Year: 2011

  • Anticipation …

    32 Comments

    I can’t remember which blog I saw this on, but not too long ago, I read a post where someone said that buying a book is actually better than reading it.

    I think that person was onto something.

    I love going to the bookstore to browse through all the newest releases, I’ve got a long, long list of Amazon pages bookmarked on my computer, and I read most of the reviews in Romantic Times every month looking for new books. I eagerly await the release date of books by my favorite authors, and I usually buy a book that I’m looking forward to the first week that it comes out.

    But sometimes, once I get that much-anticipated book, it sits in my TBR pile for weeks … if not months. For example, I got Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins back in August … and I have yet to read them.

    Hangs head in shame.

    Why do I do this? Well, if I’m on deadline, stuffing envelopes, or whatever, sometimes I just don’t have time to stop and read a book. Other times, I’m in the middle of a book already or have something else that I need to read first. Sometimes, I’m just not in the mood to read.

    So why do I go ahead and buy the book anyway, even though I know I may not get to it for awhile? I blame the anticipation factor. There’s something about picking up a book with a cool cover, being intrigued by the cover blurb, and bringing that book home from the store.

    Just holding a new book in my hand fills me with anticipation. Maybe I’ll discover a great new author, maybe the book will be the perfect blend of romance and adventure, maybe I’ll fall in love with the characters, maybe it will be the best book I’ve read all year, maybe the writing will be so great that I’ll wish I could write something half as good.

    Maybe … maybe I need some serious help when it comes to my book addiction. LOL.

    What about you guys? Do you think the anticipation of a good read is better than actually reading a book?

  • Just a reminder …

    I mean to post this every month, but it doesn’t always happen. Anyway, this is a reminder that I do a monthly e-newsletter that features my latest news, a couple of book recommendations, and a recipe. I also give away books to subscribers every month just for being subscribed to the newsletter list.

    To sign up for the newsletter, click over to the home page and fill out the form on the right-hand side of the page. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. I try to cross post and link to all of the major stuff (my book news, cover art, reviews, etc.) on all of the sites, but that doesn’t always happen either. LOL.

    Anyway, go forth and sign up, if you wish. Hope everyone has a great weekend! 😉

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    Gin and ghosts, oh my …

    16 Comments

    I’ve signed the contract and turned in the story is so I guess I can finally announce this. I’ve been invited to write a story for The Mammoth Book of Ghost Romance anthology — and it’s going to be a Gin story. 😉

    Right now, I’m calling it Haints and Hobwebs: An Elemental Assassin short story, although that title might change a bit. And since someone will probably ask this, some folks in the South use the word haint for ghost, and I thought it would be a cool variation to use in the story.

    The story takes place in between the events of Tangled Threads and Spider’s Revenge. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, so I’ll just say that the story is told from Gin’s point of view and has her doing what she does best — which is taking care of business as the Spider.

    The book will be out in October 2011. I don’t have a list of the other authors writing stories, but according to this post I found on Carolyn Crane’s website, she’ll be one of them.

    I’m really, really thrilled about this. It’s such a cool honor to be invited to participate in an anthology, especially one of the Mammoth anthologies, which I’ve heard so many great things about. As a reader, I love anthologies — I think they’re a great way to try several authors for one price. As an author, I’ve been wanting to be part of an anthology for a while now and hopefully pick up some new readers who may not have tried my work before.

    Anyway, I’ll post more details — including the exact release date — when I have them. But for right now, here’s a preliminary version of the cover art. Enjoy!

  • And the title is …

    22 Comments

    Well, we’ve finally decided on a title for Elemental Assassin #5 — Spider’s Revenge. Huzzah!

    I think the title bookends nicely with Spider’s Bite. I’ve always said that the Gin/Mab conflict would go for five books, so I don’t think I”m giving too much away when I say that the two of them go head-to-head in Spider’s Revenge. There’s also lots of good Finn and Bria stuff in this book. 😉

    Of course, I’d love it if the series went beyond five books. In fact, I’ve already started thinking about the plot for book #6 — and I’m hoping there will be a book #6. Fingers crossed anyway.

    Not sure when the book will be up for pre-order or when I might get some cover art — probably not until late this spring. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted.


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    Touch of Frost Excerpts …

    21 Comments

    I’ve actually had some free time lately, so I’ve (slowly) been going through and updating the website. One of the things I’ve done is post the first two chapters of Touch of Frost on the Excerpts page. Click here to read the chapters.

    Touch of Frost is the first book in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series about Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old girl with pyschometry magic, or the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. After a seri­ous freak-out with her magic, Gwen finds her­self shipped off to Mythos Acad­emy, a school for the descen­dants of ancient war­riors like Spar­tans, Valkyries, and more. Hopefully, the first two chapters will give everyone a sense of what the story/magic/ world building are like in the series.

    I’ve also created a Mythos Academy page that has frequently asked questions, characters, a tour of campus, and other information on it. I’m still working on the website/pages, but I wanted to let everyone know about the new excerpts and info.

    Happy reading! 😉