stillsostrange

Which are much like bulls, in this case. Between being trampled by a bull or paying to overnight a manuscript to New York, I'm not sure which is more painful.

deakat and saare_snowqueen, your books are finally in the mail! Sorry for the delay.

Blood Rose Books is running an interview with me and attendant contest (scroll down, you'll find it). If you know anyone who doesn't have a copy of The Drowning City yet, they can win one there.

And now, at long last, I get breakfast, and to sit down and brainstorm on the proto-book. Word Race 2011 crashed and burned spectacularly, as is my way with races, but maybe now I can get moving again.

I may be bowing out of two conventions this year. I'm going to Hawaii with my family in November, which means I'm not going to WFC. And I love you guys, but Hawaii beats sitting in a hotel bar in San Diego for three days. Now it looks like I'll also be skipping WorldCon. I'm sadder about this, but finances are a bit grim, and the dayjob is all but begging me to work that weekend.

But I'll definitely be at Armadillocon, and I may bring my Talisman board to make up for missing the epic Talisman bar game in Reno. Anyone else feel like playing?

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I've completely failed to think of a cool contest for La Cité des eaux. Instead I'll send copies to txanne, deakat, and saare_snowqueen, on the condition that you share pictures of the book in some pretty, unusual, and/or amusing setting.

The Orbit France site has a book trailer for La Cité des eaux. How awesome is that? (The text goes by too fast for my poor French to keep up.)

I started to make my own trailer for TDC back in the day, but it fell prey to the apathy demon. I should make one for Kingdoms.

After cleaning my closets, I discovered many more copies of The Drowning City than I thought I had. And so I turn to the time-honored tradition of having an LJ contest to give some away. My Minister of Contests, tanaise, has decreed that this will be an artistic contest.

If you would like a signed copy of TDC with a mermaid or octopus or sea monster doodle (or another doodle--I take requests), all you need to do is:

Make a book trailer for The Bone Palace. I need to make a real one in the next couple months, and I need inspiration. Yours doesn't have to be good, of course. If you make a good one I'll give you more than a book. Stick figures and storyboards made in MS Paint are perfectly acceptable. If you make me laugh hard enough to have a post-bronchitis coughing fit you automatically win.

OR

Draw cover art for Kingdoms of Dust. I'm breathlessly awaiting preliminary art from Orbit, but I would like more breath and less waiting. So draw something to inspire me! I can't post the blurb yet because it has spoilers for TBP, but the book has deserts, jinn, spies, and formless entropy monsters.

If you're not artistic but still want a book, I'm open to suggestions for different kinds of contests.

Today was full of kayaking on Town Lake (which doubled as research for my Changeling game) and scheduling my octopus coloration. My tattoo boy is moving to San Marcos! Alack and wailaway! I also got my race registration stuff done.

Then I got home to find a royalty statement for The Drowning City in my mailbox. This is the second most exciting piece of mail I've received that didn't contain a check. (The first was probably my contract for TDC & co.) Books sold! Books that I wrote!

Voting for the David Gemmell Legend Awards longlist ends tomorrow. If you haven't voted yet, I encourage you to check it out. Many fine books are up for the Legend and the Morningstar. This is only the longlist voting; polls will reopen after the shortlist is picked in April.

Remember--winners get axes. That's why this is important.

The Drowning City is longlisted for David Gemmell Legend Award, in both the Legend and Morningstar categories. And Larry Rostant's awesome cover art is also up for Ravenheart award. How cool is that? Many other fine books are nominated as well. If you are so inclined, I encourage you to click over and vote for whoever you think should win what appears to be a shiny axe. Shiny axes come in handy in all sorts of situations.

Any questions you may have about The Drowning City, that is. I am moving the questions that were asked in the last post here, so they don't get eaten by the large and moving Torb.

le_marquise_de asks: I'm interested in the geography, curiously. Inspired by your experiences in Indonesia?

It isn't, actually, because I have only vague memories of Indonesia and none of them geographical. Sivahra is mostly a great smooshy amalgam of southern and southeastern Asia. Lots of rain forests and mountains, and the fictional version of Ha Long Bay. The Sivahran kris is totally the Indonesian kris, though. The hill in the forest where Xinai heard pigs being slaughtered comes from Yap. That is really not a pleasant sound.

[Bad username or site: manifesta.dreamwidth.org @ livejournal.com] says: I really enjoyed Adam and Xinai. Will either of them be making a reappearance in The Bone Palace?

No. They are busy with other problems. Right now I think that Adam will come back in Kingdoms of Dust, but I've been wrong about these things before. If he doesn't I will definitely write him a short story or something, because he's one of my favoritest characters ever. I would kind of like to come up with a spin-off book about Xinai and the Sivarhan crew post-TDC, but that may just be a pipe dream. Especially since I can't call it The Bone Stair.

And txanne says: ..I liked the food. Are there Earth analogues? Sure. Green curry, tom yum goong, lassi, and century eggs I remember off the top of my head. Cardamom cream cakes were probably just wishful thinking on my part. Everything is better with cardamom.

Ask me questions! I can only procrastinate with Bookworm and Tetris for so long.

September 5th was The Drowning City's birthday. On that day in 2005, I posted its very first metrics post. Four years later, the final product was released into the wild. I remembered the book's birthday all through release week, and then promptly forgot it, and would have kept on forgetting had mrissa's lovely betentacled bookday present not arrived today. Happy birthday, little book! I'm very proud of you.

And speaking of which, happy Hannahversary, buymeaclue!

(The Bone Palace is actually older than TDC. Her birthday is April 12th, 2005.)

I've added a pronunciation guide to TDC's page. It's pretty sparse right now, so if there are any names that you have trouble with that I didn't list there, let me know and I'll add them.

According to B&N, the book is in every store in Austin except the one closest to me. :P

And sadly, not even the squee of release day can fight PMS. I am grumpy and sleepy and many other dwarves as well.