So ... book news. Yesterday, my first poetry collection, Chimeric Machines, won the Bram Stoker Award. The award ceremony was held in Brighton, UK. I wanted very much to go, but the finances necessary for an overseas trip just weren't there for Gary and me. I'm told via Twitter that a lot of other writers bravely consumed large quantities of Guinness at the afterparty on my behalf.
My first novel, Spellbent, came out in December, and so far it seems to be doing pretty well. It's gotten positive reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly, and Locus picked it for their 2009 Recommended Reading List. A couple of noders have asked me questions about print run and sales, and ... I have no idea. I'm hoping I'll get some hard numbers concerning distribution in the first quarterly royalty statement. Big publishers like Random House tend to keep that kind of information pretty close to the chest. Most chain bookstores and some box stores like Target stock the book, and a fair number of libraries have acquired copies. But I know the economy's been particularly hard on public libraries -- if you think your community or school library might want a copy but not have the funds for it, drop me a message. I have some freebies to send out, and I'd rather they went to places where the book will be most enjoyed.
I'm still working on the last bits of the second novel in the series, which is titled Shotgun Sorceress. It picks up right where Spellbent ended, and continues to chronicle Jessie Shimmer's Worst Week Ever. Provided I don't muff the deadline, the book will be out in late October, just in time for Halloween and the World Fantasy Convention, which will conveniently be here in Columbus, Ohio.