This Will Be The Day We Waited For

Book is out!  Book is OOOOUT!

For those of you who have been patiently waiting, because I don't THINK I handed out many beta read copies, you finally can read the rest of I Did Not Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence!

If you have time after reading the latest chapter of Penny's continuing story.  Chapter Three!  I probably can't provide many more, but I'd like to at least give you Four.

EDIT - I just found out from my publisher, they now will give out epubs or pdfs for those people who use other ereaders beside a kindle.  What you do is, you buy the Amazon kindle version, and email them the proof of purchase at marketing@curiosityquills.com

When Old Books Get Too Weird

Okay, so, I just recently read Children's and Household Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.  This would have been the perfect place for a review anyway, but it didn't occur to me until now.  Now, I have no choice but to review it, because something is so weird it sticks in my craw.

Still Trudgin'

Things got rather... uh, interrupted there, for a bit.  I haven't been able to do more than glance over your previous thread.  Goodness, you people love discussing Penny's power.  I don't mind that at all!

But I really thought you should have the sample of chapter two.

Why You Actually Come Here - Previews!

Iiiit's that TIME again, boys and girls!  With a book finished, I start a new book, which means I get to post a couple of chapters before my publisher comes down on me like a bag of wet mice!  Next up is book four of Penny's saga, and I'm callin' it Please Don't Tell My Parents I Have A Nemesis.

I hope Chapter One pleases...?

And while we're at this, I have been told something weird.  Apparently Amazon Prime folks can download the first Superhero book for free.  Now, everybody who reads this has probably read that book, but apparently if you download it that counts as a sale for me even though you don't get charged anything.  So if anyone feels like throwing money at me without spending anything yourself, hey, I like money.

Preorders UUUUUUUUUP

My publisher did not wait around.  Wow.  Preorders for I Did Not Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence are already on Amazon!  Release date December 1st.  Check out the cover!

They said they were going for a mix of my Supervillain covers and 1980s album art.  I think that's genius.  Also, I think the goofy blurb at the bottom suits the goofiness of the book.

Below the break is the cover blurb I came up with.  What do you think?

So Many Distractions

So, the book is done, and I think prerelease is in December?  I expect my official edits soon.  You all reacted so favorably to Irene, I think it will be a winner, despite my being concerned by releasing a book in the Supervillain continuity without a child star.

I am about to start the fourth Penny book, Please Don't Tell My Parents I Have A Nemesis.  I have a strong general outline, so it should go fast.  I just need to work out some thematic stuff in my head before I can get to work.  I will, of course, give you folks the first few chapters to check reception!

This is super sweet - a friend saw these in the library of 'Trefoil Academy', a kids' summer camp!

Oh, and I'm a few days late on this because I got unexpected editing notes.  Heart of the Harvester is coming out in an anthology I had totally forgotten about.

The First Word

I Did Not Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence is finished.  Expect to hear more soon.

I Leave My Cave Occasionally

The book is chugging along, but since I can't show you excerpts, I have less to post about.  Instead, I have taken photos of stuff I saw when I went to see the wonderful French movie April and the Extraordinary World!

You see, next to the theater is this huge, or at least pleasantly and unexpectedly large, art shop.  It was full of every kind of art supply, and I loved just breathing that art shop air.  None of that makes good photography material.  What makes good photography material are... unicorn toys!

Since a close friend of mine is totally into unicorns, and I was shocked by the sheer numbers and weirdness of unicorn toys on display in an art store, I took photos.

#1:  Bag O' Unicorn.  Even beautiful, haunting, ephemeral magical creatures have their low budget purchasing options!

#2:  This book has to make you feel good.  It has a bunny and a unicorn on the cover.  That's PROOF.

#3:  This is just messed up.  There's really nothing else to say about it besides 'messed up.'

#4:  Sir, I find your assertion that 'cats love it' HIGHLY doubtful.

#5:  Not technically a unicorn toy, but included because it showcases the grace and majesty of horses.

#6:  This one was not photographed for my Unifriend.  It was all for me, to remind me that somewhere out there, someone is planning the same kind of unnatural horrors I am.

And now, for something completely different.  We went to this amazing burger shop where I ate a burger!  The burger was pretty good but not the amazing part.  The world just had to see the photos on the walls.  Holy smog bottlers.

(Faces have been blurred into Boschian nightmares to protect the innocent.)

SO MANY DEFUNCT BEVERAGE BRANDS.

Okay, there's your update to know I'm alive!  Honestly, I took these photos and posted them for one specific person, and I'm just hoping the rest of you get a kick, too.

News, And The Final Taste

First, some publishing news!  The audiobook of Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain went on sale, and hit #1 in all audiobooks on Amazon.  I mention this not to toot my own horn (although I'm pretty happy) but because the audiobook company responded by immediately buying the rights to books 2 and 3.  They'll be available... however long the turnover is on that!

Also, hardbacks were caught up in a formatting error the printer never told my publisher about.  They could be for sale already, for all I know.  Soon, definitely.

Finally, my publisher isn't thrilled about me giving sneak peaks, but I decided the first three chapters of a book can't hurt.  I have finished the third chapter of the tentatively titled I Did Not Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence.

Enjoy!

Sickness Unto Death, And...

I had an inner ear injury.  It was pretty bad.  Life-threatening, even.  It is theoretically chronic, but odds are it will be a long time between flare-ups, and I will be able to apply the treatment immediately.  That will hopefully prevent what I had this time - more than two weeks of being incapacitated by constant dizziness.

I was afraid I might never be able to write again, because I couldn't read a computer screen.  No joke.

But I did heal, so I'm back with a small treat!  My publisher doesn't like me posting big previews, but I figure I can post two or three chapters of I Did Not Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence.  On that note...

Chapter Le Two!

A Writing Test

When I have an idea for a book, I usually write up a page or so to explore it before I get to hardcore planning.  In theory, this could be the book in Penny's continuity, but not about her, published before book four.  Working title:  'I Did Not Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence.'

Here is what might or might not be the first chapter.  Think it has potential?

Do The Summer Of Lob Thing

So, the good news, Summer of Lob is out!  YAY!  It's in this anthology!

For those of you who wanted a copy and didn't get one, it was because we were days from the full thing coming out.  I'm sorry!

For those of you that did get one, I wish to ask a favor.  In exchange for my beneficence handing out free copies for you to enjoy, could you put up reviews on that Amazon page?  The ones so far are all from other authors' ARC friends, and I'm like 'None of these mention me AT ALL.  This anthology is about me!  Something had better be done about this!'

Actually, my publisher just wants a lot of early reviews and it's a really helpful to me, too.

Okay, I had both thoughts.

I continue work on A Sidekick's Tale.  It is grindingly slow.  Trying to figure out why and correct that.

A Question About The Future

Currently I'm working on A Sidekick's Tale (that will so not be the final title.)  It's going slow, and I find it's a book that is inspired by working on other things as well.  If I were to do a non-Penny book in Penny's continuity before the original series ends, it would be set pre-year 2000, and have an adult main character.  Is there anyone or anything you folks are interested in, to help direct my inspiration?

Woohoo! RELEASE DAY!

It is here!  Everybody who pre-ordered and didn't get the ARC, go get it!  Wow, sales are brisk.  I still don't see physical orders up - I'll bug my publisher.

The Not Very Long Awaited That Other Email Thread

I got the files for Summer of Lob from my publisher!  Those of you who felt like they needed to know more about Bull and Bull-adjacent people, here's your backstory.  Anyone who feels left out of ARC mailings, either the novella or the full book, this thread is for your complaints - but discussions of content are also welcome.  Whatever you want, folks.  You're the fans.  Go hog wild*.

*No hogs are present in either the novella or the Supervillain books.  Goats, yes.  Hogs, no.

The Long Awaited SPOILER Thread

I've been itching to put this up for two months now.  Some of you have copies.  Here is a thread to discuss the book!  I reeeeeeally hope you like Claudia and Marcia's arcs.

Those of you not reading the book, this thread will be full of spoilers and You Have Been Warned.

The Thread To Complain!

I got WAY more requests than my publisher wanted, which was around 20.  I sent off copies to the names I recognized or found most interesting.  Any of you who feel slighted or sad you were left out, this is the thread to tell me who you were on the list and say pretty please!

As for you who made the first cut, good luck.  I can't even open those files, and I'm hoping there wasn't some bizarre mixup and my publisher didn't send me porn.

No Promises, But This Is SOMEBODY'S Lucky Day

So, my publisher says they're about to send me the ARC (aaaaaalmost but not quite finished) version of the third book.  When they do, they are encouraging me to give it away, yes, for free, to some of my fans.  I'm still trying to figure out how to decide that, since I thought they'd be worried about piracy, but apparently they super want reviews up on the first day.  ARC does mean 'Advanced Review Copy', by the way.  So, uh... thoughts?  And yes, 'ME ME ME PLEASE' is a thought coherent and worth adding to this debate.

EDIT - Okay, people!  I now have an online survey form thingy that should work.  Send your requests to this simple and demeaning questionnaire and hopefully I can get a copy to you.  Remember, you pay me back by posting a review ASAP when the book officially comes out!  I would appreciate you erasing these copies when you're done reading.  Book piracy is a thing.

Woah, Really Cool Fan Mail

Okay, so, if you think you guys are having trouble waiting, I am going to freak out from having a whole month to go before you all really get to know Marcia and Claudia and Cassie, and meet the rest of the Tinsley family, and Irene, and Jacky, and... well, I've become deeply invested in my characters, is what I'm saying.  They're not complete until you all know them, too.

But, while I wait, I got this message on Goodreads from a writer named Andrew Seiple.  I've never gotten anything like this before, and it really moved me.  I asked, and he's fine if I share it.  So from here forward, His Letter:

Pre-Order UUUUUP!!!

It's that time!  And thank goodness.  My sales are pathetic.  A year with nothing published will do that to you.

Here is the Amazon link to pre-order Please Don't Tell My Parents I've Got Henchmen!  I think I'll wait until the official cover is up to put it on my sidebar.

You folks love to speculate, so to feed your curious little minds, here's the cover blurb:

What would middle school be like if half your classmates had super powers? It's time for Penny Akk to find out. Her latest (failed) attempt to become a superhero has inspired the rest of the kids in her school to reveal their own powers.

Now, all of her relationships are changing. She has a not-at-all-secret admirer, who wants to be Penny's partner almost as much as she wants to be Penny's rival. The meanest girl in school has gained super powers and lost her mind. Can Penny help her find a better one? Can she help an aging supervillain connect with his daughter, and mend the broken hearts of two of the most powerful people in the world? And in all this, where will she find time for her own supervillainous fun, or even more dangerous, to start dating?

It's going to be a long, strange semester.

Not The Actual Cover!

I will share a little bitty thing I find funny.  My publisher really wants to run with that January 10th date to start pre-orders, but isn't sure the cover art will be ready.  So... they made up a placeholder image to put on the Amazon page until they can put up the real cover.

Behold, not the cover of the exciting third issue of the Inscrutable Machine!

I think we'll make the Feb 8th full release.  Edits are all done, I wrote the ad copy, formatting the text to be all pretty doesn't take TOO long, and I've seen the WIP on the cover, so that shouldn't be more than a few days.  I bet if they pushed, my publisher could release the full book on Jan 10th, but my books are a big deal for them.  I think they want to get a lot of background sales prep done.