“I really didn’t know what to expect going into reading this book, but I am thrilled to say that it delivered on all accounts. Getting its first reprint! Fantastic Book Review The obligatory reminder I’m running a contest this week for lots of cool stuff. Spoiler warning for the first book on the second book’s blurb. In other news: Orbit blogs about the cover of my second book, Changeless. Then we battled post-ballgame meets post-Fleet Week traffic out of the city, me dozing off, and the Louder Half singing softly to himself. Then a group of us wandered across the street to the pub for food and, in my case, a half pint of Guinness. This was sooo cool! There were fellow authors in the audience Seanan McGuire whose book Rosemary and Rue has recently come out from DAW (and who once, and I don’t think she remembers this, gave me some very sound advice about the publishing industry at a Ba圜on) and Blake Charlton who has a forthcoming novel, Spellwright, from TOR (and whom my friend and I kidnapped to our room one Ba圜on because he looked hungry and lost, and fed almond butter and jam sandwiches). However, Borderlands is known for weekend events and a small collective was in attendance because it’s one of the things they do on the weekend, and a few had come especially to see me, either because they heard of it on twitter or had read the book and liked it enough to follow my blog. My mother had quite the posse, but then, my mother is like that. This is my home ground so, to be fair, at least 80% of the people there were friends or family. While the store set up the stadium seating, I chatted with a few early arrivals and arranged the tea. The Armenian Lovers handled it with aplomb and, it must be said, must greater calmness and presence of mind than I would have, placing us at Borderlands well before the prescribed time. So, due to the advent of a meeting that morning in the East Bay and the usual combination of unappealing events in The City (AKA Fleet Week) traffic was a nightmare. Gail, are you going to get on to your reading anytime soon? Not only that but they are wonderful about supporting the SF/F community with events, and help, and interest. There is the required couch, the required lap cat (although naked and kind of alien-like – even more apropos to a science fiction shop), and the required stacks and stacks of books. After the completion of the latter, I introduced myself to the staff and encountered my first fan girl – yet another mile marker! (I quickly discovered I love fan girls!)īorderlands is fabulous, a perfect bastion to the SF world, large enough to supply any book you might need, small enough to be intimate. Shortly thereafter, circumstances conspired to get me in to visit the august establishment (despite said abhorrence) not once, but twice: to see Jay Lake and Ken Scholes “write off” and for David J. I’d heard of the store, one of the last great specialty independents, but I have an abhorrence for driving in San Francisco so never managed to visit.

Such a request was quite thrilling to Newly Minted Author Beast, one of those mile markers I’m always prattling on about. I was asked to do a reading at Borderlands by email, shortly after they received my ARC, many months ago now. Still, I hope it manages to entertain some and provide necessary information to others. I am no sure how many of you who frequent my blog (you know, all six) are aspiring writers, but this is a journal-sort of endeavor, so I thought I would jot down the nature of the experience to support my own fading memory irregardless of the benefit to posterity. It was at Borderlands Books in San Francisco.

Recently, Gentle Reader, I had my very first book reading and signing.

Soulless by gail carriger recap