Disclaimer: Patrice is a our friend and while I haven’t read her YA work, she totally promised me a copy if I put her blog post up.   You get a chance at a copy too.    Enjoy! – Ilona

Thank you Ilona and Gordon for inviting me on your blog today! Ilona and I got to know each other at a Romantic Times conference a few years ago, then later we became blog buddies on the ODD SHOTS blog.

For today’s guest blog, I thought I’d talk about a subject near and dear to both authors’ and readers’ hearts, book covers.

When I decided to publish my Young Adult book, BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS, one of the aspects I was super excited about was having FULL control over the book cover. From concept to design to implementation (ahem, I did hire a professional to make my mock cover NY worthy), it was all mine! That was quite refreshing considering I hadn’t had control over my books’ covers during my last seven years of publishing with small presses and a NY publisher. Yes, I’d had an opportunity to express my opinion, but most of the time I didn’t have any say-so in the final outcome.

YA books are ALL about the cover, so I wanted to make sure mine conveyed the story. Here’s a quick one-liner about my YA: Brightest Kind of Darkness is a dark paranormal novel length YA full of mystery, adventure, romance, and even a touch of horror. And below is the cover I came up with…

BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS

Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.

Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past.

Thankfully BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS‘ cover was well received by readers, but that also really put the pressure on me for book 2! I had to: one, come up with a cover for book 2 that was just as visually beautiful as book 1,  two, make sure that the cover flowed well, matching the “series” look, and three, make sure the cover matched the story inside. It was a tall order, but I was determined.

This past week, with the help of over fifty book bloggers (yay, book bloggers rock!), I revealed BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS’ cover LUCID. Did I hold my breath? Absolutely! I was anxious and tense. It’s great when you have total control, but that also means, it was all on me if book 2′s cover flopped. Ack! WHEW, I was so happy the overall response was very positive! And here is the cover for LUCID. It will release in Spring 2012.

How do you feel about book covers? Do you immediately click on a book cover link when an author posts a new cover reveal? I do. Every single time! I’m such a visual person, book covers really help me connect with the story. I’d say the book cover, along with the blurb, are what draw me in. Where does the book cover fall in your preference as a reader? I’d love to hear your thoughts on covers. I’ll be giving away one eBook copy of BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS to a commenter, so let’s hear your thoughts!

ABOUT P.T. MICHELLE

P.T. Michelle is the young adult pseudonym of Patrice Michelle, author of fifteen romance novels and novellas. When P.T. isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading or taking pictures of landscapes, sunsets and anything beautiful or odd in nature.

Links:
Website
Blog
Goodreads

The contest will run until Saturday. Please comment to enter.  The winner will be drawn on Sunday.  Also Patrice’s YA at the moment is $.99.  – Ilona

Life is a bit of a mess right now, but we’re hanging in there.

All right then, first news, then some sort of snippet.

Bouda Babes

The Bouda Babes T-shirts are now available on Zazzle in a variety of sizes and styles.  If you would like one, now is your chance. Click here to go to Zazzle.

Please note that while Keely is distributing the T-shirts with our permission, Gordon and I take no commission from the sales. This way we can keep the cost down for you and Keely is rewarded for her excellent design.

On a side note the poses the T-shirt model is doing are hilarious.

Guess Who?

Fun fact: We share a model.

Joanna Bourne has agreed to be thrown to the wolves to come and hang out with us.  If you’ve never read her work, Joanna writes some of the most nuanced historical romances, set around the beginning of 19th century.

Joanna has a new release, THE BLACK HAWK, which is an RT Top Pick for November.  So, if you ever wanted to ask Joanna something about her work or life, now is your chance.  I can’t promise that all questions will be answered, but I will pass them on.

Her Grace Olivia

While we’re on the subject of nobles, Her Grace Olivia Camarine, Duchess of the Southern Provinces, is starting a travelogue.  She hopes it will be witty and charming; however, she is quite new at this and is likely to ramble about her life, her husband, and her children instead.  If you are interested in following  her musings, here is a link.

Book Lists

C writes:

Do you know if there is a massive schedule of book release lists that publishers contribute to?  I use Amazon’s wish list to keep track of upcoming books I know I’m interested in, but it would be nice if a categorized list existed.

Unfortunately, I don’t know of a unified list, but here are a couple of places you might find interesting.

Literary Escapism does a really good rundown of the new titles.

So does Dear Author.

Every publisher also releases a catalog.  This might be a good resources because it shows all titles by imprint, not just by genre.  Here is a link to Penguin catalogs and here is a link specifically to Berkley Mass Market for the Fall 2011.

New Friend Releases

[clear]
Well, now I have to write and if I make my word count, you will get a Monday snippet.

Pocket Star – Simon & Schuster | On Kindle | On Amazon | On B&N | Book Depository | Powells | Books-A-Million | Goodreads

“Funny, sexy, and lively” — Publishers Weekly

WANTED

Single human female to join charming, wealthy single male were-cougar for a night of romantic fun – and maybe more.

Me: The tall, sensuous, open-minded leader of my clan.

You: A deliciously curvy virgin who’s intimately familiar with what goes bump in the night. Must not be afraid of a little tail. Prefer a woman who’s open to exploring her animal nature. Interest in nighttime walks through the woods a plus.

My turn-ons include protecting you from the worst the supernatural world has to offer.

Ready for an adventure? Give me a call.

Vampires and doppelgangers need not apply.

From the inside of the book:

Bathsheba Ward is human, which means dating supernaturals is strictly forbidden–unless the
interested party happens to be the powerful head of their Alliance. So when were-cougar Beau Russell insists that she join him for dinner at a fancy French restaurant, she agrees. Not because the man is so incredibly hot he makes her hormones sing. She’s more interested in saving her desk job at an exclusive dating service that caters to a clientele with rather . . . eclectic tastes.

But just try hiding a supernatural family secret when your would-be boyfriend has supersharp
animal senses. Then again, try protecting yourself from a bloodthirsty, home-invading mythological creature with just a bottle of liquid silver and a carving knife.

Maybe having an über-sexy supernatural partner isn’t such a bad idea after all. . . .

Interview

Please tell us a little about yourself, Rae. Kids, pets, husbands?

I met my husband at the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (OWW). Come to think of it, Ilona, you may have known him longer than I have! He’s the smartest and therefore sexiest man I know and the first reader for all my work. I have two awesomely smart-aleck stepsons, one of whom just went off to college. And I have a pair of naughty cats I rescued from Kitty Death Row many years ago.

In the life of every writer, there is that magic point when you start a play project, then things turn serious.  Before you know it, you have finished your first novel, and a surprising thought hits you, “I wonder if I could get this published?”  When was that magic point for you? What compelled you to finish your first novel?  What was it about? 

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is the first novel I ever completed—though by no means the first one I tried to write. I kept starting projects and outgrowing them. I would get 30K words or so in and realize I had improved as a writer, that my first words weren’t worthy of my recent words, and I ought to scrap the whole thing and rewrite from the ground up–so, might as well start a new project, right? But this book was different. The first chapter got an “editor’s choice” nod from the OWW. And then I workshopped it at a conference, and the editor requested the whole book! So those two events gave me the push I needed to finish the damn thing.

Please tell us about The Girl of Fire and Thorns?

Elisa is the “chosen one” of her generation, selected by God for an act of heroic service. Alas, she is unmotivated, coddled, overweight—nothing you’d expect from a hero. But when at sixteen years old she is married off to the king of a country in turmoil, she must find the greatness within herself to save the people she grows to love. Mostly, you should know that there are deserts, wild rebels, political machinations, and tons of food.

Why YA?

I love teens. They surprise me all the time. And all of my best work seems to have a coming-of-age theme.

But the truth is that my first agent did not feel this book was a young adult novel, and some of my foreign publishers will be marketing it as adult/teen crossover. I just keep writing stuff that I care about and letting my agent/publishers decide where it belongs.

Why did you choose monotheism for your fantasy religion?  Does religion play a significant role in the life of your protagonists?

I live in a country where 83% of citizens claim affiliation with some religious denomination (thank you, Wikipedia), and the vast majority of those are monotheists. How do teens decide what to believe when they are surrounded by so many contradictory views and messages? I wanted to do justice to this struggle without condemning or condoning any particular faith.

So, yes, Elisa is very devout and prays a lot. Part of her growing-up process is realizing that not everyone believes the same thing, and it will be up to her to decide for herself. I’ll be honest, though, and say it was a tough balance, and I’m not sure I got it right. I may never be sure. I’m not religious myself, so I definitely didn’t want to preach at anyone. At the same time, I didn’t want to vilify or marginalize a people group.

Why did you choose to write about an overweight protagonist?

I was dating this guy. He was an “encourager” who said he wanted the best for me, but his encouragements tended to be things like, “Are you sure you want to eat that?” And, “Wow, Rae, if you lost another five pounds, you’d be reeeally hot.” And, “Did you get your run in today?” I was a size 6 at the time.

After a year, I came to my senses and broke up with his sorry ass. I spent the next day eating cookie dough ice cream and thinking about all the amazing women I knew and the qualities I admired in them. “Skinny” wasn’t on that list of admirable qualities.

So I jotted down the fictitious diary entry of an overweight princess named Elisa who was destined to save the world using smarts, courage, and determination—traits my real-life girlfriends have in abundance. The diary didn’t make it into the final book, but it was the seed of the idea that became  The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

In the course of the novel Elisa loses weight.  Apparently there is some controversy about it.  Could you give us your take on this situation?

Elisa starts out with lousy self-esteem and an unhealthy relationship with food. When an arduous journey forces her to be active for the first time, she loses some weight. But she never becomes model-thin. She’s not a swan.

I think most of the controversy stems from the notion that Elisa must lose the weight to feel good about herself. That’s certainly not my intent, and I don’t think it’s a fair reflection of the book. Many important turning points happen before her weight loss, and Elisa comes to see her own value by accomplishing things, not by losing weight. That said, weight is a very sensitive issue, and I’m glad readers are talking about it.

So what did you hope to accomplish with this book?  Is it simply an escape or did you hope to convey a specific message?

More than anything I wanted to play fast and loose with high fantasy tropes like The Chosen One, the Amulet of Power, the Epic Journey, the Beautiful Princess in Peril. What if the Chosen One kinda sucks? What if the Amulet of Power is totally ridiculous?

As for messages, I’m not a big fan. Teens have highly developed bullshit meters, and they’re busy figuring things out for themselves. But I do realize that my own worldview is going to leak out in my writing. On reflection, the thing that leaks out the most in this book is my belief that you don’t have to be perfect to be extraordinary.

 Snippet

The drums beat faster now, louder. My shoulder crashes into a bench as the carriage heaves. I don’t dare lift myself to peer out the window, but I hope we’ve reached the clearing. I hear running footsteps and Lord Hector’s muffled orders, then the metal-scraping-metal sound of drawn steel.

Something thunks against the carriage. And again. Soon it’s like a rain of stones cracking against wooden walls. The shining black point of an arrowhead pokes through the wall, a mere handsbreadth from my nose. My skin burns. The air is too hot, too stifling to breathe. The Godstone in my navel flashes ice cold, and I gasp, astonished. It has never gone cold before.

The paneling beneath my palms feels sunwarmed. Too warm. The acrid scent of burning wood tingles in my nose as the Godstone continues to throb its icy warning.

Aneaxi whimpers, “Fire!” as our carriage fills with smoky haze and the shouting outside becomes frenzied.

“The princess!” someone yells. “To the princess!” But the voice is far off.

I search across the paneling for the latch to the trapdoor. It opens downward, and we tumble through into the cooler, cleaner air beneath the carriage. I land on something that cracks beneath my weight. Aneaxi screams.

I don’t have time to worry about how badly I’ve hurt her. The horses catch the scent of smoke and dance in their harnesses. We could be pinned beneath the wheels at any moment. I yearn for a knife to cut the horses free, to feel some kind of power in my hand. The carriage lurches forward. Behind me and to my left, I see Aneaxi’s leg, cricked unnaturally, lying in the path of the wheel.

I feel sick. “Aneaxi, you must pull your leg in.”

“I can’t!” she sobs.

I hook her armpit and pull. Ximena does the same on the other side, but Aneaxi is large and I have never been strong. A horse rears. The carriage jerks. Panicked, Ximena and I wrench Aneaxi toward us, but we are at such an awkward angle, pressed against the ground, and oh, it is not enough.

Steel rings, and the carriage shudders. Someone has sliced through the harnesses, and tears of relief prick my eyes.

I’m not sure what to do next. The carriage provides cover, but it burns. Even now, smoke licks the floor above, curling around the panels like white snakes. Feet patter by at eye level. Our enemies are barefooted demons, nearly naked and painted in black-and-white swirls. Anklets of tiny bones clatter as one darts in and out of the jungle. Lunge, sidestep, disappear; then another takes his place. Their attack has no pattern. It is random, constant, indefensible.

A few paces away from our burning carriage gapes the opening of an enormous buttress, a cavern formed by the roots of a silk-cotton tree. I could reach it quickly, and Ximena, but I worry for Aneaxi and her broken leg.

I flip over to face my ladies. “We must get away before the carriage collapses.”

They nod; Aneaxi’s round cheeks are smeared with dirt made muddy by tears. My heart swells for a moment, for I’m not willing to lose either of them.

“Ximena and I will go first,” I say to Aneaxi. “Then we will pull you out by the arms.” I hope that by standing, we’ll have the leverage to do what could not be done beneath the carriage. “Aneaxi, you must not scream, no matter how much it hurts.”

She takes a few ragged breaths. Then she rips a strip of fabric from the hem of her traveling gown. My chest burns with pride when she wads it up and shoves it in her mouth. I’m ready, her eyes tell me.

Still we wait. The fighting is too close. From where we lie we see pairings of naked, painted calves with boots and stiff hide. A man tumbles to the ground before me, and I scramble backward. His eyes are open and blinding white against the black paint of his face. His hair is as long as mine but twisted into thick clumps. He lies unmoving. Gingerly, heart pounding, I pry a stone knife from his still-warm hand and stuff it into my bodice.

At last I see a break in the fighting, and I gesture frantically to Ximena. We scramble from beneath the carriage on all fours. My foot tangles in my slip as I rise, but I rip right through it. Once clear, we turn and grasp Aneaxi’s arms. She groans around the wad in her mouth as we pull. Her eyes clench tight; her face is bright red. Then she goes limp as unconsciousness takes her. As we pull her toward the dark cavity of the buttress, I expect to see an arrow impale her chest at any moment. Sweat slides down my back and across my stomach. Beside me, Ximena’s gray bun has come loose and her hair swings below her shoulders. Little by little, we reach the line of the jungle. The ground slopes downward as we step beneath the roots. It’s cooler here, and comfortingly dark. There is just enough room for the three of us in the little cavern. I catch my breath, holding tight to Aneaxi’s shoulders, so relieved to have made it this far.

I have a better view of the battle now. My husband’s guard seems to have found its footing against these strange savages. They fight back to back against the random attacks, shield arms at ready for incoming arrows. Bodies from both sides litter the ground, and my stomach roils at the scent of burning flesh. Our carriage is an inferno. Next to me, Ximena flinches when the flaming structure collapses to the ground, sending sparks in all directions. A few moments more, and we would have burned.

Beyond the ruined carriage, two savages have trapped one of our own against a tree. I cannot see his face, but his body is frozen in panic.

One of the savages leaps forward with a shriek, plunges a stone knife toward the man’s chest. He lurches away just in time, and the knife jams into his forearm instead.

He fights weakly then, with left-handed strokes. When he hesitates yet again, I know he cannot last. The painted bodies sense the kill. They begin an odd movement, like a dance. Squat, pivot, creep. They are like jungle cats, all wild grace and hunting fury. Then I catch a glimpse of the doomed man’s face.

Alejandro.

“No!” I clamber from our shelter. Ximena yells something indecipherable. She grasps my arm, but I wrench away. I feel so slow as I run toward my husband, my belly and breasts bouncing painfully with each step. As I pass the collapsed carriage, I pull the knife from my bodice…

Read the first 80 pages…

Giveaway

Rae is giving away a signed hardcover.

To enter, leave a comment on this post.  You must enter on the blog. Comments made by email or through Goodreads will not be eligible.  Winner, as always, will be chosen randomly.

Contest ends: Monday, October 3rd.

US and Canada residents only.

First, Rae Carson is coming to the blog.  Rae is a friend from way back before I was the female half of Ilona Andrews and an aspiring author and a member of Online Writing Workshop of Sf, Fantasy, and Horror.  Back then OWW was like high school, in many respects.  You had a choice of visiting chat rooms and being social or you could just mind your own business.  I had visited chatrooms, and while some people were nice to me, some were not.

Rae was always nice.

So, when I realized her debut book was out, I emailed her asking if she would come to the blog.  She said yes and she is game for pretty much anything.

Here is the description of her book:

THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS

Once every century, one person is chosen for greatness. But the prophecy is vague, and Elisa, always overshadowed by her accomplished older sister, has no idea why she was chosen or how she will fulfill the expectations. Her future is unknown and her potential is tremendous—even if she doesn’t realize it. A king asks her to save his troubled country. A savage enemy hunts her for its own—dead or alive. A revolutionary asks for her heart. And in the midst of ferocious battles and harsh quests, Elisa will find herself. She will find the strength she’s always possessed. She’ll find deep and abiding love. She’ll awaken the power that only she can control. And she’ll face those who want to rip all of it away.

Lush, adventurous, and wrenching, THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS is the first in a trilogy for fans of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling and Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books.

If you have any questions for Rae, please comment on this post and I will get them to her. Also, if you get a chance, check out her website.  I had design envy.  It’s terribly pretty.

Silver Shark Updates

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The proofreading is completed.  Updated files should go out today.  Will bug Natanya to upload ePub and PDF files to ARe so international people can purchase them.

Sorry for the delay.

Meljean Brook’s DEMON MARKED hits the shelves.

From Meljean’s website:

A stunning and sexy addition to the world of the Guardians about one man’s revenge against the half-demon he once loved…

Nicholas St. Croix is familiar with the evil of demons. After his father’s death, a demon took over his mother’s body and raised him. Six years ago, his “mother” was responsible for the disappearance of the woman he loved, and Nicholas swore he’d find her—even if he had to go to Hell and back. Except she finds him first—and with one tormented kiss, he knows she too is a demon. Now he is determined to take his revenge…

Ash is a half-demon with no memory of her past or how she got to Hell. All she knows is that Nicholas St. Croix holds the key to her identity. And though he’s clearly drawn to her, Nicholas makes no secret of his distrust of her. Yet one kiss at a time, he breaks down her defenses as they battle an array of demons and Guardians. But is Ash’s greatest enemy the man at her side?

“The award-winning Brook adds another multifaceted and intense drama to her already impressive Guardian series.” ½” —RT Book Reviews

$7.99 Berkley Sensation | ISBN 978-0425242698 | September 6th, 2011

Nalini Singh returns to the Guild Hunter world with ARCHANGEL’S BLADE.

From Nalini’s website:

SEPTEMBER 2011
Berkley books

Amazon, B&N, BookDepo, B-A-M
Borders, Chapters, IndBnd
Penguin, Powells

B-On-B, Diesel, Ibook, Kindle
Kobo, Nook, Penguin, Sony

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh is back in the shadows of a deadly, beautiful world where angels rule, vampires serve, and one female hunter must crawl out of the darkness to survive…

The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its cheek should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There is something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past…but Dmitri’s need to discover the truth is nothing to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.

Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel’s right hand, and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality…the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting…and it will not stop until it brings a blood-soaked nightmare to life once more…

“In the intensely dark, violent, and romantic fourth Guild Hunter novel…Singh focuses on the 1,000-year-old vampire Dmitri, lieutenant to the archangel Raphael, and Guild Hunter Honor….Their relationship develops explosively and becomes one of equals despite the centuries of age difference….a heart-pounding and strongly emotional read.”
- Publishers Weekly

“Sooooo good Dmitri is so dark and wicked. And stays dark and wicked until the very end. Intense and awesome sexual tension.”
- Mandi Schreiner (Smexy Books) on Goodreads

The Panels

Comic Book

Gordon had a comic book panel, during which the moderator, instead of moderating, pontificated his views on comic books.  It was entertaining, but I did end up wishing someone would step on his foot or something, so other panelists could get a word in edgewise.

The panel touched on a possible demise of the independent comic book stores.  I didn’t want to bring it up, because I didn’t want to be labeled a hater, but most comic book stores I visited – and I’ve visited a lot – are kind of poorly set up.  You have your treasure wall behind the counter, and then a cramped space with long-boxes that are often disorganized.   The floor plan is often dominated by tabletop gamers, for which these stores serve as hubs. I have no problem with gamers, but I wish their presence would be taken into consideration when the retail space is planned.

[toggle_content title="Click here for my extended rant on the state of comic book stores."]

Otherwise, this is my typical comic book store visit: I walk in and get an odd look immediately, because I am female, and the forty year old dude behind the counter acts like he’s never seen my species before.  I can see Grimjack graphic novels on the wall but there is a table with six people engaged in a game between me and the Grimjack.  There is no way to negotiate that table and the gamers are obviously into whatever they are doing, because they are loud. And sometimes they are outright hostile, as if I am encroaching on their turf.

I ask the dude behind the counter to see the new Aquaman figure but it’s hanging two feet above his head.  He has to get a ladder.  He sighs.  He disappears into the back room for three minutes searching for it.  He comes back and gives me a long-suffering look.  Why do I need all this aggravation when I can click Buy on Amazon, and Grimjack and Aquaman will land on my doorstep in two days?  And it will usually cost me less, too, because the comic book store has to pay rent and utilities and make a profit, so it can’t compete with Amazon prices.

People shake their fists and say things like, “Support your local comic book store!” I’ll support Powells – they are awesome.  I’ll support any independent store that makes me feel welcome when I enter.  Why would I support people who sneer at me? [/toggle_content]

Kindle: Friend of Foe

It was an awesome, awesome panel.  Bill Crider was moderating and he was absolutely wonderful.  Mr. Crider was charming and funny, and very adept at steering the discussion.  Kimberly Frost was also on the panel, and she was terribly nice.  Apparently, we have similar publisher woes.  Also on the panel was Nate Southard.  Nate writes horror and he made some great observations regarding ebooks, covers, and Kindle.

At the end we voted and decide Kindle was a friend.

Paranormal Romance

J. Kathleen Cheney moderated this panel and she had a list of questions.  I decided that the next time I end up moderating, I will do it just like Kathleen.  Or better yet, I will arrange to be on the panel with Kathleen and she can moderate.  We had a list of questions, so there was no dead air and everyone had a chance to talk. Other panelists included Rosemary Clement-Moore, who is hilarious,  and Julie Kenner, who is kind of frighteningly accurate in her observations.

The panel touched on such topics as “Why werewolves and vampires?” and “Do we write anything besides werewolves and vampires?” and “OMG, everyone else thinks we write tripe.” And they do. I don’t care.  I write what makes me happy, meh.

Reading and Signing

Reading

The bar was closed.  Usually I get a glass of wine before I read, but not this time.  We had a lot of people and I’m happy to report that a snippet of Fate’s Edge went over well.  A snippet of Andrea’s book  – not so much, so we have rethought the beginning and I will start on it as soon as I finish this post.  We tried to get people to ask questions, but no dice.

Signing

We had a surprising line of people.  O_O.  I was kind of amazed.  We were told by two different people that we were nice and how nice it was that we were not rude.

Bitchy rant (you get two in one day – it’s a sale on rants, apparently): if someone drives and pays a fee to see me scribble in their copy of my book, I better be nice.  Seriously.  Everyone has bad days, but if no matter how bad my day is, if I am making a public appearance, my job is to make sure that I pay attention to every person who came to see us.

I feel that if the writer can’t make that commitment, this writer shouldn’t be making any public appearances.  Being snobby to people who came to see you is not cool.  We hope we will never be that way, and if one of us strays into “above it all” territory, the other one has permission to slap them.

Dealer Room

We donated the last remaining ARC of Angels of Darkness to the charity auction.  I ran into Claudia – banzai! – and bought a bracelet I’ve been wanting since last year.  I have to find Claudia’s website for you.  We chatted, and her AC bill is half ours, because she has a “radiant barrier” paint on her house.  Must make radiant barrier happen.

Friends

We’ve ran into Mickey Finn and Michelle Parker, and were hoping to have a dinner, but it didn’t turn out that way.  Kid 1 and Kid 2 got to wonder around the con and experience the pretty girl phenomenon, otherwise known as “You are so pretty!  Here, have free stuff!”  Hopefully it will not go to their heads.

Kid 1 also got to model scarves.  Apparently she possesses an unnatural ability to stand perfectly still.

We ended up having dinner with Jessie and Justin, and we ate at Chuy’s, which has the best TexMex and also funny waiters.

In conclusion

I pretty much love Armadillocon.  It’s laid back and easy. There is no pressure.  The people we spoke to were interesting and nice, and the con staff treated everyone with what I now believe is the trademark Texan politeness.

After getting a chuckle from your blog post about people requesting blurbs from you, I was wondering if you had a handy list of books that you did blurb.   I’ve read a number of books that you’ve mentioned on your blog and discovered authors that I previously hadn’t read – I found you the same way  I read Charlaine Harris’ blog and discovered Jeaniene Frost’s books and then of course you’re mentioned on her blog frequently.  No rush, but I thought I’d ask and pick up some reading material for my upcoming vacation. Love your work and I’m eagerly anticipating Fate’s Edge!

Stuff we blurbed….

Deadtown by Nancy Holzner.

What we said:

“DEADTOWN is full of dangerous magic and populated with characters so realistic, they almost jump off the page. I loved this book. Nancy Holzner is a master of characterization and I’ll be buying her next book the moment it hits the shelf.”

Ilona Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of MAGIC STRIKES

Why we said it:

I really liked the relationships in this book.  Vicky is so refreshing as a heroine and her werewolf boyfriend is hilarious.  So often in UF shapeshifter male leads unfold as follows:  I am Alpha Male!  Rawr! Muscles!  Womens! Smex! I have no depth as a character!

In this book, he is a lawyer.  He is sly, he is subversive, and he is very busy with political causes.  You know the dude has some sort of self-serving agenda.  He keeps trying to get Vicky to come to the forest for the full moon hunting-making thing, and you just know that there is some sort of hidden catch involved.

Nancy has a release coming up.

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Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

What we said:

“…a stunning blend of steampunk setting and poignant romance – smart, sexy, breathtaking, and downright addicting.”

Ilona Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of Magic Bleeds”

Why we said it:

It’s one part alternative history with Golden Horde having overrun the world instead of fragmenting and dissolving into the culture of China, one part gritty steampunk, and one part hot romance, wrapped in nanotech.

I really dug it.  And I bloody hate anything that is set in coal-burning London.  (I had the misfortune of actually studying history, and I know the details of what life was like in the Victorian London for common people. It forever killed any romantic notions for me.) Anyway, great book, try it.  Meljean’s romances do not run into super-girly territory, so I recommend this even to  most discerning male readers without any reservations.

Meljean also has a new release coming up.

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Dead Iron by Devon Monk

What we said:

Dead Iron is a relentless Western and a gritty steampunk, bound together by wicked magic.  Devon Monk rocks.

New York Time Bestselling Author Ilona Andrews

Why we said it:

I want you to know this quote took forever.  The book was difficult to describe.  It’s a Western, but not a Western of cowboys – it’s a western of smiths, railroad, and miners that gave me flashbacks to Bazhov’s Fairy Tales.  Seriously. I was sitting there thinking I’d see Mistress of the Copper Mountain any second.  I know this doesn’t makes sense to not-Russian audience, sorry.

It’s Faerie magic at its most vicious mixed with unbreakable will that drove the industrialization of the West.  Because let’s face it, it’s not cow-herding men with guns who built the cities of the West – it was the gold prospectors, the rail-road workers, the lawyers, the traders, all those people who had the American spirit but do not necessarily embody it in the popular culture. There is love in the book, and murder, and evil brought to justice.

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And that concludes the blurbing answer.  Must go finish SB sequel now.

Had a really nice dinner with Mickey Finn and couple of new friends at Shady Grove last night.   Though they are not fans of the books, they knew what we did and it was nice not to have to explain what we do or write.  We usually try to be sort of low key with it and just say that we work from home.  Usually though, Kid 2 can’t wait to blurt out that we are almost world famous authors who have hit # 6 on the NYT.  While we are proud of that, we have also tried to explain that it’s not always best if people we hire for stuff or that come to work in the house know that.  Like for instance the movers or the pool guy.  I enjoy going to cons and meeting people but also like that we could probably bump into our biggest fan at the mall and they would never know that the short middle-aged man and his lovely wife are authors of weird and creepy stories.

Really, if it was up to us, we probably would not even tell the neighbors.  I would almost rather they think we make meth in the garage.  This time I don’t think we were two hours in the new place though before the people next door and the lady across the street were informed.  I now have a sort of set dialogue for these situations  that goes something like this:”We work from home. Doing what?  We are writers.  What do we write?  Have you ever heard of True Blood?  Ok, good.  Now the show is based on a series of books my Charlaine Harris, we are in an anthology with her.  No we don’t write True Blood.  Yes we have vampires but they are not sexy.”  Then it goes down hill from there.

I am a huge fan of hers and really like her story in Must Love Hellhounds.  I also really enjoyed the first season of True Blood but have not seen any of the later ones.  I guess I started to notice the difference between the show and the novels and now just read the books.  Well enough of that, now that the AC is fixed I shall busy myself with setting up the books shelves and carrying enourmously heavy boxes upstairs.  Perhaps she will notice my manliness and forget my earlier faux pas.  Yeah, that’s the ticket, take off the shirt and flex for her boy.  This plan is foolproof.

[hr]

Jill Myles: You are not going to self destruct. You will be fine! You are over 50k on the book, right? That’s over half! If you still have 30k to write, you only need to write 2500 a day. Not a tiny amount, but not awful.

Me: I got so stressed out, I ate 2 hotdogs.  With BUNS.

Jill: You mean you ate a normal meal? Heaven forbid.

***

Email from: Jeaniene Frost

Subject: Hahahaha!

Message: Read the paragraph under Magic Slays pic .

Paragraphs reads: If you’re familiar with this excellent series (and if you’re not, MAGIC BITES is where the adventure begins) want to help me harrass interview Ilona? I have my own list of questions, but if there’s something you’ve been dying to know about Kate, Curran, and the rest of the gang, please leave it in the comments and I’ll send that to Ilona, too. Granted, if there’s a slew of questions she’ll have to pick and choose because of time constraints, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I know the first thing I’m going to ask Ilona is what it’s like to co-write the series with her husband *ducks from hammer Ilona swung at my head*

***

Gordon to Accountant from Heaven: We need a letter confirming that we are self-employed.

AFH: You aren’t technically self-employed since the business is in a corporation.

Gordon to me: Hey, did you know that I’m the president of the corporation and you technically own it?

Me: Don’t worry, if we divorce, we each get half.

Gordon: We better not divorce.  Nobody else will put up with me.

***

Me: I need to write some sort of blog post.

Gordon: We have books.

Me: Eh?

Gordon: MAGIC SLAYS?  Book that’s coming out?

Me: sour face.  It is not coming out.  We’ve never written it. It doesn’t exist.

Gordon: We should do a giveaway.

Me: Did we not just do one?

Gordon: It was for a different book.  Woman, let them have some books.

Me: O_o

[hr]

This is a giveaway for five copies of MAGIC SLAYS.  If you never tried the series, this wouldn’t be a bad point to jump into it, as we had a couple of reviewers who never read Kate Daniels before report that they were not confused.

Contest is open until Sunday, 05/22/2011. Contest is open to everyone. To enter, comment on this blog post, and tell us what mythology or which magic creature is your favorite and why.

Goodreads readers: there will be a separate contest specifically open for you on Goodreads. You are welcome to enter both, but if you want to enter this one, please comment on the actual blog rather then Goodreads blog feed.

Contest ends in 8 months, 19 days, 19 hours, 24 minutes ago