The latest Dark Metropolis news! Or, should I say...

Some of you may have been wondering just what is going on with Dark Metropolis anyway. Well, I have some bad news (that is actually good news, believe me):

The book has been pushed back again, to 2014.

I've actually known about this for months, but when I first heard, I was pretty bummed. When it was pushed back to fall 2013 I was like, well, okay. But NOW, I hate that I have no book in 2013 for you, dear readers, especially since I actually write pretty fast, most of the time. But this past year has definitely been out of the ordinary, and truly, I am glad my editor wanted to push the book back to give it the time it needs to be the best book it can be. It's better to wait and have a great book.

But I know, it is still a bummer. I am feeling broke and un-famous. But it's probably been good for my creative process. A kind of re-centering.

However, I also have some nifty news. The book has a new title, and I love it!! It is...

LIT BY SHADOWS!

It hasn't gone through marketing yet so there is a wee chance it could change, but...I think it is so evocative! I had nothing to do with choosing it, of course, because I am the WORST with titles and I try to push that job into someone else's hands as much as possible. Pleeeeease, I will write the book, just do not make me title it!!! I gave Hyperion a list of words and they came back with this, which I simply adore. I hope you like it too!

Shiny updated Goodreads listing: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12483970-lit-by-shadows

Skip the boring parts

The other day I was editing a scene from the sequel to Dark Metropolis and I realized what the problem had been with the original: I had added in boring parts, subconsciously, because "it's more realistic".

Once I noticed this I realized how often I do it.

I will feel the need to add some extra characters no one cares about, because I simply feel like, realistically, more people would be involved in these endeavors.

Or I drag out a scene because, well, come on, realistically things probably wouldn't happen THAT fast.

Or I make characters more boring than they need to be because some little voice in my head says, "Realistically, not all the people my MC comes across would be fascinating and awesome. Some people are just dull!"

I am going to try to banish the word "realistically" from my vocabulary--well, or at least pare it back. It's one thing to get serious research details wrong, but the actual storytelling? Well, it probably shouldn't be TOO realistic.

This week's food adventures

First, if you have not yet seen it, I just realized Kristin Cashore wrote up a post of her tour presentation of how she wrote Bitterblue: http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/2012/12/pictures-of-book-being-made.html. A must-read, if you haven't seen her on tour--well, heck, I did see her on tour and I'm still bookmarking it to remind myself that you can struggle and struggle with a book and it might NOT be crap, in the end.

I also think this Food Timeline is awesome: http://www.foodtimeline.org/index.html (via bodlon).

I cook a lot. This week I had some good luck with various recipes.

First, I made this Peanut Butter & Greens Soup: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/soupssalads/r/peanutsoup.htm because Food Lion had bags of prewashed collards on sale for .50. They must have over-ordered for New Year's. It was really good, though I didn't have as much peanut butter as the recipe calls for. I added Huy Fong Chili Garlic sauce instead of cayenne pepper.

I also tried this Thai omelette: http://shesimmers.com/2009/05/how-to-make-thai-style-omelets.html which turned out delicious and very rich... I used only a couple tablespoons of coconut oil instead of the 3/4 cup vegetable oil. The recipe tells you not to do this, but I don't use veggie oil, and coconut oil is much too pricey to use in such quantity. It absorbed all of it, I'm not sure how much the lesser quantity of oil may have affected its ability to "flash fry". However, the end result was really good. The coconut oil is scrumptious. I ate it with Jasmine rice as suggested, hoisin sauce and more chili garlic sauce. If you need something that will hold you for a loooong time for less than a dollar, this is it.

I had gotten A Taste of Thai Spicy Thai Peanut Bake for 99 cents at Amazing Savings in Asheville in November, which I finally remembered I had and tossed on some roasted sweet potatoes. I put the peanut bake on about halfway through the roasting time, but it did burn a little. I think I could've put it on just in the last ten minutes. I really liked this, though. It's peanutty, sweet, a little spicy, and really gives roasted veggies a pop.

Thus concludes this week's food adventures. 

Remembering Evan S. Connell and Mrs. Bridge

PW Daily has just informed me that Evan S. Connell passed away yesterday. I must comment on this because he happens to be the author of one of my favorite books of all time: Mrs. Bridge. (I am also quite fond of the companion novel, Mr. Bridge.)

One of my favorite styles of writing to read is the witty and satirical portrait of how absurd people are. It's very hard to do well. I'm sure I couldn't, although bits of it do filter into my writing. My favorite novel of this type is Mrs. Bridge.

I came upon the book in a funny way. I was reading a non-fiction book about people who collect and resell antiquarian books, and they purchased a copy of Mrs. Bridge and included a generous excerpt from the novel. An entire chapter, I think, which wouldn't be hard because the entire book is written as a series of short chapters, moments in the life of a repressed suburban housewife.

I'd never heard of the book--most 20th century literary fiction isn't really my thing--but I was so impressed by this chapter I purchased the book that very week, and I was gripped from the first line:

"Her first name was India-she was never able to get used to it."

These books are funny but also sad. Occasionally downright dark. Thoughtful. And impeccably written. What else can I say? It's difficult to make a book about a suburban housewife sound like a must-read. But I adore this book. I might just have to go read it again...

The Casual Blogger

Heyyyy there.

It's been a while. But it's a new year, a much less INSANE year, and I'm feeling like it's time to blow the dust off the old blog.

I'm also going to try to post about more little things instead of waiting a month and writing like, a magazine article. I vow to post about smaller things! More frequent things! Things I can write in the morning (12:06 is totally the morning in my book) when my cat Betsy, happy and full of her morning kibble, conks out on my lap and is too distractingly heavy and adorable for me to do anything more important.

Thought for the day: I just went to the calendar store this week and got my 2013 calendar 50% off. You never know what you'll get, if you wait until after the new year, but I have to say this year might be one of my favorites EVER. Vintage sheet music.

Some of the images are just the BEST, like this month it is an image of an ice palace for the "Ice Palace March-Twostep".

What's on your calendar this year?

Hey all!

A quick reminder that on Saturday the 15th I'll be at the Alexandria Story Festival in Alexandria, VA with the supremely awesome Tiffany Trent! And Mary Amato, whom I have been assured is also awesome and I'm looking forward to meeting. We'll be on from 12:00-12:30 and there's also a great raffle. Fun for all ages!

And it seems we finally have a new official super-awesome title for Dark Metropolis! Only I don't have the 100% go-ahead to share it yet. But soon...more soon...

Will there be a third Magic Under Glass book?

Oh, dear, it's been a long time since I blogged. (Uh-oh, that earworm from earlier in the week is back..."It's been a long time, been a long time... Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time...") But better infrequent than never, I suppose.

By far, lately, the most common hits to my blog and website, and the fan mail I get, all revolves around one question (or rather, variants to this question):
--Will there be another Magic Under Glass book?
--Will there be a sequel to Between the Sea and Sky?
--What is Jaclyn Dolamore's next book?

So, let me address these questions so those of you looking on Google can find the answers.

Will there be another Magic Under Glass book?

Probably not, to be honest. My publisher asked me to wrap it up with Magic Under Stone and so I did. Yes, the ending is not entirely conclusive--but that is mostly because a conclusive ending didn't feel right to me. I know that Erris and Nimira probably have very exciting lives for their entire existence. They are, after all, going to come into a rather troubled kingdom. I didn't want to try and tie that all up with a bow. Apologies to those who like endings tied up very neatly. (Readers are very split on this regard anyway, I've found.)

The best way to keep a series going is to buy the books. I know this is frustrating, of course, because many of you who want more of the books DID buy the books, and of course you can't be singularly responsible for making the rest of the world buy the books either! I'm sure my editor would have loved more books about Erris and Nimira too.

It is possible that at some point another Erris and Nimira story will burn in my mind and I will have to write it. Maybe a novella or something. I could self-publish this myself. But it would take time away from projects that pay the bills, so it would really have to be a labor of love. I have a lot of stories I want to write for pure love and I'm not sure what the chances are I'll get to this one. But most likely I have many many years left on this planet, so...never say never.

Will there be a sequel to Between the Sea and Sky?

I get this question too, which just goes to show that some readers are never satisfied even if an ending is closer to happily ever after! I see Esmerine and Alan having a relatively calm, happy life. They will probably run the bookstore and see the rise of easier and easier printing methods and more and more literacy and books! It will be a grand time for them. I don't think they'll have any children because of the species conflict, but Swift will be a sort of apprentice and maybe eventual partner.

I do think frequently of a story about Alan's sister Karinda when she gets older, though. I might end up jotting that one down in my spare time and you may see it someday.

What is Jaclyn Dolamore's next book?

Why, if you didn't know, it is called Dark Metropolis, FOR NOW (title will probably change) and it's set in a lush, dark world of magic, art, and politics, nightclubs and decadence, based loosely on Weimar (1920s) Berlin. When Thea's best friend goes missing, she finds that not everyone who dies in the city stays dead... And yes, it is kind of a zombie novel, but you know I wouldn't write a zombie novel unless I could think of a reasonably fresh take on it! It comes out in Fall 2013. I know, this is forever from now, but I have little to do with publishing schedules!