I am becoming more and more convinced that the summer didn’t actually happen, and everything I thought that happened was one long fever dream. That, or time has been sucked through a tear in the space-time continuum. Either way, goodbye, summer. My lack of interest in anything pumpkin related means I will miss you terribly.

It’s September now, which means THE FERRYMAN INSTITUTE‘s release date can now be measured in weeks instead of months. There’s been some nice things said about it: Publisher’s Weekly did a very nice review, as did Shelf Awareness. Booklist gave it a starred review. Barnes & Noble added it to its list of Best Fantasy books to read in September. Goodreads has been a bit of a mixed bag, with some people seeming to have thoroughly enjoy it, while others would — to borrow a phrase from the book itself — like to see me chained to the bottom of an active volcano (see here). On the whole, I’m thrilled people are even paying attention to it, to be honest. That said, it’s nice that sentiments seem to be mostly positive. Silver linings and all that.

In other news, I’ll be at New York Comic Con this year. Despite having lived across the river from it for almost all of my life, I’ve never been, so it’s strange my first time there will be in a professional capacity. All the same, I’m very excited. Carly will undoubtedly have to give me the talk — you know the one: the “no, Dear, there is no room in the house for a life-size replica of 90’s era Gambit from the X-Men” talk. She will win that discussion, mostly because I rather enjoy her being my wife and not, say, my ex-wife.

So, my current schedule for Comic Con:

Friday, 10/7 4:30-5:00pm, I’ll be at the Simon & Schuster booth (Booth 2128) doing a giveaway book signing. So if you want to read THE FERRYMAN INSTITUTE but also enjoy things like being able to buy food, that’s you best chance to snag a copy on the free. Or swing by just to hang out with your boy. You know, whatever works.

Sunday, 10/9 I’ll be a part of the Myths, Fairy Tales and Legends: Reimagining Classic Stories Panel from 1:15-2:15pm in room 1A18 with a book signing to follow from 2:30-3:30pm. I will be by far the most unheard of, worst dressed panelist there, but c’est la vie. It should be a lot of fun, and the other authors in the panel have some really great stuff as well, so if you’ve got a Sunday ticket, come check it out. I’ve been told panels fill up quickly, so if you’re interested, arrive a bit early.

If you plan on dropping by either of those, shoot me a note: cgigl.author [-at-] [-gmail-] .com or tweet at me @cgigl. I’ll also probably be wandering the floor on Friday (possibly with an extra copy or two), so say hi!