Happy Halloween!

(who vows to help Sophie break into Blogger before her post next month)

*** Contest is over and the winner is: Jolene Alcock and Family ***

Oooh, Scary

How many of you are like me right now? Full of excitement and awe during this time of year? I don’t think there is any better time to be an avid paranormal writer/reader/film goer!

This is the time of year when it’s expected to let ourselves wander strange and creepy paths. Not only can we dress up as our favorite paranormal creature (cough … dragon), we can put tombstones in our yards, get our fill of creepy movies, listen to spooky music on the radio, and wear t-shirts with skulls on the front and not get a funny look! Right now I have two ghosts hanging from trees in front of my house, casting eerie shadows through the stained glass of my front door. LOVE!

I can promise the weekend will not pass without at least three horror movies. As far as reading goes, several books wait on my bedside table to satisfy my Halloween spirit. Vampire novels mostly, maybe even a zombie book or two.

The Prize

So what about you? What are your Halloween plans? And what do you think is the best paranormal creature to dress up as? I’m still all for the dragon. Just plop on a red wig, a pair of wings, play with your make-up and wamo! You have Jacinda!

In the spirit of Halloween, here’s a TREAT:

One commenter will win a signed copy of my paranormal YA debut, FIRELIGHT. Be sure to check back and see if you’ve won.

Again, Happy Halloween!
All best,
Sophie Jordan

Cover story

One of the most exciting and anticipated events in a writer's life is also one that requires almost no effort on her part. It's when her editor sends her that email with the following subject line: "Cover art attached."

In my case, the minimal effort required was when I provided a few suggestions, months ago, on the direction the artist (the wonderfully excellent Chris McGrath) might take for Children of Scarabaeus, the sequel to my debut novel, due out April 2011. In the first book, my protagonist Edie is a sheltered young woman who finds herself out of her depth. She is protected by - and in turn protects - an ex-con named Finn.

In book 2, Edie finds her footing. I suggested that she should be in a more "assertive" pose for this cover. More importantly, surely, I suggested that Finn should have a bigger gun. Voilà!

(He has two guns!)

Book covers on the shelves these days just get better and better, it seems to me. I would call many of them works of art. Thank the marketing departments of publishing houses for that, and of course the talented artists involved.

What are your favorite recent covers? How about old classics? Ever thought the book was going to be one thing because of the cover, and it turned out to be something else entirely? Or where the characters depicted were nothing like you imagined them after reading the book?

Reality Check: the Vampyre Subculture

     
The winner of the signed copy of Sacrifice is rachel445! Contact me via my website so I can get your mailing information.

So sorry to be late posting the winner of the giveaway! I had a computer crash and I'm still recovering.
                                              
It's hard to dodge the influence of vampires on pop culture today, with Twilight, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and a plethora (always wanted to use that word) of vampire books on the market. All of these focus on supernatural vampires, creatures I'll assume don't actually exist. (Aw ...) I'd like to talk about lifestyle vampires, humans who model themselves after supernatural vampires because it fulfills some need of theirs. Many in this subculture call themselves vampyres to distinguish themselves from the supernatural variety.

Vampyres don't just belong to clubs that meet every Saturday night to discuss the latest True Blood episode. They incorporate their chosen lifestyle into everything they do, including forming extended "families"--clans-- that may come to mean more to them than their real families, who don't understand their urges. It isn't play. It's serious business. Generally vampyres look at the dark side of life, like Goths, and share other characteristics of Gothic appearance: black-lined eyes, blood-red lips, Victorian-style clothing, black fingernails, and frequently white-as-chalk faces, implying their need for blood and deep familiarity with the night. As I understand it, the Goths don't like their appearance being co-opted by vampyres, but there's little they can do beyond make an occasional fuss.

In addition to shared needs to belong (are the clans really a variant of gangs?), the vampyres believe they have things in common with the supernatural vampires, such as the need to draw life energy from others in the form of blood, sexual energy, or psychic energy. Also, those who have some form of minor or major mental illness, ranging from lack of lack of ability to deal with other people to schizophrenia sometimes feel these aren't flaws at all, but due entirely to their vampyrism. It's easy to see why this lifestyle can draw people who are uncertain about their own identities. There are thought to be about 10,000 vampyres in the U.S., ranging from those with a mild interest who like the costumes to those who sleep in coffins.

A clan meeting involves secret rituals that may or may not include drinking blood, but the odds are much higher with sanguinarians, or sangs, defined by their thirst for blood. Sangs don't do the whole Goth dress-up and usually try to disassociate themselves from vampyres. They feel their need for blood is a part of their physical makeup, and don't like publicity or the current popular emphasis on vampires. They don't use fangs; they draw blood with a razor blade and suck it down, almost always from a willing donor. Being practical about it, they test their donors for blood-borne diseases.

Vampyrism can turn deadly. In the Rod Ferrell case, the sixteen-year-old Florida clan leader killed the parents of one of the members of his clan.

Props

(Image removed. Apparently I mistook a sex toy for a custom-molded vampire mouth accessory. My bad.)

Fake vampire teeth are available, from cheap plastic ones used at Halloween to fancier custom-molded, full mouth designs that are similar to movie effects. Some vampyres have their teeth ground to sharp points, or have fang-like caps placed over their incisors, but this can be awkward at the day job.

Bottled fake blood can be bought or homemade. Here's a recipe for edible blood, just in time for Halloween or your next clan meeting.  Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Warm Water
• 4-5 Tablespoons Light (clear) Corn Syrup
• 5-10 Drops of Red Food Coloring
• 1 Drop of Blue Food Coloring
• 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the warm water and cocoa powder, until entirely dissolved. It should look like hot chocolate. Avoid adding whipped cream and marshmallows.
2. Mix in the light corn syrup until entirely dissolved. Continue adding tablespoon by tablespoon, until a syrupy consistency is reached.
3. Mix in food coloring. If too thick, thin with warm water. If too thin, add a small amount of sifted flour. (Recipe from http://uvkitty.com/.) 

What do you think of the vampyric culture? Know any? Are you one?


I'm giving away a signed copy of my latest release, Sacrifice: Mortal Path Book 2. To enter, sign up for the "Put Yourself in the next Mortal Path book!" drawing on my blog. Click on the badge to the right for details. Then leave a comment here. This giveaway ends at midnight on Halloween and the winner will be posted at the top of this blog entry on Monday, November 1st. Check back to see if you're the signed copy winner!

Bringing Sexy Back

All right, ladies, let's keep this short and sweet, shall we?

(Gentlemen, pull up a chair and add your assent, won't you? I think the ladies will appreciate it.)

I have, on and off for the past ten years or so, worked at a Halloween store. Not this year, but I do go in now and again to lend a hand and the mancandy likes to dress up at any given opportunity and go hang out to drive sales. So! I have experience, y'all. I know what I'm talking about. For this brief moment in time, I am The Expert.

And the Expert is telling you ladies to quit waiting for Halloween to bring the sexy on.

Are you listening?

Here's how this goes: Every year, I saw beautiful women—and I'm talking, like, normal, everyday women who just so happen to be beautiful because they're like you—come rushing into the store and ogle the sexy costumes. And every year, I'd watch the Leg Avenue costumes fly off the shelves.

Okay, I know some of them are totally skankalicious, but there are some gorgeous Leg Avenues out there. Their pirate collection is especially lovely.

But I always think: Halloween. Ghoulish, ghostie delights. It's the one time a year you can dress up really scary and weird and fantastical (unless you're a con professional or, you know, actually a zombie). It's the day and night when no one will think twice if you're covered in blood, growling around and threatening to eviscerate children (Trust me, I know...)

So why do all these ladies keep going for the sexy time costumes?

Look. I'm not trying to tell you how to do your business, but I have a proposition for you. Are you listening? Here, have some tea. Okay, here's the deal:

There are 364 other days (probably not including the days you attend Church or something, so use your own judgment here) when you can dress as sexy as you like. It might not be as in-your-face as a Leg Avenue costume, but there is a sexy that is not just encouraged in public, but just drop-dead-gorgeous. There are 364 days to be confident, gorgeous, show a little leg or flash a red-lipped smile. To let your hair down. To wear a skirt and a wedge heel or a pair of jeans and a sweater that hugs just so, and make every eye in the room turn to you with a silent, Wow.

But only one when you cover yourself in blood and stagger through the streets.

At least without psychiatric evaluation to follow.

So come on, ladies. Join me in this: I think we should bring sexy back, every day. Or at least every day we bother to leave the house. It takes work to look as good as we do, after all—we should get the occasional day off. (Says the oh, so glamorous author sitting in her robe and slippers...)

And on Halloween, we should go all out: blood, gore, fangs, flesh, whatever. And you know what? If you want to be sexy on Halloween too, I'm all for it. Let's just add a little supernatural flair—fangs, bloody aprons, meat cleavers. The Black Widow who temps her loves and devours them in her web, I can get behind that.

But let's embrace the spirit of Halloween, which isn't to dress up in a way you could every day (sexy, ladies, you know it), but as someone or something you're not.

And every lady is sexy. You just have to tap into it, is all.

So who's with me? Who wants to being sexy back?

A Life-Changing Event...or Not

And the winner is--drum roll--- BJ!!!! Congratulations! Please contact me at kerrelyn@earthlink.net to give me a mailing address. My thanks to everyone for stopping by!

To my lovely and brilliant Love at Stake readers (and if you're not one-- hello? Give me a try!):
You deserve a big hug and many thanks from me. The latest book in the series, Eat Prey Love, is now enjoying its third week on the Borders Romance, USAToday, and New York Times bestseller lists. Hitting the lists is considered a big deal in the publishing world, and it makes my publisher very happy, which in turn makes me very happy (and relieved). But as I struggle to begin a new book, I'm left wondering if anything in my life has actually changed. So here is my list of ten things that SHOULD happen when an author's book becomes a bestseller--

1. I would lose twenty pounds overnight. (Hmm, make that thirty).
2. Writing would become easy and effortless.
3. Time would supernaturally stretch for me so that I would always have plenty of time to finish books by deadline.
   
4. My house would become magically self-cleaning.
5. The publisher would send me a secretary to type my books for me while I dictate them and eat bonbons.
6. I would never gain a pound from eating those bonbons. Just exercising my brain would burn off 500 calories an hour.
7. The weeds in the flowerbeds would all die. And never come back.
   
8. Chef Gordon Ramsey would send a top Master Chef over every night to cook supper.
9. Chef Gordon Ramsey would wash the dishes.
10. The Love at Stake series would be made into a television show like Glee with singing and dancing vampires and shape shifters.
    

Twirling vampire capes and tap-dancing werewolves? Well, maybe it's for the best that my list didn't come true. If you could wish for something, what would it be? If you're wishing for a signed copy of Eat Prey Love, this could be your lucky day! One of the commenters will be chosen at random to win. Good luck!

Growing Up...

When I was growing up, we didn’t have the huge selection of Young Adult books that kids have today. Sure, we had our Nancy Drew and some Babysitter’s Club, but neither of those really captured my interest. So, instead, I pretty much went from reading Charlotte’s Web (or pretty much anything by E.B. White) and The Boxcar Children, to reading the books my mom had lying around the house. Fortunately for me, she was into these really great ghost stories by John Saul (remember Punish the Sinners, Suffer the Children, and When the Wind Blows?), and even scarier books by Stephen King (who didn’t read Carrie, The Shining, or Salem’s Lot???).

Basically, I was indoctrinated into horror by the time I was twelve, which is what I like to call "great parenting"! But, oh my god, I LOVED IT!!!

So it was no surprise that my first attempt at writing was a full-on adult horror novel, called ONE OF THEM. There was some hardcore gore and death and steamy sex in it. (Again, thanks a lot, mom!) Unfortunately the story was ridiculously convoluted and the writing was so-so (at best). Meaning, ONE OF THEM made really great practice.

It wasn’t until years (and many revisions and submissions) later, when a friend of mine introduced me to the burgeoning world of YA. She was screening books for her teen daughter and she would pass them along to me saying, “Trust me, you are going to love this!”

And of course she was right…I did love them! And I also decided it was time for me to give up on that poor, beaten-to-death horror novel I’d written so many years earlier. ONE OF THEM was officially retired.

When I decided to write a new book, I didn’t actually set out to write YA, it just kind of happened that my main character was a teen and that my backdrop was high school. And pretty soon I realized that I was writing exactly the kind of book that I wished I’d had when I was a teen. Creepy and suspenseful and romantic!

I’ve always been a very eclectic reader, but I’ll never forget those lazy summer days when I first made that leap from children’s to grown-up books (and those same summer nights when I checked—and double-checked—my windows to make sure they were locked!).

I’m curious about what books were your first adult reads. How old were you? Did you like ‘em sweet or scary? Mysteries or romances??? And was it all your mom’s fault?

Need a list of recommendations.

All righty, Supernatural Undergrounders, I need your help. I need you all to tell me your favourite paranormal romance and your favourite urban fantasy. If you can’t separate the two in your favourite book, tell me that also and why.

This is all in the name of research. You see, here in the wonderful old land of Oz we have a series of writer’s centres. Each state has one, and some of the regions have their own as well.

You pay to join a writer’s centre and for that you get – a monthly newsletter (contained with all sorts of great information); discounts on dozens of workshops and access to the staff, who know all sorts of stuff about publishing.

Some of the writers centres do other things as well. The Queensland Writers Centre, for example, is the home of the annual publication The Australian Writer’s Marketplace, which lists pretty much every publisher (large and small, book and magazine/newspaper), agent, editor and association that you need to carve out your writing career.

My local, the ACT Writer’s Centre, has actually opened up its own small press to publish authors work (it’s set up as a vanity but the important thing is that it doesn’t pretend it’s not – they’re upfront about the fact they’re helping you to physically publish the book but distribution, promotion and so on – that’s your problem, baby).

Anyhoo, I’m doing an article for the November ACT Writer’s Centre newsletter, the theme of which is the romance genre. Hence my question – I’m writing about paranormal romance and urban fantasy and want to provide a list of recommended reading.

As a reward/thank you, I’m providing you with something that I hope you find as ridiculously wonderful as I do. Early this year, it was my fortieth birthday and I decided the party theme would be a kid’s party, with games. I wanted to adult-ise some of them, however.

One of my favourite party games is Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but a donkey is so five-year-old. So I took the cover of an infamous romance novel, blew it up to poster size (the people at the printing place were laughing for days after) and then cut out portions of the male model’s chest, which had to be put back into place by blind-folded (and tipsy) party guests.

So here, my friends, is the result of the very first game of Pin the Man-boobs on Fabio!

Please, don’t be so overcome with laughter that you forget the very important question – favourite paranormal romance, favourite urban fantasy or if your favourite book can be separated into the genres, what is it and why? YA is fine but let me know if it is YA. I want to make a list of recommendations.

Fourteen Days of Halloween!

Joss here to let you know that Avon Books, one of the imprints we HarperCollins authors write for, is doing a big promo on Facebook between now and Halloween.

Which means that you'll have lots of chances to hear from some of your favorite authors from here on Supernatural Underground...and maybe even win a prize or two!

So head on over to Avon Romance's Facebook page and see what's going on....I'm sure you'll have a hauntingly good time. (Sorry. I couldn't resist.)

sirens and strong fantasy heroines

last weekend i spent four days in vail, colorado
for the sirens con, which focuses on strong
heroines in fantasy. it was an intimate conference
with about one hundred attendees in a beautiful
setting with wonderful staff and volunteers. i couldn't
have had a better time!

there was an author tea with signing on
friday and saturday afternoons. it was one of
my favorite part of the conference as i got to
meet fellow readers, other authors, and even
had awesome gifts from Silver Phoenix fans to
show off. rachel made a clay figure of ai ling
with a giant dumpling and an entire dim sum spread
including chicken feet. too cute! (for those who
haven't read Silver Phoenix, my heroine likes
to eat. =)

and larry folded a chinese origami dragon for
me during our Fey Folklore Around the World panel.
he folded and gifted various creatures during the
entire con, spreading origami happiness!

had a lovely long rowdy dinner with
juliet grames (soho editor), holly black
(White Cat), sarah rees brennan
(Demon's Covenant) and malinda lo (Ash)
at kelly liken in vail village. it was a very
good meal!
on saturday, i went back into vail village
earlier with friends, to take in the gorgeous
views. me, shveta and andrea were 3/4 of
the panel we held on friday morning. i focused
on fox spirits as my main topic of discussion:
beautiful women who are part human and part
fox, dangerous or romanticized, depending on
the narrator's moral for the story.

there were these meese statues throughout
vail village. this one was huge, a little scary
actually. and we figured, perhaps life size.

we decided on a cozy german restaurant
for dinner and i was in heaven! i very rarely
get to indulge in german fare. i had a wiener
and a bratwurst over saurkraut with all the
accompanying cold salads. it was delicious.
looking at this foto makes me both wistful
and happy. =)

sunday morning was the last morning of
the con and i took the time to take a foto
with two authors whose books i really love
and who are just delightful in person:
sherwood smith (Crown Duel and Inda series)
and ellen kushner (Swordspoint and Privilege
of the Sword). they've both written more
extensively and if you love fantasy with strong
heroines, you really should check them out!

next year's theme will be MONSTERS and the
guests of honor are justine larbalestier (Liar),
nnedi okorafor (Who Fears Death) and laini
taylor (Lips Touch). women in fantasy as monsters.
how cool of a theme is that? i definitely hope to
be there!!

Animals in Fiction

At the moment I have animals on the brain. My husband rescued a 10 day old kitten 10 days ago and my life has turned into a round of two hourly feeding, toileting, and loads cuddles. It’s like having a newborn in the house. But I love it. She is the cutest little creature. We have named her Miss Kittiana but she also gets Miss Kitty and Miss K as well.

I have always had a soft spot for animals. I grew up in a semi-rural environment where we always had dogs, chickens, pigs and other farm animals. Being on a farm meant some of those animals were for eating, but I loved talking to them and playing with them.


This is Miss Kittiana having one of her 2 hourly feeds. Isn't she cute.

When I wrote my first book, I had several animal characters. Some were eventually dropped from the final draft but a malamute named Cerberus, did make the novel. He remains one of my favourite characters.  In DEATH’S SWEET EMBRACE my characters are shapeshifters and I get to flex my animal loving muscle. But I also have a character who is a Humegetarian, which means he will only feed on the donated blood of human vegans and vegetarians (a true vampire vegetarian unlike the animal murdering Edward and his family from Twilight). He is also a member of the Parahumans Against Animal Abuse and is inspired by a friend of mine.

I love stories with animals in it. I think one of the reasons I read ANIMAL FARM when I was a teenager was because it had animals in it. Okay – it was a little different than I thought, but I still enjoyed the dystopian drama, even if I was expecting something more like CHARLOTTE’S WEB.

But one of the things I love about paranormal is that we can do strange and wonderful things including what we can make our animals do. They can talk, they can change in and out of human form, they can give in to their animal instincts. They can be used to show off characteristics of our hero or heroine or they can be characters in their own right,

Tell me some of your favorite animal characters from books, movies or TV and why you connected with them.

A Life in Lyrics

Hello! The Heather half of Sable Grace here. Happy October!

Ok, so I have a confession to make. I'm not proud of it, but I'm not ashamed, either. I have ABBA on my Zune. That's right. You read correctly. ABBA. Why would someone in her early thirties have the Swedish (they are Swedish, aren't they?) gods and goddesses on her play list? Simple. For everything I do, I seem to have a soundtrack to accompany it. Growing up, the rare occasions when I cracked open my ever-locked bedroom door to venture into the rest of the house, ABBA was inevitably playing while the scents of Lysol and floor wax clogged my pores. I'd groan and moan, eager to get back to the Bangles or Bon Jovi that was blaring in my bedroom, but secretly, I hummed along to Mama Mia. Dancing Queen and such were my mother's soundtrack for house cleaning, and since, has become mine. There's something about listening to Fernando that makes dusting feel less like work and more like an excuse to shake what God gave me while singing slightly off tune.

Cleaning aside, I have a play list for just about everything. Jason Mraz for joy riding in my husband's Jeep. Girl power boppers like Lily Allen and Avril Lavigne for waxing my eyebrows or dying my hair. Cooking dinner? Gavin DeGraw or Gavin Rossdale. Then there's writing. A little Breaking Benjamin for the Sable Grace Dark Breed series. Movie scores for my historical romances. And the best song for writing love scenes? Damn, by Leann Rimes. I don't care if you don't like country music. It's the sexiest "romance book" song I've found to date.

But this time of year brings up one particular soundtrack. The kind that, every time you hear it, you get a shiver and the need to check under the bed before slipping under the covers. For me, a horror movie fanatic, that soundtrack is the theme score to the movie Halloween. Just those first few notes make the hairs on the back of my neck raise and perhaps even need to pee a little. I won't confirm that last bit. My pride forbids it. My husband has a similar reaction (maybe not the pee thing) to the Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams, which I play as often as possible in hopes of one day hearing him squeal like a girl. Hasn't happened yet, but I keep trying. I think a childhood incident is responsible for his hatred for that song, but in my opinion, my fear of Halloween is a bit more understandable, right? RIGHT??

I can't be the only one whose day-to-day living is accompanied by task-specific music. Please tell me I'm not a freak. Although, even if I am, I'm okay with that. I'm sure I have a play list somewhere that will cheer me up.

If there's a song that evokes a specific emotion in you, what is it? I'm dying to know!

Afterlife and the Newbie Author

CONTEST IS CLOSED!

Hi, everyone! I decided to choose two winners for this post, so here are the winners: The WINNER of a signed copy of AFTERLIFE and a small jar of Liquid Light is Nymfaux. The WINNER of a signed copy of AFTERLIFE IS Melissa, who posted on October 15, 2010 2:41 PM. CONGRATULATIONS! There are two ways you can get me your contact info. One: You can DM me your e-mail and mailing address on Twitter. Or you can send me your e-mail and mailing address here: merrie [dot] destefano [at] yahoo [dot] com. Thanks to everyone who commented! You all rock!

I’ve had a lot fun in the past several weeks, ever since my debut novel, Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles, released on September 28. I got to write a number of guest posts and did several online interviews. If you haven’t seen any of them, here are some links: Dark Fairie Tales, Romance University, Night Owl Paranormal, Bitten by Books, Nocturne Romance Reads, Sci Fi Guy, and Bookgasm. Along the way, I had some great chats with readers about the differences between One-Timers and Nine-Timers [if you had the opportunity to resurrect, rather than die, would you?], and the sous-terrain société [would you stay in contact with your current family members or build a new family in your new life?].


There have been a number of great reviews by folks like SFRevu, Rex Robot Reviews, and Night Owl Reviews.

I really want to thank each and every blogger who invited me to participate. You bloggers rock!

On top of that, getting to chat with readers of Afterlife has been fantastic. I’ve gotten to know of many of them through my Facebook page and on Twitter. Another thing that's really exciting is the fact that I’ll get to meet some potential readers face-to-face in the next couple weeks. [SQUEEE!] I have two events coming up that I’m totally jazzed about.

First, I have a book-signing at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego on Sunday, Oct. 17, from 2-3 p.m. Joining me and signing his own new release, Kill The Dead, is Richard Kadrey. If you haven’t checked out his Sandman Slim, the first in this series, then you should. Soon. You don’t want to left behind. His stories are awesome! So I hope you get a chance to stop by and say hi this Sunday.

Second, I’ll be doing a Meet The Author tea at Paris in a Cup on Oct. 30. Located in Orange, California, this charming tea salon/boutique with a Parisian theme will be decked out for Mardi Gras and all attendees are invited to come in costume. In between listening to jazz and dining on scrumptious food, I’ll do a reading from Afterlife and then do a Q & A session. I hope some of you will be able to attend. I’d love to meet you!

Also, I’ve been working a reader’s guide and hope to have that finished soon. It will be available as a free download on my website and blog once it’s done. So those of who might want to choose Afterlife for your book club, please stop by my site in about a week for a free reader’s guide.

And, believe it or not, I've already finished my second novel, titled, Feast: Harvest of Dreams. It’s scheduled to release on June 28, 2011 and it’s already available for preorder on Amazon here. I wish I could show you the cover—it’s beyond awesome. I can’t tell you too much about this book yet, but here’s a very brief summary: For the past 100 years, a small mountain village in Southern California has been struggling under a mysterious curse. And every year, on Halloween, strange and dangerous creatures come to feed on the humans.

So, today, I’m combining two things as one giveaway. Besides a signed copy of Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles, I’m also giving away a small jar of Liquid Light. Of course, this Liquid Light isn’t explosive or dangerous like it is in the book, but you can still roll it between your fingers and throw it across the room. In other words, you can pretend you’re a Babysitter.



CONTEST RULES:

So here’s my question for you: What's the best book you've read recently? I finally have a little bit of free time and I can't wait to read some new books! So tell me what you've read that you loved and maybe why you liked it.

And I’ll be giving away a small of Liquid Light and a signed copy of Afterlife to one of the people who make a comment. To enter to win, please post a comment below. You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website
+3 Following me on Twitter
+3 Following me on Facebook

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Winner to be announced in this post Monday, October 18. Contest ends Sunday, October 17, at midnight!

And, as an added bonus, fellow Supernatural Underground author, Juliana Stone, is giving away a signed copy of Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles over on her blog today too!

Devil Without a Cause

****WINNER ALERT**** Congratulations to CRYSTAL (Comment #2), who is the winner of Jeaniene's Night Huntress books!! Send an email to booksthatgobump@gmail.com with your mailing address and we'll put them in the mail to you!

I know it's almost Halloween, and I am the last ghoul in the world to want to rush past it, but I find myself already looking forward to summer. Why? Because I have a brand-new series coming out, the Devil's Bargain series, with begins with the release of Devil Without a Cause on May 31st, 2011.  To my surprise (and very great pleasure!), I just got my very first comments about it from an author I really admire:

Devil Without a Cause is a smouldering blend of darkness and sensuality, with a villain so unique, he gave me nightmares AND fantasies. Erotic, alluring and edgy, I couldn't put this book down!"

-- Jeaniene Frost, NYT bestselling author

Pretty cool, huh?  For an avid "Bones" fangirl like me, that's quite an endorsement!  :-)

Those of you who are familiar with my past books might remember the character of Sammy (Satan) Divine.  Oh, that Sammy... he's got a story to tell, that one. And he's determined to tell it his own way, in his own time, with a wicked wink, a killer grin and a bad boy swagger. Once divine, now cast down, forever blamed for the seduction of Eve and the destruction of Paradise, the angel once known as Samael has his own version of mankind's fall from grace, believing he was the one tempted. Earthbound and damned, he's lurked in the shadows for centuries, tormenting the humans he felt were responsible for the loss of his wings.

Now he has a chance to do something about it by taking on the job for which he was originally created -- that of a guardian angel -- but will the lure of Darkness be too strong? John Milton said: 'Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven', and now Sammy has to decide the truth of that for himself.

Having always been fascinated by legends and stories surrounding Satan's Biblical fall from grace, I'm excited to be able to be able to do some of my own worldbuilding around the arrogant fallen angel whose lust for the flesh led him to defy his creator. Where does he go when he's not tempting or tormenting some poor hapless female? *wink* Who (and what) are the creatures that surround him in his Kingdom of Darkness?

Even more intriguing, how do they feel when their Dark Prince is the one being tempted?

The cover art has yet to be finalized, unfortunately, but Devil Without a Cause just went up on Amazon as available for pre-order. (Always a cool moment for an author!) Since I don't have any to give away yet, I'm going to give away a full set of Jeaniene Frost's "Night Huntress" series instead, along with a big, fat thank you to her for reading it and giving me that awesome review quote above. 

For a chance to win Jeaniene's books, leave a comment.  If you'd like to read more about Sammy Divine, pop over to my website and read an exclusive EXCERPT from Devil Without a Cause.  Stop by my Halloween contest page while you're at it - I'm giving away some awesome stuff this year in honor of the spooky season!  Good luck and Happy Halloween, everyone!

Comic Con NY 2010 - Part 2

Juliana already talked about Comic Con, but I didn't realize it until I'd written this post, so you get to hear a little more!

This past weekend, several Supernatural Underground authors met in New York City for the 2010 Comic Con (comic book convention). Though these conventions swarm with comic book fans, publishers, writers, and illustrators, they've expanded in recent years to include other aspects of the paranormal and fantasy worlds. Hollywood always shows up, and New York publishing is getting in the game. Harper Collins manned a couple of exhibitor booths, presented several panels, and sponsored book signings for a number of their sci-fi/fantasy and paranormal romance authors.

Friday afternoon, Jeaniene Frost moderated a lively panel titled Fighting Like Cats and Dogs: Shapeshifters and Paranormal Romance. On the panel were authors Juliana Stone, Marjorie M. Liu, Margaret Ronald, Jocelynn Drake, and me. Jeaniene's questions included: What mythology did you use behind your shifters? How do your weres/shifters balance their inner wildness with their human side? Do they have increased strength, heightened senses, a tendency to give fire hydrants a longing glance...? Werecats or werewolves, which do you think would make the stronger, sexier alpha protagonist, and why? The answers got a little catty--in a good way, of course!

The six of us signed books along Autograph Alley later that afternoon along with celebs like James Marsters (Spike on Buffy), Richard Hatch (the original Captain Apollo on the first Battlestar Gallactica) and Lou Ferrigno (the Incredible Hulk). While we were waiting for our time to sign, I stood in line for a pricey autograph of James Marsters and the chance to shake his hand and chat with him briefly. Jeaniene took the more direct (and cheaper) route and backed into him as he was walking behind the tables to leave. Next time, I'm sticking closer to Jeaniene.

When my publicist showed me my table assignment, I discovered, to my delight, that I was seated beside Lou Ferrigno. One of his poster stacks was at the edge of my signing space and he kindly asked if his posters were in my way. "Not at all." We chatted on and off during my signing hour and my editor took a picture of us together. Lou was charming.



After the signing, I returned to the Harper Collins exhibit booth and signed an additional box of books. While I was signing, a camera crew from Silver Cheese Productions stopped and asked if they could interview me. On the fly interviews are a little terrifying to someone who edits even an email five times, but of course I did it and I think it turned out pretty well, all things considered. Check it out at: http://www.blip.tv/file/4223742.

On Saturday, Jeaniene, Margaret, and I joined two Harper Collins editors on a panel spotlighting Harper's upcoming paranormal/sci-fi/fantasy releases. Afterward, I walked around the convention center, wandering among the hundreds of booths, entertained more by the costumed crowd than the exhibits. I saw everything from a true-to-size Chewbacca and Hellboy to vampires, demons, and dozens of anime characters I couldn't begin to identify.

NYCC was crowded, crazy, and a ton of fun!

My Own Private Universe

Recently I was asked to participate in a fun YA anthology that centers around a very different type of supernatural creature than I've written about before. My first thought was that I needed to figure out a way to make those creatures compatible with my universe.

Currently, I'm hard at work at my third series. The first was about a school for the descendants of Greek gods. The second about magical underwater mermaids who sometimes live on land. The third is about monster-hunting descendants of the gorgon Medusa. The three worlds of these stories are very different, but the one underlying thread is that the magic is all rooted in Greek mythology. And, although none of the characters in my different series actually meet up IBL (in book life) I like to leave open the possibility that they could.

My triplet descendants of Medusa aren't even in the same hemisphere as Phoebe and the gang at the Academy, and mermaid Lily's mythological dates back many, many generations, but there is nothing about any of the three book worlds that excludes the others.

I love this idea, this kind of bigger world that is mine and mine alone. Sure, I let readers in, but it's really there for me! Even if readers of my mermaid series might not ever read my Medusa books, I secretly know that the worlds are totally compatible. They inhabit the same universe.

So, as I think up a way to work these new supernatural creatures into my repertoire, I'm making sure they fit in a way that makes them belong in the universe I'm building with my other books.

My question of the day for you is:

What author-built universe do you love to visit again and again?

I'm going to cheat and say Joss Whedon's Buffyverse because, well, just because.

Hugs,
TLC

teralynnchilds.com
@teralynnchilds

New Release Giveaway and ComicCon

Thanks for playing all! Using the handy dandy randomizer my winners are Heather and Jolene. Please email me at my website, juliana@julianastone.com with your deets and I'll get those books in the mail this week! You guys all rock! Make sure to visit my blog at www.julianastone.com for an uber awesome contest, 15 Days to Embrace the Darkside. chances to win cool books every day until His Darkest Embrace releases on October 26th!

Hey Everyone! First off, a belated happy birthday to Jocelynn. Weird thing? I blog on the 9th every month and that is my birthday number too!



I'm in New York City right now. Came in for ComicCon to participate on a panel moderated by Jeaniene Frost, with fellow Supernatural ladies, Pamela Palmer, Jocelynn Drake, we had Marjorie M. Liu and Margaret Ronald. It was so much fun!















We signed afterward and it was very cool to meet so many new people! I had one dude bring a copy of my first book to get signed for his wife...thought that was so sweet! He got a signed copy of my newest, which doesn't hit the shelves for 2 weeks. I assured him he was going to score major points with his wife!

It was a lot of fun to meet some of these other authors for the first time and to get to know Jocelynn more. That lady has a great sense of humour!

So now I'm heading home. It's our Thanksgiving weekend in Canuk land and really, I've got loads to be thankful for! I can't list them because this post would be way too long!

In honour of my second release, His Darkest Embrace, I am going to give away 2 sets of signed copies of His Darkest Hunger and His Darkest Embrace. You can read about them Here. I was lucky enough to score a few extra copies of Embrace so the winners just might get their hands on it before release date of the 26th!

Our panel was entitled 'fighting like cats and dogs' and we basically discussed the differences between the shifters. I am partial to cats of course, Jocelynn loves her wolves.....In order to be entered into this contest, tell me, what do YOU like and why? What is so cool about wolves or sexy about cats? I know why I love my jaguars now I want to hear what you like!

Sound cool? I'll keep this open til Sunday night! That's when I kick off the start of my contest over at my blog, 15 Days to Embrace the Darkside. I've got a great many authors participating, including, Sophie Jordan, Jeaniene Frost, Pamela Palmer, Anya Bast and Elisabeth Naughton. You can read about the deets HERE.

Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Making Wishes

[EDIT: Thanks for all the wonderful guesses. This was a lot of fun for me and hopefully some fun for you! Sorry it has taken me so long to post the winners but yesterday was extremely busy in New York. So, officially, I am 33 years old. The first three people to guess officially guess that age were Hannah, Cylver, and Midnight Princess. Email me your name and shipping address to Jocelynn DOT drake AT gmail DOT com to claim your prize.]


My monthly blog posting has managed to sneak up on me amid revisions to the sixth book in the Dark Days series and preparations for my trip to the New York Comic Con. I find myself struggling for a topic so I'm going to divulge a dark secret. Something that I have generally guarded closely from all but my closest of friends and family.

Today is my birthday. Yep, I unwittingly chose the seventh of every month to write my blog post for Supernatural Underground simply because it seemed rare for me to be traveling at that time. For some reason, all conferences and out-of-town appointments tended to fall in the middle or the end of the month. It honestly didn't occur to me that I had chosen the date of my birth to be one of my blog entries.

So, today I'm going to talk about birthday wishes. These are something that I take very seriously. Every year for as long as I can remember, my mother has baked me a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. My family gathers around and sings "Happy Birthday" as badly as possible. And trust me, they are getting really good at being really bad. And then I make a wish before blowing out the growing numbers of candles.

I look back and I remember that there were some years that I simply wished to be happy, but then those were some dark years. However, most the time, it was the same wish over and over again -- I wished to be published. Writing has been my heart and soul for so much of my life that I wished on candles, shooting stars, and pennies in a fountain that my words would one day be read by others. That's not to say that I didn't also work my butt off to also make it happen, but I like to think that all that hard wishing also helped to add a special magical aspect to it all.

Now that I've accomplished that mean feat, I have to come up with a new wish. I think I've got one, but I obviously can't share it or it may never happen. However, I will share with you an impossible wish that I have. I wish I could sit down and have a long dinner with my main characters Mira and Danaus. (Perferrably when they are both in a good mood and not fighting with each other.) Both creatures are not only something other than human, but also centuries old. I would love to hear from their mouths their thoughts on the world, humanity, and the struggles they've been through, including the people they have loved and lost. I want to hear about their dreams and fears. And for reason, something in me yearns to actually hear their laughter and see them in person as they gaze across the table at each other as they share a private joke. In them are deep layers of love and loss and desperation and hope. I only wish I could see it in person, because I think it would truly be a beautiful thing.

It may be my birthday, but I am happy to to give away the gifts. The first person to guess my correct age as of October 7, 2010 will receive a signed copy of Pray for Dawn and Wait for Dusk. To be fair, I have included a picture of myself that was taken within the last year with minimal photoshopping involved. Leave an guess of my age and a name for the entry. I will announce the winner in this blog entry as soon as I see the right age pop up. I AM TRUSTING YOU TO MAKE AN ACTUAL GUESS AND NOT TRY RESEARCHING ON THE INTERNET (AKA CHEATING). Good luck!

Genres in the Supernatural Underground (or “get into your box, woman!”)

About twenty minutes before writing this blog, I finished copyedits on my first adult novel (Graveminder). I say "adult"because it'll be pubbed via William Morrow, not HarperTeen. The definition of “adult” novel—much like the definition of “romance” or “mystery” or “fantasy” or “urban fantasy” etc etc—always fascinates me. We here at the Supernatural Underground skipped a lot of that classification confusion by declaring our texts “supernatural.” (Yes, that title was to be about the texts, not the authors, but seeing as how many of these fabulous folks keep their blinds closed during the day or have the preternatural ability to exist on liquid diets—is it really coffee in those mugs?—I won’t swear that these authors are all strictly human.)

Anyhow . . . I am now, in theory, the writer of a strictly adult novel. Some well-meaning sole overseas even wanted to add “a fantasy for adults” on the front cover. *laughs* No, it’s that sort of adult book.

At this point, when I am talking to people their logical next question is: “What is it?”

There’s the stumper. I don’t know what it is. In truth, I don’t know what any of these folks truly write. Jeaniene Frost is my crit partner, so that means I have the distinct pleasure of reading every novel, every short story, and every proposal she writes (Note: Should I ever need a flashy car, I’ll be opening the bidding for buying Frost spoilers; for now, I’m holding on to the joy of getting to be the first to read it and not having to share. I am selfish like that. Plus, she can be frightening when it comes to spoilers.) If you’d asked me a few years ago, I’d have said, “Jeaniene’s books are fantasy.” There are vampires, a half-vampire, a demon (in a short story), a werewolf (short story). Yes, fantasy.

Then there’s Vicki Pettersson. She has alt world, superheroes, comic store references. Clearly, I’m going to also call her books fantasy, too.

Yes, they are both writing fantasy. This seems clear, right?

. . . except Jeaniene is an Avon author. A-ha! She is a romance author. Yes, indeed. There is some seriously sexy stuff in here. *swoons* Mencheres is clearly worth some of that other sort of “fantasy for adults.” Ooh, and Vlad. Who doesn’t want a bite of that?

That must mean that Vicki, who is an Eos author clearly withholds on the sexy. No, wait. I’ve read Vicki’s books, and there are some blush-worthy scenes there too.

Hmph. What about Sophie Jordan? Her Firelight is pubbed by HarperTeen . . . that must mean it’s easier to classify—at least there I can say it’s a Book For Teens. That must mean not sexy or actiony or . . . *reads Firelight* Nope, that classification game fails too. It’s sexy, actiony, and well, I’m a card carrying adult, but I’m still swept away by the romance.

*looks around the Supernatural Underground suspiciously*

When I taught university, genres made more sense. There we used that word to distinguish between poetry, prose, and drama. That sort of definition made a lot more sense. You people are not making this easy.

Luckily, Terri Garey is a reasonable woman. I’ve met her and found her very rational. One could expect she’d be cooperative (unlike some authors). *reads Terri’s lovely books too* (Yes, I read very quickly. Just go with it.). . . Terri? You’re shattering my illusions. There’s clearly a mystery in this book.

Picks up Cindy Pon’s book . . . and now, historical too?

I fear we are at the point when my grand thesis, the one in which I figure out how to classify the books of the Supernatural Underground, is not going to happen. These folks are not cooperating in attempts to be boxed up.

Of course, the beauty of this is that I can now answer my own question about “What is Graveminder?” I can say with certainty that it is a book by one of the chicks in the Supernatural Underground. I’m not exactly sure that’s what my publishers are looking for (especially in Germany where they are—as they have with Wicked Lovely—releasing it as an adult novel and an older teen novel), but it’s what I know. . . and if that doesn’t work, well, I think I’m within rights to blame Jeaniene, Vicki, Terri, and all the rest of these folks for refusing to be categorized. Right? If they won’t do it, why should I?

And since I’ve mercilessly used them for examples, I’m going to buy three of their books. It's safer this way. (I did mention that some of them were not-exactly-positively-human, right?)

THE SPECS:
Three winners. Three books. Winners chosen by random number generator. Winners Announced 11/6

TO ENTER:
1) In your reply to this post, tell me which Supernatural Underground author’s current book or upcoming book you want to read (or have read and loved) and why.

2) Pick Your Own Prize: List a CURRENT book by any one in the community (myself included). It can be the same book for both answers if it’s a current release OR you can list a want-to-read and a buy-this-already-released-book-for-me.

NOTE: If questions on any of the contest details, ask.

If you want to hunt me down, here are a few spots to look:

Melissa Marr
My Twitter Feed
Harper MicroSite (WARNING: Music!)
Carlsen Website (bc I sorta love my German publishers)

Inspiration

Edited: Random Number Generator has ordained that Number 9, Rachel445, is the winner of both The Exile graphic novel and Kadrey's newly released, KILL THE DEAD. Rachel445, contact me at vicki@vickipettersson.com with your snailmail addy and I'll send them to you directly. Congratulations!

I’m beginning again.

Again.

Meaning, I’m starting a new book. You might assume from the title of this post that I’m waiting for inspiration to strike so I can start churning out pages, but alas, it doesn’t work that way for me. I have to go out and seize inspiration around the neck if I want to get anything done, though that doesn’t mean I’m not inspired by a myriad of different images, ideas, headlines, conversations, faces, and dreams. I’m inspired by all those things, and collect them constantly so that I generally have a plethora of great mental toys to play with by the time I sit down to write.

But this is a blog for readers, not writers, so instead of emptying my writer’s toolbox out in front of you, I’m going to tell you about my greatest source of inspiration, and the one thing I turn to again and again when all other options fail me:

Other writers.

I read widely and voraciously, so when people ask me what my favorite books are, I generally shoot them a faux-shocked expression and explain, “Why on earth would I play favorites with *books*?” Ditto, when they ask me who are my favorite authors. I need a bit more help than that, like … can you narrow it down to just one genre?

So I figured that with a like-minded group reading here at SU, I’d clue you all in to two of my favorites* - who, not coincidentally, both have releases this month - and you guys could go out and buy their work in droves and they would find out that I am the reason for their spike in sales and I’d get to be the heroine to both writer and readers and everyone gets their HEA, amen.

Or, you know, you do your thing. I do mine. They do theirs. And the world-at-large is better for it.

The first author has been a favorite for years. A favorite *and* a mentor. Diana Gabaldon is the esteemed author of the OUTLANDER series, and I can honestly say I learned more from her about writing than from anyone else (via the Compuserve Writer’s Forum, which I frequented for about eight years prior to being published). Mostly I learned that I can’t *be* Diana Gabaldon … but she seems to have that role perfected so we can all rest easy there.

If you haven’t read OUTLANDER, if you’ve shied away from its sheer size or because it’s basically (but not all) historical fiction, you’re really missing out. Not only is it an epic adventure, but it’s an epic love story, and a tremendous account of what it means to be human in any era. If you could stick a fork in this work, it would stand up straight. It is dense with gorgeous prose, historical detail, multi-dimensional characters, and *heart.* I especially adore the subtext surrounding the ongoing love story of Jamie and Claire - not only what it means to be and fall in love, but about what it takes to sustain an adult love across years … across centuries.

I’m not alone. Sales of the OUTLANDER series are as strong as ever, and Gabaldon’s first graphic novel, THE EXILE, just debuted at #1. It’s a retelling of the first book in the series from a character those familiar with the series know and love, yet whose pov we’ve not yet been privy to. It expands Gabaldon’s already deep and rich universe in a delightful direction and it can be found here.

Okay, I mentioned that I’m an eclectic reader, right? Hold on tight as I take a hard left into dark fantasy…

The next man is a writer’s writer. In other words, I’ve not met a writer who has read his first book, SANDMAN SLIM, and walked away with anything but praise for Richard Kadrey. That book blew me away. I felt sucker punched by his prose - which can be both beautiful and violent in the same breath - and quickly began anticipating the surprises awaiting me on each successive page. (Only HARRY POTTER has every delighted me so much with its inventiveness.) Talk about fresh. Talk about raw. Talk about *truth.* It ain’t pretty, but he tells it, and he does so through a pure anti-hero, James Stark.

The thing is, as dark as his world is and as broken as Stark is, there’s something quietly hopeful about SANDMAN SLIM. Almost hopeful despite lack of hope, if that makes sense. You’ve got a man who can’t stop living and loving in spite of everything he’s been through, despite being a “monster.” (Even the angels call him an ‘abomination’ and though you can’t disagree … you can’t quite agree, either.) In any case, I’d want Stark on my side in any World War, which is essentially what you get in SANDMAN SLIM and today's release - which I’m reading now - KILL THE DEAD.

So just to put a pretty bow on this post, both of these writers inspire the hell out of me - inspire me again when I pick up their works and re-enter their worlds, even though I’ve read these books time and again. A book that delivers new depth on a re-read? That’s inspiring to me, and that’s what I strive for every time I sit down and start again. *Again.*

Commenters … let me know which writers or books you love - do they speak to you truthfully about life? Deliver a message you can take back with you into your world? Make you feel hopeful or less alone?

One winner will receive a copy each of THE EXILE and KILL THE DEAD. Contest opens now and ends at 12 pm EST tomorrow, October 6!

And for those who don’t win … well, you’re still winners. If you haven’t yet read OUTLANDER, Gabaldon’s publisher is giving it away for free on Kindle for a limited time. So hurry up, get your copy, and get inspired!

*Note: I did not write about the amazing authors on this blog, though there’s plenty here I find inspiring, because it would put me in the terrible position of having to pick just one. Not fun! So thank you for not making me do so!

Tricks, Treats, and Travel

ETA: Randomizer has spoken and the winner of an Arc of HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH is Melissa from Books & Things! Melissa's comment was: "Pathetically not doing too much. :P Hopefully reading an ARC. ;) (hey, it was worth a try lol). ~Melissa (Books and Things)"

Yes it was worth a try, because Randomizer chose you. Congrats! Please email me at frostlight1 AT yahoo DOT com with your full name and shipping address. To everyone else, thanks for playing, and hope all of you have a wonderful Halloween, whatever you're doing :).




This blog is going up late because I've had one of those days where every time I try to sit down and write, something comes up that needs my immediate attention. In my last post, I talked about how one of the things I love about October is the continual presence of horror movies on TV. Another thing I love is, of course, Halloween. Normally my husband and I spend All Hallow's Eve handing out candy to trick-or-treaters and watching - you guessed it! :) - horror movies. This year, we're doing something very different by celebrating Halloween weekend in New Orleans. I've got my gothic vampire costume all ready for the Memnoch Ressurection Ball hosted by the Vampire Lestat Fan Club, plus I intend to go on some haunted tours of the French Quarter, tour some of the famous cemeteries, and of course, eat beignets (it should be a crime to go to New Orleans without eating beignets, if you ask me). I can't wait. New Orleans has long been one of my favorite cities, and getting to visit there during one of my favorite holidays is a huge Travel Treat for me.

Things can't be all smiles all the time, sadly. Hearing case after case of censorship involving reading material in high schools has been pretty upsetting. I think most people agree that parents have the right to decide what their own children should or should not read. Parents who want to decide what everyone else's kids should or shouldn't read based on - often - no firsthand knowledge of the book itself (because they've never read it, or in some cases, the book hasn't even been written yet) however, is depressing. Making only strictly sanitized books available to teens under the pretext of "see no evil = speak no evil = no evil will ever happen to these kids!" just doesn't seem like a logical formula. I know evil happens even in "nice" areas, and even if it is never spoken of. Another author blogged about how her children attend a school where school shootings are purported to be nothing more than media-led myth. Columbine? Didn't happen according to many of these students. But sadly, pretending unpleasant things don't exist doesn't form a protective shield over anyone (if only it did). Censorship is a Trick, all right, and it's a nasty one played on students, teachers, and parents in areas where access to books or knowledge is restricted based on the uninformed opinions of a few instead of the knowledgeable consensus of many.

Back to more pleasant subjects. New Orleans isn't the only place I'll be traveling to this month. On Wednesday I leave for New York, where I'll be attending ComiCon. If you're in the New York city area and you're interested in meeting me, please check out my schedule . In addition to the panels and the signing, you'll also find me trying to score an autograph from Bruce give-me-some-sugar-baby! Campbell, and Diana Gabaldon, just to name a few. Lots of awesome people will be at ComiCon, so hope to see some of you there!

And I'll close this blog with a treat. Leave a comment telling me what you're planning to do this Halloween, and I'll enter you in a drawing for an Arc (advance reading copy) of the HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH anthology, releasing October 26th. My story in this anthology is set in a new world of demons, partial demons, and fallen angels. Shayla Black and Sharie Koehler also have wonderful paranormal stories in HAUNTED BY YOUR TOUCH. Winner will be chosen by Randomizer, and international entries are welcome. Be sure to leave your name, because it's hard to pick "anonymous" as a winner. Contest opens now and closes at 9:00am tomorrow EST. Hey, I'll be leaving soon, that's why the short deadline for entries. I'll edit this post to announce the winner tomorrow, so check back here. Good luck, everyone!

-Jeaniene

New Releases, New Covers, New Videos and Big Screen News from the Supernatural Underground!

***WINNER UPDATE*** Thanks so much for sharing in all our good news!  The winner of Juliana Stone's HIS DARKEST HUNGER is SPAV, and the winner of Kathryn Smith's LET THE NIGHT BEGIN is PATRICIA LYNNE!  You guys please send your mailing address to booksthatgobump@gmail.com, and your prizes will be in the mail!***

September just whooshed by and so much is happening with the authors here in the Underground that we decided to take a moment, take a deep breath, and relive the highlights of the last month or so.  (Not only will we relive them, we'll celebrate them by giving away some autographed books, so read on!)

First, September was a big month for new releases -- all new work by Kerrelyn Sparks, Helen Lowe, Janet Mullany, Merrie Destefano and Colleen Gleason:

We got to see some GORGEOUS new covers for upcoming releases from Tracey O'hara, Kimberly Derting, Melissa Marr, Tera Lyn Childs, Pamela Palmer, C.L. Wilson and Juliana Stone:

And we also found out that some of the authors in the Underground have received some FABULOUS news regarding film and TV!  Melissa Marr's WICKED LOVELY is being adapted for film by Universal Pictures (you can read all about it here, in the Hollywood Insider!).  She's also recently announced a new deal with HarperCollins for a brand new YA trilogy, coming in 2013.

Sophie Jordan is also thrilled to announce that the film rights for her debut YA novel, FIRELIGHT, have been purchased by Mandalay Pictures! 

The 9/16 episode of JEOPARDY! featured a question about Kerrelyn Sparks! The category was Bestsellers for $1200, and the Question: A vampire series by Kerrelyn Sparks is punningly titled "Love at" this. You can see it happen around the 5:42 marker at on this YouTube video!

And speaking of videos, we have three new, and very different ones for you this month! Nicole Murphy's SECRET ONES:



Janet Mullany's JANE AND THE DAMNED:



And Juliana Stone's HIS DARKEST EMBRACE:



(Don't forget, there are lots more book videos on our VIDEOS page!)

Going to be in NYC the first weekend in October? Then you might want to attend New York ComicCon on October 8th, 2010 where you can sit in on a panel discussion with Jeaniene Frost, Juliana Stone, Marjorie Liu, Pamela Palmer, Jocelynn Drake and Margaret Ronald, as they fight like cats and dogs over the appeal of feline vs. canine shapeshifters:

Panel Description: In the furball battle for supremacy, what shapeshifter is going to claw, bite, gnaw and scratch its way to the top of the pack? In recent novels by novelists such as Pamela Palmer and Juliana Stone, paranormal romance fans have gone absolutely feral over the emergence of cat shapeshifters…they purr, what’s sexier than a werepuma or wereleopard? Loping through the howling legions of the other side of the debate comes authors such as Jocelynn Drake, Marjorie M. Liu, and Margaret Ronald – who might argue that woman’s best friend is going to hound all the competition until they emerge triumphant. The argument may get catty; and the arguments over which breed of shapeshifter is sexier are going to be doggone good – so come and join the melee!

Panel Room 7 (1A22)
2-3 pm, followed by booksigning 4-6pm

WHEW! Did I forget anything? Oh, yeah... the book giveaways!! :-)

Leave us a comment and you'll be entered to win one of the following SIGNED BOOKS:

HIS DARKEST HUNGER by Juliana Stone (signed!), and

A signed copy of LET THE NIGHT BEGIN by Kathryn Smith.  Both winners will get a cool "I Read Books That Go Bump In the Night" button, and various assorted bookmarks from the authors here in the Supernatural Underground.

Got any good news to share?  Feel free to share it, or just leave a comment anyway.  :-)  Good luck!