Joss in Lockdown Mode=Special Giveaway Day

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! WINNERS POSTED SHORTLY.


Happy Tuesday everyone! It's sun-shiney here and it's going to be a lovely Indian Summer day here in Michigan. How about where you are?

I'm in writing lockdown on multiple deadlines, and preparing to head to Italy (I know! I know!!) for a mini book tour two weeks from today, so this is going to be a short but sweet post with a juicy little giveaway today. How's that?

Most of you probably know I also write a female vampire hunter series as Colleen Gleason (The Gardella Vampire Chronicles), and a week from today the world of the Gardellas will be featured in a new anthology called Bespelling Jane Austen.

Included in the anthology are Mary Balogh, myself, Susan Krinard and our own Supernatural Underground's Janet Mullany. Each of us has taken a Jane Austen novel and bespelled it--ie, given it a paranormal twist.

How much fun is that? So of course, I'm going to share the wealth with our Supernatural Underground readers and give away a copy of this lovely trade paperback anthology and the first book in my Gardella Vampire Chronicles series to two lucky winners.

That's right. Two winners. Two books each. Didn't I tell you it was gonna be juicy?

All you have to do to enter is comment below and tell me what your favorite classic novel is, and whether you'd like to see it "tweaked" or redone with a paranormal or erotic or contemporary twist...or whether you like it just the way it is.

Please share on FB and Twitter, too...you don't get extra credit for it, but we appreciate our readers helping to spread the word!

I'll draw winners tomorrow in hopes of getting the books out before the actual release date.

And by the way...if you like classic novels redone with an erotic twist, you might want to check out Colette Gale's versions of The Phantom of the Opera, The Count of Monte Cristo, and the Robin Hood love triangle. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

Bumping Jane Austen around

Contest is over ... and the winners of an ARC of Jane and the Damned are...
Nymfaux and Anne!
Please send your snailmail address to jmullany AT comcast DOT net.

... or, how I evolved into a paranormal writer.

Actually, it was quite simple. My editor asked me to become one.

I'm Janet Mullany and far too often in my life, my words, pronounced loud, frequently, and in public, come back to haunt me. Things like Who needs paranormal elements in Regencies? There's so much more interesting stuff in the period no one writes about and it's all true.

Another example was, Of course I'll never write about a nineteen year old virgin prancing around in drawing rooms. The result of that one was The Rules of Gentility, written for the same editor, who gave me this terrific opportunity to subject Jane Austen to blood, biting, and other unwholesome activities in Jane and the Damned, which will be released in October, 2010.

I had changed my mind about paranormal/fantasy elements during the Regency when I read, and was blown away by, Naomi Novik's amazing Temeraire series (I think she may have been one of the writers who prompted my original comment). But I never thought I'd write one or incorporate Austen into a book (You'll never catch me writing an Austen knock-off--oh, shut up already).

But when I thought about it I had dabbled in fantasy when I first started writing, because it was such fun to make stuff up. It still is. And I didn't know what I was writing or going to write then, so I was trying all sorts of things, and I wrote this scene, The Companions Are Chosen for the wonderful Toasted Cheese Literary Journal in 2001. I should point out that it is meant to be a parody, which is why there's so much alliteration and Smeg has (at least) three hands, but I didn't intend the Mighty Phlegm's name to change to Dork halfway through. These things happen.

So I'd never written vampires before and I had to forget all the vamps I'd ever read about: the ones with exhtra letters in their names, the excessively bloody ones, and Terry Pratchett's funny ones that are all about the girls in underwired nighties. I had to have vamps who would fit in in Georgian England (the book is set in 1797) because I wanted them to be "out" and visible in society. I broke some of the vampire rules--the Damned can go out in daylight, for instance, although they like to stay up late partying so they don't generally get up too early. (My critique partners said they sounded like teenagers.) They are oh so sophisticated and the ton adores them and the gossip papers report on their activities. And having a vamp suck your blood--or dine on you, as they'd say--is very, very pleasurable.

So what's not to love about being a vampire? They're damned, immortal but not indestructible, in a culture that takes heaven and hell very seriously. They have too much knowledge: they've seen too much, they've seen love fade, and they've learned not to regret anything.

On the other hand, they do manage to have a very good time. And so does Jane.

How do you feel about incorporating real characters like Jane Austen into fiction? Or which about books about her characters, sequels and prequels, have you read and would recommend?

I have two ARCs of Jane and the Damned to give away today! I'll pick winners by midnight (EST) Friday and post names of the winners at the top of this post on Saturday morning.

There's also a Damned Good Contest taking place on my website and some excerpts, so please go on over and take a look.