Patti McCall, the owner of Queen Anne Books, one of my favorite Seattle independent bookstores, has just announced that she is planning to sell the store:

Almost 14 years ago, Cindy Mitchell and I met with Randy and Alice to discuss the possibility of buying Queen Anne Books, sealing the deal July 31, 1998.  It has been an amazing ride: Borders Books and Barnes & Noble were the ‘big, bad, box stores’; Amazon was a new and far-reaching idea just beginning to take off; Tower Books was our nearest competitor; and there was no such thing as an e-book. After a couple hundred book club meetings, four amazing Harry Potter parties, countless author events and 14 Holiday Magics, I have decided it is time to turn over Queen Anne Books to a new owner — someone who will bring fresh energy and ideas to a business undergoing a radical and exciting transformation.

During the five years Lisa and I lived on Queen Anne Hill, Queen Anne Books was our local indie, and in addition to just being a wonderful bookstore, they were incredibly supportive of my career, handselling literally hundreds of copies of Set This House in Order and Bad Monkeys. Unfortunately, even with their help, I haven’t quite reached the level of success where I can afford to buy the store myself, but hopefully somewhere out there is a well-heeled investor—Bill? Paul? Nathan?—looking for a new opportunity. It’s a great business in a great neighborhood.

This week’s highlight reel:

Reviews

• The Oregonian — “It’s bracing to read a novel that generates a fresh look at Our Troubled Times without the exhausted polemics and manipulative sentiments. In fact, The Mirage is a 9/11 novel we’ve been waiting for, audacious, funny and bold.”
• The Kitsap Sun — “The Mirage is a shimmering tour de force — an entertainment, a contemplation, and an indictment, all rolled into one.”
• BookPage — “It’s no easy task to recreate the universe in its own, if slightly distorted, image, yet Ruff has succeeded handily, dizzying and dazzling the reader with a fantastic—and fantastical—story.”
• The Brown Tweed Society — “Characters worth caring about, real tension and suspense, and a wildly unexpected resolution…”
• The Authors Speak — “Rarely do I call a book ‘transcendent’, but this one may be just that.”

Essays and Interviews

• Profile/interview for the Seattle Weekly‘s Spring Arts issue
• Interview for Portland indie bookstore Murder by the Book
• Guest blog post for the Seattle Mystery Bookshop

Other mentions

• Foxmeadow Creative blog — “Judging books by their covers“

Scorekeeping

• #9 on the Pacific Northwest Independent bestseller list for February 12, 2012
• #3 on the Elliott Bay Book Company bestseller list for February 19,2012

Week one highlights here.

Nice reading at Eagle Harbor Book Co. yesterday. Lisa and I caught an early ferry and had lunch at Cafe Nola with our friend Ed Smith, then did some browsing before the event started. I wasn’t quite ready to buy it, but I noted, with interest, Judith Schalansky’s Atlas of Remote Islands, which has the awesome subtitle “Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot on, and Never Will.” (N.B., Bainbridge is not on the list.)

I have the next few days off. On Friday I head north to Bellingham, WA, where I’ll be reading at Village Books at 7 PM. Saturday I’ll be at Pulpfiction Books in Vancouver, BC at 7 PM. (For a full schedule of upcoming events, click here.)

Lisa and I had an epic journey out to Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park yesterday. Fortunately we’d decided to leave a little early, so when the taxi dispatcher told us there were no cabs available, we had time to race downtown and catch the 522 commuter bus. Moments after we boarded, the skies opened up in a torrential downpour that lasted until just before we reached the bookstore (the bus driver was hugging the curb the whole way, so I think we drowned several pedestrians en route).

Despite the weather we had a nice turnout for the reading. The audience included a fellow Cornellian who had a first edition of Fool on the Hill that I’d signed for him back in 1988. Twenty-four years later, I signed it again, and now that we’ve established the tradition I look forward to seeing him or his heirs at book signings in 2036, 2060, and 2084 (I think we’ll have cake for that one).

In the more immediate future, I’ll be reading at Eagle Harbor Book Co. on Bainbridge Island tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM. (For a full schedule of upcoming events, click here.)

I had a nice time hanging out and signing books at Seattle Mystery Bookshop yesterday afternoon. Store manager Fran Fuller, who’d already written a really sweet review of The Mirage for the store website, had me inscribe a copy of the novel for Rachel Maddow. Fran doesn’t actually know Rachel Maddow, but she’s decided Rachel really ought to read the book, and if anyone can write a cover letter good enough to make that happen, it’s probably Fran.

Last night I was at University Book Store, where SF buyer and event coordinator Duane Wilkins was on hand to introduce me, despite the fact that it was his birthday—because booksellers, like ninjas and postal workers, have a code. Nice audience for the reading, and as an added bonus I scored a hardcover copy of Gordon Dahlquist’s The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, which a friend had recommended to me.

Tonight I’ll be reading at the Lake Forest Park location of Third Place Books, starting at 6:30 PM (a few online local event calendars have the start time listed as 7 PM, but I double checked with the bookstore, and we’re definitely scheduled for half past six). Then on Sunday afternoon at 3 PM I’ll be at Eagle Harbor Book Co. on Bainbridge Island. (For a full schedule of upcoming events, click here.)

This week was the Oregon leg of the Mirage book tour. The Oregonian newspaper welcomed me to the state with a wonderful review.

I spent Sunday and Monday in Portland. HarperCollins put me up at a hotel two blocks away from Powell’s City of Books, and Powell’s offered me a 20% visiting author discount, so I spent most of my free time browsing the stacks. Among my purchases was a copy of Jennifer Holland’s Unlikely Friendships, which I got as a Valentine’s Day gift for Lisa. (If you see this book in a store and don’t want to buy it, then make sure you don’t turn to the photo of the lion cub and the caracal kittens on page 72.)

For the Powell’s reading on Sunday night I had a big, friendly crowd. The high point of the evening for me was the U.S. Marine (and two-tour Iraq vet) who stood up during the Q&A session. She hadn’t read the novel yet and was very disturbed by the concept of it (and, I think, by the fact that the rest of the audience wasn’t disturbed by it), but she was also extraordinarily polite in voicing her misgivings, and ended up buying a copy and promising to let me know what she thought of it. It’s the people who aren’t predisposed to like your work who often make the most interesting comments, so I’ll be very curious to get her email.

Monday night I was at Murder by the Book. The owners were incredibly kind to me, despite my persistent inability to keep their names straight, and Jackie Jean Barbara interviewed me for the store’s blog. I also got a copy of George Pelecanos’ Hard Revolution as swag.

On Tuesday I flew to Sunriver, a resort village in central Oregon. My reading that night was at Sunriver Books & Music, a jewel of a store run by Deon and Rich Stonehouse (she does fiction, he does non-fiction, and there’s also a dog; basically, it’s a Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks movie waiting to happen). Another friendly audience, and in addition to a copy of Pam Houston’s latest, Deon gave me this awesome signing pen to take home:

Today I am back in Seattle. I’ll be at Seattle Mystery Bookshop from noon to 1:30, signing books for anyone who wants to drop by, and then tonight at 7 PM I’ll be reading at the University Book Store. (For a full schedule of upcoming events, click here.)

I just got home from the Oregon leg of the Mirage book tour. I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow once I’ve caught up on my email (and my sleep), but one bit of good news I wanted to share right away is that The Mirage debuts at #9 on this week’s Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller list. Thanks, local indie booksellers!

Also, a programming note: I’ll be at Seattle Mystery Bookshop tomorrow signing books from noon to 1:30 PM. Then tomorrow night at 7 PM I’ll be reading and signing at the University Book Store. And on Friday at 6:30 PM I’ll be at the Lake Forest Park location of Third Place Books.

Hard to believe The Mirage has only been out since last Tuesday. I’m having a crazy fun time so far. Here’s a quick recap of the highlights:

Reviews

• Publisher’s Weekly (STARRED REVIEW) — “Both entertaining and provocative, exactly what the best popular fiction should be.”
• io9.com — “An addictive, fascinating read, which keeps you guessing.”
• John Clute — “excellent”
• The Seattle Times— “One of the most daring 9/11-inspired novels to emerge after that horrific day more than a decade ago.”
• Locus magazine — “A Man in the High Castle for the age of global terror.”
• The Associated Press — “A unique and compelling read… the juxtaposition of realities provides keen insight into the real world.”
• The New York Post — “Like Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America, in which Nazi-sympathizer Charles Lindbergh defeats FDR for president, the premise behind Ruff’s alternate-history novel is chilling.”
• Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing.net — “This is one of those books that you read while walking down the street and long after your bedtime, a book you stop strangers to tell about.”
• The Stranger — “Ruff is a world-class world builder who, perhaps better than any other writer, can create exotic, mysterious worlds and communicate their unique rules and consistent logics both clearly and concisely.”

Essays and interviews

• My Big Idea essay for John Scalzi’s Whatever blog
• My conversation with Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress.org
• Guest post for Seattle Public Library’s Shelf Talk blog
• Self-interview for the Schuler Books blog
• Interview for CBS News Author Talk
• Interview for the Islam and Science Fiction website

Finally, a reminder that I’ll be in Portland, Oregon at Powell’s City of Books (1005 W. Burnside) at 7:30 PM tonight, and at Murder by the Book (3210 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) at 7 PM tomorrow night. On Tuesday evening at 6 PM I’ll be at Sunriver Books & Music in Sunriver, OR. For more upcoming Mirage events, check out the appearances page.

Still photo capture from Ballard library roofcam

Had a great reading and Q&A this afternoon at the Ballard branch of the Seattle Public Library. Our host, librarian Hannah Parker, took Lisa and I up to see the library’s special green roof before the event started. Suzanne Perry from Secret Garden Bookshop was also on hand to stock up on signed Matt Ruff books for the store. Thanks to everyone who came out.

Tomorrow I head down to Portland, Oregon. I’ll be reading and signing at Powell’s City of Books (1005 W. Burnside) at 7:30 PM tomorrow night, and at Murder by the Book (3210 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) at 7 PM on Monday. On Tuesday evening at 6 PM I’ll be at Sunriver Books & Music in Sunriver, OR. For more upcoming Mirage events, check out the appearances page.

We had a great turnout for last night’s book launch event at Elliott Bay Book Company. Among the celebrities who showed up to wish me well were artist Ginny Ruffner, novelist Sean Russell, and my friend Neal Stephenson, who brought news that Paul Constant’s review of The Mirage is already being used to wrap fish and chip orders in town. Remember, book reviewer, thou are mortal!

Both the reading and the Q&A went extremely well, and I owe a big thanks to Paul for agreeing to be my onstage interviewer and to Elliott Bay for hosting me.

My next event will be a reading at the Ballard branch of the Seattle Public Library tomorrow afternoon (Saturday, February 11, at 1 PM) sponsored by Secret Garden Bookshop.