Tagged Delightfully Deadly

Poison or Protect Audiobook! (Delightfully Deadly)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

I’m delighted, Gentle Reader, to announce that Poison or Protect is now available as an audiobook. Find it on Audible & iTunes

This Parasolverse story, the first Delightfully Deadly Novella, is read by the amazing Suzanne Lavington and produced by Bryan Lincoln.

Poison or Protect

Can one gentle Highland soldier woo Victorian London’s most scandalous lady assassin, or will they both be destroyed in the attempt?

Lady Preshea Villentia, the Mourning Star, has four dead husbands and a nasty reputation. Fortunately, she looks fabulous in black. What society doesn’t know is that all her husbands were marked for death by Preshea’s employer. And Preshea has one final assignment.

It was supposed to be easy, a house party with minimal bloodshed. Preshea hadn’t anticipated Captain Gavin Ruthven – massive, Scottish, quietly irresistible, and… working for the enemy. In a battle of wits, Preshea may risk her own heart – a terrifying prospect, as she never knew she had one.

Now Available For Your Listening Pleasure!

I do hope you enjoy my second independently produced audiobook.

Now that we’ve things in order, I’m really trying to bring out audiobooks closer to the book’s release. If not always timed exactly to the print edition, at least as close as possible. This one should have been out 3 weeks ago but ACX QA delayed matters, over which I have no control, sadly.

Also, it all rides on the narrator. I’m obsessed with making sure I find the right narrator. I hope you understand that and don’t mind the occasional wait while I get it right.

Preshea’s character board on Pinterest:

More About Audio?

I love this chat between three great audiobook narrators. At the Dreamspinner Press Workshop with Greg Tremblay, Derrick McClain, and Joel Froomkin

5 Tips for Successful Audiobooks

{Gail’s monthly read along for June is Local Custom by Lee & Miller.}

COMING SOON

The Sumage Solution: San Andreas Shifters #1 by G. L. Carriger
Contemporary m/m paranormal romance featuring a snarky mage and a gruff werewolf. Hella raunchy. Super dirty. Very very fun. Spin off of Marine Biology.

Can a gentle werewolf heal the heart of a smart-mouthed mage?

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Allen & Ginter (American, Richmond, Virginia)
Right Face, from the Parasol Drills series (N18) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands, 1888

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Dinner with Victor Hugo, 1872

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

“Don’t just write a strong female protagonist. Be one.”

~ A.D. Posey

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.”

~ E. B. White

Book News:

Quote of the Day:

The Gin Book Club says of Imprudence:

“In fact, everything about this novel felt more tangible to me than the first. The focus was in the right places: on the dirigible, the people, their interactions, the landscape and the events described.”

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!
Share & Enjoy!

Ketchup Blog: What’s Next For Gail Carriger

Posted by Gail Carriger

 4 Comments

As 2016 comes to its close (how did it go so fast?) I’m already focused on what’s coming up in 2017, Gentle Reader. Chirrup readers will receive further details on my schemes and plans soon, but here I’ll simply say 2017 will bring you:

  1. A much anticipated Parasolverse novella
  2. A bran spanking new non-Parasolverse novel that’s something a bit different

Behind the scenes, I’ll be writing a lot. I can’t quite talk about what just yet. I very much hope the first Claw & Courtship novella is in there. Fingers crossed.

I’ve two writing retreats planned, hoping they will help out with my deadlines, and less travel (for the same reason). Travel takes so much out of me. Not having a book tour is actually a really good thing, under these circumstances.

That said, you will see me at San Diego Comic Con, the great and fateful. As well as Detroit, Alaska, and a few other places.

Changes!

I’ll be putting the price of digital edition of Poison or Protect up next year, so now is the time to jump on the $2.99 (USA ebook). Yes, all platforms including international may go up.

PoisonOrProtect_promo

Want incentive? Here’s some people saying some nice (and funny) things about Poison or Protect!

Praise

ALPHA reader says: “I adored this novella. There are lots of old favorites and familiar faces peppered throughout, but Preshea and Gavin’s romance is entirety fresh and fabulous.”

I Smell Sheep gives Poison or Protect 5 sheep (Lyall would approve) and says: “If you enjoy alternate historical fantasy with steampunk and erotic romance added, you will enjoy this story.”

Hoot Reads Books says: “This was a novella full of surprises, new romances, juicy secrets, and returning characters including my favorite dandy vampire.”

Quest Book Reviews says: “Even though I knew I would enjoy the book because of the familiar world it was set in and the appearance of some of my favorite characters, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually LIKED Preshea.”

Feeling Fictional says: “Poison or Protect was everything I’ve come to expect from one of Gail Carriger’s stories, it had great characters, a brilliant setting, plenty of humour and a wonderful (and surprisingly steamy!) romance and I can’t wait to read more of these Delightfully Deadly novellas.”

Leonard Was Hopeful gives Poison or Protect 5 stars and says: “It is the mark of a good writer that s/he can make us feel affection for villains, or, more accurately, that s/he gives us rounded, fleshed out characters who are complicated and complex, rather than flat characters who can be described as “hero” or “villain” with no grey area in between.”
Also: “Dammit, Gail Carriger, you got me to read a romance novel(la)!! And I may or may not have enjoyed it. I may never forgive you for that.”

*insert Gail’s evil laugh here* and if you read Soulless, sorry, you’ve already read a romance novel.

{Gail’s monthly read along for December is Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins.}

OUT NOW

Romancing the Inventor

Romancing the Inventor: A Supernatural Society Novella

A steampunk lesbian romance featuring a maid bent on seducing a brilliant cross-dressing scientist who’s too brokenhearted to notice. Or is she?

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Fashion plate, 1876, France via shewhoworshipscarlin tumblr

Fashion plate, 1876, France via shewhoworshipscarlin tumblr

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Fan-made bookmark for Etiquette & Espionage

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Red whiskered men should marry brunettes…

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“It’s a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.”
~ Andrew Jackson

Book News:

Rally the Readers says:

“Like Poison or Protect, Romancing the Inventor was just the right number of pages. Other novellas I’ve read felt a bit short and not long enough to really get to know the characters and/or tell a complete story, but neither issue arises here.”

Quote of the Day:

“You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.”
~ Oscar Wilde

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!
Share & Enjoy!

Poison or Protect in Print at Last! (Delightfully Deadly)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

Here she is!

IMG_2567

The proof of Poison or Protect from Createspace

 

I know it seems like forever, but my goodness what a pain. It doesn’t help that yours truly is a horrible perfectionist, Gentle Reader.

What? You doubted that?

So, how can I buy it?

Right now?

Amazon.com (USA) & Amazon.ca (Canada) via Createspace

Supposedly (eventually) Amazon Europe (Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, and Amazon.es) but this is the ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITION. This book is not translated.

PoPsquare Print

What about my local bookstore?

I am working on that, but that usually requires I use a different vendor: Ingram Spark. (Here’s a pretty good article on why, as a rule, bookstores do not stock Createspace books.) This could, in the end, be more costly than it’s worth (in order to get a bookstore to stock a book I need to opt in for returns which drastically kills my profit margin as a sole publisher, and could put me in the negatives with Ingram). I am going to try with this book, but we shall see.

Best way to get a bookstore to stock this book?

Ask for it.

Still don’t understand why this is all so complicated? (You and me both, honey.) Here is a two-part detailed discussion on Createspace vs Ingram Spark from a self-publisher standpoint via Giacomo.

Why did the print take so long?

For Createspace (Amazon)

  1. I had to wait a bit on the formatter (who was moving house).
  2. Then wait on the cover designer (who was moving house, couldn’t start the cover until the formatter was done, because we needed to know page number for the width of spine).
  3. All told, this delayed matters about a month.
  4. Then I had to put up all the content, get through the approval process (3 days).
  5. Then order the proof to be shipped (3 days).
  6. Then review the proof (3 days over the holiday weekend).
  7. Then submit for print (2 days).
  8. Then it took Amazon another day to link up the two editions.

And this is the faster, more efficient venue!

Meanwhile I also uploaded to Ingram, but they have a less familiar formatting system, and each stage of their process takes a few days longer. I’m still waiting on the proof and I paid for expedited shipping.

Anyhoo…

So the price?

Yeah $11.99 is really the best I could do.

Honestly, I won’t go into the nitty-gritty of it (I had to make a sum spreadsheet to get to the bottom line), but even with Createspace (with whom I make 2x what Ingram offers for each sale) I’m making less on the print editions than I would if I had my normal cut from a traditional publisher for one of my trad books. Plus having to allow returns? It’s brutal.

This industry is bonkers, people. Bonkers.

So I have priced this book as low as I could reasonably go and stay in the black, and I’m still not sure this is enough margin to for any indie bookstore to take a risk on stocking it, but we will find out. You are welcome to try. If you want to order this book, most bookstores should now be able to provide it on request. Please feel free to trot on up to the info counter and… see what they say. I have told those on my tour that this book exists. But frankly it was like pulling teeth to get many to stock the manga in the past, and that was all legit and schuff.

Let the great experiment commence!

On the bright side, I have seen a proof copy and it’s flipping beautiful. So long as that’s actually what gets distributed, this is a pretty pretty book.

Enjoy your dead tree paper meats, dahlings! Nom nom nom.

{Gail’s monthly read along for July is Poison or Protect by Gail Carriger.}

OUT NEXT

2Imprudence

Imprudence ~ Custard Protocol Book the Second

Rue and the crew of the Spotted Custard return from India with revelations that shake the foundations of England’s scientific community. Queen Victoria is not amused, the vampires are tetchy, and something is wrong with the local werewolf pack. To top it all off, Rue’s best friend Primrose keeps getting engaged to the most unacceptable military types.

Rue has family problems as well. Her vampire father is angry, her werewolf father is crazy, and her obstreperous mother is both. Worst of all, Rue’s beginning to suspect what they really are… is frightened.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

1865 Le Follet Date- Saturday, July 1, 1865 Item ID- v. 45, plate 10

Le Follet Date- Saturday, July 1, 1865 v. 45, plate 10

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Meanwhile on Twitter

Meanwhile on Twitter

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Masculine Fashion by James Tissot: Aristocrats (1865-1868)

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

How Goodreads Can Help Writers Grow Their Readership

Book News:

Sophronia

Quote of the Day:

“My dear fellow, the truth isn’t quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl.”

~ Oscar Wilde

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

Poison or Protect Research & More (Delightfully Deadly Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

Poison or Protect: A Delightfully Deadly Novella, follows the exploits of one lady assassin with a penchant for poison, one gentle soldier with a white knight complex, a house party, a ghost, and … the Reform Act of 1867 (sometimes called the Second Reform Act).

Caught you out with that last one, didn’t I?

Anyway, here’s a sneak peak into some behind the scenes research and other tidbits that relate to this novella.

 

Lady Kingair enjoying the freedoms of weapons class.

I doubt a sword is Sidheag’s preferred weapon, but anything to beat Preshea is perfect.

From Book Fanart Blog on tumblr.

Sneaky cookie?

Remember this guy? He turns up again.

{Gail’s monthly read along for June 2016 is Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan}

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

10 Examples of Reading Rooms that Are a Book Lover’s Dream

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

The Sweet Strange History of Cat Funerals

Book News:

CheriePie’s Book Review says of Manners & Mutiny:

“If you love the steampunk genre, mixed in with some young adult fantasy, and appreciate good writing, then this is a series you should not miss. Love, love, loved it!”

Quote of the Day:

“That is Preshea Buss. She thinks she’s smarter than everyone, when really she’s just meaner. As to ranking, forgive me, Preshea, but don’t your parents engage in trade?’

Preshea made a face like a fish with a digestive complaint. ‘Daddy dabbles in the East India Company, thank you very much. That’s hardly trade.”

~ Etiquette & Espionage

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

Poison or Protect ~ How’s Hybrid Life Going So Far? (Important for Writers)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 5 Comments

So my new self published novella, Poison or Protect, has been on sale for a whole 3 days, or so and here’s a run down of how it went. And how I am feeling paddling through the new world of being a hybrid author…

I’m feeling pretty darn elated. Nothing went horribly horribly wrong… yes! Pretty much, in publishing, that’s all I ask for these days. Low expectations are so manageable.

Thank you for your enthusiasm! If you pre-ordered and/or purchased the book this first week, I love you so much. I was hoping for around 2000 pre-orders and we managed 2500 (that I could see, some platforms don’t show this information), which it pretty darn great. Also I’m always happy when I have a feel for the numbers and am not wildly off base.

On Amazon

It’s hard to track details without a physical book for Nielsen to keep track of (more on that later). But Poison got up to an Amazon Bestseller Rank of #478 on its first day of sales.

Screen Shot 2016-06-24 at 9.40.13 AM

 

In its categories it held steady at:
#1 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Steampunk
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Steampunk

And got as high as:

#6 in Books > Romance > Historical > Victorian

And it has 21 reviews THANK YOU. Reviews really do make a great deal of difference to any author. They effect how/when Amazon shows the book to people who haven’t bought it (among other things) so if you are at all inclined to leave a review, please please do.

IMG_1680

On Kobo

#1 in Science Fiction & Fantasy, Steampunk
#6 in Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy
#4 in Romance, Historical

With 5 reviews. I’m not super familiar with Kobo as a platform. Although I know it’s popular with my international readership. My guess is this platform is doing next best sales for me, which is not unsurprising, although I did think in this day of mobile devices it might be iBooks.

iBooks

Well, you know Apple, even harder to extract information. Two reviews is all I can see, and all I know. Oh Apple, you’re such a mysterious silver fox. Come here and just let me love you, and take care of you, and fill the void that is your broken heart. Or something.

B&N

It took way longer to verify the upload and then it took an additional three weeks to put the description up dropping it only a few days before it went on sale. I’m not sure if this had an effect on the pre-order number or sales in general but it was a trial working with this platform.

There is one adorable review (a convert!) and if B&N has a ranking system, Poison isn’t in it. I’m pretty nervous about Nook, to be honest with you. B&N has been, over the years, one of my staunchest supporters (and the cause of some of my biggest heartaches) but I’ll stick with them as long as they keep trying.

Meanwhile, yes the 3 other short stories are pulled. They are in process of being professionally formatted and given new cover art. Because B&N is a challenge they need to be totally clear of their system before I upgrade. This will be fixed by October at the latest.

You see one other way reviews count, Gentle Reader? Emotional bolstering for the authorbeast. (Like tea.)

Others

Directly from my website (via Gumroad) I’ve sold a dozen or so. That’s the place to get the .pdf if you’ve no other way to read electronic.

I know very little about inktera or 24symbols. If anyone uses those, would you let me know? The back end distribution is a bit of a pain to deal with, and with a long delay in all changes I may pull out of these platforms in future.

Why is this book not on Google Play or Smashwords?

Here’s an old blog from a few years ago talking about some of the issues (from an author standpoint) with Google Play. From everything I’ve been able to dig up, none of these issues have been fixed and I’m really not wild about some of the codicils in their distribution contract. They aren’t a big enough fish to take the risk, so far as I am concerned. I’m sorry if this is your preferred venue but that’s why I’m putting these novella up on my website you can use that as a work around.

For those few who asked, I’ve quit Smashwords. They were proving very difficult to work on tax stuff and I just don’t want to take that risk.

Print

I’ve got the internal matter formatted (thanks Nina!) and uploaded to Createspace for distribution on Amazon. It’s 200 pages long. However, I needed to know the page count before Starla could finalize the cover art. Now we’re ready, she’s going to get on that as soon as possible. Things aren’t awesome for her right now and she really needs our support to get through a rough patch, so, while you’re waiting how about trying out one of her books? She’s a wonderful author in her own right and if you get a printed one you can see her lay-out style and what you might expect with Poison.

Because this isn’t something I can do anything about, we are all going to have to be patient. Once it’s ready I will accelerate the production process as fast as I can (while still meeting my rather exacting standards). I will also be trying for venues other than Createspace, because I don’t believe in an Amazon monopoly. But all signs point to the fact that Ingram is even slower, so we start with Amazon.

Imprudence is coming, so you’ll get your print fix soon regardless. And you’ll love this next book, I promise you will. (There are even some signed editions out there.)

OUT NEXT

2Imprudence

Imprudence ~ Custard Protocol Book the Second

Rue and the crew of the Spotted Custard return from India with revelations that shake the foundations of England’s scientific community. Queen Victoria is not amused, the vampires are tetchy, and something is wrong with the local werewolf pack. To top it all off, Rue’s best friend Primrose keeps getting engaged to the most unacceptable military types.

Rue has family problems as well. Her vampire father is angry, her werewolf father is crazy, and her obstreperous mother is both. Worst of all, Rue’s beginning to suspect what they really are… is frightened.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

The Young Ladies' Journal Monday, May 1, 1865 v. 44, plate 107

The Young Ladies’ Journal Monday, May 1, 1865 v. 44, plate 107

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Steampunk Book Ends

Steampunk book ends!

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Fearless Photographs of the First Tornado Chasers (1884)

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

If you doubted there was gender bias in literature, this study proves you wrong

Book News:

Petunia

Petunia fan art.

Quote of the Day:

“You can either shut yourself up in a country house and stare into a newt tank, or you can be a dasher with the sex. You can’t do both.”

~  Bertie Wooster (P. G. Wodehouse)….tv version of the original quote

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

Poison or Protect, Gail Carriger’s First Novella, On Sale Today (Delightfully Deadly)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

After a great deal of fretting and paper pushing, emails and crisis coping, countless cups of tea and likely too much chocolate I present unto you, Gentle Reader….

 

POISON OR PROTECT

A Delightfully Deadly Novella

PoisonOrProtect_promo

Where to buy?
Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

What’s this book about?

Can one gentle Highland soldier woo Victorian London’s most scandalous lady assassin, or will they both be destroyed in the attempt?

New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger presents a stand-alone romance novella set in her popular steampunk universe full of manners, spies, and dainty sandwiches.

Lady Preshea Villentia, the Mourning Star, has four dead husbands and a nasty reputation. Fortunately, she looks fabulous in black. What society doesn’t know is that all her husbands were marked for death by Preshea’s employer. And Preshea has one final assignment.

It was supposed to be easy, a house party with minimal bloodshed. Preshea hadn’t anticipated Captain Gavin Ruthven – massive, Scottish, quietly irresistible, and… working for the enemy. In a battle of wits, Preshea may risk her own heart – a terrifying prospect, as she never knew she had one.

Warning: Contains men pleasing women, and ladies who know what they want and ask for it, sometimes in detail. May also contain plaid, appearances from favorite characters, and the strategic application of leather gloves.

Thank you!

I am indebted to my super talented freelance team:

Sue Brown-Moore did the developmental edit.
Richard Shealy was my copy editor.
Shelley Bates did the proof pass.
Nina Pierce did the formatting.

Print edition is in progress and forthcoming. Still at least two more weeks.

OUT NOW!

Poison or Protect ~ A Delightfully Deadly Novella

 Romance featuring a several-times widowed Preshea and the gentle Scottish captain who could change everything. (Gail’s first foray into hybrid land.)

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

1861 Collection ID- 3 Title- Le Follet Date- Thursday, August 1, 1861 Item ID- v. 42, plate 20

Le Follet Thursday, August 1, 1861 v. 42, plate 20

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

LilliSleeping long

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

How the Hatpin Became a Tool of Women’s Liberation

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

The Wonderful and Terrible Habit of Buying Too Many Books

Book News:

Online Eccentric Librarian says of Manners & Mutiny audiobook:

“The whole series has been fun but it really is a very inspired Audible version narration that elevates this and the other books so immensely. If anyone had ever wondered how a narration can make a book better, they should definitely check out the Finishing School series. There were so many witticisms that I would have missed otherwise but the narrator was able to voice perfectly. As well, many subtleties and nuances from the writing that would have gone unnoticed otherwise.”

Quote of the Day:

“To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.”

~ Oscar Wilde

 

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

Poison or Protect On Sale Tomorrow ~ Squee! (Delightfully Deadly)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 3 Comments

Poison or Protect is on sale tomorrow!

PoisonOrProtect_promo

Cue Gail crazy running around flapping arms in a hyperventilating kind of way. Oh wait, that’s not dignified. I’m sitting drinking tea. Calmly. Oh so calmly.

I’m hoping it drops out everywhere it is supposed to. This is the cross my fingers that I have done everything I can, clear this week’s schedule in case of crash and burn, and… go.

You are hereby warned that if you are outside the US and/or not using Amazon and you don’t get it tomorrow at midnightrightawayohmygoshpleasepleaseplease and you tweet/comment/email/whatever at me freaking out, this will be my answer:

We can but hope it gets to you eventually. There is nothing more I can do. May Lord Akeldama be with you.

{Gail’s monthly read along for June is Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan}

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

The Extraordinary Life of Marianne North: The Victorian Gentlewoman Who Travelled the World

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  
Making Fun of the Romance Reader

Book News:
Librarina says of the Finishing School Series:
“If you like steampunk, supernatural mysteries, and/or tales of girls who don’t quite fit in with their high society families, I recommend you check this series out.”

Quote of the Day:
“A little farm-house boy, of three years old, made a pet of a large squash, which he dressed in a pocket-handkerchief, and called Phebe Ann.”
~ The Ladies’ Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners or, Miss Leslie’s Behaviour Book
by Eliza Leslie (American 1864)

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

The Finishing School Girls… All Grown Up (Delightfully Deadly Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 1 Comment

In my  Delightfully Deadly series, Gentle Reader, I’m writing about the Finishing School girls (some of them) after they have left school and are out in the world being all crafty and spy-ish.

I starting by thinking about the kind of things that the Finishing School girls would get up to once they grew up. As a result, I started to collect images that were reminiscent of the side characters, particularly gravitating to period paintings.

I thought you might like a glimpse of them, Gentle Reader. Now, the clothing represented might not be quite right, but there is something about the mood in many of these paintings that I really loved and felt like went with that character.

This, for example, could be Agatha (having learned some things about dressing properly) consulting with yet another fortune teller.

via @MimiMatthewsEsq Twitter

Speaking of which Mimi Matthews post on 19th Century Fortune-Telling- From the Drawing Room to the Court Room is excellent.

fromthehandsofquacks- tumblr

A daguerreotype showing a hypnotist at work, c.1845.

By- John Adams Whipple (1822-1891) New York Metropolitan Museum

I like this one for Agatha too:

James Tissot, Young Ladies Looking at Japanese Objects, 1869via myhellodarling Tumblr

And what about Monique? Well she always has a bit of a thing for duck ponds.

James Tissot Painting via @Moorreen Twitter

Here’s some Sidheag imagery. For some reason I chose this first one for her even though the hair is a little dark, but the way she holds herself seems right. You know Sidheag would totally sit on the floor reading letters from her lost love.

Old Letters and Dead Leaves by Claude Andrew Calthrop via @04artemis Twitter

However the real historical Gwladys Robinson, Marchioness of Ripon, looks way more as I imagined Sidheag Maccon, Lady Kingair. I suppose, that after the Parasol Protectorate books (SPOILER if you haven’t read them, skip to the next photo) as a real Alpha, Sidheag would hold the position of Countess of Kingair (titles for supernaturals do not carry the same gender restrictions as they do for daylight folk). So she might just be this regal by the 1880s!

 1880s Gwladys Robinson Marchioness of Ripon via antique-royals Tumblr

Well, that’s all for now, just a little insight into how the mind of an author works form a visualization perspective.

{Gail’s monthly read along for June is Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan}

OUT NEXT

Poison or Protect ~ A Delightfully Deadly Novella

 Romance featuring a several-times widowed Preshea and the gentle Scottish captain who could change everything. (Gail’s first foray into hybrid land.)

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

 

Le Follet Saturday, September 1, 1866 v. 45, plate 105

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

The Revealing History of Underwear

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Book News:

Joy’s Book Blog reviews Prudence and says:

“Gail Carriger has such a fun and ridiculous sense of humor that I always know that her books are good for a laugh.”

Quote of the Day:

“Bread and butter, devoid of charm in the drawing-room, is ambrosia eating under a tree.”

~ Elizabeth Russell

 

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

 

What’s Inside the New Gail Carriger Novellas? (Behind the magic)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

I ran a bit of an AMA on the novellas a little while ago, here are answers to your questions, Gentle Reader! And if they spark more questions, please, ask away.

Are these novellas more on the young adult or the adult side of the spectrum?

Adult. Specifically romance. I love reading romance and I wanted to challenge myself to write it, because that scares me. And I respond to fear with efficiency.

 

Are there going to be any characters we recognize besides Preshea (first novella) and Madame Lefoux (second novella)?

Oh yes. All over. In Poison or Protect a certain person who always shows up, has shown up. (Are we surprised? No.) And I had an unexpected visit from an old favorite in the second novella as well. I think you’ll be very pleased to see her.

When are the first novellas set?

Poison or Protect is 1867, basically half way between Finishing School and Parasol Protectorate. The second novella, however, will be set after the Parasol Protectorate, and the one after that will likely fill a gap between Imprudence and the third Custard Protocol book (although not involving any of those characters). In truth? It’s pretty much where I think things work for the story and the greater character arcs and life-cycle of my whole parasolverse.

Les Modes Parisiennes Monday, April 1, 1867 v. 46, plate 36

Why did you choose Preshea for your first indie, rather than a more “fan-favorite” character?

Many reasons. The most important being that, hers was the first story that really sang in my head. And my main purpose in going hybrid is the opportunity to write whatever moves me, when it moves me.

The questions then is, why push Preshea out to production first?

Partly because she isn’t a fan favorite. I can take more risks with Preshea ~ with her story, with the genres it straddles, with everything. Also, I can make mistakes on the other side of production, formatting, uploading, distribution, and so forth with fewer angry emails (I hope). Can you imagine if I wrote about Biffy and Lyall, and then it didn’t download properly to all Amazon.uk customers? Or I couldn’t figure out how to get it into print production fast enough? Or…

So much anger.

And I would have no familiarity at all with what could be done to solve any given problem. Just typing about it gives me that stress stretched feeling between my eyes.

I’ve always been risk averse by nature, and hybrid is a very risky proposition, so I figured I should learn to swim before I jump in the deep end. Of course, I’m a pretty good swimmer, but you know what they say: it is always the best swimmers who drown.

Now I’m losing the analogy.

Anyway, those are my honest reasons: inspiration, caution, and, frankly, fear. Nothing ruins my day faster than an email from someone who wants to read my book and can’t get it. As things stand now there is usually nothing I can do about it. But as my own publisher? I need to make sure I know what I’m doing before I push a fan favorite out into the world.

 

Are you planning a whole series of novellas related to the characters we already know (and adore)?

Yes. You can find little teasers of information here on my website: Delightfully Deadly, Supernatural Society, and Claw & Courtship. Right now it looks like the first is a Delightfully Deadly Novella, the second two will be Supernatural Society, and next year will see the first Claw & Courtship.

Would you accept suggestions for the protagonists of future novellas?

No. As I said above, my main reason for going hybrid is the opportunity to write about the character I find inspiring. That said, I did run a poll at the beginning of last year and I am taking some cues from there. Trust me, I go out and talk to my readers so often I have a pretty good idea who you’re interested in seeing more of. However, that may not be what I want to write first. Don’t worry, I think you’ll like the results either way.

 

Was the cover influenced by your recent cover poll?

Sort of. That poll was mainly for my own interest and to see what kinds of options I have. Sadly what people like, or say they like, is not necessarily what will sell a book. And I do need these novellas to earn enough money to at least cover their costs or I really can’t afford to produce them. (That said, I was pleased to see Waistcoats and Weaponry do so well in the poll because of its influence on the design of Poison or Protect. Which I think you can kind of see.)

 

{Gail’s monthly read along for June is Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan}

OUT NEXT

Poison or Protect ~ A Delightfully Deadly Novella

 Romance featuring a several-times widowed Preshea and the gentle Scottish captain who could change everything. (Gail’s first foray into hybrid land.)

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

 

Magasin des Demoiselles Tuesday, May 1, 1866 v. 45, plate 78

 

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Tea Gowns

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

What an Author Reading is and Why You Should Go to One

Book News:

Gail makes an appearance in this documentary: Vintage Tomorrows

Quote of the Day:

“Bread deals with living things, with giving life, with growth, with the seed, the grain that nurtures.  It is not coincidence that we say bread is the staff of life.”
~ Lionel Poilane

 

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

 

Behind the Magic ~ The Story Behind the Cover Art of Poison or Protect

Posted by Gail Carriger

 3 Comments

Hello Gentle Reader,

Today I have for you the story behind the cover of Poison or Protect! Which you can now Preorder from:

Kobo

Apple

Amazon

Barnes & Noble


Quick reference (from my RWA chapter presentation on Saturday)

 

And now more on the cover art of my first self-published novella…  

POISON OR PROTECT: A Delightfully Deadly Novella

Out June 21, 2016!

 

 

I had a good idea of what Preshea looked like, and frankly, Autumn is a friend of mine and I always thought of Preshea as looking a little bit like her. Not that Autumn is cold or liable to poison you (in fact she is one of the warmest, nicest, most generous people I know), but she does have the right LOOK.

Autumn and I have worked together (once, long ago in a different life I actually did some modeling for her, but I digress) so I pinged about her professional images and turned up this gem.

 

Why did it attract me?

I wanted something confrontational, with Preshea staring out of the cover directly at the reader. (She’s an assassin after all. It needed to feel almost aggressive.) I liked the contrast of the white dress/underthings with this pose. (This was from a wedding shoot. Dark Garden does some truly amazing bridal couture.) Also the cover MUST say romance, I can’t have readers deluded by the cover into thinking this is any other kind of story. I work very hard never to leave my readers feeling betrayed and that starts with cover art. I feel like this image hit all the right notes. So I reached out to Autumn and she gave me the photographer’s contact info. A short while later the lovely Perry Gallagher had licensed me the image.

Image in hand I went to Starla Huchton for the cover design.

How did I find Starla?

Starla is a friend of mine via the podcasting world. However, that alone would not have been enough, if the quality of her work weren’t stellar. She’s a particularly adaptable cover art designer, who can change her style drastically given the type of story. Take a look at her gallery if you don’t believe me.

So we talked fonts, putting paint slashes behind my name and title, arrangements, layout, and so forth. The idea was to draw on the slashing-behind-the-words style of my first series, but keep the coloration and lay out style of my second series, since the Delightful Deadly Novellas feature characters from the Finishing School books. At the same time, this cover had to be different enough to show that this was a new series, adult, and romantic.

 

 

The first and second passes.  You can see that after the first pass I asked to see the font as white over black, and shifted down, also I wanted to see what a more vibrant background looked like. I found that blue too vibrant. So Starla tweaked it one final time and…. MAGIC

 

 

You can see how the purple is more vibrant but not as overwhelming as the blue? The text is balanced at the bottom, and Preshea looks out at you, calm, coy, and ever so slightly threatening.

Perfection!

Why the purple and not pink like the other first books in your series?

Well, Poison or Protect is NOT the first in a series. It’s a stand alone. I wanted to make that very clear. I felt pink might be misleading. Also Preshea is not a pink person. She is cool and calm and very icy. She wears blues, greens, greys, and whites in all her appearances in this book and I wanted to stick with that for her character.

 

Print 1Prudence 1Etiquette&Espionage

 

Want more behind the scenes sneak peeks? Join the Chirrup

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

 

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

1861 La Belle Assemblee
Wednesday, May 1, 1861 Item ID-  v. 41, plate 123

 

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Afternoon dress, 1855-65. via shewhoworshipscarlin tumblr

 

Your Tisane of Smart . . .
10 Tea Mugs & Sets Perfect for an Afternoon Break

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  
Harvard Loses Copyright Infringement Case Against Steve Elmo

Book News:
Gail Carriger Made the 100 Must-Read Sci-Fi Fantasy Novels By Female Authors list by BookRiot

Quote of the Day:
“Everyone’s mysterious before you know them.” “But w-when you know me, I won’t be mysterious anymore.” “Yeah, you’ll be you, and that’ll be better.”
~ Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall

 

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

How to Get the New Gail Carriger Novellas? (Occasional FAQ)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 8 Comments

Fun questions from you, Gentle Reader, have resulted in this blog post.

How do I get one?

One of my reasons for going hybrid is to make these stories as widely available as possible. I’m shooting for most platforms except Google Play. I’m distributing via a combination of Amazon and Draft2Digital (which pushes out to other storefronts like iBooks, Kobo, Nook). These platforms should also provide the novellas to most international markets.*

I will also offer versions of the ebook via Gumroad on my website on publication date. You will be able to buy all electronic versions directly from me there. I cannot guarantee a novella will be available everywhere on the same date and some territories may simply have too many restrictions, but I am trying to make these available as widely as possible.

Why can I only pre-order on Amazon?

Because I wanted to get this first book to you quickly and the restrictions on pre-order for other platforms were too extreme in terms of time frame. I’m hoping to have this fixed for the next novella.

(Updated: now available on Barnes & Noble and Kobo and iTunes)

What if I don’t have an e-reader?

If you do not want to use a mobile option on your phone etc, my website will ALSO offer a pdf, just go to the book’s page and I promise it will be there. You can then read it on your desktop computer.

What about a proper printed book?

I intend to provide a print-on-demand option for these novellas. Because they are novellas these books will not be very thick. I know that I have print-only readers, and I’m trying very hard to cater to you. It really isn’t easy. Print versions will not be cheap, POD is expensive. And they will be slower to deliver. Right now I intend to try for both Createspace (Amazon) and Ingram Spark (Lightning Source) so indie bookstores could stock it, if they wanted. As most freelance formatters don’t work with Ingram I’ll be doing that leg myself (and it’s never good if I waste time on technology when I could be writing). If it’s too hard, I may end up just using Amazon.

I am trying this with Poison or Protect and if it doesn’t work, then I’ll not continue print versions. However, this doesn’t mean they’ll never see the printed page. These novellas are all open for reprint in anthologies. Also I could definitely see, when I have enough, pulling them together into omnibus collections.

How about a signed printed book?

You know the drill. If I do it, it’ll be a special give away via my the Chirrup. But if you plan to buy one and bring it to any of my events I will absolutely sign it. You can also email or call Borderlands Books in San Francisco.

Will there be an audiobook?

Likely. I have talent in mind for voice and production (no I likely can’t get my existing readers to do it) but this is a super expensive proposition to do well. Frankly, the first novella (or novellas) must earn back my initial outlay (which has been considerable) before I even consider an audiobook. I’m sorry to be crass, but there is the truth of being a professional. Frankly the surest way to get an audiobook is to buy it in ebook or print first. If you can’t read it yourself, gift it to someone else. Or wait, keep your fingers crossed, and hope.

How many novellas do you want to do, or is it more of a “the first 2 have to do well” sort of deal before you can do more?

Definitely the latter. You must know that I’m loving doing this, but if I can’t recoup my expenses at the very least, then I have to go back to only writing the novels. This is how I make my living, after all.

That said, I have about 20 in mind if this all works out they will keep me occupied in my spare time for a good long while.

You can find little teasers of information on the wikia: Delightfully Deadly, Supernatural Society, and Claw & Courtship. And on my website.

Delightfully-Deadly-Icon-SizedSupernatural-Society-IconClaw-Courtship-Icon-sized

Do I have to have read your other books first?

No. I had Poison or Protect beta tested by someone who had never read any of my books. My developmental editor is good about pin-pointing areas where readers may be confused and I’ve taken pains to fix them. Like all my work, the more you read in the parasolverse the more cookies and Easter eggs you catch but no stand alone novel should ever presume prior knowledge, that would defeat the purpose… if you ask me.

PoisonOrProtect_promo

* This presuming they play nice with my tax situation and general technological incompetence. I am not interested in alternate distribution options at this time. I have done the research and given my time constraints this is what I’ve decided. This may change in the future.

{Gail’s monthly read along for June 2016 was Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan.)

Want to get more occasional FAQ? Join the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

 

1860s  The Victoria & Albert Museum

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“People want these stories” Women Win Big at the Nebula Awards

Book News:

via ace-artemis-fanartist- tumblr

About time I drew these adorable (deadly?) intelligencers in training

Quote of the Day:

“Hated how easy it was for people like him, who never had to close their mouths to hide how broken they were.”

~ Winter Rain (Love in the Rain Book 2) by Delphine Dryden, Inara Scott, Serena Bell, Amber Lin, Alexis Hall, Suleikha Snyder, Stacy Reid, Cole McCade, Tamsen Parker, Sarah Frantz

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

Preshea All Grown Up ~ Secrets of Poison or Protect (Delightfully Deadly Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 1 Comment

Poison or Protect the first novella in the Decidedly Deadly series features Preshea.

I’ve been particularly focused on inspirational images for her. Here are a few I have collected…

 

Carmen, Duchesse de Montmorency
via Dr Rachael Turner @turner_rachael

Here’s a painting of Preshea dreaming. (You know at least one of her husbands would have had her painted in an overly romantic manner.)

via @MimiMatthewsEsq  “The Stuff that Dreams are Made Of” by John Anster Fitzgerald, 1858

Here’s another one of her looking languid. For some reason, with Preshea, I gravitate towards these kinds of images. I see her as sad and pensive, warn by all that poisoning.

Preshea Relaxing via Natl Gallery of Art @ngadc  by John Singer Sargent

 

my-ear-trumpet- tumblr  finevernacularphotography-
Curtis & Crosby, Lewiston, Maine, USA, ca. 1870s
Carte de visite, 4 x 2 ½ ins. (10 x 6 cm) © Fine Vernacular Photography

And here is an image that is insight into something that happens in the story itself: Preshea actual consoling one of the other house guests. Does she actually manage to grow a heart? You’ll have to read to find out.

“The Approaching Footstep” by Thomas Brooks 1853
via Ephemeral Elegance @drapedinhistory

{Gail’s monthly read along for June is Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan}

PROJECT ROUND UP  

  • Imprudence ~ Custard Protocol Book the Second.
    Out July 19, 2016 in print and eBook to US.
  • Romancing the Inventor ~ A Supernatural Society Novella.
    Status: Developmental edit. Cover reveal and release date to come.
    LBGT romance featuring a parlormaid bent on seducing a certain cross-dressing inventor who is too brokenhearted to notice. Or is she?

OUT NEXT

Poison or Protect ~ A Delightfully Deadly Novella

 Romance featuring a several-times widowed Preshea and the gentle Scottish captain who could change everything. (Gail’s first foray into hybrid land.)

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

1862 Title- Ladies' Companion Date- Friday, August 1, 1862 Item ID- v. 42, plate 115

Ladies’ Companion Friday, August 1, 1862 v. 42, plate 115

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Lillput Long Stretch Cute

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Orchids and Wolves

Book News:

Beyond the Trope says of Manners & Mutiny:

“Many of the questions left open at the end of the last two books are finally answered. New questions arise through this story, as well, and Carriger successfully gives the readers what they want: a satisfying conclusion full of answers.”

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!

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