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    Widow’s Web bookmarks available …

    I now have bookmarks available for Widow’s Web, the seventh book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series that will be out on Aug. 21.

    Shown at left is the front of the bookmark. The back features the covers of the other Elemental Assassin books. The bookmark design was done by Kim at HOT DAMN Designs, and I think it looks really cool.

    Bookmarks are free to readers, bookstores, libraries, reading groups, etc. However, please note that I ask folks to send me a self-addressed stamped envelope with two first-class U.S. stamps (90 cents) on it in order to get the bookmarks (this helps me cover postage costs). If you are overseas, I ask that you send me a SASE with at least $2 in U.S. postage on it or include that much in international postage coupons with your envelope. Also, whether you are in the U.S. or overseas, be sure your return envelope is large enough to hold the bookmarks, which are 2 by 8 inches. 

    I still have bookmarks available for the other books in the Elemental Assassin series, as well as for those in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series. You can get bookmarks for either series or for both. Just include a note in your SASE stating which bookmarks you want. To find out how to get the bookmarks, e-mail me.

    Here’s a little more info about Widow’s Web. Please note that there are a few mild spoilers here, if you haven’t read By a Thread yet:

    My name is Gin, and I kill people. It’s something I’ve been doing for years as the assassin called Spider, but now, it’s turned into a necessity on my part just to survive all the lowlifes in Ashland who are gunning for me. The underworld is still in turmoil, and I seem to be on everyone’s hit list these days.

    To add to Gin’s problems, her lover Owen’s ex is in town. Salina is back in Ashland to reclaim an old family legacy — and she thinks that Owen is hers for the taking. Also in the mix is Phillip Kincaid, a casino owner and all-around shady character who has a mysterious connection to both Owen and Salina.

    Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but there’s more to her than meets the eye. Her water elemental magic makes her a dangerous enemy — and someone who can go toe-to-toe with Gin’s Ice and Stone power. But Gin is determined to get to the bottom of Salina’s deadly scheme, even though it just might cost her everything … including Owen.

    Widow’s Web is up for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and other booksellers. Hope everyone enjoys the book when it comes out.

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    The Avengers movie and Free Comic Book Day …

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    Well, it’s finally here. It’s May 4, which means that The Avengers movie is finally in theaters. Huzzah! I’ve really been looking forward to this one. I’m not sure if I’ll get to see it this weekend or not, but I’ll definitely be going to the movies sometime in the next few days to watch it.

    Also, tomorrow, May 5, is Free Comic Book Day. This is an annual event where comic books shops all across the U.S. and around the world give away free comic books.

    I’ll be signing books from 1-3 p.m. at Mountain Empire Comics in Bristol, Tenn. I believe other writers and graphic/comic artists will also be at the store as part of its annual Free Comic Book Day events.

    Wherever you are, I encourage you to get out and visit your local comic book store on Free Comic Book Day. It’s just a really cool, fun event.

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    Dark Frost blog tour …

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    I wanted to let everyone know that the blog tour for Dark Frost, the third book in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series, will kick off around Monday, May 21. The blog tour will run through about June 7 or so. Dark Frost will be published on May 29.

    I’ll be linking to the guest blogs here, as well as on my Facebook and Twitter pages. There will be giveaways of the book, and I’ll be doing some Q&As, sharing some excerpts, and more.

    Here is a description of the book. Note that this does have some mild spoilers if you haven’t read the other books in the series yet:

    I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall.  I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me — again.

    Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects — and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school.  But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way.  The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom.  So why do they have it in for me?  It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me — and I’m in for the fight of my life.

    You can read the first chapter of the book here. 

    Hope everyone enjoys the latest blog tour and the book when it is released. Happy reading!

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    Tidbits, observations, and thoughts from the RT convention …

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    Here are some more tidbits, observations, and thoughts from the RT Booklovers Convention:

    Bloggers: One thing I thought was interesting was that authors weren’t the only ones giving stuff away on promotion lane this year. I noticed that several bloggers had set out business cards and other goodies, like the ones shown here by Literary Escapism, Paperback Dolls, and Larissa’s Bookish Life. Blogging is a full-time job, just like writing a book is. I can’t even imagine how many review requests a blogger gets in a month, and I applaud them all for working so hard and doing so many reviews, giveaways, and other events. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to get the word out about books we love.

    E-publishing: There was a lot of talk about e-publishing, and I went to a couple of the e-pub panels, which I thought were interesting. I got the same message from a couple of the panels: that covers are important, along with producing a quality story, just like in traditional publishing.

    Everyone touts e-publishing as the next big thing, but really, it’s just like traditional publishing. Let me say that again: e-publishing is just like traditional publishing. Some people will be wildly successful, some folks will do okay, and some folks won’t sell enough copies to make back the money they invested in publishing their e-book. I did hear some folks advising people to be careful about scams, which I thought was good advice. Be careful with your money and your time. Do your homework and figure out what’s best for you and what you can afford to do. Really, that applies to whatever you do, not just publishing.

    Also, I thought it was interesting that some of the e-pub authors talked about making deals with Amazon, etc. to have their books on exclusive platforms, or exclusive for a set amount of time, and things like that. But if e-publishing is so great and you can make so much money doing it yourself, then why are authors making these kinds of deals? I think part of the answer is because they need a platform to sell their e-books, just like print authors need publishers to print their books and get them into stores. It’s all about getting the word out about your book, whether it’s an e-book or print book.

    Print books: Also, there was a lot of talk about print books and whether or not they are dead. Well, you know what? During the book fair, folks were carrying around print books — not e-books. Yes, a lot of folks had e-readers, and I signed several e-readers and e-reader covers, but people still wanted signed, print books, which I thought was cool.

    I do think publishers need to figure out how to best marry print and e-books, and how to produce print books more quickly and efficiently, but I think print books are a long way from being dead.

    Best moment: One of my best moments was when Spider’s Revenge won the award for Best Urban Fantasy novel. It really was an honor just to be nominated. Like I said before, I don’t remember much of my awards speech, but I just want to say thanks to my friends, my family, everyone who worked on the book, everyone who helped get the word out about the series, and all the readers. I write books to entertain folks, and it’s wonderful to be recognized for that.

    Most embarrassing moment: I went to a YA Speed Reading panel where authors were supposed to read from their books — only I didn’t have a copy of any of my books. I thought there would be some copies at the panel, but I was wrong. Also, I don’t have a smart phone or an e-reader so there was no way for me to look up one of my books online and read from that.

    Panic time.

    So I sat there while the other authors were reading and furiously scribbled down some lines from the books that I remembered, like the first lines and a couple of other teasers. I got up and read those, along with the back cover copy for Touch of Frost (which I got off the back of one of the bookmarks I had with me). But folks seemed to like the little snippets and teasers, so I think I did okay. Anyway, next time, I will remember to at least bring something with me to read. LOL.

    And that’s a wrap: And that was my conference. I had a lot of fun, and I hope to attend many more RTs in the future. If you went to RT, what were some of the highlights for you?