So, after a half-day of whispering at people at the PNWA kickoff and administrative stuff, I still have only half as much voice as usual (possibly less). But I think all things strange and undone have been taken care of, now. At least I hope so. Except for the voice thing...

Seems I caught a cold at Comic Con and what with the drinking and yelling and running about... I came home with inflamed tonsils and vocal cords. My doctor ordered me to rest my voice for three days so I could talk at PNWA this weekend, but, alas, I still don't have my full room-commanding bark back. So... I'll be using the microphones a lot and probably rolling my eyes at the annoyance of not being able to stop traffic by simply yelling.

My throat still hurts. I blame the drinking. And for that I thank Rob Thurman. And the pasty-white Samoan Nazi. And the Pineapple Scot. And the waiter.

But damn it was fun!

Maybe I'll lose my voice completely before my book launch on Tuesday.... What are the bets?

How could I forget? I'm also going to be at Dragon*con in Atlanta Georgia over Labor Day weekend! W00t!

I'm trying to spend less time online and more working. Book 5 is a bit behind. I know it's not due until October 1, but August has just become The Busiest Month of My Life, so I'm trying to get more done ahead of time. My publicists and I are waiting on confirmations for some things before we can set a few more in place. Things actually start in July and then heat up. Although some things are still in flux, right now we have confirmed or conditionally confirmed:

Interviews online with AmberKatze's Book Blog (date TBA) and Bitten By Books (interactive chat and fun stuff at BBB May 28)

Mass signing in Salem Oregon at Escape Fiction July 18

Comic Con, San Diego, July 23-26. Pro status not yet confirmed, but I will be signing books with Roc/Ace group and with the book room's Mysterious Galaxy (Vanished is unlikely to be available but we'll see.. The rest of the new paperbacks will be there though.)

Pacific Northwest Writers' Summer Conference, Seattle Airport, July 30-Aug 2 (working on getting pre-release copies of Vanished.)

U-Books, Seattle WA, Aug 4 (Vanished launch date!)

Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Aug 8

Powells in Beaverton Aug 11 (and casual hanging around)

Midnight Brew Interview Online Aug 13

Murder by the Book, Houston TX, Aug 14 (note this is a change from the original announced date of Saturday, Aug 15) drop-ins and hanging out will happen on Saturday until I have to head for the airport in the late afternoon/early evening.

Barnes and Noble at The Grove, Los Angeles CA, Aug 21

Booksoup, Los Angeles CA, Aug 24

Connie Martinson Talks Books (cable TV show taping, air date not yet known)

National daytime TV! Date is not set yet, but we're hoping for earlier rather than later in the month. (I'm so excited!)

Various radio interviews, including markets in the Northeast, Chicago, Toronto, NPR, and the Southeast Specifics are still being arranged.

Also still in the works, signings at: San Francisco CA; La Jolla CA; Santa Barbara CA. Maybe a few other things... not sure yet. On the fence about: Bouchercon, Indianapolis IN, mid-October; World Fantasy Convention, San Jose CA, Hallowe'en Weekend.

So far the hiring of independent publicist Josh Jason seems to be paying off. And my Penguin publicist, Roseanne Romanello, has been fantastic, too. Everyone's busy as a hive full of bees, but it's all good stuff so far!

Now... back to work!

Well... I'm starting to get things together (with the help of new publicists Roseanne Romanello and Joshua Jason). And I'm currently booked for the following:

Norwescon, Seattle WA area, Easter Weekend April 9-12
Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, Seattle WA area, July 30-August 2
ComiCon, San Diego CA , July 23-26
Dragon*Con, Atlanta GA , Labor Day Weekend September 4 - September 7

Looks like I won't make it to WorldCon in Montreal as I'd hoped since it's the weekend VANISHED is being released (yes, Alan Beatts will be disappointed in me.) I'm looking into other things like the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, World Fantasy Convention, and Bouchercon, but I'm not sure what's going to get the nod (or what I can afford.) A lot depends on what the publisher wants to do for the tour and what else might be going on with publicity in other directions.

I'll update my newsletter and my Appearances page on the website soon, but I haven't gotten to it yet, since i'm still proofing the mmp of Greywalker and having my ass kicked by this cold. Originally I was going to go to Left Coast Crime this February, but other things kind of got in the way.

Meanwhile, the fabulous Paranormal Bender Tour has been announced featuring my Team Seattle mates Caitlin Kittredge, Cherie Priest, and Mark Henry, and Denver Mob Godfather Mario Acevedo:



Pure fabulousity! Be there or be... Zombie Bait!

Oh yeah... and don't forget the Urban Fantasyland Reader's Choice contest! We're all in there, so the competition is nasty! W00t!

I'm finally home from WorldCon. Unlike many friends, I seem to have had a perfectly ordinary flight home. And the very long weekend was fabulous with many thanks to Mario Acevedo, Warren Hammond, Richard Foss, Jeremy Lassen and Alan Beatts who all contributed to the deliquency of this writer. I'll write more when I've caught up to a few things, like...

Signing at Seattle Mystery Bookshop tomorrow at Noon!

Eep!

And gave away 94 squeezy lights at the con

And need to do the laundry and re-pack so I can do the rest of the tour, which kicks into High Gear on Thursday with a trip to Portlandia with the gorgeous Richelle. W00t! More soon, I promise!

Including dead animal heads!

oh yeah: Underground made #4 on the B&N SF hardcover list.