About Books

  • Books in my TBR pile …

    Confession time. I have a bad habit. I will be all excited about a new book coming out, actually purchase said book, and then … I won’t read it. Or when I do read it, it will be weeks, if not months (or longer), after the release date. Sigh.

    Part of this is just my schedule. I’m writing four books this year, along with blogging, social media, and all the other things that authors do. So it always seems like I should be working and writing instead of reading.

    But my goal this summer is to make more time to read and to whittle down my TBR pile a little — so I can make room for more books. LOL. It’s a vicious cycle, I know.

    Anyway, here are some YA books in my TBR pile that I’m looking forward to reading this summer. Note that the book descriptions are from Goodreads:

    Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore:

    Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

    Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

    The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa:

    Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

    Worse, Meghan’s own fey powers have been cut off. She’s stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can’t help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

    The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen:

    THE FALSE PRINCE is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

    In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point — he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.

    As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

    An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

    What are you looking forward to reading this summer?

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    A few notes on audiobooks …

    It seems like I am getting more and more e-mails/comments about audio books, so I thought I would talk a little about those today.

    My Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series is available as audio books through Audible. Just go to the Audible home page, type my name in the search engine, and you should be able to find the audio books. So far, all of the books in the series from Spider’s Bite to By a Thread are available as audio books.

    As far as I know, the audio book for Widow’s Web will be released on Aug. 21, the same day that the print and e-book versions will be available.

    Also, for those of you wondering, the audio books are being narrated by Lauren Fortgang. I’ve gotten a lot of nice comments about her narration, and folks really seem to like her voice.

    However, my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series is not available as audio books at this time. Basically, Audible and the other companies that do audio books decide which print/e-books that they want to turn into audio books. I think it would be great if the Mythos Academy books were available as audio books, but it’s not something I have any control over. If the books ever do get turned into audio books, I will let everyone know.

    My Bigtime paranormal romance series is also not available as audio books.

    There are some companies out there that do create audio books for authors. For example, I’ve heard of Audiobook Creation Exchange. But with my writing schedule, that’s just not something that I have time to explore right now. I figure you guys would rather me write more books. Maybe someday, I’ll have enough free time to explore that option. We’ll see what happens.

    Anyway, that’s a little info about the audio books. Hope that helps answer any questions you might have. Happy listening, everyone!

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    Tentative release schedule for 2013 …

    I can’t believe it’s the end of June already. Where did the first half of the year go? Sigh. Anyway, we may just be getting into the summer season, but I’m already working on books for next year. Today, I thought I would share my release schedule for 2013:

    Crimson FrostMythos Academy #4 — January 2013 (it looks like the release date for this one will be Dec. 24, 2012)

    Deadly StingElemental Assassin #8 — April 2013

    Midnight FrostMythos Academy #5 — August 2013

    UntitledElemental Assassin #9 — September 2013

    Please keep in mind that this is a tentative schedule and subject to change. But if all goes according to plan, I’ll have these four books out in 2013.

    As of right now, there will be at least 10 books total in the Elemental Assassin series and at least 6 books total in the Mythos Academy series. I’ll post the cover art and back cover copy for the books as they become available. So stay tuned for more.

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    Romfest wrap-up …

    Over the weekend, I attended the first annual Romfest in Gatlinburg, Tenn. I couldn’t attend the entire convention, which ran from Thursday morning until Sunday morning, but I had a good time while I was there, and I thought I’d share some of my highlights from the event:

    THURSDAY

    There was a welcome breakfast and workshops all day on Thursday, but I didn’t get to the convention hotel until mid-afternoon. After that, my mom and I decided to do a little sight-seeing and walked down the main street in Gatlinburg. If you’ve never been to Gatlinburg, it’s definitely a tourist town. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many places to get fudge, ice cream, funnel cakes, and pancakes so close together before. (Not that I’m complaining about that. LOL.) Anyway, we had fun looking in all the candy and food shops, despite the heat and humidity.

    There was a cookout at the hotel Thursday night, and folks gathered under an outdoor pavilion to just eat, hang out, and talk about books and other stuff.

    After the cookout, there was a pajama party hosted by Smoky Mountain Romance Writers. Again, just another chance for folks to mix and mingle, along with some games, food, and prizes. I sat at a table and chatted with Mary Wine, Shannon K. Butcher, and Shannon’s assistant, Sarah.

    FRIDAY

    Sherrilyn Kenyon booksThere were more workshops on Friday, including one by yours truly on how authors can get media coverage for their books. I talked about how to write a press release, common interview questions, etc. I hope folks got some helpful tips out of my workshop.

    After the morning workshops, there was a luncheon with keynote speaker Sherrilyn Kenyon. Sherrilyn gave a funny talk about some of the ups and downs of being a writer. I’ve posted a photo of Sherrilyn’s books at the Saturday signing since my photos of the luncheon didn’t turn out that well.

    After lunch, there were more workshops, including one given by my friend Trixie Stiletto and Natasha Moore. Trixie and Natasha told funny stories of how they’ve incorporated some real-life events into their books and talked about how you can find inspiration in all kinds of events.

    There was a dinner and costume contest on Friday night. After that, there was bingo and prizes with Rita Sawyer and Adele Quinn. That was a lot of fun, and I actually won a T-shirt. I never win anything at conventions, but I also won a couple of raffle baskets too. Huzzah! Although I think I’ve used up my giveaway luck for the foreseeable future.

    SATURDAY

    Jennifer Estep booksOn Saturday morning, the mom and I got up, went out, and did some shopping, since the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge-Sevierville area is full of shopping outlets.

    After that, it was time for the book signing. Here are some of my books.

    We had a good turnout for the signing, and I was also able to talk to some of the other authors, including Kimberly Lang, Lorelei James, Joey W. Hill, and MaryJanice Davidson.

    I want to give a big, big thanks to the staff at the Books-A-Million in Sevierville that hosted the signing. The staff was so friendly and helpful. They were constantly asking if the authors needed anything, and they even brought us cookies during the signing. You guys rock.

    I had to leave after the signing, but there was another dinner Saturday night and a goodbye breakfast Sunday morning.

    AND THAT’S A WRAP

    And that was my convention. I just want to say thanks to everyone who organized the conference and all the readers and authors who attended. It’s always nice to hang out with people who love books.

    The Romfest organizers are already thinking about next year’s event. I’m not sure if it will be in Gatlinburg again or somewhere else, but I hope I get to attend.

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    Housekeeping …

    I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m slowly going through and updating the web site with all the excerpts, back cover copy, and information that I can share at this time, including the excerpt for Crimson Frost, Mythos Academy #4, that will be out on Dec. 24.

    Please note that the excerpts and back cover copy do contain spoilers, so if you haven’t read all the books in a series, you may want to skip the excerpts and back cover copy until you are caught up.

    I’ve also switched things around a little on the blog. I’m still posting on my regular Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I’ll be talking about my book news and other book-related things. I’ve moved the book reviews to Fridays, and I’ve also started my new book review system.

    Anyway, I think that’s all for now. Hope everyone is having a good week.