Black and fab. 22. Libra. ENFJ.
Bay Area. UC Berkeley Grad: Media Studies.
Writer, artist, illustrator, producer, critic.
Benevolent Media Proprietor in training.
I #E*TonesOrBust.
It's also my business standard.
The official publication date of COLD STEEL is June 25 for both e-book and print editions in English, worldwide (as far as I know; there may be some regions where it comes out later and if so, please let me know).
I’m always anxious when a new book comes out. That anxiety is amplified when the book in question is the final book of a trilogy because naturally, being the writer, I want people to like it and to feel satisfied with the ending. As always, some will love it, some like it, some will be disappointed, and a few will be puzzled, but mostly most readers will have no idea the book is out because they haven’t heard of it. That’s the nature of the business (especially when you aren’t a bestseller, as I’m not).
So I want to take a moment this week to say:
THANK YOU to my readers
Some of you love all my books. Some like one series more than the others. Some have only read one series or even just one book. One or two have thrown a book I wrote across the room in disgust. Some are trying out my novels for the first time. Some of you write to me or show up at my book events. Some I will never know are out there reading. Some are my friends; most are strangers. And you guys live all over the world.
It’s not that my writing doesn’t exist without readers. It does, and writing exists and lives and breathes even if what is written is only ever seen by the person who wrote it.
To me what happens between a written work and a reader is a creative act all on its own, an interaction that usually takes place in privacy and in silence while being no less vivid and powerful for that. In these days of social media the discussion can range farther afield and reach more people than ever, which is both really cool and kind of daunting and scary. But it always comes back to what I put on the page and what you, the reader, take away from the page.
Thank you for meeting me halfway.
Also, you all are the best.
To support the release of the third and final volume of the Spiritwalker Trilogy I will be at the following bookstores/events:
Borderlands Books, San Francisco, CA: Thursday June 27 at 7 pm
with Katharine Kerr who will also have a new book out, Sorcerer’s Luck.
Mysterious Galaxy San Diego, Saturday June 29 at 2 pm
with Andy Duncan and Clarion students (should be fun AND educational).
New York City: NYRSF reading Tuesday July 2 (other author TBA) at 7 pm
University Bookstore, Seattle, WA: Monday July 8 at 7 pm
Powells Beaverton, Portland OR: Tuesday July 9 at 7 pm
All events will include reading from Cold Steel, from my forthcoming YA fantasy, and maybe even from the epic fantasy trilogy I’m currently working on, or possibly I will read a short story instead although that might necessitate you believing I can actually write a short story. Which I can. I totally can.
PLUS Q&A (you have to bring the Qs).
AND I will either have print copies of The Secret Journal of Beatrice Hassi Barahal available (art by the awesome Julie Dillon!!!!) OR if it is not yet finished I will have a rough version with some of the illustrations to display and a place to sign up with your email/address to get notification when the print and e-book versions are ready for purchase.
Please know that I would love to see you. Yes, you! Especially YOU!
And your friends, family, or indeed any passers-by you can snag off the street. If I’m not coming to a city near you then send friends or family who live in the area to the event! The more the merrier. If enough people come I will sing OR demonstrate how to paddle an outrigger canoe and punch sharks.
I plan to attend the Sirens Conference in Oregon in October (it’s a wonderful small conference — come if you can!) but besides that the events listed above will be my only appearances in public venues/conventions this year (as far as I know).
A note on bookstore events:
I’m signing at four well regarded and valued independent bookstores. You may bring personal books from home for me to sign. It is not required to buy (for example) Cold Steel or any book from the bookstore but it is always a strong show of support for independent bookstores if you can and do buy a copy of my newest book or, indeed, any book while you’re there (whether or not it is one of mine).
If you’re not able to make the event, I do always sign stock at each bookstore so you can order a signed copy afterward. If you contact any of the bookstores IN ADVANCE you can reserve a book and get it signed to you at the event (by me! not some random book signing gnome).
Finally, if you are so inclined, so feel free to signal boost this announcement. There is always always someone who says afterward: “But I didn’t know you would be here!”
Sempai noticed me.
I’m done.
It’s been real~
You know what? I’d just like to thank Kate Elliott and Jody A Lee for the fact that this image exists.
Also, this is a really good series and book, and this is the main character.
Kate Elliott forever winning points with me.
My last blog post of the year is mostly links to great things I read on the internet over the course of the year, many of which I’ve linked to over the course of the year. But they’re GREAT THINGS, and great things are always worth revisiting.
Happy New Year, tumblrs. You’re the best.
Reblogging this fab list because it’s a wonderful mini-masterpost of resources, references, and interesting discourse! Not to mention, the world of Cold Magic.
This should keep my wheels turning and my creative juices flowing well into the new year.
I present to you Kate Eliott, author of the Spiritwalker Trilogy and an awesome person.
COLD FIRE has just released in the mass market (less expensive) paperback format in all English language markets. The ebook has also dropped in price.
I have completed major revisions for COLD STEEL and have now embarked on a close line edit to trim, polish, and make sure all the details are consistent. The book will go into production at Orbit Books next week. Production is a bit of a long process, but I plan to write a post next week describing how it works. Thank you for your patience.
Here is the first page, after the cut:
!!!!!!!!!
“I was serving drinks to the customers at the boardinghouse when a prince came to kill me.”
There is something great about books/stories starting like this.
I’m excited.
I need this book.
*EXPLODES WITH JOY*
Cold Magic (Spiritwalker Trilogy: Book I) by Kate Elliott
“What is freedom?” he asked bitterly, “and who is truly free? We are all bound by what we are, and where we come from.”
“Maybe,” I said slowly as I considered the turn my life had taken, the lies I had been told, “because we do not look farther than where we have been told to look. Perhaps it would all appear very different if we weren’t afraid of what we are. Or what we might become.”
*Cries*
It seems I live by the principle of my eyes being bigger than my stomach.
In online terms that means I either make great plans for getting offline so I can work incessantly, and then check Twitter every 15 minutes
OR
conversely, determine to institute a fabulous program of blogging every day in a manner witty, wise, informative, profound, or edgy. You know. Like people do, who do that. Those people evidently will never include me in their number.
1) I’m still waiting to get my editorial comments on COLD STEEL from my editor, but this should not be construed in any way except that she has a number of manuscripts on her desk and has to tackle them in order of priority of publication schedule. I expect to hear from her soon.
2) Comments from beta readers are coming in, and I’m quite pleased on the whole. There are a couple of scenes I need to expand on, toward the end, but I knew that so this just confirms what I knew, and that is always pleasant. The reason the scenes got scanted is because by the time I was pushing to the finish of the novel I was so exhausted from the 14 months of wrestling with it and the sheer number of false starts and detours and wrong ways I had to correct that I just wanted to get to The End and then worry about revisions later. So that’s what I did.
3) When I mentioned to one of my beta readers that I felt bad that my readers were going to have to wait so long and patiently before it was published, she pointed out that I also have to wait: To talk about it. And since there are some scenes, and lines, and details, and Stuff that I really love, be assured that (for those of you looking forward to Cold Steel) that I am SUFFERING RIGHT ALONG WITH YOU. Kind of.
4) Next week I have a guest post going up on Monday (June 4) at A Dribble of Ink on diversity. I hope you’ll pop over and join the discussion, if one gets going.
AND
I am doing a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Thursday June 7 at 8 pm CST (Central Standard Time) which is, uh, omg, like 3 pm my time. You know, I need to figure that out. ANYWAY, if you feel so inclined, please pop over. I’ll announce it again on Twitter and Facebook and here on Wednesday. By the way, Elizabeth Bear is doing an AMA on Tuesday June 5 at 7 pm CST. Also, my sons are concerned that because it is Reddit, no one will ask me any questions, so prove them wrong!
AND
I also answered seven questions about beta readers for Donna Hanson’s blog series on beta readers/reading. I don’t have a date for that going up yet, however.
This was originally posted on my blog: here.
Interrresting~
A conditional, provisional, but complete draft of COLD STEEL is done.
More details later, and lots of revision to do, but I do now have a complete draft.
