By Me

Stranger Things cover reveal + more!

As most of you know, I’ve been working on another dream gig this year — writing the first official Stranger Things tie-in novel, about Eleven’s mom, Terry Ives, and her intersection with Dr. Brenner’s MKUltra experiments. I’ve absolutely loved adding a chapter to this story and I hope that you guys will all love Terry and her friends too. The book releases in early February (preorder!), and Entertainment Weekly just revealed the title, cover, and the prologue, which details Dr. Brenner’s arrival in Hawkins.

Here’s the gorgeous 1980s horror-inspired cover (how about that tagline?) and you can go read the rest at EW!

p.s. Title ringing a bell, but not sure where it came from? Crank up some 1969 Elvis while you read.

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Two Quick Pointers

Things elsewhere on the Internet edition!

  • I wrote for Salon on a recent episode of Cult Faves all about the Satanic Temple and its late unpleasantness (don’t miss this week’s new episode on Thursday, when I finally unload all the great Anton LaVey anecdotes I’ve been squirreling away for weeks and then I promise No More Satan for awhile). Snippet:

    When we think of organized Satanism — if we think of it — most of us probably mentally conjure the winged eyebrows of Anton LaVey, who founded the Church of Satan back in 1966. But the headline-maker of note where Satanists are concerned lately is The Satanic Temple, and it seems to be embroiled in a battle for its own soul.

    My inbox has had some good Satanic tea following this.

  • AND Carrie, Rachel and I wrote a big process post about how we collaborated on Dead Air for long-time favorite site The Book Smugglers.

    Carrie Ryan: The three of us holed up in an apartment with our editors, several packs of post-it notes, sharpies, and a wall of windows. We started out with Gwenda’s basic story idea, and three days later we left with those windows covered with what turned into the book. It was truly a collaborative effort.

    Go check it out and get caught up on the podcast and serial, if you haven’t. You can get a 10% discount code for the serial at the end of the podcast OR go to redeem at the Serial Box site and use DeadAirBond.

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Patreon Pointer and a Puppy

Hey there! Long time, no post. I’m going to at least say I’m going to dust this thing off and try to be better about that this year. I’m DEFINITELY being better over at Patreon, where I just posted a dishy introduction to kick off what’s going to be each chapter of The Woken Gods posted weekly with annotation and commentary.* Which I can do because I own the rights! I’ll also be providing progress updates on (and perhaps snippets) from my current work and puppy pictures (and I’ve added some puppy photo tiers to the rewards, as you do, if you just can’t get enough Sally — because I actually DO take a zillion also adorable photos that I just horde each day in addition to the ones I post) and et cetera. So come check it out and throw a dollar or few my way if you’re so moved. It is always much appreciated!

In case you’re wondering, my noteworthy releases this year are the paperback of Supernormal Sleuthing Service #1: The Lost Legacy in early May, followed by SSS #2: The Sphinx’s Secret (yay!) in late May, with Mr. Rowe obviously, and an adult-but-YA-friendly mystery/thriller serial set right here in Kentucky that I can’t say more about JUST yet but SOON which’ll be releasing in the summer. Oh, and the paperback of Lois Lane: Triple Threat this spring. So this is, all-in-all, a quiet year for me release-wise.

So I’d better get back to work on my new YA novel, which I’m crunch crunching away on and having a lot of fun with. Hopefully you’ll have fun reading it in a year or two. (PUBLISHING IS SLOW.) Have a Sally in the meantime. 

*If you don’t know what Patreon is, it’s a way you can subscribe to special content and support your favorite artists and creators in the meantime. Secure payment system, you choose the pledge/reward level you pay each month, and I get a little money in my bank account at the beginning of the month. Kind of like a tip that helps your faves keep working. See aforementioned quiet-for-me year above and, yes, I’m definitely focusing on giving some more love to Patreon this year. Come hang out.

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Book Deal News (!!!)

 And now it can be told:

Strange Chemistry are thrilled to announce a two book deal with Gwenda Bond, concluded between Amanda Rutter and Jennifer Laughran, of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc. The first book, Blackwood, will be one of the imprint’s September 2012 launch titles, with the second following in 2013.

 

Strangechem.jpg large

More info at the Strange Chemistry website. You could say I'm over the moon.

ETA: YOU GUYS, I am overwhelmed by all the congratulatory notes. Each and every one makes me tear up. You are all the best.

See also: io9's great round-up of the first THREE announced Strange Chemistry books; so excited to be in such good company. SQUEE.

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All The (Well, Some Of The) Things

Yes, MIA, I know. I know. May, you are the Enemy of Sanity. But you're almost over now, so ha. If I survive, I win.

At any rate, here are some things:

  • My latest Heroes & Heartbreakers post was about how much I love reading scenes in romances: "Readerly Kinks: A Closer Look at Characters, Well, Reading." (I'm surprised at the lack of examples of this in contemporaries, but there must be some out there, right?)
  • I reviewed Erin Morgenstern's (wonderful) The Night Circus for Publishers Marketplace's BEA Buzz Books coverage (account required). All the buzz books reviews were excerpted in the free daily lunch newsletter (which you should subscribe to, if you don't already). And I'm told that non-PM subscribers can access all the BEA content through their handy, dandy app. Go forth and appreciate the amazing Sarah Weinman's hard work (and her colleagues' too, of course).
  • Speaking of which, if you're attending BEA, I did many, many pieces for the Show Daily. I had some really fun assignments this year, including interviews with Anne Enright, Dava Sobel, Alma Katsu, and Charlaine Harris–all lovely to talk to. Whenever I have time during an interview , I ask what people have been reading. Charlaine Harris had just finished Pat Rothfuss's The Wise Man's Fear and Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News? So she obviously has great taste. Looks like the Show Daily content will be on the PW site this year.
  • There are still plenty of stories to come in the Subterranean issue; the schedule is more or less weekly, but with breaks so it's not over too quickly. There's a review posted this week. And catch up on any stories you've missed thus far.
  • Wiscon! Yes, it's here. Now I remember why I tend to skip actually attending BEA. Here's my Schedule of Things:
    • Reading: …And Other Circuses (Sat, 4:00–5:15 pm Conference 2) Richard Butner, Christopher Rowe, Genevieve Valentine, and moi. I will be the nervous one with the ink-barely-dry first pages of the circus book. (Unless I chicken out and read from the creepy island book instead. But the tradition is to read something new, and our reading has circus in the title, so I'll endeavor to be brave.)  
    • Panel: The Trials, Joys and Tribulations of Tiptree Jury Duty (Sat, 10:30–11:45 pm Senate A) Alexis Lothian, Gwenda Bond, Karen Joy Fowler, Geoff Ryman, Sheree Renée Thomas. (No, I actually can't explain what I was thinking when I agreed to a 10:30 PM panel, but it should be fun given the other participants.)
    • Panel: Fringe: How Is Olivia Dunham So Awesome? (Sun, 2:30–3:45 pm Senate B) Joanna Lowenstein, Gwenda Bond, Mely, Xakara, Amy Thompson.

     See you in Madison!

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Clean Living

I wrote the category feature on health for this week's PW. There were some very interesting books in the crop, especially Melanie Thernstrom's The Pain Chronicles, a big literary mix of history, personal narrative, and research, and Harriet Brown's Brave Girl Eating, a mother's memoir about employing a somewhat controversial new approach to treating her daughter's anorexia.

Anyway, it's always fun learning about what's going on in a different part of the publishing sandbox. And my editor left a message this morning that me and a few other regular feature writers have been added to the masthead this week. Fancy.

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Crafty

KnittingMy latest PW feature is in this week's issue, all about what's going on in the category of craft and hobby books.

This was a fun one to do — the main piece explores the influence the extremely active online crafting community (knitters, sewers, cross-stitchers, beautiful paper doll makers of the world unite!) is exerting on the market, and what new books are coming up. (And it discusses Adrienne Martini's Sweater Quest, which is already out.) There are also a few related sidebars, including three short questions with Amy Sedaris, who has a suitably twisted craft book coming out this fall.

Everyone I talked to for the piece was wonderful and made me wish I was able to make things without making terrible-looking things. I'm kind of flirting with the idea of getting a sewing machine, which would surely lead to some entertaining posts here. Like most fever dreams, I'm sure it will pass, and I'll go back to admiring things on Etsy.

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Dept. of Unexpected Excellence

So yesterday I was home having a sick day and I got an email from my editor at PW to make a call to someone about some sort of award and, lo, when I called it turned out that it was the Executive Director of RWA letting me know that they are giving me this year's Veritas Media Award for the "Romancing the Recession" feature. Past recipients include Ron Charles and Mary Bly. There was major squealing.

Needless to say, I'm hugely honored.

(And Jennifer Crusie will also be at the awards ceremony, which will make it very hard not to fangirl.)

Unrelatedly: Saturday I'll be running a guest post from the DIVINE Margo Lanagan on her writing process as part of the blog tour for the paperback release of her devastatingly brilliant novel Tender Morsels.

Another unrelatedly: Just finished Karen Healey's debut YA novel, Guardian of the Dead, and am telling you TO PICK IT UP NOW DO NOT PASS GO.

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Some Like It…

PWK8309coverI wrote a piece on what's happening in the realm of erotica and erotic romance (paranormal doing well, just like in everything else) for this week's Publishers Weekly. More importantly, I think I may have hit a personal best with the sidebar headline "Some Like It Historical," especially since I always struggle with headlines. (See also: Boom and Busts!)

Check it out if you're so inclined.

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