UPDATED (12 May 2009) as I get more data. When new data is posted, it's in bold.

MARCH 31 INK EXCHANGE paperback releases in the US
April 21 FRAGILE ETERNITY & DESERT TALES (manga) release

 

Thing the first . . . The folks over on the Rath have an excerpt thread. I almost always share my excerpts with them (if not, they read the blog so they post them over there after I blog them!).  Delete scenes from Fragile Eternity are over there.


story:

A while back I admitted that I was writing a few short stories.  I asked readers to pick the book the Dark King should read*. . .  I loved the suggestions, and I now have in my head a great bookshelf of their books. (It's a wooden shelf, free of knickknacks but for a few odds that were left behind when they went over to pick up a book.)   Still, Pheona had the perfect suggestion . . . actually so did Tiger, Dusty, and RedRainDrops66, so all 3 of these folks can ping me (email or catch me thru PM on the Rath) if they want

a) to read it before anyone else does (i.e. in draft form in the next month or so)
b) a copy of the anthology whenever it releases (signed if you want--or not)
c) a copy of a different one of my books (signed or not if you want)
d) a copy of Irial's selected book (which clearly will not be signed) or the one they recommended.

And with the business out of the way, here's the excerpt in question . . . It's not a big one, or a finished one, but *shrug* I'm in one of those moods today . . .



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* It was NOT a contest, but I'm in a mood so *shrug*

I am rambly, so all is under the LJ cut.
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The winners for June's books are up.

Reminder--what books?: 
OTHER:

I will be participating in the Ballads of Suburbia blog. The what?  Watch this YouTube commercial thing  for answers.


So, in essence, we picked a song, wrote something confessionally, & are giving it to Stephanie to post out there in the wild.  I'm a little nervous to be honest, but it is what it is, right? I love her books, including Ballads so I took the task as seriously as possible.  I'll post a note once I know the date it'll go live. Or, umm, not . . . depending on how my nerves do as we get closer.  The confessions start next Monday.  

NOTE: Meme from a few blog sites . . . I love book lists, memes, & YA, so I thought I'd post this.

Instructions:

Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading
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BOOKS I THINK NEED TO BE THERE (so I'm adding them):
101. Wintergirls/ L. H. Anderson X +++
102. The Graveyard Book/ N Gaiman X +++
103. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing/ MT Anderson X +++
104. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone/ S Kuehnert X +++
105. Valiant H Black X +++
106. Reposessed/ AM Jenkins X +++
107. Keeping You a Secret/ Julie Ann Peters X +++
108. War for the Oaks/Emma Bull X +++
109. Story of a Girl/ Sara Zarr X +++
110. Rules of Survival Nancy Werlin X+++
111. The adoration of Jenna Fox/ Mary Pearson X +++
112. Graceling/ Kristin Cashore X+++

NOTES: I'm not including any books started but not finished. 

My suggestion? If you re-post, add 6 or 12 books that YOU think should be on the list. Add only books that are OUT NOW & YA appropriate. (i.e. no ARCs or unpublished books!)

I posted a note on Twitter that says, " I went in to the salon planning to "go more natural" for the summer; my hair now has blue & blonde stripes (not extensions, my real hair)."

They asked for pictures, so here you go. Slightly blurry bc taken w the phone (I read the reply while downstairs in the kitchen, & felt too lazy to go grab a proper camera).( Read more... )

So, umm, they are natural colours, & really I can't see ruining Tera's fun by going brown for the summer :)  This just means I still need to wear my swimcaps when I swim. . .

Post-San Diego
I'm back from my annual thoughts-come-easier-in-San-Diego trip.  I've started all 5 of the faery YA there now (and the story in Love is Hell, and worked on the manga, and wrote bits of Graveminder there too).  Not surprisingly, I had a wonderful epiphany while there wherein I wrote the conclusion of book 5.

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So babies, friends, writing, museums, beach, & work . . . good trip.

Book eating puppy:
In my absence, Gabriel . . . please note the pups had a sitter, but clearly, he's a growing boy & . . . had a little teething situation.  My youngest pup ate a box of books. It was a small box. It wasn't even really the whole box, but nonetheless, my pup ate some author copies. All things considered, it's not so bad.  It wasn't anyone else's books. It wasn't a rare edition. 

That said, my boy's desire to eat books is a bit frustrating.  He will gobble up any book left in the livingroom or kitchen as Daughter discovered several times . . . For reasons unknown to me, she only leaves out ARCs I haven't read yet or books she's borrowed from me, so we've got that going for us. 

So, I'm home again . . . getting ready to lose mysef in Graveminder for most of the next few months. 

SCHEDULE:
I have RWA National, a few local signings with Kelley Armstrong, the Library of Congress the next 2 weeks, & then nothing at all (*cue choir*) but writing for the remainder of 2009.

*happy sigh*

REQUESTS:
I know there are requests pending, people asking for guest blogs/interviews/blurbs, but the truth is that I'm going to say no to all of them for now.  So, if you're awaiting an answer, that's it.  No. I'll have replies back to everyone soon-ish (bc I know that my blog isn't read by all the folks asking).  The truth is that right now I really just need uninterrupted time with Graveminder. I have hit that place where--aside from the family--no one else, nothing else, appeals to me.  I went out in the world while in SoCal, but even the ocean wasn't calling me most days. I just want to lock myself away with the characters.

. . . which, as long time readers know, means starting late July, I'll be blogging a lot more again.

Random--Anonymous Book Pkg:
Waiting for me here at home was a package w a book that I neither requested nor know anything abt.  I like books, so I'm never sad to find books here . . . but usually one includes a letter, return name, or something.  If you are the person who sent me an ARC without a letter, email me? (melissa AT melissa-marr.com).  I love context/clues. 

I just heard that Fragile Eternity was on the TV program Good Morning America.

If you go here-- http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ --and click, you can watch it.

Off to the museums now . . .

If you've read the blog, you know I am a fan of TA Pratt's Marla Mason novels.  I am not alone in this.  Kelley Armstrong blurbed Marla with this statement: "A fast-paced, thoroughly fun, satisfying read." (http://www.marlamason.net/)

Pratt (who is both a sweetheart & a talented author) is doing a serialized text.  
( Bone Shop )

 

So if you're in the market for some ass-kicking, well-written urban fantasy (no weak chicks in THIS series), check out the novels and/or the serialized novella.

Go HERE to do so: http://www.marlamason.net/boneshop/about.html

( My Confession )
OTHER:
I'll be giving away a few Marla novels (& some of my Mark Del Franco's books) over on the fansite in the near future. By the way, this month I'm giving away Rachel Vincent's My Soul to Take and some LJ Smith.  You can still enter.

Future giveaways . . . I just heard (literally while I was typing this) that I'll be getting to give away Malinda Lo's ASH.  I also have 6 ARCs of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES coming up. . . and some copies of Clare Dunkle's THE HOLLOW KINGDOM.  It makes me happy to give out books I enjoy, so thanks to all of you for entering.

. . . and now I'm really going back offline. 

 

I will be in CA the nxt 2 weeks (*happy sigh*).  If you happen to be in San Diego, please come by one of the MOST fabulous SFF stores ever to say hello if you're around on Saturday--

Saturday, June 27, 2009 2:00 p.m.  Mysterious Galaxy

If, of course, you aren't around then, but are around at another time, still go to MG.  It is one of the few stores where I can walk in & say "hook me up" & they KNOW what I should buy . . . and what my Spouse should buy . . . and my daughter . . . and my son.   Patrick & Samantha are either mindreaders or really well read or . . . yanno, aliens or something. Lovelovelove this store. 

Speaking of awesome stores, I'm hoping to catch the way fabulous Del at Dark Delicacies while I'm LA. Del's store is filled with irrestible stuff.  My wallet, my daughter's 2nd fav bag (the first is an Emily bag that Emily artist Rob illustrated for daughter, so it kinda outranks everything), shirts . . . I can find great skull-clad, dark, or otherwise fun stuff there. 

And the folks at Mrs Nelson's (who hosted a very fun event  for me when I was on tour for INK) are having me in to sign books.  This is another great indie. I got terribly distracted pre-event bc I was too busy shopping...which worked out well. One of the best parts abt book events is asking booksellers "what do I need to read?" I bought a couple books at Mrs Nelson's last time as a result (one for me, one for Daughter) and we both enjoyed 

So, yeah, I'm going to Mrs Nelson's to shop  and Dark Delicacies to see Del and go shopping to sign stock too, so if you're in SoCal, you can get signed copies at Mysterious Galaxy (San Diego), Dark Delicacies (LA area), Mrs Nelson's (LA area), B&N in Oceanside CA . . . When I'm in SoCal, I end up at a bunch of stores while out & about, so I leave behind books with scrawling on them.  If you want one personalized, you can often catch the folks AT these stores & let them know.  I always end up personalizing for ppl I don't get to meet.

Google them for contact info.  I know MG does a solid online business (bc, well, they were my local store so I go back there every year now), but check on Mrs Nelson's & Dark Delicacies too. 

From today's deal section in Publishers Weekly:

"YA author Melissa Marr has closed her first adult deal with her longtime publisher, HarperCollins. Merrilee Heifetz of Writers House brokered the deal for two books for mid-to-high six figures. Jennifer Brehl at HC took North American rights. Heifetz described the first book, Graveminder, as “Six Feet Under laced with ancient Irish evil and a dash of Faulkner”; the second book is currently untitled. Marr’s teen books Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange, dark paranormal titles featuring fairies who coexist uneasily with the few humans who can see them, earned starred PW reviews and were Book Sense Picks."

I'm thrilled that I'll be working with Jennifer (also, yanno, terrified).  Much much glee that Harper wanted the books, and of course, that my agent made it all happen so smoothly.

. . . and with that, I'll return to my radio silence.  I just couldn't resist sharing with you all.
 

I slipped into silence again.  I finished the fourth YA novel (*happy sighs*) on Tuesday, & I'm spending the week pretty much out of contact* so not expecting much blogging/email/phone calls/carrier pigeons/signals to be happening. 

Then I leave for San Diego nxt wk, so . . . umm, I'll be pretty much offline until July 7th.  Inevitably there will be exceptions, but mostly, I'm off roaming. 

I don't check voicemail** (despite some people complaining abt that), but I will check the private email and the public one (melissaATmelissa-marr.com) daily.

Hope you are all doing well, enjoying summer, & planning to have a lovely Solstice this weekend.



____
* Unless you happen to be my Spouse, beasties, and/or parents.  [Speaking of-- Mum? Will I see you Saturday? Pls lv msg to let me know. Am at  Art thing tomorrow w spotty cell coverage & it's almost 2am now, so I'm not calling you :) .]

** I don't so much check the voicemail, but I will check that the next day or so too since I am hoping my mother leaves a message so I know if I'll see her (Dad? Tell her to call & let me know, so I can plan to be home if you are coming.)

Under the cut are several more of the deleted sequences from Fragile Eternity.  These are included in the content on the USB bands I toss out at events. The date for sharing them online was Solstice (which is less than a week away!)   I'm not patient though (even w my own pre-set rules), so here's post #2 of cut sequences.

I had been looking at pictures for a random reason. . . & decided to post a few photos to prove to myself that I don't have as many privacy issues as I know I do.  At some point , I think a blog with bio stuff will follow . . . to prove again that I can do this.   The forthcoming blog is a direct result of so many frustrated emails from students saying "you must answer me! None of this is online & I need it for school reports."  (Umm, but first I have to see if I can really blog the answers to these questions.)

That said, feel encouraged to skip this :)  
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Ok, back to work with me . . .

Jeaniene Frost is giving away 3 copies of the UNBOUND anthology. It's stories from Kim Harrison, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, Jocelynn Drake (& me).

NOTE: This is not YA.

Go here (http://frost-light.livejournal.com/103426.html).

Follow whatever instructions she has.

Revision always seems to be a point of heavy dreaming for me. This is the 3rd day in a row I've started my morning afternoon with a scrawled bit of text.  Of course, I don't have time to write these just now, but the ideas are pleasing.  Two are ones I expect will evolve into some sort of text if for no reason other than my own amusement. One of those I want to write as a comic. . . someday.

It's curious to me that our brains have cycles during the creative process.  Often when I'm drafting, I dream of the characters or I have nights without dreams (a rarity for me).  Revision starts this bubbling of random ideas. Copyedit is ridiculously dream filled. It's like pressure pushing ideas forward that I've missed while on other projects.  It's like a combined flood of ideas and yawning hunger for MORE DATA NOW. ( books )

Visuals:
In other corners, I watched a very engaging documentary of the history of funerary practices--including a segment on embalming.  (REQUEST: Do any of you know of a more detailed documentary ON this? I'm looking for visual AND nonfiction.  I have plenty of text & fictional, but the clip on the visuals of embalming was interesting.)

I have a doc on Roman catacombs DVRed for my next quiet spell.  I've been in a documentary kick again the past few months. I went on a binge of two "under the city" shows, a special on 30-40s gangsters, the Irish Mafia, & The Universe.

. . . and we probably shouldn't discuss the stack of critical academic journals I've been reading.

. . . or the fact that I'm going to a conference to attend panels on Forensics, Murder, Gun, &, umm,  Films.

Hunger:
I"m not sure what's causing the hunger right now, but I think I'm seeking something.  It could be as simple as missing education excuses.  I need more data filed away inside of me.  So, if anyone has any documentaries, upcoming History Channel type shows, academic articles on death/folklore/children's lit/non-Christian religion/ruins/tattoos/hidden cities/railroads or other fun topics, I'm up for suggestions.

Or . . . yanno . . . just tell me what you've been soaking up or reading or pondering. I'm kinda in a curious mood of late ;)

So on the USB bands I fling at you during events, I have these excerpts (along w bunches of other stuff).  The contents aren't to be posted in public until Summer Solstice.  That's the rule, but . . . well, I'm in a mood.  . . which means that I'm posting one early :)

UNDER THE CUT in case you haven't read FRAGILE &/or just don't wanna see it. . .

I am home.

Wristbands, tattoos, & signed bookplates:
Since so many ppl have asked . . . If you send a SASE to 44 Mine Road, Suite 2 #208, Stafford VA 22554, Benjamin will send you one of the temp tattoos, a signed bookplate, or, yes, a court band. If you send your book & self-addressed package with the postage weighed and pre-affixed, I will sign those too.

WL.com Books?
Yeah, the June selection isn't posted over at wickedlovely.com nor were winners for May's pick up yet, but they will be this week.

Other questions:
Other questions can be sent to melissaATmelissa-marr.com or benjaminATmelissa-marr.com   I do read everything at my address, but cannot reply to it all.