Sneeze, sniff, snort

Happy Winter. Yes, I have a cold. I also have several pieces of good news:

• White Time will have a starred review in the July/August The Horn Book.


• White Time will have a starred review in the American Library Association's Booklist.


• Publisher's Weekly reckons the first printing of White Time in the US will be 100,000. See here? (Thanks, Scott)!

I'm not sure I believe that last item, even with graphic evidence. [UPDATED: And neither should I, apparently: see Patrick's comment. Also, my editor at HarperCollins says, 'So not true. So so so not true, alas. I wish it were true.']

White Time was first published in Australia in 2000. Critically, it did well, sales-wise, not so wonderfully. So I'm really happy it's getting a second chance. It contains all the short stories I wrote at Clarion West in 1999, plus four more.

Even more news:

• Red Spikes is almost finalised; just a little working-out of the last story and it will be done. Definitely it'll be sorted before I leave (14 June), and be in proofs when I get back (29 June). Due out before Christmas.



• From Tuesday next week I'll be blogging at Inside a Dog, the State Library of Victoria's website about books for young people. See that little pic of Nick Earls on the right of their site? Next week and for a month that will be a little pic of me. And as I'll be travelling for half the month and the idea of keeping up 2 blogs is laughable, I hope you will join me over there during June. I'll probably feel compelled to blog more regularly, also to keep it, you know, cleaner than here (ha!).
  
  I'll put an out-of-office message and a link up before I go.



• I wrote a short story this week. A high-body-count story about Wee Willie Winkie. Bwahaha.

And now, all that linking has sludged up my brain, so I'd better go and rest. [horrible juicy nose-blow here]