Posts Tagged ‘The Body at the Tower’

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The Tardy Contest

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Care to win one of two ARCs of The Body at the Tower? Read on!

Are you always running late? I try very hard to be punctual but occasionally, bad planning and fate get the better of me. I once missed a flight out of Paris because the journey to Charles de Gaulle took 3 hours, instead of the planned 1.5. (A lovely airline employee took pity on my idiocy and put me on the next flight.) Another time, I was 60 minutes late meeting friends in Victoria, BC because I missed my ferry (I didn’t have a cell phone then; amazingly, my friends waited around the cafe for a whole hour and we met up). And then I nearly missed the ferry back, because we were having dinner and talking too much to watch the clock. Yikes. Reading this over, I sound like a pretty feckless person. But I try, I really try.

So when I was researching The Body at the Tower, I felt a mingled sense of amusement and outrage when I read that the reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster (where the Houses of Commons and Lords sit, and the site of Big Ben) ran a full quarter-century late! That’s so late it’s almost fabulous. Almost.

And that’s the theme for my new contest. To enter to win one of two ARCs of The Body at the Tower (published August 10), just leave a comment answering this question:

What’s the most shamefully, ridiculously late you’ve ever been?

or, if you’re one of those sickening, effortlessly on-time people: What’s the silliest excuse anyone’s ever given for being late to meet you?

Rules:

You may have extra entries for sharing via your blog, Twitter, or Facebook accounts (1 extra per network).

Contest closes June 30. June 15. Can’t wait to give these away!

One winner will be randomly drawn. The other ARC will go to the commenter whose reply makes me gasp aloud.

Good luck, everyone!

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Posted in Contests, The Body at the Tower | 34 Comments »

Happy birthday, QV!

Monday, May 24th, 2010

portrait by Sir George Hayter*

Did you know that Canadians celebrate the anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth each year? Truly. May 24 (or the closest Monday to it) is a national holiday. It’s a bizarre little colonial hangover** but today’s the day, and I could hardly let it pass unremarked.

The real reason I’m posting today is because I’ve put up an excerpt from The Agency 2: The Body at the Tower. Click here to read! And do come back next week, when I’ll have sent off the ms for book 3, The Traitor and the Tunnel and will feel celebratory as a result. Yes, I think a contest is in order…

Hope you enjoy the snippet!

*This image is from the National Portrait Gallery. There’s some nice context for it here.

**Okay, okay – most Canadians are either doing yardwork or getting drunk and falling out of sailboats. But hey, it’s an extra stat hol.

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blogging fail

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Hello friends,

For shame – I forgot to blog this week. (I’m cranking through the first round of revisions on The Traitor and the Tunnel – the only things I’m doing, really, are eating and writing.) Please accept my sincere apologies. On Monday, I’ll be back with an overt bribe: an excerpt from book 2, The Body at the Tower.

Until then!

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The Body at the Tower

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

It’s now 3 months before the release of the second Agency novel, The Body at the Tower, and that means I’m finally allowed to show you the cover! Without further ado:

This cover, like the first, was designed by Caroline Lawrence at Candlewick. When she commissioned a photo shoot for Spy’s cover, she photographed a second outfit for this novel, too. Caroline read both novels carefully and based both cover scenes – and the model’s outfits – on scenes from the books.

There’s been some discussion in the YA blogosphere about the way MQ looks – whether or not the model is an accurate choice. Without getting too spoiler-ish, I want to confirm that the model, Amber Ahlquist, definitely could be Mary Quinn. (Those of you who’ve read Spy know what I mean, right? If you want more info, email me!) Candlewick’s attention to detail here is amazing: they got MQ right and their stylist is an expert in Victorian costume. They went all out, friends, and I love them for  it.

Here are some shots from the second half of the cover shoot. I’ve been sitting on these for MONTHS (8, to be precise) and am so excited finally to share them with you!

As before, the talent in New York consisted of:

Crystal Thompson, wardrobe stylist (and I’ll say it again: she works on 30 Rock and Gossip Girl!)

Souraya Hamdi, makeup artist (also of 30 Rock)

Scott Nobles, photographer

David Gardiner, photographer’s assistant

I still find it strange that all these people I’ve never met have worked so hard on my books. It’s a humbling and glorious feeling, and I’m so grateful to them all.

This week in reviews:

Librarian Jennifer Hendzlik had low expectations but concludes, “Mary is a strong female lead that could stand head to head with any of Tamora Pierce’s fierce woman characters and the twists, turns and yes, even a love interest will keep readers engaged on many levels. I was expecting ok and I got wow instead.”

Reviewing for the Guelph Mercury, YA novelist Jean Mills says, “readers will love the intrigue and hints of romance in this mystery set in nineteenth-century London, where privileged young ladies wore lace and poured tea, while their less-fortunate counterparts struggled to survive. Marriage proposals, pickpockets, tea parties and pirates — A Spy in the House delivers a rollicking read.”

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Posted in General News, The Body at the Tower | 18 Comments »

Book club!

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

First, a confession: I have never belonged to a book club. This might be because I spent quite a long time at university and so had many years of focused and sustained discussion about a book/poem we’d all recently read (or pretended to read). Most classes were adequate-to-fine. A few were dismal. A very few were spectacular. So while I do love talking about books, there’s something about the formality of a Book Club that gives me classroom flashbacks.

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”.

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Posted in A Spy in the House, Author Appearances, Reviews & Interviews, The Author, The Body at the Tower | 11 Comments »

New book, new look!

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

There’s one week left to win swag in the “If I were a spy…” contest! Enter here.

This week, I can finally share some wonderful news from my UK publisher, Walker Books. In September, Walker will publish the second Agency novel, The Body at the Tower, with a redesigned cover:

from Walker Books, September 2010

But I just recently had confirmation that they’ll be reissuing A Spy in the House at the same time, with a matching redesigned cover. What do you think of it?

to be re-released in September 2010!

Me? I think it’s perfect.

In other news, YA historical novelist Marie-Louise Jensen highlights Spy at An Awfully Big Blog Adventure, calling it her “favourite unexpected read of last year” (it came out in the UK last April).

Flashlight Worthy and Steph Su combined forces to recommend Spy on their list of YA Novels Featuring Women from Another Era (it’s #2 on the list!).

And GAL Novelty spotlighted my recent blog tour with praise so effervescently shy-making that I can’t possibly repeat it myself. (But I’m not above linking to it, oh no…)

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and support, friends and readers!

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Posted in A Spy in the House, Books, Reviews & Interviews, The Body at the Tower | 9 Comments »

Giddy excitement (with catastrophe for dessert)

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

I’m taking a break from writing FAQs (they’ll be back next week) because I have 2 things to say today. The first is:
OMG! OMG! LOOK! AT! THIS!
Walker Books have completely redesigned the covers for The Agency. I can now share with you the new artwork for the second book in the trilogy, THE BODY AT THE TOWER, which will be published in the UK next year.

book 2 in The Agency trilogy

The Body at the Tower (Walker Books, September 2010)

I can’t decide what I like best: the period-perfect font? The way the Houses of Parliament are backlit to just the right degree of spooky/familiar? The “aged” effect around the edges? Maybe it’s just the sum total. In any case, I’m thrilled to bits (as if that wasn’t quite obvious.) And the designer, Patrick Insole (who did the cover for SPY, too), kept the old logo in the bottom right hand corner – YAY!

My second announcement today is that my friend Sarah is a genius. Specifically, she’s a paranoid-yet-deeply-rational genius who’s created a website that displays the contents of her brain in a terrifying yet witty manner. She is The Catastrophizer and I suggest you study with her forthwith.

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New site! New release dates! New contest!

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Welcome to my new website! Here, I’ll keep you updated on all things Agency while trying not to abuse the exclamation point (difficult). There’s fresh new content if you care to poke around, and a couple of old favourites . I’ll be updating the site weekly from now on, usually on Thursdays.

I’m thrilled to announce that the Candlewick Press edition of A SPY IN THE HOUSE will go on sale in North America on March 9, 2010. The fabulous team at Candlewick designed a gorgeous, atmospheric new cover – and they even commissioned a photo shoot! I have some behind-the-scenes shots from the shoot and will share those with you in the coming weeks. Oh, and it’s hard not to shout this last part: the American edition is a hardcover – oh, yes it is. You can pre-order now from Amazon (US; Canada).

THE BODY AT THE TOWER, the second book in The Agency trilogy, will be published by Walker Books in April 2010. This time, Mary’s investigating a suspicious death at the Houses of Parliament. She’s disguised as a 12-year-old boy. And James is back from India… I had such a tough time writing and re-writing and re-bloody-writing this book, but my earliest readers (spouse, editors, agent) have been really enthusiastic. I hope you are, too.

Finally, to celebrate my lovely new website and upcoming North American book launch, I’m holding a CONTEST! It’s open to anyone in the world with a blog, Twitter, or Facebook account. First prize is a crisp, lovely, new-book-smelling copy of the British edition of A Spy in the House (its dramatic cover is there on the left); there are also 2 B&W stickers featuring the terrific Agency logo for 2nd and 3rd place winners.

Ready to enter? Here’s what you do:

1. Announce the following via your blog, Twitter or Facebook account:
Countdown to The Agency! There are almost 6 months ’til the US launch of A SPY IN THE HOUSE. Win a copy now at www.yslee.com.

2. Email me (ying@yslee.com) on or before November 1 with the link to your announcement AND the answer to this question:
What was the last book that really lingered in your mind – haunted you, if you will? Give author name, title, and description of the haunting element, please.

Once again, there are 2 steps to enter the contest:
-    Spread the word about this contest at your blog, on Twitter, or on Facebook (or all three). Remember to link to this website.
-    Email me by November 1 with the answer to the “haunted” question AND a link to your contest announcement (friend me on Fb if you do it there).

On November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day – ha!), I’ll announce the randomly selected winner and post everyone’s answers. (For privacy reasons, I’ll post answers with first names only, unless you request otherwise. If you’d rather I didn’t post your answer at all, tell me in your email.)

If you win and already own a copy of Spy, you can name a friend and I’ll send out the book as a gift from you. Or you can choose the very sexy Spanish edition from Ediciones Versatil, instead – it’s a stunner, and not for sale outside Spain.

Good luck! (I tried that without the exclamation point; it can’t be done.)

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