I’m afraid I’ve been rather quiet lately. First there were the UK proofs for The Mortal Word, and then there were the US proofs for The Mortal Word, and in the background I was slogging away at book six . . . and in a most depressing heatwave, too. (I know that by a lot of standards, the recent UK temperatures are comparatively minor – especially in the north of England, where I am – but trust me, it was quite bad enough for my tastes.)

I’m going to be at Nine Worlds in London at the end of next week – so if you’re there as well, do say hi. I will be doing a presentation on the Takarazuka Revue, though given it’s 9am on Saturday morning, I will understand if you can’t be there – I know I’m going to be hitting the coffee heavily beforehand . . .

I’m delighted to share that my American publishers (Ace and Roc Books) will be publishing books six, seven and eight of the Invisible Library series in the US.

No dates yet, I’m afraid, but they will be coming . . .

Just a quick note to say that The Invisible Library is currently at just 99p on amazon.co.uk – apologies to other areas. You can find it here:

The Invisible Library

I think the offer’s only going to last for ten days, so if you want to buy a copy for yourself, your friends, your enemies, your librarians, your wombats, or any other connection, then seize the opportunity . . .

And here are my personal favourites.

Estonia – my definite favourite so far, and got through to the final – impressive voice and dress

Belgium – an interesting minor tune. Didn’t get through to the final, but was fun.

Finland – got through to the final. Perky and entertaining.

Denmark – got through to the final. Strong manly bearded Vikings striding through snow and singing. Manfully.

Serbia – also got through to the final. Somewhat weird but entertaining and pleasant to listen to.

France – automatically gets through to the final. But I like the tune.

Who would I ultimately like to win? Estonia’s my favourite, but I suspect it’s unlikely to come first. Still, one never knows. And Denmark might be an interesting dark horse.

It’s been a quiet month so far. I’ve been working on edits of book five and on the first draft of book six, but there isn’t much I can say about that: the actual details of staring at the computer screen and whimpering are never that interesting to other people. At least the weather here in the UK has finally – finally – turned nice, and I’ve been enjoying sunshine for the last two days. (What is this strange yellow ball in the sky, say English people, and why is the sky blue all of a sudden.)

I’ve been reading a number of excellent books – including Catherynne Valente’s Space Opera, Melissa Caruso’s The Defiant Heir, Ruth Ball’s Rebellious Spirits, and Rebecca Kuang’s The Poppy War, among others. All of which are very good indeed. (And I need to find and reread my copy of The Investiture of the Gods before the sequel to The Poppy War comes out, just in case there are any clues in there… Even if it’s not a very good translation. I’ve never got over the use of the phrase “unholy bronze toaster”.)

Upcoming things include, yes, the Eurovision Song Contest! (See also Valente’s Space Opera, mentioned above. Eurovision in space!) Semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday this week, final on Saturday. I love Eurovision. It’s silly, it’s entertaining, it’s brilliant. And even if there is some political voting, the people who come at the top are usually emphatically the ones who deserved it. So yes, I’ll be sitting in front of the television, with my latest quilt in my lap so that I can work on the binding, and I’ll be enjoying myself. If you watch it, I hope you do too.

The Italian translation of The Masked City, La città segreta, will be released tomorrow (18th April) in Italy.

It’s still astonishing to think that I’m being published in Italy – and given that part of the story is set in an Italy, I only hope that the readers enjoy it and that I haven’t failed too badly in portraying it. Venice is a beautiful city. Any faults are my own.

In just 15 minutes you can ask me anything on Reddit for the next two hours, at this link:

https://redd.it/8c1gy8

(Only from 8-10pm UK time . . .)

There hasn’t been much news lately, I’m afraid – and I’ve been neck-deep in edits on book five and writing on book six.

But here is something which may interest people – I’ll be doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit on Friday 13th April, at 8-10pm UK time. My username there is GCogman, and I’ll try to post a link to it on the day itself.

Your Imminence, your Disgraces, my Thorns, Shadies, and Gentledevils – no, wait, that’s from Screwtape Proposes a Toast. Wrong context. Ahem.

I am delighted to be able to share the US cover and the lead-in text for book five of the Invisible Library series, The Mortal Word.

When Irene returns to London after a relatively straightforward book theft, Bradamant informs her that there is a top secret dragon-Fae peace conference in progress that the Library is mediating, but that the second-in-command dragon has been stabbed to death. Tasked with solving the case, Vale and Irene immediately go to 1890s Paris.

Once they arrive, it seems that the murder victim had uncovered evidence suggesting that he may have found proof of treachery by one or more Librarians. But to ensure the peace of the conference, some Librarians are already hostages in the dragon and Fae courts. To save the captives, including her parents, Irene must get to the bottom of this murder—but was it dragon, Fae, or even a Librarian who committed the crime?

https://bookriot.com/2018/03/21/cover-reveal-the-mortal-word-the-next-book-in-the-invisible-library-series-by-genevieve-cogman/

(And yes, I’ve seen the UK cover too, and it’s also gorgeous – hopefully I can share that soon as well . . .)

I am absolutely delighted to share the news that Pan Macmillan will be bringing out three more Invisible Library books. (Yes, that’s books 6-8 in the series.)

Here’s the press release.

I’m really past speech here. When I was writing the first book, I never dreamed it would go anything like this far. Thank you all, everyone who’s been reading the books, and who’ve convinced my publishers to continue the series. Thank you.

In other news, The Invisible Library is going to be published in Russia by AST, and in Romania by Nemira. Again . . . well, this isn’t something I ever dared hope for, but it’s fantastic that it’s happening.

At the moment, in between all this joyful news, I’m working on editing book five. Though next week I will be taking a little break and spending a few days in Barcelona. Not for work, just for my own pleasure – though I will be doing a little research while I’m there. At least the weather should be better than it is in the UK at the moment!

Best wishes to you all, and thanks again.