The random number generator has spoken, and proven that it is truly random by choosing...1. I've never actually seen that happen before. I was very impressed. Anyway, the winner of copies of The Winter Long and A Red-Rose Chain is...

bree_ramsey314!

Instructions for the winner: Please comment on this post letting me know that you're claiming your prize and send me an email via my website (www.seananmcguire.com) with your mailing information. Both comment and email must be received by Monday, December 14th to be considered valid.

Eight more days to go!

...copies of The Winter Long and A Red-Rose Chain!

Welcome to the fifth of the Thirteen Days of Hogswatch. I will be starting a new giveaway every day between now and December 13th. Each giveaway will have different rules, and a different deadline, although all prizes will be mailed on December 30th, because I am bad at going to the post office (and also, avoiding the post office until that other winter holiday is over).

The fifth giveaway is for copies of The Winter Long and A Red-Rose Chain (October Daye #8 and #9, respectively). Because these are later books in the series, I ask that you please not enter if you haven't read the earlier books; I would feel terrible for spoiling you. This is going to be a random number drawing, because I'm about to leave for my Borderlands event. So...

1. To enter, comment on this post.
2. If you are international, indicate both this and your willingness to pay postage.
3. Name your favorite Toby character.
4. That's it.

I will choose the winner at 1PM PST on Saturday, December 12th.

Game on!

I'm putting together my giveaway schedule for August, and I have a lot of copies of The Winter Long. I also know that most of y'all have either a) bought that book, or b) not started the series. So here is my question:

Do we have enough people here who are caught up otherwise who still need a copy of The Winter Long? I don't want to send book eight to folks who've only read books one and two; that's counter-productive and really spoiler-y. At the same time, I want to make sure people with limited book budgets can still read A Red-Rose Chain when it comes out. Thus checking to see whether this would be a valid giveaway plan.

Caveat: I am still not up for international mailing. So this is really a question for my US readers.

Comment amnesty is on for this post. I just need data.

The random number generator has spoken, and the winners of a signed, personalized copy of The Winter Long are...

melchar
nutmeg_44

Please contact me via my website contact form within the next twenty-four hours to provide your mailing information. All information must be received via my website to be considered valid. If I do not hear from you within twenty-four hours, you will no longer be eligible to receive your prize.

Eleven more drawings to go!

...two copies of The Winter Long!

Welcome to the first of the Twelve Days of Hogswatch. I will be starting a new giveaway every day between now and December 25th (some other winter holiday). Each giveaway will have different rules, and a different deadline, although all prizes will be mailed on December 29th, because I am bad at going to the post office (and also, still mailing shirts).

The first giveaway is for two copies of The Winter Long, the eighth October Daye adventure. This is going to be a random number drawing, because I am sleepy. So...

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

I will choose the winners at 1PM PST on Monday, December 15th.

Game on!

ETA: Multiple people have commented indicating that they'd like to start this series. Please, please do not begin this series with book eight. I know free stuff is awesome, and of course you can win without having read the first seven, but seriously, this book will not be half as good if you have no idea what's going on.

I am delighted to announce that The Winter Long debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List in position #12, a new high for this series (and for me as a whole). With every book, we inch a little closer to the top ten, and I couldn't be more delighted.

I was very nervous about this book. This was the one where everything changed, where I started pulling strings and showing why certain things never quite seemed to line up. If this series were an episode of Leverage, this book would have been the moment in act three where the con turned and everything suddenly fell into place. Which means, being me, that I have been consumed with terror over the idea that people would think I had somehow cheated.

(It is exhausting, living inside my head. I do not recommend it.)

It has been an honor and a privilege to bring you all with me this far into October's world. All the pieces are in place for the beginning of act two, and I sincerely hope that you will stay with me for as long as it takes to see where the road leads us from here.

Thank you all, so very much.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

To celebrate the release of The Winter Long, here. Have an open thread to discuss the book. Judging by the comments I'm seeing, some of you have had time, and I'd really, really rather book discussion (sometimes including spoilers) didn't crop up on other posts.

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. (I will not reply to every comment; I call partial comment amnesty. But I may well join some of the discussion, or answer questions or whatnot.) I will be DELETING all comments containing spoilers which have been left on other posts. No one gets to spoil people here without a label.

You can also start a 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, since I always wind up getting involved in these things.

Have fun, and try not to bleed on the carpet.

As of tomorrow, The Winter Long will be officially available from bookstores all over North America, and from import stores all over the world. It's been spotted in the wild from California to New York, with several points between also chiming in to let me know that they've got copies. Hooray!

Since it's release week, I figured it was time to once again answer the wonderful people asking how they can help. So here are a few dos and don'ts for making this book launch awesome.

DO buy the book as soon as you can. Sales during the first week are very important—think of it as "opening weekend" for a movie—but they're not the end-all be-all. If you can get the book tomorrow, get the book; if you can get it at my book release party next month, get it at my book release party. Whatever works for you. Brick-and-mortar store purchases are best, as they encourage reordering. If you've already bought the book, consider buying the book again during release week, as a single copy might get lonely. They make great gifts!

DON'T yell at other people who haven't bought the book yet. I know, that's sort of a "why are you saying this?" statement, but I got a very sad email from a teenager who'd been yelled at for not buying A Local Habitation the week that it came out. So just be chill. Unless you want to buy books for people who don't have them, in which case, don't yell, just buy.

DO ask your local bookstore if they have it on order. If your local store is part of a large chain, such as Barnes and Noble, the odds are good that the answer will be "yes," and that they'll be more than happy to hold one for you. If your local store is small, and does not focus specifically on science fiction/fantasy, they may have been waiting to see signs of interest before placing an order. Get interested! Interest is awesome!

DON'T berate your local bookseller if they say "no." Telling people they're overlooking something awesome doesn't make them go "gosh, I see the error of my ways." It makes them go "well, I guess it can be awesome without me." Suggest. Ask if you can special-order a copy. But don't be nasty to people just because their shelves can't hold every book ever written.

DO post reviews on your blog or on Amazon.com. Reviews are fantastic! Reviews make everything better! Please, write and post a review, even if it's just "I liked it." Honestly, even if it's just "this wasn't really my thing." As long as you're being fair and reasoned in your commentary, I'm thrilled. (I like to think you won't all race right out to post one-star reviews, but if that's what you really think, I promise that I won't be mad.)

DON'T get nasty at people who post negative reviews. You are all people. You all have a right to the ball. That includes people who don't like my work. Please don't argue with negative reviewers on my behalf. It just makes everybody sad. If you really think someone's being unfair, why don't you post your own review, to present an alternate perspective? (Also, please don't email me my Amazon reviews. I don't read them, I don't want to read them, and I definitely don't want to be surprised with them. Please have mercy.)

DO feel free to get multiple copies. No, you probably don't need eight copies for your permanent collection, but remember that libraries, school libraries, and shelters are always in need of books. I'm donating a few of my author's copies to a local women's shelter, because they get a lot of women there who really need the escape. There are also people who just can't afford their own copies, and would be delighted. I wouldn't have had half the library I did as a teenager if it weren't for the kindness of the people around me.

DON'T feel obligated to get multiple copies, or pressure other people to do so. Seriously, we're all on budgets, and too much aggressive press can actually turn people off on a good thing. Let people make their own choices. Have faith.

DO check with your local library to be sure they have a copy of on order. If they don't, you can fill out a library request form. Spread the paperback love!

DON'T forget that libraries need books. Many libraries, especially on the high school level, are really strapped for cash right now, and book donations are frequently tax deductible. If you have a few bucks to spare, you can improve the world on multiple levels by donating books to your local public and high school libraries.

DO suggest the book to bookstore employees who like urban fantasy. Nothing boosts sales like having people in the stores who really like a project. If your Cousin Danny (or Dani) works at a bookstore, say "Hey, why don't you give this a try?" It just might help.

DON'T rearrange bookstore displays. If the staff of my local bookstore is constantly being forced to deal with fixing the shelves after someone "helpfully" rearranged things to give their chosen favorites a better position, they're unlikely to feel well inclined toward that book—or author. It's not a good thing to piss off the bookstores. Let's just not.

So those are some things. I'm sure there are lots of other things to consider; this is, at least, a start. Finally, a few things that don't help the book, but do help the me:

Please don't expect immediate email response from me for anything short of "you promised us this interview, it runs tomorrow, where are your answers?" I normally make an effort to be a semi-competent correspondent, but with a new book on shelves, final edits due on Chimera, and Chaos Choreography in need of finishing, and me gallivanting around Europe, a lot of things are falling by the wayside. Like sleep.

Whee!

The Winter Long comes out on Tuesday, to my terror and delight, and the early reviews are beginning to filter in.

Whatchamacallit reviews has posted a review of The Winter Long, and says, "The first thing I have to say about Seanan McGuire is that her October Daye series gets better with each book. While I've liked each book, I've found that with each successive book in the series the overall series and each book got better, to the point that now when a new book in the series comes out I have to immediately go buy a copy and often finish it that day."

Also: "McGuire has done something I've seen only a precious few other authors do successfully, turn their entire world upside down. That's what The Winter Long is, it's a complete reversal from everything readers and fans of the series have known from the first book in the series. This is the turning point and while McGuire has built upon changes created from previous books in the series, she executed a perfect shift for the others leaving readers utterly unable to control their collective jaws from dropping."

Ta-da!

My Bookish Ways has posted a review of The Winter Long, and says, "Seanan McGuire mentions in her acknowledgements that this is the book that all others led up to, that everything she's done until now was for the sake of getting here. Indeed. What she manages to do is make it very clear how intricate Toby's story is, and the richness of Toby's world is a thing of genius. And don't worry, while The Winter Long clears up a TON of stuff, it’s made clear that Toby's story is far from over. This is a good thing. The Winter Long is a testament to McGuire's ability to take so many threads and pull them together into a harrowing, and believable tapestry, and it's all Toby’s own. While there's plenty of action, this is one of the most introspective books in the bunch, and of course, another great book in the Toby-verse."

Now that the reviews are out of the way, I have two requests. I promise they're small.

The first is to please remember how stressful and upsetting I find it when people put books out for sale early. The Winter Long comes out on Tuesday. While you are absolutely welcome to buy it if you find it before then, and may not have a choice (some retailers ship early), I am begging you, please don't tell me. My chances of making the New York Times list, which is still a big deal in finding out whether a series will continue, ride on that first Tuesday to Tuesday window. So if you can refrain from buying until the book is officially out, please do, and if you can't, please, for the love of the Great Pumpkin, don't tell me you got the book early.

The second is to please wait until I open the official discussion post before you begin your book discussion. I'll be in Scotland at the time, so it should be open very early indeed on the 2nd. But just in case something goes wrong, please don't start discussing here, or elsewhere on this blog. Spoilers are a big, big thing with this particular book.

It's almost here!

Fifty days. That's how long we have before The Winter Long will be on bookstore shelves (US on-sale date is September 2nd). Book eight. We made it to book eight. I remember when I was just caught in a loop, rewriting books one through four over and over again, making grandiose plans for book five, but never quite managing to break free and do anything new. Now I'm getting ready to start on book ten, and the path is very clear ahead of me.

Fifty days and five years: that's the distance between Rosemary and Rue and The Winter Long. At an average of 350 pages a book (average; please don't comment to say "but this one was only 338..."), that's almost 3,000 pages of Toby, with more to come. Honestly, I'm amazed she's lived this long, given everything that I've put her through. She's too stubborn to die and too fun to kill, which is probably the only thing that's saved her.

Fifty days and you get to find out everything I haven't been saying since book one. This is the volume where a lot of chickens come home to roost: it's always been planned as the game-changer for act one of the series. I think I managed to accomplish that. Early review copies are out in the world, and thus far there have been no spoilers, for which I am very grateful. I really like it when people can discover what I've done for themselves.

Fifty days. I'll be somewhere in Europe when this book drops (probably in Edinburgh, with Amal, hiding under whatever piece of furniture I can wedge myself beneath), twitchy and waiting for the reviews to come in, yet terrified of reading them. I wish I could be here to do my normal release day funtimes. I'm glad I'll be far away. Somehow, both emotions are succeeding in existing at the same time.

Fifty days. That's so long.

Fifty days. That isn't long at all.

Psst. C'mere.

So it's no secret that I love the covers DAW gives me, and that showing them off is one of my true pure joys in life. Chris McGrath has been designing Toby covers for eight books now, and he's amazing. Like, seriously amazing. Want proof?

Go ahead. Take a peek.

( Cut-tagged for the protection of your friends' list, which really doesn't need something this huge suddenly showing up without warning. But trust me, you should totally click.Collapse )

This is the June 2013 post. I have used up half the year. I am not okay with this.

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

Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (Parasite, Chimes at Midnight). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

Not everything on this list has been sold. I will not discuss the sale status of anything which has not been publicly announced. If you can't remember whether I've announced something, check the relevant tag, or go to my website, at www.seananmcguire.com. Please do not ask why project X is no longer on the list. I will not answer you.

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

So it's May 15th, and I'm two sleeps away from hopping onto a plane bound for Orlando, Florida, which means I'm scrambling a little to get everything positioned, polished, and ready to go. And because it's the middle of the month, it's time for the post in which I tell you what I'm working on, and you finally understand why I don't have time for tea.

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

Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (Parasite, Chimes at Midnight). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

Not everything on this list has been sold. I will not discuss the sale status of anything which has not been publicly announced. If you can't remember whether I've announced something, check the relevant tag, or go to my website, at www.seananmcguire.com. Please do not ask why project X is no longer on the list. I will not answer you.

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

It's April 15th! Tax Day! Which I really feel should be a federal holiday: work Tax Day, get the day after off to recover. Bleah.

Anyway, this is the post in which I tell you what I'm working on, and you finally understand why I don't have time for tea. To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (Parasite, Chimes at Midnight). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

Not everything on this list has been sold. I will not discuss the sale status of anything which has not been publicly announced. If you can't remember whether I've announced something, check the relevant tag, or go to my website, at www.seananmcguire.com. Please do not ask why project X is no longer on the list. I will not answer you.

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

March! Whaaaaaaaaat?

Anyway, this is the post in which I tell you what I'm working on, and you finally understand why I don't have time for tea. To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (Parasite, Chimes at Midnight). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

Not everything on this list has been sold. I will not discuss the sale status of anything which has not been publicly announced. If you can't remember whether I've announced something, check the relevant tag, or go to my website, at www.seananmcguire.com. Please don't ask why project X is no longer on the list.

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

Having been sick even unto death on January 15th, this is the first current projects post of the new year. Whoops. I'd say I was sorry, but again, sick even unto death; the coughing and throwing up and passing out sort of obviate my natural desire to apologize for everything under the sun.

Anyway, this is the post in which I tell you what I'm working on, and you finally understand why I don't have time for tea. To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (Midnight Blue-Light Special, Parasite). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

Not everything on this list has been sold. I will not discuss the sale status of anything which has not been publicly announced. If you can't remember whether I've announced something, check the relevant tag. Please don't ask why project X is no longer on the list.

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

So in the November post I mentioned that it was weird to be coming on Christmas and not planning for Disney World. Then I realized I could fix that, and so we're going to Disneyland for my birthday in January. (January 5th. I like birthdays.) PROBLEM SOLVED!

Anyway, this is the post in which I tell you what I'm working on, and you finally understand why I don't have time for tea. To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."

Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (Midnight Blue-Light Special, Parasite). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.

Not everything on this list has been sold. I will not discuss the sale status of anything which has not been publicly announced. If you can't remember whether I've announced something, check the relevant tag. Please don't ask why project X is no longer on the list.

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

It is with the utmost delight and no small amount of profound relief that I announce that the next three October Daye adventures have been acquired by DAW Books. That takes us all the way to ten, a benchmark I dreamt of but never thought I'd really reach.

The next three books are:

The Winter Long
A Red-Rose Chain
Once Broken Faith

(For the curious, the titles this time are from "A Winter's Tale," "Venus and Adonis," and "King Henry VI, Part iii.")

I am...I am over the moon. This gets us through some really major story beats that I've been patiently setting up since book one, and moves us very solidly into what I think of as "act two" of the whole series (act one concluded with One Salt Sea). There are two more books to come before I start on this new set, Ashes of Honor and Chimes at Midnight, and having the security of knowing the story will go on is just incredible.

Thank you, DAW, for having faith in me.

And thank you all, for reading.