Written in Stone – It’s almost here

Every day the release of my first book – Written in Stone – creeps a little bit closer, but I have some important news for those of you planning to pick it up at your local bookstore on November 1st.

Up until now I have been operating under the understanding that the book would hit stores next Monday. As my publisher has just informed me, however, there has been a delay. Written in Stone won’t actually be rolling off the presses until the end of next week and will have to be shipped to stores after that.  The book will be available within the month, but I do not yet know the exact date when it will reach booksellers. I will let you know as soon as I do, and I hope that those of you who have already pre-ordered copies online (Thank you!) will receive them soon.

If you really can’t wait to have a look at the book, though, I do have some good news. The National Center for Science Education has just posted an excerpt from my chapter “Footprints and Feathers on the Sands of Time” about feathered dinosaurs and the origin of birds. You can download it, in PDF form, here. The excerpt features some of the latest science connecting dinosaurs and birds, and it contains some wonderful illustrations by paleontologist and artist Mark Witton.

Despite the publication delay, I’m still pushing forward with the blogswarm I organized around the book. Geomythologica’s Leonardo Ambasciano has posted a glowing review and an interview (both in Italian), Judy King asks me how about how I fell into science writing, Sheril of The Intersection says “[Written in Stone] is not only as good as I expected–it’s better[Written in Stone] is not only as good as I expected–it’s better[Written in Stone] is not only as good as I expected–it’s better“, and on the latest edition of the ‘Science… sort of’ podcast I chat with the hosts about SVP, prehistoric sea dragons, and my new book. (Also see this post for two interviews posted earlier this month.) More excerpts, articles, podcasts, reviews, and interviews are on the way, too, and I will put up a post collecting them all at the beginning of next week. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: My publisher tells me that the books should hit stores between November 15th and November 22nd, with the copies pre-ordered online going out before that. Also, Library Journal has just posted their review of the book, concluding “Armchair scientists and general readers interested in evolution will enjoy this informative book. Highly recommended.”