Friday Ketchup Blog: Upcoming Appearances

I have some new appearances coming up, Gentle Reader. And here they are:

• Going Down Under to AussieCon4 September 2 ~ 6, in Melboure, Australia. I'll be on a number of panels there.
• At Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, September 9, at 7 PM.
• Borders in Redmond, WA, on Friday, September 10, at 7 PM.
• Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, CA on Saturday, September 11 at 2 PM.
• Unoffical-not-really-but-almost Bay Area Blameless booklaunch party at Books Inc, in San Francisco at the Opera Plaza location, on Friday, September 24, 7 ~ 9 PM.
• I'm participating in Lit Quake's Lit Crawl on the evening of Saturday, October 9, in San Francisco.
• I'm slated to teach a writing class for Wordplay at Books, Inc. Opera Plaza in San Francisco Sunday, October 24 from 10:30 AM ~ 1:30 PM. The tentative title is: Material Characterization: Peopling Fiction with Objects, Culture and Comedy.
• At OryCon November 12 ~ 14, 2010
• Signing at Powell's in Beaverton Sci-Fi Authorfest on Sunday, November 14, 4 ~ 5 PM.
• At the Seattle Steampunk Convention November 19 ~ 21, 2010.

I'm hoping that will round out the year.

I've nothing more for today because I'm pushing hard to get this draft done so that it can go to my first reader so that she has time to get it back to me before I leave for Down Under. I'm certain you all understand. I promise that for the next 2 weeks all blogs will be charming, and witty, and delightful, and . . . well, at least something more than just ketchup.

Your moment of parasol . . .


Gail's Daily Dose
Your Infusion of Cute:
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec: Pterror Over Paris
Your Tisane of Smart:

Your Writerly Tinctures:


Emily says, "I got a huge kick out of the lead character, too. It’s hard not to like a woman who, in the first chapter, retreats to the library to escape a boring ball, where she scolds a rude vampire for his lack of manners, whacks him with her parasol, and then is more upset that said vampire knocked over the treacle tart than by the fact that he tried to bite her. And that's just the beginning. Wait until you read the exchanges between her and her friend Ivy – hilarious!"
SPOILER ALERT! Changeless blurb gives away ending of Soulless. Tansy says, "I particularly liked the dirigible ride, which gave a real sense of how awesome and strange the whole zeppelin travel thing would be, and the awesome lady scientist Madame Lefoux. I rather liked the extra emphasis on mad science in this volume, especially as regards Alexia’s splendid new steampunk parasol. Really, this is the best parasol in the history of the universe. We all need one."
Out September 1, 2010! Even bigger SPOILER ALERT! Really, DON'T READ THE BLURB ON AMAZON if you haven't read the other books first.
Heartless: Rough Draft done. Working first draft. Final draft due Nov 1.
Super Secret Project F: Under revision. Updated proposal delayed.
CAKE in Space: Trunked.
See table of contents here.
Short story turned in. The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 available for preorder.

Quote of the Day:
"It is better to write a bad first draft than to write no first draft at all."
~ Will Shetterly

Audiobook & Top 10 Mistakes New Writers Make On Submissions

I've gotten a little bit of feedback on the Soulless audiobook, Gentle Reader (or should I say Gentle Listener?), but I'm particularly interested in the opinion of those who have also read the actual book. Are any of you out there? What did you think of the reading? Any additional thoughts?

In my ongoing efforts at procrastination, last night I was deleting some old notes and research from when I was trying to get published. I came up with this list from a convention panel in 2003 on "What Publisher's Want."

The Top 10 Mistakes New Writers Make on Submissions

• 1. Single Space Manuscript
• 2. Criticize Editor/Agent/Industry in Query/Cover
• 3. Spelling/Typos/Grammatical Errors in Query/Cover
• 4. Wrong Publisher/Wrong Agent for the Novel
• 5. Address Cover Letter to the Wrong Person
• 6. Sealing Box with Tape/Wax/Glue etc...
• 7. Making Them Sign
• 8. Not Using Enough Postage
• 9. Improper Formatting
• 10. Taking Anything Personally
• 11. Sending Illustrations
• 12. Tell Editor How Lucky THEY Are
• 13. Ooze All Over an Editor
• 14. Emailing Editor (Unless Specifically Asked)
• 15. Jokes/Forwards
• 16. Italics/Colored Ink/Perfume
• 17. Talking Too Much About Your Life Experiences
• 18. Being In a Hurry

Your moment of parasol . . .


Gail's Daily Dose
Your Infusion of Cute:

Your Tisane of Smart:

Your Writerly Tinctures:
Using Google’s Tools to Gain Better Market Intelligence podcast from BEA.

Bookworm reads and writes, "Throw in a mandate by Queen Victoria, and this book is a hilarious confection from start to end. It’s not often that a book makes me laugh out loud, but when they do I always know it’s a keeper." I always love it when someone gets my humor.
SPOILER ALERT! Changeless blurb gives away ending of Soulless. Weirdmage's review, "To wrap up I will just say that this book have made mean even stronger fan of Miss Carriger than I was after Soulless, and for me she has now become a must-read author in the Humorous Fantasy/Alternate Reality(Steampunk) genre."
Out September 1, 2010! Even bigger SPOILER ALERT! Really, DON'T READ THE BLURB ON AMAZON if you haven't read the other books first.
Heartless: Rough Draft done. Working first draft. Final draft due Nov 1.
Super Secret Project F: Under revision. Updated proposal delayed.
CAKE in Space: Trunked.
See table of contents here.
Short story turned in. The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 available for preorder.

Quote of the Day:
"In a thousand words I can have the Lord's Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, the Hippocratic Oath, a sonnet by Shakespeare, the Preamble to the Constitution, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and almost all of the Boy Scout Oath. Now exactly what picture were you planning to trade for all that?"
~ Roy H. Williams

Character Study: Lord Conall Maccon

Here's a new link to a countdown widget for Blameless

Thanks to Lala.

Character Study: Lord Conall Maccon, Earl of Woolsey, Head of HRM Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR)

"Mark my words, I will use something much, much stronger than smelling salts," came a growl in Miss Tarabotti's left ear. The voice was low, and tinged with a hint of Scotland. It would have caused Alexia to shiver and think primal monkey-thoughts about moons and running far and fast, if she'd had a soul. Instead it caused her to sigh in exasperation and sit up. ~ Soulless

Lord Conall Maccon, Earl of Woolsey, was yelling. Loudly. This was to be expected from Lord Maccon, who was generally a loud sort of gentleman – the ear-bleeding combination of lung capacity and a large barrel chest. ~ Changeless

He was not drunk in the halfhearted manner of most supernatural creatures, wherein twelve pints of bitter had finally turned the world slightly fuzzy. No, Lord Maccon was rip-roaring, tumble down, without a doubt, pickled beyond the gherkin. ~ Blameless

Original Notes
Human
Dark brown hair
Tawny eyes

Wolf
Dark brown fur, brindled gold and cream
Yellow eyes

Other
Smells of open grassland and wet trees
Just over 200, born 1673
20 years in London

Here is a collection of images that remind me of Conall.

Your moment of parasol . . .


Gail's Daily Dose
Your Infusion of Cute:

Your Tisane of Smart:
Antarctic octopuses found with cold-resistant venom
Your Writerly Tinctures:
Sherlock Holmes: Vintage Video & Free Audio Book

Fiber Reflections says, "Reading Soulless, by Gail Carriger, was like finding a surprising little crystal dish of fresh strawberries, when you were expecting a lump of heavy bread pudding."
SPOILER ALERT! Changeless blurb gives away ending of Soulless. Hilarious review in which Renay concludes with, "Final thoughts: *proposes marriage to book*"
Out September 1, 2010! Even bigger SPOILER ALERT! Really, DON'T READ THE BLURB ON AMAZON if you haven't read the other books first.
Heartless: Rough Draft done. Working first draft. Final draft due Nov 1.
Super Secret Project F: Under revision. Updated proposal delayed.
CAKE in Space: Trunked.
See table of contents here.
Short story turned in. The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 available for preorder.

Quote of the Day:
"There are few more impressive sights in the world than a Scotsman on the make."
~ James M. Barrie

The Minutia that Makes Life Worth Living

So, Gentle Reader, I've been a little under the weather recently and it's made me think (not a lot else I can do) of all the little frivolities and minutia of life that make it worth living. I decided to concoct a list:

• Tea (obviously)
• Postsecret
• Memory foam
• Vanilla Coco perfume (what can I say, I love smelling like food)
• Mashed potatoes
• Japanese style dressing gowns
• Fresh apple juice
• Vintage slips
• Smooth pens
• Rice crispy treats
• NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me
• Leverage
• Toasted bagel with butter
• Fashion blogs
• Pumpkin pie scented bubble bath
• White nectarines

So any thoughts? What's your silly little thing that makes you happy each day?

Your moment of parasol . . .


Gail's Daily Dose
Your Infusion of Cute:

Your Tisane of Smart:
Steampunk-esk gun rigged for Queen Victoria's use

Your Writerly Tinctures:


Australian speculative fiction review, "Also, I have to add that I am one of those people who never finds werewolves remotely sexy (ugh, dog) – but Lord Maccon is one of the most endearingly cranky and seductive urban fantasy heroes I have come across in great time."
SPOILER ALERT! Changeless blurb gives away ending of Soulless.
Out September 1, 2010! Even bigger SPOILER ALERT! Really, DON'T READ THE BLURB ON AMAZON if you haven't read the other books first.
Heartless: Rough Draft done. Working first draft. Final draft due Nov 1.
Super Secret Project F: Under revision. Updated proposal delayed.
CAKE in Space: Trunked.
See table of contents here.
Short story turned in. The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 available for preorder.

Quote of the Day:
"Eat right, exercise regularly, die anyway."
~ Author Unknown