It's a real!live!book!

[lagilman]

Much, much earlier this week, I was told that copies of Flesh and Fire had arrived in the office, and copies would be sent to me via messenger service. When, by Friday morning, the books had not made it the 12 miles from office to apartment, we took matters into our own hands.



(we figured a wine bar was the best place to welcome baby book into the world. That's Raina holding the book, for those who need identifications)

No, the book still won't be in stores for another seventeen days, give or take 24 hours. But two of you lucky winners have copies already on their way...

The guy down the bar from us asked what the fuss was about (after he realized 'his' bartender was now dragged into our conversation.) Turns out he works for ABC News. Yes, he now has my card. Hey, can't hurt, right?

And now I have to go finish V2...

Comments

[aitchellsee.livejournal.com]

Book! Yay!

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

The funny thing is ... it's on the shelves of at least one BN in my area. I saw that and assumed I must have misremembered the release date. Guess not.

[lagilman]

Please let me know which store, as it is NOT supposed to be on the shelves yet -- someone screwed up. And yes, it does matter.

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

It was the Monroeville, PA Barnes and Noble.

Outta curiosity, does it matter for proper calculation of sales figures? Or something else?

[lagilman]

There's a street date they're not supposed to shelve, before. It matters not so much for me (although it does impact monthly bestseller status, and every copy counts) but for a larger book? Could matter very much, and makes publishers Very Cranky.

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

FYI - this book is also on the shelves of the BN in the 15217 zip code. Very odd - so far as I've seen, the BNs in this area are not prone to stocking books early. (If anything, the one in my 'hood tends to run slightly late - but that's a gripe for a different venue.)

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

Congrats!

Now, will we be seeing you on the inside back cover of Wine Spectator anytime soon? You know, where they interview famous people who are into wine?

[lagilman]

Alas... (they got a press mailing, but no follow-up. Pity -- I think I would have made good copy!)

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Book! Book! Book!

[lucysnowe25.livejournal.com]

I actually got an advanced copy! :) As a librarian, I was lucky enough to go to a Best Books of the Season workshop. When you arrive you sign in and get to choose 2 books off a table filled with advanced books. I practically accosted the poor lady standing in front of Flesh and Fire, “Do you want that? Can I have it?” Then I told everyone I knew how happy I was to get a copy.

It got a great review from the Simon & Schuster representative. She said it was “an intoxicating read” and that you were etching out a new fantasy genre focusing on magic and food. She spoke about your research for the book and how after finishing the book she went on a 4 day wine tour and was very impressed to understand the wine making process.

[lagilman]

For reasons that will be made evident in my next posting, I Wuv U.

:-)

[lucysnowe25.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I know our library system has all of the Retrievers books and most of the collections that have your short stories.

But any PR is good PR, even if it's only a lowly librarian, who’s ranting because she’s happy to get an advanced copy. ;)

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

Yay, book!

Took a peek at The Giant Book Distributor I use, and one of the 4 warehouses has copies physically in house, though not very many at the moment. So it's possible they could be escaping out onto bookstore shelves. Your book also has a Street Date listed, which means we booksellers should not shelve or sell it before that date. (Lots of books don't get such a date and can pretty much be shelved once they are physically available.)

[lagilman]

Yep, it's Baby's First Street Date. I'm quite ridiculously amused by that.

[and hey, do you want a few freebies to give away at the store? I have a few travel corkscrews with name and title imprinted on it that would make a nice little counter giveaway.... e-mail me if you [or any other bookstore type reading this] might be interested....

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

And a hardcover too!!! That's so cool.

I'll drop you an official note later today from the shop email, once I'm in and we're open. We love gadgets and widgets and bookmarky things to pair with new releases. We're not too far from the Willamette Valley, so in theory I could attract a few local wine fans (I'm not even going to try to spell oenophile) with such a display!

[tezmillertm.livejournal.com]

Better not spill booze on the book! ;-)

Now to get a copy to both Oz Clarke and James May... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oz_and_James's_Big_Wine_Adventure

[allaboutm-e.livejournal.com]

But what is the wine? :)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Yay book!!

Also, yay corkscrew (from yr comment above) - that is such a cool idea. I have a book-related corkscrew, from a different kind of cool: I had an e-mail from a guy who had just read The Samaritan and wanted to know where I got the name Paul Fenner from, as it was not only the hero's but his own also. As it happens, there's a story why that character is called Paul Fenner, so I was able to reply with an anecdote, which we like. Turns out the real-life Paul Fenner works for Waiter's Friend, the corkscrew people; so he sent me one...