Mercy Thompson & Other Reader Goodness

I know, I haven't posted in a while, blah blah blah. I've been getting ready for school to go back, working, writing, and playing PC games. So there!

ANYways, I thought you Briggs fans might enjoy this article with the artist of her covers. It concerns the Mercy covers themselves and the gal who models for them. She's not a professional model, but an architectural draftsperson and part-time bartender. Pretty cool. Anyways, it's a neat read.

AND, the cover for Mercy #6 has been revealed!!! Here is River Marked, coming in Spring 2011. It's too far away!!! Luckily we'll have Masques and Wolfsbane coming in October and November of this year to tide us over.

In other book news, here's the back cover copy for Lisa Shearin's next Raine Benares book, coming out next year. It looks fantastic!

And now, for a contest link. The incomparable Meljean Brook is giving away 3 ARCs of her October steampunk romance release, The Iron Duke. Go enter before tomorrow night, and if you win, give it to me!!! ;) The novella that kicked off the series (and was really good) was in the Burning Up anthology and was titled "Here There Be Monsters."

Shame - The Great Motivator & Contest Link

I was catching up via email with a friend yesterday and had to confess that I'd slacked on my writing. Just admitting it made me feel like a loser, so in an effort to prove to myself that I was working towards my dream and not just lazing around dreaming about it, I actually *gasp* edited some of my novel last night.

Now, the editing probably wasn't very good, because that's one of my weak points, but I sat down and did it. A whole 13 pages. Yippee. One more chapter down - 33 to go. Oh, heavens, kill me now. Does that seem like a mountain to anyone else? An eternity? An endless road? If not, could you do it for me? ;)

As for the contest, a debut novel hit the shelves yesterday and I've had my eye on it. It's Red Hot Fury by Kasey Mackenzie and a copy is being given away over on OddShots. Read the interview with her and you'll be hooked. This is also your chance to name your come-to-life-to-protect-you-tattoos. This one's for you, Bex! It's an urban fantasy, but the heroine isn't a vampire or a werewolf. *alarm! alarm!* She's a Fury, ala Greek Mythology, and I think that's a totally cool idea. I so wish I'd come up with it myself.

Links and Contests!!

Dear Author is doing their usual ACE/ROC giveaway - there's even a new (gasp!) BOY urban fantasy series starting up in there!!! It looks good. The last Weather Warden series book by Rachel Caine is also up for grabs, as well as Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (but everyone on the planet should already have that one... and if you don't, consider yourself slapped silly.)

OMG The Hoff in a ninja movie (Dancing Ninja at that) and his character name is... WAIT FOR IT...

Ansel Ladouche.

My world is complete. Thanks to Smart Bitches, Trashy Books for the heads-up

Completely unrelated to the Hoff, B&N is giving you a free $50 gift card to start filling your e-library if you purchase a nook "for a limited time". You may walk out of a B&N with your nook or order one on-line. Either way, now's a good time to pick one up. Not mention the free e-books they give you each week. And the cookies and 7-Layer bars from the cafe when you show them the coupon on your nook. I heart my nook.

Go forth and enjoy your day!

Magic Bleeds Contests

Yep - Gordon and Ilona Andrews are running a contest to win 1 of 10 signed copies of Magic Bleeds before you can buy it. Go hit the Magic Bleeds contest. You have until 10 am PST tomorrow I think.

What are you still doing here? Go.

If you're still here, you must want another chance. Lurv a la Mode is giving away another copy of Magic Bleeds and has a review here. This one's good until Sat. May 15 midnight.

Cherry-Picking Much? And Contests Links

I feel like I've been snatching bits and pieces of particulars for my novels from lots of different sources lately - things I liked from other books, friends, our recent vacation, family, random encounters with strangers, etc. In essence, I've been cherry-picking little things from here and there and hoping I can smash them into a usable whole.

In the past, I might have been inspired by something, but it would usually be something big. Recently it's just been tons of little things and I've been diligently writing them down in the hopes that they'll be useful later. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

BTW, don't forget to stop over at the Knight Agency blog if you're interested in walking away with their Gena Showalter Take-Home Tuesday book.

And, go check out excerpts and contest deets for Rob Thurman's upcoming release, Chimera.

New Book Releases and Contests

Okey-dokey. Until yesterday, I hadn't checked my usual sites for about a week. Talk about out of touch. Here are some things to be aware of:

• Lisa Shearin's next Raine Benares book, Bewitched & Betrayed, is coming out next week -- Tuesday April 27th. If you see it out in stores before then, DON'T BUY IT!!!! She's going to pitch two new book proposals later in the year and needs good FIRST WEEK sales for Bewitched & Betrayed to help her chances. Buy the book (and an extra as a gift for someone else :) ) next week when it'll do her the most good. Then send her your name and mailing address and she'll send you a free bookmark and other free book "swag". It's a win-win for everyone. If you want some Lisa Shearin book lovin' for free, check out a Lisa Shearin contest being held over at the blog of Rob Thurman (of Cal Leandros and Trick of the Light goodness). The contest ends tomorrow (the 23rd) so get over there!

• Nalini Singh is running a contest giving away a free ARC of her upcoming books Bonds of Justice. Yum!

Random Web Links

Go check out Lisa Shearin's blog this week - she's doing a mini-workshop on book synopsis and even posting examples, bless her heart. Even if you're not ready to submit to agents yet, I'd recommend going over there and bookmarking this stuff for later reference.

A very cool idea for a book trailer - the making of the book cover (hours of work condensed down to just under 2 minutes) for Gail Carriger's 3rd book, Blameless. Check it out here:

I've been meaning to pick up the first novel, Soulless, having heard a great many good things about it - Victorian alternate history/comedy/romance.

Dear Author is holding an ARC contest for some Putnam and Riverhead books if you all want to go enter by March 13th at noon CST. The new Amanda Quick book in hardcover is up for grabs.

Finally, The NY Times has an interesting comparison of the cost of publishing a print book as opposed to an e-book and why the publishers aren't really saving all that much by offering the electronic format.

Nalini Singh Blaze of Memory Giveaway

If you are a Nalini Singh fan, you're probably aware that her next book in the Psy/Changeling series, Blaze of Memory, is coming out a week from today - Nov. 3. Lurve A La Mode has posted a review and Nalini is giving away 2 signed copies of the book there. But you must comment by tomorrow morning at 6:00 am. So be quick!

Upcoming Releases

Yippee!! It's the end of the month!! You know what that means? Huh? Do ya? Do ya? NEW RELEASES!!!!! Woohoo!!! Okay. Breathe.

Right. So, lots of books are released either on the last Tuesday of the month or the first Tuesday of the month. So the last week of the month brings us two straight weeks of new books coming out. Let's take a look at what I'm waiting for, shall we?

This Week:

• On the Edge by Ilona Andrews - Rustic Fantasy? (Cross between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, but some of the characters are country. Way country) - The first in their (her and her husband Gordon) new series. Another odd magic sandwich world where a mundane world (ours) co-exists next to a magic world (the Weird) and causes, well, weirdness. To give you an idea of how this works, here's my favorite part from one of the snippets I read: "Go brush your teeth, comb your hair, put on dry clothes, and get the guns. We’re going to Wal-Mart." Also, if you want some chances at free On the Edge books (and a Sony e-reader), follow these contest links: The Book Pushers and Bitten by Books.
• Temptation and Surrender by Stephanie Laurens - Regency Romance in her much-loved Cynster series.
• Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre - Science Fiction - Book #3 of Sirantha Jax.

Next Week:

• Demon Forged by Meljean Brook - Paranormal romance - The story of Guardians Irena and Alejandro. Yum.
• Lucinda, Dangerously by Sunny - Paranormal romance - The second book featuring Lucinda, the demon dead princess. It's an offshoot of her Mona Lisa Monere books.
• Shadowlight by Lynn Viehl - Paranormal romance - See my preview of Shadowlight for more deets on this one.

What are you guys looking forward to? Someone needs to chime in with some other genres here, because I've been woefully single-minded of late.

Berkley & Ace/ROC Contest Link

Woohoo! Dear Author is doing it again. You have until 9PM CS tomorrow (Friday) to enter to win free books that are coming out in the next couple of months. Here's the link for the Berkley part of the contest. And here's the Ace/Roc contest link. There are lots of good books up for grabs here - Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh, Meljean Brook, Rob Thurman, Shannon K. Butcher, and the list just goes on.

Go win something cool for yourself or your lady.

Lisa Shearin Contest - Not much time left!

For those of you who took my recommendation to pick up Lisa Shearin's books, here's your chance to impress her with how much you loooooooove them (and win a t-shirt or 11x17 print in the process)!!!! She uses pics of actors to model some of her characters after (at least visually), and she's missing one of Talon, that young, smokey spellsinger. The contest is for you to scavenge the web for a pic of the perfect "Talon" and email it to her, but you only have until tomorrow, Friday (Sept. 4). Deets for the Talon contest are here at her website. Sorry this is such late notice, but I've been rather disconnected from the intarwebs lately.

Now, for a description of Talon so you don't have to weed through your books to find it (taken from The Trouble With Demons):

He was slender and sleekly muscled with waist-length black hair. His silvery gray skin was lighter than normal for a pure-blooded goblin, which Talon most definitely was not. His aquamarine eyes were from his mother, an elf.

Talon is a nineteen-year-old half goblin/half elf. FYI, in Lisa's books, goblin doesn't mean short warty green creature with big ears. They're more like the smexy vampire persona making the rounds today, complete with fangs. Talon is quite the hawt young ladies' man, and knows that he's about the most dangerous threat to a woman's panties since his daddy, Tam, first hit the sheets oh these many years ago. He's cocky but charming, a powerful young spellsinger and a bit of a daredevil. There. Go forth and scavenge the webs for a young hottie with er, silvery gray skin. Yeah. Prob won't find that, but really, that's just a small detail. :)

Quick Must Love Hellhounds Contest Post

I've been almost too busy to write lately, so this is a very quick post to let you all know that I'm still around. Then I'm going to get to writing before another day goes by with almost no progress. I'm only at 300 words for the week. Gah!!!! Never gonna get published at this rate!

I came up with a new short story idea last night that I'll try putting together in my free time (hah!) either to enter in a contest or put up on the website. I also had a flash of inspiration for an urban fantasy idea. I'm afraid to think too much more on it for fear that it'll entice me more than my WIP (Work In Progress) - and that wouldn't be hard. Quint and his whole crew are giving me problems lately. I'll see if I can work the new idea into the background for one of the protagonists for the series I'm already working on, and if not, I guess I'll file it away for its own stand-alone novel or series.

As for the contest, Nalini Singh is giving away a free ARC of the upcoming September release of Must Love Hellhounds. You have until August 5th to enter. Get the deets for the contest here at Nalini's website.

Left Behind and Loving It gets rolling!

Lynn Viehl (aka Paperback Writer and author of mundo SciFi (S.L. Viehl), Paranormal Romance, Christian Fiction (I think) and I'm sure other stuff) is starting her Left Behind and Loving It (LB&LI) virtual workshops today. Everyday this week she's having writing workshops online at her Paperback Writer Blog and giving away some incredible prizes to anyone who goes and participates in the comments section. She's also encouraged other writers and wanna-be writers to hold workshops of their own, so at the bottom of each day's post you'll find links to that day's workshops at other sites. Go. Learn. Become a better writer (or just learn something about the process of writing. Win prizes.

Free ARC Contest

Meljean Brook is giving away an ARC of Must Love Hellhounds over at her website. For those of you who have no clue about this book, it's an anthology of Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance being released on Sept. 1, that features hellhounds in each story. The coolest thing about this book is the lineup of authors: Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook. Yowzers. I get all tingly just thinking about it. Mmmm, stories.... Anyways, it looks like the contest is running until July 31, so you've got some time, but don't forget to enter if you're interested.

Contest!!! Contest!!!!

Free ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) are being given away over at Dear Author today. Go. Enter. Win. These are books being released in June, July and August by Berkley/Jove and Ace/Roc.

To tease you, some of the books up for grabs are (in no particular order) by Nalini Singh *jumping up and down*, Marjorie M. Liu, Kat Richardson *squeeeeee*, Mark Del Franco *more jumping*, Jayne Castle *hyperventalating*, Faith Hunter, Lora Leigh, Emma Holly, Christine Feehan, and Mary Janice Davidson.

And this is two posts for me in one day. Weird.