I just got an update from my airline that they’ve changed my itinerary. I will now not arrive until 2pm tomorrow which means that I will miss my autographing session. I believe that is the only thing affected by this change.

Besides my blood-pressure, of course.

I’m impressed that my travel karma is inserting pre-emptive scheduling chaos although this does give me the opportunity to plan ahead for it.  Makes me wonder what time I will actually arrive…

The Strand, which is the big independent bookstore in NYC is offering a half-off sale on Shades of Milk and Honey. Note that they only have four copies actually in stock.  Their staff also offered the following review of the book.

‘Shades of Milk and Honey’ is a captivating debut novel from Mary Robinette Kowal set in an alternate Regency England, where magic and manipulation rule the day. Though Dorchester society is magical, it is not that different from the regency society we know: Advantageous marriage is still a woman’s only way to thrive in society. At the age of twenty-eight, Jane Ellsworth is unlikely to find a husband, so she concentrates on honing her magical skills, while her sister, Melody, is courted by many beaus. But when the family’s goo name is threatened, Jane must do whatever it takes to put things right – and she might just find love in the process. Witty, intriguing, and romantic, this is a must-read.

Support your local independent bookstore.  Strand Bookstore: Shades of Milk and Honey; by Mary Robinette Kowal.

In the antithesis of the planet in  ”Salt of the Earth,” there are several places in Bolivia where you can stay in hotels made entirely from blocks of salt.

That’s right, the structure in the photo to the right is made from blocks of salt. Blocks. I know salt isn’t a particularly rare commodity on Earth but this still boggles me a little.

Check out the full article  about the New Salt Hotel Built in Bolivia

One of my favorite book review blogs, In Bed With Books, is running a contest for a $10 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. One of the things you can send her to enter is proof of purchase of Shades of Milk and Honey.

Tee-hee! There’s a hilarious review of First Flight over at Tales of a Newbie Writer. It’s written as if it’s a transcript for a movie trailer and cracks me up.

Five out of Five stars for being imaginative.

(Said with the movie intro voice)

“In a world where people time travel, there is a woman.”

(Sounds of gunfire going off in the background, propellors starting up)

via Tales of a Newbie Writer: Book Review: First Flight.

Over on the  Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia, there’s a chance to win two copies of Shades of Milk and Honey, thanks to celi.a who seems to have fallen in love with my novel.  Here’s how her review starts off:

I found myself proclaiming to my friends that I’d found ‘the perfect book’ yesterday. I didn’t mean that it was THE perfect book for all time and all people. I did mean that I’d found the book that feels as if it was written expressly for me, because it fits my tastes perfectly. And luckily for the rest of you, it’s also well-written, so there’s a chance that you’ll find it just as enchanting as I did.

She goes on to talk about why she likes it AND THEN offers to give away two copies. Here’s the end of the review with the giveaway details.

Recommended for: historical fiction and subtle fantasy fans, Regency-era devotees, readers who view Austen as the comfort food of the book world, and anyone looking for a beautiful read with strong art overtones and a classic feel.

——

I’m giving away two copies of this book, because I loved it, and I want other people to love it too. Also, when I tried to buy it at Borders I found that they’re not carrying it in stores. Travesty!

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post with a word or phrase that makes you think of milk or honey. Synonyms, colors, associations, whatever you want – write it down!

Please include a method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on September 15 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winners via email.

So drop by the Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia to enter her giveaway.

The new online magazine Redstone Science Fiction has my short story “Salt of the Earth” up on their website today. Here’s the teaser!

Melia adjusted Dora’s salt-suit, feeling as if it were futile because the two-year old would have the sweatband off her head the instant Melia’s back was turned. She caught her daughter’s hand reaching for the soft, green mesh. “No. You have to leave that on.”

Dora twisted away from Melia and pulled the sweatband off. “No.” She threw it on the ground and reached for the high thin turtleneck that caught the sweat from her face.

Melia’s ex-husband, Theo, leaned against the doorway, waiting to take the children to his house. “Just let her leave it off.”

“Daddy!” Dora toddled to her father with her arms raised.

Theo scooped Dora up, ignoring Nikolas, who seemed oblivious as he rocked in place, staring at a sunbeam on the wall.

Melia’s smile felt tight. “We don’t waste salt.”

Read the entire story, Salt of the Earth at Redstone Science Fiction and don’t forget to check out the other stories and fiction in the issue.

(I’ve closed comments here, but they are open at Redstone.)

While at NasFic, Mur Lafferty interviewed me for her podcast, I Should Be Writing. Mur makes the whole thing feel like a casual conversation between friends which reduces the level of stress induced by trying to sound reasonably intelligent.

(Note to debut authors: when your book launches your brain is liable to have a repeating track of “Is this really happening?” rendering it largely useless.)

Part of what I like about I Should Be Writing is that Mur talks about her personal writing journey and the lessons she is learning during it. She touches on stuff that pretty much every author goes through.  While my part of the interview doesn’t happen until about the 27 minute mark, it’s worth listening to the whole podcast.

Which you can do at… ISBW #153 –  Mary Robinette Kowal Interview : I Should Be Writing.

Most of my fiction has at least one thing that I put in purely to amuse myself and Shades of Milk and Honey is no exception.  There are a number of Easter Eggs, if you know where to look.

Periodically, I’ll post one of these and an explanation for how it got there. Some of them may be amusing, others things may talk about Regency history, still others will just be odd. Since many of them also involve spoilers, they’ll be password protected to keep the unwary from stumbling into them.

What sort of things can you look forward to? Here’s a spoiler-free example.

In Chapter 10, Beth (Miss Dunkirk) decides to rename her horse, which was previously called “Bacon.”

She asks her brother:

“Bacon? Who would name a dainty mare that?”

“I think it is the pattern in her sock. The area where the roan blends down to the white does look very much like the marbling in bacon.”

Who indeed? The answer is that Beth is named after my friend Beth Wodzinski, the editor-in-chief of Shimmer magazine.  Part of her email address was “mmmbacon.”

I’ve got one more for you today. To access it and any others I post, you just need to know the name of the mare that Jane rides in Chapter 10.

This will be my first Dragon*Con and I’m very much looking forward to it. Since it is a costume friendly con, I’m bringing the full Regency wardrobe for evening wear. I’ll also have the sandalwood handfans for folks who would like them. But where can you get one? Just find me at any one of these exciting activities.

Friday

Dragon*Autographs
01:00 pm Location: M301 – M304 – Marriott (Length: 1)
Edited to add: An airline itinerary change has me arriving AFTER my session. Sorry. Feel free to find me after any of the other panels/events.

Dragon*Reading
05:30 pm Location: Roswell – Hyatt (Length: 1)
I’ll be reading from Shades of Milk and Honey and performing The Broken Bridge, which is the shadow puppet play that occurs in Chapter 10.

Saturday

Broad Universe Reading!
11:30 am Location: Greenbriar – Hyatt (Length: 2.5)
Description: Discover new writers, rediscover ones you know! Up and coming women writers read from their own works and others. (I’ll be reading a new short story.)

Sunday

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
11:30 am Location: Hanover C – E – Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: A roundtable discussion about science fiction and fantasy book covers by industry pros, discussing what’s good, bad and could be better.

Monday

Joining a Writer’s Group
11:30 am Location: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong – Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: Whether it’s a national organization like SFWA, RWA,or HWA or a local group…What’s in it for you?

Two weeks ago, when our CSA box came I spontaneously gave the fellow who delivers the package every week a copy of Shades of Milk and Honey. He’s a nice guy but we’ve never had a conversation longer than the basic “how are you” and “see you next time” so I’m not sure what prompted me to do it.

This week he came back with the novel in hand and asked me to sign it. He said that his wife has already started it and likes it so far. The really neat thing though? He said that he hasn’t read a book since high school but is planning to read this.

How cool is that?

Also, we got strawberries today.

Have a question about Shades of Milk and Honey? Or puppets? Goodreads is hosting a Q&A with me for the next month.   Swing by and ask anything you like.

I have a 39,000 word SF novella that I could use some hasty feedback on. I’m looking for ways to make it shorter and things that are confusing, unbelievable, or dull. If you can get feedback to me by Monday that would be awesome.

Edited to add: I’ve got enough folks to look at this draft. If you are up for being a round 2 reader let me know. I’ll likely have a revision ready to go on Tuesday.

Since it’s a monster, if you’re up for reading it let me know and I’ll email you the manuscript.  Here’s the sampler.

Kiss Me Twice
by Mary Robinette Kowal

By the time Scott Huang took his second step into the precinct, the department AI had taken four hundred and fifty-seven images of him. The flesh and blood officers on the night shift were coming back to the station to log out, but the other F&B members of the homicide department wouldn’t turn up for work till eight. As Huang reached his desk, the cameras on Metta’s desktop interface swiveled in his direction.

“Well, hello sailor.” Mae West’s voice purred from his desk. Over the interface, Mae West’s head appeared and looked him up and down.

“Diamond Lil!” Huang had a weakness for starlets from the days of mono-vision, black & white in particular and Metta customized her interface for him regularly.

But this, this was special.