2. I recorded another Rules for Hearts podcast! (Link is directly to the mp3.) See, people, when you bug me via the Formspring, it works! Because anonymous Internet questions are the new peer pressure. Or maybe they are actually the old peer pressure.

3. Saturday morning, May 22nd, 9 AM, on the Portland State University campus in the Smith Memorial Student Union on the third floor. I am going to talk about YA Trends. AND Audience. Not just trends, not just audience. BOTH. As part of the Ooligan Press Write to Publish conference. I will remind you about this again, I bet.

No, seriously.

Here’s Act III, scene i of The Rules for Hearts.

And because I am, as stated above, ON IT, here is a CONVENIENT REPOSITORY OF ALL PREVIOUS PODCASTS.

I KNOW.

You can find the latest episode in the iTunes Store (gloriously free) by searching for Sara Ryan in the podcast category, or you can go to this unlovely but useful page wherein you can subscribe to the podcast and/or download individual episodes. I’ve read all of Empress and am making my way, slowly but surely, through Rules as well. (I’m slightly flummoxed by the latest version of GarageBand, though; I used to understand how to compress the files, but this one has remained fairly ginormous. Would welcome advice from GarageBand aficionados.)

Or you can simply download The Rules for Hearts, Act II, scene iv, from this very page.

Anyway, here for your downloading pleasure is The Rules for Hearts, part five, specially prerecorded before The Sickness.

And hey, if it doesn’t show up in iTunes within the next day or so, let me know…especially if you can help me make sure it does!

Edited to add: In case you missed the first two episodes, you can download them, too:

The Rules for Hearts, part one
The Rules for Hearts, part two

2. Utterly thrilled to see Empress in Colleen Mondor‘s Holiday Break Bookslut column. And it was right next to Ellen Klages‘ White Sands, Red Menace, which I loved!

3. Next up: that post about balancing writing and librarianship. As soon as I, um, make the time to write it.

I’m excited that The Rules for Hearts will be coming out in paperback in January. So excited, in fact, that I’m going to give away some hardcover copies to celebrate!

What’s on offer: Copies of The Rules for Hearts for gay-straight alliances. Consider it a belated honoring of National Coming Out Day, an early hobbit-style birthday present (mine is coming up November 13th), or simply a sneaky, underhanded way of spreading the word about the book — however you think of it, key message=free books.

Q. Why gay-straight alliances?

A. Because GSAs are awesome. And because in between fighting homo/bi/transphobia, planning actions and events, and trying to find a meeting time that everyone can actually make for once, sometimes it is nice to read.

Q. We don’t call ourselves a GSA, we’re the QQQQQ (Quintessentially Quirky, Querulous, Queer & Questioning). Can we still get books?

A. Yes. (I won’t go so far as to say I’ll give preference to groups with, ahem, original names, but…)

Q. How many copies are you giving away, anyway?

A. That answer is shrouded in mystery.

Q. Are you giving away Empress, too?

A. I already have, as a series of podcasts. Download in good health!

Q. Hey, weren’t you going to podcast Rules?

A. ::looks at ceiling::

::clears throat::

::whistles nonchalantly::

Q. Okay, right, we get it, you’ve been busy. So how do we get the books?

A. Email me: sara (at) sararyan (dot) com with the name of your group, how many regular members you have, and an address to send the books. The giveaway will run until November 13th or when I run out of copies, whichever comes first!

And please feel free to repost!

Download Act I, scene ii.

ETA a geeky question: Does anyone know how to change the icon associated with a podcast in the iTunes store? I was using the Empress cover as my icon while I was reading it, but now that I’m embarked on reading Rules I’d like to change it to the Rules cover. I did change it in my .xml file using the <itunes: image> tag, but somehow the change isn’t getting picked up in the iTunes store. Any help much appreciated.

P.S. Yes, for new readers, you can subscribe to my podcast via iTunes.

The first installment should be up soon in the iTunes store, or you can download it as an mp3.

And yeah, I’m planning to keep reading. Tell your friends. :)