Egads, has it been so long? I had company all last week (delightful company -- my parents came to visit from Michigan!) which meant my internet time was somewhat limited, as we were busy spending time in each others' company. Sadly, we did not get a chance to play bridge, but that can wait until the next time.

First order of business: cinda_cite, you have won the book & CD combo! Congrats. I hope you enjoy Common Shiner. :) I'll talk more about my own thoughts on music and myth later in the week.

In the mean time, some important things happened in the publishing world this week:

• Most importantly, Genreville, the Publishers Weekly blog on science fiction, fantasy, and horror, has relaunched! Their first post is a contest for a John Scalzi ARC, so get over there and say hello. (You can also find them on twitter @Genreville.)


• You must have heard it by now, because it's all over the news: Disney bought Marvel. I have no pithy commentary to add at this time (especially since Jeph Jacques (qcjeph) of Questionable Content already took the cake with his twitter feed, @jephjacques, which is NSFW).


• One of my fellow substrate members relaunched his two websites today: ThomasScofield.com and Nursery Tymes. He also shared a great blog entry about what your job is as a writer, from the blog of James Scott Bell. All are worth a look.

In slightly more self-centered news, I got asked by a fellow alum of Simon's Rock if I'd sign a copy of Into the Reach for his daughter. They'd made a bet of some kind, and her reward was that he'd buy her a book and get it signed by the author for her. She must have won, because she got the book (and enjoyed it!), and it'll soon be on its way for me to sign it and send it back. :) That definitely made my day.

The rush of the holidays is finally over, and though things are not quite back to normal (I am still in dire need of a two week vacation), I'm getting back on track on several of the writing assignments that got shoved off to the side while shopping for presents, parties, gatherings with family, and company came to the fore. I had a lovely visit with my friend Fallon just after New Year's, completely unscheduled, and she gave me a copy of the Ramayana that she'd purchased during her semester in India. It's certainly the classiest book I received this year (India obviously takes book publishing seriously, as a book may cost a full week's wages for some people in the rural areas, from what Fallon was telling me), and I'm looking forward to reading it!

Other notable books that came to me during the holidays:
Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson mistborn
Fruits Basket 15 (because manga is one of my weaknesses)
Sorcerers and Secretaries by Amy Kim Ganter

I also have a shared Barnes and Noble gift card left to spend (which was, for a household that usually gets and gives a lot of books, more common this year than actual print), so I'll add to the list then.

What I'm looking forward to receiving is my promo copies of Departure, which should be coming any day now. In fact, if you're interested in ordering Departure from the publisher, it's possible you could get a copy before my promo copies arrive! It was listed as available starting January 2nd, only in paperback. The hardcovers haven't been printed yet.

Departure features another great cover by Lindsay Archer, but no interiors for this print run. It's a much longer book, which was part of the reason for this decision, as was Lindsay's schedule, which had several conflicts, and my publisher decided he'd rather not get a second artist to do interior. (I'm glad that's what he decided--it wouldn't be the same without Lindsay's work!) There is some talk of releasing a "special edition" with interior prints some time in the future, but whether or not that will happen, who knows?

In the mean time, start keeping an eye out (and asking local booksellers) for both Into the Reach and Departure, which should have much wider availability starting this month. Rumor has it that Barnes and Noble has already ordered 750 copies of Into the Reach, which they will make available to their customers mid-month.

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The other big news from this end of the world is that I got my first fan letter. So, Matt, if you're out there reading this--thanks! You'll be hearing from me via a return letter in the near future. :)