Launch recap

Posted on by February 21, 2013
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Had a most excellent night yesterday, celebrating the launch of The Lives We Lost with family and friends! For those who weren’t able to make it to the party, here’s a quick reconstruction (with much gratitude to Debbie Ridpath Ohi for her photography skills)…

When entering No One Writes To The Colonel, you would immediately have been met by this wonderful display of my books (even Give Up the Ghost was on hand), courtesy of the Bakka-Phoenix Books (big thanks to Chris and Rob!):

And you would have found this lovely area at the back of the bar. Such a gorgeous space!

I did a short talk and reading (trying not to be too spoilery for the few who hadn’t read the first book yet):

And then Scott from the Highlands Wilderness Training Institute came up to discuss some key survival strategies in the case of a real apocalypse, including how to purify water using a beer can stove and a fire started with hand sanitizer (who knew it was so multipurpose?):

I signed many books, including this one, very slowly, so Debbie could get a good picture 🙂 :

Thanks so much to everyone who did make it! Looking forward to doing it again for book 3 in a year!

And if you’re in Toronto and want to grab a signed copy of The Lives We Lost and/or the The Way We Fall paperback, head on over to Bakka-Phoenix — but make it soon, before the signed copies are all picked up!

Me around the ‘net

Posted on by February 18, 2013
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The blog tour for The Lives We Lost is in full swing! Here’s where I’ve been in the last week:

-Talking with The Book Smugglers about plotting, inspirations, and character growth (plus giveaway!).

-Discussing writing a sequel at Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf.

-Being interviewed by The Book Monsters about writing challenges and time travel (plus giveaway!).

-Offering strategies for surviving a wintery apocalypse over at Esther’s Ever After.

-Chatting about narrative styles and research at More Than Just Magic.

Auctions for a great cause

Posted on by February 9, 2013
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Have you heard of Con or Bust? It’s a most excellent organization dedicated to helping people of color attend science fiction and fantasy conventions. You can pitch in and also get awesome goodies for yourself by bidding on the various auctions that will be up from now until Feb 24th, including novels, critiques, and other bookish prizes.


(Also, their logo is a dinocorn. I rest my case.)

I’m all for supporting fans and readers, and I thought contributing to Con or Bust would be particularly appropriate given that two of my main characters are people of color themselves. So if you’d like, you can grab signed copies of the first two books in the Fallen World trilogy for yourself, your local library, or a friend you want to introduce to the series. 🙂

Check out all the auctions here!

Things writers get excited about, a.k.a., my new desk

Posted on by February 8, 2013
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It is a truth universally acknowledged that writers get excited about different sorts of things than other people: imaginary folks who start talking to them in the middle of the night, pens, a chance to go to some exotic or peaceful retreat where they will spend the majority of the time working away on their computers. What am I excited about this week? I finally got myself a proper writing desk!

Up until now, my only desk has been my small computer desk, which if you’ve watched my office tour video you know generally has no available free space whatsoever. So when I’m doing line edits on paper (which I do for every major draft of every book) or going over copyedits or page proofs (which arrive printed out) or just brainstorming ideas away from the computer, I often find myself awkwardly sitting on the bed or the couch or my writing chair with one of our little folding tables set up. Finally I decided it was worth the hassle of tracking down a desk that did everything I needed. It had to take up not too much space, because my office isn’t terribly big, so a secretary style with a drop down writing surface worked perfectly. I wanted lots of storage, to make as good use of the space it’d take up as possible. Plus, I like lots of compartments on my furniture the same way I like lots of pockets in my purses, so a set up like this makes me incredibly pleased:

(There are even two secret compartments!)

And I also figured that if it was time for me to get a proper desk, it was also time for me to have a proper way of displaying my own books, which until now have been tucked away in a cupboard since my bookshelves are already overflowing with all the books by other people I love or am planning to read. So my writing desk now holds a collection of the various editions of my three published books. Here’s hoping some day I’ll fill all three shelves with them!

Share: have you made any recent purchases that you’re excited about? 🙂

The Lives We Lost online launch party!

Posted on by February 7, 2013
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I know many of you sadly cannot be in Toronto for my launch party on Feb 20th, but that doesn’t mean you can’t join in the launch festivities! I’ll be hosting an online launch party for The Lives We Lost on Facebook throughout the day on Feb 12th: Right here!

Stop by to chat about the trilogy, win books and swag, and make merry. 🙂 And of course you can invite your friends to join in if you’d like. Hope to “see” you there!

The Way We Fall in paperback

Posted on by February 4, 2013
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Yes, The Way We Fall is out in paperback today! If you’ve been meaning to pick the book up but never got around to before, now is the perfect time. You can be all caught up on the story in time for book 2 next week. 🙂

Even if you’ve already read The Way We Fall in hardcover, I can think of a few reasons it may be worth grabbing the paperback too…

1. You can get a copy with the beautiful updated cover, one that will match The Lives We Lost.

2. The paperback edition includes the first chapter of The Lives We Lost, for those who can’t wait one more week to find out what happens when a certain person returns to the island.

3. Buying the paperback in a store shows an interest in the series, which means that store is more likely to stock copies of The Lives We Lost and book 3 for you.

4. Buying the paperback anywhere gives you entries in the Fallen World Street Team Giveaway, if you’re a member of the street team.

5. I don’t actually have a reason 5, it just feels like a more round number than 4!

Whether you pick up the paperback or not, in honor of its release, I will answer any and all questions you might have about The Way We Fall in the comments (as long as the answer isn’t too spoilery for the rest of the series)! Wondered why a character acted the way they did? Why a particular event came to pass? Why I made a specific choice in telling the story? Ask away!

Also feel free to bring up topics you’d like to discuss with other fans of the book.

Early The Lives We Lost Winner

Posted on by January 30, 2013
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Thank you everyone who entered the giveaway for one of my early copies of The Lives We Lost! I’ve been so impressed by your enthusiasm, and it was hard to pick a winner. But in the end, I had to go with Miguel, who not only made a very excited gif-filled Tumblr post, but also offered four beautiful The Way We Fall cover re-designs to show his love for the trilogy.

These two are my favorites. Doesn’t that girl make a perfect Kaelyn?

     

You can see the others here.

Thank you, Miguel! And don’t worry, everyone else. There will be many more chances to grab a copy! Not least of which is the Fallen World Street Team giveaway, which is ongoing for almost another month.

Author copies are here! Giveaway time!

Posted on by January 20, 2013
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You might have heard that my first author copies of The Lives We Lost arrived a couple days ago. Photo proof:

I thought possibly my blog readers might appreciate getting their hands on one of those copies… I don’t need all three for myself, especially considering I’ve got a whole box on the way. 🙂

So here’s the deal! If you’d like an early finished copy of The Lives We Lost (which I will sign and personalize for you or whoever you wish), all you need to do is express your excitement about the book in some way. Tweet about it. Blog about it. Tumblr or Facebook post about it. Use your words however you like. Use photos, gifs, and/or art if you want. Be creative! The only rule is you must include a link back to this giveaway, and/or the main Fallen World trilogy page.

The creative part matters, because one week from today, I will take a look at all your expressions of excitement, and whichever reader does the best job of convincing me they really want this book will win it!

You have until January 27th. Express away, and link me to your entry in the comments!

(Open to readers worldwide.)