Imaginal Casements

I'm absolutely over the moon. In the yearly Der Leserpreis awards on lovelybooks.de, The Invisible Library (or in the German translation, Die unsichtbare Bibliothek) has won the silver.

Thank you very, very much, anyone who voted.



(Okay, so I copied this post from my official blog. It took me ages to get the links worked out.)

Absolutely fantastic news - The Invisible Library is on amazon.com's list of Best science fiction and fantasy of 2016. Still can't quite believe it.

It's also one of the books (in German translation as Die unsichtbare Bibliothek, that is) nominated for Der Leserpreis 2016 on lovelybooks.de. Wow. (And, er, if anyone feels like voting for it there, don't let me stop you...)

There's a UK-specific giveaway up for The Burning Page here on Goodreads: entry period begins on Nov 15, 2016 and ends on Dec 15, 2016.

And Publishers Weekly have a review up of The Burning Page here:

... Irene, a Librarian turned spy, and Kai, her dragon apprentice, placed on probation by the ruling forces of the Library after some unfortunate events involving the dragons and the Fae. Then Irene’s arch nemesis, rogue Librarian Alberich, returns with the intent to disrupt the many worlds he has control over, as well as the Library itself. Irene must intervene, though she fears there may be a double agent in her circle who’s conspiring against her...

Meanwhile, elsewhere, work continues as if I'd never left. Must remember to check if we're doing a Secret Santa this year. Must also consider getting a cake for December 15th.

A decent day at work. More meetings than I really like, but they're over now. And one of them - a "discrepancy" meeting to discuss disagreements over certain cross-maps - had the satisfaction of my argument winning out several times, which always eases the pain of meetings in general.

Got home to find that some ARC copies of the US edition of The Burning Page had arrived. As witness here:

https://twitter.com/GenevieveCogman/status/778648478830497793

I will now gloat. Just a little.

(UK edition comes out in December, US edition comes out in January...)

I lack the capacity for rational thought the brains to provide a good diary entry at the moment, so here are a few bits and pieces.

1) The Invisible Library is now out in the US. Thanks to all who have supported me, all who provided criticism and comment, and all who've enjoyed reading it.

2) I bought donuts for the team today from Krispy Kreme. The afternoon was spent on a sugar high. (This would have gone even better if a couple of other people hadn't brought in cookies earlier in the day, but since I'd already ordered the donuts I couldn't cancel them, and we had a lot of food. Ah well, it means we have nibbles for tomorrow too.)

3) Interview with responses to some questions about me/the series here.

4) Facebook giveaway by Ace and Roc Books of copies of books one and two and additional goodies here.

5) Me babbling about an awesome moment in Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies here.

6) I have now read the final Temeraire book, League of Dragons, and it is excellent.

The problem with having a really entertaining idea at work for the next chapter in book 4 is that I can't immediately tell people all about it.

(Well, all right, maybe one or two people.)

It was just one of those moments when I was thinking "okay, I need some sort of plot hurdle at this point and something dramatic", and I was scribbling down "where everyone currently is in the plotline" to see if that sparked any ideas, and I had a beautiful idea about what would work.

I also now know why Li Ming shows up later, which is additionally useful. (Not strictly connected to the new idea, but in reference to "what some people are doing offstage while this takes place".)

And the beautiful new idea is supported by earlier references to dragons and art. Even better.

This is the bit where I hope that I didn't forget anything important work-related before going on holiday. Because tomorrow morning, if I did, then said forgotten thing will come back and bite me.

Almost halfway through the American copy-edits on book 2. Must keep going. Though on a side note, have just been reminded that I already named Irene's father Liu Xiang. Liu Quan (in book 4) may require a name change before I get much further in.

Tor will be bringing out books 4 and 5 of The Invisible Library series!

http://www.torbooks.co.uk/blog/2016/2/17/we-check-out-more-invisible-library-books-in-new-deal

I'm so delighted! (And so paranoid now about doing a good job on them...)

Oh, and hey, look at this gorgeous animation of Piranesi's Carceri prints - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FlcbxAr11Pc - and just imagine walking through that.

(yawns) Secret Santa at work tomorrow. Also team meeting. A team meeting which I'm supposed to be chairing if the scheduled person (who was ill last week) isn't back.

This is me crossing my fingers that the scheduled person is back to chair the meeting. I hate chairing meetings. (Don't much enjoy meetings in general, either. They may be a necessary evil, but that's still evil.)

Audiobook giveaway for The Masked City is up at http://www.grcogman.com/2015/12/the-masked-city-audiobook-giveaway/ - five free copies, winner chosen at random, and it runs till midnight on Sunday 20th December (UK time). So if you want a free copy...

The Masked City, sequel to The Invisible Library, is now officially out in the UK!

... I think I'll go and lie down now. And try to sleep. And cross my fingers for the official morning. (Given that it's only 2am or so at the moment.) And try to be functional tomorrow.

Seriously. They never tell you about how purely terrifying it is to put the stuff out there and wait for comments.

(Yes, yes, this is a very privileged whine. Sorry. I love you all.)

Not as windy as some days, but definitely enough to be felt.

Work does not appear to have fallen apart in my absence. Good. I don't seem to have forgotten anything desperately urgent that needed doing. Better. Everyone (a) appreciated the candy from America, (b) was very flattering about Book Two (which, yes, I took in to show off a copy of). Best.

Also, and if you haven't seen me babbling about it elsewhere ... wow. http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/10-best-fantasy-novels-a6732966.html

Other stuff - well, I take in one completed quilt for one coworker tomorrow, and a completed quilt top together with a choice of backing fabrics for another coworker to make a decision on. So that's also good. It does feel pleasant to have completed something.