One More Chance

You can see what it was like the day I got my advance reader copies of Afterlife. First, Caleb had to check out the books.


Then, Joshua had to give them a once-over.

See, they've both been waiting for a long time for their hero—a black German shepherd named Omega—to show the world just how cool dogs are. And now, Omega and all the human characters in the book are ready and waiting for real humans to read their story.

So, if you're one of those humans who wants an advance copy of Afterlife, there's a cool Twitter contest going on over at The Sci Fi Chick's site. Head on over to her site and check out her book giveaway rules. Oh, and by the way, you're going to fall in love with her dog, Lois Lane.

Woof.

Winner of AFTERLIFE ARC announced!

The WINNER of the Comic Con Costume Contest is Tori [Book Faery]. CONGRATULATIONS!! Tori, please DM me your full name and address and e-mail on Twitter. I'll be sending you an advance copy of Afteflife: The Resurrection Chronicles.

Thanks so much to everyone who read the Comic Con post and commented. I loved reading all of your answers! I wish I could have given an ARC to all of you. Just an FYI, I ran everything through a randomizer program to find the winner.

A funny thing happened on the way to Comic Con

Last year about this time, I was scrounging for Comic Con tickets. I wanted to go so bad I could taste it. I’m not sure what I thought would happen when I got there. Maybe I’d see some cool costumes, listen to some awesome panels, find out what new TV shows and movies were going to come out. Maybe I’d meet an editor and impress him/her that my book would be perfect for his/her publishing house. Maybe I’d sign a contract, right there.


Okay, I know publishing doesn’t really work like that, but a girl can dream, right?

It wasn’t long after Comic Con, however, that my agent, Kimberley Cameron, landed me an awesome two-book contract with Diana Gill of Eos/HarperCollins. Now here I am, a year later, with a stack of advance review copies of my debut novel—all sparkly and shiny and each of them looking for a home. Almost like a litter of puppies.


Woof.

On top of that, my Comic Con fever never went away, which is a good thing. Because I just found out that I’ll be speaking on a panel this year—me, speaking. And then, people, probably listening. Big difference in a year. Big very cool difference.


So what I want to know is, if you were going to Comic Con, what costume would you wear?

To sweeten the pot and to get a few brave souls—okay, I know you’re out there, I can hear you typing on your keyboard when you’re supposed to be reading this—to post a comment, I’m going to be giving away one of my puppies…I mean, one of my advance copies of Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles.


I’m even going to give you ways to earn extra chances at winning.

+1 point for commenting in this post
+1 point for linking to this post on Twitter
+1 point for linking to this post on Facebook
+1 point for blogging about this post and linking to it
+2 points for following this blog

Remember to tally up your points and tell me what you did in the body of your comment. Contest to win an advance copy of Afterlife closes at midnight on Sunday, June 20th.

If you’re going to Comic Con, stop by and say hi! Really. I’m pretty friendly almost all the time.

And here’s some info I grabbed off the Eos Books blog about the panel I’ll be on:

BITE ME: Evolving Urban Fantasy Beyond the Vampire Phenomenon

Panelists: Richard Kadrey, Brom, Marjorie M. Liu, Jocelynn Drake, Merrie Destefano [that’s me, just in case you accidentally fell asleep somewhere between the top of this blog and here], Tanya Huff, and Lauren Kate

Tired of Twilight? Want something beyond the Vampire Diaries? Never fear! Some of the hottest authors working explore what's happening in urban fantasy and the paranormal beyond the pale bloodsuckers we know and love.

Friday, 7/24, 3:00-4:00 p.m. PST, Room 8


Okay, that last guy was scary. He deserves a post all to himself.

Afterlife ARCs are here!

I just got my advance reader copies of Afterlife in the mail. It's so exciting to see it in print--this project that took years to come to fruition. I can't believe that I'm actually an author. I keep waiting to wake up and discover that I'm still just a magazine editor, worrying about budgets and deadlines and that dreaded editor's letter. I digress. Back to reality, which for once is better than the dream.

I'm going to be giving away some copies of Afterlife on this blog and on the other site where I post once a month: The Supernatural Underground. My first blog post over at SU is scheduled for this Friday, so that's when my book give-aways will begin.

So be sure to stop by The Supernatural Underground this Friday, June 19!

Squeeee! [The cry of a newbie author]

Another World

I hear that there’s another world out there. A land of sky and sun. But I’m not sure. The only world I see right now is the imagined world of words, as I scramble page by page to meet the deadline for my second book. This story has twisted and turned beneath my pen, struggling to be born. Sometimes I think this must mean that there is a greater truth, just below the surface, waiting to be discovered—if I would only dig a little deeper. Other times I think it means that I am a fool. That I never should have attempted to play this great game of words.

This, I believe, is the life of the writer. Working, but never quite seeing the finish line. Hoping, but never quite attaining that high goal.

Things I should do today

Write
Pay bills
Clean my house
Feed the poor
Travel to India
Walk my dogs
Have lunch with a friend
Watch a movie
Read poetry out loud
Finish my book
Redesign my website
Tend my garden
Learn how to fly
Write with a pink pen
Drink champagne
Laugh and then,
Laugh again
Dance with passion
Take a nap
Write a letter
Stay up ‘til midnight
Speak to the moon

Launch Day

Today is officially launch day for the new Supernatural Underground blog. Put together by a group of best-selling HarperCollins authors, plus a few newcomers like me, the blog will focus on all those elements that make up a great paranormal book. Geared toward readers, there will be an occasional post or tip for writers of the genre as well.

Here's a list of the contributing authors who will be participating in the blog: Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, Melissa Marr, Joceyln Drake, Tera Lynn Childs, Pamela Palmer, Terri Garey, Joss Ware, Tracey O’Hara, Kimberly Derting, Leah Clifford, Cindy Pon, Kerrelyn Sparks, Dakota Banks, Juliana Stone, Karina Cooper, Sara Creasy, Nicole Murphy, Sophie Jordan and myself.

Since this is our first month, we will have contests and book give-aways on a regular basis. But today is very special. Check out the books that will given away during the launch party:

An autographed set of Jeaniene Frost's NIGHT HUNTRESS series, complete with bookmarks.

An autographed set of Terri Garey's NICKI STYX series, complete with bookmarks.

An autographed set of the first three books in Joss Ware's ENVY CHRONICLES, complete with bookmarks.

So stop by and say 'hi' over at Supernatural Underground. We'd love to meet a fellow fan of books that go bump in the night!