Thanks to Jon Armstrong for stopping by here yesterday and providing content (while I did Other Things — I truly understand why guest bloggers are so fabulous now).
Back in November, I read Grey on an airplane (right after The End of Mr. Y) and thought it a completely distinctive debut. At the time, I said: "… it was an extremely pleasant surprise to read such a strange, elaborately written (but brief) science fiction novel." The star-crossed main characters of Grey obsessively follow a fashion magazine called Pure H — recreating its surreal, bizarre scenes in their "looks"; Pure H feels like a real magazine but could never really exist (think The Library television show from Kelly Link’s "Magic for Beginners"). Like a phantom magazine ad, Grey lingered in my thoughts, coming back to me at odd moments. I highly recommend giving it a try.
AND, I might add, the book’s publisher Night Shade Books (home of the one and only zoot-suited Jeremy Lassen) just had a great article written about them in Publishers Weekly.
So, yesterday Jon proposed a contest and you can win a copy of Grey:
Get a Free signed copy of my novel, Grey! –Yes, we’ve come to the shameless self-promotion part of this post. I’m announcing a book giveaway. You can find Chapter 1 here. The contest is: write the first sentence of Chapter 2 and leave it in the comments (be sure there’s a way for me to reach you). Best one wins a copy of Grey. Plus, I’ll sign it however you wish, including the always useful: Congratulations ebay Highest Bidder!
He’ll announce the winner next week, so get cracking.