It’s gettin’ cold
The season’s changing! The leaves are falling! The pies are pumpkin! And I’m excited because Season 2 of The Diplomat is out on Oct 31!
Plus the kid is home from college this week and that’s super happymaking.
Also happymaking? The tour for CANDLE & CROW and the incredibly kind things y’all have been saying about the book. Why, right here, in response to last month’s newsletter, someone dropped a spiffy comment:
So completely satisfying that he can’t be sad? VICTORY IS MINE!!! Seriously, though, thank you so much for reading and for spreading the word about it to your friends and family. It’s the happy ending I’ve been building up to for years and it feels so good to have it out there. You can now binge the Iron Druid and Ink & Sigil series together.
A bit about traveling with friends: Absolutely do that if you can. I had the very bestest time with Chuck and Delilah. In Chicago we went to the Morton Arboretum and got wowed by trees and lost in a hedge maze. We also hit up an escape room from which we did not escape but it was super fun and I would totally do that again. On the way to Milwaukee the next day, we visited a cheese castle, an apple orchard, and watched a colony of sandhill cranes for a while. And then in Milwaukee itself we found a tiki bar with a 100% gluten free kitchen, which meant Delilah could order anything from the menu and be safe. (The fried cheese curds with hot honey, btw? OMG. This was Wauwatiki, and if you’re in Milwaukee you should go.) In Madison we visited the Olbrich Botanical Gardens and saw a buttload of awesome orchids. And in Minneapolis we went to this awesome place that had kangaroos and foxes and capybaras! We got to pet the capybaras and were so incredibly stoked. Just a ton of good times. (By the way, if you’ve never read their stuff, I’d recommend Black River Orchard by Chuck and Guillotine by Delilah.)
After Minneapolis I was on my own and flew to Scottsdale to see my mom and a bunch of awesome cousins. Also, two of the dudes to whom Candle & Crow is dedicated came down to see me from Colorado and that was rad. If you’d like any signed copies, by the way, The Poisoned Pen has pretty much everything—Iron Druid, Seven Kennings, Tales of Pell. Give them a call toll-free at (888) 560-9919 and they will ship anywhere.
1. We Three Jabronis in front of most of the audience at Barnes & Noble in Minneapolis/Roseville. See the shirts we’re wearing? WE PLANNED TO SEE CAPYBARAS. 2. Proof we saw the capybaras. We petted them. We fed them. We absorbed their chill. 3. Enjoying some fabulous drinks at a place outside of Chicago called The Alchemist. (Mine’s nonalcoholic.) 4. Chuck & Delilah in front of the cheese castle in Wisconsin. We went in with Lactaid and it was glorious. 5. The pregame party at Cornish Pasty in Scottsdale (at least part of it—I couldn’t get everyone in the shot. There are additional tables out of frame). 6. At the Poisoned Pen event, NYT bestseller Jenn McKinlay came to see me! If you like cozy mysteries, she has written a whole bunch of great ones. 7. We got lost in a hedge maze outside of Chicago. Seriously. This photo was taken before we realized we were lost. 8. Spiffy reader in Minneapolis had an Oberon tattoo! 9. Spiffy reader in Scottsdale had the Druid tattoos!
Here, have a free audiobook
Surprise giveaway! I want to remind y’all that I have spiffy shorter works out there that are awesome in audio. A Question of Navigation (narrated by Luke Daniels) and The Hermit Next Door (narrated by Annalee Scott) are sci-fi novellas that people have really enjoyed. I’ve dropped ten free codes for each, redeemable at Audible. Pick just one, eh, so twenty different people can get a freebie, and all I ask is that you leave a review when you’re finished, because reviews help.
Redeem the one-time use codes below at https://www.audible.com/acx-promo
A Question of Navigation
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7F78FRSMRFU4W
7J6WY9Q2ZP7RP
AGBJLFG5UCEUY
AY2WQKGUDQQBD
AYG9GUJHFXAFT
The Hermit Next Door
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R9KBER95T9Z8K
RH4L97QF4UH4L
SRPHWZ8TR38QR
SY9PQ5FWW5L73
UMQLK9CUWTEDN
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Obviously those are first-come, first-served, so your chances are greater if you opened the email sooner. If you don’t wind up getting a free copy, I hope you’ll consider listening anyway. They’re fun stories, brilliantly performed by the narrators, and since they’re novellas and a bit shorter, they’re cheaper! Also available in print and ebook.
What’s Next?
I can’t tell you yet. Except that I do have a story in an anthology called UNAVOWED that’s being Kickstarted and has eight days left. It funded in less than an hour so it’s totally happening and this publisher, Grim Oak, is legit—they also published me in UNFETTERED and UNBOUND II. And this story, called “Sinner’s Grave,” would serve as a sneak peek into the stuff I can’t tell you about.
What I’m Reading Now
FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT
Ok look I am already on book 3 so y’all need to get this and catch up. Finlay is a struggling mystery novelist and single mom. While in a Panera talking with her agent, they speak generally about planning a murder and the woman sitting nearby thinks that Finlay’s a contract killer and not speaking fictionally. She offers Finlay $50K to slay her husband and whoa dang, shenanigans ensue! I’ve been loving these. I posted a pic of myself with this book on Instagram and Elle responded—turns out I’m her husband’s favorite author! Small world. ANYWAY READ THIS
Moon of the Crusted Snow
So this is some literary sci-fi written by an indigenous voice from where I’m at; much of Ontario is settled on unceded Anishinaabe land. This book has been a pretty big deal in Canada and is catching on in the US as well. I’m just now starting it and excited to read.
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