To the blog of speculative fiction author Karen Miller, who also writes as K E Mills.

First of all, thanks for dropping by. If you can remember to, please sign in or at least sign your post if you don't have a regular LJ account. I do allow anon comments but I like to know who to say hello and thanks to!

I do try to stay current and up to date here, but my workload remains off the charts el stupido and sometimes I get a bit behind. So please bear with me -- I mostly manage to catch up! And in the meantime, please don't be shy in chatting to each other.

My friending policy is simple: friend away! No need to ask if it's okay.

But here's an important note: vigorous, respectful debate is welcome. Name-calling, vilification, aggression, hostility or any kind of trollish behaviour isn't. There's  a reason they give us a delete key, you know.

And having said that ...

New interview up with me at The Qwillery, with the bonus of a giveaway! Do check it out!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I truly, madly and deeply love my publisher, Orbit. When I got back from lunch with my parents the other day -- Mum's birthday and a bon voyage as they go romping around Europe for a couple of months -- there was the most ginormous and gorgeous bouquet of flowers on my doorstep. A woo hoo from Orbit, to celebrate my first book with them, lock, stock and barrel. It was a real poke in the eye for them too, Wizard Undercover, since I was sick all last year and that took a horrible toll on my deadlines. But they were supportive and fabulous and I owe them so much. They are the bees' knees, believe me.

So here is a photo of the gorgeous flowers, and Barnabus, who naturally assumes they're for him.

So, Wizard Undercover is now out in Australia/NZ, the US and the UK, as a paperback and in ebook format. Please check with your trusty local bookseller, or your favourite online site. And if you do read, and enjoy, please spread the word! The only way to guarantee more adventures with Gerald and Co. is if the series sells. This is the harsh reality of publishing, folks.

Also out is the US/UK Is the paperback edition of A Blight of Mages. It's also an ebook in those territories. Again, if you do read and enjoy, please say so. Nothing helps an author more than some nice word of mouth.

It goes without saying -- but I'll say it anyway -- that I'm truly grateful to you all for reading and buying, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To celebrate this double release, I've done a guest post at the Orbit blog. Love you to read that, too!

It's always a nervy time when new books come out ... just ask any author. And if I wasn't so swallowed up in Tarnished Crown #1, I'd have cracked kneecaps by now, absolutely. But I am swallowed up -- and still nervous, for entirely different reasons. Arrgghhhh! But I'm doing my best not to let the pressure get to me.

Words, words, I need words!

This is going to date me, but I don't care. *g*

LA Law is finally releasing on DVD. The groundbreaking '80s ensemble drama that launched the careers of Steven Bochco and Jimmy Smits, to name but a few. Yes, the clothes are mindboggling. But the writing is great. And so is Jimmy Smits' diamond earing.

Wheeeee!

Guys, I'm still waiting to hear from Julia Court, Todd Campbell and Agatha Manigo. Please contact me via the website, www.karenmiller.net, so I can send you Wizard Undercover.

Damn, you guys! I had nearly 200 entries! I am utterly gobsmacked and so very, very touched. Thank you for being so excited about Gerald and Co's  next big adventure.

Anyhow, in light of the response, Orbit very kindly chipped in some more giveaway copies, so I've expanded the prize pool to 7 winners -- and they are:

Julia Court
ActRealDon
Agatha Manigo
Steven Probert
Todd Campbell
Amy Reeves
Dave Hepworth


Congrats to you guys. Seriously, I wish I could afford 25 winners ... but the postage might put me in the poorhouse.

To all of you who missed out, I'm sorry! And stay tuned, because there'll be more giveaway comps throughout the year.

And for the winners, here's what you do next: Drop me a line confirming your name as listed above, plus your postal address, via the Contact Me link on my website. I'll send out your signed copy of Wizard Undercover asap after receiving your details.

I hope everyone who reads the book enjoys it ... and if you do, please let me know!

Today's the day I draw the winners of the Wizard Undercover giveaway comp. Watch this space ...

Wow, here's some good news. It's been yonks and forever since we've had a major genre convention in Sydney, and now we've got one coming in November, thanks to the Australian Writers' Marketplace.  I've already signed up. Can't wait.




You can find out all about it here ...

So bestselling Oz author Garth Nix has a new book out ... or about to come out. Garth is the author of Sabriel and the Keys series, beloved by many a young adult reader. His new novel 'A Confusion of Princes' is a rollicking science fiction adventure, with fabulous world building and death-defying adventures and a host of cool characters. I was particularly impressed by the way Garth wove the realities of his sf world into the narrative, so I was always learning stuff but never felt lectured.

If you enjoy sf, you should check this one out. This is the Oz cover - book now available. The US/UK covers are very similar and the title remains the same. The US release is May 15, the UK May 17,