Feb 29

Sales News

Posted: under Marketing, the writing life.
Tags: ,  February 29th, 2012

My agent just called to let me know that according to BookScan (does not cover all sales points, but enough to be useful)  the hardcover sales of Echoes in its first week in the marketplace were 180 higher than Kings last year.   The actual hardcover sales will be some higher (and this is only for US sales, as far as I know.)    He also said it was unusual to have any sales figures run higher than last year’s.    No word yet on e-sales.

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Feb 24

Echoes-Onna-Shelf

Posted: under artwork, Bookstore Event, Echoes of Betrayal.
Tags: ,  February 24th, 2012

Terie Garrison sent me this image of Echoes of Betrayal alongside its siblings on a shelf in Waterstones, Arndale Centre, Manchester City Centre, UK.

That crossbow looks like it’s coming right out of the cover, doesn’t it?

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Feb 24

BookPeople Event Tonight

Posted: under Bookstore Event, Echoes of Betrayal, Life beyond writing, Marketing.
Tags: ,  February 24th, 2012

For those in easy distance of 6th and Lamar, in Austin, TX, I’ll be doing a reading from Echoes of Betrayal, chat, and signing at BookPeople tonight at 7 pm.    Knitters–bring your  yarn & needles along–it’s fine with me, and I’ll be bringing my socks-in-progress (though not knitting while reading or talking…not able to handle that yet.)  I’ll feel less silly about that if someone else has their needlework project along.

But come if you can–would love to see you.

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Feb 23

Good News & Thank You!

Posted: under Echoes of Betrayal, Good News, Marketing, Reader Help, the writing life.
Tags: , , ,  February 23rd, 2012

Editor emailed this morning to let me know Echoes has gone back to print another 3000 copies.  I don’t think I’ve ever had a hardcover sent back to print that fast before.   Very happy dance of writer.   Wowza and all that.

And it’s you folks–the readers–who have made the book popular enough for this to be needed.  THANK YOU.    Read the rest of this entry »

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Feb 21

Launch Day!!

Posted: under Echoes of Betrayal.
Tags: ,  February 21st, 2012

Am I still excited on Launch Days?   You bet!   Excited and worried all at once.    I always worry.    Part of the game.

Here, the sun is shining, high clouds diluting its warmth, and spring is springing out of the ground thanks to the rain Friday night and Saturday.     I hope those of you who ordered the e-book are finding it on your readers this morning, and those of you who have it in transit by mail or waiting for you at the store have good weather for the pickup or delivery.   And time to read.

I’ve got stuff stacked up to do today (including stay by the phone so the people from the hotel can reach me…idiot writer left her traveling music in the hotel room)  and I will get to comments (answering them, that is) as other things allow.

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Feb 20

Back from the South

Posted: under Life beyond writing, Marketing, the writing life.
Tags: , ,  February 20th, 2012

I got back from San Antonio in good shape–the weather going down qualified as Interesting, and the weather coming back easily made the category Delightful.  The Toe is much better.    The FYE Conference was fascinating, and I met a lot of people from colleges and universities all over the country.  Random House sends a big team promoting its “common read” and “FYE read” books.    A small group of writers are given exposure to the faculty and staff who choose the books for freshmen to read, or the whole college to read.   Since The Speed of Dark has been used that way, I’m now on their radar.  I was the only fiction writer (of five) and the only woman.   Felt kind of odd, and very unlike an SF convention (where were the Klingons??   Well…there were Romulans on Star Trek on TV last night) but I had fun.

And tomorrow is the Big Day.  My Silver Book Anniversary (so to speak.)    Among the other writers were National Book Award winners  (wow!) but I had them outnumbered, if not surrounded.     Tired now, and waiting to hear back from the hotel if they found what I left in the room (and I haven’t left anything in a hotel room in…um…I can’t think when was the last time.)   Worst is that it was my favorite writing-on-a-trip collection of music–all classical.  Bach, Stanford, Mozart, Beethoven, Elgar, etc.

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Feb 18

Weather

Posted: under Life beyond writing, the writing life.
Tags: ,  February 18th, 2012

If you look at the US weather map, there’s a big red blot over North Texas (headed for Oklahoma I think) with a “tail” that extends across Central Texas and angles across Mexico.  The big red blot used to be on top of Central Texas.   It’s full of thunder and lightning and rain and little lumps of hail.   It thunder-bumped most of the night, and every time I relaxed into deep sleep because the noise was only rain (Yay rain!)  another embedded lump of noise and flashing lights woke me up.

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Feb 17

Good, Bad, Indifferent

Posted: under Craft, the writing life.
Tags: , ,  February 17th, 2012

My UK editor wants an essay for their blogsite.  I’m working on it.  I’ve been working on it since it was assigned.   It should’ve been easy; I thought it would be easy.  It’s not.  And it’s even a topic I suggested.   In the weird way that Lifestuff and Writerstuff sometimes intertwine, it got tangled in a discussion here, a discussion elsewhere, and my original thoughts on the matter.

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Feb 17

This Will Be In A Book….

Posted: under Life beyond writing.
Tags:  February 17th, 2012

Yes, you should get a post every day the week before the launch.   But there’s a couple of little glitches.  And here’s the big one.   Wednesday night I came home from choir practice with a very painful big toe on my left foot.  “Oh, it’s just that I got a fold in my sock,” I thought.   No.  It woke me up this morning before 5 am (it was quarter to five when I finally looked at my watch)  hurting like the dickens.   Swollen, exquisitely tender, throbbing.

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Feb 15

Spoiler Space 1

Posted: under Spoiler Space.
Tags:  February 15th, 2012

OK, this is the big one.  Since the book is out in the UK, you folks need a spoiler space in which to discuss, right?   A reminder of the Spoiler Space rules:

1) If you do not want to see spoilers, DO NOT ENTER OR READ ANY COMMENTS.

2) All discussion of Echoes must stay within a SpoilerSpace thread (if it gets too long, I’ll open another later.)   NO discussion of the book’s comments should be on any other thread; they will be deleted when brought to my attention.  If someone goofs, DO NOT add to the problem by commenting.  Email me and I’ll disappear stuff.

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