Contract Signed: Owl Stretching

I'm happy to announce that I signed the contract for my next novel, Owl Stretching, with Immanion Press. I'm pleased that Storm wants to publish it and I hope that I have a cover as lovely as Ruby's art for Pelzmantel. It will be out in 2012 -- hurrah!

So what can I say to whet your appetite?

The first line: "It was in the fourteenth year of the war that Simon woke up." Main character quotes a lot and gets every single quote wrong. There's a road trip! I pull off the impossible task of making Worcester glamorous and exciting. There's a dead cat whose ashes need to be taken to Mount Auburn Cemetery, aliens and a 300 year old magpie.

I started writing it when Kurt Vonnegut died and I was thinking how dispiriting it was to realise there would be no new sad but funny novels from him. How I've been describing the book: it's an alternative history/science fiction/urban fantasy/shamanistic retelling of the Descent of Inanna/great American road trip that takes in Albany, the Berkshires, Kripalu and Boston. What could be better? Um, yeah.

It's not really as mad as it sounds -- and it works!

Don't take my word for it! As my pal Liz Hand says, "Laity is a remarkable sorceress." Trust her. She's a terrific writer.



Oh, and happy birthday, Mr. Borges!

PELZMANTEL Publication & Review Copies

Yes, it's true! Pelzmantel is available for order (or should be any minute now) at Immanion. Let the champagne corks fly! Or perhaps prosecco, as I prefer the Italian sparkler to the French. Whoohoo!

I'll be doing signings and cons next month in the States. Not sure I have time to put something together here. We shall see -- pop up book signing, anyone?!

If you bought the original edition, let me tempt you with some of the extras. Not only is there a brand new introduction by the wonderful Liz Hand, but there are also three additional stories included, one which I can assure none of you has seen. I've also written an introductory overview to medieval magic which shows how much of the story is drawn from real magic from the Middle Ages.

After all, it would be worth buying just to have the lovely cover by Ruby! I do still think it's utterly gorgeous. I am so very pleased with everything at Immanion; Storm has been wonderful to work with -- insightful, too!

Don't forget: if you're short on money, why not ask your local library to order a copy?

One thing I could use some suggestions for: places to send review copies. I know a few of the top of my head that would be good, but feel free to suggest what you think would be the best places to have it considered. Many thanks!

Pelzmantel: Cover Complete

Pelzmantel: Cover with Lettering

Very happy! Doesn't it just look wonderful? Even the lettering seems to capture the magical feeling of the story -- I love the way it swirls.

Pelzmantel: Cover Art

Oh my!

Is this gorgeous or what?! I am so pleased with the cover art for my book -- squee! When Storm told me they were going to be putting out this new edition of Pelzmantel, she asked if I had any preference for the cover artist. I immediately said Ruby, please!

Ruby does the covers for most of Storm's own books and has a real love for fairytales. I knew she would be perfect.

Am I right?

First, I love the colors. Somehow the orange tones of the fox match so well with the midnight purple sky. The image captures the sense of magic and I love how she's worked the spinning tokens in, the spindle and bobbin. It captures the sense of mystery as well -- the hidden princess who must mask her identity and of course, the clever fox, too.

Wow -- just wow!! (wait, isn't that what you said, Mildred?). Thank you, Ruby -- thank you so very much!

Pelzmantel: A Medieval Tale coming from Immanion Press this June. It looks like we will have posters of Ruby's illustration and maybe some other items, too, at the Immanion Press store.

Reboot: Pelzmantel

Just about the time I was saying to myself that I really couldn't bear to hear the word "reboot" used yet again, uh, well -- I find myself needing to use it. Yes, the big news I have to share is that my novel Pelzmantel: A Medieval Tale is going to get a kickass new edition from Immanion Press. Many of you probably know Immanion as the home of magical fantasy writer, Storm Constantine. I've been a fan of her books for years and met her a couple of times and have always found her delightful. It was quite gratifying to have her say such kind things about my little book.

What's new: it will have a new essay on medieval magic, where I will explain some of the genuine charms and practices that I employed in writing this novel. Some of you may recall that I penned this while writing my dissertation; it sounds insane, but it provided a welcome break from the painstakingly detailed work of that project. I will also be able to include some short stories. I'm looking at uncollected ones -- though maybe including one from Unikirja if possible (synergy!) -- but I'd like to hear recommendations from folks about which stories they'd like to see included. I definitely think "Walpurgisnacht" would be a good companion. Others? My first thought was to focus on stories set in the past, but what about something like "The Willimantic Frogs"? What do you think?

It will also have a brand new introduction from the fabulous Liz Hand! I'm so excited. I can't wait to see what she writes.

Of course it should have a really attractive cover, too: they have some terrific cover artists at Immanion. I'm particularly partial to the ones for Storm's Grigori trilogy and the Wreatthu books.

The best thing is that I know so much more about PR and networking now than I did when this was first published. I know it's a good book and I hope this time around I'm able to generate a lot more interest and get it to the readers who will enjoy it. Having fabulous women like Liz and Storm associated with it will help, too.

UPDATE: June! Once get a clearer idea of the time line for this, I will let you all know. In the meantime, wheee!