Posts Tagged ‘book tour’

aaaaaand winter.

Fall has come and gone, leaving me with so many leaves to rake, and so many sad dog eyes staring at me because it’s raining and we can’t go to the park. Obi-dog and Agent Scully’s lives are, they assure me, the absolute worst. Also, BRB, I think I just heard Armpit McGee fall into the toilet.

Yep. But he’s OK!

Had a blast on tour this fall (thanks to everyone who came out and said hi). There were many highlights, but here’s one I won’t soon forget: finding a speakeasy in the back of a drugstore in Jackson, MS. I ordered a drink that tasted, no joke, like raw chicken. I sent it back. I never send anything back; I’m midwestern, dammit, but it seriously tasted like raw chicken. Katharine McGee and Jessie Ann Foley bravely tasted and agreed.

Also: stayed at a hotel in Austin for the Texas Book Festival and was plagued by nightmares and awoken at 4am by ominous loud whistling outside my door that continued off and on (and up and down the hall) for several minutes. Annoyed, I thought it must have been a bored member of the staff, and went back to sleep. Then in the morning, still unnerved, I googled the hotel and the floor I was on was reportedly haunted. Did I have a ghost experience? Can we just say I did, because I never have those.

THE YOUNG QUEENS novella comes out on December 26th in ebook:

And here it is in the UK:

I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the queens’ lives before we meet them in Three Dark Crowns. Speaking of Three Dark Crowns, work begins on the revision of Three Dark Crowns #3! Back in July, when I finished the first draft I tweeted that I thought about 60% of it was actually good! Oh how I look back on that tweet now, and laugh. And LAUGH. And then cry.

I’m staring down a January deadline in order to hold pace for our September release date, so I’m going to disappear down a writing hole and when I emerge will be pale, and nearly blind. I might pop out early if they decide to reveal the cover, or actual title. Until then, oh Three Dark Crowns #3:

Of course I say this to every book. Also, to every turkey.

Squeeze the Juice

Today, is my birthday. It is also French Bastille Day, and the birthday of the excellent author Kevin Emerson (EXILED), so happy birthday to him, me, and whatever the French are celebrating. The quote today, “squeeze the juice” is from Encino Man, which I never really watched, but Dylan has been quoting for weeks. “Time to squeeze the ju-uuce! No, no squeezing the juice! Squeeze the juice.” I don’t even know what the juice is, let alone if one should or should not squeeze it.

I don’t want to work today. So I may have gotten bored and updated my Goodreads biography using lyrics from 80’s and 90’s sitcom theme songs. I really wanted to get The Golden Girls in there, possibly the lines “traveled down the road and back again” but I couldn’t manage it. I did however, manage seven others, and that’s not too shabby.

The Mortal Gods tour is pretty much finalized, and I will be in NYC, Chicago, Lansing, Michigan, St. Paul, MN, Los Altos, CA, Portland, OR, Lake Forest Park, WA, and Baton Rouge, LA for sure. A few more stops may be added.

When I return from the road, there should be a new, Doberman baby waiting for me. We just heard from the breeder following an ultrasound, and our new dog-daughter or son on her or his way. I miss being a dog parent very much. Way back in the day, while my atrocious boyfriend was out wherever doing atrocious things, my dog-daughter and I used to sit home and drink wine (me, not her. Too young.) and read philosophy. I highly recommend drinking wine and reading philosophy with your dog. It’ll turn you into a guru for two hours.

You can do it with cats, but they’re already mainlining the truth of the universe like little Rustin Cohles, so instead of being encouraging they look at you like you’re a slightly lackluster infant.

Anyway, soon-to-be-no-longer-secret project 3B calls.

Stuff I’m reading: The Ape’s Wife and Other Stories by Caitlin R. Kiernan (read “Hydraguros” yesterday. Excellent.) And BETWEEN THE SPARK AND THE BURN by April Genevieve Tucholke. Fantastic so far.

If You Ask Me, Ren Is a Total Fox

Well nobody asked you. Ren is not a total fox. I love me some Kevin Bacon, but not in THAT way.

Why the Kevin Bacon quote? Because at dinner the last night I was at the Decatur Book Festival (prepare for namedrops) with Jackson Pearce, Margaret Stohl, David Levithan, Dan Krokos, Vicky Alvear Schecter, Rebecca Stead, Vaniya Stoyanova and Barry Lyga, the conversation briefly wandered onto Kevin Bacon's junk.

It was a long table. I didn't hear much of it. But it was about the nude scene from Wild Things. And I guess…congratulations are in order? So, congratulations, Mr. Bacon. But you're still not a fox.

THIS IS THE BOOK TOUR POST. Just a brief recap. I'm going to work backwards and start with Decatur.

It was excellent. I ate pork cheek tacos. It sounds like a mean meat, but fear not, I have done penance with several vegetarian meals since then. Got to hang out and listen to presentations by the incredible authors listed above. Got to talk at some excellent schools where I may or may not have said some naughty words, and am very sorry about that teachers it just slipped out. Hammed it up on stage and got to tell my long awaited turtle-saving story. Ah yes. I am a turtle saver.

THE GIRLS NIGHTMARE OUT TOUR WITH LISA DESROCHERS AND MARTA ACOSTA!

I'm so glad I had these ladies to hang with. They're amazing. Read the Personal Demons series and Dark Companion if you haven't. And then tell me how Dark Companion is, because I haven't read it yet either, but after hearing Marta read from it I'm dying to.

Highlights: Ferris Buellering around Chicago with Marta while Lisa feverishly worked on TOP SECRET projects in her hotel room. Relaxing over post event drinks and swapping war stories. Librarians dressed up as ANNA:

In short, it was cool and I was glad to meet everyone. I'm out one more time in two weeks at the Brooklyn Book Festival, where I'll be paneling with Andrea Cremer, Malinda Lo and moderated by Jessica Shirvington. Then I'm huddled over a screen feverishly completing ANTIGODDESS #2.

Hard to get back into the swing of writing. I had to take all of July off from it to get ANTIGODDESS through edits. Now the book keeps showing me flashes of possibilities and they're all sort of upsetting. But there's no telling where it's going until it gets there.

I will finish this book by November. I will. (I won't.)

But on a personal note, I must. Because we are losing one of our catsons to liver cancer, and I'm going to be pretty much out of commission for a bit after that. I'm hoping he'll make it through the holidays, but who knows. It's not Tybalt. It's his brother, Mojo Jojo. Mojo is one of those weird cats who plays fetch and knows what the word "no" means. And actually respects it. So…not really a cat at all.

Oh crap, almost forgot. If anyone is reading this from the UK, and is wondering when Girl of Nightmares will come out there, I'm pretty sure it's in June.