Vengeance Borne Cover and Blurb!

September 3rd is right around the corner and I'm super stoked to put VENGEANCE BORNE (Sentry of Evil #1) out into the world. Here's the official cover art and blurb. And it's up on Goodreads, too! You can add it to your Want to Read shelf by clicking here.

Fated to Fight...

As the local hunter, and a ward of the Sentry, a secret organization dedicated to eradicating the forces of evil, Jacquelyn has been protecting the small town of McCall, Idaho for the past five years. The hours are horrible, the pay is nonexistent, she has to work with her jealous ex-boyfriend – and forget about quitting.  She’s in for life.

Destined to See…

When a rugged drifter comes through town, Jacquelyn immediately knows what he is – an Empath who can read emotions and sense what others are thinking – even though it’s clear the handsome stranger has no idea what, or how powerful, he is…

A Town in Peril…

When people in McCall start turning up dead, viscously ripped to shreds as if by a wild animal, Jacquelyn knows better. Furies are loose in Idaho and hell-bent on exacting revenge.  But against whom?  And for what purpose?  Jacquelyn has until the full moon to stop the Furies’ killing spree and save the people of McCall, figure out how to work with her ex – oh, and there’s a handsome stranger in town who’s in desperate need of some schooling…

Happy Book Birthday to Sandy Williams!

THE SHADOW READER hit shelves today! I can't say enough about how wonderful this book is. Full of action, suspense, danger, and a fair share of romance, this is a must read for any urban fantasy lover! Go forth and get your copy! You won't be dissapointed.

There can only be one allegiance. It’s her time to choose.

Some humans can see the fae. McKenzie Lewis can track them, reading the shadows they leave behind. But some shadows lead to danger. Others lead to lies.

A Houston college student trying to finish her degree, McKenzie has been working for the fae king for years, tracking vicious rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn’t her only secret. For just as long, she’s been in love with Kyol, the king’s sword-master—and relationships between humans and fae are forbidden.

But any hope for a normal life is shattered when she’s captured by Aren, the fierce and uncompromising rebel leader. He teaches her the forbidden fae language and tells her dark truths about the Court, all to persuade her to turn against the king. Time is running out, and as the fight starts to claim human lives, McKenzie has no choice but to decide once and for all whom to trust and where she ultimately stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

Alphabet Soup

My sister actually came up with the title for today's blog post. We were talking about our favorite paranormal/UF books and the discussion came around to books with large casts of supernatural characters. Hence, alphabet soup. We like our books to be crammed with supernatural creatures from A to Z.

When a story is brewing and percolating in my mind, I already have an idea of who (and what) my major players are going to be. And since I love to write series, I have to be really careful not to paint myself into a corner. A small cast of characters can be the kiss of death to a series.

I need variety. I can't settle for just vampires. Or just vampires and werewolves. I want vampires, werewolves, fae, goblins, ghouls, demons, and as many otherworldly creatures as I can think of. Now, you don't have to cram all of these creatures into every single scene. But, these fringe creatures should be introduced at least once, so they can be brought into later scenes or later books with ease. A series is only as good as its individual stories. And no one wants to read seven books about one creature. That's not what a typical urban fantasy reader is looking for. Neither do they want to read about every single supernatural creature under the sun hanging out in one book. That's just too much, and it's easy for the story to spiral out of control. Not to mention the burden of world-building that the author has to pull off in order to keep the story believable.

But by introducing a large cast, you can have one book that focuses on one creature, another book that focuses on another, and so on. Your world-building is only as good as the creatures in your world. And the story options once they're there, is limitless.

How about you? Do you enjoy an alphabet's worth of supernatural characters in the books you read, or do you prefer to focus on a specific creature? And does the lack or excess of either affect a good series?

A Little Mayhem Never Hurts

I'm blogging over at Magic and Mayhem today, and I'm talking about character quirks. Do you relate better to a character with regular-joe traits and quirks? Stop by and leave a comment, I'd love to hear your opinion!

Cover Art Love

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend! It rained here...again. And the greenhouse didn't get planted...again. I'm jonesing for sunshine, people. I. Need. It.

On a happier front, I got the go ahead to show my cover art last week. I am in deep love with this cover. And I'm not gonna lie; I tend to stare at it. A lot. It's absolutely beautiful. Darian looks just as I picture her right down to the hood on her coat and the color of her hair. My favorite part of the cover is the way the artist made the ends of Darian's hair and the edges of her coat wispy, as if she's just leaving, or just entering her incorporeal form. You see, Darian is a Shaede after all, and she'd rather travel as a shadow at night. ;) I'm also struck by the expression on her face. Serene, while at the same time reaching for her Katana and gearing up for an ass-kicking. That's my girl! After seeing my cover, I have only one thought: December can't come fast enough!

Magic and Mayhem - Books That I Scream Like a Girl For

I'm giving a shout-out to Patricia Briggs today over at Magic and Mayhem. RIVER MARKED, the sixth Mercy Thompson book releases today! I can't wait to get my copy :)

Magic and Mayhem, Contests, and Features!

I promised one of my crit partners that I'd blog 5 times between January 18th and January 31st. I'll have to go back and check, but I think I might be one post short. I'm a horrible blogger. Mainly because I'm a horrible planner. I'm such a spontaneous person that the thought of lining up blog topics and posts in advance makes me break out into a sweat. I'm going to try to be better, though. I promise. ;)

So, it sounds silly to say, but I'm officially eleven months from the release of SHAEDES OF GRAY. It sounds like forever away, but really, it's not. A year has never felt so short to me, including my daughter's senior year of high school, and that year flew by! So, for the next eleven months, I'll be doing one contest per month. You can win books, critiques, swag, writerly essentials (you know, post-its, notebooks, pens, the stuff we can't live without), and in later months, I'll be giving away some awesome Shaede-related stuff that I'm really excited about. But I'll be keeping the details under-wraps for a while! Also, I'm going to be adding some new features to this blog: guest posts, short stories, and other fun stuff. I'll be crossing my fingers that I can teach myself to be a better planner, because I want this year on the blog to be epic!

Also, I'll be contributing to the Magic and Mayhem blog once a week. It's a Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy blog featuring myself and three other AMAZING debut authors. We'll be doing some fun contests, blogging about what we love...mainly all things Paranormal/UF! So stop by and say hello. This week we'll be giving away our favorite books of 2010. Be sure to leave a comment over there to be entered to win and spread the word! We'd love to hear from you.

The Stroke

I've been working on an aspect of my writing that's been weak. Namely, the sex scene. They're a lot harder to write than you'd think. When I sent the second book in my series off to my crit partners, I told them: I've been flexing my writing muscles a bit. Let me know what you think.

I got an email from one crit partner this week telling me that she'd stumbled upon the first sex scene while reading during her daughter's gymnastics class. Can you say uncomfortable? And to top it all off, guess what song was playing on the radio?



The next day I got an email from a second crit partner. The title: The Stroke. It read along the lines of OMG I'm SO glad I wasn't in public when I read this!

I think I'm getting better at writing these babies! ;)

2010 In a Glance

Wow, what happened to 2010? I swear, every year zooms by faster than the last! For once, though, I'm sad to see a New Year on the horizon.

Most New Year's eves, I whisper, "Thank, God it's over. Hope next year's better." My Mom says I'm Murphy's Law incarnate, and that I inherited my Dad's "If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all" luck.

But 2010 was a different story for this bad luck girl. I signed with the best agent ever in March. The first three books in my UF/Romance series sold to my dream editor in October. 2010 gave me everything I ever wanted and then some. This bad-luck girl still has to pinch herself every once in a while, just to make sure she's not dreaming.

I'm sad to see 2010 go because of all the great, exciting things that happened in my life this year. But, with 2011 on the horizon, I KNOW for the first time that things can only get better!

I hope your 2011 is filled with all the good luck you can handle! See you next year!

The Real Me

So I was thinking the other day. I know, amazing, right? I was thinking about the fact that in a year and a half my book is going to be on shelves. Printed. Bound. Glossy, beautiful cover. Dedications. Acknowledgements. And my words plastered all over the sweet smelling pages. And then I realized, HOLY CRAP! People are going to be READING my book!

It's not that I'm not proud of my book. I'm damned proud. But I live in a small town. Everyone knows everyone more or less. And as word got out that my book was going to be published, I noticed a common theme among my congratulators. They all think I write Young Adult. "I'm going to buy two copies for each of my granddaughters!" my husband's secretary said. "My little sister loves fairies! If you have fairies in your book she'll read it for sure!" a high-school student told me. "Tell your daughter I'm so happy for her!" my mom's collegues said. "She writes for children, right?"

Wrong.

Dead wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrongski.

It's not that I have anything against YA. I actually occassionally read it. And two of my awesomesauce crit parters write YA. You see, I was NEVER a conventional young adult. Having a baby at 16 sort of cuts you off from things like going out, angsting over a guy, the fact that Becky So-and-so is wearing the dress I wanted to wear to prom. Yeah, I was angsting over things like dirty diapers, a crying infant who refused to sleep until well after 3 am. Finishing highschool with my graduating class while taking two years worth of classes in one year. A husband who was in the Navy and living clear across the county from me. So to say I can't relate to teenagers is a bit of an understatement. Not that I didn't get into a little teenage trouble (obviously). But my experimentation and experiences were cut short. And, honestly, I don't regret ANY OF IT.

I've been reading "adult" books since I was 16. And this young mom was into the hard stuff: Dean Koontz, Kathleen Woodiwiss (I likes my historical romance), Shakespeare (ya, he turns me on), and Anne Rice to name a few. So when I started writing it was natural for me that I would write for an adult market.

I can really swear it up in my novels. Yep, nothing enhances a sentence like a few artfully placed F-bombs. And sex... well, I can go a little further than a YA writer can in the sex department. I can tell my story from an adult perspective and I can connect with an audience I get. And I can write in my comfort zone.

So, what's the problem, you ask? I'm afraid of dissapointing people. "I don't write for kids!" I've been putting the disclaimer out. "PLEASE, do not buy my book for your granddaughters." "Attention all highschool students: you will NOT find my book in the school library." I told a mother at my volleyball awards ceremony this year that I wrote "Adult Urban Fantasy" and she looked at me like I'd signed on to ghost-write for Penthouse Forums. In a small town, people are curious. I assume some people will read my book out of sheer curiosity if not for their personal enjoyment. And when they dive in, I just hope I live up to their expectations and they still think that I'm as sweet and personable as I've always been.

I am not my characters. Well, not really. I wish I was sometimes. My heroine is tough, foul-mouthed, and unapologetic, not to mention tall, gorgeous, and not afraid to cut your head off with her katana if you cross her. And while there are things about Darian that might remind some people of me, she's not me. And I'm not her. I'm a storyteller and that's my job. To create extraordinary characters for your reading enjoyment. Just... not for kids.