Propaganda

I've been watching another author's blog for a couple of months now, in a recreational sense. I'm counting how many times the author pimps, posts glowing reviews of, or otherwise centers a blog post desperately selling the marvelous aspects (too numerable to mention, natch) of the latest published novel.

The book has been the topic 28 times in January, and 7 since the beginning of February. I can't count the book-related links, my calculator doesn't have that many places. The cover art for this book has been slapped onto the blog template as well, so it's in your face everytime you go there. Just in case you didn't read the last entry about how much [insert important reviewer entity name] loved it.

Really dedicated propaganda effort, too. Used car salesman quality. How the hell do you think of that much to say about your own novel? But the desperation is sad. Tempts one to post a comment on the blog, like Dude, we get that you published a novel and everybody loves it. You'll sell. Relax.

Stuff like that makes me feel incredibly lazy. Lemme give it a shot: I have a book coming out this month that I can't talk about, but RT gave it four stars. (tossing virtual confetti) ARCs for If Angels Burn are out, and my agent tells me we've got initial orders of 55K, which is right where I want to be. There, done. (shooing hands) Go out and buy my books; Katherine needs braces.

I've been out buying books, too. Holly has half a shelf of her own at my local B&N, until I got there and made it her own shelf. :) They're stocking all of the Secret Texts and World Gate books, which makes it really convenient when I want to buy a set for a friend.

Don't tell Locus, but I picked up a copy of Tam's Ghosts in the Snow, and I'm reading it after the current copy-edit is out of here. Faced-out all the copies of it at our local B&N and Borders.

Alison, you like own the chick lit/erotica center-aisle trades table at my B&N. Nice display of your two latest novels in the SG-5 series on the top shelf, right at customer eye level. They stocked all five of the SG-5 series novels in romance, with them shelved in both the mass markets and the romance trades section, so you're all over the damn store. I like being able to buy all the books in a series at once, so Bravo, Brava.