Year: 2011

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    Back to print …

    14 Comments

    Well, I have a bit of good news to report: Venom is going back for another printing. Huzzah!

    This will make the third printing for Venom. Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies are in their third printings as well. Now, I don’t have huge print runs to start with and these subsequent printings are pretty small (5,000 more copies this time around for Venom). But the books seem to keep selling at a very steady pace, which is good.

    Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to all the book reviewers and bloggers out there for spreading the word about the series and of course to all the readers for giving my books a chance. You guys rock! 😉

  • Blogs, blogs, blogs …

    17 Comments

    I like reading about books just as much as I like writing them. Probably more so, since reading books doesn’t come with pesky things like copy edits or deadlines. LOL.

    Today, I wanted to give a shout-out and say thanks to all the book reviewers and bloggers out there. You guys are so instrumental in getting the word out about so many great books, and I thank you for that.

    Book blogs are like my own personal form of crack. I probably look at about 20 book sites a day, not only so I can keep up with what’s going on but just to find new books and authors to add to my TBR pile. So I thought I’d share some cool book blogs with you guys today. Here goes:

    All About Romance

    Babbling About Books, and More

    Bitten by Books

    Fiction Vixen

    Literary Escapsim

    LovLivLife Reviews

    SciFi Guy

    Smexy Books

    Supernatural Snark

    The Book Smugglers

    I could go on all day. There are literally dozens and dozens of great book blogs out there. This is by no means an exhaustive list — just a place for you to get started if you’re hungry for book news like I am. What about you guys? What are some of your favorite book sites? Share in the comments.

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    First Frost e-short story …

    6 Comments

    Well, I’ve turned in the page proofs so I guess I can announce this now: I’m doing an e-short story for the Mythos Academy series.

    The story is called First Frost and is a prequel to Touch of Frost, the first book in the series that’s coming out on July 26 from Kensington. Basically, First Frost fills in some of the details of how and why Gwen winds up going to Mythos Academy and gives folks a sneak peak at the academy and some of the characters there. It’s sort of like the Spider’s Bargain short story that I wrote for the Elemental Assassin series.

    First Frost is about 40 pages long (around 11,000 words), and I believe the plan is to offer the story as a 99-cent download through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. (Although don’t quote me on that just yet.) I’m told that the story will be released in July. I’m assuming early July since Touch of Frost is out on July 26, but I don’t have a firm release date yet or exactly how this is going to work.

    Now, because my publisher is releasing the story as an e-book, that means that I can’t post it here on my website. I’ll probably be able to post the first page or two as a teaser, but that’s it. We haven’t worked out all the details yet.

    I know some folks will be disappointed that the story isn’t available on my site for free. But I thought letting my publisher offer it as a download would be a really good marketing opportunity and hopefully attract some new readers, not only for the Mythos Academy series but for my Elemental Assassin series as well.

    E-books and short e-reads are really taking off right now, and I think offering the story as a download is a smart thing to do. More people visit Amazon, etc. than look at my website. Maybe having a 99-cent download will convince more folks to surf on over here and try my books. I don’t know, but I figured that it was worth a shot.

    Of course, you don’t have to read First Frost to enjoy Touch of Frost, but if you like bonus material, you might enjoy it.

    I’ll post more details, including the cover, when I get them …

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    Oh, the plots we weave …

    8 Comments

    As some of you know, I am totally addicted to TV. Seriously, I watch waaay too many programs every week, and one of my favorites is Gossip Girl. Now, this year hasn’t been as good as previous years — until the writers decided to hook up rich bitch Blair with Brooklyn boy Dan.

    I am love-love-loving this pairing. Why? Well, for one thing, Blair and Dan have never liked each other, but they’ve slowly become friends this year based on their mutual love of movies and art. It’s been fun to watch them inch toward each other. They’ve always been two of the nicest and most loyal characters on the show — Blair with Chuck (who is an ass most of the time), and Dan with Serena (who is flighty and selfish most of the time). I like the idea that Blair and Dan could be loyal to and happy with each other for a change.

    But really, it’s the plot that’s got me hooked because it’s an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers plot. Romance readers and authors talk about plots all the time — the secret-baby plot, the friends-to-lovers plot, the second-chance-at-love plot.

    There are tons of them out there, but one of my favorites is the friends-to-lovers plot. Why? Because I think it’s one of the most realistic plots. Love (or lust) at first sight is great, but to me, there’s something magical about watching or reading about two people becoming friends, then realizing their feelings have turned into something more. It just makes me sigh with happiness every single time.

    This is probably why I’m also addicted to romantic comedies and all those cheesy TV holiday movies — because so many of them feature the friends-to-lovers plot or a modern-day variation of the marriage-of-convenience plot, which is another one of my favorites.

    So I’m rooting for you, Blair and Dan. May your friendship turn into something more. Even if it doesn’t last, I think it will be entertaining to watch. I just wish it was April and Gossip Girl was back from its spring break already …

    What about you guys? Which TV shows are you digging? Which plots do you love?