Jan 3, 2010
Me & my first novel
Last week, a box of real, true, honest-to-god hardback copies of Alcestis appeared at my house. My lovely editor Katie had told me that the final copies were printed before Christmas, but I didn’t know how long mine would take to arrive. My official publication date is February 1, and with the holidays and all, I didn’t know when to expect them.
I was in Philly last week for MLA — a trip that went remarkably smoothly, despite the whole Detroit underwear-bomber fiasco the week before — so I made T. wait to open the box until I got home. And then there was a lot of jumping around and squealing, because seriously, these are some GORGEOUS books. Everyone at Soho did such a wonderful job! T. and I did an impromptu photoshoot up in our attic just now so I could share the joy. (See also this outtake, which I just posted on Twitter.)
Here’s a closer shot of the book itself:
I can’t believe that February 1 is less than a month away! And that means we’re also just barely a month away from my book launch party. It’ll be held on Sunday, February 7, at 3 pm at BookPeople in Austin (6th & Lamar). There will be food and drink and a bit of reading (or more, if requested) and hopefully lots of general merriment. I’m so thrilled to have a get-together with all my Austin people who have seen this book go from a stack of ms. pages in my first workshop at UT to, well, what you see in the photos above. And if you’re reading this blog post, I hope you’ll come, too! This will definitely be a the-more-the-merrier kind of event.
I’ll be posting more about the book party soon, as well as other promotional things as my publication date gets even closer. I may even try to post here every day until then — which would be shocking, as anybody who’s been reading this blog since its beginning knows! But this whole weird delightful process of getting a book published is leaving me with lots to say.
I’m also going to be redesigning my website a bit in anticipation of February. If you have any suggestions for things you’d like to see here, do let me know! I do have a few fun little things related to Alcestis that I’ll put up — kind of like DVD extras. But I welcome other ideas, too. What would you like to know about Alcestis?
Oh wow. Wanted to drop a comment to say two things:
1) Lovely cover, and
2) As a Persephone fan (I’ve done a treatment of her in a book I’m still working on editing, myself), I must say, this book sounds tempting indeed.
Yay! Congratulations! It looks awesome. As do you.
(Love the hair.) Also, I have not forgotten about sending you PW with your review; it’s sitting here staring at me reproachfully. I had some post office issues pre-holidays but will definitely stick it in the mail soon.
Congrats! Katherine, it must be so exciting.
Angela, thanks! I’m also a sucker for any new version of a Greek myth. Good luck with your Persephone book!
Nephele, thanks and no worries about PW, of course. Whenever is fine. I hope you had a lovely holiday break — sounds like New Year’s was especially nice.
DarkLayers — yes, and thanks for the congrats! I am definitely starting to move beyond “vaguely nervous and excited” into “less than a month till my pub date OMG” territory.
Once again, congratulations! The spine makes it look more official than the ARC, doesn’t it? I already know what is inside is wonderful, but it is very exciting to see you holding the official, real hardcover book in your hands. Yay!
*love*
So exciting! I can’t wait to read it.
I wish I could be at the launch party, but I’ll raise a glass to you from across the pond that evening.
Thanks for the congrats, mamacita. And yes, I’m oddly taken with the spine design.
*love* right back at you, Mer.
I wish you could be here too, Rach!