The other night, Thursday to be exact, was the launch party for Lesley Livingston’s second book, DARKLIGHT. It was held at the same fantastic location as last year’s WONDROUS STRANGE launch, Dominion on Queen in downtown Toronto.

And of course all the usual suspects were there, including Karin Lowachee, who I picked up on my way into the city, Leah Bobet, SKS Perry, and Adrienne Kress. The night was filled with chatter, drinks, a fantastic reading by Lesley, the debut of the DARKLIGHT book trailer–which I’ve posted below–and quite clearly not enough time to talk with everyone quite enough, which was a real pity since we don’t get to see each other in the flesh all that often.

The night disappeared rather quickly, and after getting my book signed by Lesley (we waited until the line had dissipated) Karin and I ended up heading out around 11:30PM as I had to work in the morning. Unfortunately we’d left before we had a chance to chat with Lesley, but I’m sure we’ll see each other at Ad Astra in April.

One of the highlights of the night was definitely the unveiling of the book trailer, which is below, so check it out:

More photos of the night here.

So when  I took my family to the cottage the other week, I needed a book for the beach. And as much as I like hardcovers, they’re just not great to lug around at the beach and be tossed in bags next to sun tan lotion and towels. So I checked my TBR pile and saw THE PATRIOT WITCH sitting on the table–glinting at me as if the sunlight from the window caught it just so.

Perfect, I thought. This will do splendidly.

And splendidly it did.

THE PATRIOT WITCH is a great romp through the beginning stages of the American Revolutionary War, but with a twist:

Witchcraft!

From the back cover:

The year is 1775. On the surface, Proctor Brown appears to be an ordinary young man working the family farm in New England. He is a minuteman, a member of the local militia, determined to defend the rights of the colonies. Yet Proctor is so much more. Magic is in his blood, a dark secret passed down from generation to generation. But Proctor’s mother has taught him to hide his talents, lest he be labeled a witch and find himself dangling at the end of a rope.

A chance encounter with an arrogant British officer bearing magic of his own catapults Proctor out of his comfortable existence and into the adventure of a lifetime, as resistance sparks rebellion and rebellion becomes revolution. Now, even as he fights alongside his fellow patriots from Lexington to Bunker Hill, Proctor finds himself enmeshed in a war of a different sort—a secret war of magic against magic, witch against witch, with the stakes not only the independence of a young nation but the future of humanity itself.

Now I must be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of historical fiction. I prefer to read non-fiction for my history. But THE PATRIOT WITCH intrigued me, and so I dove in. And it did not disappoint. It moves along at a good click, right from the first chapter; has great battles, tension, plot twists and twists of fate, and a burgeoning love story–all set to the raging historical backdrop of the American War of Independance. Oh, and there are zombies. Yes, ZOMBIES!

How can you go wrong with that? Well, you can’t. Plain and simple. And it is the first book of an already complete and published series, titled The Traitor to the Crown. THE PATRIOT WITCH continues with A SPELL FOR THE REVOLUTION and concludes in THE DEMON REDCOAT, both of which I’m eagerly anticipating.

Great job Charlie!

Right. It took me a few days but I was finally able to find some time to upload the pics from the WONDROUS STRANGE book launch that HarperCollins put on this past Thursday. First off, I picked up Karin Lowachee after I was done work and we headed out for a bite to eat. As always, great company creates great conversation, and we quickly found ourselves running late. It wasn’t snowing too much but the roads were pretty icy, so I couldn’t drive like a complete maniac without endangering our lives needlessly.

When we found the bar that the launch was being held at, we quickly found a parking spot and made our way inside. But only to the inner doors. We mistakenly thought the side door was the only way in, which was locked, so we went back outside and walked aimlessly around the front of the bar, where we could see on the inside that Lesley had already started her reading. After walking in front of the window like lost puppies wanting inside, we realized that there was indeed another door and so we made our way into the crowded warmth.

After Lesley was finished reading from her book and making some great announcements, Karin and I located a few other people we were planning on meeting. Hijinks ensued. Namely S.K.S. Perry and I debating what was actually in the “crabcakes” we were eating, and Caitlin Sweet trying to get me to drink more wine. And more wine. Which really, isn’t a hard thing to do.

Yes. And then there was the purse. Stemming from a conversation on Skype with a few people, it seemed that I was forced into modeling Karin’s purse. I took to the task with great gusto. I’m sure the people in the bar enjoyed my photoshoot. Supposedly some people want this to happen regularly. I’m not quite sure why.

Anyways, I digress. It was a great evening out. If you haven’t picked up WONDROUS STRANGE yet by Lesley Livingston, I suggest you do.

You can check out more pics from the night here.

Just a quick line to let you know that the talented and charming Christopher Barzak has a new novel out today:

You can check out an interview with Christopher here: Author weaves love, cultures into novel

Or, check out what he has to say over at John Scalzi’s Whatever, where Christopher discusses The Big Idea of The Love We Share Without Knowing.

Of course, you can head over to Random House to read more…including an excerpt.

Or check out Christopher Barzak’s blog, Meditations in an Emergency.

Good luck with the launch Chris!