arcadia Project; in both cases, it's guaranteed to be a good time.

With two authors and double the word-y goodness, we're not bringing the full band this event (also, we accidentally scheduled it on top of Consonance, which means most of the band is busy anyway). We will have a raffle, and if the cupcake place gets back to me, we'll have cupcakes (no answer as yet). On the off chance that we don't, remember that the cafe sells delicious baked goods, and would be happy to hook you up with something yummy.

The event will begin at 5pm. If you can't make it, please contact the bookstore ahead of time to place an order for a signed, personalized book: we're happy to hook you up. I'm collecting raffle prizes and packing my bags, and I can't wait to see you all!

TWO NEBULA NOMINEES ENTER. TWO NEBULA NOMINEES LEAVE. IT TURNS OUT THIS IS NOT A DEATH MATCH.

Roll on San Francisco!

What: Post-NYCC Author Coffee Klatsch

When: Monday, October 10 at 11:00AM-1:00PM (revolving door event; guests do not need to arrive at a particular time)

Where: Random House offices—1745 Broadway, NYC 10019 (between 55th and 56th streets)

RSVP: Please RSVP to delrey@randomhouse.com with “RSVP” in the subject line and the full names of everyone in your party in the e-mail body.

Details: Guests will sign in at the front desk upon arrival and security will direct them to the 2nd floor Club Room for coffee and mingling with authors. PRH will be stocking the first-in-series book for every attending author to sign and give away. Books will not be sold at this event. Readers are encouraged to bring any books they wish to be signed as there will be a limited supply of giveaway copies.

If you're in or around New York, I hope to see you there!

It's time for bullet-point updates! Hooray!

* Tomorrow (Tuesday, June 21st) marks the release of RISE, the complete Newsflesh short fiction collection. This book gathers everything from "Everglades" through Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus, along with two never-before-published pieces, All the Pretty Little Horses and Coming to You Live. It's not intended as an introduction to the world--at least four of the novellas are post-the original trilogy, which makes them great whopping slices of spoiler--but I'm incredibly proud of this material, and over the moon about finally having a short fiction collection of my very own. I feel like Stephen King. It's pretty awesome.

* Today is the last day of the Unicorn Empire T-shirt pre-sale for their gorgeous Toby Daye design. Don't miss out!

* CrossingsCon is this weekend! The first ever Young Wizards fan convention, and I'm one of their guests of honor! I keep closing my eyes and remembering standing in my middle school library with So You Want to Be a Wizard in my hand, and I'll be honest: I feel like a wizard right now. In Life's name, and for Life's sake, I feel like a wizard. Because somehow, I have willed the adulthood I wanted into being, and for all that it's not perfect, it's the imperfection that makes it all seem real.

Everything is amazing.

I will be at the Kinokuniya Books at 1073 Avenue of the Americas this coming Saturday from 3:00pm until we're done! The plan has me reading from Every Heart a Doorway before chatting merrily with whoever shows up, answering questions, and getting distracted by Pokemon.

I hope to see you there!

I will be appearing at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, California tomorrow at 6pm, to celebrate the release of Every Heart a Doorway! Le gasp!

I will have the last of the lovely promo postcards Tor.com did for the book, in case you missed them before; I will also have a special surprise reading that no one has heard before.

If you are unable to attend, remember that Borderlands does mail order, and would be happy to send you a signed (and even personalized, if you so desire) copy. They ship all over the world, and have very reasonable postage rates.

I hope to see you there!

If you're in the San Francisco area and looking for an adventure, may I suggest you spend tomorrow night, Thursday, April 21st, at the downstairs room of the Armory Club, enjoying a delightful evening with Inside Storytime? Where else can you get me, Charlie Jane Anders, Daryl Gregory, and other people who I don't know but who are probably incredibly cool, all in the same place?

The event begins at 7:00pm at the Armory Club (1799 Mission St.). There is a five dollar cover. Come for the stories, stay because the building is surrounded by terrifying wasps the size of puppies and no one who goes outside comes back again.

I am excited and ecstatic and overjoyed to remind you all that I will be appearing at San Francisco's own Booksmith on Monday, April 4th for the launch party of my newest novella, Every Heart a Doorway.

The story of what happens on the other side of the portal fantasy, Every Heart a Doorway follows the students of Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children as they try to deal with the reality of their pasts, presents, and futures. And a little bit of murder, naturally.

The fun begins at 7:30pm; RSVPs are appreciated but not required. There will be books for sale. Signed, personalized books can also be ordered through the Booksmith website.

It all begins with a doorway...

Come see me this Friday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at the Concord, California Half-Price Books! I'll be signing (and selling author's copies) until the cows come home!

...yeah, this is a short post. Oh, well. Hope to see you there.

Hey! You!

This coming Saturday, December 5th, will be the book release party for Chimera at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, California! Borderlands Books is an independent bookstore specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery; what's more, they are happy to take phone and email orders for signed and personalized books. Yay!

The party begins at 3:00pm. Come for a Q&A, signing, raffle, and the usual "more." What does "more" mean? Well, you'll have to be there to find out.

In case you missed it, the open discussion post for Chimera is located here. Have fun!

...the taxi's not waiting yet (and is also my mother), but in very little time, I will be kissing my cats on their foreheads despite their grumbles and complaints, heading for the airport, and embarking on another adventure. Specifically, an adventure in changing climates and trying not to freeze. Yes: it's once again time for Seanan Goes To New York.

At least it's not February this time.

I have bunches of events while I'm there; so bunches that the best place to find out where I am, when, is by checking the Appearances menu on my website. I try not to steer y'all away from here, since everybody hates to click things these days (so weird to me), but there are too many for me to be sure of not missing one if I try to translate them over. Also, the Appearances page gets updated constantly, and blog posts, well, don't. So if you're in New York, I hope I'll be seeing you soon!

As always, my mother, sister, housemate, and very large dog will all be here while I'm out of town, so the house is not actually primed for robbing. I may be even slower than normal to respond to non-emergency inquiries for at least the next week, while I get used to East Coast time. Thanks for understanding, and rock on New York!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

Tomorrow's Party Schedule!

The Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show is returning to our home of homes at Borderlands Books, and we couldn't be happier about it. SEE! The Amazing Amy, imported all the way from Wisconsin to enchant you with her wicked ways! HEAR! The Incredible Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff, masters of the rocking arts! GAZE IN AWE! At Paul and Beckett, guitar and harmonica, as they ensnare your senses! And I'll be there, of course.

Our evening...

4:00 PM: Setup, sound check, and final details. You can show up, but we may ignore you if you do. Sorry about that.
5:00 PM: Welcome to our party. We're done ignoring you now. Would you like to say hello?
5:15 PM: How about some music?
5:45 PM: Perhaps you would like to win things.
6:00 PM: Now there will be cupcakes and autographing.
6:30 PM: More music?
7:00 PM: More prizes?
7:10 PM: Q&A and book discussion.
7:40 PM: Let's raffle some more stuff off.
7:50 PM: Thanks and final questions before we close the evening.

This iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show will be in the cafe; the bookstore will be open throughout the evening. The cafe will also be open, and they've promised to have plenty of bread and delicious pastry this time. Raffle tickets will be available through the two standard methods: show up, or buy something from the bookstore.

All performing musicians will have CDs for sale, because we're predictable like that. There may also be T-shirts. There will be cupcakes provided in the bookstore as part of the party, and a whole cafe full of delicious things to purchase and enjoy. If you can't come, remember that the store does phone and email orders, and will be happy to provide you with a signed book.

It's gonna be a good night. Hope to see you there.

Hey hey hey psst hey.

Hey.

If you're in London, come see me tomorrow night at the big Forbidden Planet Megastore, located 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, from 6:00PM until we're done. I will be signing books, of which there will be many, until all the books are signed and chaos reigns supreme. Or, you know. I get sleepy and go home.

Hope to see you there!

For justice!

I will be a Special Guest at the upcoming Emerald City Comic-Con (ECCC). But where, you may wonder, will that put me?

Friday.

Signing. 12:00-1:00PM, location TBA. Me, Myke Cole, and Django Wexler will be signing copies of Operation Arcana, the new, awesome military SF anthology from John Joseph Adams

Hard Sci-Fi Made Easy. 1:30-2:20PM, Hall B (WSCC 602-603), moderated by John Lovett. Join me, Sarah Remy, Dave Boop, and Kevin J. Anderson as we have a SCIENCE PARTY. To be followed by a signing at JJ 10/11. Books will be available for sale from the University Bookstore, located at booth 2803.

Saturday.

Defense Against the Dark ARCs: Dealing With Trolls, Controversy and Criticism. 3:30-4:20PM, Hall B (WSCC 602-603). I will be discussing the darker side of life in the Internet age, alongside Emma Michaels, Patrick Rothfuss, Isaac Marion, and Heather Reasby. To be followed by a signing at JJ 10/11. Books will be available for sale from the University Bookstore, located at booth 2803. Up against the Rat Queens social club, so I will totally not blame you if you're not there.

Sunday.

Transmedia Storytelling. 12:30-1:20PM, Hall B (WSCC 602-603), moderated by John Lovett. It's the transmedia panel! Join me, Holly Black, Frank Beddor, and Myke Cole, and thrill as Holly and I insist that talking about our cats for an hour is TOTALLY TRANSMEDIA. To be followed by a signing at JJ 10/11. Books will be available for sale from the University Bookstore, located at booth 2803. (I cannot recommend picking up Holly's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown strongly enough.)

When not on a panel, I can usually be found at my table, located at KK10, right between Myke Cole and Isaac Marion. Look for the mantis shrimp hair if you're not sure which one of us is me.

If you can't find me, why not visit some of my friends and colleagues and favorite humans?

Amy Mebberson and James Silvani will be at I-09, and taking commissions daily.
Espionage Cosmetics will be at 303 / 2811—visit them for awesome nail wraps, including Mira Grant designs!
Optimystical Studios will be at 306, and will have new, original, highly limited Toby Daye and InCryptid jewelry.
Unicorn Empire will be at 1221, with great fannish designs.
Kory Bing will be at 310, and has all the InCryptid Field Guide post cards available for sale.
Dylan Meconis will be with Erica Moen at 1318; visit them both for big wows.
Girl Genius will be at 704, for SCIENCE.
Randy Milholland will be with Danielle Corsetto at 1312. I like Randy. He sends me cat pictures. Adore him.

Torrey, who allows me to use her kitchen, would like me to also remind you all that Comic Book Characters For Causes will be doing photo ops to raise money for Camp GoodTimes this year. Camp GoodTimes is a no-cost summer camp for children with cancer, and it's a great cause. Meet an awesome superhero (and there's a cornucopia to choose from), have your picture taken by a professional photographer, and be able to tell anyone who thinks that shot of you and Captain Marvel is a little weird that you did it for charity. They also have calendars and T-shirts for sale, and can be found at the Cospitality Lounge, located in the Skybridge Lobby. Do good with do-gooders this year.

I am extremely excited to remind you all that I-as-Mira Grant will be returning to San Francisco's own Borderlands Books on Tuesday, November 25th, to celebrate the release of Symbiont.

In this sequel to 2013's Parasite, everything that was bad already gets much, much worse, with the war between the humans and the tapeworms reaching a horrifying new peak. As a reminder, this is a trilogy now: I couldn't wrap everything up in just two volumes, and Chimera will be coming out in 2015. So while I really, really want you to buy this book and feed my cats, I can't promise to put a tidy bow on things just yet.

Actually, I can promise the exact opposite.

On a sideways but related note, Borderlands also has a limited number of copies of Harvest Season, the new anthology from the SF Squeecast. With cover art by the lovely Ursula Vernon, this book boasts three never before seen novellas, two short stories, and a poem. The copies in the store are also signed by all the authors, and the cover artist. So they're super-special, and way pretty, and make great gifts. (Because copies are so limited, they are not on the Biblio page: you need to contact the bookstore directly. Retail is $25 USD.)

I hope to see you next week!

I am pleased as punch to report that I will be appearing at the Forbidden Planet super-store in London on Wednesday evening, beginning at 6PM and continuing until they throw us out!

I will be signing whatever people have to hand, although the event is specifically celebrating the release of the first three InCryptid books in their beautiful new UK editions from Corsair Books. There is no charge to attend, although the bookstore would, as always, appreciate it if you bought something. Bookstores are like that.

This is my first big London event, and I really hope to see you there!

Hey, folks! Sorry I'm so quiet right now—I'm still trying to dig myself out from under the epic flood of crap relating to my book tour—but I thought you might like to know what I'm doing tomorrow night. Namely...

Writers With Drinks! Come out, drink booze, meet awesome authors, and hear me read something (assuming I don't start drinking early and dip into my stand-up act, which would be funny but dangerous).

If you're in the Bay Area, come out and get your drink on! If you're not, I will be dropping by Borderlands Books before the event, and can sign and personalize anything that's waiting for me there. I cringe saying this, but: holiday shopping takes time, and you can skim a little off the top by contacting Borderlands, who will shove things in front of me and then mail them to you, no fuss, no muss.

Well. Maybe a little muss. But only a little.

See you tomorrow night!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

Tomorrow's Party Schedule!

The Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show is returning to our home of homes at Borderlands Books, and we couldn't be happier about it. SEE! The Amazing Mary, imported all the way from Alabama to enchant you with her wicked ways! HEAR! The Incredible Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff, masters of the rocking arts! GAZE IN AWE! At Paul and Beckett, guitar and harmonica, as they ensnare your senses! And I'll be there, of course.

Our evening...

4:00 PM: Setup, sound check, and final details. You can show up, but we may ignore you if you do. Sorry about that.
5:00 PM: Welcome to our party. We're done ignoring you now. Would you like some music?
5:30 PM: Perhaps you would like to win things.
5:40 PM: Now there will be cupcakes and autographing.
6:00 PM: More music?
6:30 PM: More prizes?
6:40 PM: Q&A and book discussion.
7:10 PM: Last music of the night.
7:40 PM: Let's raffle some more stuff off.
7:50 PM: Thanks and final questions before we close the evening.

This iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show will be in the cafe; the bookstore will be open throughout the evening. The cafe will also be open, and they've promised to have plenty of bread and delicious pastry this time. Raffle tickets will be available through the two standard methods: show up, or buy something from the bookstore.

All performing musicians will have CDs for sale, because we're predictable like that. There may also be T-shirts. There will be cupcakes provided in the bookstore as part of the party, and a whole cafe full of delicious things to purchase and enjoy.

It's gonna be a good night. Hope to see you there.

I will be appearing at Harvard University's very own Vericon this weekend, along with such luminaries as Tamora "I shaped your childhood and swear like a sailor" Pierce, and N.K. "We were on the Hugo ballot for the first time in the same year and are now bound in blood, ink, and tears" Jemisin. It's going to be awesome! Even if it does require me to fly to Boston first. In the middle of the winter. To where the snow lives.

If you're local to the Boston area, swing on by! Here's my schedule:

Saturday 12:30pm-1:30pm: A panel on constructing identity; how to flesh out different types of characters, as well as writing to an audience that identifies as fans of speculative fiction.
Saturday 2:00pm-3:00pm: A panel on supernatural/nonhuman creatures; how writers create concepts of supernatural creatures or interpret pre-existing myths; additionally, how to write sympathetic nonhuman characters.

I will also be signing on Saturday from 4:30-5:15pm at the Harvard Bookstore, along with some of the other authors. Whole lotta shin, little bit of dig.

I hope to see you there, and I hope you'll bring me Diet Dr Pepper, because the jet lag is going to be brutal on this one. Seriously. You may get to see me having a conversation with the space lobsters, and that's always fun.

Vericon!

Guys guys guys! The Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling* Show is tomorrow! For the eighth time, my band of merry wanderers will descend upon San Francisco, bringing music, chaos, and the excitement of a book release party with us! This time, we're actually not going to be at my beloved Borderlands Books, although they will be selling books at the event: thanks to an opening in the Variety Preview Room Theatre, we're going to be trashing someone else's house for a change! The party begins this coming Saturday at 6:00 PM, at...

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor (use the entrance next to Citibank on Market St.)
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE.

Delicious cupcakes! Free popcorn, for that circus feeling! A cash bar, including a signature cocktail designed just for us, The Snakehandler! Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff rocking the house, now with special bonus Paul Kwinn and imported bonus Vixy! And this time, I'm not the only author who's going to be taking her turn in the ring. That's right: I have AWESOME BONUS GUESTS. Sarah Kuhn, awesome author of the geek rom-com One Con Glory, will be joining the fray, as will Amber Benson, whose latest Calliope Reaper-Jones adventure, The Golden Age of Death, dropped just two weeks ago.

Three authors. A lot of music. Plenty of sugar. Accessible booze. NOW HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY?

I thought so.

Seating at the Preview Room is limited, so please show up early. We are a kid-friendly circus, although there will probably be swearing (I'm planning to show up, I swear a lot). The doors will open at 6:00 PM to allow for getting drinks and books, meeting people, and generally relaxing into the night; the Circus takes the stage at 7:00 PM. Here is the full schedule for the evening (subject to change):

6:00 PM: Welcome to our party! The doors will open for milling, schmoozing, hitting the bar, and finding seats. AND CUPCAKES!
7:00 PM: Would you like some music?
7:30 PM: Perhaps you would like to win things.
7:40 PM: Now there will be a reading! WHO WILL IT BE? NO ONE KNOWS! (Amber, Sarah, or Seanan.)
8:00 PM: More music?
8:30 PM: More prizes?
8:40 PM: Another mystery reading!
9:00 PM: Last music of the night.
9:30 PM: Q&A and book discussion.
9:50 PM: Thanks and final raffle before we move to the lobby for signing.

One note from the management:

"Don’t Drive—Seriously. Parking sucks in this area. Take BART or MUNI downtown, as we are directly adjacent to the Montgomery Street BART/MUNI station! Street parking ($3.50 per hour/coins or meter card, no charge cards) is metered 7 days a week til 6PM. If you have to drive, we suggest parking at the Folsom St. Garage at 3rd & Folsom (cheapest), across from Moscone Center."

See you Saturday!

(*No snakes will be present at the event, which is a shame, because I like snakes. I will content myself with humans. FOR NOW.)

Greetings, people of Earth.

I will be appearing today at Borderlands Books in San Francisco at three p.m., where I, along with John Joseph Adams, will be explaining the world domination plans as described in The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination. (We do not believe in confusing titles here in the lab. Confusing titles mean melted minions, and that's a waste of resources.)

I understand that you may have other things to do, but I implore you to attend the event, or to contact the bookstore to order signed books, as we will look kindly upon those who support the anthology, and given the size of my vegetable hybrid army, "looking kindly" may save your city from being used as an incubation hive.

From my heart and from my hands, why don't people understand that I just need to subjugate them all to my will?

Still waiting for her shiny new Australia,
Seanan.

So Friday night, I will be appearing at The Booksmith in damp, drizzly San Francisco, California, as part of their Read Until the World Ends Halloween Bookswap. I've never done one of these before, so I turn to their website for details:

"$25 gets you dinner and an open bar, a bookstore all to yourself and forty of your new best friends, discounts and swag, a chance to rub elbows with amazing authors, and tons of surprises. Amy Stephenson hosts."

$25 to share a room with me and an open bar. Oh, the drinks that we'll drink! Oh, the thinks that we'll think! Oh, the giggling as I slowly list gently onto my side and go to sleep! I...okay, that last part wouldn't be very professional of me. So I won't do that. But if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area and looking for a fun way to spend a Friday night, come and spend it it with me in my guise as Mira Grant, and with all the boozimohol the bookstore can provide.

Whee!

Hey, happy people! Guess what?

I'm about to get on a plane bound for Portland, Oregon, that's what, where I will host the Portland installment of the SFWA Pacific Northwest Reading Series. Starting tonight at 7:00 PM, quote...

"The next Portland event will be held on Monday, October 15 and will be hosted by New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire, accompanied by Jay Lake and M.K. Hobson."

So come out and see three awesome authors, get books signed, and hang out in an awesome venue. Events are free, and we'd all love to see you there.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a plane to catch.

Zoom!

This coming Saturday is the LitQuake LitCrawl, part of an awesome eight-day event celebrating the wonderful world of books! And, if you're part of the LitCrawl, booze.

LitCrawl has been crawling across the country this month, and arrives in San Francisco to celebrate the end of the LitQuake, arriving in the Mission District and commencing the literary havoc. And now, it has crawled to San Francisco.

I will be reading at Borderlands Books, as part of the Pulp-y Fiction event. This is a component of LitCrawl Phase 2, and should be totally awesome. I'm reading with Cassie Alexander, S.G. Brown, and Seth Harwood. Join us for havoc.

Like, seriously, havoc. We may degenerate into name calling and biting. Lines will be drawn, things will be said, and soda will. Be. Spilled. The event starts at 7:15; I recommend being early if you want to sit down.

See you there!

This past weekend was the latest iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show (about which there will be more later; I'm pulling together our set lists). And, as has become the norm for us, we had several children under the age of five in attendance, at least for the first part of the evening. I'm pretty sure only Josh, who I keep referring to as "the micro-human," made it to the end of the evening. The Circus itself comes with three children under ten. All children were fabulously well-behaved, with attentive parents who kept them occupied and distracted them whenever they started getting bored.

Early on, one of the children, who is just hitting the age of "oh, wow, music is AWESOME!!!" did some delighted laughing at the sound check. A few dirty looks were directed. I promptly claimed the microphone, pointed out the kid in question, and made sure the room was aware of just how happy I was to have him there, and how happy I was that his parents felt we were a safe space.

I did not see any further dirty looks.

So here, just to be clear, is my official position on children at book release parties: as long as you're happy to miss part of the reading or the set list because your kid is crying and you need to go walk around outside, I am happy to have you. Not just happy: ecstatic. On the rare occasions where I have events that are not child-friendly, it will be clearly stated from the get-go. You know, "Hey, it's me and Chuck Wendig, we both swear a lot and egg each other on, so unless you want your kids to get sent home from school eighteen times, please leave them home." Why?

Because when I was a kid, people took me out to see and do things. I fell asleep behind the harp case at Golden Bough concerts, I fell asleep on the lawn at Beach Boys concerts...I was a very sleepy child. And before I fell asleep, I ran around, I laughed, I shrieked, I was fussy, I did kid stuff. I was allowed.

This is not me saying "you, person without children, you are less important than that baby who has been screaming next to you for ten minutes." I expect that parents who bring their kids to my events will be responsible, and guess what? So far, I've been right. If that changes in the future, I'll be taking the microphone to say "hey, if you need a quiet space to walk your baby back to sleep, here's a place you can do it." I'd say the same thing if an adult had been screaming for ten minutes. Although maybe a little less nicely.

What this is is me saying "everybody gets to come to the party." As long as we're all playing nice and being responsible, we are all welcome. No dirty looks for anybody. And our reward? Is watching my mother dancing with toddlers, which is pretty damn awesome.

I love my fanbase. Y'all are so cool.

Oh, the places you'll go, oh, the places I'll be! Here's where to start if you're looking for me...

Thursday, July 12th.

1:15 PM, Room 6A: Not with a Bang, with a Bite.

It's the obligate zombie panel! Because really, that's what I do. Join me-as-Mira, along with Jeyn Roberts (Dark Inside), Michael Spradlin (Blood Riders), Diana Rowland (Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues), Stephen Blackmoore (City of the Lost), Dana Fredsti (Plague Town), Susan Dennard (Something Strange and Deadly), and Max Brooks (World War Z). Let's see if Max and I can get into another argument about his virology, shall we? Also, you will love Stephen. He's the bomb. The panel will be immediately followed by an autographing session, wherein I will sign whatever you bring me.

Friday, July 13th.

5:00 PM, Booth 1116: Mira Grant signing.

Nothing says "Friday the 13th in San Diego" like Mira Grant signing at the Orbit booth! Come for signatures, cool swag, and the chance to have me beam at you like a lunatic while I try to drink enough Diet Dr Pepper to put me in an early grave. It'll be fun!

Saturday, July 14th.

10:30 AM, Room 5AB: Hot Town: Faeries in the City.

Mmmm, 10:30 AM panel on Saturday. On the plus side, you know you'll be able to get a seat. On the double-plus side, you know none of us will be awake enough to be filtering a damn thing that comes out of our mouths. Come for the urban fantasy, stay for the raw humor value of me and Jeff Lewis calling each other cockwaffles. Join me-as-Seanan, along with Benjamin Tate (Leaves of Flame), Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles), Kat Richardson (Seawitch), Jennifer Bosworth (Struck), Anton Strout (Simon Canderous series), Jeanne Stein (Anna Strong Vampire Novels), J.F. Lewis (Void City books), and S. G. Browne (Lucky Bastard). The panel will be immediately followed by an autographing session, wherein Jeff and I will begin chewing on Kat.

Sunday, July 15th.

12:00 PM, Room 32AB: Browncoat reading.

Mira Grant joins the San Diego Browncoats for a reading from "San Diego 2014," and to answer any questions you might have. And yes, we know this is up against Buffy. Stupid late schedule changes.

1:00 PM, Booth A-07: Mira Grant signing.

And then it's off to the Browncoats booth for a signing! Hooray for signings!

...and that is all my official business for the weekend. Unofficial business will include shopping, panels, ice cream, Amy-hugs, Amber-hugs, Sunil-hugs, Kaja-hugs...hugging is going to be a key part of this convention.

Onward, to San Diego!

Here's a reminder for all you Mira Grant fans out there:

I, and by extension, she, will be appearing at Borderlands Books this coming Saturday, June 2nd, at 6:00 PM. Why? To celebrate the release of Blackout, naturally! There will be Q&A, cupcakes, and a reading from "San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats."

As an extra added bonus, if you come early, Mary Robinette Kowal, also known as "the voice of October Daye," will be at the story at 3:00 PM, reading from and promoting her awesome new book, Glamour in Glass.

Borderlands events are free of charge, and the store is more than happy to take orders for signed and inscribed copies, if you can't attend.

I hope to see you there!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

Tomorrow's Party Schedule!

5:00 PM: Setup, sound check, and final details. You can show up, but we may ignore you if you do. Sorry about that.
6:00 PM: Welcome to our party. We're done ignoring you now. Would you like some music?
6:30 PM: Perhaps you would like to win things.
6:40 PM: Now there will be cupcakes and autographing.
7:00 PM: More music?
7:30 PM: More prizes?
7:40 PM: Q&A and book discussion.
8:10 PM: Last music of the night.
8:40 PM: Let's raffle some more stuff off.
8:50 PM: Thanks and final questions before we close the evening.

This iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show will be in the cafe; the bookstore will be open throughout the evening. The cafe will also be open, and they've promised to have plenty of bread and delicious pastry this time. Raffle tickets will be available through the two standard methods: show up, or buy something from the bookstore.

All performing musicians will have CDs for sale, because we're predictable like that. There will be cheese and cupcakes provided in the bookstore as part of the party, and a whole cafe full of delicious things to purchase and enjoy.

It's gonna be a good night. Hope to see you there.

It is with great pleasure that I remind you all that the latest iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show will be assembling this Saturday at San Francisco's own Borderlands Books. We'll be getting underway at 6pm, and rocking the roof until closing time comes and they kick us all out! Why are we partying?

To celebrate the release of Discount Armageddon, naturally.

There will be cake! There will be cheese! There will be music and a raffle and reading and some Q&A, and it will be a hootenanny of a good time, with a whole lotta hoot AND a whole lotta nanny! Bring your kids! Bring your siblings! Bring your slime monsters! We totally hope to see you there.

Oh, and: Caitlin Kittredge and Ben Macallan, both of whom are made of hammered awesome, will be at the bookstore before the Circus comes to town! Their event starts at three. Come early, and make a day of it!

Remember that Borderlands does take telephone and email orders, and would be happy to send you books signed by any of the lovely authors who will be haunting the store that day. Get a book already touched by pure awesome. Or, you know. Ink. The party starts Saturday at 6pm!

Cheese! And! Cake!

People of Earth!

Mira Grant* will be appearing at San Francisco's own Borderlands Books this coming Saturday at 3:00 PM, to celebrate the release of Stephen Blackmoore's awesome new book, City of the Lost. I blurbed it, even! Here's what I said:

"The gritty streets of City of the Lost are filled with snappy dialog, and fascinating characters, as well as a rollercoaster of a plot that doesn't slow down from beginning to end. This is the zombie crime novel we didn't know we were all waiting for."

Stephen will be making his Borderlands debut, and you know you want to come out and make him feel at home. Besides which, this is your opportunity to hear about an awesome new book, hear readings, ask questions, and generally shine a little light of spectacular on the landscape. Borderlands does take requests for signed and personalized copies; both Stephen and I will be happy to sign anything that's put in front of us. Oh, and so will Mira.

Hope to see you there!

(*You know, my somewhat evil—or, I guess, eviler—alter-ego.)

Things are insane around here (which is ironic, given that I'm finally between conventions), so here are the updates and events du jour, presented in convenient bite-sized fashion.

Science Crawl.
Tomorrow night (Friday, November 4th) the Bay Area Science Crawl will be at Borderlands Books from 7:15 until 8:15 PM. Quote: "The Bay Area Science Festival is proud to present the first ever Sci-Crawl, a coordinated takeover of venues throughout San Francisco’s Mission District, showcasing the science inherent in the neighborhood." I'll be appearing as Mira on a panel discussing the Science of Science Fiction, along with Jeff Carlson and Scott Sigler, and moderated by Brian Malow. The event is free, and should be super-fun. Come and join the geek!

Dental horrors.
Yesterday, I had dental surgery. Yes, again. This time, I managed to somehow break a titanium post inside my mouth. SUPER FUN. Without going into details, largely because they would freak me out, I shall simply say that I am rarely given that many pharmaceuticals during a twenty-four hour period, and I can still taste colors. No fun at all. I basically lost a day and a half to a great gray pit.

T-shirt mailing.
According to my spreadsheet, there are still over a hundred shirts that have not been introduced to envelopes. Over a hundred means that one in three, roughly, has not been mailed. Unless you have reason to think that gnomes have stolen the contents of your mailbox, please don't email yet asking where, specifically, your shirt is located. I'm packing and mailing them just as fast as I possibly can, and this being such a manual process means that it's very hard to track specific list items. Also, because there is such a variance of colors and styles, sometimes the only way to find a shirt is to remove all the shirts around it, which makes it impossible to go "oh, you mean this one? Yeah, it's right here." So I plead for patience. All you do by poking without good cause is make me, and Deborah, sad and grumpy.

Cats.
We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of Alice getting so very, very sick, and she has realized that this means she can basically get away with anything, just by doing while Not Being Sick. This morning, she hit my abdomen like a fuzzy bowling ball, shoved her wet feet up my nose, and trilled happily, only to receive hugs and love, because She Wasn't Sick. Am I setting a bad precedent? Yeah, probably. Do I care? Not one damn bit. Alice isn't sick, and that's really what I need out of life.

Television.
All the shows are coming back on the air. ALL THE SHOWS. Bones starts up again tonight, and I'm gamely plugging through season two of Criminal Minds, which means I may be catching up to watching it live before too much longer. It may seem counter-productive to watch this much TV while also trying to get writing done, but it actually speeds me up, by giving me something to finish for. Speaking of which...

Writing.
Ashes of Honor is done, and I'm getting ready to go into draft two. Midnight Blue-Light Special is finally moving at what I'd call a reasonable pace, and I'm about a quarter of the way through the projected text. And there are various other projects kicking around, including the second installment of the latest Vel story, which will take us to four for the year I can so make my goal. Hah.

Zombies.
Are love.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you tomorrow's...

PARTY SCHEDULE!

4:00 PM: Setup, sound check, and final details. You can show up, but we may ignore you if you do. Sorry about that.
5:00 PM: Welcome to our party. We're done ignoring you now.
5:15 PM: Would you like some music?
5:55 PM: Perhaps you would like to win things.
6:00 PM: Now there will be cupcakes and autographing.
6:30 PM: More music?
7:10 PM: More prizes?
7:15 PM: Toby Daye Q&A and book discussion.
7:45 PM: Last music of the night.
8:25 PM: Let's raffle some more stuff off.
8:30 PM: Assuming people are not too busy buying books and eating cupcakes, I will read something. No, really.
9:00 PM: Last raffle drawing of the night and we close the evening.

This iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show will be in the bookstore proper; the cafe will be open throughout the evening, and they've promised to have plenty of bread and delicious pastry this time. Raffle tickets will be available through the two standard methods: show up, or buy something from the bookstore.

All performing musicians will have CDs for sale, because we're predictable like that. Mia will be there with pendants for sale, and they are gorgeous. There will be cupcakes and candy provided as part of the party, and a whole cafe full of delicious things to purchase and enjoy.

It's gonna be a good night. Hope to see you there.

Hey, gang, this is your friendly reminder that the fifth iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show will be appearing this Saturday, October 1st, at San Francisco's own Borderlands Books. Festivities will commence at five, and will include delicious baked goods, live music, our inevitable raffle, and a Toby Daye Q&A.

This iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show includes, in alphabetical order, Jeff "Heavy Metal Squid" Bohnhoff, on guitar and sound; Maya "Sonic Boom" Bohnhoff, on guitar and vocals; Michelle "Ceiling Cookies" Dockrey, on vocals; Tony "Code Monkey Likes You" Fabris, on guitar and vocals; Beckett "Don't Lick That" Gladney, on harmonica; Paul "The Cute One" Kwinn, on guitar and vocals; Betsy "Living Improbability" Tinney, on cello and vocals; and me, doing my usual mix of vocals and random stage patter.

Kate and Ryan will be running support, because they are awesome, and my mother will be running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Jude and Naamen will be keeping the bookstore from burning down (respect the bookstore). Mia will be on hand for pendant sales, and Victor and Lara will be on hand for AWESOME (and inevitably getting drafted).

It's going to be an awesome time, with signings and questions and cupcakes, and you should come. If you can't attend, remember that you can contact the bookstore to place orders for delivery, and get your books signed by attending our Circus in your heart.

See you Saturday!

Hey! It's time once more for Science Fiction in San Francisco, the game where the rules are made up and the points don't matter! This Saturday, July 9th, at the Variety Preview Room Theatre in San Francisco, California. Doors open at 6:00PM, readings begin at 7:00PM. Who's going to be there? John "I am so damn cool, I wrote songs for Blue Oyster Cult" Shirley, and Mira "Who wants to find out what's lurking in the haunted cornfield?" Grant. To quote the Mira bio from the website:

"Mira Grant may or may not have attended SF in SF before. She is the evil twin of local urban fantasy writer, Seanan McGuire, who shot to fame last year by winning the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer at the WorldCon in Australia. More recently Mira's personality has crept to the fore. Her debut science fictional zombie tale, Feed, has received nominations for Best Novel in the Shirley Jackson and Hugo awards. Rumors that Mira has kidnapped Seanan and plans to torture her to death in various slow and painful ways are hotly denied by her publicist (but then he's a demon and does everything hotly). Mira's new novel, Deadline, a sequel to Feed, is currently available in bookstores and summoning circles for appropriate payment."

See how awesome this event is? I get a DEMON PUBLICIST. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to find out that he's been outed to the world by a local literary event. Hopefully "thrilled" won't involve cleansing us with fire.

Readings will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Terry Bisson. Admission is free, but there will be a cash bar, with all proceeds benefiting Variety. There will also be book sales courtesy of the ever-awesome Borderlands Books. Support a good cause and a local bookstore and see me read live! Fun for everybody!

Hope to see you there!

I am delighted to be returning to my beloved Borderlands Books tomorrow, this time as my urban fantasy-writin', fairy tale-lovin' self, along with the lovely Ben Macallan, who is making his urban fantasy debut. (Ben Macallan is a pseudonym for my darling Chaz Brenchley, who is about as closeted in his pseudonym as I am in mine. It's a wonderful world.)

There will be readings, questions, answers, prizes, and a general good time for everyone. The fun starts at 3:00 PM. This is mostly Ben's party; I'm along to be the plucky comic relief, and the plucky comic relief would really appreciate it if you could show up, since it's no fun being plucky to an empty house. I'll be reading from the new Tybalt novella, "Rat-Catcher," and possibly also from One Salt Sea. And I'll be very glad to see you, as will Ben.

(Also remember that the bookstore takes phone orders, and that I'd be happy to inscribe things for you, as would Ben, if you can't attend.)

I hope to see you there!

1. I am basically over The Death Plague From Hell at this point, but I remain exhausted and behind on damn near everything. I'm catching up as fast as I can, but with 500+ LJ comments and nearly as many emails to go through, I'm having to do a lot more "is this actually urgent?" triage than I like. Please be patient, and don't yell at me if two whole days go by without my getting back to you.

2. While I'm asking for favors...please don't link me to Goodreads or Amazon reviews. I really and truly try to avoid reviews on those sites, because they just make me sad and twitchy. (Yes, there are excellent, erudite, well-composed reviews in both places. But the number of mean or thoughtless reviews is very high, and frankly, I don't have the energy to filter through them looking for the good stuff.)

3. If you missed the Deadline book release, or if Toby is more your cup of tea, remember that I will be back at Borderlands Books this coming Saturday, appearing alongside the fabulous Ben Macallan (aka Chaz Brenchley). He's asked me to join him so he'll have a partner for cards if no one shows up. Let's surprise him by having EVERYONE show up. I'll be reading from my new Tybalt prequel story, and there may be some awesome unexpected giveaways...

4. Everyone on the Wicked Girls shirt spreadsheet should have received their initial emails at this point. If you don't have one, please check your spam filter, as the email from Deborah (coming from a Gmail.com address) is somehow not getting to you. If you think I may have the wrong address for you, please let me know ASAP.

5. My house is an absolute disaster zone, and I'm going to need help cleaning out the closets soon. If you're local, not allergic to cats, and think spending a day going through the things I have shoved into my shelves would be fun, drop me a line. This is less "cleaning" and more "de-cluttering, purging, and organizing," which means it's less physical labor, more Tetris for the live-action set.

...so in short, please be patient, and I will try to deal with all emergencies in the order in which they were received.

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!

At this very moment, the lovely Catherynne M. Valente is in my guest bedroom getting ready for an event of such awesome and awe-inspiring proportions that it has actually stunned my cats into submission! (Okay, it was probably all the scritching that did that. But still...)

Cat is currently on tour for her new YA novel, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. In addition to having the longest and hence most awesome title in this season's young adult releases, The Girl Who... features a girl named after a month of the year, a giant leopard, libraries, fairy queens, and all the other things one needs in a work of truly awesome literature.

Why does this matter to you, you ask me? Because today, and today only, you can see Cat at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, where she will be appearing at three PM to read, give a Q&A, and sign whatever you may happen to shove in front of her (no children that don't belong to you or legally binding contracts, please). She's full of pep and promise, and totally rockin', and you should come.

If you're more interested in Cat's adult work, she will be appearing at Writers With Drinks tonight at 7:30PM, where there will be boozimohol and slightly less YA content. A good time will be had by all, except by those who can't make it.

As a final note, please remember that Borderlands does take online and telephone orders, and that if you contact them before today's event, you can request personalized copies of any of Cat's books that they have in stock. (You can also request personalized copies of my books, but I am not the point today.)

Come out if you can, and help us blow the roof off this house!

Hey, gang:

Just a quick reminder to let you know that I will be at the Borders Books and Music in Roseville, California from one to four tomorrow afternoon. The store has made sure to get in copies of all my books, including the distressingly elusive A Local Habitation, and I'll have interesting things for show-and-tell, like copies of the German A Local Habitation, and cover flats of One Salt Sea.

The store address is:

Borders #130
2030 Douglas Blvd, Suite #9
Roseville, CA 95661

Big bookstore signings are always sort of hit or miss, and I hate it when I wind up sitting alone, trying not to stare at the shoppers like a hungry pug tied up outside the window of Starbucks. Please come and save me from the terror of having my eyes bulge out of my head with boredom. (I am excited to be appearing at this Borders, mind; I've never been there before, and it's an excuse to drive to Sacramento, which my perverse little soul regards as "fun.")

Hope to see you there!

LJ appears to be vaguely stable again, which is a nice change. I missed you, LJ! I know that blogging is dead, and it's the age of Farmville or the Tweet or whatever, and I'm on Facebook (technically) and Twitter (avidly), but my heart's true home is here, in Blogland, where I can write full sentences and punctuate them properly without worrying about the number of commas I use. I LOVE YOU, OXFORD COMMA.

Ahem. Anyway...

We're in a vague lull right now, which is nice, since it's letting me catch up on my word counts. I knocked out 2,000 words of Blackout last night, and then turned around and wrote almost as much on "Crystal Halloway, Girl Wonder, and the Truth Fairy's Curse," which sounds like a fluffy cross between Nancy Drew and every Harry Potter knock-off ever, but is, no shit, the most depressingly nihilistic thing I've written in years. Possibly ever. I made a giant spider cry. I have no regrets.

I do have a book event at the Borders in Roseville, California scheduled for next Saturday, and if you're local, it would be awesome if you could drop by. Borders events are much more low-key than the Traveling Circus, and sometimes it winds up just me, sitting at my little "in-store author" table, working on art cards and pretending that I'm not lonely. Help me not be lonely!

Speaking of being lonely, there's been, like, a hugenormous influx of people recently, and I honestly can't tell why. There was a little bump last week, when I posted about my decision to withdraw from Wicked Pretty Things, but since then, it's just been like, WHOA HOLY CRAP I DON'T HAVE THIS MANY PLATES. So if you're new here, hello! Welcome! Can you please tell me who you are and how you got here? I'm totally thrilled to have you, I just like to have some vague idea of what's going on. (Yeah, right. Like that's ever going to happen.)

In other news, water is wet, zombies are love, Jean Grey is still dead, and Thomas is rapidly approaching an improbable size.

What's new with you?

Did you miss the latest iteration of the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show? Do you like your events a little more low-key? Do you want to hang out and get things signed? Well, you're in luck on all three counts, because I will be at the Other Change of Hobbit in Berkeley, California this Friday, from seven to nine PM.

Yes, I will read; yes, I will sign; yes, I will answer silly questions. Yes, there may be music, because I am me, and it is borderline inevitable that there will be music when I go around being me in a public place. Yes, the bookstore has copies of Late Eclipses, as well as all my other recent publications, including Whedonistas. Yes, I hope to see you there.

Book events are fun!

This past Saturday was my fourth Toby-related book event at San Francisco's Borderlands Books, home of naked cats, tolerant employees, and, every six months or so, the Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show. We've appeared in other locations, but Borderlands is the one we keep going back to; Borderlands is the home base for this particular flavor of insanity. Why? Because we like them.

This particular party was slated to start at six and run until nine, giving us three hours in which to sell books, answer questions, make music, and feed people vast quantities of sugar. We arrived at the bookstore en masse around four-thirty, while the prior event was tearing down, and toted ALL THE THINGS inside. Seriously, when we go into carnie mode, we're a scary mob of ALL THE THINGS. It looks like we're planning to actually move in. Wisely, people scattered; just as wisely, Kate (who met us at the bookstore) hauled me away to put food in me, since I'm about as much help during setup and tear-down as a Gila monster with a machine gun.

People began showing up around five-thirty, while we were in the midst of final touches, final placements, and soundcheck. Jeff ran our small but spunky sound system, while Kate worked the raffle table and ensured (along with Mom) that everyone got a ticket of their very own. Six o'clock hit, heralded by the arrival of my cupcakes, and we got that party started.

As always, the festivities were divided between music, Q&A, baked goods, and drawing prizes in our raffle. The questions were new and different, the raffle prizes were an awesome mix of standard and surprising (including some special additions by the bookstore, which made things even more spectacular), the cupcakes (from Cups and Cakes Bakery) were delicious, and the music was rocking. The set lists:

SET ONE:
1. "Thirteen." Michelle "Vixy" Dockrey, lead vocals, tambourine; Maya Bohnhoff, Seanan McGuire, backing vocals; Tony Fabris, guitar; Betsy Tinney, cello.
2. "Dear Gina." Seanan, lead vocals; Vixy, backing vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, creepy creepy cello.
3. "High Desert." Maya, lead vocals; Jeff Bohnhoff, guitar; Kristine Bohnhoff, backing vocals; Vixy, backing vocals; Betsy, cello.
4. "Pocket Man." Maya, vocals; Vixy, backing vocals; Jeff, guitar; Betsy, cello.
5. "We Can Be Anything." Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.

SET TWO:
1. "Radio Free Luna." Maya, lead vocals; Vixy, backing vocals; Jeff, guitar; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.
2. "Manhattan Sleeps." Maya, Kristine, vocals; Vixy, backing vocals; Jeff, guitar; Betsy, cello.
3. "Tam Lin." Vixy, Maya, Seanan, vocals; Jeff, guitar; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello; Vixy, djembe; Maya, shaker.
4. "Walmart." Maya, lead vocals; Vixy, backing vocals; Jeff, guitar; Betsy, cello; Vixy, tambourine.
5. "Oak and Ash and Rowan and Thorn." Vixy, lead vocals; Maya, backing vocals; Vixy, djembe.

SET THREE:
1. "Alligator in the House." Vixy, lead vocals; Maya, backing vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, kick-ass cello.
2. "Tanglewood Tree." Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.
3. "Apprentice." Vixy, lead vocals; Maya, backing vocals; Jeff, Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.
4. "Got to Fly." Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar.
5. "Wicked Girls." Seanan, Vixy, vocals; Tony, guitar; Betsy, cello.

"Thirteen" and "Apprentice" are on Vixy and Tony's first album, Thirteen.
"Dear Gina" is on Seanan's third album, Red Roses and Dead Things.
"High Desert" and "Radio Free Luna" are on Jeff and Maya's fourth album, Möbius Street.
"Pocket Man" is on Jeff and Maya's third album, Aliens Ate My Homework.
"Manhattan Sleeps" is on Jeff and Maya's second album, Manhattan Sleeps.
"Tam Lin" and "Alligator in the House" are on Tricky Pixie's first album, Mythcreants.
"Tanglewood Tree" and "Wicked Girls" are on Seanan's fourth album, Wicked Girls.
"Got to Fly" is on Marian Call's second album, Got to Fly.

A good time was had by all. We raised the roof; I signed more books in a single sitting than I ever have before, even at Comicon; the cupcakes lasted eight minutes, tops; nothing got broken. We're already making plans and getting our ducks in row for the next time that the Circus comes to town.

Thanks to everyone who attended, and to everyone who didn't...see you next time!

1. I don't know why this needs to be repeated, but here you go: If you friend this journal, I will friend your journal in return, so that you can see any friend-locked contests or giveaways (they're rare, but they happen). I will not necessarily read your journal, as I am very, very outnumbered, and I need to sleep occasionally. Assume I don't see anything you post unless you point it out to me explicitly. If you unfriend this journal, I will unfriend your journal in return. This is not a personal thing. This is just mirror-image reciprocity.

2. If you're looking for book release dates, or want to know when/where a story will be appearing, check my bibliography page. I update it regularly, and while not all recently-sold stories will be present (since I don't add things until they have a firm release date), this will answer ninety percent of the "when can I get...?" questions.

3. If you want to know where I'm going to be and when I'm going to be there, check my appearances page. It, too, is updated frequently (although I'm not as good about editing past appearances to put them in the correct tense as I would like to be). I'll usually post about an upcoming appearance here, but long-range planning is rendered easier by the actual appearances page.

4. If I was supposed to mail you something—a poster, a CD, a book you won in a contest, a severed human head—and you haven't received it, the appropriate channel for letting me know is via email. My website contact link is easy to find and easy to use, and if I don't know you don't have something, I can't look into it. I don't use mail confirmation when I send things; the additional postage cost is simply not an option. So please, please, if you don't have something you think you should have, email me!

5. Zombies are love.

People of Earth, consider this your final warning: The Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show will be descending on Borderlands Books tomorrow, from six to nine in the evening. There will be cupcakes from Cups and Cakes Bakery, including the famous (or infamous) Mad Tea Party cupcakes originally conceived for the Emilie Autumn concert. (Chai cake, ginger buttercream, and strawberry jam.) We will endeavor not to eat them all before you get there, but it's gonna be hard.

There will be no actual snakes.

This iteration of the Circus includes Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff, who have never joined us for this particular madness, and are going to go a long way toward rocking the proverbial house. We'll have a raffle, a Q&A period, book signings, and all the random cheering you can stomach. There may even be some random dancing. Do you hear me? RANDOM DANCING!!!!

Come help us celebrate the release of Late Eclipses, and my first appearance on the New York Times bestseller list. If you can't attend, remember that you can order signed and inscribed copies of any of my books from Borderlands, and they'll be happy to hook you up.

Hope to see you there!

What: Late Eclipses release party.
Where: San Francisco's own Borderlands Books, home of the naked kitties.
When: Saturday, March 19th, from six to nine PM (probably followed by decamping down the street for dinner, because That's How We Roll).
Why: Because we like you!

The Traveling Circus is descending upon Borderlands in a new incarnation, to dazzle, delight, and entertain you as we celebrate the release of Late Eclipses. This particular circus spectacular will feature Vixy "Kitsune Girl" Dockrey, Tony "Tony" Fabris, Betsy "The Cellonator" Tinney, Jeff "Heavy Metal Squid" Bohnhoff, and Maya "The Crusher" Bohnhoff. Oh, also, me. This is the first time the Bohnhoffs have joined us for a Traveling Circus, and I'm very excited about the whole thing.

There will be a raffle, readings, Q&A sessions, music, and cupcakes. Borderlands Cafe will be open right next door, to satisfy your nourishment needs (because let's face it, man does not live by cupcakes alone). We always have a great time at these things, and part of what makes them so awesome is the way people show up and help us party. So please, show up! Help us party!

It's going to be a fun night.

Late Eclipses [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxy] is nearly upon us, and you know what that means. TRAVELING CIRCUS TIME!

The Traveling Circus (this time consisting of myself, Betsy Tinney, Vixy & Tony, and Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff) will be descending on San Francisco's own Borderlands Books on March 19th, where we will do our best to blow the roof off with our characteristic mix of music, madness, and random, unexpected cheering. There will be a raffle, and the cafe will be open to fill your bellies with delicious food. This is Jeff and Maya's first day at the Circus, so please show up and help us show them how we roll.

I'll post a reminder when we get closer to the event, and of course, all events are listed on my website appearances page.

Also potentially of interest, for those of you who can't make it to the party: remember that Borderlands Books will take orders for signed and inscribed books, and will happily ship them all over the world. I'll be swinging through the store on Tuesday, where I'll happily sign any books that are waiting in my queue. So if you want a personalized book, drop the store a line, and trade some cash for the knowledge that my pen has been put to paper in your name.

It's really a book!

As you may or may not remember, I'm going to be a special guest at Arisia 2011 this coming January, in Boston, Massachusetts. This comes with many exciting duties and opportunities, including—drumroll please—BREAKFAST!

So here's the deal: There's going to be a special Breakfast Buffet on Sunday, January 16th. It starts at 11AM, which means we should all be awake. Hooray! But wait, there's more. See, there are twelve tables, and twelve "table hosts," who will be hanging out, chatting, and generally being awesome for the duration. The hosts include Shaenon Garrity, Kelley
Armstrong, Josh Simpson, Rene Walling, Bob Eggleton, Frank Wu, Cecilia Tan, Catherynne Valente, Eric from Eric in the Elevator, Hildy Silverman, Michael Anderson, and, well, me.

If I weren't a table host, I would be having serious emotional conflicts over the question of whose table I wanted to join. Shaenon, for mad science glory? Cat, for, well, The Cat and Seanan Show, Take Twenty? Kelley, for Canadian urban fantasy awesome? But this choice is not mine to make: it is yours.

$35 will reserve your spot at the table of your choice. Each table will seat the host plus seven others, so sign up soon to be sure of getting your preferred placement on the floor. To quote the convention for a change, "Go to http://2011.arisia.org/buffet for more information, ticket purchasing, and bios on all twelve of our hosts. Avoid the crowds in the hotel restaurant, have scintillating conversation with fascinating people, and enjoy a variety of breakfast foods, including meat and vegetarian options. Hurry, tickets are selling rapidly!"

Personally, anything that includes food is cool by me. I even promise to use silverware, and not talk about flesh-eating bacteria at the table. Hope to see you there!

I am getting ready to hop on a plane bound for Portland, Oregon, where I will be the Filk Guest of Honor at Orycon 32, Portland's very own science fiction and fantasy convention. It's going to be a hoppin' weekend, filled with thrills, chills, and me trying not to walk into walls due to lack of sleep. Fun for the whole family!

My schedule for the weekend is as follows:

Friday, November 12th.
Opening Ceremonies, 7:00 PM. There is going to be an opening! It will be ceremonial! It will involve stuff! Also probably nonsense, flailing, and, you know, me. You should come.

Saturday, November 13th.
Reading, 10:30 AM. My reading conflicts with the second half of the SFWA business meeting, so I fully intend to show up out-of-breath and strung-out on caffeine, which is really the best way to begin a reading, if you ask me. Come! Hear me read something weird!

Signing, 12:00 PM. I'm part of the noon signing group, along with my beloved Jay Lake (and lots of other people). I will be signing pretty much anything that's put in front of me, except for binding contracts and checks.

Vixy and Tony concert, 4:00 PM. Come hear Vixy and Tony be AWESOME. Probably with help from Sunnie and me. AWESOME.

Seanan McGuire concert, 5:00 PM. For some reason, they expect me to show up for this. Huh. Can't imagine why...

Zombies!, 7:00 PM. It's time to get down with the living dead, and spend our Saturday evening talking about stuff too dead to live, and too dumb to care. I plan to wear my Mira pants, and bring the pandemic pain.

Sunday, November 14th.
The Match Game 2010, 11:00 AM. Wacky contestants will try to match answers with six panelists for real prizes! I'm a wacky contestant. Be afraid.

The Old Songs, 1:00 PM. I am the youngest person on the History of Filk panel. This should be fascinating.

Mixing Genres, 3:00 PM. To quote the panel description, "Combining genres—what readers want from blended genre stories, and why some editors and agents have trouble with them." Let's rock and roll.

So that's my schedule for the weekend. I'll be around the con at odd hours, naturally, and there will be copies of all three of my CDs available at the Friends of Filk table in the Dealer's Hall. Yes, all three: I found my leftover CD box from Montreal last year, and am bringing these precious, precious copies of Stars Fall Home to Portland. Where they will hopefully not come home with me. I miss my house.

Orycon!

Back in mid-September, Borderlands Books in San Francisco played host to the third Traveling Circus and Snake-Handling Show, assembled to celebrate the release of the third (yes, already) October Daye book, An Artificial Night. Yay! I love Borderlands, I love the Circus, and I love book release parties, so this was like a whole casserole baked entirely out of pixie dust and joy. PIXIE DUST AND JOY.

We began with me, Amy, Brooke, Ryan, and Mia at my house, getting ready for the day ahead of us. This largely consisted of "putting on clothes" and "packing the event kit," a large orange plastic box that carries all the non-perishables needed for a big book party (raffle tickets, raffle prizes, bookmarks, paper plates, pens for signing stuff, occasionally one or more of the cats if we don't seal it fast enough). Ryan and Mia drove off with Amy. Mom picked the rest of us up, along with my youngest sister* and her girlfriend, and we drove to San Francisco, only stopping off to buy classy, classy cake from the warehouse store.

We got to the bookstore hours early, and stowed our stuff in the bookstore before scattering to find food. Amy, Brooke, and I would up going to a tacqueria down the street, which fed us delicious Mexican food, and kept Brooke from killing and eating us all. I ate a chicken burrito, nom, and we walked back to the bookstore to find a Kate sitting outside, reading a book, and the rest of the descending Circus waiting inside. Hooray! CIRCUS TIME! The entire Circus was wearing orange and black and green. ORANGE GIRLS OF THE WORLD, UNITE. Seriously, it was MAD AWESOME.

The night was divided into five distinct activities: music; raffle drawings; cake; reading; Q&A. We had breaks between activities, so people could mill, visit, use the bathroom, and shop (being as we were in a very large, enticing bookstore and all).

MUSIC: Musicians from everywhere! Alphabetically by instrument, we had Brooke Lunderville on banjo, Betsy Tinney on cello, Amy McNally on fiddle, SJ Tucker on guitar and vocals, Michelle "Vixy" Dockrey on vocals, and me on occasional "flustered author is flustered" vocals. (We did close with "Wicked Girls," so that's all right.)

RAFFLE: You got one ticket for showing up, one ticket for a purchase from the cafe, and one ticket for a purchase at the bookstore, for a maximum of three tickets per person. The drawing included everything from books to pendants to toys, and was fun, as always, with the usual amount of fuss and cheering for the winners. Buckets of fun.

CAKE: We had two cakes, and no cake cutting device. So Alan, glorious Alan, cut the cake with a gladius. I love having events at Borderlands. I love it SO DAMN HARD.

READING: Because I didn't want to read from the third Toby book, I read "Lost" from Ravens in the Library. When I started the story, the store had three copies left in stock. When I finished it, they had...zero. Literally, I started to say "I think this may be the last one," and Jude signaled that no, it had been sold while I was reading. Super-fun! Also, I made Vixy cry. Flawless victory.

Q&A: The Q&A was, as always, insane. You should come to one sometime.

During the milling sections, people talked, bought books, bought pendants, and bought copies of Sooj's new album, Mischief. (We wound up selling out of that, too.) Many books were sold, many hugs were given, and at the end of the night, we bid the bookstore a fond farewell and went down the street to Fritz, where we ate fries and mussels and crepes, and were joyful.

Everybody loves a night at the circus. Don't you?

(*The one who looks like a zaftig gothic Betty Page.)c

Last night was all about me and Cat Valente and the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art, home of the New York Science Fiction Review series of readings. Because, you know, when you import yourself a couple of fairy tale girls, the only thing to do is stick them in front of a large crowd and wait for the fun to begin.

But the fun has to begin at the beginning...

My flight got in right on time, which was a small blessing, since I wasn't really sleeping very well. Mind you, the fact that I was able to sleep at all made me a lucky girl. I had actually upgraded my ticket to Main Cabin Select, as that was the only way to get out of being crammed into a middle seat for five hours in the air. I turned out to be the only person in my row, and was able to pull the "belt yourself into the middle seat, curl up like a pillbug, and sleep" trick. Blessed empty seats, how I adore thee. But there were screaming babies on the plane, and there was turbulence, and it was not a restful night.

Jon and Merav collected me from the airport, and—after dropping Merav at work—Jon drove me home...where Kate was already waiting on the front stoop. Whoops. We went inside. I plugged in my laptop to make sure nothing was on fire, and the phone calls began, making it quite clear that a nap was not in my future. Well, fine, be that way, universe. After showering and changing my clothes, we were off, to meet The Agent in lovely downtown Manhattan, and eat lunch. Because without sleep and without food, I was going to murder someone.

(Incidentally, this was the first time The Agent got to meet Kate. They got along. So when they destroy your puny planet, don't worry. I'm sure they'll make you a nicer new one before long.)

Lunch was challah French toast and mussels, at least for me. Om nom. From there, we went to a lovely tea house The Agent knew about, where she and Kate drank lovely tea, and I passed out on a love seat. Eventually, The Agent went off to do something else, and Kate stole my headphones, while I...passed out on the love seat again. But then! A Cat Valente came and joined our party! Hooray! Kate and Cat sat and chatted while I achieved that nebulous state known as "wakefulness," and we set out for the venue. With one of those "only in New York" stops along the way, to buy hand-crafted artisan popsicles. No, seriously. I mean it.

We ate our popsicles, giggled a lot, and walked onward, to the SoHo Gallery of Digital Art...and into our very own fairy tale. The walls were covered in our books, our faces, our everything, and it was incredible. It was like a dream. I squeaked. We stared in awe. And then, because we needed our fairy tale faces in this fairy tale place, we ran off to change our clothes, Cat into a mad awesome tailored suit, me into a bright orange skirt and green top. And then the flood began.

We were both a little worried, in that abstract author way, that no one would show up. It turns out that what we should have been worried about was violating fire code, as the room wound up so packed that we ran out of chairs, then ran out of wall, and finally, ran out of places to stand. Wow. Everyone from DAW came—I got to meet Saladin!—and so did most of my New York friends, along with people like K. Tempest Bradford and Ellen Kushner and Teri Windling OH MY GOD I MET TERI WINDLING.

Ahem.

Cat read an absolutely gorgeous piece from The Habitation of the Blessed. I read "Laughter at the Academy: Field Studies in the Development of Schizotypal Creative Genius Personality Disorder." Everyone sighed and swooned at Cat's reading; everyone laughed in the appropriate places at mine. I got to shout "IGNITE THE BIOSPHERE!" in a room full of people who'd actually come to hear me do just that. It was magical.

In the Q&A afterward, someone asked us if we'd ever considered doing a photo shoot as Snow White and Rose Red.

And Cat and I laughed.

Okay, like, wow. How is it October? It's not supposed to be October. It's supposed to be, I don't know, somewhere comfortably in the middle of August (only then I suppose the Hugos wouldn't have happened yet, and I'd still be a neurotic mess, so maybe that's not the best thing for me to be wishing for). I love the fall, it's my favorite time of the year, and I love October, it's my favorite month of the year, and since I both need a three-week-long nap and a finished draft of the fifth Toby book, this whole "welcome to October" thing isn't working out for me as well as it otherwise might.

On the plus side, however, I'm mostly packed for tonight's red-eye to New York. I'll be met on the other end by Jon (of Jon and Merav), who will carry me off to my East Coast home in Jersey City. (Let's face it. Once I understand how to handle your recalcitrant plumbing, I basically live with you.) I will then take a really long nap, because good ye gods, red-eye flight, before a) letting Kate into the flat, b) calling The Agent about lunch, and c) heading into Manhattan for the big adventure.

What big adventure, you may ask? Why, me, reading with Cat "the Crusher" Valente at the New York Review of Science Fiction. TWO AUTHORS ENTER, BOTH AUTHORS PROBABLY LEAVE. I'm so excited! When you put me and Cat on the same stage, and give us a microphone, a good time is basically guaranteed. The doors will open at 6:30 PM, and there's a five dollar suggested donation. I recommend arriving early, for good seating (although I don't think there's going to be a splatter zone). Cat put it really well. She said, "Sometimes I get matched up with another reader with whom I become friends, but being paired with one of my sisters and shipmates just makes everything so fun and relaxed. Plus, we encourage each other dreadfully." So come and see us encourage each other dreadfully! It's going to be a fabulous time.

I'm also going to be at the New York City Comic Con this upcoming weekend, as both myself and my own evil twin. Seanan will be doing the Penguin Panel on Friday night, and a signing at the Penguin booth on Saturday. Mira will be doing the Zombie Panel on Saturday night, and a signing at the Orbit booth (also on Saturday). I'd love to meet you! Please, swing by if you're at the convention! Just, y'know, please don't show up for my Seanan-signing with eight copies of Feed, or my Mira signing with all the Toby books. I try not to antagonize my publishers like that.

I get to see The Agent, and The Editor, and all my New York friends. I get to eat interesting food and ride the PATH train and generally have a wonderful time. All while making word count every night, because a girl has got to eat (or she'll end up on the street). And then I get to fly home, and keep making word count, because word count never rests.

Anyway, if you're in New York, I hope I get to see you, and if you're not, I hope I get to see you some other time. Any pending prizes will be mailed when I get back, as I am a bad blonde, and forgot to buy new book mailers.

Oh, babe, I hate to go.