Time is up for the giveaway. The names have been drawn from a hat – well, a random number generator – and the winners are:

Goodreads, Jaimie
Goodreads, Sarah
Blog, Karen Draper
Blog, Jess Newton
Blog, Kristinia
Blog, Wulf Kruger
Blog, Mary

Some people commented on my blog at its actual site, and some people commented on the Goodreads synced version, so I included both in the draw. (118 in total. Wow.)

I’ve sent emails or Goodreads-messages to people requesting their addresses so I can send them the copies they’ve won. Please answer sooner rather than later, as it’ll increase your chance of getting the book before Christmas… Apologies to all those who didn’t win. And thank you all for your support.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all.

I’m about to propose a little Christmas giveaway. Leave your name in a comment to this post, and I’ll pull seven names at random to get a free signed copy of The Dark Archive – or, if people prefer, another book from the series (if I have a copy).

Rules:

a) All entries must be in by midnight UK time on Thursday 10th December 2020.

b) In your comment, state whether you’d like The Dark Archive (and whether you want the UK or US version) or a different book from the series – and if you’re after one that’s been published in a different language, please say which. I have some author copies…

c) After the deadline, I’ll draw the names at random, then I’ll contact people to get their physical addresses (no, I don’t have any e-copies to send out) and find out what name they’d like the book signed for.

d) Merry Christmas, and remember to share your books – even if Irene’s have to be dragged away from her kicking and screaming, I’m sure you can do better than that.

Today is the UK release for THE DARK ARCHIVE, book 7 of the Library series.

I’m feeling a bit emotional, so I’ll just say – thank you to everyone who’s read the books, bought the books, borrowed the books, enjoyed the books, been amused by the books, sacrificed the books in a bloody ritual in order to destroy creation . . .

. . . wait, maybe not that last.

Thank you, anyhow. And keep on reading – or listening, or however you prefer to enjoy your fiction. May the books be with you.

I’m very flattered/honoured – I’m in the LibraryReads hall of fame with THE DARK ARCHIVE – my third book to make the LibraryReads list! https://libraryreads.org/genevieve-Cogman

Just a quick note to say that The Lost Plot ebook is currently available at 99p on UK Amazon (sorry, other countries). Check it out at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Plot-Invisible-Library-Book-ebook/dp/B06X6N22ZM

Life continues quietly otherwise – I get on with the day job, I get on with writing. Currently also working on a couple of baby quilts for coworkers who will be needing them soon, and a kimono (well, a yukata) for my aunt which needs to be done in time for Christmas.

And there’s the upcoming Halloween, of course – though it’s never as vibrant here in the UK as it seems to be in the US. (Even if the shops all have Halloween-themed sweets for sale – which will be half-price shortly when the Christmas-themed sweets go on sale…) And when it comes to character viewpoints on Halloween, bearing in mind their relevant points of origin and upbringing…

IRENE: Never take an assignment that involves going to a lonely manor house or isolated rustic village on Halloween. Trust me on this one.

KAI: Human festival. Not my problem.

VALE: There is a clear correlation between mystical societies celebrating their unholy rites and the date in question – which can be quite convenient when deducing the planned timetables of said mystical societies.

SILVER: Why yes, I have organised a huge party with everyone in costume, bobbing for apples, fake werewolf attack, timed opium release, and multiple available bedrooms. Why do you ask?

First things first: The Burning Page is currently at just 99p for the ebook on Amazon. Check it out at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burning-Page…

The weather has turned cold. I’m now working from home in a selection of entertaining sweatshirts (my current one says 3 POINTS IN LIBRARY USE – a Trail of Cthulhu reference) and no doubt I’ll soon be turning on the radiators, and smelling that delightful first-burnt-dust-of-the-season smell.

I’ve handed in the proofs of The Dark Archive (both US and UK) and am now back to fulltime hammering on book eight. I’ve also just been reading The Baron of Magister Valley by Steven Brust, and am having to work very hard to prevent his characters’ dialogue from infecting mine. (It’s one of his Dumas-style ones – if you’ve read them, you’ll know what I mean.) Still, that’s a problem with any excellent book. It stays with you.

The sweepstake first: The Invisible Library is currently being featured in a Magical Library sweepstakes alongside Rachel Caine’s Ink and Bone and A.J. Hackwith’s The Archive of the Forgotten. The giveaway is running now through September 6^th, at
https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/magical-library-sweepstakes

I’m currently in the middle of volume 7 proofs – both US and UK – so I’ve got my head down and am slogging away. (After having spent the last few weeks slogging away at copy-edits, and edits before that . . . are we noticing a theme here?)

Other than that, well . . . the weather’s gloomy, work (the day job) is busy, and I’m daydreaming about everywhere I’ll go once we can travel more freely again. Also working on some baby quilts for coworkers who have either had babies or who will be having babies in the next few months. Quilting shows have been understandably cancelled all over the place, which is making me feel a little smug about overspending and overstocking my fabric stash in the past.

Take care and stay safe, everyone.

I’m afraid there isn’t much news: I’m working on book 7 edits (The Dark Archive), and on the first draft of book 8. (There’s a long way to go.) Still healthy, still working from home, still wearing a mask when I go to the shops and washing my hands a lot.

It strikes me that I should probably say this here, since it is my blog. So – wear a mask when you’re in closed or confined spaces with strangers (shops, public transport, etc). It doesn’t hurt, and the more people who wear them, the more it cuts down transmission to other people and the better off we all are.

I’ve been spending some of my spare time relaxing by playing Occupy White Walls, a game on Steam where you get to create and curate an art gallery. Surprisingly luxurious – you can just wave a hand and say, “Yes, I’ll have that El Greco, and that Gentileschi, and that Degas, and hang them all on the wall of my private art gallery . . .”

Special offer of the month – The Masked City is currently on UK Amazon for just 99p for the ebook. If you don’t already have it, you can find it at:

Take care and stay safe.

For just the rest of today, THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY ebook on US Amazon is just $2.99. https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Library-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B016JPTLJK

And for the rest of the month, it’s a mere 99p on UK Amazon! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invisible-Library-Book-ebook/dp/B00M44051E

(Pay no attention to the author in the corner, who’s working on her book 7 edits…)

I’m like most of the rest of the world at the moment: staying at home most of the time, apart from necessary trips outside. I’m able to work from home – no, not the writing (that’s in the evenings) but my day job from NHS Digital, as they gave us all laptops. I’m also working on books seven and eight, and on a knitted blanket which I started several years ago and then managed to lose under a pile of other projects, and I’m sewing masks. (They’re not compulsory here in the UK yet, but I and a number of friends and coworkers want to have them, so my fabric stash is making itself useful. If anyone’s curious, it’s this pattern – https://operationwecansewit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/We-Can-Sew-It-Mask-Pattern-2.20.20-v4.pdf – with bias tape ties.)

For my birthday last year, my parents took me to a production of the Malory Towers musical. One of the songs (based on a line from the books) was about becoming “women who the world can lean on”. I find that coming to mind every now and again these days. Sometimes we lean on others: sometimes other people lean on us. Nobody can be strong all the time.

It would be nice if I had a great insight or helpful thought to post here, but to be honest, I’m finding it hard work going from day to day myself, and my creativity is way down. So if it helps you to know it: you aren’t alone. We’re all living from day to day. Hopefully it will be better in a while.

Stay safe and keep well.