For every time someone gave us directions with a "you can't miss it" description of a landmark, we were guaranteed to get lost. And our GPS system didn't work in most areas of the mountains up there. Neither did our cell phones. Luckily, as I am sitting here typing this, we didn't get so lost that we couldn't find our way back.
Don't fall for it again, idiot! Or, you might find yourself dragging a canoe a quarter mile up river, against the current, cursing and tripping over river rocks while your out-of-shape legs are screaming in pain, back to the area where you last saw some locals so you can borrow their cell phone to call the guide and say that obviously you can miss the pick up spot!
7. Avoid queen-sized, firm mattresses.
This will be a short post because I'm supposed to be on vacation, but I couldn't resist showing the book trailer for my fourth novel. This is the first trailer I've done, and the process of working with the production company to pick out the pictures, music, script, etc., was really interesting. I must say, I'm very pleased with how the trailer came out, and I'll probably do one for my next book, too.
So, without further rambling, here is the trailer for DESTINED FOR AN EALY GRAVE, book four in the Night Huntress series. It does have sound, so if you're browsing at work and don't want to get caught, click your volume off :-). Otherwise, hope you enjoy! If you want to enlarge the trailer video, click the second to last button from the right on the very botton (under the word You in YouTube).
Melissa Marr's first foray into the adult market was just announced. Because I am lazy, I'm copying the notice from Publishers Weekly: "YA author Melissa Marr has closed her first adult deal with her longtime publisher, HarperCollins. Merrilee Heifetz of Writers House brokered the deal for two books for mid-to-high six figures. Jennifer Brehl at HC took North American rights. Heifetz described the first book, Graveminder, as “Six Feet Under laced with ancient Irish evil and a dash of Faulkner”; the second book is currently untitled." I’m so excited for this book to come out.
Rachel Vincent is celebrating her latest release, PREY, by holding a contest giving away a new Kindle (side note: wow! That's a big prize!) Details are here.
And I just found out that my books have sold foreign rights in
Recently, author Maggie Stiefvater did a post talking about self-confidence and optimism as an author. My favorite part from her post had to be "Success in the book world is not like cheese dip, where one person will get the last dip and then it’s gone. It’s more like pinkeye. The more people who get it, the more there is for everyone else." I totally agree with that. Aside from the obvious fact that when more people read, it's more people reading (and reading engages the imagination in ways that can be almost magical, IMO), there's also a practical side. Whether it's my books or someone else's, the more people read, the better the publishing industry does, which means a better chance of more books being produced. So one author's success is something every author can be happy about.
Knowing this, I'd love to say that I've never been bitten by the Envy Bug, but on occasion, I'll wish for bigger success, better book deals, having multiple popular series', book tours, turning my husband into my full-time naughty Cabana boy...you know. The usual ;-). Then, I slap myself out of it by remembering all the amazing things that have happened in my career. Someone (many someone's, in fact) will always have more, so comparing myself to others is the biggest waste of time I could indulge in. I still have dreams - without dreams, life is stagnant, IMHO - but I am happy with my writing career just as it is. I think Maggie's post was a great reminder that no matter where are you, try to be happy about it. Still strive for more, sure, but as a goal toward making yourself the best you can be, not as a measuring stick of why others have more than you do. There will never be enough "more" for anybody, and he/she who dies with the most is still dead anyway ;-)
Is it "bragging" to talk about good news? I think that answer will vary depending on who you ask, since diversity of opinions is what makes us individuals instead of having a hive mentality. When good things come my way, it makes me happy (if it didn’t, that's like daring fate to never throw a good thing my way again, in my opinion). When I’m happy about something, I usually want to share it. When something good happens to my friends/friendly acquaintances, I’m happy about that, too. Therefore, on my blog, I'll continue to post good news when I or my friends have it. I’ll try not to overkill it, but good news cheers me up, and I hope seeing good news cheers up most of my blog readers, too.
This doesn't mean being an author is all champagne and roses. I think everyone already knows it isn't, and there are days when I moan, groan, and bitch about my job like everybody else. I just try not to use my blog to post those moans, groans, and bitches unless they have an informative aspect. Take my money post last year, for example.
When I wrote that post, I was in a very tight spot financially. Like, had to borrow money against my house to pay my bills tight, all because I'd planned my budget on what I assumed I'd make in royalties, not what I had contractually guaranteed. Big. Newbie. Mistake. But instead of a post talking about how broke I was, or about finding out that my "reserves against returns" ratio would send me crawling back to my old day job on my knees, I thought I'd do one about some realistic breakdowns of money in publishing. That way, maybe another newbie author or aspiring writer wouldn't make the same mistake I did. That's constructive bitching, in my opinion :). Nonconstructive bitching I’ll try to limit to my friends and family. They have to deal with me, but I figure my blog readers have enough of their own drama and stress without hearing all about mine.
So that's my philosophy on blogging, and now, I have to get moving on my copyedits for FIRST DROP OF CRIMSON. Hope everyone is having as good of a Monday as possible - and hey, if something good happened to you/a friend recently, why don't you tell me about it? Maybe a Good News Monday will help speed the week along.
But since I do only have four ARC's to give away in this contest, let's get right to the winners. Randomizer was consulted and this is what it said:
Research Randomizer Results 1 Set of 4 Unique Numbers Per Set |
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Contest entries 116, 290, 588, and 17 were Brittany Hyde, Phyllis Jackson, Stacey Marin, and evchild124 (email name) . Congrats! I've sent each of you an email, so please reply with your shipping address and I will send you an advance reading copy of DESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE. Hope you enjoy it!
Contest Eight was the last of the birthday celebration contests, but toward the end of July/beginning of August, I'll be holding other giveaways to celebrate the book's release. And in about a week, I'll be posting the book trailer that I had made for DFAEG. It's my first book trailer and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I may have to do another trailer for my next book just because I love seeing a mini-video applied to my stories.
Thanks again so much to everyone who entered the birthday bash contests! It was an amazing turnout, with almost two thousand entries spread out over the eight contests. To recap, total prizes given out were one music CD, twenty coverflats, nine published novels, and ten ARC's. I hope that even if you didn't win, you still had a little fun participating in the contests. I know I had fun hosting them.
And now, the winners. Randomizer was consulted and this is what it said:
Research Randomizer Results 1 Set of 3 Unique Numbers Per Set |
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Entries # 223, 138, and 347 were Zhye Goatt, Lorri Malone, and Julia Sutch. Congrats! I've emailed all the winners, so please reply with your shipping address.
Later today in a separate blog post, I'll be announcing the final of the birthday contests, Contest Eight. The prize will be four ARC's of DESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE.
Publishers description:
Well, once again, Randomizer was consulted and this is what it said...
Research Randomizer Results 1 Set of 2 Unique Numbers Per Set |
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#'s 107 and 45 were Kara Hillman and kjway (part of email address). Congrats! I sent out emails to the winners already, so please reply with your shipping address and I will send you FOUR DUKES AND A DEVIL.
Contest Seven, the second to last of the Birthday Bash contests, will be announced later today, so check back! I think you'll like the prize. Here's a hint :).
We're winding down to the final three contests. They will all be for ARC's (Advance Reading Copy) of books not yet on the shelves. Because these books aren't out yet, I'll give descriptions.
First up as the prize are two copies of FOUR DUKES AND A DEVIL, a romance anthology releasing June 30th. It should surprise no one that I wrote the "devil" contribution in this antho instead of a Duke story ;-). From the book summary.
"Fall in love with the unpredictable and irresistible dukes (and one dog named Duke) of Four Dukes and a Devil. Join New York Times bestselling authors Cathy Maxwell, Jeaniene Frost, and Tracy Anne Warren, along with USA Today bestselling author Elaine Fox and RITA® Award winner Sophia Nash, for tales of noble danger and devilish desire."
I've referred to my story in this anthology as the dark splash in a pretty pond, since it's written in my usual style as far as action, violence, and romance. It's called "Devil To Pay" and is set in the Night Huntress world featuring a new heroine/hero. Some familiar characters will also pop up in supporting roles (Cat, Bones, and Mencheres).
Tthere will be two winners for Contest 6, and it will have a short entry deadline (gotta get those other two contests in by the 13th as promised! :). How to enter: email me at frostlight1 AT yahoo DOT com with "Contest 6" in the subject line. Winners will be chosen by randomizer. Contest starts now and ends TONIGHT (June 9th) at 11:59 pm EDT. Contest is open to US residents and all international readers.
Good luck!
And now, the winners. Randomizer was again consulted and this is what it said:
Research Randomizer Results 1 Set of 5 Unique Numbers Per Set |
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Entries #53, 81, 104, 42, 58 were Kristie Forester, Rachel Connell, Bloome You, Sara Cummins, and Trish T. Congrats! I've emailed all the winners (all five winning notifications sent within a total of three minutes, so no one had an unfair advantage :), and as stated in the original contest post, the faster each winner replies means the better chance they have at picking which of the five books to will receive. But again, I really enjoyed all the books, so it's a win either way.
And since - wow - it's already June 9th (this month is flying by!) I'll be announcing Contest Six later today in a different post. Head's up: there will be short entry windows from now on. June 13th, the wrap up date of the Jeaniene's Getting Old! birthday contests, is coming up fast :).
It's been forever since I've done a meme, right? Saw this on falkie’s journal and it looked fun. Feel free to tag yourself if you want to play along. I will add that Rule #2 is SO HARD to follow. For some of these “yes” answers, there are really good reasons why, I swear! So if you see one of the "yes" replies and your eyes bug out, I’ll be glad to explain in the comments if asked about it :).
The Rules:
1. You can ONLY answer 'Yes' or 'No'.
2. 2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone comments you and asks—and, believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming. Nothing is exactly as it seems.
Kissed any one of your LiveJournal friends? — yes
Been arrested? — no
Kissed someone you didn't like? — yes
Slept in until 5 PM? — no
Fallen asleep at work/school? — yes
Held a snake? — yes
Ran a red light? — yes
Been suspended from school? — no
Experienced love at first sight? — no
Totaled your car in an accident? — no
Been fired from a job? — yes
Fired somebody? — yes
Sung karaoke? — no
Pointed a gun at someone? — yes
Did something you told yourself you wouldn't? — yes
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? — yes
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? — yes
Kissed in the rain? — yes
Had a close brush with death (your own)? — no
Saw someone die? — yes
Played Spin-the-Bottle? — no
Smoked a cigar? — no
Sat on a rooftop? — yes
Smuggled something into another country? — no
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? — yes
Broken a bone? — no
Skipped school? — yes
Eaten a bug? — no
Sleepwalked? — no
Walked on a moonlit beach? — yes
Ridden a motorcycle? — no
Dumped someone? — yes
Forgotten your anniversary? — no
Lied to avoid a ticket? — no
Ridden in a helicopter? — yes
Shaved your head? — no
Blacked out from drinking? — no
Played a prank on someone? — yes
Hit a home run? — no
Felt like killing someone? — yes
Cross-dressed? — no
Been falling-down drunk? — yes
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? — yes
Eaten snake? — no
Marched/Protested? — yes
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? — no
Puked on an amusement ride? — no
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? — yes
Knitted? — yes
Been on TV? — yes
Shot a gun? — yes
Skinny-dipped? — yes
Given someone stitches? — no
Eaten a whole habenero pepper? — yes
Ridden a surfboard? — no
Drunk straight from a liquor bottle? — yes
Had surgery? — yes
Streaked? — no
Been taken by ambulance to a hospital? — no
Tripped on mushrooms? — no
Passed out when NOT drinking? — yes
Peed on a bush? — yes
Donated Blood? — no
Grabbed electric fence? — no
Eaten alligator meat? -- yes
Eaten cheesecake? — yes
Killed an animal when not hunting? — yes
Peed your pants in public? — yes
Snuck into a movie without paying? -- no
Written graffiti? — no
Still love someone you shouldn't? — no
Think about the future? — yes
Been in handcuffs? — no
Believe in love? — yes
Sleep on a certain side of the bed? — yes
Well, considering the contest was only open for a couple days - entries were cut off Thursday at 11:59pm EDT, so if you entered after that, I couldn't count it - there were a lot of entries. 225, to be exact. I'm thrilled by the turnout, but since I only had four books to give away, about 96% of you won't like the winning results. Sorry again! All I can promise is that I have more books to give away, so if you're not lucky now, you may be soon.
Without further ado, Randomizer was consulted and this is what it said:
Research Randomizer Results 1 Set of 4 Unique Numbers Per Set |
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I checked my Entries folder and #'s 180, 128, 224, and 65 were: Nicole B, Breia Brickey, deafel (part of the email address sent), and Facere323 (also part of an email address). Congrats! You will receive your email from me shortly, and please reply to it with your shipping addresses. I hope all of you enjoy THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROM
Info on Contest Five (more free books by multiple authors, not just my stuff!) will be in later post. Thanks again to everyone for playing in the contests!
For the past two weeks, I’ve tried to start my next book. I have my plot summary handy, my mental character board checked off, and the research on the city I’m setting the story in printed for easy reference. If this were a NASA launch, it would register All Systems Go. Yet when I’ve sat down to write…nothing happens.
When I missed my first “I’m going to write today” goal, I thought I was just having an off day. Then when I missed another goal, and then another, I started to get worried. See, I have this little thing called a deadline, lol. And if I miss it, my editor isn’t the only one who won’t be pleased. Sometimes, if authors are very late on a deadline, which *knocks wood frantically* hasn’t happened to me, it can mean delayed release dates, plus other books in the publishing house’s release schedule being reshuffled, plus less time for review quotes, marketing, and a host of other things I’m probably even not aware of. So taking deadlines as “suggestions” isn’t something an author should feel comfortable doing, IMO. Now, sometimes big unavoidable life things happen that will make a deadline impossible to meet, but I don’t want to burn my late-on-deadline passes on smaller, preventable issues.
I can plant my ass in a chair and write when I’m not in the mood – that’s part of the job. I’ve yet to meet a writer who’s in the mood to write 100% of the time, but I wanted to try and analyze first why I’ve been having a case of keyboard impotence. I love my story, I’ve been itching to reveal more about Mencheres to show the many layers of his character, I know just how the book will start, down to the specific neighborhood the opening scene will take place in. And yet earlier today when I got to my keyboard…still no words.
Was I experiencing a bad case of writer’s block? Crippling laziness? Both? I churned around my plot and characters in my head once more. Mencheres is easy to do a mental rundown on– I’ve been writing slivers of his character for years. My heroine, however, is new to me. I’ve only been thinking about her for a few months. I can describe her appearance, childhood, relationships, jobs, family, personality, greatest fear, strengths, and flaws, but it wasn’t until an hour ago that I latched onto an important missing ingredient: her motivation.
I thought I’d had that figured out a while ago, but what I realized was that even though I knew a lot of facts about my heroine, I didn’t know what drove her. For HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE, if you asked me what drove Cat, I would’ve said revenge and longing for redemption. Cat’s motivation evolved over the course of the book – and the series – but when I started writing that first book, that’s where Cat was. And it influenced every single thing she did.
So as I sat on the couch contemplating my new heroine, I had a wonderful light bulb moment of understanding what drove her to do all the things that, plot-wise, I knew she was going to do. Before, I was probably letting my other heroine’s motivations creep onto her, but they didn’t fit. My new heroine’s driving force doesn’t stem from a place of anger or insecurity, like Cat’s original motivation did. Nor does it stem from guilt or grief, like my heroine’s original motivation in the novel I just finished. No, my new heroine’s driving force is uniquely her own, and apparently, she decided to grind my progress to a halt until I quit assuming I knew what made her tick and I actually discovered it.
And now…I have words. *cue blissful sigh* Back to writing for me!
Happy Thursday, everyone. Winners for Contest Four will be announced tomorrow.
Now, onto the contest. The prize? The MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE anthology will be sent to four winners.
How to enter? Just email me at frostlight1 AT yahoo DOT com with "Contest 4" in the subject line. Winners will be chosen by randomizer. Contest starts now and ends Thursday at 11:59 pm EDT. Contest is open to US residents and all international readers.
If you've won in any of the previous contests, yes, you can still enter this and any future contests.
And just as an FYI, prizes for future contests will be ARC's of the upcoming FOUR DUKES AND A DEVIL (romance anthology), UNBOUND (dark fantasy anthology) and DESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE (Night Huntress book four), plus a smattering of other books. Yes, you are noticing a book trend, lol. Hey, I love free books, and I hope others do also.
And now, the contest results! As a reminder, the contest closed Sunday night at 11:59 pm, so even though I was still receiving entries as of yesterday, I couldn't count them. Before the cut off, there were 59 entries. Randomizer was consulted and it said....
#29
#29's entry was Susana Aguilera. Congrats, Susan! You won THE FRAY's new cd. I will send you an email shortly to get your shipping address.
And in other news, I'm disorganized. This surprises no one who knows me. I said I'd be having five contest leading up to my OMG-I'm-getting-old birthday. Well, I went through the stuff that I'll be giving away, and it turns out that I'll be having eight contests in total. The next contest will be an Instant Winner deal, where the first couple comments on a new post will win a prize (no, not THIS post, so don't rush to reply :).
Now, back to revising Spade's book. My goal is to be finished by Friday.
Oh, and a hint? The Instant Winner contest will be before Friday ;-).
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Cathie Morton!
Cathie, expect an email momentarily, and the lovely Vicki Pettersson will be shipping you out a signed ARC of CITY OF SOULS. Congrats!!
Everyone who's bummed at missing the chance for an ealy look at CITY OF SOULS, well, I'm right there with you, lol. At least there's only a month left until the official release of the book.
Now, music lovers, here's the deets on Contest 2. It'll be a quickie contest. I mentioned in my prior post that I wrote most of my fifth book while listening to The Fray's new cd. To spread some love for the band - hey, they helped me make my deadline, heh - I'm giving away a CD of The Fray to one lucky winner. Yes, this contest is open to anyone around the world.
To enter: send me an email at frostlight1 AT yahoo DOT com with the subject line of Contest 2. That's all. Contest starts now and closes tomorrow at 11:59pm EDT, so it's just a one-day dealie. If you've never heard of The Fray and you want a little listen in, you can go here at Amazon and click "preview all" to hear some samples of the cd.
Note: this scene is unedited, so it may contain grammar errors, and it could be slightly different from what gets printed in the final book version. That's the beauty of revisions. Now, if you don't want any spoilers at all for this book, don't read the snippet! There are hints of the plot in this snippet. No more than the back cover copy will have, but I know some of you don't even like reading those, so here's your mild spoiler warning.
Oh, and for those of you interested in the soundtracks I listen to while I write, I had "Say When" from The Fray 's new cd set on constant repeat while I wrote this scene
Okay, disclaimers aside, happy reading! I hope the LJ cut works, because it's a long snippet.
