FANTASTIC NEWS!!! FIRE STUDY MADE THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLERS LIST TWO WEEKS IN A ROW!!! I'm thrilled about this news and still dancing around the house with joy! FIRE STUDY was listed at #34 in the March 16th report. You can see the rest of the list at:NY Times Best Sellers List for March 16, 2008
Then in the March 23rd report, FIRE STUDY moved up two places to #32! You can see the rest of the list at:NY Times Best Sellers List for March 23, 2008
THANK YOU to all my readers - because of all of you who pre-ordered through Amazon and B&N and who ran out to the bookstore the first two weeks and bought a copy - YOU put FIRE STUDY on the Best Sellers list! YAY!! I truly appreciate all the efforts of my Book Commandos ;> and even mention you in FIRE STUDY's acknowledgments (it's on the second page). Keep up the good work ;>
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FIRE STUDY BOOK TOUR! Starting back in February, I've been very busy (some--like my mother--might say insane) with events to promote the release of FIRE STUDY. I'm about half way through my schedule and thought I would share a few stories :)
One of the highlights was speaking at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. I talked about "Juggling a Writer's Life," and actually juggled in front of a room
filled with about 30 people. I juggled koosh balls. It was a blast and I wished I had someone take a picture or video, because, really how many authors can say they've not only been invited to the Library of Congress (largest library in the world), but they juggled in the prestigious building. I know one ;>
Another stop brought me to North Carolina for a long weekend. I was a prize at my Fireside Books & Gifts signing in Forest City. The winner, Rob (in the picture with
me) won dinner with me and the store's manager. It was a wonderful dinner, and being a prize was an unique experience :)
My signing at Park Road Books in Charlotte was very nice. A reader drove two hours to visit and she brought her two beautiful little girls with her. And it was great to meet a number of readers I have been emailing for years!
During my NC trip, I also had time to see Kiki (the real one :) - she's doing wonderful in her new home at Crazy Woman Farm.
THANKS to all my readers who have visited me. I'm sorry I can't get to all the places I've been invited - my family would revolt and I would go broke! The whirlwind tour continues - check out Maria's Schedule and stop by and say hello if you can.
I took a 10 day trip to Europe in November 2007 with my family. We spent the first two days in Barcelona, Spain, which was beautiful and worth more time. Then we boarded Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas for a 7 day Mediterranean cruise. The first night was very rocky, but the next day we arrived in Villefranche, France. Sailing close to land was much smoother, and we also stopped in Pisa, Rome, Naples and Sicily in Italy. Our favorite excursions were climbing the leaning tower of Pisa and visiting the ruins of Pompeii in Naples. We also enjoyed climbing Mt. Vesuvius (the cause of Pompeii's troubles :). The last day at sea was the worst motion in the ocean I've ever encountered
in five years of cruising. Overall we had a wonderful time and hope to return someday soon. To read more about my Mediterranean adventures, go to my Myspace blog.
RWA. In July 2007, I went to Dallas for the annual Romance Writers of America conference. I had a wonderful time - Texas is a great state and the people were so friendly :) As for Magic Study and the RITA award -
I'm afraid I
didn't win but there is always next time and considering there were over 2000 books entered and only the top 5% finaled (about 100 books), I'm feeling pretty good!
Here are some highlights:
- I met a couple readers I've been emailing. It was interesting since I first met them online and then saw them in person - it's like seeing an old friend. Personalities do transfer through this medium.
- I rode a limo to the big Harlequin Party! There were 7 of us sharing, and the limo driver was so sweet. When we told him we were a bunch of romance writers his smile turned 100 watt! He'll have a good story to tell plus a couple new and signed books for his wife.
- I met Rachel Caine who wrote the Weather Warden Series! She was so sweet and we had a great talk once I calmed enough to form coherent sentences LOL.
- My big prize for the weekend was meeting Katlyn. A reader I hold dear in my heart and whose parents drove her 7 hours to see me. We spent a lovely day talking and going to the art museum. When I think about not winning the RWA/RITA award and considered my day with Katlyn, I realized I had won the best prize ever a year ago when she first emailed me.
Poison Study and Magic Study have gone international! Below is a list of places the books have been published:
- Australia and Canada
- United Kingdom (UK) in both an adult cover and a young adult cover
- France - the French title is Le poison ecarlate, which means The Scarlet Poison., and
L'apprentie magicienne which means The Apprentice Magician - Italy - the Italian title is La Farfalla di Pietra, which translates to The Stone Butterfly., and Il Serpente di Pietra which means The Stone Snake
- Spain - the Spanish title is Dulce Veneno,
which means, Sweet Poison., and Dulce Magia which means Sweet Magic - German - the title Yelena und die Magierin des Sudens, which means Yelena and the Sorceress of the South, and Yelena un der Morder von Sitia which means Yelena and the Murderer of Sitia
See below for a sampling of covers:
BALTICON. Balticon is a convention located near Baltimore Maryland, where science fiction, fantasy, and horror readers, fans and
authors get together for a big party! It is held over the long Memorial Day weekend every year.
My favorite event was during opening ceremonies when I awarded the prize for this year's Compton Crook Winner (for best first novel - I was last year's winner in case you didn't know). Do you want to know who won my crown...er....tiara......er.....is the new CCW? It was Naomi Novik's book His Majesty's Dragon!" Congrats to Naomi - it was a wonderful book - I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy and history.There were panels and events for everyone - Klingons, costumers, gamers, amine devotees, scientists, graphic novel lovers, aspiring writers, and artists. I even did a Poison Smelling titled Maria's Study Hall - The Scent of Magic - an exercise in the experience of detecting poisons, combines smells with tasting chocolate. I'm holding a similar event in July - see my Appearances section for details.
Old News but still ASTONDING!!! Poison Study WON the Compton Crook Memorial Award! I'm thrilled beyond belief! It was truly exciting to have my name called and to go onstage and get a plaque from Count Dracula, the monster of ceremonies. The weekend was a ton of fun and I'll be
at Balticon 41
next year. The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best first novel of the year in the field of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc., at their annual Baltimore-area science fiction convention, Balticon, held on Memorial Day weekend near Baltimore, MD each year. The award is named after a Towson State College Professor of Natural Science named Compton Crook, who wrote under the name Stephen Tall, and who died in 1981, was first awarded in 1983 for a work published in 1982. Check out the previous Compton Crook winners at bsfs.org.
You can contact Maria at maria@mariavsnyder.com
Updated April 2008