If the blogging shoe fits...

Hey, you know how I don't blog very often? (One of my writing pals just called me a blog sloth on Facebook. Ahem. Okay, so that shoe fits.)


Well, is it okay if I blog to tell you about some free stuff?

Free stuff. Yeah. That's what I'm talking about.

Here goes:

I'm giving away a $25 Amazon gift card, plus a copy of FEAST over on the Supernatural Underground. Contest ends on October 20. (Hurry!)

Books N Kisses is giving away some cool stuff for Halloween (go over and check out all the loot). In the mix, are a signed copy of Afterlife and a signed copy of Feast, given away by Yours Truly.

Plus, this isn't free, but it is cool. I just re-designed my website and it should be up and running and all sparkly in about 2 days. (I'm very excited about that.)

And, by the way, my motto is: If the shoe fits, then it's time to go shopping for a new handbag.

Winner of FEAST and AFTERLIFE announced!

Hi, everyone! If you've ever wondered why authors suddenly become invisible and don't post very often on their blogs, it's almost always because they're working on a book. That's what I've been doing and that's why I haven't posted much lately (sorry).

But...

I do have good news.

We have a WINNER in the contest I was running HERE.

Just a reminder of the prizes...


And, the winner is Tiff! Congrats, Tiff. I just sent you an e-mail requesting your shipping address. Yay!! I have the following items waiting for you:

Afterlife tote bag
Signed copy of Afterlife
Signed copy of Feast
Feast and Afterlife buttons and bookmarks

Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest! I loved reading your answers. =)

If, by any chance, I don't hear from the winner in three days, another winner will be chosen.

Release Day: Excerpt from FEAST by Merrie Destefano

Today, for the second installment of the Invasion of the Urban Fantasy BOOK BABES, I'm going to be sharing all of FEAST's delicious news and reviews, a contest and a scrumptious excerpt. You can also read other excerpts of FEAST on my fellow BOOK BABES' blogs here: Karina Cooper, Jocelynn Drake and Nicole Murphy.

So now, let's GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!

First up, there have already been a number of cool reviews for FEAST here:

BITTEN BY BOOKS:
"Feast was like a dark fairy tale come to life, full of monsters and heroes and things that go bump in the night that feed on your dreams. Part Urban Fantasy, part Horror, I fell in love with this world."

I SMELL SHEEP:
"This isn’t a traditional Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance. It is a dark Fairy Tale, a Fantasy. A story of dreams and nightmares, where the spoken word has a power of its own. Her descriptive prose builds a magical atmosphere."

And there are some guest posts and interviews here:

There's a guest post and contest over at Book Faery, where I confess why I the bad guys. You should check it out!

I have an interview over at I Smell Sheep where I discuss how long it took me to write FEAST. And there's a contest running over there.

There's also a guest post and contest at Bitten By Books where I discuss the world-building and creation of the Darklings in FEAST.



AND NOW, HERE'S AN EXCERPT FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER OF FEAST:


She was just a girl—bony, pale-skinned and wild—when we stumbled upon each other in the woods, the wind shimmering through the trees around us. I remember thinking that she was nothing like her parents, both of them sleeping back in their rented cabin, the stench of rum and coke seeping out the windows and doors.

She should have been scared when she saw me, appearing suddenly in the russet shadows, but I could tell that she wasn't. Her long dark hair hung in a tangle, almost hiding her face. In that moment, I realized that she lived in a world of her own.

Just like me.

“Do you work at the inn?” she asked, her gaze running over my form curiously.

I nodded. Somehow she had recognized me. True enough, we’d seen other often. I did work at the inn. I brought her parents fresh linens and coffee every morning. But this was my free time and I no longer wore human skin.

“You're different. Not like the other one.”

I frowned, unsure what she meant. I cocked my head and then followed her pointing finger with my gaze. She gestured toward a trail that led deep into the woods, all the way to the edge of my territory.

“Have you gone that way?” I asked, concerned when I saw her yawn.

She nodded and stretched, all of her barely as tall as my chest.

I heard him then, one of my wild cousins, calling to her. She lifted her head and listened.

“He wants me to come back.” She shifted away from me, started to head down a path that led to shadows and darkness.

In that instant, a stray beam of sunlight sliced through the trees, fell upon her milky skin and set it aglow, almost like fire.

That was when I saw them.

She was surrounded by imaginary playmates. Transparent as ghosts, though they were only visible occasionally. An arm here, a leg there, a laugh that echoed and followed after her.

I quickly glanced at her forearms, bare for midsummer and they bore no mark. No one had claimed her yet. She was still free.

I could have claimed her for myself right then and to this day I sometimes wonder why I didn't. I think it was because she was so small—only seven years old, much too young to harvest, though my wild cousin wouldn’t think so.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Here's a LINK where you can read an even longer excerpt on the HarperCollins website.

And here's where you can purchase your very own copy of FEAST: Amazon l Barnes and Noble l Borders l Mysterious Galaxy l Laguna Beach Books l Vroman's Bookstore l Indie Bound Books l Or at your favorite local bookstore.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ON TOP OF THAT, HERE'S A CONTEST:


To enter the contest, all you have to do it post a comment below and tell me what's the best book you've read this year. Be sure to include your e-mail address so I can contact the winner. This contest will run through July 13. Prizes include: Afterlife totebag, copy of FEAST, copy of AFTERLIFE, buttons and bookmarks.

I look forward to reading your comments!

Revealing my secrets, one by one

There are some very cool things going on the cyber universe today...

First, FEAST was reviewed over at The Aussie Bookworm. You can read the review here.

Here's a snippet:

"I really liked the way that the bits and pieces of vampiric lore were sprinkled throughout the novel. Some of them as we have always believed i.e. that they need to be invited to be able to cross your threshold while others have been tweaked slightly. They don’t drink blood but they harvest dreams."

Also, Kristin over at My Bookish Ways posted an interview with me today. AND she's giving away a copy of Afterlife. Believe it or not, she got me to confess something I've never told anyone online before. *gasp*

Some of the other things we discussed: What I like to see in a good book and what makes me toss a book aside in frustration. VERY good questions!

AND one more cool thing going on. I Smell Sheep has a very fun Swag Day Contest going on through Friday, June 17. Their contest involves matching an author with his/her pet. And, yes, I'm one of the featured authors! Followers of my blog should be able to figure out which one of those furry beasts belong to me. Hint, hint: Remember, I have 2 black and tan German shepherds? See, I just gave you one answer so you'll be ahead of the game.

Besides cover flats, bookmarks, buttons and trading cards, the folks at I Smell Sheep are also giving away the following books: signed copies of Afterlife and Nightwalker, an ARC of The Iron Duke, a paper copy of Demon Slayer. E-copies of Along Came a Demon and Shades of Gray, and Devil Without a Cause, which can be either a paper or e-copy.

I hope you'll check those posts out and say hi to the blog owners. They love visitors!

Winners Announced in The Virtual Feast Dessert-To-Die-For Contest

Awhile back I hosted a contest in celebration of my second novel, FEAST, and its official Coming Out Party (June 28, 2011 to be exact—Notice the way cool countdown widget to the right).

Today I'm announcing the 5 winners in The Virtual Feast Dessert-To-Die-For Contest.

Let's take a look at those fab prizes again...

FIRST:
One Grand Prize Winner will receive the following: A FEAST tote bag, a signed copy of FEAST and a signed copy of AFTERLIFE, plus a one-pound box of yummy See’s candy.




Four Runner Up Winners will each receive the following: A signed copy of FEAST, plus 5 FEAST/AFTERLIFE bookmarks.

Here are the winners.

Grand Prize Winner (who will receive a tote bag, signed copy of FEAST, and a one-pound box of See's candy):

Renee (SteelerGirl83)

And the four Runner Up Winners are:

Cath

Van Pham

Sharon

Thepix

Congrats to all of you and I will be contacting you shortly for your mailing addresses. Please note that none of the prizes will be mailed until I get my author copies of Feast. So the prizes may not get in the mail until the end of June. Thank you to everyone who participated!!

RT Tote Bag Winner

Hi, everyone! Thanks for your patience. I got slightly distracted by the conference I went to this past weekend. And forgot that I had a CONTEST GOING ON.

Argh.



So, in case anyone besides me forgot, the giveaway is this lovely totebag from the recent Romantic Times convention, signed by 12 amazing authors. And the WINNER is.....

[drum roll, please]

JESSICA!!! Yay, congrats, Jessica!!

I already have your e-mail address and I will contact you shortly to get your shipping information. Thank you to everyone who participated in this contest!!

Reason Number Five Why I Will Probably Never Run For Office

This is besides the whole public speaking thing, which I think is kinda mandatory.

Reason Number Five Why I Will Probably Never Run For Office:

[drum roll, please]

I keep forgetting to ask people to vote. For me.

I Smell Sheep is having a very cool contest/award ceremony called the First Annual Boogity Boo Awards. And the grand prize is BEYOND cool. They will be donating a sheep (in the winning author's name) to a needy family. This is being done through World Vision, a non-profit organization that does some amazing things.

So, please VOTE. You don't have to vote for me. But this is for a very good cause. And it's fun. And you should really check out I Smell Sheep, because it's one of the most fun blogs out there!

Contest winners, upcoming events and MORE

I wanted to let you all know about some fun things going on now and in the near future:

CONTESTS ON THIS BLOG::

WIDGET CONTEST WINNERS:
Congrats to Renee, Katie, Cath, Natasha, and Patricia! You all won a signed cover flat of FEAST. Yay!! Please note, I will need all of you to send me a quick e-mail with your mailing address and let me know if you want the cover flat signed to you. (If you already have one, this flat could make a fun giveaway on your blog!) My e-mail is: merriedestefano [at] yahoo [dot] com. And thank you ALL for helping to share the love for my next novel, FEAST. You all rock!!

SIGNED RT SWAG GIVEAWAY
You still have time to enter this contest, where the prize is a book bag that I got at the Romantic Times Convention in Los Angeles. This beauty has been signed by 12 authors including: Kimberly Derting, Melissa Marr, Rachel Vincent, Carrie Ryan, Kami Garcia and MORE. I am dearly in love with this totebag and hope that it goes to a good home! Contest ends Sunday, April 30, and the winner will be announced on this blog on Monday, May 1.

VIRTUAL FEAST DESSERT-TO-DIE-FOR
There's still time to enter your fave dessert in the Virtual Feast Dessert Contest. Last date for entry is May 20. Prizes and rules included in this LINK.

CONTEST ON ANOTHER BLOG:
RED HOT BOOKS:
Again, a hearty thank you and round of applause to the folks over at Red Hot Books for doing an AFTERLIFE giveaway. And congrats to the winner, Judy!

REAL LIVE EVENTS:

OCCWF Writer's Conference:
April 29-30: This Friday and Saturday I will be speaking at the OCCWF Writer's Conference in Irvine, California. On Friday evening I'll be doing a panel with all the other speakers. Saturday I will be teaching a class on Backstory: The Secret Reason Why Readers Might Love or Hate Your Novel. I'm really excited and look forward to meeting all the people who will be attending the conference!

Ladies' Guilty Pleasures Book Club
June 17: I will be discussing AFTERLIFE and FEAST with this amazing group of ladies. I've been told that I will be the first urban fantasy author to visit their book club, so that is way cool!

ONLINE EVENTS:

May 12: Interview and AFTERLIFE giveaway at Bookmark Your Thoughts.

June 15: Interview at My Bookish Ways.

June 28: FEAST RELEASE DAY!!! WOO HOO!!

June 27 & 28: Review of FEAST and interview with moi at the ever-incredible I Smell Sheep blog. We will be doing a giveaway there to celebrate the release of FEAST.

June 28: Launch Party Extravaganza at Bitten By Books. We will be doing a giveaway to celebrate the release of FEAST.

June 29: Guest post by moi at the delightful Book Faery blog. Again, a fun giveaway in honor of the birth of FEAST.

There will be many more online and live events to celebrate the release of my second novel, FEAST. I will let you know what they are and when they will be as soon as I have more details!!

Meanwhile, Happy Reading!

Red Hot Books hosts a Cool Giveway

I just found that Red Hot Books is giving away a copy of AFTERLIFE. Woo hoo!! AND they're giving away a copy of Tracey O'Hara's DEATH SWEET EMBRACE.

So, I highly recommend that you check out their blog and their giveaway!

The Virtual Feast Dessert-To-Die-For Contest

It won’t be long before my second novel, FEAST, will have its official Coming Out Party (June 28, 2011 to be exact—Notice the way cool countdown widget to the right). I want this celebration to last for a VERY LONG TIME—so I’m starting the festivities TODAY!! What better way to get the party started than with a dessert contest?


First of you all, you must know that the creatures in my next book LOVE sweets. They really do. In fact, that’s the only human food they like to eat. Right now, we aren’t going to discuss their Number One Food of Choice, but let’s just say that HarperCollins has rightly dubbed my main character, The Lord of the Hunt. And that title SO fits Ash, my gorgeous rascal from another world. (Pardon me while I drool.)

Sigh. Back to the contest and all the sugar-drenched fun.

FIRST, here are the prizes:
One Grand Prize Winner will receive the following: A FEAST tote bag, a signed copy of FEAST and a signed copy of AFTERLIFE, plus a one-pound box of yummy See’s candy.




Four Runner Up Winners will each receive the following: A signed copy of FEAST, plus 5 FEAST/AFTERLIFE bookmarks.

SECOND, here are the rules for entering The Virtual Feast Dessert-To-Die-For Contest:

1. Post your favorite dessert recipe on your site, then post a link to the recipe in the comment section below.
2. Give your dessert a fun name, like Vampire Kiss Cookies or Full Moon Cake or To-Die-For Brownies.
3. Also include the following in the comment section below: Your e-mail address, your name and your state. You can use your first name if you prefer not to share your last name.
4. Link to this contest on your site.
5. DO NOT INCLUDE four letter words or off-color language in your dessert name or your entry will be disqualified.
6. If there are any duplicate recipes (for instance, if I get 5 recipes for chocolate chip cookies), only the first entry will be counted. The others will be deleted. So make sure you look at what previous people have posted.
7. You MAY enter the contest more than once. Just make sure that you post two different recipes.
8. IMPORTANT: After the contest is over, I will compile all the recipes—those that win and those that don’t—into a PDF Virtual Feast Cookbook that will be available to all my blog readers as a FREE download. By entering this contest you are agreeing to be part of the cookbook with no compensation. Your name and state will be included, right below the title of your dessert.
9. The contest will run from April 20th through May 20th. Winners will be announced on this blog on Monday, May 23rd.

So a sample comment/entry would look like this:
Killer Apple Crisp
[link to recipe on your site here]
Submitted by Jill Smith from Wisconsin
E-mail: jillsmith@smith.com

By the way, I will be posting some of my favorite desserts too. You know, just to whet your appetite for the impending FEAST. *grin*

I can’t wait to see all of your fabulous recipes!! You better believe I’m going to be trying some of them out. Yum!!

The Lord of the Hunt

I just wanted to share the amazing copy that the folks at HarperCollins wrote about FEAST on their site. You can read it below:

"With her brilliant debut novel, Afterlife, author Merrie Destefano earned herself a place of honor at the banquet table alongside today’s top authors of sf and urban fantasy. With Feast, she serves up another heaping helping of thrills, shivers, wonder, and glorious invention while spicing up the recipe with dark romance in the bestselling vein of C.L Wilson, Marjorie M. Liu, and other paranormal superstars. A spellbinding fantasy of supernatural intrigue and forbidden love, Feast blends vampire and fairy lore, with the resulting dish offering a sumptuous new take on both, as a troubled storyteller returns home to the mysterious autumn woods just prior to Halloween, to find her life and her soul captivated by a cursed immortal, the Lord of the Hunt."

I especially love that last phrase, "The Lord of the Hunt." Wow. Wish I had come up with that. (Don't tell anyone, but I might just steal it and use it on some of my FEAST promotional materials!)

STAY TUNED: The first of my Virtual Feast contests and promotions is coming up in a few days. And this one is delectable! I'm going to launch a Virtual Feast Dessert Contest with fun prizes (like books and tote bags and CHOCOLATE!!) and I'm also going to take all the submitted recipes and use them to make something REALLY COOL just for you!!

The best Afterlife party pack ever

The lovely folks over at the I Smell Sheep blog (Katie and Amber) posted an interview with Yours Truly [I know, I can't believe it either]. But maybe, even cooler than learning why I chose New Orleans for the location in Afterlife or what I think about writing from a male POV, is the awesome Afterlife Party Pack they are giving away.

Here's what they've got in their giveaway treasure chest:
Mardi Gras mask and beads
Zatarians red bean and rice
A jar of Liquid Light
An adorable, plush German shepherd puppy
AND a signed copy of AFTERLIFE: THE RESURRECTION CHRONICLES

Now that's what I call a party pack!

And all you have to do is post a comment on their blog to enter. So mosey on over to their fab blog. This contest ends on November 1.

Freaky Friday Giveaway

The wind is blowing and leaves are falling off the trees. October is here and that means that Halloween will upon us soon. (Insert spooky music here.)


In honor of Halloween and all things that go bump in the night, I'm going to give away two spooky, yet inspiring, books: HOW TO DRAW ZOMBIES and HOW TO DRAW VAMPIRES. Both of these books were co-authored by Mike Butkis and me.


How can you win one of these books? Glad you asked!

Here are the rules:

I will give away one signed copy of How To Draw Zombies and one signed copy of How To Draw Vampires today, each to a different person.

To enter, you must:
1. Follow this blog
2. Post a comment, telling us about your favorite monster.
3. Mention this post on either Twitter or Facebook

Contest will run for 24 hours and will end tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 9) at noon. Winners will be announced tomorrow. Winners must contact me at: merrie [dot] destefano [at] yahoo [dot] com by Monday, Oct. 11, or their prize will be forfeited.

Thanks for playing!

Book Launch Party & Giveaway & More

It's day three in Release Week Madness and so far the universe hasn't accidentally twisted inside out. Yay! [I was worried there for awhile.] I must confess, I've been really blessed this week by a number of great book reviews, plus opportunities to write guest post on blogs.

Have I mentioned lately how awesome the blogging community is?

BLOGGERS ROCK!!!!

Thank you to everyone who went out of their way to read, review and host my posts in the past several weeks. You are all princes and princesses with halos and angel wings and stardust between your fingers.

So, back to the game of the week. Where's Merrie Today? [I may have to list where I've been for the past couple of days, because I've been a bit busy finishing up my next book. Saw the cover for it and it was SO FRIGGIN' AWESOME that I couldn't focus on anything else for an insanely long time!]


Here goes:

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY
Bitten by Books
From noon to midnight Central Time
Giveaways: $100 Amazon Gift Card and 5 signed copies of AFTERLIFE
Topic of discussion is the quest of immortality.

GUEST BLOG POST
Bookgasm
I discuss the ever-changing journey AFTERLIFE took during its genesis.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Night Owl Paranormal

Also, Night Owl Reviews reviewed AFTERLIFE here.

BOOK REVIEW
Tori, the creator of Book Faery wrote an awesome review of AFTERLIFE here.
Here's a snippet:
AFTERLIFE is a unique debut with beautiful descriptions by an insanely talented author who is not afraid to try something new. This novel was refreshing and exciting, and I am eagerly anticipating Merrie's future releases. If you enjoy urban fantasy,and if you want to see a new take on what life would be like if humanity could be almost immortal, then you definitely need to check this book out. You'll regret it if you don't!

I've heard from a few people that their local bookstores were already sold out of AFTERLIFE. I'm really sorry about that. I highly recommend checking with your local stores first, but if they don't have any copies, then try their online stores. Or you could ask the manager to order a few more copies. If all else fails, you can purchase the book on Kindle or iBooks. This is definitely one time when the digital revolution is a good thing!

Why I Love Urban Fantasy

Books are my life. Truly. If I’m not reading, or writing, I feel lonely—almost as if someone I loved went missing. Personally, I love urban fantasy and science fiction more than almost any other genre, although I’ve been known to read mysteries and thrillers as well. Why do I love urban fantasy so much? Well, answering that question could take hours, so I decided to tell you the top seven things I love most about the genre.

1. NO SOCCER MOMS: Don’t get me wrong, I think soccer moms are great. I just don’t want to read about them. Regular day-to-day life is boring enough. When I read fiction, I want to hear about women who lead a different life than I do, female characters who can save the world if necessary. Writers like Kelly Gay—with her police officer, Kim Harrison—with her bounty-hunting witch, and Patricia Briggs—with her shapeshifting mechanic, have all shaped and helped to re-define women by giving them roles where they are leaders in their community.

2. GRITTY WRITING: I love noir writing, dark twisted stories and rough characters. I like knowing that the lead character has dirt under his fingernails and that he’s got the skills to fight and win. I crave blood and guts and steamy settings. Writers like William Gibson (Neuromancer) and Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim) and Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files) deliver that and more. And I know that William Gibson is technically classified as a writer of cyberpunk, but I love him so much that I just had to add him in the mix.

3. HOT MONSTERS: I fell in love with monsters when I was teenager. Vincent Price was my hero and I watched his films on a regular basis. Monsters ruled back in the ’50s and the ’60s. Classics like The War of the Worlds (Martian monsters), Dracula (vampires), The Mummy (monsters from the grave), Night of the Living Dead (zombies), and Rosemary’s Baby (demons) have all paved the way for the monster trend we’re experiencing in fiction today. I loved monsters back then and I still love them today.

4. YA LIT: I love literary writing, especially when a story crosses that bridge between poetry and fantasy. YA authors like Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth), Malinda Lo (Ash), Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder), Holly Black (Tithe), and Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely) have all hit the literary nail on the head in my opinion. I could read their books over and over, because their stories are so rich and their writing is so lush.

5. MYTHS AND LEGENDS: Myths and legends—which evolve and change with each retelling—touch us on a deep, subconscious level. These primal tales come from our distant past; they’ve been written and rewritten until they’ve become part our collective subconscious—if a collective subconscious even exists. When these stories are at their most fantastical, their raw, visceral elements can make even the most intellectual, left-brained person pause and wonder.

6. PARANORMAL: Life doesn’t fit in a neat little box. There will always be things that we either can’t understand or can’t explain. I believe that the supernatural is forever entwined with the mundane—we just can’t see it for what it truly is. That’s why I love stories with paranormal characters or elements. They allow us to pull back the veil and see what might be on the other side. Paranormal stories force us to consider that there might more to this world than what we can see on the surface.

7. SETTING: Whether the story is set in a dystopian future (like Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) or in a recognizable city (like New Orleans in my novel, Afterlife), I love it when the setting actually becomes a character. Also known as milieu, this story element adds both realism and believability to the book. This is why setting is so important in fantasy—if the writer misses here, he or she could easily lose the reader.

So, now you know what I love about urban fantasy. I’d really like to hear your thoughts. To get this comment party started, I’m giving away a signed copy of my upcoming novel, Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles.

Just post a comment below to be entered for the book giveaway. Contest ends Wednesday, Sept. 27. Winner to be announced on Thursday, September 28. The winner has 3 days to contact me, or I will award the book to another commenter.