- you might wish to check out my story which is out in the February issue. For those of you who are not subscribers, you might want to consider BECOMING such. It's a fabulous mag, full of fabulous writers.

Oh, and the illustrations to my story (you only get the full flavour if you ARE a subscriber) are fantastic, by a lady called Jessica Douglas, and somehow she chanelled my Boboko...

I do believe this to be the first real "in the wild" review of "Spellspam".

This seems to be as good a time as any to announce that I WILL be doing a Virtual Blog Tour around the beginning of March, to celebrate the release of "Spellspam". I intend to have at least one contest going at that time, too, with the prize being a matched set of #1 and #2 hardcovers - but about that, later. I already have a few Tour venues set up, which I will be announcing closer to the time, but in the meantime - if YOU've got any questions you'd like to see me answer, why don't you suggest them in the comments and I'll make sure they get a response SOMEWHERE during the Virtual Tour?...

Sure, these are fleeting, and will probably change before you get to the page to check them out. But if you look at the Amazon.com page for the PAPERBACK edition of "Gift of the Unmage", you will currently find this:

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #129,075 in Books
Popular in this category:
#55 in Books > Children's Books > Educational > Explore the World > Fiction > United States


And the Amazon.com page for "Spellspam" yields this:

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #151,668 in Books
Popular in this category:
#68 in Books > Children's Books > Educational > Explore the World > Fiction > United States

NEITHER BOOK is published yet, or will be released for nearly two months.

They are both *ranked* on Amazon sales lists. Pre-orders alone.

Yes, yes, yes, I know it all. I should quit obsessing about Amazon. The short answer to that is, I can't. And finding this - however fleeting a moment of time it might reflect - it's amazing to see. Whoever you good folks are out there who are preordering these books, thank you! Sometimes it really IS just nice to see a piece of unexpected good news that comes unasked for out of the blue ether.

rdeck has threatened to cut off my Internet access if I don't stop haunting the Amazon sales rankings, but I did my post-Christmas Amazon browse and what greets me is this:

"Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,961 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Popular in this category: (What's this?)
#23 in Books > Children's Books > Educational > Explore the World > Fiction > United States"


This is from this site.

This is for *SPELLSPAM*. The book that isn't out until mid-March.

I am pleased and not a little croggled (in the best possible way). As late Christmas presents go, it isn't a bad one. (And if anyone else wishes to preorder - or even just know that they are getting a signed copy - I still have some of those bookplates left and I can mail a signed one out to you on request!)

Oh, and it also seems to be an auspicious ocasion to debut my brand new icon which was another Christmas present, by courtesy and grace of the magnificent and accomplished jimhines (may his sales numbers grow ever larger!) to whom I hereby extend the apposite accolades and heartfelt appreciation.

Happy New Year!

...they made a widget.



So, then.

If anyone would care to help me spread the word and start that proverbial word-of-mouth, you now have the information. Counted down to the second.

And you also have the widget...

...what some of you might have glimpsed at Worldcon where I had a copy of the ARC with me, but which can now finally be shared with the rest of the world... I give you the first look at the cover of WORLDWEAVERS 2: SPELLSPAM

ambasadora did one with me at Heidi's Pick Six, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

(other than pointing at interesting things or quoting the good stuff uttered by someone else, I'm taking today off to get brain back into gear. I spent 20-plus hours travelling yesterday, got home close to midnight, got to BED well after midnight, and even though a lot of those 20 hours was spent in luxury and a pampered atmosphere it was still 20 hours on the run and that's kind of tiring. jaylake did this TWICE in a WEEK for a handful of hours in Yokohama. I'm impressed.)

Blogcritics weighs in on "Gift of the Unmage"... and in other news, the book has garnered a Nebula and an Andre Norton Award nomination! I'm hoping that this will at least put it on the genre radar - perhaps some other SFWAns out there might be moved to take a look at the thing...

Not a bad day all around.

As first seen at tobias_buckell - a damn fine idea which I'm borrowing.


If you are interested in reviewing my books, or helping spread the word, I would love to get your information! Preferably the newer ones, for obvious reasons - "Gift of the Unmage", for instance - but if you're interested in some of the older ones (you can go to my website and look at the bibliography page) please do speak up - and particularly, if you are interested in receiving an advance copy of Worldweavers 2: Spellspam in spring 2008 - I will screen comments to this post so that nobody sees them but me and thee and I will ensure that books are sent to you.

If you haven’t reviewed or read "Gift of the Unmage", "Secrets of Jin Shei" or the "Hidden Queen"/"Changer of Days" duology, or wish to put your name down for "Spellspam", and you have a blog, are involved in a large forum, or are a reviewer (online or off), email me at anghara at vaxer dot net with your address and information about where you would review it. Alternatively, subscribe to my mailing list (the link is in the links column just off to the right to this page).

I have a number of copies of a selection of books reserved for this. If I should run out of immediately available copies I'll work with you in obtaining same in another way.

And please feel free to pass the word around that I have copies here earmarked for people to review, should anyone you know NOT read this blog and you think they might be interested.

ATTENTION, FOLKS -
Um, a couple of you interested reviewers said "yes please send me" but didn't uh, give me an address WHERE to send it [grin] That's why the comments are screened off so that nobody sees 'em - so you can give me an address... or, alternatively, email me it (put REVIEW COPIES in the subject line so I'll know what it's about) at anghara at vaxer dot net...

And thanks much, for all the interest!

THIS isn't bad, is it...

I am hereby announcing my first sale to Jim Baen's Universe - a story called "Hourglass", to appear in the December issue of the magazine. I am exceedingly proud and pleased to become part of the stellar lineup of authors on JBU's contributor pages, and I look forward to seeing my story appear in the company of their work.

Cheers!

Over here in catrambo's column at the Suite 101 website.

Enjoy.

Go you all and read it HERE.

Enjoy.

The inestimable chrisdolley has been channelling me at his Astraldome - you can read the interview right here.

Enjoy!

And it's a GOOD one! Happy with my day!

And in other news... the "Worldweavers" website is now live! Click on the "Worldweavers" link over there to the right of the page, and tell me what you think - feedback gratefully accepted, and will be passed on to my wonderful friend and webmaster Jerry whom I cannot thank enough for being so utterly brilliant at this website design stuff. He makes pages that I could only dream of if I were left to my own devices.

And pass it on. Let people know about this site. The book hits bookstore shelves in a matter of DAYS now - I want as many people as possible to at least KNOW about that *grin*

Good day. VERY good day. I'm fully one quarter of the projected book 3 into the story, book 1 has apparently been called "engrossing" by Kirkus - KIRKUS, of all places, Kirkus the curmudgeonly - and the author is happy with the state of her book-children.

And go look at that website. Do. It's really great.

You can find the list of eligible writers here

On it, there are a bunch of wonderful writers - just a handful of them, those with a LJ or other blog-like presence you can go check out, include Marie Brennan, Stephanie Burgis, Chris Dolley, David Louis Edelman, Merrie Haskell, Mary Robinette Kowal, Justine Larbalestier, Naomi Novik, Joshua Palmatier, Cherie Priest, Kat Richardson, Brandon Sanderson...and, most humbly, yours truly.

I'm in my second and final year of eligibility here. In such company as above, writers with high-profile books and some who have already been on a Campbell shortlist before, well, I would love to be on the NOMINATIONS list this year. It's the last year I'll get that chance.

So, those of you who've read my stuff, and who are eligible to nominate and find yourself in a position to be perusing the list of eligibles with a nomination to spare...

The inestimable norilana, aka Vera Nazarian, has the latest Author Tour Stop interview today - and I invite you to go visit!

A blogger from Malta likes my book...

[happy little grin]

...hey, it's Worldcon Eve, practically, and one needs to make sure that one is on the radar, as it were.

So.

Keeping up with the editions.

It's been a busy few months, and it will continue to be busy into fall.

Already in: The Italian paperback edition, the Spanish and Catalan editions, we're still waiting for word from the Czechs who were also supposed to be publishing in the summer.

Coming Very Shortly: The UK paperback edition of "Embers of Heaven" (September 4), and the Portuguese edition of "Jin Shei" (September).

Coming Soon: the Dutch edition of "Embers of Heaven" (November 2006), the German edition of "Jin Shei" (fall 2006)

Coming Next Year - Firm Dates: "Worldweavers 1: The Gift of the Unmage" (late February 2007)

Coming Next Year - We Think (Unconfirmed Dates): the Lithuanian, Turkish and Brazilian editions of "Jin Shei", possibly the Czechs if they're running late, and sometime within the later half of that period, Worldweavers 2.

Watch this space for further updates - and if something's coming up in your language or your area, preorder! Numbers rule, in this industry....