Blackwood Archives - Gwenda Bond

Post-Weekend Update

3 Comments / Artsy, Blackwood, Books, The Woken Gods / By Gwenda / August 26, 2013

Time flies, my friends, and there is not enough of it. A few little things…

Blackwood's ebook is now on sale for the low, low, a-steal-really price of $.99p or $1.99 at Amazon and B&N. And if you buy from Amazon, you can add the audiobook for $3.49.

Handy links: Amazon US / Amazon UK / Nook

On to The Woken Gods, which releases in a week! Ack! I'll be at Joseph-Beth the evening of Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. to sign, read, and babble. Come out if you can.

If you participated in the preorder contest, your relic is winging its way to you as of today. I think these turned out pretty swell and they were lots of fun to do. I'm hoping you'll get them before you get your copies of the book, and do let me know if they don't show up in the next couple weeks. Here's a little peek at a handful as I took them to the mailbox:

(It ended up working out better to type the descriptions on labels and afix, because otherwise the postcards got destroyed on their way through the typewriter machine. You will also learn how you obtained said relics.)

Blog tourishness continues! I neglected to point to an interview with Red Reader Reviews last week that covered all sorts of topics, like how I'd spend my last day on Earth, my favorite quote, what animal I'd be (spoiler: a dragon!), etc. Check it out.
New review from Ashley at the A P Book Club. Snippet: "I'm always looking for a book where ancient mythologies are blended with contemporary settings. Take the Percy Jackson series. I loved those books, and I was kind of really excited to see that this was a book for fans of them. But honestly, I think Bond does it so much better. So I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for something along the lines of Percy Jackson, but maybe a little more complex and a lot darker." *beams*

And last, but definitely not least, I believe at least a little bit of book money should be spent on a frivolous splurge (whenever possible), and so I might have procured the most insanely great custom e-reader cover ever:

Yay, Etsy. More anon, lovely people.

Cheap Alchemy! Blackwood’s On Sale!

BirthdayGras!, Blackwood, Books / By Gwenda / August 23, 2013

It's Strange Chemistry's first birthday and they're celebrating with an excellent e-book sale on a slew of their first titles, including…

Blackwood! $1.99 for the Kindle and the Nook here in the US and $.99p in the UK for Kindle. The Kindle prices already seem to be live, and the Nook should follow suit on Monday, if not before.

Handy links: Amazon US / Amazon UK / Nook

If you haven't read it yet, purchase away. If you have and enjoyed it, now's an excellent time to recommend it to someone else. Book sales like this are a fabulous way for lesser known authors — like yours truly — to get their books in front of new readerly eyeballs.

And if you haven't checked out the other Strange Chemistry titles included, well, get cracking. You can buy ALL OF OUR BOOKS for less than a hardback — for less than some trade paperbacks, even! Whatta a deal. It's only on for a while, so do not delay.

p.s. You could also add The Woken Gods to your cart while you're there and/or leave Blackwood a review if you enjoyed it and haven't. These things make authors happier than you know.

p.p.s. Psst…told by a friend that if you buy the kindle edition of Blackwood on sale, you can add the audiobook for $3.49 — a steal!

Something In The Air

Blackwood / By Gwenda / June 19, 2013

There must be, that is, because I did a fun interview for a podcast/radio thingie earlier today on gender and YA marketing and–unrelated–the epidode I'm on of WFPL's new fiction-on-the-radio-show Unbound airs tonight. The skinny:

We're posting the audio from each show the morning after it airs. Tonight, tune in to 89.3 FM in Louisville at 7 p.m. Eastern time (stream us live at http://wfpl.org/) to hear Patrick Wensink and Gwenda Bond read stories about folks who have bad luck.

That's right, I read from Blackwood. (Let me know how it is; I can't stand hearing my own voice until someone tells me I won't cringe. And C's not back in town yet to do the test listen for me.)

All the episodes can be found here, posted after they air. The first season began airing Monday and continues each night, so check it out. And tell your local NPR station you want them to pick up the show. Huzzah and congratulations, WFPL, you made a show!

Updated to add: And here's the direct link to the episode. Loved hearing Patrick Wensink's piece.

Two Quick Yaylets

Blackwood / By Gwenda / March 19, 2013

1. Thing the First:

I believe since it's in the Taryn Fagerness Agency newsletter for March, I can finally announce where that first-ever foreign sale* I mentioned on twitter awhile back was to…

::drumroll::

Blackwood is going to Italy! Where it'll be published by Fabbri Editore. Quite happy-making. Here's hoping there are more foreign adventures in its future.

2. Thing the Second:

The 2013 Locus Awards Ballot (aka poll & survey) is now live. Anyone can vote, subscriber or not, and I am delighted to mention that Blackwood is on there in the First Novels category. And also that Christopher Rowe's "The Contrary Gardener" is on in the Novelette category. As well as many other fab works, so go forth and vote!

And now back to work. Nose, grindstone, that is all.

*In translation. The book is already published in the UK, of course, due to the English-language world domination plans of Angry Robot. Yay!

A Few Things & The View From Here

Blackwood, Nattering / By Gwenda / February 5, 2013

A few things:

Blackwood made the Locus recommended reading list in the first novels category. Sharing company with the other people on the list (including one Mr. Rowe in novelettes!) is an honor indeed. Completely thrilled.
I'm over at The Mortal Instruments Examiner today talking about why I love these books so, my essay in Shadowhunters and Downworlders, and other things. Check it out.
A couple of lovely posts about Blackwood that made my respective days: from the wonderful Mette Ivie Harrison and Kate Ormand.

We are all getting lots of work done, talking about books and publishing and silly things (my favorite). I am revising my heart out or, at least, starting to. This is the view from here.

Friday Hangovers

Blackwood, Hangovers, MFA Rock / By Gwenda / January 4, 2013

Just a few leetle things, most of which I've already shared on twitter, but things flit by so quickly there:

I have completed all (I think/hope/believe) my stuff for the Bluegrass Writers Studio residency, including a looong lecture, written then extensively rewritten. Oh, process, you're so adorably consistent. A reminder that even if it's cold, if you're in the Lexington area you should COME OUT to my reading Saturday night, 7:30 p.m, should you feel so inclined. I'm not saying there will be interpretive dance, but I'm not saying there won't. (Don't get your hopes up on that score. Perhaps a little punchy from finishing a novel draft, a review, a long crit, and a lecture in the last three days. Whee!)
I think I forgot to mention the other thing I did over the holidays, which was watch every episode of Hart of Dixie to date. Sort of a cross between Northern Exposure and Gilmore Girls, but with its own voice. Great characters, highly fun. First season's on Netflix Instant.
Laini Taylor shares a great process snapshot. When the revelation is the revelation and isn't, at the same time.
Loved this beautiful story from Tim Wynne-Jones about a local deer hunter who wanted to use some of his family property.
Lois Lowry profile; it's a good one. Don't know how I missed this.
Wise post from Sara Zarr on romancing the writing, and gratitude.
Indie bookstores had a good holiday; Shelf Awareness takes a look (including lots of comments from the fab Jamie Layton from Duck's Cottage Downtown on Roanoke Island, one of the bookstores of my heart).
Ed Champion has made a documentary that you simply cannot miss. Behold! Shteyngart Blurbs. From Ed's description: "The doc features conversations with effusive editors, peppy pundits, cranky critics, dashing cover designers, the man who created the Tumblr devoted to Gary's blurbs, and many of the authors blurbed by Gary. We learn the stories behind the blurbs, reveal the blurb's secret history, and consider the blurb's place in American life."
And hey, finally, look at this happy-making little tweet from yesterday:

Hey check it out! @gwenda made the @oblongbooks December bestseller list (both stores combined): #yaybooks lockerz.com/s/274336581

— jennifer laughran (@literaticat) January 3, 2013

Tripping Whirlwind

Adventures, Blackwood, Nattering / By Gwenda / December 12, 2012

Back from the last travel of the year, which was a weekend so packed it seems I must have been gone for a week. But I know I wasn't, because it was all so quick and there were far too many people I didn't get to see at all. Alas! Next trip to New York will be longer.

The lovely and wonderful Delia Sherman and Ellen Kushner were kind enough to let me stay with them, and we had some great talks and meals and even went to see a play–something I really don't do often enough. (It was Volpone, an acid Renaissance comedy that featured an interesting cast playing truly despicable characters.) I also managed lunch at Tea & Sympathy (yum) with Ellen Datlow and Genevieve Valentine. Then we meandered around seeing holiday sights (and possibly witnessing the birth of RAR–crowd-induced rage-a-hol syndrome), including some fantastic window displays:

(Bergdorf Goodman)

(More behind the cut…)

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Tripping WhirlwindRead More »

Look There And A Sweet Deal

Blackwood / By Gwenda / December 4, 2012

Home from first mini-leg of this week's travel, and brain is playing catch up…as is the rest of me. A couple of quick things I wanted to point to, though.

Thing the first – Blackwood gets reviewed by the one and only Colleen Mondor in her latest column at Bookslut. Snippet: "Bond concocts her own gumbo of story here, with a blend of mystery, thriller, paranormal, and romance to create a densely packed adventure that sucks readers in with a blistering plot pace but then keeps them riveted with some truly dark and scary moments. … Thoughtful teens will eat this novel up, and honestly, who could blame them?" This whole review made me so happy, because this was the book I wanted to write and Colleen is one of the people whose taste on books I trust and admire most in the world. *beam* Also happy-making to be sharing that column with some of my own favorites from this year.
Thing the second – Strange Chemistry is running a buy-one-get-one-free e-book deal for any of the five launch titles–including Blackwood–through December at the Angry Robot Trading Company, where you can always get DRM-free versions of its e-books (along with 6 and 12 month e-subscriptions where you can get them all automagically and at a hefty discount). The prices are UK-ized, but the deal's good everywhere (it'll convert to US $ when you check out). All you have to do is go to this page, select the books and the discount will be applied at check-out.

Monday Hangovers (Some Links & Big News Redux)

Blackwood, Hangovers / By Gwenda / November 19, 2012

My hugest thanks to you guys for the congratulations and excitement here, there, and everywhere about the Blackwood TV deal. I promise I will try not to be obnoxious about the BIG news, but because it was announced late Friday and many people spend the weekend away from the computron (freaks! I kid…because I'm a shut-in–at least until I finish this new manuscript):

Here's the Deadline story and my post about it from Friday night (see also: io9 ). It's wonderful to be able to share this news with all of you and stop being coy, and I hope you'll keep your fingers crossed for the project as it proceeds. I am obviously THRILLED.

And now a few other links:

Locus put up my review of David Levithan's fabulous Every Day from this month's issue.
"The Myth of the Fake Geek Girl" by Rachel Edidin (an Associate Editor at Dark Horse Comics) at io9.
Most writers who know Holly Black also know that she is a book whisperer. Mette Harrison shares some of the magic after listening to the master at work at World Fantasy: part one and part two.
A great interview with the delightful William Alexander at Publishers Weekly, following his wonderful middle grade debut Goblin Secrets' win at the National Book Awards in the young readers category. YAY.
"The Dudes of YA, a 'Lit-Erotic' Photospread."
Finally, monkeys riding a capybara. (Via Jenny D.)

The Big Secret Revealed: Blackwood TV Deal (!!!)

20 Comments / Blackwood, TV Goodness / By Gwenda / November 16, 2012

From Deadline:

MTV has put in development Blackwood, a drama from Lionsgate Television and Kelsey Grammer’s Grammnet Prods. It is based on the young adult book of the same name by Gwenda Bond, which was published this past September on the Strange Chemistry YA imprint of UK-based science fiction publisher Angry Robot Books. DC Comic book and television writer Peter Calloway (Brothers & Sisters) will write the adaptation.

More info there!

Perhaps now my obnoxious secret-keeping can be forgiven? I AM OBVIOUSLY VERY EXCITED.

My hugest thanks to Brian Taylor (and everyone else at Grammnet, of course), Lionsgate TV, writer Peter Calloway, and to my faaaabulous agents Jenn Laughran of Andrea Brown and Nate Matteson of Gotham Group. And to MTV(!). You are all awesome amazing crazymazing. (Also, goes without saying but saying it anyway, thanks to Amanda Rutter and the rest of the SC/AR team.)

Before you ask: does this mean Blackwood will definitely be a TV show on MTV? Not yet, no, but certainly it is an excellent starting point for that to happen. I am beyond thrilled with the team behind this, and it's the perfect network, so I'm extremely hopeful and cannot wait to see how the development proceeds. What's been done so far has been fabulous.

You all know how much I love TV, so in short:

Look out, Snoopy, there is a lot of happy dancing going on here. I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful for this entire year.

Updated to add:

io9 on the news (Thank you, guys!)