The promotional blitz is slowing down (thank goodness!) but I was still making rounds this week.

Just a reminder: next Monday is my book release event at Changing Hands in Phoenix! I’ll be serving up goodies (gluten-free included) and steampunk (maybe gluten-free too?). My parents will even be there, which makes it all extra cool.

Steampunk, Tacos, and Final Fantasy: An Interview with Beth Cato, at the Barnes & Noble SFF Blog

Why the Healer deserves to be a Hero: Podcast Interview with Sword and Laser. Also on BoingBoing.

Interview with Author and Steampunk Enthusiast Beth Cato at Between the Blurb.

Publicity and Parenting at Spencer Ellsworth’s Blog

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT. At 7pm if I survive the drive into Phoenix, you will find me at the Changing Hands on Camelback Road. You can buy copies of my books, listen to me read a little bit from Crown, and indulge in delicious goodies.

So what is on the menu?

I’m so glad you telepathically asked that question! If all goes well in the kitchen, I plan to serve:
– gluten free caramel brownies
– churro Chex mix
– maple pecan tartlets

The Phoenix Changing Hands is also home to the First Draft Book Bar, so you can buy beer or wine, too!

If you’re in the area, I hope you’re able to come by. I’ll be happy to sign Kindle covers, lunar rocks, and books brought to or bought at Changing Hands.

One week from today, I will be doing something gloriously geeky: attending San Diego Comic Con! Not just attending, though. I have two signings and a panel! I’m Someone with a badge!

I have never been to San Diego Comic Con before. Actually, I’m a native Californian who has never been to San Diego at all! This is a really fast trip, too, but I hope to have a couple of hours in there to wander the infamous Comic Con floor where I will hopefully not be stampeded by fangirls/boys in pursuit of a celebrity.

Here’s where you can find me!

Thursday, July 9th
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM
IN BOOTH HarperCollins Publishers #1029: Beth Cato Free Signing + Clockwork Crown promo giveaway
That’s right. I’ll sign stuff AND you might just get a free book. Which I can then sign.

Friday July 10, 2015
10:00am – 11:00am
Romantic Adventure
SFF fans are always down for an adventure, from a daring airship expedition to space-age exploration, but what’s the fun in an adventure if there’s no one to share it with? Some of the most compelling stories in genre fiction spring out of the relationships between two equally awesome characters when they’re thrown together in an out-of-this-world situation. Come discuss the lure of romantic adventure with Chloe Neil (The Devil’s Isle series), Sam Sykes (The City Stained Red), Beth Cato (The Clockwork Crown), Suzanne Young (The Remedy), Gena Showalter (Alice in Zombieland), and Mary E. Pearson (The Heart of Betrayal). Moderated by S. J. Harper (Reckoning).
Room 32AB
Link to the Comic Con scheduler

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Panel Signing: Romantic Adventure
Room AA09
I’ll sign stuff! Books! Anthologies! Napkins! Scones!

If you’re at Comic Con, please drop by to say hi!

I was at San Diego Comic-Con all of one day and I am still recovering three days later. It’s that intense. That crazy.

I arrived at the convention center about 2pm on Thursday. I had a signing at the Harper Collins booth at 4pm, and I knew the intervening hours would be my best chance to wander the convention floor. So I did just that. I quickly found that the blockbuster media area was way too loud and crowded for my taste. I had to make a brief stop at the Square Enix booth, though. I was happy to see that Dragon Quest Heroes had a major presence and playable games, though I was indignant that the attached Square Enix store sold no Dragon Quest slimes. This didn’t surprise me. Sadly, it’s a snub that has dragged on for years. Slimes need love, dangit.

My signing at the booth was exciting. They pulled out a whole box of Clockwork Dagger books and handed them out to people. Of course, a lot of folks were there because, “Hey, free book!” but a few people had the book on their wishlist already and had made a point of showing up. THIS GAVE ME ALL THE HAPPY FEELINGS. Plus, Harper Collins shocked me by presenting Clockwork Crown fans! Holy moley, I had con swag!

That evening I went with friends into the Gaslamp District as we prowled for sustenance. I witnessed one of the crazy promotional events that Comic-Con is known for: a Sharknado parade.

Friday was my really cram-packed day. I dashed from a Harper Collins breakfast to my Romantic Adventure panel to the group signing afterward. The panel was great–good food for thought on world-building and romance and the nature of villains.

I sure loved the weather in San Diego. The convention center is right on the water, and the views are amazing! It was overcast at times, but the afternoons stayed sunny with the high in the 70s. Considering that the LOW is Arizona right now is the mid-80s… yeah. I enjoyed the coastal coolness.

Once the signing was done, I lingered a while longer to do an interview, and then it was time to head back to the airport! I had bought a Handbag of Holding from Think Geek for this trip because I knew I’d be at the con most of the time. It was really hard to pare down to the essentials, but the minimal space also made me picky about what I bought. Right before I left, I was offered two ARCs I couldn’t say no to, and at that point my purse was at about exploding point.

The whole experience was a blast. I’m sad that I left after just a day, but kind of relieved, too. It would have been nice to attend some panels other than my own. It would have been nifty to have some celebrity sightings, too.

There’s always next time, right?

I’ll be in Spokane for WorldCon/Sasquan August 19th through 23rd! I had a blast at WorldCon in San Antonio two years ago, and I am super excited to attend this year! This time around, I have panels and other events, too.

Here’s where you can find me for sure:

Thursday the 20th
Steampunk, Colonialism & Imperialism
11:00 AM to 11:45 AM (45 minutes)
Charles Stross Moderator , Arthur Chu , Leigh Ann Hildebrand , Warren Frey , Beth Cato
CC – Bays 111B

Autographing – Beth Cato
02:00 PM to 02:45 PM (45 minutes)
CC – Hall B

Friday the 21st
The Future of Food
12:00 PM to 12:45 PM (45 minutes)
Beth Cato , Fran Wilde , Lawrence M. Schoen , Scott Edelman , Amy Thomson Moderator
CC – Conference Theater 110

Reading – Beth Cato & Tina Connolly
Aug 21 03:00 PM to 03:30 PM (30 minutes)
CC – 304

Tomorrow I journey northward to the land of Spokane wherein I will make merry through the weekend. I AM EXCITED. I had the time of my life at WorldCon in San Antonio two years ago, and now I have approximately a gazillion more writer friends AND I have two books out. Also, Spokane just plain looks like a nifty place and it has an incredible food scene downtown. I will also prowl the room parties at night, because I am the adventurous type of eater who is willing to try the Helsinki WorldCon Bid’s reindeer pate. I mean, heck. In San Antonio I drank a poutine martini. I live dangerously at WorldCon.

And yes, I am bringing cookies. Lemon Cornmeal Shortbread, to be exact. If you see me around the con, feel free to stop me and inquire about the cookie stash. I’ll be happy to share, but I imagine I will run out before the con ends. The one guaranteed place to find cookies is my Friday 3pm reading that I’m sharing with Tina Connolly. I’ll be reading excerpts from Clockwork Crown and my next novel Breath of Earth.

Here’s my official con schedule:

Thursday the 20th
Steampunk, Colonialism & Imperialism
11:00 AM to 11:45 AM (45 minutes)
Charles Stross Moderator , Arthur Chu , Leigh Ann Hildebrand , Warren Frey , Beth Cato
CC – Bays 111B

Autographing – Beth Cato
02:00 PM to 02:45 PM (45 minutes)
CC – Hall B

Friday the 21st
The Future of Food
12:00 PM to 12:45 PM (45 minutes)
Beth Cato , Fran Wilde , Lawrence M. Schoen , Scott Edelman , Amy Thomson Moderator
CC – Conference Theater 110

Reading – Beth Cato & Tina Connolly
Aug 21 03:00 PM to 03:30 PM (30 minutes)
CC – 304

If you’re not able to attend my reading at WorldCon today, you can still hear my weird, raspy voice. I’m in the latest episode of the Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcast: The Wonders and Politics of Steampunk w/ Cherie Priest, Beth Cato, and Jaymee Goh.

It’s an interesting discussion. We talk about representation, whitewashing on covers, and some of the political issues around steampunk. There are a LOT of issues. We could have talked for hours on the subject, I’m sure, and as it is, the full broadcast is over an hour!

—

If you want to read my words instead, I talk about some books I recently read and enjoyed over at the What Writers Read. Particular favorites: Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho and The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard.

First of all, two reminders: I’m doing a booksigning at the Phoenix Metro Center Barnes & Noble on Saturday September 12th from 1-3pm. I’m also traveling to Houston on September 26th to team up with Chuck Wendig and Richard Kadrey for a signing! This is at Murder by the Book at 4:30pm. I bet there will be shenanigans.

When you were a kid, did you ever have issues with the floor turning to lava when the vacuum was turned on? I have a poem at Zetetic about this common childhood plight: “The Reason I Limp.”

Rhonda Parrish interviewed me about my story in B is for Broken.

Over at A Dribble of Ink, I’m listed in great company as A Foodie Fantasy Author.

I’m also listed as a Not-So-Invisible Ninja at Charles Stross’s Antipope site–because some daft guys still insist that there are no women writers in science fiction and fantasy. I don’t know how to explain their blindness, either. But then, I’m also mystified by people who can stay awake during baseball games.

My story from last year, “The Cartography of Shattered Trees,” is still getting attention along with other stories in the FAE anthology. Jorie Loves a Story has incredibly kind things to say.

Let’s start off the month with a bunch of happy links!

I had two new poems published this week:
– a YA poem with a magical take on bullying and abuse: “Obsidian” at Kaleidotrope
– a somewhat creepy steampunk poem called “The City” in Mythic Delirium

Then my poem “Sorry,” published earlier this year at Mobius Magazine, was nominated for Best of the Net.

Then there’s the cool miscellaneous stuff…
– a three minute on-camera interview with The Daily Quirk, recorded at San Diego Comic-Con

– Amy Sisson reviews my story from Nature, “Bread of Life,” and says nice things!

– I was name-dropped in the Functional Nerds Podcast at about the 34 minute mark. This tickles me to no end because of Patrick Hester talks about my cookies. Also, buy Fran Wilde’s book Updraft. It’s awesome.

[Important High Priestess duties include taste-testing margaritas. Quality control, y’know.]

At Novelocity, I share Five Not-Horror Books to Creep You Out for Halloween! If you’re in the mood for dark fantasy, check these out.

Fear seems to be something of a theme right now… it’s just that time of year! I’m in an SF Signal Mind Meld on The Children’s Movies That Scared Us the Most and I was also interviewed by Pat Esden (who has a forthcoming Bready or Not guest spot) about Real vs Imaginary Fears and Wings of Sorrow and Bone.

In totally different non-scary news, Reb Kreyling posted a wonderful review of Clockwork Crown! Yay!

Whew! This published author gig involves a lot of juggling (and not the literal kind, or everything would go splat in my face for sure). I’ve been balancing edits and promo for my novella and news on other submissions and life stuff in general. My husband’s co-workers were actually asking after my health because I hadn’t sent along cookies for two weeks.

Here’s where I’ve been on the interwebs as I spread the word about “Wings of Sorrow and Bone”:

– Gremlins in the Clockwork Dagger novella at SFSignal

– Getting the Submissions Call for The Clockwork Dagger, at Michelle Hauck’s site

– Writing a Novella: Wings of Sorrow and Bone, at Dan Koboldt’s site

– Katherine Harbour interviews me about “Wings of Sorrow and Bone”

– How I wrote a novella in 4 easy (?) steps at Auston Habershaw’s site

– Rivka and the Gremlins in Wings of Sorrow and Bone at Books by Centeno

– Interview at I’m Shelf-ish about Wings of Sorrow and Bone

The novella remains a mere 99-cents at all major ebook vendors, too, like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I turned in my Breath of Earth edits to my editor last week. That took a huge burden off of me, but I haven’t been able to take it easy. Revisions ate my brain and my time, so I fell behind on everything else: short story and poetry re-submissions, story edits for myself and for other editors, my web site, general organization… and let’s not even talk about the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of my house. It’s a good thing we have therapists here a few times a week since that forces me to keep the main living areas in decent shape.

I have also, belatedly, jumped into Thanksgiving prep. I made and froze a couple batches of my soft dinner rolls and soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie dough and compiled ingredients for two different kinds of dressing and some other sides to feed company. I love doing all this, but I confess, this year I feel flustered and frantic as I ready myself for the holidays and catch up on everything else.

As part of that catch up, here are my latest publications and tour spots:

Podcasts:
SFSignal interview with Beth Cato, by Patrick Hester; recorded at Sasquan/WorldCon
Reading and Writing Podcast discussion with Beth Cato

Poetry:
“Riders of the Apocalypse: Death” and “Hera Herself, at 8’clock Tonight,” Grievous Angel
Reminisces of a Kraken Caretaker, Devilfish Review

Holy Taco Church:
Yummy Marinade for Chicken

Novelocity:
Advice for NaNoWriMo as Posted on Twitter

As part of the Wings of Sorrow and Bone tour:
GeekMom’s Geek Speaks… Fiction! with Gremlins Galore! Geeking Out About Hideously Adorable Sidekicks
The Writer’s Life eMagazine interview with me

#SFWAPro

‘Tis the season! Book Festival season!

Next weekend I’m attending the Tucson Festival of Books. I have two panels on Saturday the 12th, both followed by booksignings:

[The Penguin Book Truck at the 2015 Tucson Festival]

Writing Heroes of Diversity
We need more diverse books! These authors delivered.

Integrated Learning Center Room 130 (Seats 143, Wheelchair accessible)
Sat, Mar 12, 10:00 am – 11:00 am
SciFi / Fantasy / Horror
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area – Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)
Panelists: Austin Aslan, Beth Cato, Jon Proudstar

Kick-Ass Women of Sci-Fi
Writing strong women characters in a traditionally male-dominated genre.

Optical Sciences 410 (Seats 150, Wheelchair accessible)
Sat, Mar 12, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
SciFi / Fantasy / Horror
Signing area: Signing Area – Flandrau BookStore (Science City) (following presentation)
Panelists: Beth Cato, Jeffe Kennedy, Yvonne Navarro, Judith Tarr

I’ll be at the LA Times Festival of Books in April, too–more info on that soon!

#SFWAPro

Hey, Southern Californians! I’ll be at the LA Times Festival of Books on April 9th on the USC campus. The big event is my panel at 3pm!

Yep. I have no idea how I infiltrated such amazing company, but there we go. o_o However, that’s not all I’m doing there! Here’s my full schedule:

1pm signing @ Mysterious Galaxy booth #368

3pm to 4pm panel Fantastical Visions
Taper Hall 101
with Charlie Jane Anders, Beth Cato, and Robert J. Sawyer

4pm signing – follow us there after the panel!

Drop by and say hi!

#SFWAPro

No foolin’ here. Tomorrow I’ll be at the Foothills Branch Library in north Glendale, Arizona, for a talk with teens/adults/sentient beings. It starts at 2:30 and can go up to an hour. I’m keeping things casual. I’m open to questions about writing, traditional publishing, steampunk, short fiction, poetry, baking… whatever! Oh, and I can sign books, too.

If you’re in the Phoenix area, or know someone who is, please come by or spread the word!

#SFWAPro

The release of my story Final Flight means promo, promo, promo all over the place. Here are my recent posts and interviews–and there are more to come, too!

Final Flight story

Guest blogs:
– Fantasy Cafe’s Women in SFF Month: Beth Cato with The Healer as a Fighter
– “Why I Write Steampunk” at The Spec Fiction Hub
– Final Flight: A Father and Son Story in the World of Clockwork Dagger at the Qwillery
– Beth Cato on Clockwork Daggers at SF Signal
– Writing Short and Long Fiction with Beth Cato at Dan Koboldt’s site
– Writers and their Beasts: Beth Cato at J. Kathleen Cheney’s site

Interviews:
– Introducing Beth Cato of The Clockwork Dagger Series at The Steampunk Cavaliers
– Beth Cato talks about Characters, Cooking and of course, her latest Clockwork Dagger off-shoot, The Final Flight with N.O.A. Rawle

#SFWAPro

The Nebula Conference is a week and a half away (yikes!). I’ll be there Friday through Sunday, taking part in events at the conference and at BEA/BookCon not far away. My previous “visit’ to Chicago consisted of a switch between connecting flights at Midway Airport back in 2003, so I’m pretty excited to explore a city that I have seen on TV my entire life. The land of Oprah! And Navy Bootcamp!

But let’s get to the to-do that is mentioned in the topic. On Friday May 13th, there is a huge booksigning that is free and totally open to the public. Take a look at the image below to get an idea of the authors who will be present. I mean, wow. You can bring books or buy from a bookseller there. This will be awesome!

#SFWAPro

NEBULA WEEKEND. IT IS HERE. Tomorrow I travel to Chicago to lose a major award geek-out with my awesome writer-friends. If you’ll be in Chicago, there are many places to see me and get stuff signed.

Friday
PALMER HOUSE
8:00pm – Booksigning with over 60 science fiction and fantasy writers. FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Bring books or buy there.

Saturday
BOOK CON @ McCormick Place (requires ticket to enter)
1:30-2:00pm – in-booth signing at HarperCollins #2140-#2141 with copies of Clockwork Dagger, plus Clockwork Crown available for purchase!

2:00-3:00pm – in-booth signing at SFWA #1541 with early copies of Breath of Earth (yes! really!)

PALMER HOUSE
8:30pm (central time) – Nebula Awards. This will be streamed online!

#SFWAPro

Last year on the eve of Phoenix Comicon, Elevengeddon assembled a huge force of sci-fi and fantasy authors for a booksigning at Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale. This year, it is back, and bigger and better than before! Seriously, this time around it involves wristbands and delayed entry times, all because of some dudes named Pat Rothfuss and Brandon Sanderson.

For more info, go to the Poisoned Pen’s event page over here. Here’s some extra stuff to keep in mind, too:

We are limiting the number of books that can be signed by Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss to three each per person and we wanted to let everyone know in advance if possible. We will be issuing colored wristbands that will correspond to 45 minute units of time. We will begin issuing these at 6:00 PM and the first group will run from 7:00-7:45 and so on. We will be asking people to line up by the front door at the beginning of their group’s time. They will have to line up outside if numbers are big, so we want them to be prepared. Wristbands will either be issued by the front counter or, if numbers are big, by staff members in front of the store. Wristbands are free, however we are requesting everyone to buy something, though it is not required.

As a personal aside: with signings like this, it is courteous to always buy at least one new book, even if you are bringing a stack to have signed. It’s the best way to say “thank you!” to the bookseller who is hosting the event.

I will be happy to sign copies of Clockwork Dagger, Clockwork Crown, napkins, ARCs of Breath of Earth, any anthologies that feature my work, underwear, shaved cats, etc. Plus, you can get snazzy stickers featuring my book covers!

#SFWAPro

Phoenix Comicon kicks off today! Yay! I’ll be attending events in downtown through Sunday. Here’s my schedule; days and panels are in bold:

Thursday:
Fantasy Draft League: 04:30 PM – 05:30 PM
Signing Lounge: Oliva, Wong, Aslan, Cato, Dunne, Brown, Sykes, Sigler, Messenger: 06:00 PM – 07:00 PM

Friday:
Signing Lounge: Becky Chambers, Beth Cato, James A Owen and Pierce Brown: 12:00 PM – 01:00 PM
Exhibitor Hall Signing: Becky Chambers, Beth Cato, Jody Lynn Nye and Joseph Nassise: 03:00 PM – 04:00 PM
Would You Lie To Me: 06:00 PM – 07:00 PM

Saturday:
Harper Collins Publisher Spotlight: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Bigger Isn’t Better: A Short Fiction Panel: 12:00 PM – 01:00 PM
Signing: Christopher, Cato, VanEekhout, Wyman, Nassise, Dunne, Sullivan, Dalton, Ochse, Navarro : 01:30 PM – 02:30 PM
Exhibitor Hall Signing: Cato, Beaulieu, Henry, Peck/Heckel, Hieber, Kowal and Sykes: 03:00 PM – 04:00 PM
So, You Want to Write Steampunk?: 04:30 PM – 05:30 PM

Sunday:
When Swords Don’t Cut It: New Weapons In Fantasy: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
[note: I am not attending signings on Sunday.]

#SFWAPro