Extra points if you recognize today’s title.

WARNING: Today’s post is all business, so if you don’t want to read about release dates, my blog tour, my regular tour, reviews (with stars upon thars), interviews, how to read the first 3 chapters of Fire online, etc., etc., please just skip this BORING post and scroll down to read about cool stuff like babies and translations or to vote in my extremely relevant birthday poll.

Okay, here goes! Firstly, I am proud to report that Fire has received starred reviews from The Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal, and a gold star from the Romantic Times. *blushes* I’ve finally gotten around to creating a page of Fire review excerpts; see the link on the left or just click here. (BTW. If you notice that it or any of my other Quick Links are dated 2/28/08… that’s just the date I randomly give Quick Link posts, so that they don’t pop up as new posts and clog people’s readers. Make sense?)

Secondly: The US/Canada Graceling paperback is now in stock at Amazon and bn.com, and will, I assume, be in bookstores soon if it’s not already. The mass market paperback in the UK/Australia/NZ will be released in September 2009. Fire will be released in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and NZ in fall 2009 (September for the UK edition, October 5 for the US edition). Everything I ever know about release dates is on my Contacts, Info, and Credits page, so please check there for updates.

Thirdly, I’ll be doing a blog tour for a few weeks in late August/early September; this will involve Fire giveaways and other shenanigans; more info will be forthcoming.

Fourthly, I am doing a domestic tour for Fire in October and will be hitting a lot of different spots, but most of my appearances will be school visits, not open to the public. I’ll let y’all know when the schedule is finalized, and I’ll be sure to indicate which events are open to the public.

Fifthly, a recent interview with the Chicago Public Library has gone live; read it here. Thanks, Sarah, for asking some great questions!

Sixthly, you can read the prologue and first two chapters of Fire at Scribd.

Seventhly (I think I have begun to make adverbs up), there is still time to register for Sirens, a conference about women in fantasy, taking place in Vail, Colorado in October. Tamora Pierce, Sherwood Smith, and I are the guests of honor. More info here!

Eighthly, Graceling will be the featured read at readergirlz in September. I’ll give a heads up when that happens.

Ninthly, once upon a time I was making a flow chart; now I’m only falling apart. (with thanks to colorwheel ^_^)

Tenthly…. that’s it! I’m done! (And done in.)

Gah. Posts like this always feel very narcissistic to me. So why not close with a PHOTO OF ME? :D?

Really, it’s a photo for the Gallery of My Favorite Objects. Orchids are among my favorite things in the whole wide world, and here are two. Incidentally, another of my favorite objects is (sort of) in this photo — my fireproof, waterproof safe, which is on the floor at the bottom left. That’s where I keep notebooks/manuscripts.

Thanks for your patience with this post, everyone.