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 winners and diversity tour

hello undies!!

do forgive me that i had to close the
contest early as i realized i'll be leaving
on the diversity tour this week and wanted
to be able to mail out the book prizes before
then. thank you so much for the tremendous
response! in the end, i'm giving away NINE
sets of Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix
and the books are headed to NC, Ontario, WI,
LA, GA and Portugal, from responses so far!

the winners:

sharon s.
yzhabella
lori lee
shanna clemens
a. j.
lauren
mairead
minhchieu
mikabooks

i've contacted all winners as best i can
but please email me your mailing address
if you haven't responded! pon.cindy@gmail.com





as for the diversity tour, it's something that
malinda lo (Ash and Huntress) and i spearheaded
together when we realized both our asian inspired
fantasy YA novels were going to be released within
a week of each other. we decided to celebrate diversity
in young adult books (which is inclusive of people
of color and lgbt protagonists) and invited other
authors to join us at each stop. if you're near the
san francisco, austin, chicago, boston or new york
city areas, do stop by! it's going to be an amazing tour.

for full details, check out http://diversityinya.com.

i can't wait--it's my first official book tour. wish me luck! =D

San Francisco, California

Saturday, May 7 at 3 p.m.
San Francisco Public Library (Main Library)
Latino-Hispanic Room
100 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102

Highlighting Asian American YA books with authors Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, Gene Luen Yang, and J.A. Yang.

Austin, Texas

Monday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m.
BookPeople
603 N. Lamar
Austin TX 78703

With authors Bethany Hegedus, Malinda Lo, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Cindy Pon, Dia Reeves, and Jo Whittemore, and moderated by Varian Johnson.

Chicago, Illinois

Tuesday, May 10 from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m.
Barbara’s Books
1218 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60607

With authors Malinda Lo, Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, Nnedi Okorafor, and Cindy Pon.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Thursday, May 12 at 7 p.m.
Cambridge Public Library (Main Library)
Lecture Hall
449 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02138

With authors Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan, Deva Fagan, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, and Francisco X. Stork, and moderated by Roger Sutton.

New York, New York

Friday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
208 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10011

Highlighting LGBT YA books with authors Cris Beam, David Levithan, Malinda Lo, and Jacqueline Woodson.

Saturday, May 14 at 1 p.m.
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011

With authors Matt de la Peña, Malinda Lo, Kekla Magoon, Neesha Meminger, Cindy Pon, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Rita Williams-Garcia, Jacqueline Woodson and moderated by Cheryl Klein.

When the Going Gets Tough—What’re You Gonna Reach For?

The traditional answer may be “the top shelf” and whatever liquourous substance there looks up for the job. Alternatively, scrambling around for the ghostbusters’ direct dial may seem like the right option. While I do not disregard either option, I have to confess that when the going gets really tough for me, I tend to go all out: I reach for the comfort read.

A comfort read comes from that space on the shelf (or I suppose—adopts grudging tone—contained within the recesses of the e-reader) reserved for books that are like old friends. I can just pick them up, put my feet up and enjoy. I know I am going to be entertained—I have, after all, known and loved these particular friends for many years—and there is something deeply relaxing about spending quality time in company with a story like that. Sure, a new release or new-to-me book may be just as good. But then again, it may not. And when the going gets tough, I like to know I’m turning to friends I can rely on.

The other great thing about the comfort read is that, like any other old friend, it does not demand time and energy in the way that new books often do. Too often, the new book insists on being read into the wee small hours if need be—and to the exclusion of looming deadlines, meals, family commitments … The comfort read, on the other hand, is happy to be worked in around the rest of the schedule and be called on as more pressing commitments permit …

So what are some of my comfort reads, those books that restore and sustain? Just about anything by Georgette Heyer has to be right up there. I find her often absurd—but dashing—heroes, madcap heroines and their humorous entanglements in Georgian England enduringly entertaining. I tend to like the adventurous stories best, in part because of the adventure but also because they are often the most romantic stories as well. I’m talking These Old Shades, The Masqueraders, The Talisman Ring—although some of the more madcap tales, like The Grand Sophy, Friday’s Child and Cotillion are also longstanding favorites.

In the Fantasy realm, books such as Robin McKinley’s Beauty, The Blue Sword, and Sunshine, as well as Patricia McKillip’s The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy or The Changeling Sea have all stood the test of time. Their characters are interesting, the magical landscapes absorbing, there’s also adventure and romance to be found within the pages—and with both these writers I find a gentleness, intelligence and beauty to the stories that draw me back again and again. And every time I find something new within the pages.

And, of course, Pride and Prejudice is always there in pride of place. Wit, irony and the path of true love realized—I’m really not surprised this book has endured for two hundred years.

These are only a small sample of the works that reside on my "comfort read shelf", but all the books thereon share two ingredients (besides being fine entertaining stories and very well told) that I suspect are essential for any comfort read. They all end (more or less, but mostly more) happily ever after—and when the reader comes to the final line, the world of the tale is left “as it should be.”

So how about you, Supernatural Underground readers? When the going gets tough, do you ever reach for the comfort read? And if so, what are some of your favorites?

---


Supernatural Underground author Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet and interviewer. Her latest novel, The Heir of Night, the first of THE WALL OF NIGHT quartet, is recently published in the USA, UK, Australia & NZ. Her first novel, Thornspell, (Knopf, 2008) won the 2009 Sir Julius Vogel Award for “Best Novel, Young Adult.” Helen blogs every day on her Helen Lowe on Anything, Really site and on the 1st of every month right here on the Supernatural Underground.

What's In A Blurb

Congratulations - the winner of the giveaway is semicircles! Please contact me at LCypess@gmail.com with your address and your second book choice!

For the curious: The entries were all very varied and interesting, but breaking it down, we have about 34 people who said they always or sometimes are influenced by blurbs, and 14 who said they never or rarely care about them.

It’s an interesting experience to have a first book that releases in both hardcover and paperback. With the hardcover, you get the thrill of seeing your book in print for the first time – and there’s nothing that beats that – but the second comes with all sorts of pleasant surprises, and one of the most pleasant is the presence of blurbs. In the year since the hardcover release, people have said nice things about Mistwood. And there they are on the paperback!

Blurbs make an author feel good (trust me), but the constant question in publishing is: Do they actually have any effect on the reader? What I’ve heard from some people is that the answer is age dependent – in adult publishing, the consensus is that blurbs do affect readers; in YA, probably not to a great extent; and in mid-grade, probably not at all. Of course, as with most information in publishing, this is based on a strenuous and scientific review of five pieces of anecdotal evidence. So, I’m curious: do blurbs affect your buying decisions? Will they make you look at a book more closely? Do you even notice them?

Let us know what you think in the comments, and you’ll be entered in a giveaway to win a signed copy of the Mistwood paperback – plus a copy of any book by any of my wonderful blurbers, your choice! (Yes, this is a token of appreciation. And if it gives me an excuse to list them, well, I can live with that.)

The blurbers are: Tamora Pierce, Aprilynne Pike, Megan Whalen Turner, Juliet Marillier, Sarah Rees Brennan, Sharon Shinn, and Cindy Pon. There are a LOT of awesome books to choose from there, people. Giveaway ends May 5.

The Brain That Ate Manhattan

... Except I don't live anywhere near Manhattan, so I guess I should say "the brain that ate Seattle". Since I sort of feel like this, some days.

Sometimes, people ask me, "How did you know you wanted to be a writer?" Quite frankly, I didn't. But that answer is hardly the exciting kerfuffle people are looking for, so I always have to make something up. "I sent a message to myself from ten years in the future," I say, "rolled up in a wine bottle and covered in gold dust and gourmet chocolate. It says, 'Karina, you totally want to be a writer.'" If I can't trust myself, who can I trust?

But the truth of it is much less awesome. The fact is, it's not that I've known all my life that I wanted to write. More like, my brain refuses to shut up.

This actually has a point to the subject at hand.

Ever since I was a kid, my brain has always been active. Thinking, processing, getting sidetracked. On and on, in cyclical discourses with itself and imaginary voices. I was the bane of my schools, too fidgety, too active, too bored by standard busy work. I'm sure I have some form of ADHD, since my dad has it and I'm exactly like him.

But because of this constant brain noise, a chatter that followed me into adulthood and all associated slavery therein, I was a bit of a career gypsy. Just as soon as I figured out everything about the job, as soon as I could do it without thinking about it—to wit, as soon as it no longer required brain power to do it—I found something else to do.

But writing is something different. For ten years, give or take the occasional slacker delay, I was able to really direct that brain chatter into something that never, ever seemed to get easier. No matter how many books I complete, how many characters I make, how many plots I make, it never stops being hard. Good hard, the kind of hard that keeps me engaged and focused and, yes, swearing, but good.

Just not easier.

And that's the beauty of doing what I do.

So I have to ask: all of you with careers you love, or hobbies that you absolutely must do to be happy, what is it that keeps you engaged with it? What do you like that keeps you there and eagerly going for more?

Who am I? I'm a paranormal romance author for Avon Romance, with my first book coming out May 31st, 2011. What does this mean? It means there will be murder, mayhem, and some seriously sexy hijinks afoot. Don't miss it!

Book Addicts Anonymous

Congratulations to Johanna, who won the signed copy of The Undead Next Door! Thank you all for the very interesting comments! Please come back next month (the 25th of each month) for another chance at winning a signed book.

I'm going to make this short since I have to admit to being a bit frazzled. I have contest entries to judge, final page proofs to read, the clock running on completing my next full-length book, two interviews and a blog to write, and a speech to polish up that I'm giving next weekend at the Heart of Dixie Readers' Luncheon in Huntsville, Alabama (hope to see some of you there!) And as hectic as all that sounds, it's fairly normal for writers. We tend to live with an ever-constant sensation of impending doom. Why? Good question. Maybe we thrive on drama and conflict. Maybe I'm guilty of poor time management or an inability to tell people 'no.' Or maybe I'm hoping that if I stay really busy no one will realize I have no idea what I'm doing. Whatever the reasons, the underlying cause is basically this: I love books.

I love to read, and that love led me to writing. I love the whole business of books so much that I get swamped. One time I was so engrossed in writing that I got a phone call from the elementary school. School had let out twenty minutes earlier, and I'd forgotten to pick up my daughter! How embarrassing! Luckily, my daughter never held it against me. She understood, because she already loved books, too. Fellow readers understand the addiction... and the consequences. Supper gets burned. You go to work after a measly two hours of sleep.

What crazy thing has happened to you because you couldn't put down a book? Leave a comment and a lucky winner will receive a signed copy of The Undead Next Door. And many thanks to all of you for your support! Vampire Mine has survived three weeks on the bestseller lists!

Cons and their differences

This blog post is coming to you from Perth, Australia's most western city.

I'm at another convention - this time the Australian National Science Fiction Convention. These are the conventions that I've been attending and loving for the past seven years - a time with friends, meeting like-minded folks and have a great time.

Two weeks ago, I was at a very different convention - RT in LA. While there's a huge difference in size, the set up of the conventions isn't that different - panels and workshops during the day, social events at night, fun for all.

But there is one MAJOR difference between romance and sci fi cons - author-provided swag.

At sci fi cons, there's no overt author promotion. No posters up of upcoming books. No bookmarks or fabulous little bits and bobs to give away. You see authors on panels, you see them in the bar but they don't market the way romance authors do at romance cons. I was at a con once where one of the publishers, celebrating a milestone, did have up a display of author photographs - every one of them was graffiteed.

The first time I walked into a romance con and saw the piles of pens and postcards and paraphernalia, I was stunned - it was so beyond my experience. But the readers seem to love it. And then I go into romance specialty bookstores and I see it there as well.

This is one of the elements of the romance community that I particularly love - the pride, the preparedness to stick the chest out and say 'here we are, aren't we fabulous?'

So what do you think, friends? Do you like the author-produced swag? Let me know.