Stephanie Burgis - Magical Books for Ages Ten to Fifteen

The Great YA Bake Sale of 2010

September 5, 2010, 1.57 pm

It’s here, it’s here - The Great YA Bake Sale of 2010!

It all started when Christine Johnson realized that YA authors seem to have one big thing in common - an obsession with sweets and baking.

That gave her an idea. She started calling (well - okay, emailing) around and ended up with more than a dozen kind, sugar-loving authors on board to bring you one amazing contest.

Here’s the deal:

To enter, simply leave a thoughtful comment on an author’s Bake Sale blog post, or tweet about the contest with the hashtag #YABakeSale10. Voila! You’re entered.

When you enter, you become eligible to win any one of the Personal Prize Packs (i.e. a comment on Saundra Mitchell’s blog may net you the Cyn Balog prize pack. You’re entering the whole contest, not just that particular author’s part of it.) You also become eligible to win the humongonormous Grand Prize Basket.

What’s in the Grand Prize Basket?

Each author has hand-written two copies of a favorite sweet-treat recipe. One copy has gone into a beautiful recipe book that is part of the Grand Prize Basket. In addition to the (hand-written! Did we mention that?) recipe collection, the Grand Prize winner will receive:

• A signed copy of Cyn Balog’s SLEEPLESS Bookmarks for A MOST IMPROPER MAGICK (aka, KAT, INCORRIGIBLE) by Stephanie Burgis
• Signed bookmarks for THE CRESCENT and HALF MOON, pencils, and a crescent moon and crystal-studded star necklace from Jordan Deen
• A (signed?) copy of THE BODY FINDER, a THE BODY FINDER tote bag, sticker and bookmarks from Kimberley Derting
• An EVERLASTING-themed notebook, bookmark and pin from Angela Frazier
• A signed copy of CLAIRE DE LUNE, signed stickers and a silver, moon-themed bookmark from Christine Johnson
• A signed copy of SHADOWED SUMMER, matching chocolate candies, Twilight-themed heart candies, bookmarks and THE VESPERTINE dance card from Saundra Mitchell
• A signed copy of THE PACE, by Shelena Shorts, along with bookmarks and THE PACE pencils
• A signed hard-cover of SHADE and a Keeley Brothers pin from Jeri-Smith Ready
• A signed copy of PERSONAL DEMONS, a PERSONAL DEMONS tank top, temporary tattoos, and bookmarks from Lisa Desrochers . . .
• AND MORE!!! All for one lucky winner!

But that’s not all!

Each author has one other handwritten recipe that will be part of each author’s own Personal Prize Pack.

The prize packs include:

• Cyn Balog - Signed copy of SLEEPLESS and a handwritten recipe for Coconut Bread.
• Stephanie Burgis - UK paperback copy of A MOST IMPROPER MAGICK and a hand-written recipe for Apple Muffins
• Kay Cassidy - Hand-written recipe and giveaways
• Megan Crewe - Hand-written recipe and giveaways
• Shannon Delaney - Hand-written recipe and giveaways
• Jordan Deen - Basket with Pampered Chef baking gear and a recipe for Orange Pineapple Cake
• Kimberley Derting - Signed copy of The Body Finder, stickers, a totebag, bookmarks and a recipe for Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Lisa Desrochers - A copy of PERSONAL DEMONS and a recipe for Sunday Coffee Cupcakes
• Angie Frazier - A signed hard-cover copy of EVERLASTING, bookmark, and a recipe for Butter Rum Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting
• Judith Graves - Copy of UNDER MY SKIN, a character card, and a recipe for Dead Lady Fingers
• Christine Johnson - A signed hard-cover copy of CLAIRE DE LUNE, stickers, a silver moon-themed bookmark and a recipe for Chocolate-Chip Butterscotch Blondies
• Saundra Mitchell - Recipe and giveaways Jennifer Murgia - ANGEL STAR swag, Octogram earrings, and a hand-written recipe
• Shelena Shorts - Signed copy of THE BROKEN LAKE and bookmarks and a hand-written recipe
• Jeri Smith-Ready - SHADE UK paperback edition and a recipe for Scottish Oat Scones

Fine print: The contest entries must be posted by midnight eastern time on September 20th. This contest is open to the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Questions? Leave them in the comments or email Christine - christine(at)christinejohnsonbooks.com

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Reading hiccups and a giveaway

September 3, 2010, 11.31 am

First, the important news for UK readers: if you live in the UK, check out this giveaway at the BookBabblers! From now until 8pm Monday, 6th September, you can win a copy of A Most Improper Magick just by commenting on the post.

And speaking of books...

Most of the time, being a writer and a reader go together like...well, like birthday cake and ice cream! You can't have the first without the second, right? (Well, OK, some very strong people may be able to eat birthday cake and NOT eat ice cream with it, but...not me.)

Every so often, though, there's a hiccup. And it's weirdly unpredictable which books - or whole genres - turn out to be off-limits during particular writing projects.

When I was writing A Most Improper Magick, you might have thought that the genre I wouldn't feel able to read would be Regency romances. On the contrary! I loved reading them even more than ever and felt no conflict or discomfort whatsoever as I wrote my own Regency-set adventures, which (gently and lovingly) teased some of the biggest literary conventions in Regency romance.

Books about sisters, though? They felt like poison. I COULD NOT read any of them, no matter how good they were. They could be set in pioneer America or 23rd-century space; they could be gritty realism, even. None of that mattered. As soon as I realized that a book centered around the relationship between sisters, my whole body screamed RED ALERT! RED ALERT! DANGER! and I had to stop reading...

Because what I really cared most about in my own novel, it turned out, was the relationship between Kat and her sisters. That was the most important part of the book, for me, and it felt way too vulnerable and raw to let myself get influenced or thrown out by anyone else's literary sisterhoods.

Now I'm writing a dragon book that's yet again set in the Regency (although about 13 years later, after the Napoleonic wars are finally over). Again, I'm happily reading other Regencies. I'm fine reading other books with dragons, too, because for all the million different representations of dragons in literature, I feel perfectly comfortable and secure in my own interpretation. I'm perfectly happy to read about someone else's 2-ton dragon even as I write about my own heroine carrying her small, decorative (and troublesome) dragon on her shoulder. No problem.

But last week I tried picking up the newest novel by one of my favorite Regency authors for adults, Eloisa James. As usual, it's witty and romantic...but this time, it's a retelling of Cinderella.

As I read, I felt discomfort creep slowly but steadily through me. It got worse and worse, to the point where it actually felt painful. After two (really excellent) chapters, I had to give up and admit that I CANNOT read this novel right now.

This is a book I've been eagerly anticipating, because I LOVE the way Eloisa James writes. But guess what? It turns out that, at its essence, my dragon book is a Cinderella story. One of my beta readers pointed this out a couple of months ago, but I didn't take any notice, because that wasn't how I thought of it at all. I never conceived the novel as a fairytale retelling - Cinderella has never even been one of my favorite fairy tales, so why would I? - and I had no plans for any glass slippers to get involved.

But it turns out...well, my beta readers are really, really smart. Because at its essence, yes, for all the differences between my story and the original fairytale, I really am writing a Cinderella story about loss and transformation and romance...and right now, I cannot bear to read anyone else's version.

What about you guys? If you're writers, are there any genres you've had to give up reading while you wrote a book? If you're a reader, what are your favorite fairytale retellings? Or the genres that you could NEVER give up reading, no matter what?

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Prize pack winners, room stickers, and BODY

August 2, 2010, 10.04 pm

Woot! A few hours later than planned - due to unavoidable childcare issues - here are the winners of the Publication Day Prize Packs! The two runners-up are: theironchocho and @malibu_love

And the grand prize winner is: Shawna Lenore!

Please contact me with your postal addresses and I'll put your packs in the mail tomorrow!

***

Today was no longer Publication Day, but it was a good day nonetheless. Since I'd sent off Kat3 on Friday (which continues to feel weird, after working on it for nearly two years!), today I used my childfree time for...okay, guess the LEAST LIKELY thing you can imagine. Ready?

I cleaned the house (or at least the living room, because, well, that was how much energy I had). Yes. It was THAT rare and unlikely an occurrence! But it was actually a relief to have the time to do it...and it will be even MORE of a relief to go back to writing as soon as the whole house is in reasonably good shape. That's my goal, after the last three months of putting all my spare energy into revision and forcing myself to ignore all the clutter (because why worry about something you can't change?): to FINALLY unpack the leftover boxes from our April move and get the house into a reasonably tidy and well-organized condition.

Better late than never...and at least part of the house-fix-up has actually been fun, since I spent about an hour putting up room stickers of tigers and monkeys and lions in one of the rooms of our house. (Guess whose? No, not mine. If I chose room stickers for my and Patrick's room, they'd either be Regency images or dragons.)

And the very coolest part of the last 24 hours has been the fact that I got the chance to read an ARC of Ying Lee's The Body at the Tower. I loved her first book, A Spy in the House (in fact, I loved it SO much that I actually sent her fanmail, something I'd never done after reading a book before!), but ohhhhhhh....I love Body EVEN MORE. You can read my review on Goodreads for now, and in a month or so, I'll probably give away a copy of the published book, because I loved it THAT much - I feel evangelistic about it! (It stands alone perfectly, btw, so you don't need to read Spy to read Body - but heck, why not?)

Which books do you guys love enough to thrust at everyone you know?

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Publication Day Party!

August 1, 2010, 2.15 pm

OK, so I know that Publication Day is just a day. Heck, it's a Sunday. A Most Improper Magick won't actually be on store shelves for at least a few more days (although at least my lovely local Waterstones already has big pictures of it all around the store, because they are AWESOME).

But officially? Today, my book is OUT: out there in the world, officially Published. That's something I've been dreaming of, quite literally, for twenty-six years now, ever since I was seven years old. And that is definitely worth a party!

So this morning, our whole family went out to celebrate...and of course A Most Improper Magick came with us. Here it is with my decadent "meal" at our local (and wonderfully child-friendly) Caffè Nero: 

Yes, that is whipped cream beside the (hot, melty chocolate) brownie. It was DELICIOUS! And sitting next to the plate is the compact mirror that Patrick got from the Jane Austen Centre giftshop as my Valentine's Day gift this year, in honor of the magical compact in A Most Improper Magick. Of course that had to come too! (Can you tell I'm a little bit giddy today?)

And here is Patrick, an hour later and in a different café (our local Coffee No. 1, which is not terribly child-friendly but a great place to write) showing off what can now be done in cafés around the country: 

Although the physical launch party (complete with party prizes!) isn't for another week and a half, today I wanted to do something online to celebrate, for everybody who can't come to my physical launch party.

So first of all, I've put up the second and third chapters of A Most Improper Magick - you can now read all of the first three chapters on my website! I really, really hope you guys enjoy them.

And secondly, if you want, you can enter to win a book-birthday party prize, no matter where in the world you are.

One person will win a signed copy of the UK edition of the book, along with a Kat postcard, Kat bookmarks, and an "Everything's Better With Highwaymen!" button. Two runners-up will get everything in that pack except the book.

This giveaway is only open for the next 36 hours, through Monday at 7pm UK time.

Here's how to enter:

1. You can get one point by just commenting on this entry to tell me that you want to enter the drawing. (I won't enter you unless you ask for it specifically, so feel free to comment on the entry even if you don't want to be a part of the giveaway! ;) I promise it won't happen by accident.)

2. You can get one more point by tweeting this:

A Most Improper Magick by @stephanieburgis is out in the UK today! Read the first 3 chapters here: http://bit.ly/Rmy1z

and then telling me you've done it, just in case I miss it. I should be able to figure it out through Twitter on my own, but I don't want to miss anyone by accident!

(And PS: if you already RT'd my earlier tweet about the chapters, that totally counts toward the giveaway. Just remind me in a comment here, okay?)

3. You can get two more points by giving that same information in a blog entry (and then telling me that you did it).

At 7pm tomorrow, I'll choose a random winner, and I'll put all three sets of prizes in the post on Tuesday!

***

OK. I know I've probably sounded fairly business-like and sensible in the last few paragraphs - or at least I was trying to...but you guys? MY BOOK HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN PUBLISHED. I am in shock...and very, very, very happy.

So I just want to share the last two lines of the printed acknowledgments in A Most Improper Magick:

And thank you to my community of friends on www.livejournal.com, who have cheered me on when I was nervous, comforted me when I was lost and joined with me in all my celebrations. You guys are the best!

I still remember when I very, very nervously went back to writing the first draft of A Most Improper Magick after my year off from it. I was convinced that I was being commercially crazy to work on it, but I just loved the book way too much to give it up...and one of the things that helped the most was the wonderful outpouring of supportive comments on this journal from people who told me to keep going - who had faith in me, and in Kat and her sisters.

You guys really are the best, and I know it. THANK YOU!

ETA: This giveaway is now closed.

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Chocolate, magic, and a sparkly tiara

July 27, 2010, 11.15 am

Today I am running back and forth around the web! Darren interviewed me at Bart's Bookshelf, "being an interview featuring chocolate, magic, and a sparkly tiara!"

At the end of the interview, there's another chance to win a British ARC - and again, this giveaway is open internationally. :)

You can read the interview - and enter to win the ARC - here.

Now I am going back to drinking more Earl Grey and scowling at the first page of Kat3, which I just. can't. get. quite. right. yet! But I will. It may just take an awful lot of chocolate to break through...

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American announcements and a giveaway!

July 21, 2010, 1.51 pm

Woooot! I can finally share my new American title and cover for Kat book 1 (known in the UK as A Most Improper Magick). Here's the front cover, illustrated by the amazing French artist Annette Marnat:

and the full jacket:

of Kat, Incorrigible! (Click to see a larger version on Flickr.)

The stars will be foiled in silvery-green. Eeee!

Kat, Incorrigible is the full title of Book 1 in the US, and it'll become the series title, too, so that Book 2 will be Kat, Incorrigible: A Tangle of Magics in the US (whereas it'll be A Tangle of Magicks (Book Two of The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson) in the UK).

The two titles and covers are SO different, but I really do love them both, and I'm feeling very lucky right now.

And just for fun, here's the full jacket artwork without the text, because it makes me happy:

(Click to see the larger version.)

The new US publication date is April 5, 2011 - but if you want to read an advance copy of the book long, long before that, you can enter now to win a British ARC at the book blog I Was a Teenage Book Geek! Lauren posted a really lovely review of the book yesterday, and now she's giving away her ARC, with the giveaway open to international contestants.

What do you guys think of the new American title and look?

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Magick winner, house panic, and new challenges

July 16, 2010, 1.04 pm

Random.org has spoken once more, and catchmeone is the winner of a British ARC of A Most Improper Magick! Congratulations! If you send me your mailing address, I'll put your ARC in the mail ASAP.

Or at least, I will as soon as I can pick myself up again. I'm currently lying, limp with relief, on the couch, eating cheddar cheese and apple slices as a reward for great exertions. (Alas, I'm out of chocolate chip cookies. At least I'm not forced to resort to salad as my comfort food...not yet...)

In the category of REALLY COOL! events which are also REALLY SCARY!, this week I had my first-ever phone interview with a reporter, followed this morning by a visit from a photographer from the newspaper. I would normally be a little nervous about both of these anyway, since they're first-time-ever events for me, but to be honest, what absolutely freaked me out this time was the house. I've been reassured by someone I love and trust that ALL parents of young children have messy houses...well, I really want to believe that. Please don't tell me if it isn't true!

(Actually, I have to admit that I do remember visiting one or two clean houses that young children have lived in. Urk. Well, I'm just not going to let myself remember those...)

I spent yesterday cleaning frantically, but of course the problem with having a young child and a dog is that they don't actually want to live in a sterile environment where the toys stay in their boxes and never come out. (How unreasonable of them!) Sooooo, this morning when MrD left to visit his childminder, I was still in my pyjamas with bedhead and sleep-crusted eyes, I had about an hour to prepare the house, and not only was the living room just as messy as it had been yesterday, but it had the extra-cool addition of stuffed-goose innards spread all across the floor, because Maya had chosen this morning as the perfect moment to rip open her new toy.

Aaghh. Those of you on UK- or Australian-time who read my twitter account may remember the ever-so-slight tinge of mounting hysteria to my tweets...

Luckily, it all worked out in the end. The house didn't look like a model home, but the living room looked, well, reasonably tidy - by our standards, at least. The photographer was a really nice guy who told me some genuinely fascinating World War II stories that made my mind start buzzing with cool new story ideas. And he absolutely promised me that none of the electrical junk (back-up hard drives, etc.) that we'd piled in one corner would end up in the photos. Whew.

Now I'm luxuriating in the sensation of having a reasonably clean house, being nicely made-up for the first time in several months, AND knowing that I'm finished with scary things...well, at least until this Sunday, when I'm doing my first official author event at a local street party! But at least that's going to be small and low-key, and I'm telling myself not to worry about it. Not until Sunday morning, anyway, when I'm next due to start panicking and moaning about why am I not better at putting on make-up, why am I not [insert neurosis], why, why, why...

OK. I'm back to taking deep breaths and reminding myself that I used to do public recitals and concerts all the time. I learned how to deal with stage fright then, and I can absolutely do it again. This "author" aspect of the writing lifestyle is definitely a bit of a shock after the last couple years of being a stay-at-home mom and hermit-y writer...but it's also most definitely good for me.

But can I ask some advice? What do you guys do to get yourselves through nerve-wracking new challenges? Any suggestions would be HUGELY appreciated right now.

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Heroine win and a day of decadence

July 14, 2010, 5.58 pm

Random.org has made its selection, and Carol N Wong is the winner of Erin's The Heroine's Bookshelf! Congratulations, Erin! Just send Erin a message with your mailing address, and the ARC will be shipped to you.

And thanks to everybody who entered the competition, for increasing my TBR list! :) (That is actually a good thing, no matter what our groaning bookshelves might think...)

Today was a day of total decadence. This morning, I got my first haircut in (drumroll) FIVE MONTHS, and ohhhh, did I need it. When I admitted to the (new-to-me) hairdresser how long it had been since my last cut, she actually gasped in disbelief and horror. This is the thing about working at home - or rather, the combination of working at home AND having a small child. My focus is divided between childcare, writing, and desperately trying to keep the house from falling apart; somehow doing things for myself like getting haircuts (even when my bangs have grown almost to my chin and I wince every time I see myself in a mirror) never makes it onto the list, because I don't have the external pressure of running into other adults at work every day.

On the other hand, this haircut feels SO good. My head feels so light, and I keep on reaching up to touch my nice short hair, just for the sheer pleasure of it. And since I'm actually going to be doing a bunch of public events in the next few months, I might just remember to make time for another cut even before my bangs start trying to eat my face again.

This afternoon was even more of the same, since MrD and I went into town together and indulged in a shopping frenzy: lots of cool stuff for him and a new pair of jeans that actually fits (shock! horror!) for me, along with a stop in at the printing shop to order up invites to my launch party. (My publisher designed them for me, thank goodness.) We ended up at a great child-friendly café and just had a really nice time together.

I always remember that it's important to work hard and take care of other people. But I don't always remember how good it is to take care of myself, too. Today was a good reminder.

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And another giveaway!

July 9, 2010, 3.57 pm

I am selfishly thrilled to be hosting Erin's giveaway - I've really, really loved reading the lists of people's favorite literary heroines, not least because it's given me so many new books to look for! My library reserve list has grown exponentially.

Sadly, since a nasty stomach bug hit me last night, I don't have much brain power for sparky wordage of my own today. (Except: stomach bugs UGH! NOT FUN!) Luckily, I have something better.

Yesterday, two new British ARCs for A Most Improper Magick showed up at my house. Woot! Needless to say, my mind immediately turned to giveaways. And with perfect timing, I just got the UK version of my book trailer from my brilliant brother Dave. (Actually both of my brothers are brilliant. Have I bragged yet about how my brother Ben just got a job as an assistant professor of philosophy? In South Korea? HOW COOL IS THAT?) (Ahem. Getting back to business now...)

Here is the UK version of my book trailer (which is identical to the American version except for the cover and info at the very end):


I'm saving one of these ARCs in case I need to show someone (like my local librarians) the book before it's officially released; the other ARC is available to anyone in the world.

If you would like to win it, all you have to do is EITHER:

1) Embed the video into your own blog, using this code:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bR-6VXiKkJg&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bR-6VXiKkJg&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

2) Share it on Facebook by linking to the YouTube video

OR

3) Tweet the following:

RT @stephanieburgis Check out the UK trailer for A Most Improper Magick: http://tinyurl.com/2v3vo8p

Then come back and tell me that you've done it.

The giveaway will end in one week, on Friday, 16th July.

(And remember, you can still enter the giveaway for The Heroine's Bookshelf anytime until next Wednesday, 14th July!)

Now I'm going to go make myself more camomile tea...

ETA: This giveaway is now closed.

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Heroines and a Giveaway

July 7, 2010, 3.09 pm

I really, really love strong heroines in books. Sometimes they're physically strong - I just finished reading Alyxandra Harvey's Blood Feud and adored the fact that the heroine, who started out as a delicate 18th-century debutante, has turned into a strong, mature woman who is far better at fighting than the book's 21st-century vampire hero (who is mostly described as "pretty", has a penchant for lace cuffs on his pirate shirts, and absolutely adores the fact that the heroine is so tough).

On the other hand, sometimes it's moral or intellectual strength that appeals most to me, like in the case of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, who tends to be the smartest & wittiest person in any room, and who utterly refuses to marry any man she doesn't respect, no matter how rich he might be. Jane Eyre is another example - she might be poor and plain and alone in the world, but she won't let anyone - not even the man she loves - pressure her into doing what she believes is morally wrong.

When I first heard about Erin Blakemore's book The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder, I was really intrigued. Then I read a draft of it, and fell head over heels in love.

Chapter by chapter, Erin talks about fabulous woman authors and the fictional heroines they created, from Jane Austen to Zora Neale Hurston, Laura Ingalls Wilder to Alice Walker. There are chapters on books I read and loved as a kid, like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Anne of Green Gables, and I loved being reminded so beautifully of those books, and learning so many interesting new things about their authors. There are also chapters on books I've never read but now MUST read after her enticing descriptions of them, like Their Eyes Were Watching God. Each chapter gives tribute to the fabulous heroines Erin loves, and to the authors, flawed and fabulous heroines themselves, many of whom were battling truly horrific circumstances.

This is a book to sink into and LOVE. It's warm and fun and inspiring and also full of fascinating information. At the end of each chapter, Erin suggests times when these particular heroines - fictional or authorial - might be just what you need to get through your own difficult circumstances.

By the time I finished reading the book, I'd already realized that I wanted to buy copies for almost every woman I know. The book isn't out until October...but luckily, I can already start giving it away. Erin's donated one ARC of the book to be given to a reader of this blog. The giveaway is open internationally, and all you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite literary heroine. (She can be a fictional character or an author - either works!) I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner one week from today, on Wednesday July 14th.

So: who are your literary heroines? :)

ETA: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

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Giveaway winner and chocolate problems

July 1, 2010, 4.33 pm

It's Thursday, July 1st, one month before A Most Improper Magick is released in the UK - and according to Random.org, Tim (tjinkerson) is the winner of a signed cover proof!

Tim, please send me a message with your mailing address, and I'll put your signed proof in the mail ASAP.

And now that the business segment of this entry is taken care of...we need to talk about a problem. A serious problem.

A problem that Tricia Sullivan caused. This: 

Divine Chocolate's Fruit and Nut Dark Chocolate bar.

Here's the thing: I've always eaten a bit of chocolate every day. For the last year or two, I even ate some of a Divine Chocolate bar every day, usually their dark chocolate-mint flavor. (As far as I'm concerned, Divine is the Willy Wonka of the chocolate world - and not only is it the yummiest chocolate I've ever found, it's even fair trade, too! Irresistible.) But I always had self-control. I never ate more than six (small!) squares in a day.

Then Tricia came to visit, and brought me a bar of their fruit & nut chocolate.

I've never liked chocolate with fruits inside. I had Dire Suspicions. But it was a gift, and I wanted to properly appreciate it, so I took a bite, shrugged, took another...and devoured half a bar in the next five minutes.

I haven't found my self-control since.

There has GOT to be something addictive in those bars!

Sadly, although I've tried going back to the old mint-dark chocolate bars I used to like (and be able to control!), I can't stop myself. Now I always choose the fruit & nuts bars when they're available. And then...

Sigh. Something Must Be Done. But not until I finish this current bar, obviously...

What about you guys? What are your favorite chocolate (or just candy) treats?

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Pride, pics, and a giveaway

June 26, 2010, 4.15 pm

First, a piece of news that made me really happy. Remember how I said, a month or so ago, that my brother Ben's short story "Dark Coffee, Bright Light and the Paradoxes of Omnipotence" had been named as a notable story of the year by the StorySouth award? Well, now it's going to be republished in an anthology of the best Jewish SF/fantasy stories of the past decade.

I am really, really proud of my brother.

Second, this morning there was a knock on the door, much, much too early - but for a fabulous reason. The cover proofs for A Most Improper Magick had arrived! And ohhhh, they're beautiful. They're fun to touch, too! The gold-foiled bits are bumpy, and the shiny white bits feel really smooth against the matte cover...I spent way too long just stroking them, as you can probably guess. ;)

Here are the cover proofs hanging out on the lounger in our patio, enjoying the bright sunshine of our insanely hot summer. (Does the weather not realize that we are in Wales? What is it thinking????)

The best part is that my editor sent me three proofs of the cover. I'm going to keep one, probably to frame; I'm going to save another to give away at my launch party; but I want to give away the third one here, to one of you guys.

At first I was going to put all kinds of sensible conditions on the giveaway, like that you must retweet it or post about it or whatever. But then I thought: y'know, a lot of you guys have been reading my blog for a LONG TIME, some of you from all the way back in 2002 when the idea of me publishing a book - much less a trilogy - must have seemed like a crazy fantasy. (At least, it certainly felt like that to me, an awful lot of the time!) And that deserves something nice in return right now, without a lot of marketing-style fanfare. 

So here's the thing. If you'd like a signed cover proof, just leave a comment here, telling me that you would like it. Then I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner on Thursday, July 1st, because that's exactly one month before the book will be published in the UK.

I can't wait. And thank you guys so much for hanging out with me along the way!

Note: This giveaway is now closed.

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Cover reveal and ARC winner

June 17, 2010, 5.10 pm

Wooooooooooooooooooot!!!!! I just got the OK from my UK editor to share my British cover with you guys!

(Click here to see the larger image.)

The cover artist was Anne Yvonne Gilbert, and the cover was designed by Tom Sanderson.

All the gold bits will be foiled, and the white bits will be shiny!

I am so, so happy about this cover. Every time I look at it, I feel like crying in wonder all over again. So this is a great day to give something away. And according to the random number generator at random.org, the winner of the Marie Brennan ARC is: bookblather! Congratulations, and please email me your mailing address so I can send you your ARC!

It's been a really, really good day. :)

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Excuses, favorites, and an ARC giveaway

June 10, 2010, 5.05 pm

Sorry for the radio silence, guys! Things are a bit tough here at the moment in terms of health and energy. Because of my CFS, our usual state of play is for Patrick to do all the housework, dog-care, and at least half the childcare, which leaves me with enough energy to do half the childcare, write fiction, write lots of emails and a couple of journal entries every week, and even do wild and crazy things like going downtown once or twice a week.

Well. Unfortunately, that's not what's happening right now, because Patrick's still not feeling well himself, so all of my energy is being funneled into childcare and housecare, leaving very little energy for writing...and as much as I love blogging and writing emails, they can't take priority over my contracted novels. So I'm guessing that blog entries will continue to be scattered for a while, and I really apologize to everyone I owe emails to.

Have I mentioned how much I really hate CFS? :(

I'm still popping up a bit more often on twitter, because 1-line updates are more do-able than full blog entries - if you're there, you can find me at http://www.twitter.com/stephanieburgis - and otherwise...please know that I miss you guys and can't wait to come back to regular blogging and emailing! In the meantime, though, here's a quick roundup of some of my favorite things from the past couple of weeks:

Nigella Lawson
I have finally become a Nigella convert. I'd seen a couple episodes of her various cooking shows on TV and never been won over, but then I checked out her cookbook Nigella Express last Friday and fell in love. Luscious photos of food that's fast and easy to prepare (and so far, that promise has been upheld in all the recipes I've tried from the cookbook, all of which have been delicious as well as easy to make) - and I love, love LOVE the way she writes about the food. Her long, chatty intros to each recipe are lushly written and make the cookbook fun to read on its own, even if you don't do any cooking. I was completely blissed-out by the end of an afternoon spent reading it on the couch, even before I tried a single recipe. My only sorrow was that there aren't nearly enough vegan-convertible recipes included for my liking...but if that isn't an issue for you, there's really no downside to this cookbook.

Lisa Mantchev's Perchance to Dream book trailer
So dreamy and beautiful! I loved it. And as you guys know, I'm a huge fan of Lisa's books. Check it out:

Marie Brennan's A Star Shall Fall
I was lucky enough to get an ARC for this, and loved it. Eighteenth-century fantasy based around the impending arrival of Halley's Comet, with scenes of faeries debating real eighteenth-century scientific theory...it made my geeky, eighteenth-century-loving heart extremely happy. :) And have I mentioned yet that Halley's Comet is connected to a very, very cool and frightening dragon???? Here's what I wrote about it on Goodreads:

A beautifully written fantasy novel. The magic is perfectly interwoven with 18th-century British history and scientific theory, and the characters and their emotions are wonderfully complex.

I loved Book One in Brennan's Onyx Court series (Midnight Never Come, which was really fun), and I admired Book Two (In Ashes Lie) for how ambitious it was, but A Star Shall Fall is my favorite of Marie Brennan's novels so far, and it stands alone perfectly - you definitely don't need to have read either of the earlier Onyx Court books to enjoy this one.

If you like smart adult historical fantasy (and note, this is adult rather than MG or YA, so while there aren't any explicit sex scenes, there are complex romantic relationships and it is written in a different tone than fantasy for kids), I'm guessing that you might like this a LOT...and although it isn't due to be published until the end of August, you can read a copy sooner than that just by commenting on this entry.

Tell me either (a) your personal favorite historical period, (b) your favorite historical fantasy novel, OR (c) why you want to read it even though you don't have favorite periods OR historical fantasy novels....and you'll be entered to win my ARC from me! (Shameful note: the cover of this ARC is a little beaten-up, because MrD got hold of it. HOWEVER, nothing has been damaged apart from the wrinkled cover.)

I'll pick a winner next Thursday. The giveaway is open internationally!

And now I'm going to rest for a little while before it's my turn to take over childcare again.

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My big news - and ARC giveaway!

March 1, 2010, 4.17 pm

I am unbelievably excited to finally announce:

The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson have sold in the UK!!!!!!

Better yet, even though the sale only happened a month ago, A Most Improper Magick will be published in the UK in August 2010 - only 5 months from now!

I am just incredibly happy about this. My UK publisher is Templar Books, a fabulous independent publisher that has focused on creating award-winning illustrated books for the last 30 years (UK readers have probably seen their fun "Ology" books - Dragonology, Piratology, etc.), but is now starting a brand-new fiction line, with AMIM as one of their very first novels.

!!!!!!

OK, just give me a moment to breathe deeply and stop hyperventilating with excitement. It has been SO HARD not to share this news until now!

The London Literary Party (TM) that we attended last week was Templar's grand unveiling of their new fiction list at the Covent Garden Hotel, with champagne and canapés - and shiny new British ARCs of A Most Improper Magick as one of the items in all their guests' goodie-bags! I got to meet my wonderful British editor, Emma Goldhawk, as well as a whole bunch of other Templar editors, all of whom were smart and fun to hang out with and - best of all - really excited about Kat's adventures. And I came away absolutely floating with excitement and happiness to be working with a second group of fabulous people, all of whom really get Kat and her family and are making such a perfect British home for them.

(And btw, Templar is planning an author tour, so I'm hoping to meet a lot of British readers in this coming year, too!)

In celebration, it's the perfect day to share another ARC giveaway! This one is being held on the blog of Kim Harrington, a member of The Elevensies whose own first book, Clarity, is going to be published next year.

You can win an ARC of A Most Improper Magick no matter what country you live in - just go to Kim's blog to find out how!

Now I'm going to go fan myself for a while. :)

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ARC giveaway and Sick Soup

February 8, 2010, 2.50 pm

First of all, some excellent news: this month's giveaway of A Most Improper Magick is being held by The Story Siren, a fabulous book blogger. You can enter to win an Advance Readers' Copy of the book any time until next Friday, February 19th. Good luck!

(Sadly, this one is only open to US readers, but I promise there will be more opportunities for international readers in other months.)

In less excellent news, by 7pm last night I was feverish and miserable with the same bug MrD has been suffering through. Thank goodness, he finally started to perk up at about the same time (the worst part of the virus hopping smoothly from one person to the next!), but since he was still having a hard time breathing in his sleep because of his leftover cold symptoms, I only ended up getting about 4-1/2 hours of sleep spread across the night...so, well. As you can imagine, I'm still feeling pretty miserable.

Luckily, Patrick leapt into the breach and, last night, when I couldn't imagine eating ANYTHING because I was so clogged up and sick, he made up a recipe for French onion soup. A few weeks ago my friend Jenn talked on Twitter about her Sick Soup. French onion soup is definitely my Sick Soup! It was absolutely perfect - comfort and heat and nutrition all in one, and it even cleared my head out for a while.

The only issue is that Patrick can't figure out what extra herbs to add. He made a very basic recipe, and to my cold-clogged senses, it was BLISS (I ate it again for lunch today, and again, it made me feel MUCH better for about an hour afterward), but to his healthy tastebuds, it was definitely missing something. Hmm...

Here's the recipe:

-4 large onions, chopped

-6 cloves garlic, chopped

Fry the onions and garlic in a ton of olive oil. Add water, vegetable stock, and a little bit of salt and simmer until done.

What do you guys think? What herbs would be a good addition?

Or, alternately: what's your personal Sick Soup?

(And now my brain is finished working for the day, so I'm going to lie down again.)

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ARC ahoy!

January 25, 2010, 4.51 pm

I promised back in December that I would give away one ARC a month through April - and even in the midst of writing madness, I have not forgotten. But this time, you'll have to go on a visit with Kat to find it. She's been invited to take tea with Lisa Mantchev's Bertie and the fairies!

Join the teaparty and enter to win an ARC of A Most Improper Magick!

I love that Lisa let me write fanfic for her characters and world. And can I say how bizarre it is that it felt SO much easier to write fanfic for her characters than my own? Kat's voice is SO strong and clear in my head that it's been sheer pleasure to write her first-person narration in her own novels - but I found it almost impossible to write her in third-person in someone else's world. Funny, that...I guess I'll have to leave Kat fanfic to other authors! ;)

(And can I just say how much I LONG for people to write Kat fanfic and draw fanart for her world? That's one of the biggest things I hope for when the book is published. My understanding is that legally I'm not allowed to read any Kat fanfic...but oh, I really want it to exist somewhere out there in the world! And any fanart will be devoured by me with great delight.)

Today has been a day of irritating but mundane trials - our car battery is dead without warning, so far too much of today has been devoted to trying to get it replaced - but today has also been a great day, because I wrote 1,410 words, finished the first stage of Kat3's climax, and had such a fabulous time with it. I really think I might finish this draft by the end of January after all. Knock on wood for me, please...

And then go join Kat's ARC teaparty! Winners will be chosen on Sunday, January 31st...by which point I HOPE to be the tired but triumphant writer of a complete draft of Kat3.

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Competition Winners, Good Books, and Good News

December 22, 2009, 12.37 pm

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my ARC giveaway! There were 126 entries, and I really wish I could give an ARC to every single person who entered. Since I couldn't, I used an online random number generator to pick the winner and the two runners up, and this is what it chose:

The two runners up are: @elledisney and Lisa Voisin

and the ARC winner is: Kaylynn of Kay Darling Reviews

Yay Kaylynn, Elle, and Lisa! If you send me your mailing address (using the contact form on my website), I'll put your packages in the mail.

And for everybody else who entered: I've got four more ARCs still waiting in my desk, and I'm planning to give away one a month here on the blog for the next four months. So you will definitely have more chances to win!

***

In other news, I just finished reading Kristin Cashore's Fire, and WOW. It completely blew me away. I'd really, really liked and admired her first book, Graceling, but for me, Fire resonated much more strongly, and I absolutely loved it. It really was one of the best coming-of-age novels I've ever read in any genre, and it immediately became one of my favorite fantasy novels ever (which is saying an awful lot).

I really wish I'd been able to read it as a teen, when I honestly needed a book like that in many ways...but I'm very glad that at least I can read it now. The copy I read belonged to my local library, but I'll definitely be buying my own copy very soon for lots and lots of re-readings. It's one of those books that manages to tackle really difficult, painful subjects, like grief and terrible injustice, and yet still feel like a pure pleasure to read - and that is really impressive.

It's been a good day in lots of ways, actually. In a true Christmas miracle, it actually snowed yesterday (snow! before Christmas! in the UK! is that even allowed?), and even more incredibly, it hasn't melted yet. I'm hoping with all my heart that it will stay for Christmas. Today my computer is being shipped back to me from Apple - knock on wood that it will work this time! And this afternoon I'm off to pick up my new pair of glasses, so I'll actually have a pair that doesn't hang at weird angles off my face. Total decadent luxury! ;)

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Computer Woes and ARC Giveaway

December 14, 2009, 12.18 pm

Alas, there was no Christmas miracle at the Apple store on Saturday afternoon. Kind of the opposite, actually...

Not only could they not retrieve ANY of the data from the hard drive, but after 3 hours of driving (roundtrip) to get there and 3 hours hanging out in town waiting for the new hard drive to be inserted (thank goodness for Apple care - at least it was free), we finally got home, I turned on my computer...

...and got that same old gray screen and bouncing question mark. AAAAGH. The computer is still broken.

Worse yet, we can't even get back to the Apple store for the next attempt until Wednesday...so I'll be stealing time off Patrick's computer for a while longer. Sigh.

But! To cheer myself up, I have decided that it's time...drumroll...to do my first Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) giveaway for A Most Improper Magick!

This giveaway is open to anyone in any country. All you have to do is let other people know about the giveaway, either by tweeting the following tweet, if you have a twitter account:

RT @stephanieburgis : Win an ARC of my novel A MOST IMPROPER MAGICK: http://tinyurl.com/yckky2q

...Or by mentioning it on your blog, using any phrasing you like, but making sure to link to this entry.

Then come tell me that you've done it, so I'll know to enter you in the drawing! You can either leave a message for me here on this journal entry or else email me through my website.

The giveaway will be open for a week, until midnight UK time next Monday, December 21st. One winner will get an ARC, plus an "Everything's Better with Highwaymen!" button and a postcard with the book cover; two runners-up will get "Everything's Better with Highwaymen!" buttons and postcards.

(And if you're debating about whether or not you want an ARC, remember you can read the first chapter on my website to get a taste of the novel!)

Yay! And I can't tell you how happy and worried and excited and scared I feel, all at once, at the idea of more people reading my book! ;)

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Thanksgiving Winners and Christmas Glee

December 1, 2009, 1.44 pm

My Thanksgiving Giveaway ended last night, and the winner of the prize pack is...*drumroll*:

Jenny N!

And the two runners up are: Rob C. and Chelsea H.

Congratulations, everybody! Just send me your mailing addresses, and I'll get your prizes in the mail.

Meanwhile, it's December 1st, which means...yes! I'm finally allowed to listen to Christmas music every day. Bwaaaahahahaha...poor Patrick. Poor, poor Patrick.

I understand it's an addiction. But it's a jingly happy Christmas addiction! So that's all right, right? Right?

Oh well. Every so often it's Patrick's turn to have his music on, and his heavy metal balances out my Christmas music nicely.

Although his turn is the length of one CD, whereas my turn is the length of my Christmas playlist. And my playlist has many, MANY Christmas CDs on it.

*cacklecacklecacklecackle*

It's lucky I have a very good husband. :)

And in the true Christmas spirit, here is a comic that made me laugh out loud today with sheer embarrassing recognition and pleasure: In Which Beth Keeps Her Books. Enjoy!

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A startling discovery and a final reminder

November 30, 2009, 1.06 pm

Yesterday, I discovered somewhere very, very dangerous. It's a town called Hay-on-Wye, and the entrance sign welcomed us to: "The Town of Books"

YES. I always knew it had to exist somewhere, and now I've finally found it: The Town of Books!

And seriously. I have NEVER been anywhere with so many bookstores! As we were walking down the streets, there were at least two bookshops per block. Per block! Even the town's castle (hey, this is Wales, of COURSE there's a castle) has now been converted into a bookstore!

Amazingly, I didn't swoon. But ohhhh, was I in bliss! We'd officially come for the sake of the town's Christmas fair, which was indeed very nice - but we didn't actually spend much time there. How could we when there were so many bookstores calling our names?

We will be going back again very soon, oh yes, we will. But it's probably just as well that it's not a sensible location for us to move to permanently. I'm not sure our bank balance could cope with so much wonderfulness... ;)

***

And one final reminder: this is the very last day to enter my Thanksgiving giveaway! I pulled out Joan Bauer's Squashed from the bookshelf again this weekend, reminded by the giveaway, and started giggling all over again as I re-read my favorite parts. I'll draw the winners tomorrow morning!

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Traumatic shots and comfort reads

November 25, 2009, 2.49 pm

Oh dear.

29 years ago, when I was 3-1/2 years old, my little brother got his MMR vaccination shots...and I went into flailing hysterics on the floor of the doctor's office, so horrified and upset on my little brother's behalf (because I KNEW how much those needles hurt!) that I just couldn't cope.

So you can imagine how I felt this morning when MrD had his shots. At least I managed to control myself, this time. I didn't cry, and I didn't kick the floor or pound my fists on it as I sobbed. But I really, really wanted to.

***

It's been a glum few days, here in Wales. The endless rain is starting to feel nigh-on apocalyptic, and when you combine that with pure exhaustion (the return of the dreading Teething monster, eating all our nights)...well, glum and grim are both good words to use.

Luckily, last night I found exactly the right book to brighten my mood: Sherwood Smith's Once a Princess (Book I in her Sasharia en Garde! duology). Swordfights! Pirates! Witty banter! Romance! And a truly awesome mother-daughter team. Now I'm midway through the novel and feeling so much better about everything.

I bought this one as an e-book to read on my iTouch for the sake of speed (I needed a comfort read STAT! no time to waste ordering a copy from Amazon!), but I think I might have to buy myself a print copy, too, for easier re-reading in the future. And Book 2 will definitely be a print purchase for me. For some reason, e-books feel like disposable reads to me, maybe because they're so easy to delete, or maybe because they're dependent on computers, and I've lost sooooooo many files to dead computers in the past.

What about you guys? When you love a book, would you rather have it in print for comfort or on an e-reader for the sake of easy portability and having it with you ALL the time?

__

And a quick PS: don't forget, 5 more days to enter my Thanksgiving giveaway! Joan Bauer's Squashed is one of my favorite comfort books ever. Good luck!

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