Friday, November 21, 2008

Today I am a man.


Another rite of passage at the helm of Flux: I acquired my first book!

OK, truth be told, I've acquired my first FOUR books. They all sort of happened at once.

It leaves me searching for a metaphor or simile. I want to say I feel like I've inherited this wealth of books (Flux's backlist and everything Andrew acquired for the next year and a half) and now I've got a chance to honor that inheritance by spreading my wings and starting my own--

And it's about there I realize that's a horrible simile. That's not even "first draft" bad. That's "I swear I wasn't on hallucinogens at the time I said it but it would have been nice to be able to claim that because, seriously, there's no justification for anyone who is clear of thought to be stringing that set of words together" bad.

Let's just leave it at this: I'm thrilled. Thrilled that I get to continue working with the authors with whom my esteemed predecessor forged relationships. Thrilled that I've had the pleasure to make a few fun discoveries on my own and add them to my literary harem (and the horrible metaphors continue...Bad editor! Bad!). I should just stop. And I will.

Please join me in welcoming Heath Gibson, Ed Briant, and Karen Kincy to the Flux family! Their stuff made me giddy with happiness and you'll be seeing why in 2010.

Monday, November 17, 2008

We might change the name to "The Star Blog."

Congratulations to Emily Wing Smith whose debut novel, THE WAY HE LIVED, (just out this month), received a starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY!

From the review:

It's a testament to Smith’s skills that although her central character speaks
only through other people’s recollections, his identity emerges distinctly by
the end of the novel, giving the audience enough information to judge his
actions for themselves.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Lament, Lament, Lament is on fire!

Muchos kudos to Maggie Stiefvater, whose debut LAMENT will be seeing a SECOND starred review in the forthcoming December issue of BOOKLIST. To quote the review:


This beautiful and out-of-theordinary debut novel, with its authentic depiction
of Celtic Faerie lore and dangerous forbidden love in a contemporary American
setting, will appeal to readers of Nancy Werlin’s Impossible and
StephenieMeyer’s Twilight series.

Congrats, Maggie, on Star Deux!


UPDATE: Sorry, make that Star Trois! Maggie's third star just sparkled into existence in the most recent (and sadly last) issue of KLIATT. From the KLIATT review:


Part adventure, part fantasy, and wholly riveting love story, LAMENT will
delight nearly all audiences with its skillful blend of magic and ordinary
life.