New Review (RtD)

This isn't a very huge review, but an interesting perspective, none-the-less: Cerulean Siren: Another Book Down

New Review

Here's a UK blogger who has somethings to say about Romancing the Dead that are pretty interesting: This Fleeting Dream.

Me... Everywhere

I posted variations on the same theme in a number of different places this morning. If you want to read them in chronological order (to watch the progression of the idea go from rambles to a tongue-in-cheek confessional), here's how:

In-Between
In a Weird Place
Project Monogamy

In other news, I watched Appleseed Ex Machina last night and now I'm totally hot for a cyborg with rabbit ears. Help me.

More Reviews and an Event

Thank the Goddess for Google Alert or I wouldn't know that I'm supposed to be here this Saturday....

Also, I noticed a couple more reviews for my books on various blogs. One for Romancing the Dead on Amberkatze's Book Blog and one for Dead Sexy on Anna's Book Blog.

More Blah, Blah, Bloggin'

Since I love the internet so much, I've joined another group of paranormal romance/urban fantasy writes called "wicked writers" at Something Wicked... I'll be doing the Monday morning posts.

Also, there's a new review of Romancing the Dead at Coffee Times Romance. Here's some of the nicer bits:

I love Garnet. She is an amazing character. Ms. Hallaway has a unique twist to her story, with both Garnet and Sebastian. The reader is led on a merry chase to uncover who is behind the vampire napping. I read this in one sitting and kept trying to guess who the culprit was. Ms. Hallaway hides the truth until the very end and closes her book with a bang. I will be reading more of this series in the future, I am sure.

Also, Toni L. P. Kelner forwarded a picture of the cover to the German edition of Many Bloody Returns. Check it out!

Romancing the Dead Review (and an Interview)

Here's another review of Romancing the Dead, this one by The Book Girl.

Also, there's a very short, but nice interview with me in the Minnesota Women's Press, called "A Bite of Vampire Romance." A word of warning: I do mention a particular part of the male anatomy in clinical terms, and if such a thing could potentially be offensive to you, stop reading the article about three paragraphs from the end.

Save That Vampire!

I got this in my mailbox the other day and thought I should share it with all y'all:

I was just writing to ask if you happened to be a fan of Moonlight the vampire tv show?? As you may or may not know, CBS has recently cancelled this amazing series after just one season.

I'm part of a massive online group to ‘save’ the show or alternatively have it moved to a new network (www.moonlightarmy.com, www.moonlight-united.com)

The fans have worked so hard - we held a Moonlight Blood Drive for the red cross to bring attention to the show, and recently held a rally outside the Warner Brothers studio to show support for the production company - and it is truly an international movement (I'm from Australia!).

If you are willing and able, I was wondering if you could draw attention to the cause on your site? Just a word from you would encourage a rabid vampire fan base to champion the cause, and we all need a bit of Vampire love! (especially when they look like Mick!)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Megan

Review of Many Bloody Returns

Google Alerts let me know about this review: http://nichtszusagen.blogspot.com/2008/05/many-bloody-returns.html, which actually reviews "Fire and Ice and Linguine for Two" from Many Bloody Returns.

Interview with Simon Haynes

Simon Haynes is the British/Australian author of the bestselling, award-winning Hal Spacejock series, featuring an over-confident but woefully under-skilled freighter pilot and his wise but obsolete robot, Clunk.

If you enjoy TV shows like the Young Ones, Blackadder, Red Dwarf and Dr Who, or books by Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt or Jasper Fforde, then the Hal Spacejock series was written for you.

If you’ve never heard of Hal Spacejock … surprise! It’s only available in Australia.

However, to coincide with the launch of Hal Spacejock 4: No Free Lunch, the full text of Hal Spacejock Book One has been made available as a free download. To grab a copy in text, rtf or html format, visit http://www.spacejock.com.au/Hal1Download.html

(Yes, it’s a free ebook. And you’re welcome to share the download link …)

Simon, what was your inspiration for writing Hal Spacejock No Free Lunch?

My publisher phoned me and said 'can we have another one?', and I find that sort of thing very motivating. Fortunately, I'd already completed two drafts. Unfortunately, the book I handed in didn't result from either of them.

My other motivators are Hal and Clunk themselves. These characters are very dear to me, and I love putting them in life threatening situations, sending them broke, taking away everything they care about and generally giving them a really hard time.

Hey, I'm a parent. It's in my nature.

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

When I was growing up I read all the usual suspects for a British kid in the 70’s: Enid Blyton, Arthur Ransome, Agatha Christie, Jerome K Jerome, Tolkien, Showell Styles, Frank Richards, Richmal Crompton, Michael Bond, WE Johns, Isaac Asimov, William F Temple ... and about a hundred others.

We moved to Spain in 1976 and English books were suddenly very hard to come by, so I read anything I could get my hands on. Westerns, thrillers, SF and so on. Mostly the sort of holiday books people abandon when they go home again.

Nowadays I enjoy humour, satire and SF, plus the occasional horror novel or murder mystery. I studied eng lit for my BA, which was enough to put me off the classics for many years, but I'm slowly coming round in my old(er) age.

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

Every novel begins with a blank slate, and the possibilities are endless. Whether you’re reading the things or writing them, or both, it’s a journey into the unknown and the unexplored.

Also, speaking of my own stuff, I just love the idea of self-aware robots. Despite their supposed loyalty to humans, the robots in my books often have their own agendas and desires, and rather creative methods of getting what they want. If you’ve ever struggled with a wayward computer program you’ll know the feeling.

Why did you decide to make Hal a space courier?

I needed someone with a valid reason to travel the galaxy. Also, Hal's a careless type and there's a lot of humour to be found in his clumsy destruction of valuable cargo. His chosen occupation puts him in competition with customers, other pilots and all manner of officialdom, and we all know conflict drives novels.

It’s not just freight disasters giving Hal problems … there’s a spare cabin aboard his ship, which means I can throw in the occasional passenger. They’re inevitably bad news for Hal, and that’s fun to write.

A few people have asked whether I modeled Hal on Han Solo, from the Star Wars series, and the answer is no. Hal Spacejock is a terrible pilot, is law-abiding and is fearfully over-confident while being woefully under-skilled. I’m not even a big SW fan, have never read any of the books associated with the series, and am still trying to expunge Episode I from my memory. Anyway, my influences are mostly British and Australian.

As for Hal’s name … I began writing book one in 1994, and when I reached for “brash, over-confident, loud, unintentionally funny, unaware of his failings, secretly insecure”, the name ‘Hal Spacejock’ instantly popped into my head. Anyone proudly calling themselves ‘Spacejock’ has a lot of complex issues for me to uncover.

What do you do for fun?

I love DVDs, particularly watching them on my laptop with headphones. It’s more personal and involving than watching on a big screen. I rarely watch live TV, thanks to the ads, watermarks and scrolly banner things, so boxed sets are a great escape.

Apart from my DVD-watching hobby I also count golf and archery amongst my favourite activities. In truth, it's four or five years since I swung a golf club in anger, but I just rekindled my interest in archery and am looking forward to nailing a few targets.

Finally, I write a lot of software, particularly for readers and writers. I make it all available free via the Spacejock.com website.

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

I don't do any research. I just outline the thing to death, send a two-page doc to my editor and await her go-ahead. The writing always diverges from the plot outline, but I rarely force it back again. An outline is just a map, and writing the novel is the journey.

Preparation … I stock up on coffee, chocolate, biscuits and spare batteries for the exercise bike. (I built a shelf on the handlebars for my laptop, and only allow myself to watch DVDs when I’m peddling.)

Hal Spacejock loves his food, and particularly coffee. Is that your favorite too?

Yep – instant coffee by the bucket. These days I limit myself to three cups a day, but I try and get them all in before 10am. Then I switch to t-tea and t-try not to l-let the j-jitters get to m-me.

I rarely eat out, and can’t be bothered with fancy restaurants. Give me Thai or Indian and I’m happy.

I enjoy cooking, and have a page on my website with my favourite recipes. Nothing flash – I like healthy, filling food which tastes good. I’m not in bad shape for a writer – 1.92m and 90kg (6’3” and 200lb) – but I can see that balancing health, fitness and writing long-term is going to be a struggle. In case I’ve given you the impression I’m a health nut, I’ve not seen the inside of a gym since 1985. I just try to burn more calories than I consume.

You say Hal Spacejock is law-abiding, so how come he gets into so much trouble?

Because his author is a right bastard. If I wanted all-round nice guys and do-gooders in my books I’d go write picture books with an eye to the lucrative education market. As it is, my books are popping up in school libraries all over Australia, so I’ll accept some of the blame for the parlous state of modern youth.

The thing is, I’m a firm believer in actions and consequences. If Hal is forced to ‘borrow’ a truck in one chapter, you can bet your booties he’ll regret it later. There is NO easy way out for any of my characters, EVER. Just like real life.

What are you writing now?

I’ve just dashed off yet another plot outline for Hal Spacejock 5. Every time I come up with a new plot I know THIS is the one… until I come up with the next one. I like the other plots, but they can always form the basis of book 6, or 7, or 14 …

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

I majored in Creative Writing at university, but despite that handicap I still maintained an interest in fiction. The problem at uni was that there were so many Serious Writers pouring their hearts and souls into passages of deep, moving prose. Handing out copies of my work for class discussion was like chucking hand grenades into a chook pen.

As for where I am now, that’s a long story. (The grotty details are on the Spacejock website, but in brief I self-published three books using my own imprint, and was literally plucked from the shelves of a local bookstore by a proper, real, honest-to-goodness publisher. The old ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you’ .. and it worked!)

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

I see the kids off to school, mess around with email & internet until two hours before they’re due home again, then do two thousand words in a right old hurry.

Where do you write?

Propped up in bed. I kill the wireless network and get on with my daily word count, safely tucked away in a quiet corner of the house. It’s relaxing, and I enjoy the familiar surroundings. Also, nobody can sneak up behind me and read the early first draft rubbish over my shoulder – it’s strictly backs-to-the-wall stuff.

What is easiest/hardest for you as a writer?

Hardest? Hitting 3000 words with 92,000 to go. I have no idea where it’s going at that stage. How many months will it take me to finish? Will the deadlines trample my grave? Will I disappoint my fans?

Easiest? Hitting 3000 words with 92,000 to go. I have no idea where it’s going, and I love it! It’s going to be the best Hal book yet, I have months to work on it, and I gesture rudely at impudent deadlines.

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

This is the fourth book in the Hal Spacejock series, so there are three more of those for starters. In each title Hal finds new and exciting ways to destroy his business, his cargo and his reputation. Funny, too.

The books are available in stores across Australia and New Zealand, so those living elsewhere have to make do with (expensive) imports. My publisher and my agent are on the lookout for overseas rights deals, but are facing two problems:

One, US publishers aren’t sure how the UK-style humour will translate to their market. (To which I say, bugger the translation. Just print the books as-is and trust your audience. I’ve tested the books on US bloggers and readers, and none have dismissed the weird limey humour as incomprehensible.)

Two, UK publishers regard Australia as their home turf. When they publish a book in Britain, up to a third of the print run sells to Australia, so books which are already published here are far less attractive than home-grown ones.

On top of that, several US publishers indicated they’d be interested in the series if it did well in the UK first. To which I say Aaaaaarrggh! Sometimes I swear I’m living in a Monty Python sketch.

Anyway, I console myself with the thought that each Hal book, each positive review, each appearance in a bestseller list, and each additional printing of the books is jacking up the price these publishers are eventually going to pay. I’m in no hurry, but I’m not happy when I have to reply to emails from UK and US residents asking me why they can’t get Hal in their local store.

In light of this, my publisher recently agreed to release the first Hal Spacejock novel as a free ebook: http://www.spacejock.com.au/Hal1Download.html

The press release with the reasoning behind the choice of a drm-free, publicly available ebook is here: http://www.spacejock.com.au/EbookPR.html

Ordering links for the Hal Spacejock books

The bad news is that Hal Spacejock is only widely available in Australia and New Zealand. You can order the books from Amazon and Powell’s, but they’re imports and the cost of postage is high.

Because of this, Fremantle Press has put together a bundle of all four Hal Spacejock novels including worldwide postage for just A$79.80* (That’s the same price Australians pay in bookstores.) http://www.spacejock.com.au/BuyHal.html

* This price is subject to change – follow the link for details.

A Review of an Old One: TDD

Google Alerts let me now about Xyeido's review of Tall, Dark & Dead in which s/he mostly likes the book, but complains that I work too hard to fit the chapter theme into the keywords of the house. This complaint always makes me laugh because I picked the keywords AFTER I wrote the chapter. But, I'm glad s/he was paying attention enough to assume the opposite.

Robert Asprin will be "Mythed"

I just read that Robert Asprin passed away this weekend. I loved his Myth Adventure books as a teen. http://www.mythadventures.net/

Interview: Kelly McCullough

Kelly McCullough's first novel in the WebMage series, WebMage, was released by Ace in 2006 to considerable critical praise. A second, Cybermancy, followed in 2007. His newest release, CodeSpell, will be out May 27th. And a fourth book, MythOS, is slated for late May '09. His short fiction has appeared in numerous venues including Weird Tales, Writers of the Future, and Tales of the Unanticipated. His illustrated collection, The Chronicles of the Wandering Star, is part of a National Science Foundation-funded middle school science curriculum, Interactions in Physical Science.

For more information and samples of some his short stories you can check out his website: http://www.kellymccullough.com/.

Why this book? What made you want to write this story?

That's a surprisingly difficult question to answer. This is the third book of a series and certainly part of my motivation for writing it is that this is a fun world to play in and I like these characters enough to want to spend more time with them. Part of it is that I had what I thought was a fast fun plot that continued the story in a way that would be entertaining to write and to read. But probably the most important part of the equation for this book is that actions have consequences. The things that Ravirn did in books one and two have ongoing repercussions and I wanted to see how they played out and how Ravirn would have to grow to respond to them.

Which authors inspire you? Has that changed over time?

Different writers teach me different things at different times. Zelazney and Tim Powers are probably at the top of the list of writers who've affected my work most visibly, though Powers is less present in the WebMage stuff than he is in some of my other, darker work. Norton and McCaffrey and Tolkien are in my bones. Martha Wells is wonderful and so are Robin McKinley and Lois McMaster Bujold.

Why genre? Is there something special about science fiction or fantasy that draws you to write in the field?

I was pretty much raised to be a fantasy and science fiction writer, though that certainly wasn't the intent of the process. I'm a third generation fan of the genre and some of my earliest memories are of having the Lord of the Rings, Asimov's Foundation trilogy, and A Midsummer Night's Dream read to me. I learned very early to love story and genre and once I found out that I could maybe make a living by telling the sorts of stories that were told to me I was pretty much lost.

What do you find most interesting about Ravirn? Why write about this protagonist?

What I love about Ravirn is his combination of idealism and cynicism. He expects the worst of a situation but won't let that stop him from working toward a solution, even when he knows the attempt is probably doomed. That and his sense of humor. I come from a family where humor, particularly black humor and sarcasm, are fundamental coping mechanisms. Sometimes life hands you a situation where you have to laugh or cry, and given any choice in the matter I'll always pick laughter. It may not solve the problem, but it sure lightens the load.

You're a writer. What else are you? What are your interests? Hobbies?

Husband and cat-wrangler are probably at the top of the list for other self-identifiers. My wife and I are coming up on twenty fantastic years together and over that time two cats became three cats, became four cats, became five. I love to read and play video-games. I've got a Gaiman, a Pierce and a Blaylock on the active books pile and I just finished playing Portal and Drake's Fortune. I also like hiking and biking, and since it's spring, I'm at the front end of the annual garden madness.

Did you have to do any special research for this book? What did you need to know in order to write it that you didn't know before? Do you have some special preparation you do for your writing?

I didn't have to do a lot of new research for this book. After finishing two novels set in the Greek gods plus computers reality of the WebMage I have a pretty good grounding in this world, and I really only needed to touch up my memory of a couple of the myths involved in this specific story. On a more general note, I read non-fiction voraciously. I just finished a great book on plants in traditional Hawaiian culture as part of a Hawaiian history and mythology kick. I read several science and technology magazines on an ongoing basis and I'm looking around for some good references on the Canadian Maritime provinces in general and on Halifax in particular.

I see a lot of computer and programming stuff in the WebMage series. Is that something that really interests you? Or is it more driven by the needs of the story?

Mostly it's the needs of the story. I love my laptop and the web and I tend to be a technology early adopter if I can afford it, but I'm not really much for programming or hacking. While I have been immersed in computer culture from a very early age since my mother became a bug-checker when I was about ten and has been working as an analyst and programmer ever since and because I've got a lot of close friends in IT, it's not something I'm much involved in outside of writing the books.

Ravirn displays a lot of physicality, constantly getting himself into life-threatening situations and back out of them in ways that involve all sorts of death defying action. I'm guessing that's not something you the writer have an enormous amount of experience with. How do you make that convincing? Do Ravirn's solutions reflect the sort of things you might do in a similar situation?

I'm much more of a thinker than Ravirn, especially as I've gotten older, but I've got to admit to a certain amount of speaking from experience when I have him do something big and physical and stupid like climbing a building and then jumping off. It's not the sort of thing I'd do now, but when I was in my late teens and early twenties I was something of an adrenaline junkie. I was into martial arts and mountain climbing and all sorts of things that are moderately safe when done responsibly and less so when done the way I did some of them. From fifteen to twenty-two I averaged two trips to the emergency room a year, and as I've gotten older that's led to things like a couple of knee surgeries and other corrective measures.

What are you writing now?

A couple of things. I just sent off book proposals for a fifth WebMage and for two books that I would like to write as a successor series to the WebMage/Ravirn books. I've also got a YA I want to work on–the second in a series that my agent is shopping around now–because I'm in love with the story and the world. That's the main front burner stuff. But I've got five complete novels and nine proposals out with various editors and any of those could get moved up the list if they sell. I'm pretty busy at the moment, and I love it that way. There's really nothing I'd rather be doing with my life than what I'm doing right now.

How did you become a writer? Is this what you saw yourself growing up to be? Or did it take you be surprise?

Short answer: I quit theater. Longer version. I set out at the age of eleven to be an actor and was well on my way when I met the woman I would eventually marry. At that point, I realized how incompatible theater was with having a long term relationship and I went looking for something else to do. On something very like a whim I wrote my first novel and fell head over heals in love with writing. Now I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

Do you have a writing routine? Talk process for a moment, how do the words get on the page?

I write between two and eight hours a day five days a week. On a typical day I get up around eight in the morning, stagger downstairs and collect a unit of caffeine–could be soda, could be tea, it doesn't really matter since it's a delivery system. Then I hop on the treadmill and websurf and read email and the like for an hour or so. At that point I'm mostly awake and I do things like respond to the email or other writing and life maintenance tasks. That can take anything between twenty minutes and two hours. Then I write. Less than a thousand words is a bad day. More than two thousand is a good one. Oh, and, I use a laptop so that I can work where the whim takes me.

Office? Closet? Corner of the living room? Do you have a set place to write? A favorite? How does the environment you write in affect your production? Your process?

In summer I write in a second floor screen porch. It has a gorgeous view over the park that abuts our backyard, and that sort of near outdoor setting is my preferred setting for writing–I'm hoping to have a more permanent solar built to replace the porch soon. Until then, my winter office is our upstairs sitting room which gets southern light and is a pretty comfortable substitute for my screen porch.

Is there anything you especially like to work on in a book? Anything you hate?

I love world-building and plot-twisting. Figuring out how a system of magic might work and then figuring out ways to game that system fascinates me. And yes, I was a rules lawyer back in my role-playing days, why do you ask? Likewise building a plot and then coming up with ways to add twists or bits of misdirection is a joy for me. I don't really have any hates. There are things that I used to find more difficult, character chief among them, but I'm getting a steadily better handle on the whole process and I just love writing. I even love rewriting, both the sentence level stuff and the bigger more complex story edits.

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

Well, primarily it's the WebMage stuff. WebMage, Cybermancy, and now CodeSpell with MythOS finished and forthcoming and a proposal in for SpellCrash after that. On the novels front, as I mentioned above, I've got five more books and nine proposals out, so that could change at any moment. I've also had a number of short stories published, including an illustrated collection as part of a big middle school physical science curriculum that's been adopted by several states. But that doesn't make an enormous amount of sense outside the classroom setting it was written for.

Do you see fiction as having a purpose? Generally? How about your own work?

Transcendence. I think that human beings need story. We need myths and legends and tales that lift us out of ourselves and that fiction supplies that need. That's another reason I do most of my work in fantasy-if I'm going to be a mythmaker for a living I might as well write the truly mythic.

Early Reviews:

CodeSpell has been getting great reviews. Publishers Weekly called CodeSpell the "taut third book in the Ravirn series" and said, "A hint of cyberpunk, a dollop of Greek mythology and a sprinkle of techno-magic bake up into an airy genre mashup. Lots of fast-paced action and romantic angst up the ante as Ravirn faces down his formidable foes." From Romantic Times four star review: "This third book featuring hacker extraordinaire Ravirn is every bit of a fast-paced, energetic, page-turner as its predecessors. Ravirn continues to be a fascinating protagonist, and the chaotic twists of the plot carry the reader through to the end."

Sales info:

Amazon:

CodeSpell
Cybermancy
WebMage

Barnes & Noble:

CodeSpell
Cybermancy
WebMage

Dreamhaven (signed copies): http://dreamhavenbooks.com/mccullough.php

New Interview with me!

Urban Fantasyland did their Saturday interview with me! Check it out: Saturday Seven With Author Tate Hallaway.

I am Iron Fan

Because I finished my first draft of Dead if I Do last week, I treated myself to a movie… out. The last movie I saw in a theatre was the second installment of Lord of the Rings, and the there were a couple things about the movie going experience that have changed in the intervening years. First of all, the seats are WAY better. My friend Sean M. Murphy and I went to the new Rosedale theatre and I have to say, stadium seating is very nice. The prices for concessions, however, blew my mind. Four dollars for a bottle of water? Sean and I concluded it had to be angel p*ss to be worth that much. Also, there were a lot more commercials, although, secretly, that doesn’t bother me as much.

As for the movie itself, it didn’t take long for me to be happy with Iron Man. The moment we discover his computerized “butler” at Tony Stark’s Malibu mansion is named Jarvis (after, no doubt, the long-time real, live butler at the Avengers’ Mansion) I was pretty much sold. By the time the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. showed I was damn near giddy. The surprise scene at the end of the credits made me – and Sean can attest to this – actually scream out loud.

It’s clear that Marvel is the best creative team to have at the head of their movie franchise, because unlike the okay-but-vaguely-disappointing Fantastic Four films, it’s clear that the Marvel writers get that superhero stories aren’t just about the eye-candy special effects (though there were plenty to enjoy in Iron Man). Not to over do an Iron Man metaphor, but Marvel clearly gets the importance of giving their heroes heart, soul, and, frankly, personality.

Robert Downey, Jr. made a phenomenal Tony Stark. He managed to walk the line of smarmy, but likable. The humor (and brief moments of self-deprecation and vulnerability) did a lot to win me over. As I said on one of my other blogs, I was never a big fan of Iron Man before this movie. I read him in old Avengers, but never in his own title. I knew some of his origin story, but not very well. I tended to find him a rather vacuous placeholder/spear carrier in the Avengers, and, at worst, I pegged him as a military industrialist Capitalist running dog. (Funny aside: There’s a scene in one of the issues of Runaways where the young heroes are trying to find a villain to pound and they come across someone vandalizing a Stark Industries sign. They have a long discussion about Stark’s dubious role in any number of military actions and in the end make the case that vandalizing Stark Industries isn’t really much of a crime given how odious Stark’s business dealing are – funny. True.)

While reading the Civil War story line, I came to appreciate Iron Man in his pseudo-villainous role as the contractor (with Haliburton) for the Negative Zone prisons, etc. I couldn’t say I liked him, but I thought his arguments for the Superhero Registration Act had a certain kind of logic that made the Civil War have that much more resonance with today’s political climate.

With Downey, Jr. in the role, however, I started to get what all the fuss was about. If things proceed to an Iron Man 2 and Avengers movie, I could actually see myself caring about him. I might also understand how he comes to co-lead the Avengers with Captain America (which was something, as a on-again-off-again reader of the Avengers titles I could never truly grok.)

What I like, too, about Iron Man the movie is that it restored my faith in comic book to movie adaptations. I thought the writers were very good at giving readers unfamiliar to Iron Man a reason to love him, while also giving us long time fans a movie that was a ‘fans’ fan, lady’s fan, fan about town.’

It made me an Iron Fan.

The End

The Sweetest Words in the English language: THE END.

I wrote them last night on the first draft of Dead If I Do (which is due at the publisher at the end of this month.) Now it's off to my beta readers, who will no doubt give me lots of suggestions for improvement, which I will follow. Then my partner reads it last, and I make final changes and usually copy edits.

So, it a way it's not an ending, but the beginning...

Publicity Course

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

Innovative Publicity Basics for Authors (New and Hopeful) with Lauren Cerand

Sponsored by: Heart of Dixie http://www.heartofdixie.org
Dates: July 1-14, 2008
Deadline to Register: June 15

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

p>New York-based independent publicist Lauren Cerand walks you through the fundamentals of literary publicity right up to the cutting-edge. This courseconsists of six instructor-led lectures, three open "Q & A" sessions dedicated to your topics, and three small but significant homework assignments. Content will be useful to authors in any genre and at any level of expertise.

INSTRUCTOR BIO:

Lauren Cerand (www.laurencerand.com) is an independent public relations representative and consultant in New York. Her clients are a purposefully eclectic mix of creative professionals, and she specializes in generating initial buzz and building sustained attention for individuals and projects such as Barnes & Noble's "Upstairs at the Square" series www.bn.com/upstairs. She is often asked to share her innovative perspective on publicity and has spoken to audiences at the at the 20th Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair, Book Promotion 101, Mystery Writers of America, NYU's Center for Publishing, The (Downtown) Omaha Lit Fest, Penguin UK (video clip), Virginia Festival of the Book, Word of Mouth, Women's National Book Association, and next at the Nebraska Summer Writers' Conference (June 14-15, 2008). The Village Voice included her in its "Best of New York" (2004) issue. She is the vice chair of the board of directors of Girls Write Now, "a nonprofit volunteer mentoring organization that has been matching bright, creative teenage girls from New York City's public high schools with professional women writers in the community since 1998." A Cornell University graduate, Lauren compiles "The Smart Set," a weekly round-up of cultural happenings for www.MaudNewton.com, and writes about art, politics and style at www.LuxLotus.com.

Visit www.heartofdixie.org for registration information.

Jupiter Retrograde!

This breaking news from www.astrology.com:

Saturn just sent ripples in your life by going direct, but another major wave of change is coming on May 9 when Jupiter turns retrograde. Jupiter is the planet of luck, grace, favor and fortune. Jupiter brings wealth, abundance, and optimism. Our successes, accomplishments and prosperity are all within the realm of the grace this large planet bestows upon us. However, when Jupiter turns retrograde, our forward momentum is reversed. This period is not a good time to start new ventures, make financial investments or even change jobs for that matter. Rather, it is a time to finish projects, an excellent time to pay attention to relationships, as well a time to gain a better perspective on life and our inner self. The major emphasis of a Jupiter retrograde period is on inner awareness and inner growth.

New Review: Writers Are Reads. com

Here's a review from Writers Are Readers by Terry Spear's of Romancing the Dead. Among some other lovely things, she says:

"I hadn’t read any of the earlier works of Tate Hallaway, but it was easy to follow along with the story in ROMANCING THE DEAD without having done so. I liked the mystery and had to keep reading to find out how it all turned out. And isn’t that every writer’s dream? To hook the reader so that he or she can’t put the book down? Such was the case with me."

Bloggin' about Chattin'

If you find yourself with nothing to do on (May 7) Thursday, night 9pm EST (which is 8pm for those of us in the Midwestern region), you're welcome to participate in a reader/author chat over at Jove/Berkley/Ace's Writer's Space.

I plan to stop by, but a word of warning... if anyone has had the misfortune of IMing with me, you'll know that Garnet and I have one thing in common: we're both computer dweebs. So, while I'll be there, I'll probably respond three minutes after you ask a question. Okay, it might not be that bad, but... well, you've been warned.

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!