the Author
May
1
33 Comments

This is Bookday for SILENCE

Posted in DAW, Queen of the Dead.

Silence is now out in the wilds (in theory). It’s May 1st.

Book days are always both exciting and nerve-wracking: Exciting because book! Nerve-wracking because the book – and my writing of it – is finally open to public scrutiny. Some people will love it. Some people will hate it. There’s always a little bit of fear lurking in the midst of the excite­ment — both are genuine.

What I can say about Silence is that it’s the first of three books, it’s contem­po­rary fantasy, and it doesn’t — I’m sorry — have much in the way of romance in it. It’s the Michelle version of a ghost story. It has a cover I adore, by artist Cliff Nielsen.

The book jacket is a bit of (a lot of) a spoiler, so if you haven’t read it and you hate spoilers, don’t.

This isn’t meant to be a spoiler thread, because I imagine most of you haven’t read the book yet. I’ll make a spoiler thread post later, for people who want to discuss the book here.

 

33 Responses to This is Bookday for SILENCE

  1. Katy Peppel Holder says:
    May 1, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    I loved it, loved it, loved it! I should be studying for exams but who cares-this book was so worth a bit less studying.

  2. Joey says:
    May 1, 2012 at 10:49 pm

    Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! (Wait, what’s that gold chain?) Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day! Book day!

  3. michelle says:
    May 2, 2012 at 2:39 am

    Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it — I admit I’m a little surprised you’ve already read it, but also, very happy :)

  4. Sue says:
    May 2, 2012 at 5:17 am

    Fabu­lous!! I could hardly put it down! I finished it work during lunch.
    Loved it!

  5. Paul Howard says:
    May 2, 2012 at 8:09 am

    It’s in my “To Be Read Pile” on my Nook.

  6. Eleanor GunShows says:
    May 2, 2012 at 10:48 am

    I loved it. I pre-ordered it and it was deliv­ered last week. And to be honest it is not a book to be read before bed ( i’m a huge chicken) the cost of night­mares is too high a price to pay for me.

  7. Estara says:
    May 2, 2012 at 1:54 pm

    All hail the Cana­dian Kobo​books​.com — I am now happy owner of the .epub edition of Silence ^^ — I just finished reading BAEN’s e‑ARC of Dragon Ship (Liaden Universe newest novel), so this is very good timing for your release *grin*.

  8. Hilda D. Rodriguez says:
    May 2, 2012 at 2:16 pm

    It was deliv­ered to my door yestrday. Cheers for Amazon! But with a house just on the market and a sick sister, my reading time is very late night or zero. However, It trav­eled with me testerday and today. I’m concerned that it may not be a book for late night reading, but I managed to cover what Michelle posted earlier. One free hour coming!

  9. michelle says:
    May 2, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    A) Thank you :)

    B) I’m a bit of a chicken in real life, and even in writing (which is why I don’t write horror). Is it harder to read before bed than the Cast novels (if you’ve read them?)

  10. Meagan says:
    May 2, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    Completely forgot (it’s been a crazy week) yesterday was the first until I came on here by chance at about 10:30 pm and happened to see this post. Natu­rally I had to go buy Silence. I went with a kindle version so I could imme­di­ately read it (I may go pick up an actual book soon as you’re one of the authors I prefer to actu­ally ‑have- a book of instead of just the kindle copy) and finished it by midnight. Read it three times now and thor­oughly loved it! Thank you so very much for writing it! I had a horrible day today so being able to read it last night, once before work, and once after work made the day feel less like a disaster.

  11. michelle says:
    May 3, 2012 at 12:09 am

    So glad to hear that one of my books made a posi­tive differ­ence to a horrible day.

    Not that I wish horrible days on any of my readers — but it’s nice to make a little bit of a difference.

  12. Eleanor GunShows says:
    May 3, 2012 at 12:42 am

    It was scarier to read than the cast books. ( I still haven’t seen the exor­cist for fear of what night­mares I could imagine after­words) I have a fear of ghosts, real ghosts not ghosts of a person’s past( cultur­ally taught I think). I also do not read horror, my mind is too vivid for it. I did enjoy Silence and will get the next book to see what happens next.
    I have and Love the Cast series, and the Sunsword/Hunter/House War series. Super excited for the new cast book coming out in the fall!!

  13. Scorbet says:
    May 3, 2012 at 4:11 am

    *Joins you in hailing Kobo* (They seem to be much better than most at making ebooks avail­able to those of us outside the English-speaking markets)

    I picked it up on Tuesday and finished it last night and I, um, already want more…

  14. Peter Moore (salty) says:
    May 3, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    At book day +2 very good reviews on Amazon. 4+ stars and the two 2 star ratings were from ppl who were irked at the price and didn’t even read the book!!! WTG Michelle! Now I know what I’ll be doing on my 2 hr subway ride home.

  15. Genna Warner says:
    May 3, 2012 at 11:33 pm

    Absolutely loved it. I can’t wait for the next book in the series and hope that this series falls victim to the “need more books to tell it” so it doesn’t end at three books.

  16. robbin says:
    May 4, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    i am enjoying it a lot. it is very different than your other books. but i do enjoy them all. so thanks!! :)

  17. Joey says:
    May 5, 2012 at 11:19 am

    Happy Book Launch Party Day! And Happy Cinco de Mayo, too! 

    Hope a lot of copies of SILENCE are signed and sold. Btw, what does “Michelle in all her glory” look like?

  18. Martha Kreeger says:
    May 6, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    Love this book! Michelle Sagara West has created two of my all time favorite worlds with Kaylin Neya and Jewel a Tarafin. I was reluc­tant to read and love yet another world likely to slow my vora­cious appetite for geting books from series I wait breath­lessly for and now, once again, the inevitable. I love Silence. I love Michael, Eric, Chase, Amy, Allison, even the barely met Nathan…and most of all Emma. Thanks again Michelle!

  19. Martha Kreeger says:
    May 6, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    PS: May 5 is our anniver­sary, a great day to launch a book! My husband gets this next…poor guy…I have him started with the hunter stories and am passing him my Sun Sword books. He already finished all the Cast books. Love it!

  20. michelle says:
    May 6, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    It’s my birthday as well :). Our anniver­sary is later in the month.

    And thank you — I’m never sure how some­thing different will work with my readers, because as a reader, I don’t always love different series/characters by my favorite writers.

  21. Erin says:
    May 7, 2012 at 8:16 am

    Happy birthday!

    As the mom of a 3.5 year old, there were parts of the book that I had to put down and then pick back up again, but overall I found it enjoy­able. I must say it doesn’t grab me as much as the House War/Sun Sword series but I will defi­nitely follow Emma’s story as it continues.

  22. Ralph Walker says:
    May 7, 2012 at 11:03 am

    I still do not have Silence. May 1st, my local B & N informed me that Penguin USA had cancelled my pre-order ( why, no one knows)!! B & N promised to place a new order imme­di­ately and I should have the book in 2 – 3 days. Well, I just called today and still no book ( can you hear the steam escaping from my ears!!!).
    I do not wish to purchase a Kindle version. This is a new series and a YA novel. I want to be able to donate it to a local high school when I finish. Plus, I like supporting a brick and mortar store. I’m not mad at you or DAW. I would, however, like to find a neck at Penguin USA I could throttle.
    I want my book ( said in an appro­pri­ately whiny voice)!

  23. David Y says:
    May 8, 2012 at 12:13 am

    And the big chain in Canada doesn’t have any copies in their store (at least none west of Toronto).
    Couldn’t make it down town. Sorry.

  24. David Y says:
    May 11, 2012 at 9:26 pm

    Copies in the big chain today — under teen fiction. I moved one to the Fantasy section. :-)

  25. Lavanya Vijayaraghavan says:
    May 14, 2012 at 6:43 am

    Dear Michelle,
    First — congrat­u­la­tions on the new website! very sophis­ti­cated use of colours and fonts. my first impres­sion (and second and third) was of a cool, slightly bitter choco­late-coffee-cream vodka martini that melted deli­ciously on my mouth, without being in the least bit cloying. a hint of hazelnut too. 

    Second: just finished Silence, which a friend of mine fedexed me from the US because she knows how much I love your books.
    I’ll try to keep this spoiler free.
    First impres­sion: very inter­esting exper­i­ment that you pulled off 90% of the time.
    Style: the style was a more contem­po­rary version of the ‘Cast’ books. Emma has a very distinc­tive voice, much like Kaylin’s & Jewel’s, but at the same time, is very, very different.
    The char­acter i liked the most: Micheal’s char­acter is very well portrayed — you have the essence of of his condi­tion, or rather, the way HE perceives and under­stands the world around him. In no way at all does he come across as ‘disabled’ or in any way ‘lesser’ than his group. In fact, he makes his friends think more deeply about who they are and makes them more aware than most of their behaviour. 

    Length: Just right! Not too long, not too short; given your worries about writing too much. 

    Pacing: the ‘action scene’ dragged and dragged. I know you wanted the reader to know that the protag­o­nists truly under­stood the gravity of their choices. however, this section (trying hard not to be spoi­lerish) didn’t have the sense of urgency that the situ­a­tion demanded. 

    Bravo! Your books have pulled me through many horrible times in my life and have made the good times even more enjoyable.
    Thank you very very very much for your stories, Michelle.
    Regards,
    Lavanya
    PS: please feel free to delete this if i have given away anything i oughtn’t to have.

  26. Lavanya Vijayaraghavan says:
    May 14, 2012 at 6:44 am

    sorry, PPS: Like the author photo too, though missing the glasses ;-)

  27. Mel says:
    May 16, 2012 at 2:05 am

    Ordered it.… Expect to fall for Emma just as I haved loved all the major and minor char­ac­ters in sun sword and hunt series and of course kaylin and her accomplices!

  28. Jennifer says:
    May 16, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    Michelle, Silence was AMAZING! I have loved everyone of the “Cast” books and was thrilled to find out about this one. Of course, now I’ll be on pins and needles waiting for the next in the series! :) Thank you so much for sharing your gift with me and the rest of your avid readers!

    Much love, Jennifer

  29. michelle says:
    May 16, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    I never delete posts unless I’ve been incred­ibly clumsy. Or unless they’re likely to offend other people, which so far hasn’t happened :)

    Thank you for reading Silence, thank your friend for me, and thank you for posting!

  30. michelle says:
    May 16, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    I’m crossing my fingers :).

    What I’ve found so far is that people who read in large part for a sense of world and world-building haven’t loved this one as much.

  31. michelle says:
    May 16, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    Thank you :D.

    I am, after dinner & chasing youngest to bed because it’s a school night, sitting down to work, so this was lovely :)

  32. michelle says:
    May 16, 2012 at 10:17 pm

    I’ve sent email; I’m not sure what happened. I do know that the book was in a second printing before it ship­ping to bookstores/retail outlets, because my author’s copies were (mostly) 2nd printings.

    So I’m wondering if some­thing got caught up in that.

  33. Lavanya Vijayaraghavan says:
    May 17, 2012 at 2:13 pm

    ah, i meant delete if there were any spoilers! you are one of the very, very few writers i still care about and make an effort to have your books shipped.. lucky for me i have some very good friends. believe me, it was shock when i returned to India after 12 years away (London, then Iowa) and found how diffi­cult it was to get fantasy novels. there’s always been a good market for SF in India, but fantasy here = Jean M Auel (grrrrrrrrr). it’s getting better though, but the geograph­ical (!!!!!) restric­tions on ebooks are very, very frustrating.
    by the way, what do you think of the public interest liti­ga­tion against apple ebooks? how do you think that’s going to affect other ‘retailers’ like smashwords?
    hope your sinusitis gets better soon. I’m a fellow sufferer and nothing really works. though euca­lyptus oil steam inhala­tion some­times does. I think you need a holiday! Treat your­self to one.. i’m sure all your readers would agree with me.

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