OH MAN GUYS (cover reveal!)

Luther M. Siler11 Comments

So, the cover to The Sanctum of the Sphere: The Benevolence Archives, Vol. 2 is getting rrreal close to being done, to the point where my artist has given me permission to post this:

unnamedPretty, innit?  That’s by Yvonne Less, the same artist who created the awesome cover for Benevolence Archives 1.  The main difference is that when she did the BA 1 cover she didn’t know she was doing it, and this cover was her making my ideas look way awesomer than they had any right to be.

This is just the ebook cover.  I’ll post the whole thing when it’s done.  I love what is happening on the back side so I’m enjoying the idea of getting to do two separate reveals.  🙂

You can’t pre-order the book just yet (ebook will be $4.95; paper price is still undetermined) but you can tell Goodreads you want to read it here.

On used book sales and TERRIBLE LIES

Luther M. Siler6 Comments

I just discovered this.  Clicky to make with big:

Screen Shot 2015-01-28 at 10.00.53 PM

You may be anticipating that I’m about to go on a rant about people reselling my books– or trying to resell my books– for several times what they’re actually selling for.

But no!  That is not this post. I don’t actually care if people resell used copies of my books.  I am, in fact, quite fond of used bookstores.

Here’s the thing, though.

I know exactly how many copies SKYLIGHTS has sold in paperback.

And– and I’ll admit that this is just the tiniest bit depressing– not only do I know exactly how many copies the book has sold, but I know who bought them.  I have accounted for literally every copy.  So these booksellers are advertising wildly inflated prices for used books that they do not actually possess.

I’m tempted to order them, wait to see if my sales increment, and then cancel the purchase.

I can’t tell if this is a scam– who would buy this book used for that much of a markup?– or if it’s just the result of bots trolling through Amazon, but either way it entertains me.

Trying to fight off a long rant here

Luther M. Siler4 Comments

middle-finger-poster-flag-6185-pYou’ve read what I have to say about Rigor and High Standards, yes?  If not, start here.

The State of Indiana, in their infinite wisdom, has had the ISTEP test redone for this year.  And they have let us know that this one will involve High Standards!  And Rigor!  Lots of Rigor!  You can sprinkle it on stuff, like cinnamon sugar.

We take three practice tests over the course of the year so that we can get some idea of who might pass the ISTEP, because there are no other ways to figure that out other than testing.

The results of the second test are (mostly) in, and I’ve been looking at them all week.

Currently perhaps a dozen students in my building are expected to pass the ISTEP.  In the building.

That is not a typo or an exaggeration.  Historically we’ve been passing, oh, 70% of our kids or so, give or take a couple standard deviations.

But, hey, what do you want us to do?  Make excuses?

Holy cats am I tired

Luther M. Siler14 Comments

…so I’m just going to point out that this is a thing on Goodreads now, just, y’know, in case that might be interesting information to you.  Because, who knows, it might be, right?  There may be a detail or two on there that as of yet has not been public knowledge.

Also, I don’t think I mentioned this here yesterday, but SKYLIGHTS picked up its sixth Amazon review yesterday, and it’s a five-star.  It’s not the most verbose review I’ve ever gotten but I’m still quite fond of it.  (Reeeeeead SKYYYYLIIIIIGHTS.  You’ll LIIIIIIIKE IIIIITTT…)

In which I make a painful admission

Luther M. Siler13 Comments
Taylor Swift’s new song isn’t completely terrible.

Although I admit I’m not sure I have the courage to watch the video:

It’s not that I have a blanket dislike of bubblegum pop, mind you.  My affection for Avril Lavigne has been confessed enough times that it hardly even feels like a confession anymore.  But Taylor Swift?  God.  Taylor is the worst, and her single before this one was like the ur-Taylor Swift song.  Shake it Off is literally everything about Taylor Swift that sucks concentrated into four minutes, and I hate it so much that I have to turn off the radio when it comes on.

This one, on the other hand?  I knew I was in trouble the first time I heard it, when this line floated through my ears:

Oh my god
Look at that face
You look like
My next mistake

And I thought “Heh, that’s kind of clever,” and only a minute or two later realized that I’d thought something complimentary about a Taylor Swift song.  It’s amazing to me that these two tracks are on the same album; one of my biggest gripes about Swift is that she seems unable to write about anything other than herself and how everyone’s always picking on her/doing her wrong/mean/insufficiently worshipful, and Blank Space actually betrays a sense of humor about herself, which to my knowledge she’s never done before.

I’m not about to buy the album or anything.  But yeah, this one?  Not bad.