From the Backlist: "Faith and Fantasy" by Jeaniene Frost

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We think this is a fabulous post, by the great Jeaniene Frost, so we hope you enjoy this revisit. :)

Faith and Fantasy

by Jeaniene Frost

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As a paranormal writer, I’ve often been asked how my supernatural creatures differ from others. Take my vampires. One of the things they can do that many others in fiction can’t is walk around in the daylight. Yes, just like in the original Dracula by Bram Stoker, my vampires have no lethal aversion to sunlight. Something else that repels many vampires in modern fiction, but also has no effect on mine, is crosses. I originally decided on that because I couldn't come up with an answer to the question of how a vampire who pre-dated Christianity would cringe away from a cross, and I have some vampires in my novel who are much older than two thousand years.* Therefore, religious objects in my books don’t have any effect on vampires.

That doesn’t mean faith is absent in my stories. In fact, my idea for the origin of vampires came from the Biblical story of Cain. In my retelling of it, God’s “mark” was making Cain into the first vampire, cursed to forever drink blood as punishment for spilling his brother Abel’s (or so the vampires claim. Ghouls in my books have a different version of what Cain was turned into, heh). So right from the beginning, I knew I’d have to deal with the element of faith in my supernatural world.

Still, the idea than an entire species would agree about spiritual beliefs seemed an impossible notion even for a work of supernatural fiction. Therefore, even though I made up a fictitious creationist history for the undead based on the biblical character of Cain, this doesn't make the vampires or ghouls in my book automatically Judeo-Christian. Instead, they represent a wide range of beliefs, including atheists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, pagans, voodoo, and more. Mencheres, the hero in my upcoming novel, Eternal Kiss of Darkness, still believes in the ancient Egyptian gods -- which gave me an excuse to indulge my love of Egyptology with more research about them!

...

To read the full post, click here

To visit with Jeaniene Frost and discover her latest series, try her website

It's all in the Name

The menu is not the meal. - Alan Wilson Watts

Back in the 16th Century, early critics cautioned against reading too much into a title, saying,

The title is usually received with mocking laughter and jokes. But it's wrong to be so superficial when you're weighing men's (and presumably, now days, women's) work in the balance. Good advice, but don't titles sell books these days? I think it pays to consider them carefully.

The purpose of the title is to attract, intrigue and compel. It’s the headline, the very first sentence and it must hook the reader. It wants to sound good, to roll of the tongue, but not be overly predictable or clichéd. 

A good title can have double meanings, though it’s best to be careful there. For example, Mouse Work’s 1995 title, Cooking with Pooh is questionable, though funny.

Catchy titles can work, like Big Boom’s If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs but that’s not quite the style fantasy and paranormal romance readers are after. Maybe.

There are other considerations. Titles have to fit on the book cover. I’m not sure how Crown got ‘Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam’ squeezed together with the author's name, Pope Brock, and a billy goat (I’m serious) but they did. 

Short titles can be preferable. George Orwell first called his masterpiece The Last Man in Europe until changing it to 1984.

I did a search and found there are rules to follow for selecting titles. Some writers ignore them, to their great success. For example:

Rule #1 – Don't use noun-adjectives, like Pamela Palmer's Desire Untamed (NY Times Bestseller)

Rule #2 - Don’t use proper names in the title, like JK Rowling's Harry Potter . . . right.

Rule #3 - Don’t use words like Lord, Magic, Moon, Sea, Wizard, as in bestselling JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea, or Patricia Briggs' Moon Called.

Rule #4 - Don’t use adjective-noun titles like Jeaniene Frost's bestselling Once Burned, Twice Tempted Or Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games.

Rule #4 - Don’t use needless complexity, like Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

Rule #5 – Don't be ironic, like Kerrelyn Sparks' bestselling Eat, Prey, Love, or Charlain Harris's Dead and gone.

Rules aside, there is a website where you can put your title to the test. This program generates the odds a title has of becoming a bestseller. If it’s accurate, my next book is going to sell a zillion copies! However the Dead Until Dark, Charlain Harris's book that spawned True Blood shows only 10.6% chance of succeeding, so maybe take it with a grain of salt.

My first two books were named organically, like pets. Book #1 in the Quantum Enchantment Series, The Spell of Rosette was just ‘Rosette’ for years. She got ‘The Spell’ as the story matured. 

Book #2, Arrows of Time was named for the narrative structure. It’s based on the theoretical notion that time is fully symmetrical - arrows going both ways and around in circles. I named Strange Attractors before I wrote a word of it. The idea of ‘strange attractors’- a pattern that appeared chaotic until seen from the right perspective - intrigued me.  

My most recent release, the novella Blood and Water in Vampires Gone Wild, was originally the idea of a series of books in this genre (paranormal vampiric romance) called Of Blood and Water. Those who have had a look know why!

Has anyone a favourite ‘title story’ to tell? Is there one that particularly compels or repulses? I’d love to hear about it. Comments welcome!

* * * 

Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author writing paranormal romance, urban fantasy, YA and epic science fantasy novels. She also co-directs Good Vibe Astrology, an astrology and law of attraction school.

You can find out more about Kim at kimfalconer.com or on the 11th House Blog. She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month. Her latest release is Supernatural Underground: Vampires Gone Wild. 

Why being a ninja is great!

So I'm reporting live to you from RT Booklovers Convention 2013 in Kansas City. It is a weekend of fun parties, reader interaction, and author meet-ups. Because this is the 30th anniversary, they have really  pulled out all the stops.

Because I am between series right now (see last month's post on plotting plotting plotting), I find myself in a little bit of a limbo. I get to plan my own schedule. See the panels I want to see (totally hunted down Jude Devereaux), and relax. A new concept for me in general, let alone at a conference.

So I find myself mostly sitting and watching and listening. The conversations here are awesome because everyone is as exciting about books as I am. And boy, are the topics varied. The two women across from my right now are talking about the upswing in New Adult. Two women in the elevator this morning were still talking about the Fated to be Mated panel that our very own Jeaniene Frost and Kerrelyn Sparks gave yesterday afternoon.

And no one is even noticing me. I feel very ninja. Listening to everyone, watching them stroll by in their Regency dresses or their Steampunk corsets (how Karina Cooper does it, I have no idea). And the SHOES. There are some fabulous shoes here.

Oh, right now, someone just asked me for a chair and I think she's doing the same thing that I am, capturing the energy and love of good stories and, lets be honest, some cute cover models.

LOOK, THERE'S JULIE GARWOOD. Have to go stalk someone!

This is Amanda Arista signing off from behind a ficus!

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Amanda Arista, Diaries of an Urban Panther
www.amandaarista.com

8 for 8 - The Night Huntress Series

While loitering on Twitter last week I came across a conversation between a few of my Twitter buddies. They were cyber drooling over a series they’d all recently read.  Like any other book hungry reader, the sight of cyber drool over a story made me jump right in and hijack on the conversation.  I just had to know what books had caused such bodice busting heavy breathing.  And to my utter delight, I discovered the books in question where none other than the Night Huntress series by our very own Jeaniene Frost.  I hadn’t read any of the Night Huntress novels, so I hot footed it right over to Amazon and bought myself the first book in the series, Halfway to the Grave.  Two days and one happy dance later, I was snuggled up in my bed turning the pages of a lusciously good paranormal romance. 

So for my 8 for 8 this month, I’m going to give you eight things about this book that I loved.

1. The cover. Green is an underused color in books and it stands out so well against the black and gray. Cat looks amazing.

2. Cat. She’s a fab MC. She’s had a lot to deal with in her life, but doesn’t have a case of the poor me’s, even with a mother who despite being loving, is a walking example of how not to rear your child.

3. Bones. Oh dear lord, pass the smelling salts, I’m feeling faint. He’s a kick butt, heavy handed, completely ruthless stud muffin who just so happens to have the sweetest of human natures hidden away behind his gorgeous inhuman body. NOM NOM.

4. The World. Jeaniene Frost gives us a world within a world.  She’s built a paranormal existence and superimposed it onto our reality. Like in the worlds of True Blood, Angel, and Vampire Academy, these creatures move among us in a hauntingly believable fashion.

5. Style. The writing is simply constructed and reads so easily. It flows perfectly, urging the reader to read another page...ah go on another, another.

6. Passion.  I’ve been reading YA books almost exclusively for the last year. This is the first paranormal romance for adults I’ve read and oh my goodness, what a relief it is to see some action. And by action, I mean steaming up the glasses, heart pounding stuff. Bones and Cat are electric. There sexual attraction sizzles on the page.

7. Cat’s grumpy, unforgiving, and highly judgement grandparents.  They only have a small part, but they made me laugh. Imagine having to face them every time you came home from a night of slaying and rampant love making!

8. There’s more. Yay! Nine books in all. I’ll be ravaging these books over the next couple of months. 

Have you read this series yet? Did it make you go all a dither too?

I hope 2012 is being good to you! Talk to you all next month.

Leigh

This and That

Am I the only one wondering HOW it could be October already? This year has flown by! Furthermore, this fall is shaping up to be my busiest yet. First, if you didn't already hear, a special $1.99 ebook edition of Halfway to the Grave is available from now until October 25th.


Go back to the beginning of the Night Huntress series with lots of additional bonus material. This includes never-before-published scenes featuring a hunt with Cat and Bones, a scene with Bones mischievously tormenting Cat during her makeover, a new sex scene, and an alternate villain at the end. Plus, it also includes the first four chapters of One Foot in the Grave, an excerpt from the upcoming The Bite Before Christmas anthology, and an excerpt from the upcoming novel Once Burned, book one in the new Night Prince series with Vlad and Leila.

I was going to embed the book trailer I had made for Halfway to the Grave, but after waiting 30 minutes and STILL blogger didn't load it, I gave up. Click here if you're interested in watching it.

Don’t have an e-reader but still want to get in on the fun? You can download software for free to read on your computer or other mobile device. Click here to see how.

Plus, as mentioned, The Bite Before Christmas releases on October 25th. I'm very excited to be in an anthology with fellow SU author Lynsay Sands, and since there are only the two of us, our stories are much longer than you would normally find in an anthology. From the back of the book:

This holiday season, join two of today’s most popular paranormal authors for a special look into their worlds, where creatures are always stirring and no one sleeps through the night. . . .

The Gift by Lynsay Sands

Teddy Brunswick knows about the immortals among us. He’s worked with them, called them friend—but he never counted on being snowed in with one over Christmas. Katricia Argeneau is a tasty little bundle and she seems to feel the same way about him. Problem is, he’s not sure she feels quite the same way. After all, the snowstorm has derailed her blood delivery, which leaves him the only available meal on the menu. . . .

Home for the Holidays by Jeaniene Frost

Cat and Bones are looking forward to a normal holiday—at least as “normal” as it gets for the combustible vampire couple and their otherworldly friends and family. But their yuletide plans are shattered when a stranger shows up and reveals long-buried family secrets that threaten to take a bite out of their holiday cheer . . . and lives.



Look for startling revelations about Bones's past in my contribution to The Bite Before Christmas. This is information I've long wanted to reveal to Night Huntress readers, so I can't wait to finally share it.

Finally, I am attending ComicCon in New York city from October 15th - 16th. Here's where you can find me:

Saturday, October 15th, 6pm – 7pm at the HarperCollins booth #944 on the main show floor.

Signing “A BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS” (special early release!) and “ONE GRAVE AT A TIME.” Books will be available for purchase.

Sunday, October 16th, 1pm – 2pm at the HarperCollins booth #944 on the main show floor.

Signing “First Drop Of Crimson,” Free giveaway of book.

Sunday, October 16th at 2:30pm-3:30pm, Room 1A23.

WE’RE NO ANGELS: The Leading Ladies of SF/F

Beware the women of Sci-Fi/Fantasy…and their kick-ass heroines. Danger just might be these girls’ middle names. But no amount of bad guys can keep these ladies from doing what’s right. Whether standing up for friends and family, or just plain kicking some ass, these girls don’t shy away from a fight. Femmes Fatales on the panel include Patricia Briggs; Alison Goodman, Kim Harrison; Jeaniene Frost; Marjorie M. Liu, Sabrina Benulis and Kristen Painter.


Hope to see some of you there. Have a wonderful fall, everyone!

-Jeaniene Frost

Freebies!

ETA: Updated to announce the winners! As usual they were chosen at random, but say congrats to...

Faith Holt for winning Prize 1, an Arc of One Grave at a Time!

and Freda Burkett for winning Prize 2, pick of a book from my backlist!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. I read all your comments and it made my day :).


Today is my blog day at SU, and I have an apology to make. I am so behind the gun on my current deadline that I don't have time to write an insightful, interesting, funny, or even marginally coherent post.

But wait, don't click away! My lack of time/wit/intelligence may as well be put to good use. In lieu of a worthwhile post, I give you contest prizes instead. Free stuff is probably better than listening to me blather on anyway.

Prize 1: An Arc of my upcoming novel, One Grave at a Time. If you're not familiar with this book, here's a description from the back of it:

How do you send a killer to the grave when he’s already dead?

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans’ voodoo queen just keeps on giving–leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity–forever. But one wrong step and they’ll be digging their own graves.




And here is my shiny new book trailer to further highlight the plot. Click the Play button to view:




But wait, there's more! Prize 2 is a free book from any of my backlist, including Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave, At Grave's End, Destined for an Early Grave, First Drop of Crimson, Eternal Kiss of Darkness, and This Side of the Grave. You pick which one you want. If you're brand new to my books, I'd recommend starting with Halfway to the Grave (first in the Night Huntress series) or First Drop of Crimson (first in the Night Huntress World spin-offs). This giveaway is open to everyone no matter where in the world you live.

The Rules:

Leave a comment telling me which prize you're interested in: Prize 1 (Arc of One Grave at a Time) or Prize 2 (pick of one book out of my backlist). Be sure to include your name and email address so I can contact you if you win. No, you can't win both prizes - only one winner per prize category. Contest opens now and closes at 6am EST tomorrow, August 5th. I'll update this post with the winners tomorrow, as well as contact the winners by email.

Good luck!
Jeaniene Frost

This and That

As the subject line implies, this post will be all over the place :). In writing news, progress is being made on my new novel (which still doesn't have a title yet) and I'm happy about that. Beginnings are the bane of my existence, so I realize that a lot of what I'm writing could get deleted or revised, but as Nora Roberts once said, you can fix anything except a blank page. In appearance news, I'll be at the Romance Writers of America convention in New York this month from June 28 – July 1. The convention is held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. If you're attending the convention, you can find several Supernatural Underground authors (including me!) on panels, so be sure to check your conference schedule and come say hi! If you're not attending RWA but you're in the NY area, the huge, multi-author book signing is on the 28th and it's open to the public. Go here for details.

All work and no play makes Jeaniene a dull girl, so in addition to writing, I've also done some reading. Recent novels I enjoyed were Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, Dracula in Love by Karen Essex, and I'm halfway through A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, which is really cool. I also glommed through the first two seasons of Justified (Timothy Olyphant, you look GOOD in this show! ;), the first mini-season of Sherlock on BBC, and seasons five and six of Supernatural. True Blood starts up soon and I can't wait to dig into that (in case you were wondering, I am Team Eric all the way!).

Tomorrow - if I'm a good girl who gets in her word count today, lol - hubby and I are off to see X-Men: First Class. To tell the truth, when the trailer first came out for that, I wasn't at all interested in seeing it. I loved the first two X-Men movies but hated the end of the third with such fervor that it made me leery of future movies in the series. X-Men Origins: Wolverine didn't do much to reassure me, either (yes, Hugh Jackman looked hot, as did Lieb Schriever, but I was meh about the movie). I've heard X-Men: First Class is being compared to The Dark Knight for awesomeness, however, so I'm checking it out. Hope the rumors are true!

What's everyone else doing this weekend? Are you working, getting caught up on a little reading, TV time, movies, or something else?

- Jeaniene Frost

Recharging in three...two...one...

Hi, all! First, I must apologize. I missed my regularly scheduled blog date last month while in the OMG-I-will-never-finish-this-story mode combined with moving out of state. Thankfully, I did finish the story in question and now I'm mostly unpacked. Since I'm out from behind an overdue deadline and all the joys of moving (i.e., tabulating what's lost, broken, or doesn't work the way it was supposed to), I can finally begin to catch up on all the things that had been backburnered. My inbox has been a scary, neglected place, for starters, and I have some interviews to complete, but in addition to that - and starting Vlad's novel this week - there's something else I'm anxious to catch up on.

Reading.

It's true that I spend most of my days reading one thing or another, but writing/revising my own words, business and personal emails, blogs, Tweets, etc., just aren't the same as sitting down and getting absorbed in a novel. When I'm in the later stages of finishing a book, or behind on a deadline, as was the recent case, my reading-for-enjoyment time is cut to almost nil. No matter your field - office worker, entrepreneur, SAHM (and anyone who doesn't consider that a job has never been around kids) - many people with a looming or overdue obligation will trim entertainments first from their schedule. That's normal. But something I've realized is that once the imperative obligation is met, adding reading back into my schedule is essential. Reading, for me, is about more than entertainment. It's the source of emotional and creative recharging, and this was true even before I became a writer.


So with the knowledge that all work and no reading makes Jeaniene a dull girl - not to mention an emotionally and creatively burnt girl - I've started to make a dent in my TBR pile. Over the weekend, I glommed through DEAD RECKONING by Charlaine Harris. Next up is MAGIC SLAYS, by Ilona Andrews (go ahead and hate me because I have an Arc, lol), and then UNHOLY GHOSTS by Stacia Kane. After that, who knows, but considering the size of my TBR pile, I have a lot of options.

What's next on your reading list? And does anyone else finds themselves burned out and cranky if they don't fit reading time back into their schedule?

- Jeaniene Frost

Giveaway and thanks

***WINNERS! Congrats to Cara Cummings, Shadow Girl, and LinGeorge. Since all of you left your email addresses in your comments, I will email you to get your shipping info.

Thanks, everyone, for commenting! Lots of great paranormal creatures in fiction, aren't there? :).


Today is my blog day, and let me start off by apologizing, because you won’t find eloquent content here. See, I got back from tour Saturday night* and had the inbox from hell waiting for me. Nine days of travel (trains take longer than flights getting me to and fro) also meant lots of laundry that needed immediate attention, plus the usual business issues that I put off while I was out of town. On top of all that was my I’m-excited-but-I-think-I’m-gonna-puke nerves while I waited to see how readers received my latest novel, This Side of the Grave. I’ll let you in on a secret that I hope my editor doesn’t see, heh: I can never write during the two weeks leading up to that night writers often refer to as Doom Wednesday, which is when authors get their first week sales numbers. All my tried and true tricks to break writer’s block fail me during that window. Music playlists, mental pep talks, friend pep talks, mental slapping, friends slapping me (just kidding) and even looming deadlines can’t make a dent in my inability to produce words. You’d think that seven books in, I’d be less manic about a new release, but it appears not. If anything, I’m probably more batty than I was with my first book, which begs the age-old question: does publishing make people crazy, or do only crazy people attempt a career in publishing? *wink*

On Wednesday, however, I received the amazing news that readers had not lost their appetite for more Cat and Bones stories, because This Side of the Grave hit # 2 on the New York Times and # 16 on the USA Today bestseller lists. Cue me wanting to hug and kiss everyone who went out and got the book! What made that news even better was hearing that Melissa Marr’s Darkest Mercy hit # 7 on the New York Times Children’s Series list, Pamela Palmer’s Hunger Untamed hit #21 on the adult NYT, and Lynsay Sands The Heiress hit # 19 on the adult NYT. Go team Supernatural Underground! :).

So with that passing of Doom Wednesday, it was no surprise that yesterday, I was finally able to produce words again. Not a moment too soon, either, as I have an anthology story to finish. The next two weeks will see me putting in very long days, but I’ll be doing it with a smile thanks to you, readers.

And what better way to say thanks than to give away books, right? I might not have eloquence today, but I have three signed copies of This Side of the Grave to offer up. If you want to be entered in the drawing, just leave a comment telling me what your favorite paranormal creature is. Vampires, werewolves, faeries, ghosts, demons, shape shifters, dragons…which one rings your bell? Contest is open to international readers and ends tonight at 11:59pm EST. The three winners will be chosen by Randomizer and announced on this same blog post tomorrow at the top, so be sure to check back and see if you won.

Want to know more about the book before you decide to enter the contest? I have the summary, book trailer, and first 20% available to read here.

Good luck, and thanks again!

- Jeaniene Frost


* If you want the recap of me and fellow Supernatural Underground author Pamela Palmer’s adventures – including video! – go here.

The fruits of my labor

Several weeks ago on my blog, I mentioned that I was getting together royalty-free pictures, music, and video clips for a book trailer on This Side of the Grave. Most of you know that a book trailer is basically another medium to tease about the plot elements in a particular story without giving anything major away that would spoiler. You could liken it to the description of the back cover copy of a book, only set to music and visuals.

I’ve done book trailers for three of my other books (if interested, you can see them here) and while I don’t necessarily think trailers net an author any new readers, from the feedback I’ve received, a lot* of existing readers enjoy seeing a story teaser in video form. I’ve also said before that I get a kick out of book trailers, so part of the reason why I do them is because it makes me happy. Doing something that makes me happy is why I started writing novels in the first place, after all. So with all of that said, here is the book trailer for This Side of the Grave. I had fun picking out the various different elements in it, and I hope you enjoy watching it.

*As with everything, not all readers like trailers, and even among readers who do, not every one of you will like this trailer. Subjectivity means that I can never please everyone all the time, alas :)). So what about you, readers and authors? Do you like book trailers? Hate 'em? Inquiring trailer-junkie minds want to know! -Jeaniene Frost

Movies, Marathons, and Must-See TV

This is a few days belated, but Happy New Year, everyone! I rang in 2011 while hunched over my keyboard finishing my sixth Night Huntress novel with Cat and Bones. Not the most party animal way to celebrate, but oh, was I glad an hour later when the book was done. For me, writing a book is like participating in a literary marathon. There are times when you hit your stride and everything clicks, times when you get a cramp (or look at your computer with the ominous thought of “NOW what?”), and times when you may even feel like you’re not going to make it. So when that finish line comes into sight, even though you might be exhausted and sore, a burst of adrenaline makes you sprint those last few legs (or chapters) of the journey. Then you get to throw your hands in the air and yell, “I did it!” (or type my two favorite words in the world, The End).

And then, of course, you usually fall down. Passing out is optional :).

Now that I’m past the unconscious stage of finishing a book, heh, I’m looking forward to recharging my batteries. Next week I’ll start writing the story for an upcoming holiday anthology - bringing me to the two words in the world that scare me the most: Chapter One – but this week, I’m on my couch reading and watching TV. The series “V” starts back up tonight and I’m looking forward to that. "The Cape" looks intriguing so I'll probably check that out, too. “Season on the Witch” comes out in theaters on Friday and I haven’t been to a movie in ages, so hubby and I are going to see it. For books, I’ve had Karen Essex’s DRACULA IN LOVE on the top of my To Be Read pile for a while, and after that I’ll be cracking open THE LOST CITY OF Z by David Grann.

What about you? What books/movies/TV shows are you looking forward to this month? And who else, like me, stepped on a scale Sunday morning, screamed out loud, and immediately started their diet again? *wink*

-Jeaniene Frost

The publishing rollercoaster

Ah, December. In Florida the temperatures have finally dipped below sweltering and TV's are starting to play holiday shows. For me, ‘tis also the season for realizing, holy crap, where has the year gone??? But in the midst of trying to finish my sixth Cat and Bones book, and get my Christmas shopping done, I wanted to talk a little about publishing. Recently, a couple writers messaged me to ask how I broke into publishing because they’re depressed that what they’re getting right now is a pile of rejections. It almost sounds uncaring or smartass to say this is normal and it only takes one “yes” to change everything, but actually, that’s true. I wrote a piece a while back about everything I know on how to get published, and I have nothing new to add since (sorry, folks :)).

But I do have a little bit more to elaborate when it comes to rejection. I don’t know the exact odds, but I’d venture a guess that you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than to never encounter rejection on your path to publication. It’s tough trying to break into publishing, and writers need to remind themselves that rejection is part of that tough process. But even with those reminders, it can still sting. Sometimes even leave a scar. The good news is – despite some claims to the contrary – it’s not impossible to break in. The doors haven’t been slammed shut, leaving self-pubbing as the only option. How do I know? I read Publishers Lunch every day and see all the new deals with those magical words of “debut author” attached to them, for one. I see agents Tweeting that they just took on a new client. I hear editors talking about what they’re looking for in submissions. This is a hard business, true, but one “yes” can cancel out a hundred “no’s” just like that. The battle scars writers endure in the slush pile can fade with time, and upon occasion, can even be looked back on with satisfaction or humor.

I was rejected a lot while querying Halfway to the Grave, and I have lists below to prove it. Some of those rejections I handled with aplomb; some, I’ll admit, brought me to tears. In fact, these lists below represent only a small portion of the places that passed on my manuscript because more often than not, I threw those rejection letters away. Not just away in my household trash can, mind you. I would walk them out to the community dumpster so that I wouldn’t even spend the night under the same roof with those dreaded little missives (oh yes, I can be THAT crazy ;-)). Off the top of my head, I think I was rejected between 50 and 60 times, so that was a lot of treks to the community dumpster. But for those places I queried electronically, or received an electronic reply instead of a paper one, I still have records saved. Hopefully this will encourage some writers currently going through the submission-and-rejection process. Maybe it will have no effect, but I want to once again highlight that rejection happens. It doesn’t have to mean that your novel is doomed. Sometimes, it just means try harder or query wider.

Please note: these rejection were received back in 2004 and 2005 when I was querying, so some of these places may no longer be in business or may have changed their submission preferences/requirements. Don’t use this as a list of places you should query unless you research their current business status / requirements, plus cross check that against Writers Beware and Predators and Editors to see if any of these places have advisories against them (good idea for any place you query).


With that being said, Halfway to the Grave was rejected by…


Agents:

Sedgeband Literary Associates, Inc.
Writers House – twice (one from Merrilee Heifetz, one from Ginger Clark after I revised)
Rick Henshaw Group
Farris Literary Agency, Inc.
Curtis Brown, LTD.
Donald Mass Literary
The Vines Agency
Kimberley Cameron, Reece Halsey North
JABberwocky Literary Agency
Spectrum Literary Agency
Larson-Pomada Literary Agency
3 Seas Literary Agency
Ethan Ellenberg Literary
Trident Media Group
John Hawkins & Associates, Inc.
The Fogelman Literary Agency


Publishers:

Tor
Baen
Bantam Spectra Books
Red Dress Inc.
DAW Books


I eventually landed an agent with Lowenstein-Yost (which is now Lowenstein, Inc, and I’m currently with Nancy Yost at Nancy Yost Literary) who sent my manuscript to seven publishers. Six of them didn’t outright reject it, but didn’t offer because they either hadn’t read it yet, or just weren’t in love with the story enough to make up their minds on submitting an offer. The seventh editor, however, loved it so much that she offered a deal before even fully finishing the book. One “yes” made all those previous “no” or “eh, not now’s” obsolete.

As a side note, I received a rejection from one of the publishers I named above two weeks after Halfway to the Grave sold (they took over a year for them to respond to my submission). This was the comment that came along with that rejection:


“Well written. TMI vampire sex. ::sigh:: Why is there always one handsome male vampire on the side of Good, that the Heroine falls for? "Half vampire" female heroine also getting clichéd.”


So again, subjectivity reigns when it comes to rejection. What was TMI and cliché for that publisher turned out to be just what Erika Tsang at HarperCollins was looking for. As Halfway to the Grave was an instant bestseller and launched my Night Huntress series with Cat and Bones, which later launched my spinoff series featuring side characters from that world, turns out, it was what a lot of readers were looking for, too :).

To quote Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest: Never give up, never surrender!

-Jeaniene Frost

Worth a thousand words?

Hi everyone. This is going to be a shorter post than normal because I am in the final 30 day window before my book is due - otherwise known as Deadline Hell :). Yesterday I had a nice conversation with my editor about the cover for my sixth Night Huntress novel. The cover process differs from author to author and from publisher to publisher. Some authors have no input on their covers. Some have a lot of input. I'm fortunate to have an editor who always asks what I do - or don't - want, and a wonderful cover artist who combines my suggestions with his ideas to create something far better than I originally imagined. Since this is another Cat and Bones book, some things are already decided. Like, it will feature only Cat on the cover, but will have both her and Bones on the stepback. The word "grave" will be in the title, and the background will have some hint of spookiness to convey that this is a paranormal novel. With luck, it will also have the same model for Cat as in the previous five books. May that lovely lady never retire until my series is over, lol.

Other parts of the cover, I'm not sure about. I requested that either Cat have a weapon on her, or be wearing her silver-heeled boots, but we'll see which one the cover artist goes with. Because ghosts play a bigger role in this novel than in previous ones, I'm also hoping for a hazy silhouette or other otherworldly image in the background. And I had one request that made my editor laugh - please no more pink font. Pink is my least favorite color (probably due to my annoyance at how it's assumed that since I'm female I automatically must love it) but it's taken me until now to admit to my editor that I'd prefer any other color for my books. Here's hoping my cover artist didn't have his heart set on some soft rosy hues for this novel ;-).

Although we all know it's the content that matters most, I'll be honest - I've picked up books before because of a pretty or striking cover. Sometimes I've lucked out and the story was equally amazing, and sometimes the cover was the best part of the novel. What about you? Ever bought a book solely because the cover drew you in? And if so, which book?

- Jeaniene Frost

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

Movies that go bump in the night

Originally, I intended for this post about writing and revising, but you know what? I didn't feel in the mood to talk about those things. Instead, my mind kept sliding to a totally different topic: horror movies.

Maybe because it's September, which means of course that next month is October, and leading up to Halloween, channel after channel on the TV will play horror movies. Ah, I love that time of year. Yes, I have the Chill channel to get my fix in the meantime, plus Netflix, plus the occasional horror flick on premium channels, but there's something about that October parade of cinematic carnage that just makes me happy. Yes, I realize this may put me in Strange column, but here on Supernatural Underground, strange is the norm, right? So I'm just trying to fit in, heh.

And since I love the horror movie parade almost as much as the candy that flows more freely during October, I thought I'd get an early jump on the season by listing some of my favorite horror flicks. Let's get to it!

The Classics:

Halloween 1 and 2, the originals (don't ever ask me what I thought of the recent remakes unless you have a spare hour to listen to me rant). Ah, Michael Meyers. You in your eerie white mask walking slowly to the beat of that terrifying music has haunted my nightmares for decades. Well done, Michael! You will always be the only Bogeyman for me.

Friday the 13th, the original 1 and 2. Who doesn't like a little slasher with their horror? Jason was a great villain for me because, like M.M. above, he just kept coming back no matter how many times you killed him. Add how I went to sleepaway camp as a child in a setting that looked *just* like Camp Crystal Lake - minus the dead bodies - and this movie franchise has remained dear to my heart.

Jaws. Come on, who watched this movie and then didn't look at the ocean with a shiver? I know the statistical improbability of ever getting bitten by a shark, but I can tell you that every time I've gone into the ocean, this movie has lurked in my subconscious.

Campy:

Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. I'm sure these weren't the first campy horror movies on the scene, but they were the first ones I saw, and it was love at first "give me some sugar, baby!" Bruce Campbell as Ash slashed and wise-cracked his way through the creatures after him as well as his own hand (and how hard I laughed at that scene disturbed my mother so much that she left the room. Poor mom was grossed out and could not understand why I found any of it funny).

Shaun of the Dead. Simon Pegg was brilliant as the bumbling but sweet boyfriend who ended up winning back his girlfriend only after slaughtering a whole lot of zombies. So many scenes in this movie had me laughing out loud. Mad props to the supporting cast, too.

Zombieland. "Time to nut up or shut up" became one of my favorite phrases after watching this movie, and while the main characters all gave stellar, hilarious performances, Bill Murray's cameo stole the show. Loved this movie, even though every time I see it, I end up wanting a Twinkie afterward.

Scary:

The Ring. Yeah, it's not the best horror movie ever, but I can tell you that when I saw it on opening night in the theater, I screamed out loud (along with many of the other moviegoers) when that freaky little girl climbed out of the TV. And I kid you not, seven days later, I was giving my own television a wary eye. When a movie can make me do that, it's a win in my book.

28 Days Later. It didn't have many jump-in-your-seat moments, but what resonated with me was how this was the first zombie movie I saw where the zombies could move. No staggering shuffle that you could easily avoid, these suckers were fast. And even a scratch, or a drop of their blood into your eye could turn you into one of them. Props also to the creep factor of waking up one day to having literally no one around, and to the brutality humans can display to each other in dire survival situations.

Thoughtful:

Jeepers Creepers 2 (absolutely not to be confused with the first Jeepers Creepers, which I hated). Why do I call this thoughtful? Because, like many good horror flicks, the main drama didn't come from the creature; it came from interactions between the people the creature stalked. The premise of your true self being revealed under extreme circumstances was played out by a group of high school students trapped on a bus in this movie, and in addition to there being very good acting for a group of unknowns, I also loved the premise of harsh redemption portrayed through the vengeful father.

Wind Chill. It's hard to articulate what I liked so much about this movie. It was low budget, not terribly imaginative, but the protagonists really stuck with me after it was over. They started out pretty stereotypical - a geek secretly in love with snotty girl who'd never noticed him before - but by the end of the movie, they felt real to me. And the last line of the film hit me as so tragically sweet.

I could go on, listing some favorite SciFi horror (Pandorum, Alien, Aliens, Alien Versus Predator) but this is already a long post. So I'll close with this, the horror movie that had me sleeping with a light on for - no joke, ask my husband - six months because it touched on my deepest fear of trying to battle an evil entity that you can't even see and who resided in your own home: Paranormal Activity.

So what about you? We know you like books that go bump in the night *wink* but what are some of your favorite movies that do the same thing?

To believe or not to believe?

***ETA: Contest winner chosen by Randomizer was Lyndsey-Jane , who said, "I would prefer to know that they 100% did NOT exist, as with my health/mobility issues I'd make an easy meal."

Lol, I think we all would be easy meals if paranormal creatures existed ;). Lyndsey-Jane, email me at frostlight1 AT yahoo DOT com with your shipping address! ****


Hi everyone! Thanks for coming out for my first post on Supernatural Underground. For my topic, I'll be chatting about beliefs. No, you don't need to back away - there'll be no preaching from me ;-). But one of the things I get asked a lot as a vampire writer is, do you believe vampires exist? My standard response is that I haven’t seen anything to believe they do, but I’d never say never to the possibility. Is that a cop-out? Maybe, but just because I’ve never seen anything supernaturally strange in my life doesn’t mean I’ve slammed the door on the possibility that it might exist. Hey, I watch Ghost Hunters, and occasionally there are some weird things caught on tape or audio. Does that prove ghosts exist? I can’t say. There’s a big “what if” factor to the paranormal, and it plays both ways. What if the hazy thing on the video is just a trick of the light, instead of an apparition trying to manifest itself? Or what if that voice on the recorder was picked up from crossing signals with another TV or radio station, instead of a spirit trying to communicate?

So, I’m open to the idea that vampires, werewolves, zombies, or other creatures might exist – and that all the legends about them are nothing more than the imaginings of our ancestors, or the playing out of cultural taboos in monster form. I don’t need a solid belief in the paranormal to write about it. I do it because it’s fun to imagine answers to the “what if” factor it represents for me. Before I wrote about vampires, for instance, I loved to read about them, and I still watch almost every new vampire movie that comes out.

I also think because the paranormal can’t be completely proved or disproved (to my satisfaction, anyway) that it enhances its appeal in fiction. If it was possible to slam the door shut – no room for possibilities – that creatures such as vampires, or werewolves, zombies, etc., never existed, then it might dampen some of my enjoyment of them in fiction. The “what if” factor allows my imagination to delve deeper into the paranormal world I write about, whereas the proof that our world truly has never and will never contain anything beyond what we now know would hinder that free reign of ideas for me.

However, the opposite scenario might be even more detrimental to my love of the paranormal. If it were possible to prove, beyond a shadow of scientific doubt, that vampires or other supernatural creatures really did exist, I’m not sure I would keep writing about the paranormal. After all, *wink* I might hesitate to begin another vampire novel if I knew a real vampire might read it one day – and perhaps do more than voice their disapproval of the way I represented his or her kind, heh.

But what about you? If you had the choice, would you want it 100% proved that paranormal creatures did NOT exist? (so you’d never have to worry about whether the person sitting next to you might morph into a werewolf on the full moon, for example ;). Or would you want it 100% proved that paranormal creatures DID exist? (which would mean you’d have to be careful about people who needed to be “invited” into your house before they could enter! ;) Which would you prefer, and why? Everyone who tells me their preference in the comments will be entered to win a signed copy of FIRST DROP OF CRIMSON, which contains vampires, ghosts, and demons, among other paranormal elements. Contest is open now and closes at at 11:59PM tonight, June 4th, EST. Winner will be drawn by Randomizer and announced on the blog. Contest open to US and international readers.















-Jeaniene Frost