I thought it fitting to make my first 2014 post about my 2014 release, titled IN A HANDFUL OF DUST. A lot of people have been asking me about it since the Amazon and Goodreads listings went up on New Year's Eve, and I'm honestly flattered that someone other than my blood relations even noticed.
To be fair, I actually pointed it out to my blood relations. So bonus points to those of you who found it on your own.
So what's it about? I don't have official flap copy (the words on the back, or the inside dust jacket) yet, so I'm not sure what's fair game to divulge and what's not. I also can't share the cover, but don't worry all will be clear soon. Quite soon. I'll keep you in the loop.
A lot of people are asking if it's a sequel to NOT A DROP TO DRINK, a fair question if you know anything about poetry.
No, it's not.
Some of you may have just had a feeling of elation, some of you may have just punched your computer. I know the conflicted feelings when it comes to books that don't need sequels and get one anyway, so trust me that as a lifelong reader I'm on your side.
But I also know what it's like to leave behind fictional people that you've come to care about dearly, and to be terrified that you won't be hearing from them again.
So, no worries.
One of the things I admired most when I read Kristin Cashore's GRACELING was the fact that this world was so big and we had only explored a small part of it, yet hints had been dropped about other facets we hadn't been able to glimpse. FIRE took us to those places, and BITTERBLUE did a great job of showing us even more development.
So... that's my teaser for IN A HANDFUL OF DUST.
Also, here's a lovely quote from TS Eliot's The Waste Land to get you thinking, wherein you'll find my title source:
What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.