I’m happy to say that my website has seen a little bump in search engine traffic since Cory Doctorow tweeted about how much he enjoyed reading an advance copy of my first novel, Bitter Seeds, which will be hitting shelves on April 13, 2010. (Hooray!)
(Cory was one of my Clarion instructors back in 2005, the penultimate year of Clarion’s long run at Michigan State before it moved to UCSD. That’s right — I’ve lived in a sorority house with Cory Doctorow. How many men can say that? Well, the other guys in my Clarion class, I guess.)
Anyway, because of the traffic bump, I thought this might be a good time to mention that we’ve added a newsletter signup form on the contact page. More info below the cut.
I was uneasy about the idea for a long time, and reluctant to create something like this. But I recently received a few requests from people to set up an email notification option for them’s as is interested in these here books I’m writin’.
So, in fact, “newsletter” is overstating the case. This is just an informal email list for folks interested in receiving updates and news about my novels. The traffic volume will be very low– probably a few times a year at most while the three volumes of the Milkweed Triptych work their way through the publishing process. I won’t be using the list to spam people with every little detail; I’ll reserve the list for big developments and the things most likely to be of interest to the people who signed up. Minor updates and other trivia will stay on my blog.
Only two people have access to the list: me and my webmaster, Richard. It will only be used for the above purpose, and the addresses on the list will NEVER be provided to anybody else. I despise spam as much as the next person, if not more. I will personally and immediately honor all requests to be removed from the list. And, of course, I’ll never add anybody to the list without their permission.
So there you have it. Head over to the contact page if this strikes your fancy. And if not, check out the Electro-Plasmic Hydrocephalic Genre Fiction Generator 2000, which I promise has nothing to do with me whatsoever.
In other news, Bitter Seeds is now available for pre-order at several online retailers including Amazon, Borders, and Chapters.
The first blurb news has rolled in, and I am over the moon. But I’ll keep that stuff under my hat for a little longer.
And, in the coming soon department: My publisher has given me the OK to post an excerpt of Bitter Seeds on my website. I’ll probably do that once we have nice typeset galley proofs.
One of the things I love about the web is its ability to promote serendipity. Whilst scooting around on google (images), looking for tramp steamers (there’s a future version of one in a project I’m working on), I came across your site. I just wanted to mention that it’s absolutely gorgeous and I’ll be back–but the best thing about it was discovering a new writer (at least, one I didn’t know about). I’ll also be looking for Bitter Seeds when it comes out (I’d pre-order but I like going into actual buildings and picking up actual books). Anyway, nice job on the site as a whole, and on an interesting blog.
Thank you so much!
It’s wonderful to hear from folks who enjoy the site. I’m glad you’ve stumbled across my humble little corner of the web. Much of the credit for this site (I love it, too!) belongs to my friend and web designer, Richard.
Thanks again for the kind words, and pleased to meet you.
I am dying to read your review of this cinematic masterpiece. When will you be writing one?