The weekly web ramble (1/28)

The weekly link round-up

WEB OF INTEREST –>

– First Novels Club has a ton of recaps from 2011 Writer’s Digest Conference

– The latest Facebook debacle, just part and parcel of the weird world of web advertising

– Waxman Literary Agency on what to do (and not do) with ARCs

<–AUTHOR TALK

Malinda Lo on judging a book by its cover

Scott Westerfeld on the meaning of “versus”

– Rhys Bowen on hilariously quaint British passtimes

Robin McKinley recalls writing the Maur battle scene in Hero and the Crown

Y.S. Lee touches briefly on book piracy

Rick Riordan on the top five misconceptions about writing

– Kate Carlisle and the state of the cozy

WEB READS–>

– Read the first chapter of Eona by Alison Goodman (out 4/19)


– Check out the first chapter of The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge (out 2/22)

50 page Friday: Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (out 2/1)


Excerpt from Vesper by Jeff Sampson (out now)

– First peek at Y.S. Lee‘s The Traitor and the Tunnel (Agency #3), (coming August 2011 to the UK, Spring 2012 to the U.S. – unless we all just break down and buy it via The Book Depository…):

Queen Victoria has a little problem: there’s a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Mary Quinn takes the simple case, going undercover as a domestic servant. But before long, a scandal threatens to tear apart the Royal Family.

One of the Prince of Wales’s irresponsible young friends is killed in disgraceful circumstances. Should the Queen hush things up or allow justice to take its course? Mary’s interest in this private matter soon becomes deeply personal: the killer, a drug-addicted Chinese sailor, shares a name with her long-lost father.

Meanwhile, James Easton’s engineering firm is repairing the sewers beneath Buckingham Palace. Trouble is, there’s a tunnel that’s not on the plans. Its purpose is unclear. But it seems to be very much in use.

These overlapping puzzles offer a perfect opportunity for Mary and James to work together again… if they can still trust one another. This is Mary’s most personal case yet and she has everything to lose.