Monthly archive

March 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

In which I am available for pre-order!

Well, not me personally, but Dark Road to Darjeeling! The fourth book in the Lady Julia Grey series is official--here you can find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders! Indiebound doesn't have an entry yet, but you can also contact your local independent bookseller and talk to them about reserving your copy when it arrives October 1!

(I had hoped to post the cover today, but I am having a wee technical glitch that has to do with the fact that I'm trying to crop an image that was sent to me in Adobe. Yeah, that's not going to happen. The issue is that I only have a full image of the entire cover, and the back cover copy has since been changed. Alas, I cannot seem to crop out the back part of the cover, so we'll just have to be patient until I can pester the art department--lovely people, BTW!--into sending a jpeg of the front. And in "too strange to be true" news, I just received an email request this week to send in my brief to the art department for the cover of the fifth Julia Grey book--a book I haven't even started to write! It will be on sale July 2011, and yet the art department has to begin this far in advance. Crazy, no? That is just a hardworking bunch of peeps.)
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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

In which I'm answering FAQs

Every once in awhile I like to tackle questions that keep cropping up in emails. If you're a regular reader of the blog, you will probably know the answers better than I do!

*Will Silent in the Sanctuary be reprinted? Yep! My publisher plans on bringing it out in trade (with the same cover as the mass market) sometime before the October release of Dark Road to Darjeeling. My best guess would be a month or two before, but believe me when I tell you that's all I know. As soon as I find out more, you will be the first to hear about it.

*Will there be any more Julia Grey books? Why, yes! The fourth Julia Grey book, Dark Road to Darjeeling, will be out October 1, and I am just getting ready to write Julia Grey #5.

*Will (insert character name here) be featured in a future book? I hate to disappoint, but I just can't answer specifics about coming books. I can tell you that Julia and Nicholas will both be there, and that complications will ensue, but that's about it.

*Can you put (insert feature) on the blog? The blog is getting ready to undergo major changes thanks to a behind-the-scenes change on Blogger. Sometime in April, I will be able to announce where and when you can find me, and it's entirely possible that some retooling will happen. As far as specific features, I don't actually control anything but the post contents on the blog, so I can't tinker with it myself. I have blog people who manage the techie stuff, and I can certainly make requests.

*Can I get a signed book? Certainly. You can do this one of two ways. You can contact an independent bookseller where I have signed--Murder by the Book in Houston or Best Bargain Books on Long Island would be good options--and request a signed book be shipped to you. The other way is to send it to me, return postage included, and I will sign and return it. Please email me before you do this to make sure I will be available and not traveling. This option is by far the longer one, so if you're in a hurry, the booksellers are your best bet.

*Are you coming to my area? Maybe! Check the "Tours" section of the "Author" page for appearances. Details are posted there, and I can tell you in the next few months I will be in Newport News, at BookExpo, at the RWA national conference in Nashville, and at a literary festival in Danvers, Massachusetts. I am currently arranging fall appearances, so keep checking back.

*Why are there no more Silent titles in the Silent series? My publisher wanted to make certain that readers could keep the books straight as we got further into the series and not have to wonder if they'd read a particular title. They thought the fourth book would be a good place to make a break. All of the books are branded as Lady Julia Grey novels on the cover, so you will be able to tell easily if a book is part of the series.

*Is your book appropriate for my teenager? Oh, darlings, this is a question I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Without knowing your child and your personal boundaries, I could not begin to say if any book of mine is right for your teenager. My best advice would be to read it yourself and make that judgment call.
Monday, March 29, 2010

In which I contributed

My darling bloggy pal Sally of Already Pretty recently sent out an invitation to several women, asking us to participate in a style post she was compiling. She asked us for our thoughts on style, and she organized us by decade, twenty-somethings through fifty-somethings. I was delighted to be asked, and the post is up today! It's deliciously lengthy, so brew a cup of tea and put your feet up. Many thanks to Sally for the lovely invitation!
Saturday, March 27, 2010

In which I love the postman


Particularly when he brings me shoes.
Friday, March 26, 2010

In which today is a very good day!

So a few weeks ago, I made the decision to be a good girl and stay home and finish my next book rather than attend the RWA national conference this year in Nashville. It falls right at the end of the time I will be working on Julia Grey #5, and I thought it was a good plan. UNTIL. I got nominated for a RITA!!!! Specifically, Silent on the Moor was nominated. (The category is Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements, the same category that Silent in the Grave won two years ago!) Anyway, needless to say, I will be trotting my happy self to Nashville just in case I get to touch one of those beautiful golden statuettes again.

And speaking of the RITA statuette, it is incredibly bizarre that I dreamed of one the night before nominations came out. Literally, about five hours before I got the call, I was tucked away in bed, dreaming of holding a RITA. Uncanny, no?

Anyway, I am hugely excited, and want to send bouquets of congratulations to all the other nominees!
Thursday, March 25, 2010

In which I like simplifying. Sometimes.

Oh, I do like the idea of simplifying, don't you? I admire people who live Thoreau-like with few possessions. Of course, that isn't really me at all. I like luxury and convenience, and I invest in things I think will make my life easier. Sometimes, oddly enough, that means embracing complications.

Like my cosmetic bags. I always fly with carry-on only, and this means I have to pack very specifically. My liquids are decanted into veeeeery small containers that hold just enough for my trip. The rest of my chick stuff gets divided into a cosmetic bag for makeup and a larger bag for miscellaneous, non-liquid toiletries. Now, the fiddling around with tiny containers and a Barbie-sized funnel is a bit fussy, but it is SO worth not having to stand around the baggage carousel waiting for my luggage to show. But I don't really love having to sort my makeup for every single trip or play with my teeny bottles more than necessary. So it finally occurred to me--dur--to buy duplicates of all my regular things and keep my bags stocked and ready to go.

So before my last trip, I scurried around town, picking up an extra eyelash curler, comb, eyeliner, etc. to fill my bags. And when it came time to pack, I had about a spare four hours because my packing was cut down to three minutes. Seriously--just grab the clothes I want to take, toss in my two cosmetic bags, and I'm finished. It took longer to pick out my book for the plane. And when I got home, there was virtually no unpacking to do because I'll be leaving again in just over three weeks. All I have to do is top off my liquids when I have a free minute, and I'm off again. Yes, it took a bit of extra legwork to get the duplicates, but it was completely worth it--and I have spares for everything in case I run out at home.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010

In which I'm pondering punctuality

Ay me, as Juliet would say. I am pondering punctuality today because I am fuming at someone else's lateness. It's a third offense, and that's the ballgame because I simply won't hire her again. (Being almost an hour late for a job is bad enough, but failing to apologize and then offering incomparably insane excuses when you're asked about it is just silly.) But it has got me to wondering about our attitudes toward time.

I am punctual. I may shave it a little close at times because I loathe waiting, but I do not do late. I was brought up to believe that being respectful of other people's time is just the right thing to do. That isn't to say that I don't understand the occasional emergency, but I honestly do not comprehend habitual tardiness. To me, it smacks of selfishness to inflict your own time-management issues on other people, although the chronically late never seem to understand this. The few times friends have arrived late to a restaurant for a meal, they are tremendously put out to find me in the middle of my entree. (Sorry, but if you don't call, I'm eating without you. I may or may not save you part of the bread basket.) I think after a reasonable delay, I'm allowed to order food rather than gnaw my own arm off just because you couldn't get your hair to behave.

Anyway, lateness is a particular peeve as you can tell, and one for which I have a very low threshold of tolerance. What about you? Are you a latecomer? Or are you punctual?
Tuesday, March 23, 2010

In which I am interviewed

Teri Thackston of The Examiner just posted an interview we did last week. Great questions, and a charming interviewer--what more could a girl ask?

Abject apologies for the short post today, my dears. Things are at sixes and sevens at Maison Raybourn! Nothing is amiss, but traveling always seems to take just as much work when you get home as it does to leave! Even if the trip is only for 27 hours... Anyway, I had loads of little things to get done, including getting my hot little hands on masses of research books for the next Julia Grey. Seances, mediums, spiritualism, oh my! I cannot wait to sink my teeth into this one--and no, that isn't a hint about vampires. I am done with the toothy undead, I promise.

In non-book news, I took my mother to the orthopedic yesterday, and she is doing so well, she is supposed to wean herself off of crutches and the aircast! Yesterday she took her first steps unaided in six and a half weeks, and it was the best thing EVER to watch. I think I exhaled a breath I've been holding since the beginning of February.
Monday, March 22, 2010

In which I'm pondering sense memory

Specifically, "scents" memory. When I was a child, I absolutely adored my paternal grandfather. He died when I was six, but I have a few vivid memories of him, all of which center around the kitchen where he would sit me on a high stool while he made tea. (My own kitchen has black, rush-seat ladderback chairs and Blue Willow plates because of that kitchen and my memories of him.) But it wasn't until I was a teenager and someone brewed me a cup of Earl Grey tea that I realized that was the scent I associated with him. The tea he brewed was always Earl Grey, and it is that very particular note of bergamot that to me means comfort and love. It rushed back to me the moment I smelled it again, and I have been devoted to Earl Grey ever since.

Another olfactory memory that has taken me by surprise is Youth Dew. According to legend, it was created for a Russian princess, and I am inclined to believe it. It is bold and spicy, and for a very long time I didn't realize it was the only fragrance my favorite great-aunt wore. But a few months ago I was passing an Estee Lauder counter and whipped around at the familiar smell. I tested several bottles until I hit upon Youth Dew and it was as if someone had bottled up my darling great-aunt. I almost bought a bottle, but decided against it. For me, Youth Dew is unapologetically and forever hers.

Unwittingly, I created my own sense memory for my daughter. When she was a small child, I only ever wore Chanel No. 5, and for her, that perfume, warmed by my skin, is the purest form of comfort. I wear a few dozen scents now, but whenever we're feeling a little fragile and in need of emotional sustenance, I reach for the black-topped bottle with the interlocking C's. I know that when she is an old woman, that scent above all others, will conjure my memory for her. Curious how fragrance, so fleeting and so intangible, can evoke such strong emotions. I read once that the olfactory sense is the one linked most closely to memory, and it's certainly true in my experience.

And I wonder, what sense memories do you have tied to scent?
Saturday, March 20, 2010

In which school lunches are largely revolting

They were when I was a kid. They were when I was a teacher. I brought my lunch when I taught, and my lunch every single day of my senior year in high school was an order of fries, a slice of pound cake, a package of Reese's peanut butter cups, and a Coke. (This covers the four major food groups of high schoolers: cake, Coke, candy, and fries. There's even a pyramid...)

Anyway, school lunches in the US are appallingly, heartbreakingly bad, and criminally so when you realize that for some children, that's the best or ONLY meal of the day. But there are a few people trying to change that. Jamie Oliver--the moppet-haired British celebrity chef--is one of them. (I saw a superb news piece last year about a school that was utterly transformed when he overhauled their lunch program and got the kids eating real food. Did you know that the vast majority of school lunches are not cooked on the premises, but trucked in? Frozen. To be reheated with mixed results. Yick.)

And another brave soul has taken up the fight. Mrs. Q, a teacher from the midwest, has started Fed Up With Lunch, a blog that chronicles her adventures as she eats the school lunch every day with her students. I say she's brave because her posts could cost her her job, even though she is attempting to preserve her anonymity. I wish her the best of luck because I've read her entire blog, and she is downright heroic. It would take a far more stalwart soul than I to eat what's put on those lunch trays every day.

For those of you headed to Best Bargain Books in Centerreach, Long Island, this afternoon--see you there! (And since I'm not at home today, I am sending long-distance birthday wishes to the pups--they are one year old!)