Posts Tagged ‘launch party!’

One magickal winner, with more to come

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Thanks for entering the Magickal Agency contest and spreading the word, friends. In choosing a winner, I disqualified anyone who claimed not to like olives. Then I was consumed with pity for the misguided, olive-fearing people (because you can’t really claim to live a full and happy life without olives) and put you back in the contest. All right. So.

The randomly selected winner of the Stephanie Burgis prize pack, which includes the gorgeous UK edition of A Most Improper Magick and a set of bookmarks and postcards, is…

See what I mean by gorgeous?

Shel! Congratulations! Please send me your mailing address and I’ll get the book in the post.

I imagine the rest of you are saddened by this. You should be, because Steph’s book is absolutely wonderful and won’t be published in North America until April 2011. But if more conversation and prizes are what you’re after, there is some consolation…

Come to my online launch party for The Body at the Tower on Tuesday, where there shall be all manner of bookish chatter and prizes, oh yes. The lovely people at Candlewick Press and Walker Books UK will be there, refilling your virtual wineglasses. I’ll be giving away Agency t-shirts and stickers, and my publishers will be giving away books! Yes, I said books! The details, again:

UK/Europe: Tuesday, 28 September at 16.00 BST

US/Canada: Tuesday, September 28 at 4pm EST

The hashtag is #bodytower.

(Of course, you can attend whichever party you like. They’re just meant to be at convenient times.)

And there’s a traditional launch party, of course:

Wednesday, September 29 at 7.00pm

Novel Idea Books, 156 Princess St, Kingston

See you next week, at some point! And remember to click over to Steph’s blog to see if you won her contest.

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Posted in Contests, General News, The Body at the Tower | 4 Comments »

Ready – set – LAUNCH!

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

This week, Walker Books publishes The Body at the Tower in the UK! Here’s the gorgeous new cover.

Perfection, non? This is the UK/World edition so if you’re an Australian or New Zealand reader, this is the cover you’ll see in November when it’s released by Walker Books Australia.

Also, plans are taking shape for an actual, real-world, come-see-me-face-to-face-if-you-dare launch party. The details?

Wednesday, September 29

7 pm

Novel Idea Books

156 Princess St, Kingston, Ontario

(click here for a map)

Shall I see you there?

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Posted in General News, The Body at the Tower | 14 Comments »

*flooomp*

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Good morning! Last night’s launch party was a smashing success, and I can now confess that I was paranoid for nothing. I had this vision of me standing in a room with 5 other people (bookseller, caterer, spouse, son, and one independent witness to my humiliation). Instead, we packed the house.

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. ever.

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.

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Posted in A Spy in the House, Author Appearances | 6 Comments »

Today’s the day

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Looking for the “If I were a spy…” contest? It’s here.

The day has come – the North American publication date for The Agency: A Spy in the House! As a result, I am all over the intertubes:

The T2T blog tour takes me to Chick Lit Teens where Jessica reviews Spy, calling it a “true gem”. I’m also a guest-poster here, and my subject today is Victorian Hygiene. Warning: this one’s not for the queasy.

I’m also at Book Chick City, explaining why – despite my love of things Victorian – I’m glad I live in the present day. This one’s also a bit grimy.

Paul Grimsley interviews me at In To Views (the Arty interview)

The Catastrophizer forces me to ponder failure and death (the Angsty interview).

And tonight, we’ll be celebrating with a party. Novel Idea Books will be there, selling copies for those who wish to purchase. Body Now 4 Mums and Kids is hosting us in their lovely harbourfront studio. And Candlewick Press is the hero of the day because without them, none of this would be happening. Please join us if you can!

Tuesday, March 9

7.30 to 10pm

61 Yonge St., Portsmouth Village, Kingston

To recap: today will be a True Gem of Queasy, Grimy, Arty Angst. Party to follow.

Perfect.

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Posted in A Spy in the House, General News, Reviews & Interviews, Short Essays | 4 Comments »

Pre-launch lunacy

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Well, hello. Are you coming to my launch party on March 9? I hope so. Details are here.

In the lead-up to the Big Day, I am doing my best to be omnipresent. (There is no hope of omniscience or omnipotence, but I do what I can.) What this means is, starting on February 28, I will be blogging. Every. Day. Specifically, I will be guest-posting or giving interviews here (don’t worry, I’ll come back each day and link to the correct post):

Sunday, Feb 28 – interview at Bookworming in the 21st Century
Monday, March 1 – guest post at GreenBeanTeenQueen
Tuesday, March 2 – interview at Steph Su Reads
Wednesday, March 3 – interview at Books are Life
Thursday, March 4 – guest post at Books by their Cover
Friday, March 5 – interview at That Chick That Reads & a guest post at Teenreads.com
Saturday, March 6 – guest post at Reading in Color
Monday, March 8 – guest post at the Epic Rat
Tuesday, March 9 – guest post at Chick Lit Teens & at Book Chick City, & an interview at In To Views
Wednesday, March 10 – interview with the Catastrophizer
Thursday, March 11 – guest post at the Story Siren & an interview at Shades of Romance
Friday, March 12 – guest post at Rebecca’s Book Blog
Saturday, March 13 – guest post at Ticket to Anywhere

That’s a lot of me. But wait – you’re not off the hook yet. New reviews of Spy are cropping up everywhere!

BookPage says it’s “entirely true to the genre, full of thrills and danger and wonderfully sharp writing”.

Publisher’s Weekly calls it “richly described… Mary’s lively escapades… will hold readers’ attention and whet their interest for the next installment”.

Bookphilia got the metanarrative jokes (YAY!) and confesses, “I did absolutely no work on Friday because I was reading it and couldn’t put it down”.

Its sensibilities are a bit too modern for the BookWitch at first, but eventually she reckons, “if you want a female Alex Rider in Victorian London, then this is for you.”

Persephone Reads calls it “transporting”.

BookLoons loves the “rich setting in Victorian London”.

Heck, even Kirkus Reviews liked it, but I can’t link to the review without a subscription. Take my word for it?

Phew. I’ll see you on Sunday.

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Posted in A Spy in the House, Books, publishing | 4 Comments »

La-la-la Launch Party!

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

I’m absolutely delighted to invite you to the official launch party for The Agency: A Spy in the House!

Spy bookmark Tuesday, March 9, 2010

7.30 pm

61 Yonge St

Portsmouth Village

Kingston, Ontario

.

hosted by

Candlewick Press

Novel Idea Bookstore

Body Now 4 Mums & Kids

and me!

Please RSVP if you can. For a map to the venue, click here.

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Posted in A Spy in the House, General News, The Author | 2 Comments »