About Books

  • Give the gift of books …

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    I love to read just as much as I love to write. Even more than that, I love to give the gift of books to others, especially at Christmas. Need a book for someone on your list? Check out some of my suggestions, which are a mix of books that I’ve read and liked, those that I want to read, or those that I’ve given as gifts in the past:

    ROMANCE:

    I absolutely adore Lisa Kleypas’ contemporary romances, and she has a new one out with a holiday theme, Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor. It’s a little short for the hardcover price, but the story is sweet, and it would make a great pre-holiday gift, especially if you’re planning a holiday visit before Christmas day.

    For the western romance fan, check out Marry Me by Jo Goodman. This historical romance is set in Colorado and focuses on a doctor and the mountain girl that he loves. For those who like contemporary westerns, Linda Lael Miller is a good bet. Her latest trilogy, which focuses on three brothers, starts with McKettricks of Texas: Tate.

    Romantic suspense author Roxanne St. Claire has launched her new Guardian Angelinos series with Edge of Sight. For a mix of historial romance and action, check out the Blades of the Rose series by Zoe Archer, starting with Warrior.

    FANTASY: 

    If you like epic fantasy, consider The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, which focuses on a group of clever thieves. Lynch has two more books coming out in 2011, so now would be a great time to start reading him.

    For a mix of fantasy and noir, try The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe, which is about a private investigator who gets caught up in a royal scandal. And don’t forget Lisa Shearin’s Magic Lost, Trouble Found, which features a great heroine.

    For a mix of authors and stories, check out Songs of Love and Death, which features tales by Neil Gaiman and Jim Butcher, among others.

    MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS:

    When it comes to thrillers, you can’t go wrong with Lee Child. Check out his latest Jack Reacher novel, Worth Dying For. John Sandford is another solid choice, especially his Prey series, which includes Storm Prey.

    A good bet when it comes to mysteries is the late Robert B. Parker and his Spenser series about a tough guy, wise-cracking Boston private investigator. The latest title in that series is Painted Ladies.

    YOUNG ADULT:

    One of the best books that I read this year was Beastly by Alex Flinn. It’s a modern-day retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale from the Beast’s point of view.

    If you haven’t read Suzanne Collins yet, start with The Hunger Games, which is about kids who are forced to fight to the death on national television. It’s just flat-out excellent. For another YA book with a strong heroine, check out Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

    If you’re searching for some new YA authors to try, the Kiss Me Deadly anthology is a good place to start.

    AND ONE MORE THING:

    Okay, okay, so they aren’t exactly books, but these sparkly Swarovski pens would make a great gift for the author in your life or anyone who still loves to pen handwritten notes.

    What about you guys? Which books are you giving or hoping to receive this Christmas? Share in the comments.

  • Bookmarks, bookmarks, bookmarks …

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    I’ve finally gotten my bookmarks made for Tangled Threads, Elemental Assassin #4, which will be out on April 26 (five months and counting down). Huzzah!

    As always, these are nice, thick, 2-by-8-inch bookmarks. To get the bookmarks, I ask that folks send me a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) with two U.S. first-class stamps on it — 88 cents’ worth of postage in other words. Also, make sure your SASE is big enough to hold the bookmarks. If you’re overseas, you need to send me a SASE with $2 in U.S. postage on it. I also have bookmarks left for Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, and Venom, which you also get with your SASE.

    However, if your envelope does not have enough U.S. postage on it or is not big enough to hold the bookmarks, I will not send your SASE or any bookmarks back to you. I know this is a little harsh, but I’m getting so many requests these days that I simply can’t afford to make up the difference in postage anymore. (Believe me, I spend enough on postage every year already.)

    Anyway, to get the address to send your SASE to, send me an e-mail.

    Also, in other news, Tangled Threads is now up for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. So go forth and pre-order, if you wish. 😉

  • Tangleds Threads revealed …

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    Here is (more or less) the final cover for Tangled Threads, the fourth book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series which will come out on April 26, 2011.

    Once again, big kudos go out to Tony Mauro, who created the cover art. So far, Tony has done all the covers for the books in the series, and I think they just keep getting better and better. Every time I think that he can’t possibly top the last cover, he comes up with a way to do it. Thanks, Tony! 😉

    In other news, the book is up for pre-order at Amazon. It doesn’t look like it’s up at Barnes & Noble yet, but hopefully, it will be up there before too much longer. (And no, I have no control over when either Amazon or B&N puts my books up for pre-order.)

    Those of you who read Venom have already seen this, since it was in the back of the book, but you can read the first chapter of Tangled Threads on the website here.

    Now that I have the final cover art, I can get some bookmarks made. I’ll post here on the blog when I have those and how readers can get them.

    I also plan to write another free short story or two to tie in with Tangled Threads. It will probably be a while before I get to these, though. I’ve got back-to-back deadlines through the end of the year already. I’m thinking at least one of the stories will be from Jo-Jo’s point of view, but we’ll see where my muse takes me.

    For now, I’m just going to sit back and admire my shiny new cover.

  • E-book, paper book, anyone got a book …

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    One thing that kind of surprised me with the recent release of Venom is that a few people e-mailed me and asked me which format that I wanted them to buy of the book. This is the first time this has ever happened — that people asked me which format to buy.

    My answer? I really don’t care.

    Why have people asked me this? Well, most folks have said that they like to support authors and want to buy the format that gives me the biggest royalty. I make a little more on e-books than I do on the paper copies — about 95 cents versus 64 cents per copy sold. I certainly appreciate the sentiment — really, I do — but I don’t care if you buy an e-book, a paper copy, an audio book, or get it for free from the library. (And yes, I get royalties on library sales).

    You’re the reader. It’s your hard-earned money that you’re shelling out, so buy the format that you want. I’m just happy that folks even read my books in the first place. Everything else is just gravy on top of that. LOL.

    Several folks have also asked me about my stance on e-readers. I’m all for ’em. I’m for anything that encourages people to read, and I think e-readers do that to some extent. You never have to worry about a book being sold out if you have an e-reader, and you can start reading immediately. I can see the appeal of that. Plus, if you spend $150 on an e-reader, one would think that you would want to get your money’s worth and use it quite a bit. In other words, read, read, read.

    Now, I don’t have an e-reader myself. I’m on the computer so much that I want a paper book to curl up with when I’m reading. But I may get an e-reader someday, especially if the prices ever drop below $100.

    So you guys make the decision about which format of my books you want to buy. It’s your money, and your choice. Hopefully, you’ll think that it was money and time well-spent in the end.