More Shit I Gotta Do

It’s been a while since I gave away some signed books, but thanks to our friends across the pond, that time has come again. The UK side of my publisher has just sent me a packets of the UK mass market editions of The Digital Plague and The Eternal Prison. The differences between the US and the UK editions are subtle, but if you’re a collector it’s always nice to have every version, so I’ll give away 5 pairs (one of each) to five people. There are two ways you can get yourself a signed, personalized set:

1. Send me a screenshot via email (to mreditor@innerswine.com) of the winning screen from the Text Adventure I set up over at www.eternalprison.com. And yes, you can win the game.

2. Send me an email (again, to mreditor@innerswine.com) telling me where the phrase “In me the wonders of my hand like Lazarus” appears in the Avery Cates books.

That’s it. Note I am only accepting entries via email; any answers posted in the comments or my Facebook wall or whatever will be deleted to keep some semblance of order here. What we need is more order. Have at it, and good luck!

I really should not be allowed so much free time on the weekends, or access to liquor and a video camera. Doesn’t my publisher have handlers to, um, handle me? I mean, my goodness.

Anyway, if you’re one of the people who have asked me if I’m ever going to do a reading in your area, here’s something to tide you over: That’s right, me doing a short reading from The Eternal Prison! Tell your friends.

Lemme know what you think.

Well, the official release date for The Eternal Prison is this week (8/12) and while such dates increasingly don’t mean much (the book’s been spotted in the wild and has been shipping from Amazon for a week) it’s still a handy date to celebrate. So, I’ll be giving away a few books this week.

I’m targeting anyone who might be interested in my books but who hasn’t bought them yet. Since The Eternal Prison is launching this week, I’ll be giving away signed copies of The Electric Church and The Digital Plague, books 1 and 2 in the Avery Cates series, to 3 randomly selected folks who email me at mreditor@innerswine.com or post in the comments on this blog by Friday, August 14, 2009.

Just tell me a) you haven’t read the Cates books, b) you are intrigued by the Cates books and want to give ’em a whirl, and c) if you dig TEC and TDP, you might buy TEP. That’s it! On Friday, I’ll just pick three emails/comments that appeal to me and mail ’em off.  That’s it!

I have these:

Thus there is joy here in the Somers Compound. You will be able to get one for yourself soon. in the mean time, some chaotic things are gonna happen, some of which are still secret.

Not secret: I’m gonna be Tweeting an Avery Cates short story over at http://twitter.com/somers_story starting on 8/5, through 8/12. 8/12 being the official pub date of the book, and also when the main web site (www.eternalprison.com) goes live (right now it’s just a placeholder). If you’re on Twitter, follow me and get a free story!

Other things will be happening, but for now they’re under wraps. And I am tired, and the cats are wrestling because they’re hungry. G’night.

I was invited to participate in another SF Signal Mind Meld, which are quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do. This time the question was, who were the funniest writers in the history of Science Fiction? Adam Roberts, Dave Freer, Don Sakers, Elizabeth Hull, Esther Friesner, Frederik Pohl*, Gardner Dozois, Jim C. Hines, Joe Haldeman, Joe R. Lansdale, John Zakour, Mike Resnick, Simon Haynes, Spider Robinson, and myself took a swing at it.

Of course, if the question had been, who’s the funniest writer in SF after three cocktails and no dinner? the answer would have been me, by a long mile.

*HOLY CRAP I AM IN THE SAME SENTENCE AS FREDERICK POHL