Sharing a Release Day

My fifth book (Darkest Mercy) comes out in just over two weeks, and I’d like to take this time to talk about what happens at release.

Part of the release process is a calm, graceful* approach to the day when cherubs will appear outside your window, singing of the beauty that is release day. If you take off your glasses, squint a little, and only look at them before the morning tea or coffee, these are beautiful creatures. They each hold a copy of your book. Later in the day, they will deliver this book to a special person who will send you truffles and orchids because it is the book they’ve waited for their whole lives.

This kind of experience is so overwhelming that you need trusted friends to help you cope with the tears of joy. More importantly, you need them in the weeks prior to release.

--big dose of reality--

Release day? Scary. The weeks before release? Mood-swinging madness. This is the time when you call your trusted friends and say “OMG, what if [insert crisis here] and then my entire career will END?” If your friend is not on release too, s/he will say, “No, that won’t happen. Take your head out of the microwave** and calm down.” If s/he is on release, the reply sounds more like, “I know! We are both so CENSOR.”

Yes, my regular critique partner is sharing a release day with me. Oh, and she’s in revisions, and I’m finishing a book right now. We’re both on post-holiday diets.

--pauses--

So really, what I’m saying is that it’s probably best to pretend you don’t see us if we happen to cross your path any time this month. Avoid eye contact. Back away slowly. Don’t be afraid to hide your microwave behind a tower of cookies and cakes if we are visiting you.

On the other hand, if you feel inclined to watch the crazy up close, here’s where I’ll be and where J will be.

Luckily, we aren't in the same places as we share release . . .


--
* And by “graceful,” I mean complete mood-swingy crazy fits.
** I am watching SUPERNATURAL with my son and the episode where the guy microwaves his head? Scarred me.


Book Trailer:




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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

Helen Lowe in Conversation with Debut Romance Author, Beth Anne Miller

Helen: The midnight hour has struck and the giveaway draw has closed and been drawn—and the lucky winner of the romance giveaway (books) package is:

Mindy Fangedmom

Congratulations, Mindy!

And thank you to everyone who commented and so generously supported Beth-Anne's debut—you've been a "Super" team, as always!

See you all again next month!

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When I joined the Supernatural Underground, I thought it could be fun to do interviews with other writers from time to time, and today I am delighted to bring you the very first one—and to welcome my friend Beth Anne Miller, whose debut Romance novel, Into the Scottish Mist, is officially launching with The Wild Rose Press on February 4 in electronic and print-on-demand print editions. (Unofficially, I understand the print editions are already available …) I'll start with a brief introduction for Beth Anne, but I'll also let you know first up that there is a grand giveaway prize to celebrate the interview and the launch—details after the interview!

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Introducing Beth Anne Miller:
A lifelong New Yorker, Beth Anne has been an avid reader since a ridiculously young age (rumor has it she was reading street signs at around 2, but this could be an urban legend), and is often in the middle of several books at once. A road trip through the eerie moors and misty Highlands of Scotland provided the inspiration for Into The Scottish Mist. A keen scuba diver and lover of all things Scottish, she currently works in the publishing industry in New York City and is planning her next road trip. Into The Scottish Mist is Beth Anne's first novel—so welcome Beth Anne!

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Helen: Beth Anne, tell us about Into the Scottish Mist? Why Scotland?

Beth Anne: I have always had this inexplicable fascination with Scotland. I’m not from there and I have no Scottish heritage at all, but I’m just totally enamored with it. I love to go there, I love the music, the whisky, and of course, the accents and kilts! The novel was originally inspired by the Scottish actor Gerard Butler. At the time I started writing, he was not very well known, but had this small yet passionate group of devoted fans. There was a stunning photo of him from the movie “Attila,” in which he had long, dark, wild hair and intensely burning blue-green eyes, and I knew right then and there that this was what my hero needed to look like. In the earliest incarnation of the novel, the hero, Ian Mackenzie, is an up-and-coming actor, with a small but hugely devoted fan-base, and Abby, the heroine, meets him on an airplane and actually doesn’t know who he is. They hit it off and then meet up later in Scotland. That part is completely gone from the current version, in which they already have a past together before the start of the novel. But staring at that photo while I was writing definitely kept me inspired (and drooling).

Helen: What sparked you to write a time-travel Romance?

Beth Anne: I’d always enjoyed time-travel romances. In all the ones I’ve read, there’s one character from the present and one from the past, and one has to do some quick adapting. I wondered what it would be like if both were from the present and both ended up in the past. It grew from there, with the brainstorming help of some dear friends and helpful feedback from publishing professionals.

Helen: So how long did it take you to write the book, from that first idea, to the point when you felt satisfied it was "done"? Were there many revisions, or just a few "takes"?

Beth Anne: I first started it in January, 2006. I put it down for a few months and then re-read it that summer and started working on it again. I finished the first draft in September, 2006, and naively thought I was good to go and started querying it. But it was 172,600 words, which I didn’t realize was wayyyyyy too long for a romance novel. I joined a writing group, and got advice from fellow writers that I needed to cut it down. A lot. So I started working on it again. And again. I got some more feedback along the way, and kept cutting and re-writing. The Wild Rose Press offered me a contract in December, 2010, at which point it went through their professional editing process. It’s now a much stronger book because the story is tighter. In its original incarnation, one friend told me the first 50 pages read like an essay on “What I did on my Scottish vacation,” and he was right. There was too much roaming around scenic Scotland, and though it was fun to incorporate that part, it was totally unnecessary to moving the plot along. All writers think of their manuscripts as their children, and we hate to cut out anything. But once you step back and take a break, and then look at it with fresh eyes, you can often find a lot that needs to go. And then the editor, who has much less of a personal connection to the story, can come in with the unbiased eye and help smooth out the story, focusing on what’s important (character growth, action, narrative arc), and help axe the stuff that is just not needed.

Helen: I think a lot of writers follow a very similar path with their first novel—and there is so much as a writers that we have to learn by osmosis. Where's the manual?! But one of the truisms aspiring writers are told is that we have to read as well, particularly in our own genre. So as a Romance writer, I imagine you’re a big Romance reader yourself—what are some of your favorite books and/or authors?

Beth Anne: For romance, my favorites are Lynn Kurland, Nora Roberts, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Suzanne Brockmann, and Karen Marie Moning. These authors all share a talent for creating heroes who are big and strong and tough—they could probably crush you with their bare hands—but they also have that vulnerability that we can’t resist, the uncertainty that they’re not good enough for the women they love. For fantasy, I love The Lord of the Rings (of course!), C.L. Wilson, Juliet Marillier, Anne Bishop, who all create beautiful, magical, and believable worlds. My favourite thriller writer is Vince Flynn, who writes amazing and timely political/military thrillers. I also adore YA (Matched, Across the Universe, The Chronicles of Pellinor are favourites), and the Harry Potter & Percy Jackson series. And too many more to name here!

Helen: I think we get a sense of the elements that make a great Romance read for you from what you've just said about the books you love, but is there more you'd like to add? And did you find it hard to weave those important elements into your own writing?

Beth Anne: I want the heroine to be strong and I have to relate to her, even if we’re nothing alike. Again, I want the hero to be strong as well, and I especially love it when they have that vulnerability that would seem at odds with their strength, yet adds so much depth. I also want the escapism of a great romance novel, whether it’s historical or contemporary, paranormal or suspenseful. The most difficult part, in incorporating all those element into Mist, was writing the love scenes. I read a lot of romance, from the very sweet to the extremely steamy. I enjoy them all across the board, but I wanted my story to be passionate and sexy without being over the top erotic and graphically detailed. I remember trying to write the first kiss in the first draft. I had to get my coworker/brainstorming partner to practically hold my hand while I wrote it—which seems ridiculous now, with a completed manuscript and the whole revision process behind me! But I didn’t have many edits on the love scenes, so I guess they get the job done!

Helen: I think you did do well with those love scenes and the erotic elements! :) So now I have to ask this question—if cast away on a desert island, or cast back in time through those Scottish mists themselves, why would our readers want Ian, the hero of Into the Scottish Mist, to be cast away with them?

Beth Anne: Well, he’s strong and resourceful, easy on the eyes, and knows the words to a lot of songs to keep you entertained on that desert island …But seriously, I tried to make Ian Mackenzie everything that I love in a romance novel hero, and make sure he was believable and human at the same time. He’s big and strong and gorgeous and sexy—all required elements, of course. He’s devoted to the people he loves, and even though he’s a successful actor, he returns home to the family horse farm in the Highlands at every opportunity. He thinks his acting skills have prepared him for any situation, but when he’s faced with a real battle, with real weapons, he’s smart enough to know that he doesn’t know everything, and he isn’t always able to handle any situation. He’s also got a great sense of humor!

Helen: Are there other characters in Mist who are particularly significant to you? Why?

Beth Anne: Well, Abby, the heroine, is of course close to my heart. In the earliest draft of this story, she was living my dream of going on a road trip in Scotland and meeting this sexy, fantastic Scotsman. In this version, she’s a completely different character. She’s been very affected by heartbreak and tragedy, and barely a day after her arrival in Scotland, she finds herself trapped in the past, not knowing how to communicate and what to say that won’t get her burned as a witch. At first she’s frozen with fear, but she’s able to find the strength necessary to survive. Alannah, whom we meet in 17th century Scotland, is also close to my heart. She leads a very lonely existence, outcast from her village, only called upon if her healing skills are required. She has no one but her animals for company, and no one to talk to. When Abby appears on her doorstep, she’s thrilled to finally have someone to talk to, even though she is suspicious of who Abby really is and how she came to be there. I think we’re all terrified of being alone, and Alannah is (I hope) a reflection of that fear.

Helen: Family is an important secondary theme to the romance in Into the Scottish Mist, both in the contemporary and past settings. Was that a deliberate focus for you, or did it evolve as the story developed?

Beth Anne: It was always a big part of the story. I feel very strongly that family is so important, in real life and in fiction as well. So many of us are shaped by our parents—in good ways and in bad ways too, and I wanted to give my characters strong familial connections. Abby is drawn back to Scotland, and ultimately back to Ian, by a family tragedy. Although she’s been apart from Ian for years, his family welcomes her back with open arms, which is a huge source of comfort to her. Ian is extremely close to his parents and his brother Robbie, who had a much bigger role in an earlier version of the story, but I had to trim it way down in the interest of keeping the focus in the right place. And Alannah, whom we meet when Abby travels back in time, has had to get by without much family, and this has caused her to be very much alone.

Helen: Do you think any of those other characters might have stories of their own waiting in the wings to be told?

Beth Anne: It’s a definite possibility! Alannah really wants to find her happily ever after, so I’d like to accommodate her. And I also really love Robbie, Ian’s brother. He’s a little grouchy with me right now, because he lost out on a lot of face time in the final version of this story, but maybe we can find him a story of his own.

Helen: Into the Scottish Mist is being published in just a few days—a tremendously exciting moment for every debut author. How do you plan to celebrate?

Beth Anne: I think a gathering at the local Scottish pub is part of the plan. Kilted bartenders, whisky, and friends. Since I can’t get to the Scottish Highlands just now, that’s the next best thing! If anyone knows the cover model, please let him know! I know some people who want to meet him…

Helen: And is there a next book waiting in the wings? Or do you have other plans?

Beth Anne: I have some other things in the works that I’m hoping to spend more time with in the coming months. I have a few YA projects in the works—a nautical adventure and a gothic-ish romance, as well as a fantasy romance which focuses around an ancient warrior under a mysterious spell.

Helen: I always love that feeling of more stories waiting in the wings and wondering where they may take you! All part of the fun of being an author. Beth Anne, I am thrilled to have been able to have you as my guest here on the Supernatural Underground today. A first novel debut is always a very special moment and I know that we all wish you the very best for the success of Into the Scottish Mist.

And Supe readers, if you have questions for Beth Anne please feel free to post them here—I know she will do her best to answer them!

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This Month's Giveaway: [Open to all Supe followers, US or international.]

To celebrate Beth Anne's author debut and the launch of Mist, we have a Grand Romantic Giveaway Package of signed author copies for you today, which comprises – drum roll! –

• 1 x copy of Into the Scottish Mist;
• 1 x copy of Nalini Singh's Play of Passion; and
• 1 each of Tracey O'Hara's Night Cold's Kiss and her hot-off-the-press, next-in-series Death's Sweet Embrace.

My thanks to Beth Anne, for supporting the interview with a giveaway of Into the Scottish Mist, and also to Nalini and Tracey for their very generous donation of the books to make up such a very grand Romantic Giveaway Package.

To enter the draw just post a question or a comment here for Beth Anne. As always, you can earn points (i.e. the number of times your name goes into the draw) 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 or my Helen Lowe on Anything Really blog on your own blog/website.

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. The contest will close at midnight EST today, Tuesday 1 February and the winner will be drawn by Random Number Generator.

Please don’t forget to check back after the closing date to see if you’ve won, or leave an email address where I can get in contact with you. If the prize has not been claimed by midnight EST on February 4, I will re-draw.

Thank you all for supporting Beth Anne's debut and participating on the Supernatural Underground today.

What came out of her little sister's brain...

My sister is vacationing at the beach and has been reading my book, Song of Scarabaeus. With six young children, she hasn’t found it easy to get through more than 20 minutes at a time, but she just texted me to say she finished it, she loved it, and she can’t wait for the next one. Wow. “I can’t believe all these ideas came out of my little sister's brain,” she tells me. (It shouldn’t surprise her. We spent our childhoods keeping each other awake at night telling stories, and filled our vacation time by drawing comic strips and typing out silly ditties on our typewriters.)

Almost a year after the book’s release, it still amazes me when someone tells me they enjoyed it. Is this reaction of mine just a lingering effect of being on debut-author cloud nine? I don’t know. I wrote the kind of book I wanted to read – smart female protagonist in a no-win situation, sexy hero/sidekick, strong scientific elements, interesting secondary characters, and loads of action. Every time I read a nice review on a blog or on Amazon, I think, “Yay! Someone else ‘got it’.” Someone else wants to read the kind of book I want to read, the kind of book I wrote.

Last week, much to my astonishment, my book was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. Heady stuff. But I’ll be honest: hearing my sister enthuse about my book – my big sister, who almost never reads fiction – means even more to me.

Only the Lonely?

I've heard all my writing life that writing is a lonely occupation. It's true that the only players in real life are your mind and your computer. But that doesn't mean you have to spend those long hours writing alone. You have your characters for company.

While writing a book, I become very tangled up in the lives of the characters, especially the series characters who continue from book to book. I'd love to meet them in real life. Well, not the villains, especially.

Maliha Crayne, the  protagonist of my Mortal Path series, is a complicated person, starting with the fact that she's over 300 years old. If you passed her on the street, you'd see a beautiful woman in her late twenties or early thirties, very fit, with a confident walk, and alert. Someone who wouldn't automatically smile at you or even acknowledge your presence, yet you'd be sure she'd sized you up--predator or prey--with a glance. Maliha doesn't open up easily, but if you do make it to her inner circle of friends, she'll risk everything for you. She used to be a demon's assassin, but now she saving lives, working toward specific goals. She's a powerful martial artist and can see auras, run very fast, and heal fast. I love being in her company. She's exciting, unpredictable, and does everything I wish I could do.

Maliha's friend Hound was a medic in the Viet Nam war. He came home severely injured, but this many years later he gets around well enough with his body scarred. He's a private eye with shady government contacts. Maliha uses him for investigations and he sometimes travels in the field with her. He's impulsive, argumentative, and sometimes rough, yet he can be funny too. He has a strong moral code of his own devising that seems to allow killing anyone he determines needs killing.There are a lot of fascinating stories in his life, and I'd love to take him to a bar and listen to them over a few beers.

Amaro is another of Maliha's circle of friends. He was saved from a Brazilian shantytown when gang violence threatened. He's young, a hottie, wealthy, and could have any woman he wanted. A former bad boy hacker, he now makes his living helping companies with their computer security. His skills are crucial to Maliha, since he alters computer records before and after the fact to keep her exploits hidden. Amaro is lighthearted and a free spirit, although he takes his computer work seriously. His sister Rosie nags him to settle down and have a family as she has done, but he's not ready for that. Amaro could lavish all his attention on me, and I definitely wouldn't be lonely!

Xia Yanmeng rounds out those of Maliha's friends who know about her abilities and goals. He and his wife are survivors of China's Cultural Revolution. Yanmeng and Maliha love each other deeply but it isn't the passionate kind. Yanmeng is a remote viewer who can see Maliha anywhere in the world, if she permits it. Yanmeng is an excellent martial artist, but generally doesn't go with Maliha in the field. He is a very spiritual person who is learning to spend time on higher planes of existence, and is gradually leaving behind Earthly concerns. For now, he is someone Maliha can talk to who will give her an absolutely honest answer, and he serve as a guide for her on her own quest. There is so much to admire in and learn from Yanmeng, I don't think I'd ever tire of his company.

Finally, Maliha has a friend who doesn't know about her age and her compelling backstory. Randy Baxter, corporate analyst in her late twenties, is the girlfriend Maliha can socialize with and get away from all of the burdens and serious nature of her life. She and Randy go to clubs, talk about dates, and talk to each other late at night on the phone. Randy is pure escape for Maliha, and even sets her up on the blind date where she meets her lover Jake for the first time. Jake seems wonderful, but Maliha knows he's holding something back. With Jake, she always thinks, "I love him, but...". Whether Randy is excited about her new love or in the dumps about breaking up, she's interesting and a bit of a challenge to know. I like her, and she's not so different from real life friends, so working with her in a book comes easily.

With this group clamoring for attention when I write, there's no time to even consider loneliness!

What fictional characters would you like to spend time with, and why? Anyone who's company you just couldn't stand?

Lightning Round!

Because I'm in the middle of deadline dementia, I really struggled with what to write about today. In a bid for absolute slackery—what? that's what Twitter is for—I threw out a call for something to answer.

I got a handful of questions and I chose one, but more on that later. Today's Underground post is going to be a Lightning Round!

You ready? Pull down your goggles, folks, and let's hit it.

You Wants It, Preciousssss

Did you see this? Have I not thrown it around like the absolute crack that it is?

But wait, there's more! No, really, there is. Would you like another peek at Jessie and Silas? Are you feeling properly voyeuristic? Want an eyeful of eyecandy?

I'm talking, like, eyecandy, man. More eyecandy than a single eye can safely take in! More than two eyes can handle; epic eyecandy of doom.

...But I'm not going to reveal it here. What's the fun in that? No, instead, you must work for it. You must fall to your knees in supplication and demand—yes, I said demand!—your taste of the good stuff!

Or... you can sign up for my newsletter by clicking this rather verbose link. Don't worry; it only takes a moment, and I promise not to fill your inbox with the utter deliciousness that is my glistening spam-meats. Four newsletters a year. First dibs at some contests, up to date release news and even exclusive excerpts.

Especially nice for those of you who don't want to put up with my barrage of spam-like gibbets on Twitter and Facebook. (See what I did there? Yeah, you can follow me there, too, if you really can't get enough of me.)

So do it. Do eet. You can unsubscribe at any time.

A Rose By Any Other Name is Totally Not a Rose

How do you decide on names for your characters? Sometimes names are symbolic sometimes just smexy. How do you do the name-voodoo that you do so well?

/via Sharon S., Facebook

When I put out the call for people to ask me any questions they wanted, I thought this one would be a great one to answer here at the Supernatural Underground. Why? Several reasons: 1) Sharon's a fab Supernatural Underground fan. 2) It lets me talk about Blood of the Wicked some. And 3) She used the word "smexy". I love that word.

Don't worry... I've got some more questions to answer and I will! Check back at Teatime Iniquity to see what I've got to say. Usually, a lot.

I have no tried and true formula for naming. Names are, you know, names. Like book. Bell. Bird. And other things beginning with B. Whenever I think about names and naming conventions, I always flash to that scene in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

Ahhhhh...! What's happening? Er, excuse me, who am I? Hello? Why am I here? What's my purpose in life? What do I mean by who am I? Calm down, get a grip now... Oh! This is an interesting sensation, what is it? It's a sort of...yawning, tingling sensation in my...my...well, I suppose I'd better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway in what for the sake of what I shall call an argument I shall call the world, so let’s call it my stomach. So, a yawning tingling sensation in my stomach Good. Ooooh, it’s getting quite strong. And hey, what about this whistling, roaring sound going past what I'm suddenly going to call my head? That can be... Wind! Is that a good name? Oh er, It’ll do... perhaps I can find a better name for it later when I've found out what it’s for because there certainly seems to be a hell of a lot of it. Hey! What's this thing? This... let's call it a tail. Yeah! Tail. Hey! I can really thrash it about pretty good, can't I? Wow! Wow! Hey doesn’t seem to achieve much but I'll probably find out what it's for later on. Now, have I built up any coherent picture of things yet? No. Oh hey, this is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, I'm quite dizzy with anticipation... Or is it the wind? Hey! There really is a lot of that now, isn't there? And wow! What's this thing suddenly coming toward me very fast? Very, very fast. So big and flat and wide it needs a big wide-sounding word like ...ow...ound...round...ground! That's it! Ground! I wonder if it'll be friendly?

/BBC Productions, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

In short, if it sounds good, I use it. Then that name becomes part of the character, and it's as if that character never had any other name. Nor could it belong to any other character; Silas is Silas. There is only one Naomi.

All that said? I do have a bit of a process. It goes like this:

ME: "I just finished listening to Neil Gaiman's audiobook of The Graveyard Book. He has such a wonderful voice. Oh, and the way he wrote and read for Silas was just so. Freaking. Good. Silas. Yeah. Hey, what a name. That's a good name. Nice and strong, but old-fashioned. I like the way Neil said the name. Silas. Silas. Si-las. I think I like it. Have I said that? I do. Maybe I'll use it. Hey, I should write something now. What about? Oh, you know. Witches and witch hunters. Ooh. You know, Silas has a bit of a Biblical sound to it. Witch hunter. Totally. You know what else has a Biblical sound to it? Jonas. Now there's a fine name."

MANCANDY: "I like Jakob."

ME: "Shut up, you already used Jakob to death. Ooh, Jake's a good name, but I always see him as a blond."

MANCANDY: [blond]


Me: "...Shut up."

And so on, so forth. If you've spoken with me or watched my video blogs, you know I think and speak exactly like that.

And then there are the names I steal from the mancandy. Ian Black. Alex Bishop. He used them for characters first. Then again, he's stolen names from me, too. So it's sort of fair. Like marriage. What's his is mine, and what's mine is mine... Wait.

Lend Me Your Gibbets!

Actually, don't. Keep your gibbets. What I would like, however, are your suggestions.

I finished Karen Marie Moning's Shadowfever on Tuesday. Yes, last Tuesday. Yes, the day it came out—Look, you aren't judging me, right? Right! So, what I need from you are suggestions.

Come, my paranormal fetishists! What books are you really digging right now?

The Random Stuff

Bring on the TMI!

Actually, not so much. I'd invite you into my bedroom, but it's kind of a mess and I'm sure it's far too small. So instead, here's a quickie. Wait, not... Look, okay, try to keep up?

I've had the plague. The zombie plague. Well, I didn't eat gibbets—golly, why is that word so prolific up in here?—but I did lose a week to whatever not-zombie plague dance I got all wrapped up in. This means it's not just deadline dementia over here, it's downright disturbia.

One day, I want to write a series with Disturbia as the title.

Which is kind of related but actually separate from my deeply rooted desire to write a series of books with random song lyrics as the title.

I digress...

Now that I'm getting over the plague, I'm back to writing. But I need a new office chair, because holy mother of all things made of cheese, my sciatic nerve has been killing me.

It gets better when I don't spend eight hours in my crappy office chair, but hello? Author. Livelihood. Etc. So I've been scoping out chairs. Any suggestions, my deliciously seated friends?

Otherwise, it's business as usual at my place. Lots of glamor (coughhackliecough) and lots and lots and lots of caffeine.

In News That Happened to Other People

Colleen Gleason got her tweet scoped out by The Jersey Shore, yo. Seriously. Right now—well, okay, not now because she's probably out snogging with her big gorilla juicehead sent from God, but soon!—Snooki will be praying that Colleen gets a big gorilla juicehead all her very own.

Merrie Destefano got her newsletter up! If you're going to get mine, you really should sign up for hers, too. She's worked her poor fingers to the bone for you all. To the bone. 42 hours of labor she suffered for you, and the least you could do is call your mother. All day long over the stove, and what do you do? You don't eat your carrots. All day long—Wait, where was I?

Oh, yes. Go get her newsletter.

Hey! Did you know that Chuck Wendig knows your dirty, dirty secret? You know, that one. That one. No, not that one. Not that one, either. Dude—don't tell that one. I mean the other one: the one about how you really, really don't want to be a writer. Oh, yeah. He knows. And now everyone does, too.

But guess what? He's knows the other one, too. Your other dirty little secret. The one that says screw that noise, you totally want to be a writer.

...Are you overwhelmed yet? Then I shall consider this a job well done and go back to my own corner of this disturbed little dementia land.

Bye!

Love ya!

....Mean it!

Special Ebook Promo!

Just a quick note to let all you Supernatural Underground readers know that if you've been wanting to try my dystopian paranormal romance series, now's a great time to jump into the fray!

HarperCollins is offering the first two ebooks at special promotional prices for a limited time!

Beyond the Night for $1.99 at Amazon and B&N

Embrace the Night Eternal for $3.99 at Amazon
and B&N

Enjoy!