IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Advance Reading Copies!

On Tuesday afternoon, the UPS truck pulled up to my house with a delivery I'd been anticipating with bated breath: advance reading copies (ARCs) of In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Here's a view of the front cover and the spine: 

The back cover is lovely, but I had just seen a sample of the full hardcover book jacket just hours before receiving the ARCs, and the final version is so much more jaw-droppingly stunning that I'm not going to even share a photo of the ARC's back cover. Even the spine in the final version has a little more to it, as well as the interior pages. As excited as I am about the ARCs (which are indeed amazingly beautiful), I have to say the finished version will be a breathtaking work of art, thanks to the book's talented designer, Maria T. Middleton.

I'll give you a tiny peek of the ARC's frontmatter—a sample of the flavor of the book's gorgeous and spooky interior design:

 

If you're interested in receiving an In the Shadow of Blackbirds ARC, here are three ways to try to obtain a copy:  

• If you live in the U.S., enter to win my current giveaway at The Mod Podge Bookshelf. 
• If you're a bookseller, librarian, book reviewer, book blogger, or someone else who typically receives galleys, fill out my ARC request form. If you are open to receiving an electronic copy, please note that the book will be on NetGalley in early December.
• If you are heading to ALA Midwinter in Seattle this January, stop by the ABRAMS booth. I'll be signing ARCs that weekend (exact dates and times to be announced).

Thanks so much to everyone who's already expressed an interest in receiving an advance copy. More giveaways are also in the works.