Thursday, April 1, 2010

Happy Official Publication Date Of This World We Live In!

It's kind of a strange Official Publication Date, because This World We Live In has been out for weeks now. I quit posting blog reviews at number 35, but my guess is there are 50 or 60 of them by now, plus some magazine and newspaper reviews.

I have a particular fondness for the favorable ones.

Scooter, always eager for a cause to celebrate, woke up at 5 AM to play a rousing game of Let's Knock Over The Bud Vase. It roused me to hide the bud vase in the bathroom sink, which led to Let's See If We Can Break This Cute Little Box.

I prefer to think these games are an Official Publication Date event and not something I can look forward to every single morning for the rest of Scooter's life. Purr On The Neck is sufficient for me, if not for him.

There are other ways I know this is the Official Publication Date. For one, I dumped the countdown box on the right side of the blog. I noticed yesterday that it was already reading 00/00/0000, which was kind of a disappointment. I'd hoped to be there when it hit all those magic zeros, and for that matter, I hoped when it did, there'd be some bells and whistles. Well, if there were, I missed them, but I doubt any of you will miss the countdown box. So it's gone.

And Amazon is acknowledging the Official Publication Date by publishing my Official Letter To Amazon Readers. Scroll down the This World We Live In page and there it is.

They had asked for a brand new picture of me, so I had Marci come over a few weeks ago to take one. But for some reason, Amazon is using my old picture. Maybe they thought I was torturing Scooter (as opposed to vice versa, which is considerably closer to the truth).

I'll be spending the rest of the Official Publication Date procrastinating and eventually doing revisions on Blood Wounds. It gives away nothing of the plot (have you noticed I'm giving away nothing of the plot?) to say there are two big bad things that happen within the first 60 or so pages. I decided to change the second big bad thing, and that's where I'm currently stuck. Or, to put it a little more positively, that's where I'm currently positioned, and if I ever stop procrastinating, that's what I'll be working on.

All right. I'm off to go to my mailbox (filled, no doubt, with Happy Official Publication Date cards) and eat lunch, and procrastinate some more and then, finally, get to work.

All of which (except the working part) is a glorious way to start a potentially glorious April!

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm really happy that the book came out! I thought it was published on April 1, 2010. So when I went to Barns & Nobles on Monday, I saw the book. Happily I grabbed it. I think the book has a lot of 'be glad for what you have' stuff in it. I love this series!

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Thank you Anonymous-

I went to a couple of Barnes & Nobles and one Borders a week or so ago, and was pleased to see This World in them.

I guess April 1 came very early this year!

Karen Strong said...

Happy Book Release Day!

I read your book "early" because I found it out in the wild so I grabbed it.

It was a great read. Love how you brought Melinda and Alex together for this installment.

Once again, it made me start think about the lack of food in my pantry. As of now, I would make it for about 3 days. So sad. Ha.

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hello to Karen Strong-

A sensible way for me to have celebrated Official Publication Date would have been to buy a flashlight and other survival tools.

Oh well. I've got my candles and my 100 calorie snacks and they'll just have to do!

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hello to Karen Strong-

A sensible way for me to have celebrated Official Publication Date would have been to buy a flashlight and other survival tools.

Oh well. I've got my candles and my 100 calorie snacks and they'll just have to do!

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hello to Karen Strong-

A sensible way for me to have celebrated Official Publication Date would have been to buy a flashlight and other survival tools.

Oh well. I've got my candles and my 100 calorie snacks and they'll just have to do!

PS-This is my third attempt to post this comment, so if it shows up more than once, blame Blogspot, not me!

Abigail said...

I also already read the ARC ahhhmazing!
Oh and Karen...it's Miranda

Fear Death By Water said...

woot woot woot!

tim

probutli nice word huh?

reminds me of the chris van allsburg book probuditi

http://www.amazon.com/Probuditi-Chris-Van-Allsburg/dp/0618755020

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Good morning to Abigail and Tim-

Things are definitely woot woot around here.

Scooter, alas, remains quite intent on knocking over the vase at 5 AM. This morning he succeeded in breaking the cute little box. But with all that action going on, I can't fall back asleep, which gives me the time I need to work out the Blood Wounds issues.

Isn't he a sweet and thoughtful cat.

Meanwhile, I've been obsessively tracking my barnes&noble.com numbers as well as my Amazon numbers. The b&n numbers have been outstanding for the past few hours (although I don't know what they did when I was asleep, since even I'm not that obsessive).

You'd think Scooter would write them down for me, but he's too busy finding new things to break!

Shweta said...

Woo Hoo! Excited , I have asked my brother to get me a copy while coming back home next month! I can't wait to read the actual book and get scared and terrified all over again. Reading using NetGalley copy isn't exactly satisfying !

Hoping Scooter doesn't break anything else :D

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Shweta-

It's fun to think of This World traveling around this world.

Scooter is a year old now, big enough to break just about anything and young enough to think that's endearing!

Judith said...

I just ordered my mom TWWLI. She's loving the series. And as a librarian, it makes me happy she's reading again, rather than just watching movies.

She called me asking about the cat. "Does Horton make it?!?" The cat is still alive in Book 3, Mom. (Technically that's true).

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Judith-

Thank you for buying a copy for your mother. You are clearly an excellent daughter.

I'm a firm believer in telling my mother just what she needs to know, no more and no less (well, sometimes less!).

Moe said...

Horah for book releases! I was recently checking a chain book store and there was no sign of the book. I checked the computer, where it has this neat function that says if the book is anywhere else, it's currently nowhere where I live. It made me ask the question if it is released in Canada. Does anyone know anything about it?

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Moe-

I'm pretty sure the book is available somewhere in Canada.

At least I hope so!

Maybe it has a delayed publication date there?

I'll try to remember to ask somone at Harcourt on Monday and see what I can find out.

Anonymous said...

When I went to Barnes & Noble, I saw it on the book shelf and quickly grabbed it without thinking! I didn't even know it came out. It was a REALLY good book! (: Love it! Keep writing more please!

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Anonymous-

Thank you for your comment and for buying a copy of This World We Live In.

Thanks to all of you, anonymous and otherwise, who are buying the book or taking it out of the library.

My word verification is a simple, easy "bring." As in, you bring me great joy and I am very grateful.

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hello again Moe-

I emailed my editor who emailed back to say This World We Live In is available in Canada.

She suggested trying Amazon.ca if you can't find it anyplace else.

I hope that helps!

Candice said...

Hi Susan,

Bought the book on Wednesday, finished it by Friday! I have to say that I was persuaded to buy it rather than wait for it to be available at the public library (even though I almost NEVER buy hardback) because of your blog.

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Candice and thank you.

I knew I was writing this blog for a reason.

Of course, at least half the reason is it provides an excuse for me not to get my writing done!

Madeline said...

I love your cat xD. Mine are quite similar. They love to run through the house playfighting and yowling at 5 AM and my favorite, I believe, wants to suffocate me. She insists on sitting on my face and kneading me with her claws fully exposed.
At any rate I finish This World We Live In today. I only just learned there was any sequels at all a few weeks ago when I saw The Dead and the Gone at Wal-Mart a few weeks back. The moon on the cover gave it away xD. Needless to say I was quite excited.
I just uselessly babbled again, didn't I?

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hello Madeline-

I thought it was very useful babble actually. Although I hope Scooter doesn't read your comment, since I don't want to give him any ideas.

I have to take my mother to the first of her seasonal doctor appointments in a few minutes, but maybe I'll stop by the local Wal-Mart and see if they have my books there.

It'll make me very happy if they do!

rock4ever95 said...

I read This World We Live In with great anticipation(I consider the Dead and the Gone one of the best YA books ever and Alex one of the best and most accessible YA characters) and I was very very disappointed. Alex made some really terrible decisions and Miranda was very hard to relate to. The new characters were also not given enough time to fully develop. I was particularly annoyed that Syl's background was never delved into(who was that guy who was beating her up? And why was he doing it?) I was also very disappointed with the ending, which I felt made the whole book feel kind of pointless.

I also did not like the way that the romance was portrayed. It seemed very rushed and out of step with the overall mood of the story. If the romance had been slowed down and not become so intense so quickly then I think I would have liked it better.

Overall I was very disappointing with this book because I had expected so much more. However, if a sequel ever comes out then I will certainly read it.

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi rock4ever95-

Thank you for your comment.

I'm sorry if This World disappointed you.

I'm glad, however, that it didn't disappoint me!

Unknown said...

I love your books but wish I could buy the latest on kindle for my iPhone through amazon. Why aren't they selling it? If it's pricing, I would think most ebook readers would be willing to pay a higher price for new releases. I am hoping to see it there soon! Mary Sue Scott. Florida

Anonymous said...

Hi my name is Madee, I'm apart of Ms.Hack's wonderful 2nd hour class at Northgate middle school in Kansas city,MO. I think "Life as we knew it" is wonderful(although it isn't like the usual books I read which like a 2 tons a week, no joke, I still love it!)but what I would like to know is why did you decide to write about the moon getting hit and moving closer to earth? And why from a 16 year old's point of veiw?
From,
Miss Madee C. Richardt