The bad news entry
Okay, here's the part where things kind of start to suck, but I feel like I should tell you sooner rather than later:
I was trying to hold off on telling you until I was absolutely sure, but it seems pretty clear that I've been living a lie. My real name is Erica Windermere and I don't actually exist* we're not going to be able to get the book on North American shelves any time soon. In fact, I'm hearing that the soonest it might get on shelves is fall of next year. Let me repeat that: fall 2006. It's an issue of timing, of getting it into bookseller catalogues, and of getting it out in a season where it will sell--i.e., the holiday season. It's not out of an unwillingness to sell it; it's a logistical situation. And if that's the hand we're dealt, I think we can make it work just fine, in terms of selling to the general market.
What I'm really concerned about is getting the book in front of people who already know about it and want it--i.e., y'all. I'm trying to see if we can get a North American edition put out on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. But I don't know when that might happen. If you are in the U.S. (where I am, ironically) or in Canada, and you do want the book, and you don't mind paying the extra shipping, you can get it from Amazon.co.uk, where the new fall releases are already 40% off anyway (as reflected in the £5.39/$9.58 price.) And it's a pretty thick book, so... seriously, that's a fairly good deal. If you want to wait until it gets on an Amazon closer to home, or even until it hits real shelves, that's totally cool. But at the very least, I know that a lot of people have mentioned in comments that they can't decide what to do, and I feel like I should give you the information as I know it, now that it's pretty solid.
* Uh, sorry about that. Em and I got way into Law & Order: Criminal Intent last night.
ETA: I don't know why, but the book seems to be coming out November 1 in Australia.