As a result, I’d no idea what to expect at my first book club meeting as an author. What can I tell you?

First, that it may be all about the food. Seriously: 8 women. Snacks for, ooh, 16? It was heaven.

Second, that they had all read Spy (or did a great job pretending) and had tons of questions. And they asked me things I’d never thought about – for example, what’s the backstory on the primary agent whose territory Mary Quinn treads on? My brilliant answer: “Um, I haven’t thought about her much.” I think I’d better get on that.

Third, I totally cracked: I’m not supposed to reveal the Candlewick cover for The Body at the Tower yet, because it’s not quite ready. (Soon, soon.) But I brought an ARC and flashed it around shamelessly. The bookclubbers were very kind and humoured my delirious babbling about the story behind the cover. Thanks, ladies.

I had such a great time, thanks to Jennifer O’Donnell who invited me, and Marcia Irving who hosted. It was terrific to meet all of you and I hope you keep in touch! (And thank you very much for the lovely bottle of wine! You really shouldn’t have, but I’m secretly very glad you did.)

This week in reviews:

Bookseller Ben McNally says Spy is “accomplished and believable. Mary Quinn and her supporting cast are developed with care and craft, and the plot is polished and quick.” Notes from a Book Addict, at BookLounge

The charmingly named NerdGirl is “on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book”!

And Ria at Tea and Tomes says the characters are “wonderfully real” and the period detail “made the story just that much more believable”.

I hate waiting for them to load. They assume you read ve-ry slow-ly (Stephanie Burgis’s trailer for A Most Improper Magick is the exception that proves the rule). The music is crap coming from my laptop speakers. And they don’t make me want to buy the book. Result: I almost always axe them at the 15-second mark.

So what did I do this week? Inspired by Montreal-based auteur Non-Working Monkey (warning: Monkey has a potty-mouth), I made a book trailer. Mine, however, is an anti-book trailer that contains a piece of the finest performance art ever to emerge from the bizarre tool that is Microsoft Word’s Autosummarize. Or something. Anyway, here you have it.

I’m the one in the red boots.

This week in book news:

Fight Club meets High School Debate Tournament for YA fiction! Alyssa at the Shady Glade is organizing the first ever YA Bloggers Debut Book Battle! Over the next several weeks, 24 titles will compete – and Spy is among them. Ooh. I can’t wait to see how this turns out.

Yesterday was different. Yesterday, Jennifer Herman (Marketing Manager at Random House Canada and a proper take-no-prisoners kind of woman) organized a lunch gathering for me with a bunch of booksellers from Indigo (downtown) and Chapters (the ‘burbs). It was fun, and entirely the opposite of my usual sad vigil. I talked a bit about Spy, but mostly we all talked about: the indignities of buying “petite” trousers that still require hemming; handmade jewelry from Barriefield Village; the joys of the All-Day Breakfast; Paulo Coelho, yea or nay; the new Yann Martel book; self-help books; Portsmouth Villagers, arty or crazy; movie theatres of Kingston Past; people who walk cats as though they’re dogs; people who carry dogs as though they’re babies; whether bookselling is the most dangerous job in the world, on the grounds that your take-home pay might well be zero after you’ve spent the day caressing new books; the retired English teacher who’s taught half of Kingston; what, exactly, a Poker Run is (it involves boats); and dachsunds. These are just the highlights, mind you. And then Jennifer gave out copies of Spy, and I signed them, which still gives me the chills (and penmanship worries).

The booksellers got off light – I was actually pressing for an Ultimate Fighting Championship-style scrap between the two stores. It looked promising, to me: Indigo had more people (including the tallest), but the Chapters folk are ninjas. Ultimately, I forced everyone to pose for this photo:

And then I brainwashed them. (back row) Bonnie, Jenny, Ryan, Jennifer, Samantha; (front row) Christina, Leslie, Victoria, Ginny

Good times, booksellers of Kingston. Good times.

This week, I’m thrilled that Kirkus reviewed Spy a second time, this time in their spring supplement: “Debut author Y.S. Lee keeps the story wound tight, lacing it with gingery humor… Sparkling repartee fuels the story, but it’s not so snappy as to undercut Mary’s vulnerability—she’s a saucy, smart heroine it will be a pleasure to meet again.”

And the bloggers – they’ve been busy!

Yuan at GAL Novelty says it’s “an engrossing read, with a lead character you can root for with all your heart”.

The Book Whisperer doesn’t usually read historical mysteries, but concludes that “without a doubt that I am a new follower”. Hurray!

Christina at Reading Extensively calls it “a delightful mystery with a fantastic heroine”.

Mel at He Followed Me Home thinks it has “the perfect ingredients for a fun historical mystery”.

And Miss Kelley “can’t wait to find out what Mary Quinn does next”!

Finally, I did a couple of interviews:

I talked to novelist Cynthia Leitich Smith about research and roadblocks, and finding one’s historical voice.

And Book Lovers Inc interviewed me. Sample: Q. Tell us about your book. A. It contains not a single vampire.

I think that’s accurate.

The crowd thins out towards the end, when we finally remember the camera

The space was the beautifully restored Victorian building that now houses the Body Now 4 Mums studio. Oscar sold the books, Joanna provided wonderful nibbles (garlicky spanakopita! rhubarb compote! pita with za’atar, sumac and fab vegan toppings! chocolate-covered marmalade! carrot cake! homemade limeade for the kids, in tiny green bottles with straws! and many things I didn’t even get a look at because I was in my corner, signing). The Catastrophizer was in charge of music, but no one heard the CD end because it was so raucous.

I learned a few things about launch parties that I feel compelled to share:

1. Arrive much earlier than you think is necessary. People started trickling in at 7pm for a 7.30 start!

2. Don’t lose the camera in the diaper bag.

3. Invite kids. They made it so delightful.

cutest. rugrats. evah.

4. Enlist someone to bring you food & drink at the midway point.

5. Don’t expect to have meaningful conversations with your lovely friends. Just sign!

6. Bring more pens than you think you’ll need.

me in my corner

7. Breathe. It’s really happening.

8. Smile so hard your face hurts.

Things turned fantastic once I arrived at the Random House offices (Candlewick books are distributed by RHC in Canada), and not because of me. The Candlewick team of Elise Supovitz, Jeanne Emanuel and John Mendelson were utterly charming, and seemed to specialize in putting nervous outsiders at ease. We had lunch (pizza and profiteroles – an alliterative menu!) with the Random House sales team, headed by Linda Chisholm and Duncan Shields. I met a lot of people, many of whom I didn’t get a chance to really talk to (but some of whom I did – hello Jennifer, and Lahring, and Tan, and Robin!). I also met “my” publicist, Nicola Makoway, and bombarded her with questions. Ahem.

Everybody was so energetic and enthusiastic and clearly passionate about books. I learned a bit about different sales territories (there’s one dedicated to Toronto indie bookstores alone; by contrast, another person handles national accounts for Wal-Mart and Shoppers Drug Mart) and a bit of terminology (“inside sales” – someone who works within the office, instead of on the road) – lots of things I hadn’t really thought about until that lunch meeting. I also learned about a very cool-sounding social-networking site for Canadian teen readers, Bookurious; I’m not allowed in, as an adult, but it looks great. And I shook hands with a man who’s shaken Anne Perry’s hand. What does that MEAN, oh cosmos?

After lunch, I talked to the assembled group (including some on conference call) about the story behind The Agency and how I came to be a writer. It was a strange, surreal, yet hyper-real ten minutes in time. It was so peculiar to do something deeply familiar – address a group of people – but in a completely new context (conference room of a publishing house). I wish I could play it back accurately in my head, but it was all a blur of politely nodding heads and me wondering, after the fact, did I talk way too fast? I mean, there’s a reason one of my undergrad classes nicknamed me “the Auctioneer”…

And then, suddenly, it was over. I was the privileged outsider who went downtown to meet up with a dear friend, while everyone else was still hard at work. I walked along Queen St, thinking, “I’m an author. All those people think I’m an author.”

And I’m not sure I believe it myself.

I had an utterly excellent day at RND High School last week, talking to students about Victorian hygiene, inventions, fashion, and radical women (among other things). The students were a terrific audience – courteous, curious, energetic. Thanks for being such exemplars of audience awesomeness! If you heard me speak at Regi and would like to be entered into the draw for one of three Agency t-shirts, remember to email me and either a) ask a question or b) remind me of one you asked last Thursday. I’ll announce the winners next week.

A typically ridiculous lecturing posture. If I could help it, I would.

Living in Canada, where Spy hasn’t yet been released, I’ve never seen a copy of my book in a real live bookstore. Really, this whole “I’m a writer” business could just be an elaborate hallucination on my part. But recently, Marie-Louise Jensen, a friend and fellow YA novelist, sent me this: ocular proof that Spy is for sale in the shops. And she faced it out, too – now that’s what friends are for! (The book on top is Marie-Louise’s The Lady in the Tower, which I really enjoyed. Do check it out.)

The Lady & the Spy

And finally, here are the winners of my recent contest, Countdown to the Agency. The winner of the UK edition of The Agency: A Spy in the House is Haley Mathiot. Second- and third-place winners of The Agency sticker are Mariana Sanchez and Andrea Lacerte. Congratulations! Please email me with your postal addresses and I’ll get the goods out to you right away. If you didn’t win this time, fear not – there’ll be More Swag coming in the next few months, right up to the March 9 launch of the US edition of Spy.

I’ve realized that it’s ridiculous to post everything people wrote about books that haunted them. (I guess I was expecting 5 or 6 entries…) So I’ve decided to post a small selection of entries, all on books I haven’t read. One of my ulterior motives in asking the “haunted” question (Hallowe’en aside) is that I always love to hear about what others read. Hopefully, you’re the same way.

Becky chose Dream Spinner by Bonnie Dobkin, “about a man with a pet spider that can talk. Together they take people’s dreams and weave them like a thread into a huge tapestry. 3 friends come across his house, and are eager to enter their dreams… but when nightmares start to take over, will they be able to wake up again?”

Mariana chose Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, “because it really made me think about the things you do that affect people around you, even if you don’t notice.”

Haley chose Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith and reviewed it at her blog.

Andrea chose Les Enfants Indigos by Sylvie Simon, “a non-fiction book about a new type of child who is here to lead us to the next level of consciousness! The idea is that these new children need truth, and will not longer settle for the old answers of “just because” or even try to fit into institutions that are not adapting to their needs. The book gives examples of how they see the world… very old souls indeed!”

Mary chose Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. “The writing is beautiful, the plot intricate and the story manages to be tragic, poignant, inspiring and deeply satisfying all at once. The relationships between the characters are so heartfelt they will linger in my mind forever.  The tragic part of the story [which I won’t give away in case you haven’t read it] is hauntingly sad.”

Emily chose The Ragwitch by Garth Nix. It’s supposed to be a young adult book, I’m ’slightly’ older than young adult but it scared me silly! At one point, the girl is trapped inside the mind of the Rag Witch, and the thoughts of the witch are made of rags – makes me shiver just thinking about it!”

Jason chose Circus Parade by Jim Tully, “a memoir of life in the violent, criminal, yet sometimes magical circus world in early 20th century America. What haunted me was how cruel the life on the road could be, but how a rogues’ honour emerged from this cruelty for some, and manifested as evil in others.”

Robin chose We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver. “The narrator writes about her son and how she never felt bonded to him, and as a teenager he commits mass murder at his school. It was a very harrowing read!”

Jennifer chose Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes, in which “Anna keeps catching glimpses of her husband everywhere and doesn’t understand why he won’t return her calls and emails… The novel is so heartbreaking.”

Finally, when I was at Regi, students asked me a number of excellent questions about writing and publishing. I’ll try to answer these in an orderly fashion over the next month or so. Next week, the first instalment: on writing.

Also, I woke this morning to find myself in a word war with Stephanie Burgis and Tiffany Trent! We’re all at around 25,000 words in our current works in progress. Only 45,000 to go – but who will get there first? The smart money is not on me, I’m afraid.

And about those German covers: apologies. I can’t get them to load properly in Wordpress, so will consult with my guru. Hopefully I’ll have these up on the weekend.