Elemental Assassin series

So my editor sent me the final version of the back cover copy for Tangled Threads, the fourth Elemental Assassin book that will be out in May 2011. Here is it.

Note: There are a few mild spoilers below.

I’d rather face a dozen lethal assassins any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings.

But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider. Hovering outside sexy businessman Owen Grayson’s front door like a nervous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn’t shy away from my past—or my present. And right now I have a bull’s-eye on my forehead. Cold-blooded Fire elemental Mab Monroe has hired one of the smartest assassins in the business to trap me. Elektra LaFleur is skilled and efficient, with deadly electrical elemental magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone powers. Which means there’s a fifty-fifty chance one of us won’t survive this battle. I intend to kill LaFleur—or die trying—because Mab wants the assassin to take out my baby sister, Detective Bria Coolidge, too. The only problem is, Bria has no idea I’m her long-lost sibling … or that I’m the murderer she’s been chasing through Ashland for weeks. And what Bria doesn’t know just might get us both dead …

Pretty cool, huh? I hope it makes you want to read the book because I think that LaFleur is one of the best villains that I’ve ever written — mainly because she’s just like Gin. 😉

In other news, I am slowly going through and updating the website in anticipation of the release of Venom on Sept. 28. The book is up for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, if you are so inclined.

One of the things that I’ll be doing is posting the first chapter for Tangled Threads along with a few new recipes of things that Gin makes in the various books. I’ve also written two more free short stories that tie in with Venom. Right now, I’m calling them Wasted and Poison — and both are told from Finnegan Lane’s point of view. Y’all wanted more Finn — you’re getting him.

The stories need a bit of light editing, but I’m hoping to get them up on the site by Aug. 1. I’ll keep you posted and let you know when everything is up and formatted properly. Until then, hope you are staying cool this summer!

Spoiler alert: This post talks about spoilers for my Elemental Assassin books. So don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled …

I think I’m going to have to implement some sort of spoiler policy.

Now that Web of Lies is out, I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from folks who want to know what happens next — and mainly, who Gin winds up with in Venom (due out Sept. 28).

For those of you who have read Web of Lies, you know that in addition to Detective Donovan Caine, there’s also a new love interest in town for our girl Gin — sexy businessman Owen Grayson. And given what happens at the end of Web of Lies, with Donovan basically dumping Gin and hightailing it out of Ashland, well, let’s just say that folks want to know who Gin’s going to be spending time with in the future. So far, most folks seem to be on Team Owen, although I have heard from a few Team Donovan fans.

It’s very flattering that folks like Gin so much that they want to know what happens next — and they want to know right now. But spoilers are kind of a gray area for me. Personally, I like mild spoilers, like if someone has been cast on one of my favorite TV shows or if one of the characters might die before the season is over. I regularly troll over to Entertainment Weekly to get those kinds of spoilers.

But I don’t like spoilers that ruin a big, big twist in a TV show or movie, like in The Sixth Sense or The Usual Suspects (which I think is a truly awesome flick). If the whole point of a movie is to surprise you, then, well, I want to be surprised.

And I never know how much of a spoiler a reader wants. Do they want to know what happens in the next book? Do they want to know who Gin ends up with at the end of book 5? I just never know how much to tell people. Also, I don’t want someone who doesn’t want to be spoiled to come across the info online and feel like the book has been ruined for them.

So from now on, I don’t think that I’ll be giving out any kind of spoilers at all. My lips are sealed. Although I’ll admit that the back cover copy for the books can be a bit spoilery at times. But there’s nothing that I can do about that. So for all you folks out there who like spoilers, read the back cover copy, which is posted here on the website, to get a hint about what’s coming up next for Gin. For those of you who don’t like spoilers, you may want to stay away from the description until Venom comes out … if you can. 😉

What about you guys? Do you like spoilers or not? Share in the comments.

With all the guest blogs that I’ve been doing for Web of Lies, it’s been a while since I’ve done an update post on what I’m working on. Here goes:

1. As most of you know, Venom, the third book in the Elemental Assassin series, comes out on Sept. 28. I’ve finally gotten the final cover art, which is posted here. Huzzah! The book is also available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

2. What’s even better is that I now have Venom bookmarks as well. As always, these are free to readers/bookstores/libraries/etc. However, I do ask that folks send me a SASE to help me cover postage costs. If you want some bookmarks, send me an e-mail, and I’ll tell you how to get them.

3. During the summer, I plan to write at least one free short story (maybe two) to go along with Venom, just like the free stories that I’ve done for Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies. I’m also hoping to get the website updated this summer. We’ll see how it goes.

4. In other news, reader response to Web of Lies has been really great. I just want to say thanks to everyone who’s taken a moment to drop me an e-mail and let me know how much they enjoyed the book. Thanks, everyone!

5. As for what I’m writing, I just turned in the final page proofs for Venom, so I have a bit of a break from the Elemental Assassin series right now. I’m using the down time to try something new — a contemporary romance. It’s set in a small Tennessee town and focuses on an event planner who’s so strapped for cash that she agrees to plan her ex-boyfriend’s engagement party to another woman — and ends up falling for the other woman’s brother along the way.

After that, I have an idea for a romantic suspense/heist book about a woman who gets mixed up with a group of thieves. After that, I have an idea for another urban fantasy series … I think I’m going to have a busy summer, writing-wise. LOL.

Okay, I think that’s a wrap for now. Happy reading! 😉