RT Spotlight of Sorts

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have heard me complaining (whining, really,) about having to write a nonfiction blurb-y type thing for Romantic Times' web magazine. Well, here it is in all its glory: Message from the author. I thought there was also supposed to be an excerpt available, but I don't see it here. But, aha! If you back track to the review, you can read it there.

Enjoy, and realize that I sweat and struggled over this... yeah. See why I hate writing NF?

Update of Sorts

I notice people have been writing into the blog wondering when the next book in the Vampire Princess of St. Paul series will be coming out. I don't really know. I only just turned in my manuscript to my editor a month ago, so there's no cover art yet or any back cover copy or anything. I'm sure it won't be long now. I'm going to be be starting soon on the synopsis for #3, and get writing soon after that (I have an April 15, 2011 deadline.)

Which would make me think that maybe that's when the next book might come out? I notice that I often have the delivery for the next book close to when the first book comes out.

Anyway, thanks for all the love! I'm glad to hear people are enjoying it. Not to be a tease, but I think you'll like the next book even better!!

Okay, Done!!

Okay, this took a LOT less time than I thought it would, and so I must apologize profusely... here is the excerpt from ALMOST TO DIE FOR. Please enjoy!

Sorry

To the couple of people who wrote to say that they're looking for the link to the excerpt from ALMOST TO DIE for and found it broken. I'll try to fix that by this weekend. The problem is that it's not so much broken as not finished... I'm my own IT/web person. Plus, I need to re-key the chapter myself... no staff to do that sort of thing for me, alas. So, with my son on vacation and life proceeding apace, I'm afraid a bunch of other things took precedence. On the flip side, you can find the book in bookstores now. If you wish, you can pre-read it there live and in person!

:-)

Another Cute Interview

Here's another short, fun interview with me over at Fantastic Book Review: "Sensastion 7 with Tate Hallaway."

Here's a teaser:

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you/ Why?

Matthew Broderick. He’s about the right height, has my haircut, and we’re close to the same age. He’d have to wear a fat suit, but, you know, I think the guy could use the work.

Small Screen Debut

ALMOST TO DIE FOR is in stores today, and as part of that I was on KARE-11's "Showcase Minnesota" _live_. The link to my segment is here:So Sixteen Ain't So Sweet in Tate Hallaway's Almost to Die For.

I wrote a bit about how weird it is to be on TV over at my LiveJournal blog.

Also, there's an interview with me over at Ellz Readz: Interview Tate Hallaway.

Hopefully, with all this publicity, people will feel as though they simply can not live unless they run off to the store today and buy my book (or three.)

Fun Interview

The Book Butterfly posted a lovely 10-question interview with me on her blog, which you should check out: "Ten Tantalizing Questions with Tate". Alas, I have since learned that my alter-ego's new book won't be out until March 2011. However, just for fun, let me reprint one of my answers here.

If you could inhabit the life of one literary character and dive into their world for just one day, who would you choose and why?

It’s a well known fact that I want to be Captain America from the Marvel Universe. Actually, I’m sort of surprised I haven’t gotten the casting call for the new movie. Something about my gender and only being 5’2”, I guess, I’m not sure…. ;-) The super soldier formula could come in really handy when I need to catch a bus is all I’m saying.

Pionner Press Princess!

A very nice article about me (and my alter ego, pictured above) and the end of Garnet and beginning of Ana appeared in the Pioneer Press today. Check it out: St. Paul Author Introduces Her New Series About a Vampire Princess.

Photo Shoot

Yesterday was another one of those ridiculously busy days.

I had gutter installers coming at some point (you know, the whole between noon and midnight,) and a staff photographer from the Pioneer Press at 3:00 PM. And guess when the gutter guys came? That's right! 3:00 PM! But, as it happens our house is such a mess, I decided that I'd offer to go to some other location with the photographer. We ended up at that cemetery on Front, Calvary? He offered to go to a place featured in the book, but I didn't think I could get onto the roof of the Saint Paul Farmer's Market or into any house in Cathedral Hill. Anyway, I think the cemetery will be fine. People expect cemeteries and vampires, and I did NOT dress goth, so it might make a fun juxaposition. We'll have to wait and see. The article is supposed to come out Sunday, August 1.

Of course, when it does, I'll post a link here.

Radio Interview

If you missed listening to me blather live on KFAI's "Write On! Radio" you can catch it in the archived files: http://www.kfai.org/writeonradio.

Actually finding the file is kind of confusing. You have to click on the archive for 7/20/10, and accept the terms and conditions. Then it looks like you got nowhere because there's a list of all the guests, etc. BUT, if you scroll down past the announcements you'll find a tiny little header "Previous Shows" and a reddish button for either .mp3 stream or real audio. That's the show. I'm in the second half. As far as I know there's no good way to skip ahead, alas. I'd say I'm worth the wait, but I'm not sure that's true. (I felt like SUCH a dork.)

Who Do YOU Write like?

So this has been going around the Interwebs: "I Write Like" It's one of those thingies where you put in a couple of paragraphs of your writing and a program analyzes it. I tried it, and the first result was Dan Brown.

While I like the idea that I write like an international bestseller, I mean, who wouldn't? But, I see myself as a bit more breezy, chatty, etc., so I thought I'd try a few different paragraphs in the same book. The results were Vladimir Nabokov and David Foster Wallace. The more I tried, the more it kept coming back to Wallace. I even tried my alter ego's science ficition and got Wallace. So, I think that must be a more accurate reflection of who a computer thinks I write like.

Secretly, I was hoping it would say: You write like Lyda Morehouse.

Upcoming Events

I've got a new book coming out in August, and, consequently, I'll be out and about town promoting it. I thought I'd invite all y'all to a few:

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Tuesday, July 20, I'll be interviewed on KFAI's "Write On Radio" show. They're going prime time, so the show now starts at 7:00 PM. You can find KFAI on your dial at 90.3 Mpls/106.7 St. Paul or streaming live at http://www.kfai.org/writeonradio (look for the button in the sidebar). Also, for those in other time zones, there is a running archive at the bottom of the page so you can listen at your leisure.

Tuesday, August 3, I will be interviewed LIVE on KARE-11 TV at about 10:15 am, possibly for the "Showcase Minnesota" show. Details are still a bit uncertain as my publicist just landed this gig for me today. This will quite literally be five of my fifteen mintues of fame, so if you tune in DON'T BLINK or you'll miss me. :-) I haven't checked the website thoroughly yet, but I suspect the show will also be archived somewhere.

Saturday, August 7, I'll be two places at once. Actually, what happened was that I accidentally booked these signings right on top on one another, so first I'll be at Uncle Hugo's at 1:00 - 2:00 pm. You can find Uncle's at 2864 Chicago Avenue South in Minneapolis. Then, I'm going to make a mad dash across town to the Roseville Barnes & Noble for a reading officially starting from 2:00 - 3:00 pm. I've talked to the event coordinator and she knows that I'll be a bit late, but she suggests you come at 2:00 pm anyway and enjoy the free cookies and beverages while you wait. If you go, head to 2100 Snelling Avenue North (the HarMar Mall) or call (651) 639-9256 for directions.

I'm Back....

Sorry for the long absence, but I was finishing up writing (and making revisions to drafts of) the next ALMOST book, which I'm pleased to say I turned in two WHOLE days early. This is somewhat of a miracle for me, as I'm one of those people who always turns in project the very last second of the deadline. If a professor said a report could be turned in by midnight on Friday, I'd have it in at 11:59 p.m.

Also, I wanted to pass on this very sweet review of HONEYMOON of the DEAD from Paranormal Romance. Like me, she's very sad to see the end of Garnet's adventures.

Another Review for Honeymoon

Coffee time Reveiws, had this to say about HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD.

Romanic Times Weighs In

RT Book Reviews has this to say about ALMOST TO DIE FOR, which they gave 4 1/2 stars:

Ana is a lovable teen whom just wants to make everyone proud, and in the end, must see that she has only to accept herself. Hallaway has created a paranormal Princess Diaries that is sure to please readers.

Whoot!

Why Vampires?

I participated in an article for GEEK SPEAK MAGAZINE called "Dead and Doing It" where the authors Rachel Hyland and Kate Nagy do an in-depth examination of the question: Why Vampires?

Those who know me best as my alter-ego will laugh when they read my answer in comparsion to the others... I, er, got a little _deep_ and acted like I was on a panel at WisCON or something.

Eek! Ah! Oh!

My editor just sent me this, and I nearly died:

STARRED Review, Publisher's Weekly:

"Hallaway's witty, fast-paced series starter cheerfully details the horrors of magical war and high school. Anastasija Ramses Parker is a modern day witch's daughter fond of wearing "black with black and black" but hopelessly unable to perform actual magic. When she flunks her coven's initiation ceremony, she learns her father is a vampire -- and not just any vampire, but a vampire leader, which makes her "some kind of vampire princess"... Ana's narration is pitch-perfect and totally teen: half calculated attitude, half wistful empathy. This all-too-brief tale will have readers hunting down Hallaway's Garnet Lacey series while they wait for Ana's next adventure. (Aug.)"

I guess I get to cross that off my "life list": Get starred review in PW....(faints!)

Alter Ego's Antho News

My alter ego, Lyda Morehouse, is going to take over this blog for a moment to announce that the anthology that her short story "Jawbone of an Ass" appears in has an official release date, October 19, 2010. The title of the anthology is SHE NAILED A STAKE THROUGH HER HEAD:TALES OF BIBLICAL TERROR, and, more importantly, you can pre-order it NOW through Amazon.com.

Also, if you happen to be in the Twin Cities area for CONvergence next weekend, you can get an early copy from the editor Tim Lieder during his 2:00 pm Friday, July 2 signing at CONvergence.

Lyda describes the short story this way: "What would it be like to know that God is absolutely *not* on your side? 'Jawbone of an Ass' is a modern day retelling of the story of Sampson’s first wife (known only as the woman of Timor), who slowly comes to realize the horror of knowing she, through no fault of her own, is on the wrong side of the wrath of angels." She sometimes also refers to it as her Samson/IRA story.

YA Fiction On-line Class

okay to forward

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July 5-30, 2010
"Creating Strong Middle Grade & YA Fiction"
by Kate Coombs
$30 at www.WriterUniv.com

You want to be the next Roald Dahl, E. B. White, or even J. K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer, but how do you get from here to there? The answer, of course, is to make your manuscript strong enough to stand our in a crowded, competitive field. Join us for a workshop in which we get you started or refine the work you've already drafted with an eye toward improving your chances for publication. If possible, try to have at least one chapter of your manuscript written when class begins, however rough it may be.

Course topics include:
* Good/bad news - where your book falls in today's market
* Targeting hidden obstacles that keep books from fulfilling their potential
* Strengthening character and plot
* Tightening text, brightening language
* From irresistible beginnings to slam-bang endings
* Finding your spot and maximizing your voice
* Tips about submissions and publishers
* Developing new children's book projects

Kate Coombs has three books in print, a 2006 Parents' Choice Recommended picture book called The Secret-Keeper and a 2007 American Library Association Notable Book called The Runaway Princess along with a well-reviewed sequel, The Runaway Dragon. Kate has three more books coming out in 2011-2012. In addition, she maintains a children's book review blog called Book Aunt. Kate has also worked as a college writing teacher, a K-12 teacher, and a curriculum specialist.

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Gig TONIGHT

If any of you local folks don't happen to have plans tonight, on this (potentially) rainy Friday night, feel free to come on down to Dreamhaven to hear my alter ego read.

The details are --

Friday, June 4, 2010 Lyda Morehouse will be reading from RESURRECTION CODE at Dreamhaven Books at 6:30 - 7:30 pm as part of the Speculations series. Dreamhaven is most recently located at 2301 East 38th Street, Minneapolis. You can find out more information at dreamhavenbooks.com. SPECULATIONS is a co-production of Dreamhaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural speculative fiction organization that also sponsors DIVERSICON.