theclockworkcentury.com

Dreadnought Nabs Starred Review from PW

cmpriest — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:16:04 +0000

Publishers Weekly weighs in on Dreadnought:

Starred Review

Dreadnought

An intimate, well-crafted portrait of a nurse on a mission adds depth to this exceptional Civil War steampunk thriller, the self-contained sequel to 2009’s Locus Award-winning Boneshaker. Mercy Lynch, recently widowed and taxed to exhaustion by caring for Confederate wounded in Richmond, must cross the war-torn nation to reach her estranged father, who lies dying in the Washington territories. After her dirigible is shot out of the air, Mercy joins Horatio Korman, a Texas Ranger with an agenda, on the Union’s famous steam engine, the Dreadnought. On their trail are desperate Confederate soldiers and a zombified Mexican legion. The battles and intrigue are entertaining, but the real draw is Priest’s latest no-nonsense heroine, who comes equipped with a full measure of sharp judgment and brutal competence as well as a nurse’s kind (but not saintly) heart. (Oct.)

[:: Snoopydances like a Snoopy ::]

Clementine Update

cmpriest — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:04:40 +0000

Via the publisher’s web page announcement – get one while you still can, because Clementine will be sold-out on publication.

“… [Subterranean] currently have orders for more copies than we can fill, so we’ll be forced to allocate quantities sent to our wholesale and large online retail accounts. We’ll leave the order page for Clementine up for a few more days, so you can lock in a copy by ordering direct, but once we actually start shipping the book, we’ll make it out of print in the store.”

In other words, get it while it’s hot – because precious few of these will ship to stores. And when these gorgeous hardbacks are gone, they’re gone for good.

Edited to add: IF YOU HAVE ALREADY PREORDERED from Subterranean Press, have no fear. Your books will be on their way shortly! If you preordered from a large retailer like Amazon, everything SHOULD be fine, but the publisher cannot guarantee it. FROM HERE ON OUT the only way to be dead sure you get a copy is to order directly from the publisher.

(However, if you were slow on the draw there is hope – for this book will be out in trade paperback next year. )

Bargain Time

cmpriest — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:42:39 +0000

So…I just noticed – you can preorder Dreadnought for ten bucks on Amazon.com. Of course, if you’d rather preorder from your local chain or independent bookseller of preference, you are heartily encouraged to do so – but if the discount makes all the difference to your wallet, well, there you go. Heads up.

For more info about Dreadnought, check out its listing at Macmillan – where you will find an excerpt free for your reading pleasure, plus links and other goodies – including a handy-dandy widget which I will figure out how to install on my website sometime this afternoon. Also, don’t forget there’s a Facebook page dedicated to the Clockwork Century. Feel free to check it out and give it some clicking love. Or “like,” as the case may be.

Anyway, I do hope you’ll consider buying Dreadnought. I think you’ll like it – particularly if you’re interested in wazzy frontier alternate-history, Civil War espionage, primitive battle mechs, dirigibles, the James gang, and hordes of shambling undead. Perhaps you’ll enjoy reading about a widowed nurse headed west carrying little more than a dead gambler’s guns – and this nurse’s subsequent adventures with a pair of Mexican inspectors, a steampunk Texas Ranger, and a desperate-but-brilliant Union captain who may have to save the world. Heck, maybe you’d just like to know what happened to Briar and Zeke after Boneshaker ended.

Well I am here to tell you that YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL.*
__________________________________________________________
*At the end of September.

Happy updates ahoy!

cmpriest — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:25:12 +0000

Via my marvelous agent – it’s finally announceable: We’ve reached an agreement with Tor for two more Clockwork Century books to follow up Boneshaker and this fall’s Dreadnought!

Tentatively they shall be Ganymede (2011) and Inexplicable (2012), and I shall be over here doing the happy book sale bootydance! (Not such a dignified display, really, but a very enthusiastic one all the same.)

(I’ll be back to post a few details regarding these upcoming titles … but not until this evening or tomorrow. I have a busy day lined up.)

But wait, there’s more!

Subterranean Press – producers of the Clementine – will be re-releasing that same book next year in trade paperback form! This is great news because the gorgeous upcoming hardback (available within the next few weeks) is being offered in a fairly small run. In fact, the limited edition has already sold out – so if you want to guarantee yourself a hardback copy, there’s no time like the present to preorder it.

But if it does sell out in preorders, or if you can’t afford the hardback and you’re the patient sort … well, come spring it’ll be available once again. (And yes, I already asked. They’re totally keeping this cover art for the paperback run!)

[:: shakes it ::]
[:: shakes it ::]
[:: shakes it some more ::]

News!

cmpriest — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:23:41 +0000

I have news with regards to two Clockwork Century projects, so here goes: First of all, Boneshaker has gone into an eighth printing! Not only is this a personal record (by a long-shot, really), but this is also a print run wherein a batch of books will go toward a Scholastic edition – meaning it will be making the rounds with Scholastic’s teen book club. So three cheers for that, eh?

Second, with regards to the upcoming Clementine – there has been a slight delay due to a production change, but it ought to be out by the end of June. If I hear otherwise, I’ll absolutely let you know.

And in not altogether unrelated news, Clementine has a new cover. As the publisher makes clear at the link above, the shift was not due in any way to any problem with the artist – but in the end, Subterranean opted to run with Jon Foster, who did the cover art for the Clockwork Century books released through Tor. The result is nothing short of fabulous, as you can see:

I’m so excited! It’s simply amazing.

Speaking of covers, to the best of my knowledge there is no final cover for Dreadnought yet, but it ought to arrive any day. If you’ve seen the Advance Reader Copies going around, you know that there is artwork thereupon – but I am lead to understand that this may not reflect the book’s actual appearance when it debuts. Last I heard, they were still going back and forth on this matter.

Rest assured, when such a definitive cover arrives, I will absolutely come share it here.

Audio news

cmpriest — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 02:38:01 +0000

Tor.com is hosting a free “slice” of the Boneshaker audio book, plus a wee smidge of behind-the-scenes commentary on Dreadnought – right here. Click to hear Wil Wheaton read one of Zeke’s sections – and no, it’s not the one that was already previewed for free over on the Macmillan audio site.

Happy listening!

bad news/good news

cmpriest — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:17:06 +0000

Bad news: The limited edition of Clementine (signed, numbered, with bonus chapbook) is all sold out – a month before it’s even available, yes. This is good for me, but bad for you if you’ve meant to pick one up and haven’t gotten around to it. My apologies.

Good news: The trade edition is still available. (And it’s cheaper!)

When it rains, it pours

cmpriest — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:12:53 +0000

Just a quick drive-by post to announce today’s great news: Boneshaker is a finalist for the 2010 Locus Award! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who went over there and cast a vote — I’m 100% psyched to have made the ballot, and I’m absolutely honored to have a place on that list.

The only downside is that I can’t attend the ceremony, even though it’s right here in Seattle. Alas, the awards weekend is scheduled at the same time as the ALA conference in D.C., and I’m already confirmed for that (with plane tickets and everything). Ah, well. It’s amazing all the same, and once again, I simply can’t thank you reading, voting folks enough.

New Reviews

cmpriest — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:08:56 +0000

Hey everyone! Reviews are starting to roll in for Clementine – the next long installment in the Clockwork Century canon, coming at the end of May from Subterranean Press. As these reviews are directed to my attention, I’m archiving them over here – on the “Reviews” page.

And since people are beginning to ask: The next Clockwork Century offering from Tor is called Dreadnought, and it will be available this coming fall. When I have a more precise timeline, you may safely bet I’ll post it here.

The Hugo News

cmpriest — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 22:24:12 +0000

Today this was announced.
Boneshaker has been nominated for a Hugo Award. And I honestly have no idea what to say.

So I’ll just post this, and then resume running around my apartment in utter hysterics: Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who voted to nominate me. I am honored, shocked, amazed, befuddled, thrilled, and humbled to be counted among the nominees; and congratulations to everyone else who made the list. It is an absolute joy to be included in such outstanding company.