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Monday, October 2, 2017 
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| As some of you may know, the publication date of my first novel is creeping ever closer. The novel, Weave a Circle Round,
will drop on November 28, 2017. That's under two months away
(aaaaaaargh). Consequently, reviews are starting to appear: more
specifically, early reviews written by publications aimed largely at
booksellers, librarians, editors, and agents. To my vast relief, the two reviews that have been published thus far are not screaming for my head. They're actually doing the opposite, which is nice. Both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly have given Weave a Circle Round starred reviews. Stars in these publications don't work the way they do in movie or restaurant reviews; you never get multiple stars. The goal is to get just that one little star, which denotes "a book of exceptional merit." Kirkus awards a blue star and PW a red star. Even if every other review that appears is screaming for my head, I'll always have those two little stars. Here is the Kirkus review. One warning: it's relatively spoilery. Because of their audience, these publications tend to include lots of plot summary in their reviews. If you're planning on reading the book and want to approach it without knowing the broad outlines of 3/4 of the plot, skip to the last 2/3 of the review. Better yet, have the pull quote from the end: "A charming, extraordinarily relatable book with the potential to become a timeless classic." Here is the PW review. It's less spoilery; it mentions some plot elements, but fairly vaguely. Even so, here are the pull quotes: "In this dazzling debut—a love letter to history, legend, and the power of stories that takes inspiration from Norse myth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge—a young woman is catapulted through time and space after she runs afoul of her eccentric neighbors" and "This is an ambitious, intricate, joyful coming-of-age tale, with memorable characters and a powerful sense of wonder." So yeah, I'm pretty happy about those. Weave a Circle Round can be preordered in various places. The novel's page on the Macmillan site will be useful to Americans. Canadians can try their local independent bookstores, plus Indigo and Amazon online. The availability in other countries varies. The UK's definitely getting the book (albeit two weeks after North America does; here's the Amazon page), but I'm not sure about anywhere else. Blackstone will also be releasing an audio version on November 28. |
| Monday, October 2, 2017 |
| Panel 1: Rose and Iz stand beside the garbage chute in the dark building. Rose: Correct me if I'm wrong, but it shouldn't be possible for a light to shine up the trash chute. Unless... Panel 2: Rose: Someone has to have rerouted the chute. The garbage has been redirected to somewhere with electric light. Iz: Oh! Panel 3: Iz: Mr. Fusion! Jennifer is totally pulling a Doc Brown and powering her time experiment with garbage! Rose: Aren't there easier ways of getting garbage? Panel 4: Iz: I don't know; I've never tried. Rose: That seems so unlike you. Link to commentary |
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