Bear witness to history in the making, dear MINE readers … and help contribute to it! MINE contributor Mur Lafferty isn’t just the wily mind behind our awesome Geekgasm columns — she’s also a novelist and podcaster.

Today sees the release of Mur’s superhero novel Playing For Keeps, and it’s so damned good, it’s scorching its way up the charts at Amazon.com. As of this writing — around 1 pm EST — the book is already #1 in Action/Adventure, #1 in Science Fiction, #1 in Movers and Shakers, and #30 in Books overall.

That’s right, folks. #30 in Books … meaning, all the books.

What’s got Amazon in a tizzy? In addition to crafting a tremendous tale, Mur has been marketing Playing For Keeps like a mofo in the online space, releasing promotional podcasts at the book’s site, PlayingForKeepsNovel.com. Talented fans of the book and fellow fiction writers (including this MINER) have created content for her podcast, and all of it’s damned spiffy. She also released a free PDF featuring the complete text of the book, so’s newcomers could take a gander at its goodness before purchasing a “dead tree” version at Amazon.

And while you could spend time downloading that PDF and checking out those podcasts, we at MINE encourage you to just skip the foreplay and get to the good stuff by ordering a copy of Playing For Keeps at Amazon. And don’t just take our word for it. Bestselling novelist and BoingBoing.net editor Cory Doctorow wrote at the uber-popular culture blog: “Playing for Keeps … is a novel of cliffhangers that had me going from page one until I closed the covers.”

Still need more? Here’s a tasty synopsis, from Keeps’ indie publisher Swarm Press:

The shining metropolis of Seventh City is the birthplace of super powers. The First Wave heroes are jerks, but they have the best gifts: flight, super strength, telepathy, genius, fire. The Third Wavers are stuck with the leftovers: the ability to instantly make someone sober, the power to smell the past, the grace to carry a tray and never drop its contents, the power to produce high-powered excrement blasts, absolute control. over elevators.

Bar owner Keepsie Branson is a Third Waver with a power that prevents anything in her possession from being stolen. Keepsie and her friends just aren’t powerful enough to make a difference. at least that’s what they’ve always been told.

But when the villain Doodad slips Keepsie a mysterious metal sphere, the Third Wavers become caught in the middle of a battle between the egotistical heroes and the manipulative villains. As Seventh City begins to melt down, it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad, and even harder to tell who may become the true heroes.

It’s an incredible read … and if you purchase Playing For Keeps today, you can help Mur’s quest to hit the top of the Amazon charts a reality! (Ignore the “Out of Stock” message, folks — there’s plenty.) The MINER has already conquered Sci-Fi and Action/Adventure. Let’s see how high she can rise on that all-important Books category!

Stay super!

Mined by: J.C. Hutchins