It’s a huge milestone for me and the series!

You can read the full review on the Kirkus website.

What, what is a Kirkus Review?

The three trade publications that cover books are Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus Reviews. 

If you take a look at the jackets of popular mainstream books, you’ll likely see one or all three shops mentioned in the blurbs trying to convince you to buy the book.

In marketing land, that kind of endorsement is called social proof. It helps you take a chance on something new because someone else has told you it’s good.

For example, here on the right is the front matter for Leigh Bardugo’s Crooked Kingdom. As you can see, her book designer has prominently referenced feedback from both Booklist and Kirkus Reviews: 

As an indie author, getting the attention of industry players is never a sure thing.

I don’t have a publisher or agent to vouch for me in those circles.  

How do you get a Kirkus Review?

I submitted Chaos Calling for a review back in October. Participation is pay-to-play (and in USD, too, owww), but that only opens the door.

There’s no guarantee the reviewer who receives the .pdf copy you send will like the book. And their submission process is very blunt about that to manage your expectations. You also aren’t told who the reviewer is and the post is anonymous.

I waited six weeks to hear back. I did my best not to think about it during that time. Having the insanity of the holidays to prepare for made that easy.

What did the Chaos Calling Kirkus Review say?

When I got the review back on December 27, I was thrilled. They didn’t give it a Kirkus star (the highest blessing), but they did say some damn nice things.

I can’t tell you how gratifying it was to see the reviewer comment on the character development and pacing.

I worked so hard with my beta readers and editorial team to get those aspects of the book right. It feels amazing to see them singled out here as strengths of the reading experience.

Read the whole review here.

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New York City is a place I’ll visit visit for any reason. Flying there to hang out with fellow comics, movie, TV and book fans was an experience I won’t forget.

I arrived on Thursday morning and left Saturday morning. In retrospect, flying out late Friday would have been a good option, too, but I didn’t want to be rushed.

Watch my New York Comic Con journey on TikTok

I made three Tiktoks about my trip (I tried embedding them, but WordPress is being difficult. You’ll have to click through the links).

Day 1 highlights included the Owl House Panel and checking out publisher’s row in the merch hall.

On Day 2, I took the long route to the convention center through New York City. If I’m visiting a city for a conference, seeing a few things outside the actual gathering is always a plus and I’m glad I took this little detour.

Day 2 also brought a range of speculative fiction authors out for panels. Highlights for me included Neil Gaiman, Tochi Onyebuchi, Naomi Novik, and Leigh Bardugo.

In the evening, I had a wristband for Bardugo’s launch of Demon in the Wood, her graphic novel collaboration with Dani Pendergast. I enjoyed their discussion and met some great book people while we waited in line for the photo op

Hats off to the events team. They were super organized to get 600+ people photographed with the creative team in under an hour!

After two years of pandemic lockdowns, attending in-person book events was a lot of fun. People at the convention were sensible about masking when indoors and I didn’t get sick on my trip.

I look forward to more bookish travel in 2023.

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