Books, Blogs, and Buzz

This box arrived on Friday, meaning that my weekend was, for the most part, one long buzz of excitement as I pressed these copies on friends and family.

The note in the corner says, "Congratulations, Ian, it's a book!"

This Sunday, July 25, I'll be on the radio, talking with Scott Walker about Stuff of Legends on CFAX 1070 in Victoria. If you're in earshot, tune in around noon. I've had several more reviews on Amazon.com and elsewhere, ranging from ones that make me absolutely giddy to a couple that definitely leave me thinking about how some of the characters need to grow and mature in future books.

...to touch on that further, because I can't resist a digression, one of the difficulties I had to work around was how much the main characters annoy each other. I'd chosen early on to use a focused perspective for each section, staying in a single character's head each time. But as I wrote, the more it occurred to me that this would colour how the non-focal characters appeared. Eventually, I decided I'd just go with it: When Jordan was my focus, I'd write Eliott as immature and foolish as Jordan sees him; likewise, when Cyral takes the perspective, Jordan becomes more stubborn and crotchety and unhelpful. Whether this was the right choice or not, I'll leave up to the readers, but I'll continue to analyze the technique and decide how or if I want to use it in sequels.

In other news, I've begun a revamp here on the blog. Take a look around at the new pages, and feel free to drop in suggestions for layout or design. I'm a clunky hobbyist when it comes to this sort of thing, but I'll keep at it until I have something I like.

...hmm, sounds rather similar to my approach to writing.

Less than one week until Stuff of Legends hits the shelves. If you haven't already pre-ordered a copy, check out Buy the Book at the top of the blog. Spread the word!

(Countdown: 1. No, it's not until Stuff of Legends is released. You'll see this weekend!)