Local (and At Large) Signing

If you're in the Twin Cities area, please drop by on Saturday (May 7) to see me at Uncle Hugo's from 1:00 - 2:00 pm.

I'm going to say it again, though I can count how many times I mention this, and people still say, "Sorry! I don't live near you!!" -- Uncle Hugo's does book orders. What this means is, if you want a personalized, signed copy, you can contact them before Saturday and I will sign it FOR YOU and they will send it TO YOU no matter where you live.

Yes, even there!

Why consider placing a mail order? For several reasons. 1) It's nice to support independent, locally-owned, brick and mortar bookstores, generally. Specifically, Uncle Hugo's is one of the oldest science fiction/fantasy specialty bookstores in existence. AND they're always super-duper supportive of me and my work. 2) It will boost my sales at the bookstore and possibly get me on the LOCUS bestseller list. More importantly, it will encourage the fine folks at Uncle Hugo's to invite me back! 3) A signed book is kind of cool. It takes no more time to order from Uncles than it does to order from Amazon.com. 4) I'm not a big star. This means I will NOT be coming to your state any time in the foreseeable future, unless I win the lottery and decide to book the venues MYSELF. So, this is one way to actually get a signed book from me.

Have I convinced you? I hope so!

Shameless Selfless Promotion

Just so's ya know, I might talk smack about my fellow writers, but, at the end of the day, we're the same tribe, dig?

To that end, I'm pleased to announce that my friend and fellow writer, Kelly McCullough's newest series' first book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. It's called Broken Blade. How shall I describe it? It's awesome, first off, but you should expect that from anything by Kelly. It fantasy, but it's noir, kind of like "Burn Notice" meets Thieves' World... only even better.

So, go bookmark it. I know you spent your money for new books on me yesterday, but you should consder buying it ASAP.

ALMOST #2 Launch!

Today is the official launch date of the second book in my vampire princess of St. Paul series, ALMOST FINAL CURTAIN.

The back cover copy says:

Craving the spotlight is in her blood.

Ever since high school student Anastasija Parker discovered she was vampire royalty, her life has been sort of crazy. The half-vampire- half-witch just wants some normalcy, and trying out for the spring musical seems like the perfect fix.

But when the ancient talisman that stands between vampire freedom and slavery to witches is stolen, Ana has to skip rehearsal and track down the dangerous artifact before someone uses it to make this year's curtain call her last...

And, you can read the first chapter here: www.tatehallaway.com

--- And this just in: an interview with the Booki3

Books and Ducks

I guess that "wild" birdseed really worked, eh?

This morning we woke up to these two visitors to our front yard. I took this picture through the front window, which is why it's a bit blurry. I didn't want to disturb the drake (though you can see how closely he's watching me, anyway.) They may be considering nesting near the nearby Iris Park fountain, though that hasn't been turned on for the season yet. Perhaps they're considering the little pond by the old folks home? Who knows. It's not very usual for us to see ducks in the neighborhood, though a couple (this pair) did stop by several times many years ago to our neighbor's yard, because I think she, too, like us had a mix high in cracked corn, which the ducks seem extraordinarily fond of.

Don't forget to buy ALMOST TO DIE FOR tomorrow, if you're so inclined! My big plan for this gray day is to get started on my next adult novel, PRECINCT 13. Wish me luck.

Interview with Amberkatze

Check out Amberkatze's Book Blog for an interview with me!

And don't forget! On Tuesday Almost Final Curtain officially goes on sale!

Also, I just heard some sort-of bad news from my agent. I turned in three proposals for new Ana books, which my editor had requested. HOWEVER, she's going to sit on her decision about whether to buy more based on how well the early sales of ALMOST FINAL CURTAIN are. The bad news about this is that it means the sales for #1 weren't strong enough to automatically greenlight the continuation of the series. So, if you want more books in the Ana series -- please, please consider buying the book within the first couple weeks of #2's release.

Having been burned by series ending prematurely before, at least I wrapped a tidy bow on #3. So, if that ends up being the last book, should feel intentional.