How?
We have company coming. Gordon’s cousin is arriving to help out with the release and merch store. Frantic cleaning has occurred.
We had added website log to all the designs in the merch store because there was a string of comments wanting it and now we decided against it. It doesn’t fit into the designs and it seems like too much. So today my mission is to remove the logo from all 250 products in the store.
…
I hate the store. But the new designs actually do look like regular cute clothes. We still have very obvious merch, but we have this too.
I love this shirt. I don’t know, something something, childhood? I think I used to have a shirt like this. Anyway no matter how much we’ve tried, and we got creative with it, adding logo to this is just silly. It sticks out like a sore thumb no matter what color and font. So no logos. If you see ilona-andrews.com on there anyway, don’t buy it and let us know.
You will note some funky pricing. Some stuff is strategically priced at $16.99 or some nonsense, but a lot of times, we just figure out that we need to make at least $5 on a T-shirt to recoup store and designer costs, so you end up with something like $16.21 because that’s how much it cost to make the shirt plus whatever fee we stuck onto it.
The shipping is horrible. There is no way around it. It went up across the board and it is per item. We have a small discount section this time.
I know a lot of you like the Read Everything Award and requested it to be available in the store. We cannot do awards, but we can do small Christmas ornaments that look almost like medals. Would you like those instead?
::deep breath::
In other news, Maggie is official. It has been announced in the Publishers Marketplace.
Short and sweet.
In celebration of the announcement, I bring you Clover.
The day had barely started, but the market was already bustling. Early shoppers hurried among the stalls, still fuzzy with sleep and looking for specific bargains. Some merchants were setting up, others were already haggling with customers. Delivery people pushed their carts, transporting goods before the mid-morning rush. Beasts of burden were banned in the market, probably because nobody wanted to step in animal poop. Instead, wagons unloaded at the outer warehouses, and from there the goods were delivered by hand carts to the stalls.
Clover and I moved through it, she with a purpose in mind and I trying not to gawk. Redacted hovered over us, scanning the early morning crowd for incoming threats.
Most successful merchants self-organized by the type of goods they offered. Those who sold clothes rented a spot at the Clothes Row, those who made weapons and armor set up at the Smith Row, and so on.
We went to Clothes Row first. As Clover had laid it out before, the safest option was to hide in plain sight by pretending to be an ordinary household. I would be the “lady,” she would be the head maid, and Redacted would oversee security. We needed the right camouflage to pull this off. In Kair Toren, clothes weren’t just a fashion statement. They indicated rank and social position, and our current outfits were severely lacking.
Clover stopped by the merchant stall and picked up several squares of fabric in different colors. She looked at me, looked at the fabric, and held up a green square to my face. The merchant, a man in his mid-thirties, watched us. Clover frowned, held up a peach square to my face, then a burgundy, and went back to green.
“Green?” she said.
“Definitely green,” the merchant agreed.
Clover raised her brows at Redacted.
“Green suits you, my lady,” he told me.
“I’m going to need a bolt of green, a matching bolt of shade-down, with a half a bolt of complimentary brown,” Clover declared. “Three small bolts of the matching cord. And the notions.”
What was the shade-down?
The merchant nodded. “Two nomas and thirty dens.”
Clover opened her eyes wide and leaned slightly forward.
“It’s Julatian linen,” the merchant pointed out.
“Exactly. Why are trying to sell it to me at silk prices?”
“Silk?!”
They squared off like two duelists. I drifted a couple of steps away, to stand closer to Redacted before I got cut by verbal shrapnel. I had no idea if I was good or bad at haggling. I didn’t exactly have a lot of opportunities to haggle back home. Grocery prices were set. Utility bills were set too. Since the local indie store went out of business, books either came as files or were purchased at the local B&N by the Cheesecake Factory. No haggling opportunities there. Sometimes I made it to the Farmer’s Market, but I just paid whatever the posted prices were. Growing things took a lot of effort. It didn’t seem right to nickel and dime people over small jars of honey and heirloom tomatoes.
An older woman in an expensive dark purple gown strode down the street, flanked by two bodyguards. Her crest hung off her waist on a braided silver cord, an oval of lacquered wood with an image of silver antlers wrapped in a green vine on a field of deep purple. No clue who she was.
The bodyguards and Redacted looked at each other. They kept walking.
“Why are we here?” Redacted asked quietly.
“To buy bolts of fabric and matching cord, apparently.”
“I know why Clover is here. I’m asking why you are.”
I glanced up at him. “You had a point about the Treasury.”
“Mhm.”
“We need a trade. A product to sell,” I murmured. “I might have one. Also…”
“Yes?”
“I need some supplies for our next lucrative venture.” I put a bit of emphasis on lucrative.
“Same buyer?” he asked.
I nodded.
He leaned toward me slightly. “These are dangerous people, Maggie.”
Oh, he didn’t have to warn me. Solentine’s night visit was branded in my memory. He could’ve slit my throat without any effort at all. Worse, he could’ve fought Redacted, and nothing good would come from that. If he killed Redacted, Redacted would be dead. If Redacted killed him, the Shears would massacre everyone in the house in retaliation.
But we needed money. Serious money. And Solentine had a lot of money and a problem he couldn’t solve.
“That’s why I have a deadly blademaster on my side.”
Clover broke away from the stall. “Two nomas and thirty dens. He must think I was born yesterday.”
“How much did you settle on?” I asked.
“Eighty dens.” She snorted. “Come, my lady. We need to get some dresses and shoes.”
And that’s it. Wish me luck. I have a horribly busy weekend ahead.
Good luck with the merch store!!
I’m so excited about Maggie…
No-one else has said this so maybe I’m having weird deja vu or something, but did we read a version of this snippet previously? I’m not crazy am I? I feel like I commented on it even. If not then I’m having serious prescient feelings.
We have read a pre-edited version of this 🙂 . Sorry about your fortune teller hopes!
No, I’m relieved! I was a teensy bit freaked out for a minute but I’m glad it really was something I’d seen before. Heck, I was so distracted I forgot to squee over the pretty merch.
Does this mean there’s no dress that needs dyeing anymore? Or is this from a different scene? I was so invested in whether or not the dye would take when that snippet dropped!
Aaaaahhhh Maggie! I squealed and
spun around in my chair at work… and I work in a hospital. I am
so ridiculously excited
Udachi!
The barsa shirt is cute. Thank you. This truly is a labor of love by your guys.
1. After all that cleaning, don’t forget to say, “Please excuse the place; I didn’t have time to clean.”
2. Woohoo, I can’t wait for the merch store to open, but I’m sorry you hate it. But at least it will only be open for just a few days. 🙂
3. Sure! (re: the Christmas ornaments)
4. Thank you for that great snippet. I love Clover’s haggling. Man, I can’t wait until it’s up for sale- I’m so excited to read it!
I just wanted to thank the BDH. It’s been a very long week. I check the blog often and read every single comment. It’s amazing, but I always finish reading the comments with a smile on my face. I grin, I chuckle, I laugh out loud and sometimes I cry. Even though we’ve never met, I feel I’m part of a pretty incredible community. Thank Ilona,Gordon and Mod R for the blog and THANK YOU BDH for making me feel part of an incredible family. Have a great weekend! woohoo a new book to read just hours away!!
😊 You’re welcome!
To me that’s one of the joys of being part of the Horde. 🥰
I feel the same! I love coming here! It’s gotten me thru some bad things and brightens everyday.
I have all those same feelings. It’s so great to hang out wth the BDH!
Agree! 1000%
The snippet is awesome, but I have to say that my poor virus-plagued brain would probably even have been satisfied just with the leading pic about trawling the blog for snippets. I feel like grabbing those pearls and hissing “my preciousssss” every time you share a snippet with us!
And being in Australia, thank you for the efforts you make to source local suppliers for your merch. I have a glorious purple “the consort knows everything” shirt, which did prompt questions one evening in a country pub. Rest assured I extolled the glories of HA!!
Oh, yes, I love that pic! And the caption is great.
Yes on the Christmas ornament! Thank you so much for caring about everything. And for giving us a merch store even though it’s a ridiculous amount of work for you. Seriously, thank you. (And the snippet is wonderful as always!)
I think the ornament-that-is-like-an-award sounds really cool 🙂
Thank you for the snippet. Also for all your work on the store. The amount of effort you put into making your fans happy is amazing. I hope you get some downtime soon.
Since Curran becomes(became?) the Beast Lord this year, there should totally be a 2024 campaign parody mug. I’d buy that in a heart beat.
Thank you for the snippet!!
Is there anywhere you have photos of the stuff in the merch store? I’m in Australia and would love to see what you’ve got.
All the images of what is available will be on the merch store website when it opens next week 🙂. Including the Australia catalogue
Ooh, love the snippet. You guys always have great world-building!
I hope the shade-down will be explained in the book for those of us without much fashion sense. Is it maybe a color that’s a shade different from the first for creating depth in a piece?
Thank you a lot for the many blog posts, snippets,.. and all of your work (incl Mod R)
Best of luck fit the week ahead and thank you both for the snippet and also the opening of the merchant store. I think I need to set an alarm to check for it being open during this week.
I’m going to love Maggie! I just know it!
Horde Member feeling ravenous at the thought of waiting so long….
“Raaawwwrgh!”
Glad you are getting help, sorry it created more work for you!
So, the t shirt. I don’t understand – Barsa barsa etc. from Innkeepers I assume. So why does the t shirt say ‘Bapsa’?
Love the snippet. It goes well with the merch pics. Definitely want the BDH T. The “bapsa” t-shirt design is cute, but what does bapsa mean? I’ve found several acronyms, including Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA), Babson Asian Pacific Student Association, Board of Addiction Professionals South Africa, and Bangladesh Association for Prevention of Septic Abortion. I’m guessing there must be another meaning — one I’ve not found. My curiosity is aroused.
Read the other posts. This is clearly a reference to “Barsa, Barsa, Barsa!” I knew there had to be something other than what the Internet was dishing up.
I’m looking forward to the merch! I’m 65 and use a cane, but I need one of your shirts! LOL And yes to the Christmas ornament.
Unfortunately for House Andrews they will have to make Christmas Ornaments available from the Merch Store.
The Horde will be waiting patiently.
May you find great music to keep you motivated through the cleaning / merch store / pre-release craziness.
Maggie is official. Such sweet words. Sweet sweet sweet. Happ me!
IA, Thank you for the store. I understand what a pain it is. But the connection it gives us to you guys thru the day is immeasurable. I get such a big smile whenever I decide it’s a great day for a ferret heist. As I did today. 🙂
Hang in there! If there’s anything we can do to help, just holler!!!
Such exciting news! Many thanks for the unexpected snippet 🙂
I am very glad that my local B&N does not have a Cheesecake factory next to it, or might wind up weighing 300 pounds!
Congrats on Maggie being official! (I don’t care how reliable the other party is, things can still happen…)
I am looking forward to the merch store. I’m so sorry you don’t, but I am selfish that way. (I try to make up for it with patience about other things, but doubt it really helps.)
Totally off subject – I am getting very antsy for “Sanctuary”. Thank you for the story. I will probably start reading as soon as it hits my iPad. I hope I can sleep late the next morning!
I think I know what you’re going through. We have our two year old granddaughter visiting and she deigned to bring her parents and their pet parrots. Great times ahead!
so excited for the store to open! the snippet was amazing! 2026 seems far way, but will be worth the wait! ty ty ty
Good luck! May all your To Do list items be successful.
Luck to you and all around you!
Is there a link somewhere to the merch store?
The merch store is currently closed 🙂. It will not open until next Tuesday, when it will be announced on the blog.
The link won’t help much atm, I’m afraid https://houseandrewsmerch.com/
Good luck with all the prep for the book launch! And thank you for the snippet.☺️ Reminds me of the haggling scene in Silent Blade
Sorry about the rework of unbranding, but sooooo happy store is nearly open! Barsa shirt is cute & ‘under the radar’.
SQUEEEE! & CONGRATULATIONS ON MAGGIE!
Love the snippet! my Clover is a six month old baby menace, in the form of a Bernedoodle who we swear is also part cat. Can’t wait for merch, my stickers from last time being me great joy 😊
Frantic cleaning is the worse type of cleaning.
thank you for the snippet!
the read everything ornament sounds like an interesting idea!
much love to the BDH, i always love reading all the comments.
much sympathies with the frantic cleaning. sometimes that seems to be the only way my cleaning gets done.
good luck with the sanctuary release and merch store opening. hope it doesnt get too crazy.
It’s probably too late now, but you could put the logo on the back just under the collar thee way Life Is Good t-shirts do.
REDACTED is my new favorite character ever.
I’m behind on reading posts because of the Olympics. I of course found time to buy and read Sanctuary. Love the merch, love the sneak peek, and love the new novel. You guys are killing it! Hang in there ❤️