Archive for the 'Appearances' Category

Update: Busy Bee!

Hello folks! It’s all been a bit mad here, perhaps even madder than normal. As my friend put it in a text, “You look like you’ve been even busier than usual.” And that’s because I have. It all started when I got back from the holidays, and we plunged into residency. We had a bumper crop this year, with over 20 new students added to our fold. The library at Seton Hill was packed:

I, of course, kept forgetting the name tag that I’d been convinced I’d lost, but then found, and then very carefully squirreled away so I wouldn’t lose it again. I was very proud of myself for finally remembering to dig it up.

The residency, itself, was a blast, as they always are. I love the students and the teaching, and the chance to see people discuss their work. This one was extra special, though, as our guest speakers were my good friends Juliet Blackwell, Sophie Littlefield, and Rachael Herron. They came in a day early and we did some damage to the booze and cheese…

 And then they were brilliant guest speakers, as well as brilliant guests. We had an amazing time, and they stayed a few extra nights so we could bond, and plot both books and conventions, and basically break down the world into more manageable chunks. I really love these ladies, and it was so great to spend time with them.

 The day after graduation, the ladies left and I flew to Boston for an SF/F convention named Arisia. It was great fun, and I had the pleasure of meeting Toni L.P. Kelner, who edits some of my favorite anthologies with Charlaine Harris. I also spoke on a few panels, and did a reading and a signing, so all in all it was a great con.

But, even more fun for me was the fact the con was in Boston, my old stomping grounds. I had a great time hanging with my old friends from BU, Whitney, Chris, and Anthony, and stopping by to see the daughter of my good friend and mentor, although the lady in question was traveling. But the highlight of the social occasions, just because it was so fancy, was the Ancient Universities Alumni Robbie Burns Nicht at the Harvard Boat Club, for which I got to wear a fascinator:

The event was unbelievably good fun and very posh. I attended with my fellow University of Edinburgh alumni, and good friends, Christie and Zack. For those of you who pay attention to these things, Christie is not only my friend but my beta reader and ideas factory for Jane, and she has been with the books from the start. She’s been a huge help to me, a wonderful friend, and a fabulous inspiration.

It was also wonderful to honor the place from which I received my graduate degree in the city that I received my undergraduate degree. It sounds cheesy, but my education was obviously very important to me, not only for the degrees but for the experiences. I loved both places very much, and I loved living in both times very much, and it felt really special to me to be able to bring the two together in this wonderful way.

 The pours were also quite heavy, and no one was lacking for whisky…

And they’d really done a fab job on the boat house. Isn’t it gorgeous?

For dinner, I was one of the only ones brave enough for the Boston haggis, and I was both faintly alarmed and slightly aroused (don’t ask) by the fact the haggis so closely resembled the sticky toffee pudding. For the record, neither was quite right, but still lovely.

 I was also alarmed by seeing that even Harvard keeps it classy in their ladies bathroom stalls:

And here we all are, all dressed up, right before dancing like dance fiends. I must say, Christie and I stripped that willow. We stripped it good.

 The day after the ceilidh, I had a lot of  con duties, but then I had an entirely free day to explore the city. Christie met me at my favorite Thai restaurant, Brown Sugar Cafe near Packard’s Corner. We had a wonderful lunch, and then went to my friend’s house to see her daughter. Then we just walked all over campus. The great joy of it all was that now, alongside the nostalgia I have for BU as a student, I also got to write about BU in my books. Tracking the Tempest takes place in all my old haunts, so I was seeing it in two ways this trip. For example, does this luncheon destination look familiar?

I also had the chance to sign some of my books at the BU bookstore. I can remember so vividly going there for the first time, as a freshmen, and being completely overwhelmed. I never dreamed I’d have books on those shelves one day, especially not novels.

And then, I returned home to find a package from the ladies who’d been visiting. They sent me a lovely hostess gift, to replace our downed soldiers. I couldn’t have been happier to come to home to such a reminder of friendship. I’ll also be bringing one of those bottles when I join Julie and Sophie for Malice Domestic. ;-)

I had a day to furiously prep last minute things to teach the next day, on Thursday, which I did. My classes are going great already, and I cannot believe I get paid to teach urban fantasy. Do they know they’re paying me to geek out, every day, about a subject I love?

This is the life.

And then I dyed my hair black, because I live for change. Whadoyathink?

I’m afraid I’ll probably be a bit rushed off my feet for at least one more week as I put the kibosh on organizing these courses. I’ve also got book six to write, and I’m nearly 20,000 words in and already in love.

2012 is looking good, folks. I’m anticipating a lot of changes in my life, but they’re things about which I’m very excited. I hope to take you all along for the ride.

And if you’re fixing for some Jane True to tide you over till July, I’m afraid I don’t have anything pure Jane. But I do have something Trueniverse. You can read about the ladies of Triptych–Capitola, Moo, and Shar–in this short story, available from Orbit Digital Short Stories.  For my UK readers, it’ll be available in the UK soon, hopefully. But it will definitely be available at some time.

I’ll see y’all back here shortly, once the waters are a little more calm. ;-)

Published on January 24, 2012 in Appearances, My Travels, Nicole Peeler and Something Wikkid This Way Comes. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

Debauchercon! I Mean, Bouchercon!

Hi folks! I’m happy to announce that I survived Bouchercon! It was so much fun, I don’t know where to begin. Okay, that’s a lie, as I know exactly where to begin: with Friday.

Friday I got in that evening, around 4:30. I went up to our room and let Sophie and Julie know I’d arrived. I then hopped in the shower, as I’d been up super early that morning to get some stuff done and was already feeling grotty. Sophie and Julie took coming home to a nekkid little wet girl very well, and there was much hugging and rejoicing. There was also some imbibing of “drawer whiskey,” the best whiskey ever invented.

After we had a thorough catch up, we did some turns around the bar. I then met my absolutely lovely friends Ervin and Gary, and we had dinner. It was so great to see them, although poor Gary’s car had its radiator blow up, so that meant they didn’t have a car to hang out Saturday. Which was a total bummer, although we definitely got in some good bonding time.

After dinner, I met up with the ladies at the hotel, where there were more turns around the bar. Julie and Sophie know everyone, and I mean everyone, so it was a blur of awesome new people. Everyone was really interesting, and I was loving meeting so many people with whom I had so much to talk about. It was also nice to be at a convention where men outnumbered women, and none of them were Cavemen in loin cloths. At least not that we could see.

To cap the night off, we ended up in our rooms with a bunch of people, a bottle of vodka and one of Laphroig, and there was much frivolity. I, however, am used to a 10:00 pm bedtime, so by midnight (central time), I was done. I went ahead and curled up on my cot and had a grand old time listening to everyone talk while I wrestled with sleep.

The next day was more of the same, but it was such great same. We talked, we worked, we networked, we bonded. I may have bought $20 worth of “gooey butter cake,” but can you blame me? I met the beautiful and graceful Victoria Laurie, who I really liked, along with the very wonderful Maddee, who designs our Pens Fatales blog as well as Sophie and Julie’s websites. They were both such great ladies and I had so much fun getting to know them better. I also did much bonding with the Charlatan’s Debi Murray and Murder by the Book’s Johnnie Cakes, whom I couldn’t love more if he were a saltine cracker.

OH, and this was the coolest thing ever. I MET THE REAL GOAT. Yes, Sophie’s gorgeous Sheriff Goat is based on a REAL MAN, a thriller writer, who came to our room party. He was adorable (and by adorable I mean haaaaht), and he really WAS Goat! *fans herself*

Saturday night after dinner, and another bar turn, we discovered there was a free photo booth! Many shenanigans ensued, a few of which I’ve included in this blog. Eventually, we ended up back in the room, where we had another  party. I curled up like a dead thing at midnight again, but everyone was very sweet about tucking me in and giving me cuddles. I think I brought out everyone’s parental instincts with my propensity to swaddle myself like a cocooning caterpillar, and it was lovely to be on the receiving end of a little TLC.

And that’s exactly what this weekend was. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely met some great people with whom I discussed our MFA and our visiting writer opportunities, and I did loads of great networking. But it’s hard to call that work when it’s so enjoyable to see lovely people like Charlaine Harris and her BFF Paula, whom I adore. So, basically I spent a weekend with kind, interesting, caring people, all the while meeting new people who turned out to be just as wonderful.

It was a great way to put everything into perspective, and realize how lucky, and loved, I really am. When I came home I ordered tickets to San Francisco so I can go to Julie’s halloween party. Viva la ladies!

I was my typical rubbish self at taking pictures, but I still got some fun ones. Mostly due to the photo booth, of course. First off, here’s me with Gary and Ervin. Could they be any hotter? Feel that sizzle.

Next, here’s me trying out a new look:

It made everyone want to pet my kitty. Next we have our first round of photo booth shenanigans. How many writers can you fit into one photo booth? It was like a clown car when we poured out.

And here we are abusing John. Poor muffin.

There are more, but they get increasingly more inappropriate.

Sunday morning, I shared a taxi to the airport with Sophie’s brother, Mike Cooper, whose debut is coming out very soon. He was so nice, and it was very cute seeing Sophie with her bro.

I got home nice and early Sunday, but I was wiped out. I watched much Doctor Who and basked in the glow of the weekend. It was lovely, and much needed, and will remain a great memory.

That was my Bouchercon weekend! How was yours? ;-)

OH, I almost forgot. Vote for me in the Bookies for AAD 2012!

 

Published on September 19, 2011 in Appearances, Conventions and My Travels. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

AAD: or, Philly, I Hardly Knew Ye!

Howdy folks!

I’m back in  Greensburg, believe it or not! I came home to a dusty, but intact, apartment. Yay! Then I had TWO FULL DAYS of meetings for the day job. It was intense! But great seeing my colleagues again, all of whom are awesome.

But that’s not what you want to hear about. You want to hear about Authors After Dark! And see all the pictures I took, right?

Wellllllllllll….imma tell you about my photography skillz.

I have none.

So I took all these wonky-assed, out of focus, ridiculously far away photos of stuff that amused me at the time, but now I a) can’t think why and b) am not really sure what they are.

Which is why there will be my USUAL DEARTH OF PHOTOGRAPHS on this blog post. Because I suck.

AAD, on the other hand, DID NOT SUCK. It was, in fact, SO MUCH FUN! So fun I have to use all caps AND exclamation marks. There was just such a great vibe at the con: everyone was super enthusiastic, eager to be there and meet each other and the authors, and generally just be happy and enthusiastic. I had a blast meeting everyone, and hanging out with people, and I don’t know what else to say except it was GOOD.

There was much laughter, quite a bit of food consumed, some raunchy readings, many panels, I put the slap down as a moderator on occasion, and incited some pinnings of pensises on our poor founding fathers. To top it all off, there was also a film crew, filming a documentary about the romance community. So all in all it was a surreal, but fabulous, experience.

I will definitely be rocking out AAD 2012 in NOLA, my fave city. That said, it’s gonna be hotter than the hubs of hell, but you’re supposed to sweat in NOLA. If you ain’t sweatin’, you ain’t doin’ it right. ;-)

So that’s all she wrote about AAD. It’s not that I don’t have more to say, but it’s already been AGES, and everyone else and their mother has done AWESOME blog posts on everything that happened (with pictures! That don’t suck!). So if you’re intrigued, just follow the #aad2011 hashtag on twitter and it’ll lead you to many blog posts.

But it DID rock, and if you’re on the fence about coming next year, don’t be. Get off that fence and get to New Orleans!

Now, because I don’t have any of my OWN GODDAMNED PICTURES BECAUSE I SUCK, I’m going to share with you what has to be my favorite piece of fan art yet. I know, I say every new piece is my favorite, but that’s because it is!

I bet you readers will know exactly where this scene comes from, no?

This was made by Regan Johnson (blog and website) and I adore it! It’s now my wallpaper on my laptop.

I totally get a kick out of stuff like this, so whenever you’ve made anything Jane related, lemme know! I’ll pimp it on the blog. Because one of the things AAD and RomCon reminded me of is that I have the coolest fans ever. They’re people I like hanging out with, people who inevitably get me since they get my books, and people whom I’m lucky to have in my corner.

So VIVA LA FANS! In honor of you all, I’m going to do a contest. Just comment here about anything you like that authors do. Do you like when we blog? Do book groups? Do you like newsletters? Tweets? What? Let me know, as I’m always trying to figure out new ways to reach out to you and get you the information you desire.

So comment below, and on Monday, August 22, at 8:00 AM ET, I’ll randomly pick THREE winners (lucky number three!) who can pick ANY MASS MARKET PAPERBACK (the kind that are $7.99 or under) on Amazon and I’ll have it shipped directly to your door. Sound good? That’s ANY mass market paperback: it doesn’t have to be mine, or UF, or whatever. I can also ship it to your kindle if that’s how you roll.

I heart you guys! GROUP HUG!!! *slobbers*

Published on August 17, 2011 in Appearances, Contests, Conventions and Fan Art. 40 Comments Tags: , , .

RomCon Rumbled…

Hi folks! I’m back from RomCon in Denver. I went last year, and although the con was significantly smaller than it was, it was still fun. Not least because we were hosted by the fierce creatures otherwise known of as Mario Acevedo and Jeanne C. Stein. Here they are, looking like they might shiv me:

Just as fun as seeing old friends is meeting new friends, and I shared a room with an author I’ve “known” through email, etc., for a long time, but had never actually met. Her name is Kimberly Frost, and we’re both with McIntosh and Otis, although with different agents. Kimberly was a great roommate and an awesome human being. She’s an ER doctor for her day job, and she regaled us with harrowing stories, assuring us that we’d “love how lungs felt, they’re like souffles!” So basically we were all obsessed, and made her tell us everything while we made ick faces. Well, while I made ick faces. Then Kimberly would say, “Oh, I’m grossing Nicole out, I’ll stop,” and I’d shake my head furiously and say, “No! I want more! Keep talking!” It was awesome. And a bit icky. Let’s just say I never knew there were so many ways to “crack a chest.” *shudders*

The first night we were in Denver, we did an event for the Public Library, called Mucho Mojo. It was super fun, and we got to hang out with Mario’s awesome friend Jennifer Mosquera, an incredible artist who runs one of the coolest galleries I’ve ever been in, The Art Salon in Denver. She wants it to be a real Salon, so there are tons of really interactive, awesome events, and also classes. If you live in Denver or the surrounding area you MUST check it out! Check out her website and the Salon’s for upcoming events.

The next day was full RomCon action! There were some peeps from last year, whom I was happy to see again, such as the lovely Monica Kaye:

There were swag bags full of mysterious, vaguely alarming items, such as this one. It’s called, quite ominously, “The Buzz Brush.” What do you think it’s for?

Finally, there was both cardboard and in-the-flesh man meat, as any good Romance Con must have. here’s me with the cardboard version:

We tried to get Mario to play with the fleshly version of the one on the right. He was there wearing leather pants and had a plethora of props, such as a dagger and a whip, to help him take pictures with the ladies. The model was also on hand to take pictures….

HAHAHAHA. See what I did there? I made it seem like Mario was walking around in leather pants with a whip hoping to get pictures with ladies.

Which he was.

No, seriously, Mario was his using charming self, and he even entertained us with this adorable fork dance:

I cackle like a hyena, which is my superpower. It can be ear shattering, depending on how much whisky has been consumed.

The final day we were in Denver, we did a signing at the Broadway Book Mall, my favorite coop bookstore ever. It was really cool, but when I did the same signing last year, I just had the one book out and I think everyone who came out was really there for the store and had no idea who I was. This year, there were tons of people there and all of them were there to see me or one of the other authors, so it felt like we had real fans. It was awesome! I saw the difference a year makes in publishing, in terms of building a readership, etc. There was even one of our SHU students there, Lesley, who blogged about her insights into author signings.

All in all it was an absolutely fabulous time, and I even managed to get a lot of school work done. I also signed up for an intensive Spanish class on Saturdays this semester, to brush up on my Espagnol. I used to chatter away quite rapidly, but now I sound like a three-year-old who may or may not have been drinking. So I’m very excited about that!

Tomorrow, meanwhile, will find me flying out to AAD in Philly. If you’re in the area but aren’t doing the con, there’s a FREE public booksigning Saturday, August 13th, from 2-5 in the Ormandy ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel, Center City Philadelphia. Come see me, Carolyn Crane, Dakota Cassidy, Anton Strout, Allison Pang, and tons more!

So hope to see you in Philly! Ciao for now!

Published on August 9, 2011 in Appearances, Conventions, My Travels, Nicole Peeler and Signings. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Repatriation, More Travels, Mario’s Bullwhip, and some Pimpage!

Hello mah friends!

This finds me writing from Illinois, for I have been repatriated. I came back from London on Monday, and I only cried a tiny, tiny bit. Mostly because I was too tired to summon the energy for tears, and because after a month of glorious decadence I was actually ready to get back to a routine. And by “routine” I mean fruit smoothies and zumba.

That said, my last week in London couldn’t have been nicer. On Monday, I got back from Whitby, and did absolutely fuck all but recover. Then Tuesday I worked and worked, before making tacos for Dr. Ruth. Wednesday I worked and worked, before going out for delicious tapas with Linda. And then Thursday, I worked and worked before my friend came in for one last visit.

Sometime during All That Working, however, I did IT again. In my third book, something happens at the end that is Very Big. A character we thought was one thing turns out to be another. I think IT works perfectly, and IT was one of those things that, as I was writing IT, suddenly made perfect sense.

The problem was that I hadn’t planned IT to happen. That character had been slated for a totally different role in the rest of the series. Her doing what she did was awesome, but IT totally threw a wrench (a good wrench, I think, but a wrench nonetheless) into the works.

So I was writing either Wednesday or Thursday, and I was finishing the book. I had but a few more pages to write. And then IT hit me. Again. A totally mad, totally awesome, totally book six changing idea. At first, however, I dismissed IT, as IT was SO huge.

But IT stuck with me, like a burr in my hair. My poor friend came in Thursday, and I was totally distracted. I think he thought I was already pining for him, bless, when I told him I couldn’t stop thinking of the end. He reminded me we still had the whole weekend together. I told him I meant the actual ending, of my book. It was one of those deliciously awkward moments I live for, and if I wrote about a writer I’d use it in a novel.

Anyway, I finally had a talk with my marvelous agent, and by that point I’d gone over the scenario a million times in my head and I realized it was the right thing to do. It DID bugger up my plans for book six, but that’s because my plans for book six sucked, quite frankly. The Mad Idea will give book six a great tension, and I’m seeing a whole ‘nother facet of book five that I can now explore, and that might otherwise have been dropped.

So Saturday morning found me frantically writing. My friend popped off to the comic shops to give me some working space. The ending came stark and glorious to my fingertips, flowing into my computer with a relish that was the same as when I wrote the ending of book 3. It just felt right. I had about a paragraph left when my friend came back, and he found it equally glorious to natter at me while I was trying to get out those last lines, giggling when I threatened to end his life. But he did finally leave me alone, and I finished.

And it felt goooooooood.

So book five is in the can! I pretty much immediately sent it off to my critique partner Diana Rowland and to my friend Mary Lois, for them to give it an initial “What Does and Doesn’t Make Any Sense” read. Then I’ll give it a polish based on their feedback, and send it off to the other members of my Alpha Team, James Clawson and Christie Ko, for their input.

Immediately after finishing the book, however, I had to rush to get ready and head out to a signing at Forbidden Planet. I’d gotten an amazing dress from Vivien of Halloway just the day before, although of course I didn’t get any pictures. I’ll be wearing it next week in Denver, at RomCon, so will endeavor to be more organized. But the signing itself was awesome. I got to meet some of my UK fans, some of whom brought me some amazing presents. It was also great to hang out with Philip Palmer again, whom I adore, and it was equally nice to meet Simon Morden and Tim Lebbon. Tim’s last name is pronounced as one would the beginning of Lebanese, but the staff kept pronouncing it Le Bon (like Simon) over the PA, sending us all into fits of laughter.

After the signing, Orbit UK arranged some drinks to be had at a local pub for the authors and some local bloggers and journalists. It was great fun, and I was quite happy to celebrate both finishing book five and a successful signing. Eventually, Dr. Ruth and her friend Russel wandered in, and we all had dinner downstairs at the pub. Then we all went to see a West End show, The 39 Steps, and it was the absolutely perfect end to a perfect day.

It was the kind of day that made me feel very lucky, very loved, and very happy.

The next day we were off to the Steam Museum’s Steampunk exhibit and then to Kew Gardens, which were gorgeous and huge and we walked absolutely miles and miles. Then we had a quiet night at my lovely little rented flat, and the next morning I was off.

The month went way too fast, but it was perfect. And I even managed to dunk my deadline, which felt very good. Also, if any UK folks want signed copies of my first two books, there are TONS at Forbidden Planet in London. ;-)

And now that I’ve mostly recovered from my jet lag, I’m off again! Tomorrow I leave for Denver, where I have RomCon and some other fun events planned by the ever-nefarious Mario Acevedo. The night I arrive, in fact, Mario’s arranged an orgy of debauchery he’s entitled Mucho Mojo. If you don’t believe me, he’s making us perform “spicy readings,” and he’s threatening to bring a bull whip. Pervert.

Then it’s off to the equally raucous RomCon, where I’ll be doing loads of events.

Finally, we’ve got another, separate signing that Sunday at the Broadway Book Mall, so if you’re not able to make RomCon please see me there!

Then I come home for a day before leaving for AAD in Philly, but that’s another blog post.

I will leave you now, with some Pimpage. There’s been some great releases this week, from some of my fave people.

First up, we have Rachel Caine’s new book Working Stiff, from her new Revivalist series. It looks awesome! I’m a huge fan of Rachel Caine. I love her writing, and she was so very kind to blurb my first book. This series, meanwhile, looks awesome, and a big departure from her other books. I also adore this cover!

Next up is the ever lovely Kat Richardson, a good friend of mine and someone whose work I greatly admire. She’s got the latest in her Greywalker series out, Downpour! Like all her covers, this one’s a stunner:

In the arena of Romance, I was lucky enough to meet the fabulous Louisa Edwards last year at Romantic Times, and she’s got a release out this week, as well. It looks just as delicious as her other books!

Jennifer Estep’s new book is also getting a lot of buzz. I’ve not yet read or met Jennifer, but this looks awesome and I think I’ll have to read it very soon:

Finally, last but certainly not least, Stacia Kane has a story out in Charlaine Harris’s new Antho, Home Improvement: Undead Edition. I always love these anthologies!

So there’s loads of great stuff out this week, in case you can’t come to Denver and watch Mario torture us. But now I have to go do laundry and pack. Viva new adventures!

Published on August 3, 2011 in Appearances, Conventions and Pimpage!. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Denver May Never Be The Same

Hello mah sweets,

I’m writing to you from the comfort of my flat in London, where I’m curled up on my couch, watching the rain and very much enjoying a quiet night in. I had a fabulous week last week–a friend was visiting, and we did loads of stuff, including a trip to Brighton to visit my awesome US cover artist, Sharon Tancredi. My dear friend, Jana, was also in town and we got to see her. And we had a great night out with one of my favorite Orbit pals, Philip Palmer, and a group he put together, including Mike Carey and other SF/F and comic writers. All together, it was a fabulous night and an equally fabulous very long weekend!

But today was back to the grindstone! Luckily, my visitor came just when I got officially stuck in my manuscript. I’m in the final few chapters, and I have vague notes in my outline, such as “Big Battle Scene,” which are outrageously unhelpful. But I had a nice distraction for five whole days, and when I sat down to write today everything made so much more sense. So another chapter is written and the final chapters are much more thoroughly outlined.

This week, then, will be mucho writing-o, but it’s not all sweat and tears. Last night I saw my friend from high school, Erik Tomlin, who is hilarious. Today I had a lovely long lunch with my editor here in the UK, Anna Gregson, and tomorrow I’m getting together with a bunch of writers, including Karen Mahoney, Stacia Kane, and Suzanne McLeod. Stacia’s spending the night so I’m sure there will be shenanigans involving vodka, fire, maybe one of Stacia’s switchblades, and definitely a certain self-pubbed erotic hot mess that makes us pee ourselves laughing. Ohhh yeah, I’m looking at you, PE!

Thursday I’m having a dinner and movies date with Dr. Ruth, then bright and early the next day I head up north to meet my friend for a final bout of research for the book. And by “research” I mean wandering around, eating pub food, and being generally debauched. In all seriousness, however, I will also be scouting out sites for the final two locales of book five. I’ll not tell you where they are, however, to keep you guessing, but mayhaps I’ll post a pic or two on twitter to give you evil, vaguely spoilery hints.

So that’s my life, here. It’s going stupidly fast, and I’m already dreading leaving. I love it here, I have so many friends, and London’s just a great place to be. But the good news is that when I DO return to the States, it’s to two very fun conventions, the first of which is in Denver.

Now, Denver is also host to the beauteous and wonderful Mario Acevedo and Jeanne Stein, and Mario was his typically generous self in organizing us a bunch of non-convention shindigs, to make the visit to Colorado even more fun. He’s organized a Mucho Mojo tour for us, and here’s the flier he made. I’m stupidly excited to be a part of all of this:

The first event is Thursday, August 4th, from 7-9 pm at Madwine Bar and Novo Coffee. I’m apparently contributing talismans and bringing my mojo, but considering how jetlagged I’m gonna be you might all have to buy me some drinks to get me going. Like nine. Nine drinks should do it. ;-)

The next event is another signing with a load of other local authors and authors in for RomCon, and that’s Sunday, August 7, 4 pm at Broadway Book Mall.

So print off the flier and come see us!

Published on July 19, 2011 in Appearances, My Travels and Signings. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A London Signing! Huzzah!

Hello folks! It’s with huge excitement that I announce I’ll be taking part in Orbit UK’s London Summer Signing!

It’s at Forbidden Planet, London on Saturday 30th July, 3-4pm, and I’ll be with Tim Lebbon, Philip Palmer, and Simon Morden.

More details are on the Forbidden Planet events page, here, and on my own appearances page, here.

                   

                  

I’m so happy I get to do this, and I hope to see some of my UK fans there. Forbidden Planet is the ultimate Nerd Mecca, so I’m having a bit of a nerdgasm that I get to sign there. It’s truly an honor, and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone involved.

This week will be Officially Crazy, with some guests and fun and maybe a naughty field trip at a very swank hotel. Or, it’s what I like to call VACATION, bitches. ;-) I wish y’all could join me.

 

Published on July 11, 2011 in Appearances, My Travels and Signings. 4 Comments Tags: .

The Tour: Snarking LA-TEX

Hello mah beauties!

I’m writing to you from Shreveport, where I am recovering from our Snark-La-Tex tour with the gracious care of my good friend Mary Lois and her husband, Doug. They keep feeding me and carting me places, bless them.

The tour, itself, was fabulous. Here’s a rundown from me, but you can also get more narrative over at Jaye’s site. I arrived the day of our first signing, last Sunday, in Dallas. Jaye picked Mary Lois and me up at the aiport, as ML tagged along as our driver/bodyguard/handler. It was so much fun to have her, and she totally saved our asses in Baton Rouge, but more on that later.

We started out our roadtrip by Jaye taking us to a place called Fuzzy Tacos. I love good food with stupid names, so I was in heaven. We then cleaned up and went to our signing at the Borders in Allen, TX, right outside of Dallas. The store was gorgeous, and we had a great turnout. You may recognize Dakota Cassidy, Renee George, and Michele Bardsley sitting front and center, in all of their splendor.

The staff at Borders were awesome, as was the audience. I met loads of people I’ve been tweeting or Facebooking with for a while, which is always fun. There was also a great turn out of book bloggers and reviewers. So fun!

After the signing, we headed out with Jaye’s husband and son, Michele, Dakota, and Renee to another Mexican restaurant (I’m making up for the horrible Mexican around where I live). This one, however, is famous for margaritas so potent you’re only allowed two or you’re taking a taxi. The conversation was about as raunchy as you might imagine, and it was great to catch up with Dakota, Michele, and Renee, three of my favorite people.

The next morning found us, rather unsurprisingly, EATING AGAIN. This time we went to Cafe Brazil, which has the most amazing chorizo empanadas. After fattening up, we drove to Austin. I’d never been, and it was such a cool city. First we met up with an Austin librarian, David, and his wife, Marlena, both avid readers. They were unbelievably generous and took us to a gorgeous restaurant named Bess’s Bistro. It’s owned by Sandra Bullock, so we were certainly not the biggest celebrities they’d every seen, but we were still treated royally. The food was delicious and the aesthetic of the place really great, so I highly recommend it.

After dinner, we headed to one of the coolest indie bookstores evah, BookPeople. We were definitely small fry for a bookstore that hosts such celebrities as Simon Pegg, but you wouldn’t know it from the way we were treated: like gold. They were so nice and so very, very welcoming. There was even a marquee!

And tons of other pimpage, including very cool posters they’d whipped up:

The space in which they do their signings is lovely, and we felt very professional. Or at least as professional as Jaye and I can feel, which is not all that professional, really.

We did readings, and then some Q&A:

And thanks to Pam (SpazP on twitter) for the gorgeous photos. She’s not so shabby herself (hubba hubba!).

After our signing, Jaye and I bought a metric fuck-ton of mustaches. Why? You’ll see! We also found this AMAZING MASK:

We realized later we missed a golden opportunity to stage a cock fight, which MUST HAPPEN the next time we hit BookPeople. I’m sure they’re thrilled at that idea. ;-)

The day after our Austin signing, we headed to Houston and one of our all-time favorite indies, Murder by the Book. John from the bookstore was sweet (or perhaps crazy) enough to let us stay at his house, and he and his partner Matt were the perfect hosts. Their house is gorgeous and cozy, and they could not have been sweeter.

Mary Lois did nearly steal their cats, but that’s another story.

The signing, itself, was a hoot. As I said, we bought lots of mustaches in Austin, and we put them to good use in Houston . . . by making everyone in the store wear one. The view from the front was awesomely mustache-tastic:

But I’m fairly certain the view from the audience was equally (if not more) ridiculous:

Just putting them on was a challenge, as we were giggling so hard:

But the effect was awesome, and it was great that the Murder by the Book people also played along. Here’s John looking verreh handsome in his ‘tache:

And here’s ML, Jaye and I posing in all our hirsute glory:

Mary Lois, for one, looked rather nice in her hipster ‘tache. Meanwhile, the signing itself was great. The audience was SO good-natured about being asked to wear things on their face, and they were so funny and fun about it. I also met some people I’ve been tweeting with for awhile, although one girl stayed incognito by not reminding me of her Twitter handle! (glares at @lobsterbandita)

She was already wearing a mustache, would I really have embarrassed her further??

After dinner, we went out to the amazing restaurant, Mockingbird Bistro, where ML and I had gone the last time I had a signing at Murder by the Book. I loved it then, and loved it just as much this time. Besides Matt and John, my very talented mentee from SHU’s MFA, Elle Stone, came with us to dinner. Her awesome first book, a YA fantasy, is currently on submission to editors, so I’m keeping all my body parts crossed for her. Not that I think she’ll need it: the book is phenomenal.

We had a great deal of food, but also a few cocktails . . . which were very, very strong cocktails. I’d become rather obsessed with the tattoo of one of the ladies at the Borders in Allen, TX, which was of a mustache on her finger, so she could be in disguise whenever she felt like it. I’d seen them before, but something about this ‘tache just really resonated with me. And after a few cocktails, somehow there were all sorts of jokes about finger ‘taches, and poon (I have no idea how that happened), which morphed into the idea of “poonstache,” and then we decided our next tour would be called Poonstache 2012, and then it went downhill from there. We closed out the restaurant after nearly howling down its walls with laughter, and with my being firmly committed to getting my own mustache tattoo.

Which brings us to New Orleans.

Obviously, much debauchery happened in New Orleans, right? Including that tattoo, right? We did hit Decataur, and Coop’s, hard, having a few drinks and feeling our oats. Unfortunately, we made the wrong decision after that and ended up at my favorite NOLA eatery, Muriel’s. Now, don’t get me wrong, Muriel’s was as delicious as ever. But we ate ourselves into a COMA and it was all we could do to drag our sorry behinds back to our hotel and go to bed. At 11:00 pm. In New Orleans, city of sin. It was pathetic!

But dinner was delicious, and we were up nice and early to work out and then undo the workout by eating beignets. Then we spent a delicious afternoon in the quarter, buying chicken feet from voodoo shops and clothing from Trashy Diva. As one does.

Then we went to Baton Rouge. Or we tried to. The drive was easy, up until we hit the city that, historically, I’ve always breezed through driving to and from NOLA. But not this time! A combination of crazy construction and some flooding in other parts of the city meant that everyone, their mama, and their voodoo priestess were on the highway. Jaye did a great job blogging the gritty details, but suffice it to say that Mary Lois totally saved our butts by taking us a ninja back route and getting us to the store only one minute late.

But it was worth it! The Baton Rouge Books-A-Million was very fun, and its employees Randolph and Pepper were super. Randolph also told us about a great place to go for dinner, Red Zeppelin Pizza, which was delish. Handily, right across the street from the pizza join was a tattoo parlor! And what more does a mustache-themed book tour need than a mustache tattoo???

Atomic Tatto was a great studio, much to Jaye’s relief. I loved the guy who did  my tat: he was all squirrely, offbeat, and wry (also probably very high). And he did a beautiful job! Here’s the finished ‘tach:

I didn’t think the tattoo hurt, but then I’m a bit of a piercing champ. So those needles compared to tattoo needles is nothing. It’s healing up well and I still am endlessly amused by it, so I’m happy.

The next morning we headed out for our last stop, Shreveport. It was so nice to be back! We had a lovely crowd full of old friends and familiar faces from other signings. That said, I think both Jaye and me were just about running on fumes.

Not that we didn’t get a kick out of reading some raunchy self-help guides:

After the signing, we went to the Noble Savage, where Chef and Lee knew just what I needed:

The lovely dram on the right is Adelphi’s Breath of Islay (pronounced EYE-LA, btw), and the golden beauty on the left is a Laphroig (pronnounced LA-FROY) 18-year-old that Chef brought out specially for me. I love the Savage.

We ate meat pies, drank Scotch, and listened to Chef’s partner, Angela, regale us with hilarious stories. It was lovely seeing my friends from Shreveport, whom I’ve missed very much.

Tomorrow, however, I’m returning home to Pittsburgh. My friend, Wendell, is my knight in shining armor and driving me all the way to Dallas for my flight. Thanks, Wendell!

Once home, I plan on embarking on a strict regime of exercising and writing book five. I’ll let you know how that goes. ;-)

Finally, don’t forget there’s still time to enter my contest to win one of Kat Richardson’s Greywalker books. Details are here.

Talk to y’all when I get back! In the meantime, be good. Unless you want to be naughty. Then feel free.

Published on May 24, 2011 in Appearances, My Travels, Signings and SNARK-LA-TEX. 5 Comments Tags: , , .

Update and Guest Blog from KAT RICHARDSON!

Hello lovelies!

I’m updating you from a hotel room in Baton Rouge. Snark-La-Tex has been a BLAST. Seriously, it could not have gone better. We had fun turnouts in awesome bookstores, and we’ve had so much fun together. Everyone’s asked, “Have you killed each other yet?”, which couldn’t be further from the truth. We’ve had an awesome time, laughing our way through everything.

There has been a lot of eating, a lot of snarking, a ridiculous amount of swearing, and a tattoo. Whose? Where? You’ll just have to wait if you don’t follow me on Facebook or Twitter. ;-)

I’ll blog the whole tour soon enough, when it’s over. Tonight we have our last signing in Shreveport, at the Barnes &  Noble on Youree, at 7pm. Be there or be square.

But now I’ve got a special treat for you, a guest post from Kat Richardson who has done a very cool walking audio tour for her books. Kat’s books are set in Seattle, so if you’re a visiting fan these tours have to be a must-do on your list!

Here’s Kat!

Playing Tourist in Harper Blaine’s Neighborhood

Nikki, being the fab human that she is, asked if I’d say something about the walking tour I put together recently for YodioTours.com. Well, OK, because I’m always one to toot my own horn if someone is fool enough to ask.

Which is kind of how the whole thing started—Clay Loges asked me if I’d like to make a tour based on my Greywalker books for his new service and since it was a chance to get some more exposure in a new way, I said “sure!” Clay had been referred to me by the staff at Seattle Mystery Bookshop who are the best book-pimps money can’t buy. I just love those guys.

So I walked around, took photos, wrote the script, edited the script with Clay’s help and then recorded the audio once we’d got all the photos and the script set to our satisfaction. It was fun to take a look around the neighborhood again since it had been a while since I’d spent much time in Pioneer Square. The books had started out there, but the later ones had often gone out on vacation to other parts of town or even other towns and I’d almost forgotten some of the things that had made me love the historic district to begin with. So I guess I’m back in love with my character’s old stomping grounds. It’s nice when a new project reminds you how much you loved the old ones.

If you want to take a look, the tour is up at YodioTours.com (http://www.yodiotours.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=35&Itemid=164) and you can view it online or download it to your phone and follow along, when you visit Seattle.

Thanks to Nikki for letting my squat in her blog like this—she’s the best!

I AM the best, Kat. ;-) But seriously, thanks for posting and this walking tour is such a great idea. In fact, I’m so psyched about this idea that if you comment about which other series of books you’d think would make a great walking tour, and why, I’ll enter you into a contest to win the book of your choice from Kat’s Greywalker series. Sound good? So comment on this blog post, and if you win then you can pick any of Kat’s Greywalker books and I’ll have it Amazoned to you. ;-) If you’ve never tried this series, I think you’ll love it. I’ll draw the winner next Friday, May 27th.

So comment away and thanks for blogging, Kat! I’ll blog myself soon about the tour (the tats and the plans for Poonstache 2012). But if you miss me that much, you can finally see my debut post at Pens Fatales, on carpeing your diems. ;-)

See all you Shreveporters shortly!

Published on May 20, 2011 in Appearances, Contests, Guest Blogs, My Travels, Over at Pens . . . and Signings. 9 Comments Tags: , .

Pop the Champagne!

And feel free to call it “champag-nah!”

For I finished grading today! I also knocked out a massive chunk of my to-do list, including deciding what texts to use for my literature course (writing about literature) next semester. It’s a writing intensive course, so there’s not too much we can do, but here’s what I chose:

Don Delillo’s White Noise

Angela Cater The Bloody Chamber and Other  Stories

Henry James The Turn of the Screw

Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author

And an antho of poetry, plus the readings from the textbook.

So I’m very excited! White Noise is one of my all time favorite books, and it’s great to study with English majors, not least as it makes so much fun of academia. I also have a near obsessive love of The Turn of the Screw, but I’m sure there’s a pill for that on the market by now. I’m really excited to teach Carter, as I’ve not taught her before, but I think she’ll BLOW SOME MINDS. ;-) And who doesn’t love Pirandello? I mean, really?

And meanwhile, what finishing all of this means is that I get to be an AUTHOR again. The deadline for Tempest’s Fury is alarmingly close (like nibbling on the nape of my neck close), but I’ll be jumping back into Full Author Mode with a book tour. So by the time that’s done I should be totally recharged and ready to write! After a nap. For those of you who are like, “Book tour? What book tour?”, Jaye Wells and I are going to be all over Texas and Louisiana, swarming like ants on the ass of a dead armadillah. Here’s the roster if you’re interested:

Sunday, May 15th — DALLAS, TX

4:00 pm, Borders (965 West Bethany Dr., Allen, TX 75013)

Monday, May 16th –  AUSTIN, TX

7:00 pm, BookPeople (603 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX 78703)

Tuesday, May 17th — HOUSTON, TX

6:30 pm, Murder By The Book (2342 Bissonnet St., Houston TX, 77005)

Thursday, May, 19th — BATON ROUGE, LA

6:30 pm, Books-A-Million (2380 Towne Center Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA, 70806)

Friday, May 20th –  SHREVEPORT, LA

7:00 PM, Barnes & Noble (Bayou Walk, 6646 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA, 71105)

Jaye and I will be doing all sorts of stupid shit with each other’s books, because we get bored doing regular readings. You can also meet the infamous Mary Lois, from Shreveport, who is serving as our Turtle.

You have to get through her, people.

So that’s what I’ll be doing Sunday! Friday and Saturday will be taken up with last minute crazy prep for the tour, plus graduation and the two solid days of activities that it entails.

But then I’ll be FREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Man I love being a teacher. :-D

In the meantime, let me know if there’s something you think would be really funny if Jaye & I do on the tour, or what you’d like to know about touring. I’m gonna try to take lots of pictures (read, make ML take lots of pictures), so that we can do some major Bloggage. ;-)

See y’all on the flipside!

Published on May 13, 2011 in Appearances, Day Job!, My Travels, Signings and SNARK-LA-TEX. 4 Comments Tags: .