Quickly Answering Some Recent Questions About Liar

Yes, the new cover means that it is unlikely possible that Liar will may not be available in US and Canadian stores on the announced publication date of 29 September. I don’t know what the new pub date is but it will definitely be in October. As soon as I know I’ll pass it on. Update: My US publisher says there’s still a strong possibility Liar will be available at the end of September as planned. (Note: this is the hardcover first edition of Liar I am talking about. There will not be a North American paperback until next year.)

There is no planned UK edition as UK rights have not sold. The English language editions, both to be published in October, are the Australian one published by Allen & Unwin and the North American version published by Bloomsbury.

There will also be an audio version read by the amazing Channie Waites (scroll down to see the photo of her) for Bolinda in Australia and Brilliance in the USA. I was able to sit in on part of the recording session and plan to blog about that incredible experience (with pictures) next week. (Short version: my work brought to life! OMG!)

If you prefer to read in languages other than English Liar will also be published in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, and Turkey. I have no details yet on when those editions will appear.

I am hoping for a manga version, because I am always hoping for manga versions of my work. So far there has not been the faintest hint of a nibble in that direction for any of my books. Personally, I think How To Ditch Your Fairy would make the best manga series ever.

If you have any other questions fire away. I promise to answer them all even if it’s just to say, “Why are you asking me about stalactites? I don’t know anything about them. I can’t even remember if they’re the sticky up-y ones or the pointy down-y ones.”

18 comments

  1. Mary Elizabeth S. on #

    Stalagmites stick up like the points of a capital M. Which is handy, since “stalagmite” just happens to have an m in it, whereas “stalactite” doesn’t.

    There should be more book-to-manga crossovers. And more manga-to-book crossovers. And more interplay between the two, generally.

    Justine, you need to make friends with a manga artist and collaborate with them on a book with chapters that alternate between images and written word. It would be a thing of Awesome. *enthusiastic nodding*

    ~Mary

  2. El on #

    Stalactites hold “tight” to the ceiling….

  3. Elodie on #

    In french, it’s awesome, because stalagtites and and stalagmites are different just with that “t” and “m”, and “tomber” means to fall, and “monter” means to go up. The t ones fall (from the top) and the m ones climb (from the bottom). 😀 Dunno how that could translate into english…
    Hmm, I guess this is proof that english is an inferior language! >.> XD

  4. Sam on #

    I learned the same mnemonic as El, only with the added “Stalagmites MIGHT reach the ceiling”. I still always forget that it’s spelled with a G though.

  5. Judith Ridge on #

    I learned how to remember the difference between stalagtites and stalagmites from an Archie comic, from which one could eventually learn everything worth knowing in life. (Especially now we know that Archie marries Veronica, not Betty, humph. http://tinyurl.com/omhwe7)

    Stalagtites are the ones on the ceiling because they have to hold on tight. Stalagmites are the ones of the ground because they might one day reach the ceiling. (Seems oddly aspirational on the part of the old stalagmites to me, but it was, after all, an Archie comic…)

  6. Rene on #

    Heh. Elodie, my English mnemonic is stalagmites have a “g” for “ground,” and stalactites have a “c” for “ceiling.” So it works in English, too. 🙂

  7. Kiera on #

    Are the US and Australian editions much different? (vocabulary, grammar, etc) I don’t want to wait any longer than september! Plus the cover for the Australian edition reminds me of a Rorschach test, which I like. ^.^

  8. PixelFish on #

    I learned it as stalaGmites grow up from the Ground. (G for ground.) And stalaCtites grow down from the Ceiling. (C for ceiling.)

  9. Precie on #

    I’m a little bit behind so I just found out, via Editorial Ass, about yoour new cover. Thank goodness! I wish you lots of success with Liar and it’s new cover!

  10. Justine on #

    Keira: The text of the Australian and US editions of Liar is identical. The design, externally and internally, is different. The US first edition is hardcover the Australian is paperback (C format).

  11. Kiera on #

    Thank you very much, Justine!

  12. Kate C on #

    MITES grow up
    and TITES fall down.

    Easy.

  13. Cristina on #

    I have an unrelated question!

    I know you’ve written before about the editing process and on having first readers on your drafts. But do you have any advise to those first readers? A couple of friends have sent me their drafts, and while I like helping them, I have no idea of what I’m supposed to do. Is there anything I should be paying particular attention to?

  14. Justine on #

    Cristina: That’s a HUGE question. I might have to write a whole post to respond. But the first thing I would do is ask your friends what they want you to read for. Some people just want to know when readers get confused. Did the reader follow the plot? Were there bits where they got bored? etc.

  15. LR on #

    I have a sort-of-but-not-really-related question- did you see the NYTimes article about lying, by Errol Morris? Can you say what your opinion is of the points he makes, about the nature of lying?

  16. Justine on #

    LR: I have indeed read that article. Dead interesting. Can you be more specific about your question? He makes a lot of different points about lying.

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