Some stuff that’s happening
First, not only did Charlaine Harris give me such a great blurb for UNHOLY GHOSTS, she talked it up on her blog the other day:
“I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of Stacia Kane’s forthcoming Unholy Ghosts after I met her at DragonCon. Unfortunately, this novel won’t be out until May. You should put it on your calendars NOW. The world-building is unexpected and complex, the characters are alive, and the protagonist Chess is a treasure. I have a very hard time reading a book with an alcoholic or drug-addicted hero, and in fact I almost closed the book after the first chapter. I’m so glad I didn’t. The characters are complex and indelible, the plot is fascinating, and I can hardly wait for another book, months before this one will be out.”
Second, I got word this morning that Karen Marie Moning, awesome NYT Bestseller that she is, also read and loved all three books in the Dowside series, and said:
“Expect the unexpected. Kane delivers dark, sexy urban fantasy at its finest. I couldn’t put it down!”
Which is totally cool. And was a great way to start my day.
Which is the other thing I want to talk about.
I’ve been debating for a while whether or not to mention this here. Part of me is convinced it’s a bad idea. This blog isn’t a place for me to whine and moan. I’m supposed to be entertaining you, and I dislike self-indulgence on blog or whatever, and really, with the exception of one or two of you, what do you care, anyway?
But here it is, and the reason why is because I haven’t been here a lot-I haven’t been online a lot, period-and I feel like I’m letting you all down. The thing is, we’re homesick for England. Really, amazingly so. And it sucks, and we’ve been having a really hard time dealing with it, and it’s incredibly depressing and awful and there are days when we don’t even want to get out of bed. So if I’m not replying to your emails, or not replying as quickly as I used to, or I’m missing days here-which I am-or whatever, now you know why. I’ve been down, down, down.
I’m not saying this to get sympathy. I’m saying it so you know it isn’t you.
We don’t know what the future is going to hold for us, but we’re trying to find a way out of the dumps we’re in. I promise you this blog is not going to become a “I’m so saaaad,” whinefest. I don’t intend to discuss this again, to be honest. But for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I haven’t been around and I know when I have been I’ve seemed rather muted. So this is my apology to all of you. I really am sorry, guys, and I’m really trying. I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect everything to feel so bizarre and unfamiliar and uncomfortable, or to miss things so much, or to feel like we’ve made a mistake, or to have such a hard time writing like I have been.
I’ve always thought of happiness as something of a conscious choice. No, you can’t just decide to be happy, but you can make an honest effort at it. And that’s what I’m doing now, as of today. I’m going to try as hard as I can to lighten the hell up and focus.
Also, next week I won’t be here. I’m going to Baltimore for the Poe Centennial stuff, and also attending Baltimore Comic-con that weekend, just as an attendee. A great friend of ours will be there and I’m really looking forward to hanging out with him. So this will be the first leg of my “Cheer the fuck up” project, and I hope it goes well.
I’m also flying. And you know how much I love that! Um, if you’re the praying kind, I wouldn’t mind a few, since my terror of air travel is close to mania. But again, I’m trying to Get Over It. Sigh. Why can’t I teleport? Hurry up, scientists, and get on that. We white-knucklers would be forever grateful.
So, I’ll see you Thursday. Sorry again, and thanks.
Originally posted at Stacia Kane. You can comment here or there.