My Odyssey, let me show you it
Well, okay, not show you because I have no pictures. But I can tell you about it, in quick little bites.
First, though, some news! I got word yesterday morning that UNHOLY GHOSTS has already gone for a second printing!! Hopefully this means people are preordering it and hearing about it and getting excited about it-well, yeah, obviously it does but you know what I mean-which is extremely exciting. So have you preordered your copy yet? Because, you know, you wouldn’t want to get to the store and not be able to take one home, would you? Especially not when next week I’m going to talk about some special giftie thingies we’re doing for those who buy the book, either preorder or at the store. You don’t want to miss out! (Um, at least I hope you don’t.)
I’m going to be posting a lot of excerpts here, and I’ll be all over the internet with interviews and all that good stuff. Can you believe we only have three weeks until release day?
Anyway. As you all know I’ve been all over the Northeast in the last week and a half, starting here in GA and heading up to MA to see Caitlin. I rented a car for the drive, and I have to give huge credit to Hertz, because that car was awesome. It was one of those Chevy XXRs, the ones that look kinda like PT Cruisers? Really fun to drive and I got the satellite radio with it, which was awesome. They have stand-up comedy stations; I listened to those a LOT and had a blast. (See, I’d reserved the cheapest economy car, but my location didn’t have one, so I got the XXR and the satellite for free. Plus, they were great when I turned the car back in just a tad later than I was supposed to. Anyway. Go Hertz!)
Beautiful drive, spent a night in VA. Then got to see Caitlin’s new place and the very cool city where she now lives. We cooked salmon and watched The Office and stuff, and it was all just fantastic. We also saw The Losers, which was great, and I don’t understand why it wasn’t a huge hit because not only was it a hoot but Jeffrey Dean Morgan appears shirtless in it. Win-win, seriously.
Aaanyway. Monday we headed down to NYC and…drumroll…got tattoos. The shop is called Eight of Swords and Dave, the owner/artist, is amazing. Not only does he do beautiful work, but he was just totally cool to hang out with and was very, very accommodating of our crazy schedules for the day. Seriously, if you are ever anywhere near the area and are thinking of getting inked, Dave’s the go-to guy. (And very reasonably priced, too.) He just totally rocks, and I love my new tat, which I will post a pic of asap.
Next I had lunch with Mr. Agent; well, he had lunch, I had a couple of vodka tonics. Oh, and it was raining in NYC, which meant that by the time I got to the Del Rey offices I was a teeny bit drunk and my hair was a huge ball of corkscrew frizz. Profeshunul writur is me! But of course it was great to see my editor and everyone there again, and Caitlin assures me I didn’t act like a loon. Then it was off to visit my great friend George for dinner, and the train back to Caitlin’s place, and we drove to RT the next day with the aid of classic rock. Because it just isn’t a road trip without it.
I don’t even know what to say about RT, really. It was awesome to see all my pals again, though I did feel there was less mingling this year than last. There were several people I’d hoped to hang with who I barely had a chance to see. But of course the League wreaked havoc and had an absolute blast. I did a few panels, lots of fun, and met some people, and drank a lot of vodka, and was on the Faery Court, which was definitely an interesting experience. I also had some dildo snatch my wig off my head at a nearby bar, and when I told him I was not amused he replied, “Oh come on. You’re a little amused.” I put on my Mean Face and said, “No. I am NOT.” Then grabbed my wig back and walked away. He’s lucky I didn’t hit him. What kind of asshole thinks a woman would be amused by standing in public with all of her hair pinned tightly to her head in a haphazard fashion? Ugh.
Anyway. The hotel was lovely except for the no-free-internet, which is a travesty in this day and age. The staff was also lovely-particularly the bar manager-except for the one bitchy bartender who got very rude with me when I finished placing my order even after she turned and started walking away from me. Apparently I didn’t have to yell because she could hear me, which surprised me since I couldn’t hear myself (hence the yelling). My voice has still not recovered, btw.
The highlight, of course, was the signing. Oh, and the undertakers. The first three days, I think, we shared the hotel with a convention of undertakers, and let me tell you, those are some awesome, fun dudes. I predict a rash of undertaker romances in six months, you mark my words. But anyway. I was much, much busier at the signing than I’d expected to be, which was great fun. The League had done these little passports where we each had a picture inside and the idea was to write nasty things beside each others’ pictures. Us being who we are, we outdid ourselves. (I had a very, very sweet young teenage girl come up to me to sign her notebook, and I gave her a passport, and told her and her mother to make sure my fellow Leaguers knew it was for her so they could tone it down a bit as they signed it. I hope they did. She was a sweetheart. Anyway.)
That was pretty much it. Most of what I did was hanging out, drinking and talking to my pals. I forgot to take my camera so have no pictures (the camera in my phone refuses to save any pictures I take), but if you check the sites of the other Leaguers there are plenty there. I’ve also had a few people post photos of me in my blue wig on Facebook. I managed to catch a ride back home on Sunday and we drove through awful weather through most of Kentucky, and of course you know the trouble they’re having in Nashville and how you should be donating to the Red Cross to help out.
So I’ll be back tomorrow or the next day with an excerpt and some announcements and such, and meanwhile I’m working and all of that and trying to recover. It’s good to be back with my family.
Originally posted at Stacia Kane. You can comment here or there.