Quick Update:
Bad Glass has made the Bram Stoker Award Final Ballot! Really, I couldn’t be more chuffed. I might even end up going to the convention/ceremony in New Orleans; I’m still working out the details.
A win still seems unlikely, but it’s nice to be recognized by an organization I’ve respected for such a long, long time.
I’ve been quiet lately, locked alone in my office trying to create weird worlds and lots and lots of words. In the meantime, Bad Glass has managed to pick up a couple more honors.
First, it made the preliminary ballot for the 2012 Bram Stoker Awards (first novel category). In order to become an official nominee, however, it needs to survive a vote from the HWA membership, narrowing that list from 10 to 5. We’ll see what happens; I’m not sure how many HWA members have had a chance to read the book.
Second, Bad Glass appears on the Locus 2012 Recommended Reading List (again, first novel category). A very cool honor. Locus actually published an interesting analysis/review of the book back in their December issue, and it’s worth a read. It’s pretty cool to see a reviewer delve deeply into what I was trying to do.
Bad Glass made Library Journal’s year-end list! Best Books 2012: Science Fiction/Fantasy.
“Straddling the border between sf and horror, this outstanding dark fantasy debut recalls the speculative fiction of Samuel Delany and Mark Danielewski.”
Quite an honor, considering the company and the books it beat out.
For people thinking about buying Bad Glass – Amazon | BN.com | Powell’s – here’s what Caitlín R. Kiernan, one of my all-time favorite writers, had to say about it:
“An impressive and promising debut. A breath of fresh air in the stale literature of apocalypse. A chilling, surreal, terrible, beautiful book.”
(An edited version of this quote appears on the final cover, but it changes around the “terrible, beautiful book” part, which I love dearly.)
So, listen to Caitlín, buy Bad Glass. (And while you’re at it, buy The Drowning Girl: A Memoir. It’s a wonderful, wonderful book.)
My short, short, short story, “Not the Destination,” is now available on the Daily Science Fiction website. Go check it out.
I have a (tiny) story coming out from Daily Science Fiction in 2 days. If you want to get it the moment it comes out, sign up now! The story goes out to subscribers, via email, on October 3rd. It will also go up on their webpage after a week (I’ll link to it here), but you should really support Jonathan & Michele by signing up for their e-mail digest.
They gave me my first professional sale — last year’s “Filling Up the Void” — and for that they’ll always be awesome.
As for the story itself, I’m not kidding when I say it’s tiny. It’s called “Not the Destination,” and it’s 102 words long.
First of all, Buy my book: Amazon | BN.com | Powell’s
Now that that’s out of the way, I’ve got a couple more interviews to report, and each of these have actual, honest-to-god giveaways at the end! Follow the links and you’ll have a chance to win A FREE COPY OF BAD GLASS, courtesy my wonderful publisher, Del Rey.
Here’s my Interview/Giveaway at The Qwillery.
“I’ve always been a fan of apocalyptic and “weird city” fiction (books like The Stand, or Swan Song, or Viriconium, or Gormenghast), but those things always seemed like such a huge undertaking to me – the world-building, the large cast of characters, the delicate mood. I think, when I sat down to write Bad Glass, I just felt like it was time for me to stop fooling around and start working on something I’d genuinely love. Even if it was big and scary and intimidating.”
And here’s my Interview/Giveaway at My Bookish Ways.
“For some reason, I’m affected by weird body horror. If I looked down and saw a pulsing growth sticking out of my abdomen, maybe moving around with a mind of its own, that would probably freak me the hell out …”
Also, I got a very positive review from Jenn at Jenn’s Bookshelves today. Pretty cool. Thanks, Jenn!
Today’s the Day! Bad Glass is out in the world. I’ve seen it on store shelves, it’s “In Stock” at Amazon, and I even downloaded a copy to my Kindle (dual purpose there: I got to check out the awesome e-reader formatting, while at the same time nudging up my sales rank).
Buy it here: Amazon | BN.com | Powell’s
As release week progresses, there’ll be interviews popping up all over the web. Here are the first two, and my favorite pull quotes:
“Probably the biggest lesson I learned from working retail, driving a forklift, and being an accountant is the fact that I don’t want to work retail, drive a forklift, or be an accountant.”
“So, yes, hiding behind a camera can help you cope with the horrible things in your life, but it works in the same way that denial works — it’s an effective psychological defense that really isn’t all that healthy in the long run. Your problems are still there, you’re just not facing them. And eventually, all of those bad things are going to come crashing in.”
(Also, as a bonus, here’s a neat little review from SFcrowsnest in the UK.)
As its release date nears (just one week away!) Bad Glass is getting more exposure. Here’s a brief roundup:
Release week will see a lot of interviews popping up in various places. I’ll probably do another roundup soon, but if you want to see what’s happening as it happens, you can always check my twitter feed (@rgropp).
Pretty exciting stuff for a debut author! I’m trying to remember to breathe.
(And if you like the book, give it a review! Amazon, BN, Goodreads, wherever. Word of mouth helps!)
Finished Copies of Bad Glass arrived today, courtesy Mike, my editor at Del Rey. When I first saw the initial cover design (many months back) I had my doubts — I was afraid it was too heavy on the horror, too light on the fantasy — but, after many tweaks and lots of polish, it’s really grown on me.
(And, yes, there’s an annoying typo on the back cover. You’ll have to hunt down a copy, but 10 points to the first person who finds it.)