And the Winners Are....

Listed below are the winners of the signed, manuscript copy of the first chapter of DEAD IF I DO (the book after ROMANCING THE DEAD, which came out offically yesterday). Will the winners please send their snail mail address to me at tate.hallaway@gmail.com I'll get that out you all y'all as soon as I get your address!

And the winners are....

1. Jolene
2. Tetewa
3. Leah
4. Meljprincess
5. crystalgb
6. abigail
7. limecello
8. valerie oakley
9. lori
10. carmel

Thanks to everyone for making the blog roll contest a success!

Blog Roll Contest

Welcome to the blog roll contest!

How this works is that each author involved in the blog roll will pose a question on their blog. We will print our answers (and links to the next blog). You can participate by giving me your answer in my comments. The first ten people will receive a signed, manuscript copy of the first chapter of the book after ROMANCING THE DEAD, DEAD IF I DO (2009).

My question is:

If you could marry (or date) one character from your novels who would it be, and why?

Michele Bardsley: Patrick O'Halloran from I'M THE VAMPIRE, THAT'S WHY. He's got that Irish accent and he's really hot and he's been around for four-thousand years ... and did I mention the accent? Not to mention all that licking and sucking involved with dating a vampire. Of course, that's IF I could wrest him from Jessica because quite frankly, she could kick my ass.

Erin McCarthy: Damien from MY IMMORTAL because he owns a plantation house in Louisiana and an apartment in the French Quarter. I have a thing for quality real estate. ;-)

Anya Bast: Hmmm...just one? That's a hard question. Man... *thinks* Okay, I guess I'd pick Alejandro Martinez from The Chosen Sin (Berkley Heat, October 2008). He's a vampire with an extra special skill in pleasure giving when he takes blood (what's not to like about that?) He lives in the future and in another part of the universe, so he'd be able to show me all kinds of interesting places. We could gaze at the stars together (we'd have a great view). Plus, he's got a wicked sexy accent and would speak Spanish to me. Grrrrooowl. I seriously doubt I could get away with stealing him from Daria, though. She scares me. *whimper*

And finally.... my answer:

Tate Hallaway: I'd date Daniel Parrish. Like Garnet, however, I'd be pretty hesitant to marry anyone quite as bad boy as Parrish. If I had to pick a guy from my books to actually settle down with, I think I might pick William. Sebastian is a bit broody for me, and William seems lie he'd be a lot of fun to talk to.

What's your answer? If you could marry any fictional character in your favorite books, who would you marry and why?

Saturn Direct

Our dear friends at astrology.com have this news about today's stars:

Saturn, the slow moving planet of karma and taskmaster of the zodiac, goes direct on May 2, 2008 at 8:07pm, PDT, ushering in an incredible period of possibilities and gifts.

Saturn commands us to get to work, and to work hard. Discipline and responsibility are important to this planet. So if you have been honest, responsible and hard working, gifts and rewards are coming your way! It could be a lucky break, a well-deserved raise at work or dreams you had given up, suddenly handed to you. However, if we have been shirking our responsibility or have been deceitful, then we will be found out and dealt with accordingly.

Saturn reinforces responsibility, carrying your share of the load and being held accountable for what you say or do -- or say you are going to do. Saturn rules wisdom, however, it is wisdom gained from hard work and experience -- earned one hard step at a time. During a direct period, Saturn inspires confidence. As its role as a teacher, during a direct transit, Saturn also bestows inner strength -- a strength of spirit, a deepening sense of compassion and understanding of self, others or a particular situation.

Star/Planet News!

And now this from www.astrology.com:

May brings more than just spring flowers -- there is dynamic activity happening in the cosmos, and it has deep and lasting implications for us all. It's time for a one-two punch from the heavyweights in the solar system -- Saturn and Jupiter -- and while some will feel like the bottom has dropped out, others will get sweet rewards that they've been working so hard for.

The month starts off with a bang! Saturn, the slow moving planet of karma and dharma turns direct on May 2. This is a period of endless possibilities and sweet rewards for hard work, as well as recognition for your contributions to both work and relationships. May 5 brings a New Moon in Taurus, and with it new beginnings. Any tangible, practical investment you make in your life can really pay off this month.

Jupiter, the planet of expansion and generosity, goes retrograde May 9. The effects of this retrograde will be felt differently depending on how Jupiter is positioned in your birth chart. However, the overall effect of a Jupiter retrograde represents a tightening up of finances. Wallets will be closing, and this is a time for frugality. The Full Moon in Scorpio on May 19 also signals that this is a good time to tune into your financial life and evaluate your financial responsibilities.

The final big punch comes with Mercury and Neptune both turning retrograde on May 2. Mercury retrogrades always bring disruption in communications and the Neptune retrograde period is a time to remember and revisit your dreams, goals and ideals.

Some Announcements

First of all, my alter ego is blogging about "Committing Series" over at SF Novelists today.

Second, I got an invitation to a big book launch blog roll with several other paranormal romance authors, including: Michele Bardsley, Charlaine Harris, Erin McCarthy, and Anya Bast. How this is going to work is that each of us is going to pose a question on our blogs and post our answer, along with the answers from the other authors. Each author is going to host a contest for a free book, Amazon certificate or something like that. If you roll through all the blogs, you'll get a chance to win something from each of us. For my part, I plan to offer a signed, manuscript copy of the first chapter of the NEXT book, Dead If I Do (2009), to the first ten people to post a response in the comments.

So I'm giving all y'all the heads up. As they used to say in that annoying ad, "Watch this space!"

Radio Experience

First of all, for those of you who missed my fabulous appearance on KFAI's "Write On Radio," you can listen to an audiofile in their archives at: 4/24/08 - Write On Radio Show. Don't be thrown by the fact that there's a long musical lead, no show identification or the fact that a woman with a British accent (Marie Phillips) starts reading about the goddess Artemis and trees and blow-jobs. I'm on during the second half of the show, and they were waiting for Marie to call in from London.

What's funny is that I just wrote a scene in DEAD IF I DO with another Greek goddess, Athena, and had I known that the author of GODS BEHAVING BADLY was going to be sharing the show with me, I'd have brought that scene.

Being on KFAI was a blast. I've been really fortunate enough to have been on KFAI several times in the past (I have a bunch of .mp3 files on the FAQ section of my web page, if you're at all curious.) The station itself is on the top floor of a thin, funky building on University of Minnesota's West Bank. The West Bank, if you're not familiar with it, has some of of the last vestiges of Minneapolis' hippy culture. There's May Day Books still there, as well as the home of a few cooperatives. There used to be the New Riverside Cafe (which is featured in Emma Bull's WAR FOR THE OAKS), as well as the folk music collective: The Coffeehouse Extemporie. The West Bank is also adjactent to the sort of low-rent theatre district of Minneapolis -- the Theatre in the Round, Southern Theatre, and Theatre du Juene Lune are all there. Somali immigrants have also moved into the West Bank which adds an East African flavor to the whole mix.

KFAI is very much part of the remaining hippy culutre that's clinging to the neighborhood, so it's not like being on a radio show on one of the big, commerical stations. I've done that once, where I called into a station in Wisconsin, and that was a lot more nerve wracking.

At KFAI they have several studios, which look not unlike regular meeting rooms, except there are big microphones over each spot at the table, and, of course, a fancy looking electronic board on the other side of a short divider. You get to wear headphones, which adds to the whole, "I'm on the radio!" feeling, but there's a window and posters on the wall. I was nervous until I got into the studio. You do have to be silent the moment the "On Air" light goes on, but thanks to the relaxing atmosphere of the place, it's not as big a deal as you might think.

I have to say that the thing that amused me was how much Ian Leask gestured to everyone silently while Marie talked. There was a lot of frantic pointing and obtuse sign language that made Cin (the woman who read the calendar of events) very nervous. I guess they also had a back up tape ready to roll in case there were technical problems getting Marie on the air.

My favorite moment came when I completely blanked on what DEAD SEXY was about. I couldn't remember for several hours, actually. The problem is, of course, that that book was so long ago in some ways. I'm in the middle of writing book four, and three even seems like a dim memory for me, you know?

I always feel like I'm blathtering away, and I know I went off on vaguely unrelated tangents. In the past when my friend J. Otis Powell! was the host of the show, he actually gave me a list of the questions he was going to ask ahead of time, so I'd have a moment to prepare. Steve didn't, so everything was very spontaneous. I noticed that I used my stall-while-I-form-an-answer phrase a couple of times, the whole "That's a great question...."

Even so, it was a great time. I can only hope I get the opportunity to do it again sometime.

Interview and New Ninja Story Time

If you're interested in reading an interview of me over at Jenna Black's website, you can go to: Jenna Black's Interview with Tate

And, today is Friday, be sure to check out the new story by Stephen Baxter over at Ninja Writer's Story Club: Featured Post

Write On, Sister!

If you happen to notice this post before 11:00 am (CST) today, you can hear me on the radio! I'm going to be one of the guests on the "Write On Radio" show on KFAI. I'll be promoting my new release ROMANCING THE DEAD and my up-coming appearance at Dreamhaven Books & Comics. KFAI can be heard at 90.3 Minneapolis/106.7 St. Paul or streaming on-line at http://www.kfai.org/.

Blathering on about Science Fiction

Yesterday, my alter ego posted over at SF Novelists about the question of why fantasy outsells science fiction, "Defining Darkness (SF vs. F Redux)"

Interview with Jenna Black

Book Blurb: Drake is a Killer vampire.

Unlike the Guardians of the Night, Drake feeds on human blood, choosing victims who deserve to die. But still he works with the Guardians to protect those humans who yet have some good in them.

When Gabriel, the leader of the Baltimore Guardians, mysteriously disappears, Drake finds himself in charge of a small band of inexperienced fledgling vampires. When a delegation of European Killers arrives in Baltimore looking for Gabriel, Drake must call on all the savagery of his sordid past to keep the Guardians in line—and to protect them from the ruthless Killers.

Forced to confront a past he has tried so hard to outrun, Drake risks losing his humanity. His only hope is Faith, the French Seigneur’s concubine, who desperately needs his help to rescue her human sister from the Seigneur’s clutches. Then someone begins killing the members of the European vampire delegation, and Drake is the only suspect. Will Drake be saved by love, or will he become a Killer without a conscience?

What was your inspiration for writing HUNGERS OF THE HEART?

Since the first book of the Guardians of the Night series, I’ve always known I would eventually write Drake’s book. Many of my readers have also impatiently been awaiting his book since they first “met” him in WATCHERS IN THE NIGHT. As excited as I was to write his story, though, it turned out to be very hard to do. One of the most attractive things about Drake in WATCHERS was his self-confidence, the sense that he was comfortable in his own skin. Confident, comfortable characters, however, don’t make for interesting protagonists, so I had to shake him up. I found myself strangely reluctant to do so. That was the first time I had to struggle to make myself be mean to one of my characters. Usually authorial cruelty comes easily to me, as my readers no doubt know!

Which books and authors have most influenced your career?

I’d have to credit THOSE WHO HUNT THE NIGHT, by Barbara Hambly, as being the book that piqued my interest in vampires. The main vampire character in that book, Don Simon Ysidro, is absolutely fascinating to me. There’s no question he’s a bad guy—all her vampires are killers, and none of them seem to feel any remorse for their actions. However, Don Simon also has redeeming qualities, such as a sense of honor, that make him at least somewhat sympathetic to both the reader and the novel’s hero. (And from that description, you can no doubt see how much I was influenced by that particular book!)

For my urban fantasies, I’d have to credit the Anita Blake series, by Laurell K. Hamilton as having had the most influence. That was the first urban fantasy series I read, and I ended up absolutely hooked. After reading her books, I went on to “discover” such authors as Kelley Armstrong, Keri Arthur, Rachel Caine, and Patricia Briggs. It was because I loved all those books so much that I set out to write an urban fantasy myself.

What’s the best and the worst advice you’ve ever received?

The worst advice I ever received was to slavishly follow all publishers’ guidelines for submissions. (Note the word “slavishly.” I’m not saying to ignore guidelines.) For the 16 + years I was seriously trying—and failing—to get published, I dutifully submitted books one at a time, no simultaneous submissions. I can’t tell you how many times I had to wait a year or more to get a response. And during that waiting time, I refused to submit the book to another publisher, because most publishers say they won’t accept simultaneous submissions. It made for a painfully slow, agonizing, frustrating process. If I had it all to do over again, I’d probably go ahead and make simultaneous submissions despite the guidelines. I think it would have saved some of my sanity.

The best advice was for me to take responsibility for my own career. This meant always acting as though my career was under my control, even when sometimes it feels like I’m a victim in the winds of fate. This advice was crucial to my finally getting published. I had gotten to a point where I’d convinced myself I needed to get that lucky break to get my foot in the door. And that was a dismal prospect, because you can’t control luck. Then I went to a workshop where the teachers were adamant in their belief that luck has nothing to do with it, that if you write well enough and long enough, you’ll break in. It was a total change of attitude for me, and it changed the way I approached my career. When I began to believe that it was my own abilities, not the whims of luck, that would ultimately get me published, I started working much, much harder at my writing. I started treating it like a career, rather than a hobby. A year later, I had an agent. Two years later, I had my first contract. And now I have five books out with four more under contract. So it was by far the best advice I’ve ever received.

What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

Number one on my list is, naturally, reading. Like most writers, I’m a voracious reader. I’ve recently become addicted to doing jigsaw puzzles. My enjoyment of jigsaw puzzles has come and gone multiple times over the course of my life. I’ll go for years without doing one, then suddenly I’ll have an urge and I’ll do a whole bunch in a row. I’m finding them particularly fun right now because they’re something I can do that doesn’t involve sitting in front of a computer.

I also enjoy ballroom dancing, which I’ve just taken up again after several years’ hiatus. I think it’s important for me to find things to do outside the house now that I’ve quit my day job. It would be so easy for me to become a hermit. So that’s why I decided to start dancing again. (Though it’s also a lot of fun as well as being good exercise.)

What are you writing now?

Right now I’m working on the fourth book in my Morgan Kingsley series. I’ve just gotten started, so I’m still in those very uncertain “what the heck is going to happen in this book?” stage. It often takes me a few chapters before I start feeling like I’ve “really” started the book. I’ve also been playing around with an idea for a YA urban fantasy, but I have to put that aside now to work on the book that’s sold and on deadline.

Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?

I wrote my first book when I was in fifth grade. It was an autobiography. It’s written in pencil, with crayon illustrations and a construction paper cover. So I’ve pretty much been writing forever. I wrote my first novel my senior year of high school for my English class on creative writing. (Actually, it was really a novella, but I considered it a novel at that time.) I then wrote my first real, full-length novel in college. However, it took about 20 years and 17 more novels before I made my first sale.

In college, I majored in anthropology and French. My intention was to get a PhD in physical anthropology and become the next Jane Goodall. Obviously, my career and my ambitions ended up taking a different path.

What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?

I start out by trudging up to my computer while guzzling coffee as I try to shake the sleep clouds from my head. (I’m not the best morning person in the world.) I usually read emails and look at some of my favorite Internet sites (like MySpace and Romance Divas) while I wait for my brain to be fully functional. Then I drag myself to a computer that has no Internet access and no games—nothing installed on it other than word processing software. And I write.

I tend to write in multiple short (45 minutes to an hour) spurts throughout the morning and early afternoon. Between spurts, I check email or do chores or work out. (Or goof off, but I try to keep that to a minimum.)

Where do you write??

I have a home-office-cum-library where I work. It’s a converted bonus room over our garage, and it’s decorated to help stimulate my imagination—and give me the illusion that I’ve actually left the house to write. The effect is like working in a medieval/gothic library, with faux-wood floors and faux-stone walls.

What is the best part of being a writer? The most frustrating?

The best part about being a writer for me is hearing from readers. I love knowing that people have read and enjoyed my books. I was especially moved when I got an email from a reader who was seriously ill and told me my books helped make the bad times better for her. Books have always been my escape during the worst times in my life, and one of the thoughts that kept me going while I was struggling to sell that first novel was the desire to provide that same kind of escape for others. Learning that I’d done so for at least one reader brought tears to my eyes.

The most frustrating part of being a writer is how many things about your career are not under your control. You can’t control the whims of the market, the editorial shifts in your publishing house, the closing of lines, the cover art, the marketing . . . You name it. (Some of those things you can control when you’re a mega star, but I’m not there yet!)

This isn't your first book; tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

There are three other books out in the Guardians of the Night series: WATCHERS IN THE NIGHT, SECRETS IN THE SHADOWS, and SHADOWS ON THE SOUL. There’s also THE DEVIL INSIDE, the first book in my Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist series. The second book in that series, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, will come out on July 29.

Where can we learn more about you and your books?

My website is www.JennaBlack.com. You can also find me on MySpace at www.MySpace.com/jennablackbooks.

It's Not Too Late to Join Story Club!

Ninja Writer, aka CV Rick, has posted a story by Elizabeth Bear as part of his story club. It's called "Tideline," and, if you get a chance, you should read it. Not only is it one of the many short stories up for an award this year, but... well, read it. The beginning is slow, but the story is worth it, IMHO. If you disagree, you can join the discussion.

The discussion started last Friday, but you can continue to post through the rest of this week.

Planetary Updates: Grand Trine!

Because I know you're wondering what's happening in the stars, here's the news from astrology.com:

This is a magic time! The cosmos aligns itself into special configurations over the next couple of days, freeing you to accomplish almost anything you desire -- all while working in harmony with the universe!

On April 17, communicative Mercury enters practical and down-to-earth Taurus, forming a Grand Trine on April 18 with Pluto and Saturn.

Then, expressive Sun follows Mercury into Taurus, on April 19, immediately enhancing the beneficial grand trine on April 20 and 21, with hard-working Saturn in Virgo and intense Pluto in achievement-oriented Capricorn.

A grand trine occurs when you have three celestial bodies that are all separated by a span of 120-degrees. Trines favor focus on high ideals, insight, vision, creative expression and well-being. Grand trines specifically promote self-confidence, self-assurance, optimism, expectation, a sense of pleasure, an easy flow of energy, inspiration, expansion of creativity and a sense of inner hope and faith.

Because this trine is happening in earth signs, expect people with valuable advice and experience to come out of the woodwork. These people will help you accomplish your aims -- whether you want to pitch your latest creative project, start a business or set up a savings plan for retirement. You can do more now to make your life secure and stable than you have for a long time.

The Reviews Roll In...RtD

Google Alerts found two new reviews for Romancing the Dead. The first from Darque Reviews. Here's the good bits:

"Romancing the Dead is the third book in the Garnet Lacey series. Ms. Hallaway provides another exciting adventure in her unique series, and adds fascinating new characters to the mix. Readers will meet Micah who’s charming, sexy and altogether captivating, even when his actions are less than honorable. Garnet, who is generally a strong character with all she’s weathered, becomes more flawed and human as she deals with the shock of her missing fiancé, accepts help from the future stepson she loathes, and suffers the insecurities of contemplating the future she’s about to share with her vampire lover. Romancing the Dead starts off slowly, but it’s really the only chance readers get to catch their breath before they’re swept up into the melee and left looking forward to more of the same."

The next one is from Fresh Fiction. Here's what their reviewer had to say about it:

Tate Hallaway uses comedy for this quirky witch, Garnet. ROMANCING THE DEAD has lots of excitement and mystery to keep you guessing throughout. It's a fun reading treat.

A Lesson From Captain America

Here's an interesting article Shawn pointed me to in the New York Times: "Creator of Captain America Keeps Fighting On." It's not only an interesting article for fans of Cap, but also a cautionary tale for all writers. Joe Simon, like Jerry Seigel (the creator of Superman) before him, lost his copyright to Captain America and has seen hardly any royalties for his creation. Here's a bit of a teaser from the article:

“People in comic books have a very sad history in dealing with their creative people,” he said.

Todd McFarlane, 47, who in 1992 helped found Image Comics, agreed. “I read the stories of Joe Simon,” he said. “I read the stories of Jack Kirby. I read the stories of all those guys in the ’40s, ’50s and even the ’60s. I kept coming across this repetitive story: the creative guy got the short end of the stick.”

Reviews A Go-Go

Harriet Klausner reviewed Romancing the Dead on her blog "Genre Go Round." As per usual, she's misspelled my name (she did that with my alter ego as well). Here's an excerpt of the good stuff:

As always in a Tate Hallaway fantasy, the various types of paranormal species seem genuine and Madison, Wisconsin is a perfect setting for this the action thriller that never slows down for a moment. Readers will thoroughly appreciate this stand alone tale that also refers back to incidents in the previous two novels (see tall sexy and tall, dark & dead). Although ROMANCING THE DEAD lacks the humor that the audience expects from this talented author, this superb tale affirms the theory that “life’s a witch” worth reading about.

Also, Vixen's Daily Reads has a review up of the first book Tall, Dark & Dead, which continues the seemingly never-ending question of why I get such "chick litty" covers. Here's the nice thing said there:

This is a good story, a sort of in between light and grim paranormal. Garnet is my favorite. She is tough, but still vulnerable at times. Sebastian makes for an intriguing vampire. I'd like to see more of Garnet's friend, Izzy, who takes pretty much all she witnesses in her stride. William is a confused sweet soul and deserves more book time.

The Ninja Book Club

My dear friend the Ninja Writer (aka "CV Rick") has a new story up for his community reading experiment, this one by Michael Swanwick, and like Ted Chiang's, it's also up for an award (this time the Hugo.) I've been joining in the discussions as my alter ego, and I have to say it's fun to have a whole group of people reading the same stuff. Rick is a voracious reader. Check out his list of the SF/F books he read last year. Meanwhile, I've always felt woefully underread in the genre. I guess I'm sort of hoping that following along with this "short story club" I can at least have read a few of the short stories that are up for awards.

Come join us!

Nerd Hair Hat

I'm not sure what I like better the actual hat or the headline from io99, "Sheep Help Nerd Achieve Hair Nirvana."

Fiction Discussion

This is from my friend Rick

For those of you who have an hour or so to spare for a bit of fiction:

My blog post today is about a short story (novelette, actually) by Ted Chiang that appeared in S&SF last year and has now been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards. I'm asking those of you with blogs to make a little experimental space on your blog for the links to the free audio and text versions of the story so that us and your readers can attempt a group discussion of the story -

How it works,
How it doesn't,
Whether it's deserving of the awards,
Whether it showcases modern science fiction as a still-promising genre, etc.

All I request is that you link back to my post and put a comment on mine so other people can find their way to your blog post as well.

For those of you without blogs I'm asking for participation - too much of our entertainment these days is passive. Jump in, read the story, talk about it. If you hate it, then say so. If you love it, tell us and others about it. If this works, I'll find other free - linked stories to try this with and it can become an (ir-) regular feature.

New Review of An Old Book

I came across this nice review of Tall, Dark & Dead at Kaijsa Reads: 11. Tall, Dark & Dead.

As a bonus, there's a nice little discussion about the chick-lit label.

Astro Alert: Pluto Retrograde!

The newest in planetary developments affecting your life directly from Astrology.com:

The plot thickens. Ever since January 25 when powerful Pluto entered Capricorn, the sign of the builder, you have been examining conditions you have left (or are leaving) and have been wondering where you want to put your energy and ambitions. What projects do you want to invest in? Where do you want your life to take you? These are changing times and you are feeling every bit of it!

Now, on April 2, Pluto turns retrograde for the first time in its new sign -- giving you the opportunity to review the blueprint of your life plan. Additionally, Mercury's entrance into Aries on April 2 (new ideas) and Venus' transit into the same sign on April 5 (a new love interest?) encourage you to be bold, not to shy away from these important new beginnings.

Now is the time to transform your life. You are embarking on a new chapter of a whole new story. The journey ahead is filled with all of the twists and turns that make a great novel and, since you are the author, this Pluto review in the midst of Aries energy offers you the opportunity to write, re-write and edit your amazing life story!

RtD Review!

Thanks to Tony L. P. Kelner for pointing out this great review for ROMANCING THE DEAD in Romantic Times:

"It's round three of witchy heroine Garnet Lacey's first-person adventures. One of the real pleasures of this series has been watching this spunky heroine come into her own. Relationships are never easy, and when you throw in supernatural jeopardy, it can play havoc with emotions. This is a guenuinely funny, adventurous and delightful read."

Ever Wonder What We're Really Thinking About During Critique?

You're patiently explaining to me how to improve my writing, and I look like I'm taking copious notes, but really, I'm thinking: "Dinosaur with feathers EAT you!!!!"

This is actually a sketch I did last night at Wyrdsmiths on the back of Eleanor Arnason's amazing story "Big Red Mama in Time and Morris, Minnesota." This is Albert, the dwarf, arctic allosaurus who is featured prominently in the story. It also represents the entirity of my critique. I loved the story, and, you know, every once and a while you come across something during critique where all you can do is say, "It's done. Send it out!"

Dead Sexy Review

Google Alerts pointed me to a new review of an old book. Janicu's Book Blog had THIS to say about it.

Never Yell "Free Books" at a Conference of Librarians

Because when you do, you sign a box of books in about fifteen minutes.

Today was the second day of the Public Library Association's Trade Show and Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It was... ginormous. The Romance Writers of America sponsored a booth there with FREE BOOKS for conference participants, and I just had one of those rare moments in an author's life -- there was a queue around the corner for a copy of my book.

I noticed that the only authors doing give-aways at RWA's booth were local people, and I don't get that. I was ready to fly when I first saw the conference booth mentioned in the RWA Report. A chance to put my book in front of librarians! Heck yeah!

I don't know why any author would object to library sales. Sure, your books get into the hands of readers for free which ostensibly doesn't net you any royalities (although the library does purchase at least one copy of your book). However, my experience as a reader is that "free books" usually translate into eventual sales. I've purchased books from authors that I first discovered on the shelves of the library. It seems to me that given how quickly books disappear from the shelves at the bookstore (you really only have about two weeks before the books get stripped and returned to the publisher), that libraries do authors a great service by providing a place for their books to be "discovered" months and even YEARS after their inital shelf date.

Viva La Library!

Gygax Memorial: Twenty-Sided Die

I got this great article from io99.com... Apparently those wacky, innovative students at MIT made a twenty-sided die as a memorial for D&D creator Gary Gygax: 20-Sided Die Memorial for Gygax. This is a whole lot of awesome. Some day, I hope to be remembered so well.

Random Reader Questions (From FF&F)

As you may know, I am an occasional guest blogger over at Fangs, Fur & Fey, a LiveJournal community that focuses on urban fantasy/paranormal romances. They have a nice deal where once a week the various authors answer reader's writing related questions. I thought I'd post my answers here as well.

How long does it take you to write a novel on average?

About a year, but, admittedly, I'm lazy. I tend to take exactly as long as the publisher gives me. When I only had six months to write Tall, Dark & Dead, it took me six months. When I had no deadline at all, it took me about four years.

Do you have another job?

I do. I'm a stay-at-home mom. Until really recently that was a full-time job. Now, my son is at pre-Kindergarten for a few hours in the morning (not quite half day, but close.) Next year, I'll be a full-time writer.

However, when I first started writing professionally -- that is, during and after I sold my first novel, Archangel Protocol, I had a full-time day job at the Minnesota Historical Society. It was only after budget cuts came along that my family and I decided to risk trying to keep me at home. Until this year, I've never made anything approaching a "real" salary from my writing, even when you include a regular teaching gig at the Loft.

How long did it take you to find representation? How many rejections?

A ton. I didn't keep track of how many query letters I sent to agents, but I'm sure it was over fifty. I got nibbles from two, neither of which went for it. My story is weird, however, in that I originally approached the man who became my agent as an editor (which he also was at the time for Tor.)

A friend of a friend of a friend knew this guy Jim Frenkle who was a consulting editor at Tor. With a sort of old-fashioned "letter of introduction" from this friend of a friend, I sent my first novel Sidhe Promised (which has never sold) to Jim. Jim ignored it for years. Luckily, someone (I think it was Lois McMaster Bujold in an interview I did with her for Science Fiction Chronicle) suggested that the best thing an author can do when a novel is being shopped around is start the next one. So I did. That next one was Archangel Protocol, and after writing about fifty pages of it, the friend of a friend taught I should sent the partial down to Jim. I did, and he wanted to represent it (not buy it for Tor). So I actually got my agent before I finished writing my first novel, which I think is probably quite unusual.

How do you deal with irritations or constant interruptions when you're trying to work?

Mostly, I write after my son is asleep, and I've gotten to the point where I can actually sit with my partner as she's watching TV and write my novel. I would never have thought I could do that, as I usually require a lot of quiet to compose my thoughts.

For those of you, especially debut authors, who sold series where the first book was complete but future books were not: How much freedom did you have with the writing of the second book? Did you just write Book 2 and send it off to your editor? Or did you have to write a Book 2 proposal/synopsis and have it approved before you began writing? Or did you have to write multiple different synopses for Book 2 and let the publisher choose which one you would write? (I've heard of the latter happening, and am wondering how common it is.)

My editor bought my first novel and "an unnamed second book." I wrote her a very informal set of pitches for the ideas I had for a next book. They were a paragraph or so long, but at least one of them represented a novel I had about eighty pages already written. At the end of this rather long email, I wrote, "Or I could write a sequel, I suppose." The answer I got back was, "Yeah, do a sequel."

Which I just wrote without any kind of formal proposal, which was an enormous amount of freedom, and something I've never experienced since. All of my paranormal books as Tate, I've had to submit a proposal - usually about a twelve page, detailed synopsis outlining my beginning, middle and end.

Ugh....

I just saw this on io99.com: Indiana Jones to Disappoint, Star Wars to Live Forever.

Sigh.

Philip K. Dick Winners

This from the Philip K. Dick press release.... And the winners are:

NOVA SWING by M. John Harison (Bantam Spectra)

Special citation was given to:

FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF DR. BRAIN by Minister Faust (Del Rey)

Both winners received a cash prize. The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the award ceremony is sponsored by the NorthWest Science Fiction Society. The 2006 award was given to SPIN CONTROL by Chris Moriarty (published by Bantam Spectra) and a special citation was awarded to CARNIVAL by Elizabeth Bear (published by Bantam Spectra). This year's judges were Steve Miller, Chris Moriarty (chair), Steven Piziks, Randy Schroeder, and Ann Tonsor Zeddies.

The judges for next year's award are Tobias Buckell, M. M. Buckner, Walter Hunt, Rosemary Kirstein, and William Senior.

Congratuations to my friend Minister Faust!

Ostara Eggs

Here is a picture of one of the Ostara Eggs that Mason and I made today. Happy Spring Equinox!

Photo and an Interview

In case you're wondering what my alter-ego looks like, here's a lovely photo of her and fellow fantasy writer Leah Cutter taken by Ishmael Williams at WisCON 2007.

My alter-ego would also like to direct your attention to an interview she conducted with Jo Walton over at the Internet Review of Science Fiction called: Subversive Pixel-Stained Technopeasant: An Interview with Jo Walton.

Sorry for the Absense

I'm back after a very sudden cold literally knocked me flat for a day. It was intense. I slept almost the entire day Sunday and part of Monday. Unfortunately, I had weird feverish dreams in which I was playing Bejeweled over and over....

Upcoming Reading (Alter Ego)

Other me has asked me to let any readers of my blog know that she will be here next Wednesday:

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 starting at 7:00 pm at Intermedia Arts, I'll be taking part in the Carol Connelly GLBT reading series with Elizabeth DiGrazia, hosted by Andrea Jenkins and John Medeiros. Intermedia Arts is located at 2822 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55408. For more information call: (612) 871-4444. The event is free and open to the public, although a $5.00 donation is recommended.

British Cover - Romancing the Dead

The Predator IS Back!!

On Sunday, my partner Shawn noticed some activity over by our compost pile. A hawk had caught something and was proceeding to devour it, like something our of WALKING WITH DINOSAURS (my son Mason's current DVD obsession.) I quick grabbed the digital camera and tried to take a decent picture of it. As you can see, I mostly failed in that regard, but I blame the awkward position I was in - standing in the bathroom sink. Still. A pretty awesome bird, eh? Or as Mason would say, "A mighty hunter!"

Pitch Class On-Line

***********PERMISSION TO FORWARD*************

Join Wine Country Romance Writers, RWA, as we GEAR UP TO PITCH AT NATIONALS.

Pitch Perfect: Getting to the Heart of your Romance Novel with Janet Wellington.
4 weeks ** 4/7 - 5/2 **
$20/$25
Register by mail or online -info at: http://winecountryromancewriters.com/workshops.htm

You might be the most talented writer on the planet, but if you can't describe your story in an exciting but succinct way, you're in trouble. Everyone needs to learn how to pitch -- to be able to present story ideas within query letters, synopses, and during frightening agent and editor appointments at writing conferences!

Can you capture the essence of your tale in 25 words or less? When your listener wants to know more about your story, do you know what to say and, more importantly, what not to say? Do you know the biggest benefit of having an agent or editor appointment at a national or regional writing conference?

This workshop is designed to help you learn, step-by-step, how to whittle down a story summary (for your romance or women's fiction novel) that will be perfect for a query letter and/or a pitch to an> agent or editor. If you read all the lectures, do all the homework (instructor provides feedback), you just might end up with a perfect pitch!

Janet Wellington is an award-winning author, writing teacher, line-editor, and writing coach. Janet started learning the art of pitching stories in 1995 when she attended her first Romance Writers of America national conference, and hasn't stopped since! She has presented workshops on the art of pitching both regionally and nationally, and teaches privately as well as through the online school: Long Story Short School of Writing. In addition to her own writing, Janet also enjoys assisting other writers in critiquing and line-editing their unpublished manuscripts, and she also does some one-on-one coaching of other writers through her business "Wellington Word."

F,F&F Post

I also posted over at Fangs, Fur & Fey today. The reader question of the week is: how do you pick the supernatural creature you chose to write about? Check it out there, or read it here:

How do you choose the creatures that you use?

I'll be honest. There are a lot of creatures that show up in urban fantasy that I have a hard time stretching my own personal "suspenders of disbelief" for... and a lot of those creatures are extremely popular with readers and writers. Take werewolves, for instance. I think shape-shifting is cool, but I've already had my main vampire scoff at the idea that they exist in Garnet's universe and mutter something under his breath about the law of "conservation of mass."

Of course, with a snotty attitude like that, I had to prove him wrong, didn't I?

In my May release Romancing the Dead, Garnet comes face-to-snout with someone named Micah Cloud who just *might* be a werewolf. I don't want to give away too many spoilers for the book, but nothing about Micah is what it seems. But I will say I chose to bring Micah into the story precisely to get a chance, as a writer, to play with the reader's assumptions about werewolves and what they do. I even have Garnet ask Micah about that old bug-a-boo the law of conservation of mass, to which he laughs and says, "Yeah, that'd be a problem, if it wasn't MAGIC."

So the short answer is that sometimes I pick the creatures that show up in my urban fantasy in order to comment on what other writers have already written about the subject. I picked werewolves this time, because I'd never written about them and had something about them that I thought I could add to the public dialogue, as it were.

Um, plus, they're fun, and Micah is way hot.

My Alter Ego Blah, Blah Bloggin'

I've written here about the strange dreams I've had in the past, but today at SF Novelists my alter ego decided to write about some reoccurring dreams that seem to be "writing-related."

On-line Class: How to Try a Murder

*********************PERMISSION TO FORWARD*********************

Join Wine Country Romance Writers, RWA, as we learn HOW TO TRY A MURDER.

Instructor: Lucinda Schroeder
Date: April: 4/7 - 5/2 ** 4 weeks ** $20/$25
Register by mail or online -- info at: http://winecountryromancewriters.com/workshops.htm

The cops know they have the right villain and justice will be served. But, not so fast! The American judicial system is full of more holes than cheesecloth, making it quite possible for the villain to go free. Learn about the caveats of arrests, search warrant affidavits, indictments, grand jury proceedings, evidence, trial preparation, jury selection and strategies used by both the defense and prosecution. Don't be guilty of missing this fact-packed class!

Lucinda Delaney Schroeder has a BA in Criminology and is a retired federal agent who during her thirty-year career conducted numerous undercover investigations and was the only female member a specialized undercover unit. She has taught undercover techniques to other agents at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, GA and continues to train law enforcement officers through her private business "Bulletproof Covert Identities." She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Lucinda is the author of "A Hunt for Justice," (Lyons Press) a true story of one her undercover cases in Alaska, in which clever deception was her only protection.

Interview with Jim C. Hines

Publisher's Weekly says: Hines sidesteps the main question facing elvers—WWTD, or What would Tolkien do?—with a wink and his usual snort. His goofy elves, orcs, trolls, dwarves, humans and even an evil tree conjure laughter, not screams. Jig Dragonslayer might have a dash of hobbit in him as he reluctantly dashes into his latest adventure (after Goblin Hero): he would much rather stay home in a comfy cave, hanging out with Smudge, his fire-spider, or Relka, a most excellent cook. But alas, they're all pressed into a human/elf war against Billa the Bloody, a monstrous orc who'll do anything to win, even if it means killing her army and human Princess Genevieve's troops fighting for Wendel, king of Adenkar. Luckily, Jig has a secret weapon thanks to Tymalous Shadowstar, a Forgotten God who communicates with him telepathically. Shadowstar would sacrifice himself for his little goblin priest, but Jig's amazing courage may not make that necessary. Readers will need familiarity with earlier books in the series, but Hines's funny bone is sharp and YA-friendly. (Mar.)

Readers have dubbed Jim C. Hines the Goblin King. His third novel Goblin War has just been released in the U.S. His goblins are also showing up in France, Germany, Russia, and several other nations. The books have earned praise from the likes of Julie Czerneda, Ed Greenwood, and even Wil Wheaton, who called Goblin Quest "too f***ing cool for words!"

But here's what he has to say for himself:

What was your inspiration for writing Goblin War?

It's the unwritten law of fantasy. I had written two goblin books, but as a fantasy author, I had no choice. I Must Write Trilogies.

There were things I wanted to accomplish with the third book, of course. In the first two books, Jig is constantly struggling to protect himself from adventurers and heroes, not to mention his fellow goblins. This time, I wanted to bring that struggled to some sort of resolution. This is an all-or-nothing adventure. If Jig succeeds, he'll be able to keep himself and his fellow goblins safe for years. But if he fails, he's going to fail big.

There were other factors as well. Jig' and Smudge are a lot of fun to write about ... my readers enjoy him and wanted more ... perhaps most importantly, DAW was willing to pay me for a third book!

Why did you decide to make Jig a goblin?

I wanted to take on the fantasy genre from the monsters' point of view. I've seen it done a few times before, Shrek being one of the more famous examples, but I never felt like they got it right. Shrek is really just a big, gross, socially awkward human. We never see anything about his family, his culture, or his background, and his motivations are completely human.

I also thought the tougher monsters had it too easy. Sure, anyone can survive an adventure when you're big enough to recycle armored knights and punch dragons in the face. So I decided to go with the underdogs, and you don't get much lower than goblins.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?/What kind of preparation do you do when you are writing?

You wouldn't think a humorous fantasy would require much research. At least, I wouldn't have until I got started. But from day one, I was e-mailing a geologist for information on cave formations, looking up cooking sites to come up with good goblin recipes, double-checking armor and weaponry ... for Goblin War, I spent a fair amount of time trying to make sure my armies were using sensible formations and tactics.

Goblin War also required me to go back and re-read The Giving Tree. And no, I'm not going to explain that one.

Are there any interesting scenes or ideas that didn't make it into the final book?

The biggest thing was a romance between Jig and one of his fellow goblins. I tried ... I really tried to make it work. I think I'm a pretty good writer, but I just couldn't pull it off. Maybe it's self-preservation, but my brain refused to go there. Much to the disappointment of my agent, who was hoping for a fourth book called "Jig gets Jiggy."

The first draft also gave Jig a magical elf cloak, a la Lord of the Rings, but I kept giving myself flashbacks to Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. Besides, invisibility would have made Jig's life far too easy.

Oh, and the scene where we learn that Smudge the fire-spider is gay didn't fly. I guess my publisher doesn't think the world was ready for homosexual spiders.

What are you writing now?

DAW recently bought three more books from me in a new series. The first book is called The Stepsister Scheme, and should show up in January of 2009. I just finished revising that book, and have started on the rewrite of The Mermaid's Madness. The books are basically my response to the overcommercializiation of the fairy tale princess. My princesses come from the older fairy tales, which means these are some very conflicted characters with pretty dark backstories. I basically did a mash-up of those old fairy tales and Charlie's Angels.

Let's just say my version of Sleeping Beauty can kill you with a spoon.

This isn't your first book; tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

There are the first two goblin books, Goblin Quest and Goblin Hero. All three are a lot of fun, particularly if you're a fantasy fan, because you'll catch a lot more of the jokes. I've also written close to 40 short stories. (Well, I've written a lot more than that, but I've sold close to 40. Big difference.) A fair amount of the short fiction is humorous sword and sorcery, but there's some serious stuff as well. I was quite happy to make the preliminary Nebula ballot this year for one of the serious stories, even though I got knocked out of the running for the finals.

Thanks for stopping by, Jim! Your books sound hillarious. I'm truly disappointed the world isn't ready for a gay spider.... I hope the readers of my blog will take this opportunity to check out you and your novels. Good luck!

Interview with Mike Brotherton

The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon: a weapon that will destroy the entire colony, and its star, if they cannot deactivate it. Evidence at the site suggests that the weapon was created for the ancient Argonauts by another race, a race of traders. The archaeologists discover a map of their interstellar trading empire, and the coordinates of their main trading station. Although the information is over a million years out of date, the only hope for Argo is to send a ship and crew into the unknown, to find the traders—or anyone who can help them find a way to shut down the weapon.

Mike Brotherton is a hard science fiction writer publishing novels with Tor. His latest, Spider Star, is being released on March 4, 2008. In addition to being a writer, he's a professor of astronomy at the University of Wyoming, an observer who studies quasars with the Hubble Space Telescope and other facilities on and above the Earth. His webpage is http://www.mikebrotherton.com.

What is the premise of the new novel?

It's a story about an interstellar colony on the planet Argo orbiting Pollux, and what happens when the people there accidentally set off a doomsday weapon left behind by the original inhabitants of their system. The original technology behind the weapon came from an even more advanced alien species living in something referred to as the "Spider Star." There are two main protagonists. The first is an older man, Frank Klingston, with a family who is drafted into the mission given his previous experience as the only human to ever encounter living intelligent aliens. The other is a young hotshot, Manuel Rusk, who was supposed to head off the next interstellar exploration mission and is partially responsible for setting off the weapon.

What was your inspiration for writing Spider Star?

I was finishing up my first novel, Star Dragon, and was chatting with a friend at a review panel for the National Science Foundation. He told me about some papers by David Eichler, a theoretical astrophysicist, hypothesizing the concept of planets made of dark matter that might be found around neutron stars. Well, that was a pretty cool idea and originally I was just going to write a short story of some kind but never got around to it. By the time I was ready to write about this idea, it had grown to novel size and had accumulated a lot of associations. I'm always looking to do something exotic, leaning on my professional expertise for unique situations or environments, that haven't been done a million times already. The setting of Spider Star is unique, I believe, but a setting no matter how great doesn't make a story on its own. Story ideas kind of grow piecemeal for me, where one good idea isn't enough but when it hooks up with two or three other ideas suddenly a story crystallizes. It's like the ideas are amino acids floating around and my mind is the enzyme that assembles them when it finds the right combination.

What kind of research did you do for this book?

While I don't think so-called "hard" science fiction should be hard to read, it can be hard to write. My current operational definition is fiction that requires a calculator. I had to do a bunch of ugly calculations and estimates to world build, and then find engineering/plot solutions when the physics didn't quite work out the way I wanted for the world building. Some of the things were rather complicated and I lucked out that I found a couple of papers doing most of them for me, as I would have resorted to writing computer code to be sure what I was envisioning was plausible. I'm talking around this because I don't want to spoil too much.

I also leaned on the stories of Jason and the Argonauts and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness for some layers of mythology that seemed to resonate with the plot and themes of the book. Happy accidents do occur when symbolism and motifs crop up on their own, but I usually try to put some in intentionally to reinforce points I'm trying to make and the mood I'm trying to establish.

What are you trying to do with your science fiction? Does it have a purpose beyond telling an entertaining story?

Yes, ideally. I think science fiction at it's best is great literature. It shows a side of humanity in the face of new ideas or new circumstances that cannot be done with mainstream work. What does it mean to evolve past our current state? What does it mean to us to confront non-human intelligence? Are we great, as complex and intelligent life, in the face of a largely lifeless universe, or insignificant before the near infinity of space and time?

I also try to get as much of my science right as possible, although I do push the limits and sometimes just avoid the impossible while embracing the unlikely (if it's interesting enough). I like to think I'm educating people a little about astronomy and physics and perhaps inspiring people to study science, the way I was inspired by Star Trek and other science fiction I encountered growing up.

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

That's a difficult question because I have so many! My favorites growing up and then through college were Philip Jose Farmer, Joe Haldeman, Robert Heinlein, Fred Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, David Brin, Larry Niven, Gregory Benford, and Roger Zelazny. More recently I've been a big fan of Dan Simmons, Nancy Kress, Michael Swanwick, Jack McDevitt, Eric Nylund, Robert Charles Wilson, Vernor Vinge, and Kurt Vonnegut (better late than never). I think there's a lot of great books being written and I'm happy to be able to contribute mine.

Thanks to Mike Brotherton for dropping by to answer a few questions and promote his newest book which is available TODAY (March 4). If your curiosity was piqued by what you read here, please go out and find yourself a copy of SPIDER STAR!

Astro Alert: Mars in Cancer

Exciting new planetary happenings brought to you by astrology.com:

On September 8, 2007, the warrior planet Mars entered Cancer, the sign of home and family. It's been a wild ride! The heat of this flame touched on matters concerning family as well as decisions affecting property and mortgages, loans and debts. Then, Mars turned retrograde on November 15, and it was time to review -- and perhaps revise -- plans set in motion. By January 30, Mars turned direct in chatty Gemini, and you finally you had the opportunity to get traction on various projects and initiatives.

Now, as Mars head back into homebody Cancer on March 4, you should have a good handle on how you want to approach the various issues that have competed for your attention over the past few months.

Interview with Alma Alexander

When Email Attacks!

What would happen if the spam that accumulates in your inbox suddenly started carrying live spells - open a "Lose Weight Now" email, and you do, you drop pounds, you open the thing inadvertently twice and you turn into a wraith? Or a "Free GIft" email results in a subscirption to a magazine in Mandarin Chinese or a pair of Emperor Penguns delivered to your door?

And what happens if it is a grounding tenet in your world that the only thing actually impervious to magic IS a computer, and magical... SPELLSPAM... is frankly impossible...?

Welcome to Thea Winthrop's next adventure.

ALMA ALEXANDER is a novelist whose work has appeared in thirteen languages and more than 20 countries worldwide. Her international bestseller "The Secrets of Jin Shei" is perhaps the best known of her adult books, but in 2007 she branched out into the world of YA literature with the release of the first book in the Worldweavers trilogy, "Gift of the Unmage", which has garnered a great deal of reader enthusiasm and critical praise, being compared to Susan Cooper, Madeleine L'Engle, and even J K Rowlings. "Spellspam" is the second book in the Harper Collins trillogy, released March 11, 2008. The third book, due in the spring of 2009, is entitled "Cybermage".

Visit her at her website, www.AlmaAlexander.com, and learn more about the Worldweavers books at their own site, www.WorldWeaversWeb.com. Alma also blogs at http://anghara.livejournal.com, and is a regular guest blogger at www.SFNovelists.com and www.Storytellersunplugged.com.

What was your inspiration for writing SpellSpam?

Back in 2002 I went to my first-ever World Fantasy Convention. I had no plans to do any writing in the YA arena, but I wandered, at some point, into a panel on YA literature because it had a bunch of writers on it whose work I have admired - Charles de Lint, for one, and Jane Yolen. After about five or six minutes of chatter on the subject of YA, someone from the audience raised a hand and asked, "What about Harry Potter?"

And Jane Yolen sighed and said, "I was wondering how long it would be before that particular elephant walked into the room."

This was 2002 - Pottermania was in full swing. And I am sure they went on to discuss that, amongst other things, But I didn't exactly hear any of it. Because the next thing that came out of Jane Yolen's mouth was something about how she didn't particularly like the way that the Potter books treated girls. And I was off and running, making the acquaintance of Thea Winthrop - not the Boy Who Lived but the Girl Who Couldn't - and exploring the Last Ditch School for the Incurably Incompetent, to which she would be sent because she, born a Double Seventh, the sventh child of two seventh children and the most magical of entities, cannot do any magic. At all. At ALL.

Until everything changes...

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

Good grief, I read EVERYTHING. I blew through the kids' section of our library like a tornado, and there were always books in my house, and the rule was if I could read it and if it interested me then it was allowed. There were no restrictions. I grew up in language heaven. I could not possibly start naming all my favourite authors, the list would go on forever. I cut my teeth on authorless books - the collections of myths and legends from various sources. But when it comes to a few seminal influences - Tolkien, of course. The Narnia books. Roger Zelazny.

But also Henryk Sienkiewicz, Sigrid Undsett, John Galsworthy, Pearl Buck, Ivo Andric.

What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?

The fact that it allows for the telling of pure unvarnished truth, and because it's wrapped up in such a pretty tissue of lies and enchantment people seldom realise that the story they are reading is far more real and far more emotionally true than much of what they cling to in their "Real" worlds. I believe in fantasy. I have always thought there was a vast power in dreams.

Why did you decide to make Thea "incapable" of magic ?

Because everything has a price - as my Alphiri (a race of elves with the souls of Star Trek's Ferengi will take great pleasure in telling you). And this is a coming-of-age story, and coming of age means finding out what your values truly are, and how they shape who you are becoming. Thea's inability to to magic in the first book of the trilogy is a very important formative period for her.

What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

Heh. Reading.

Also, photography, embroidery, watching a few good shows on TV (currently - spring 2008 - "House", "Lost", "Men in Trees").

Travel.

Did I mention reading?

What are you writing now?

The new project is an adult novel inspired by Byzantium. Vastly more complex and research-intensive than the Worldweavers books were. But it's time for another of my complicated, lush, vast, broad-canvas stories - and I've already waded into this one, and it is going to be GOOD.

Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?

In order, yes, no, and I stumbled blindly along what I thought were lots of different roads but there was only one, and it led here.

I grew up in love with words - it began with the influence of my poet-Grandfather who read me his sonnets from when I was five years old and it stuck, I never could shake language from me after that, I devoured books, and I started writing my own poetry when I was six or so. I wrote my first novel at 11 (and it was horrible, and thankfully doesn't survive). I won a national writing competition back home in Yugoslavia when I was 12. I wrote the next novel at 14, and you know, it isn't half bad if I went back and tweaked the 14-year-old-ishness out of some of it. I started publishing before I was twenty - but I didn't get a "real" book published until 1995, when I was in my early thirties, and I went full-time only eight years ago. But in the meantime I managed to earn an MSc in Molecular Biology, run an allergy society professional journal, do a stint as senior editor with an educational publisher where I produced text books in subjects as widely varied as Social Studies and Mathematics, got married... lived a life.

But I am, and have always been, first and last a WRITER. That has never changed. It never will.

What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?

There is no such thing as a typical writing day. The one thing that all days have in common is coffee - lots of coffee - hello, my name is Alma and I am an addict.

But the rest of it - if I am reading a research book, I am "writing" just as much as if I had my behind planted in a chair and my fingers on a keyboard. Writing is what happens in the mind, and for me it's a constant and ongoing process - putting actual words on a page is just the final installment of that process, the culminating act. THere are days when I will spend hours doing that, pouring out the words, writing up to 10 000 words a day. There are days I will go for a long walk and wrestle with a scene or a character until I can get to a point where I CAN sit down and let the words come. That's half the joy of being what I am. I have no "routine". I am responsible only to myself, my story, and my characters - and it takes however long it takes.

This isn't your first book; tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

"Spellspam" will be my ninth published book.

I started out with a collection of three fantasy short stories - much like the Oscar WIlde fairy tales, "The Nightingale and the Rose", like that - which was published by Longman UK in 1995 and STILL brings me in a trickle of royalties to this day. That was followed by "Houses in Africa", an autobiographical volume describing my growing-up years in Africa, published by a small New Zealand publisher and now out of print. That in turn was followed by an epistolary email novel called "Letters from the Fire", written in collaboration with R.A. ("Deck") Deckert, the man I subsequently married. That, too, is out of print. But then came the "Changer of Days" books - published in 2001/2002 in New Zealand, and reprinted in the US in 2005 by Eos as "The Hidden Queen" and "Changer of Days"; and my big successes, "The Secrets of Jin Shei" and "Embers of Heaven", both published by Harper Collins in their English editions and by a plethora of foreign-language publishers elsewhere.

The YA books were next, with "Gift of the Unmage" in 2007 and "Spellspam" in 2008 and "Cybermage", my jubilee tenth published book, due out in 2009.

Thank you, Alma! If you were intregued by what you read here, be sure to check out Alma's books.

A New Review: ROMANCING THE DEAD

Errant Dreams Review wrote a very lovely review of Romancing the Dead here. The book got 3.5 stars out of 5, which seems to me more than fair. The reviewer is absolutely right that the book gets off to a meandering start. If you were following this blog as I was writing Romancing the Dead, which was called various other things including Drop Dead, Gorgeous and Dead on Arousal, that book was a bear for me to write for whatever reason. I will say that when I discovered my publisher decided to print a galley and "push" this of all my books, I was a little nervous because I really don't think it's my strongest effort.

I was EXTREMELY pleased that the reviewer didn't feel as if she needed to have read either TALL, DARK & DEAD or DEAD SEXY to enjoy ROMANCING THE DEAD. I work really hard to make each book stand alone.

Away For A While

I'm off for a while. My family and I are going to be in Indiana visiting grandma and grandpa. Unfortunately, this isn't a happy visit. Grandpa has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and this is very much a "come while you can" kind of trip.

Granted, I'm typically a spotty blogger here, but if you don't see anything new from me for a while and you're wondering what's up, that's it.

Big Print Version Cover - Many Bloody Returns

This is the big print version cover for Many Bloody Returns. I have to say, being involved in this New York Times bestselling anthology has allowed me to learn things about this business I don't know that I would have otherwise. Like, big print versions get their own, different covers?

Cool!

Astro Alert: Mercury Direct!

This latest breaking planetary news is brought to you via Astrology.com:

When two important events occur close together in time, one thing is for sure: You won’t be bored! Mercury turns direct in inventive Aquarius on February 18, which means the plans and ideas you have been mulling over since January 28 -- when Mercury turned retrograde -- can now proceed. Usually you would be in full logic-mode with the Aquarian emphasis, but with a full Moon eclipse on February 20, you will feel anything but! As the emotionally intense lunar eclipse occurs in common-sense Virgo, you will be asked to maintain balance between your feelings and your analytical mind. Since Virgo is the sign of work, health and service, these themes will be especially important now. Develop and maintain a great self-care program to make the most of this period.

New Dinos!

My son would consider me deeply remiss if I din't point out that two new dinos were unearthed in the Sahara Desert according to world-science.net: Two Strange Dinos.

Many Bloody Returns News

From our editor Toni L. P. Kelner:

Just wanted to let y'all know that the Trade Paperback edition of MANY BLOODY RETURNS is scheduled for February 2009. Also, the Large Print edition of MBR will be out in March

Writing and Cats

There are a number of writing bloggers that end up writing (or taking videos) of their cats behavior as they try to write. Here's my darling, Ms. All Ball, LURKING out from behind my fancy new flat screen monitor. And see my important writing... er, wait, that's Mahjong. Oh, maybe she's not lurking so much as nagging....

Book Club Sale

My editor sent this note yesterday:

Good news, we have sold book club rights to ROMANCING THE DEAD. The advance is <$not-bad-for-this-sort-of-deal>, and it will be a featured alternate in the Rhapsody book club (May issue), and will also be used in the Doubleday Book Club (May issue) and the Science Fiction book club (June issue).

Hawk on my Boulevard

This hawk was sitting in the silver maple tree on our boulevard for about twenty minutes on Saturday afternoon. Shawn and I suspect s/he was after the pigeons that like to roost on the window above our side door and poop copiously (we've seen evidence in the past of someone's successful hunting). What was fascinating to me was how quiet the songbirds were until I accidentally scared him/her away when I went out the back to take out the garbage. It was like we all watched the hawk in silent awe, and then after s/he left suddenly there was joyous cheeping!

Perhaps you can tell by reading my books, but I love to add moments like this into my narrative. There are always animals intruding into Garnet's storylines (and not just when she's being stalked by werewolves.) I think that's because, growing up in a semi-rural middle-sized town in Wisconsin, animals were always making themselves known to me. Bats and nighthawks chased mosquitos during the summer months. Purple martins, kingfishers, egrets and red-wing blackbirds hunted the marsh. Even in the winter, when everything seems so desolate, you might see something like this awesome, predatory bird....

Periphery Available as Pre-Order/Kindle

Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures (edited by Lynn Jamneck), in which my alter-ego's short story "ishtartu" appears in, is now available for pre-sale at Amazon.com. You can purchase it either as a print version or Kindle. Also, the publisher, Lethe Press, is planning to make it available for sale in the dealer's room at WisCON this year.

Lunar Eclipse - Astro Alert

This is a little tardy, but I thought you might like to know anyway -- from Astrology.com

"Eclipses are known to be associated with dramatic events in human and earthly affairs. If you have ever seen an eclipse, you know they are quite dramatic! So, in preparation for the solar eclipse on the 6th, plan on something grabbing your attention -- but don’t think too far ahead! What you think is going to happen, often doesn’t.

We use the word ‘eclipse’ to say that one event has been overshadowed by another. Because this eclipse is occurring in Aquarius, your desire to be part of something bigger is stimulated -- whether it's a community issue, or organizations with a cause close to your heart. And, because Neptune conjuncts this eclipse, there is some uncertainty or confusion.

Ordinarily the sign Aquarius is quite logical, but with this spiritual planet’s influence, you’ll get more out of opening up to your less analytical sensibility. In addition, as this eclipse is occurring at the north node, you’ll be prompted to let go of the past and invest in your future."

"We DARE You" Contest

***Forwarded message***

'We Dare You'Romance Writing Contest 10th Anniversary Edition

Does the air above your manuscript sizzle with excitement when your heroine and hero first meet? Does your romance novel grab our attention from the start, and at the end of Page 12 leave us begging for more? Then you may be the winnerof 'We Dare You 2008'!

Visit our website www.saskromancewriters.4t.com/ for entry forms and more information on how you can join the hundreds of emerging romance authors who have entered 'We Dare You' since it began. You could win cash as well as a chance to be read by a romance editor at HQN. Every contestant also receives three detailed reader responses from our volunteer judges! Warm up your keyboards! Deadline is May 15, 2008.

Saskatchewan Romance Writers Home of the 'We Dare You' contestVisit us at: www.saskromancewriters.4t.com

Lesbian Erotica

My alter-ego has been taking over this blog a lot lately. She wants to do it again... Her short story "ishtartu" about a holy prositute will appear in this anthology (due out in time for WisCON 2008):

This is Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures edited by Lynne Jamneck and it will be published by Lethe Press. Look for it!