Archive for the 'Appearances' Category

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Seattle: Reunions and Signings and Reunions, Oh My!

The day after Kat’s signing (with which I left you, last), Mark Henry and I had our OWN signing. It was also supposed to be our Edinburgh Reunion night, with everyone getting together beforehand. So Ruth and I didn’t want to do too much that day, as we knew we had a long night in front of us. Therefore, we wandered around to some shops, then we found ourselves once again strapped into the pedicure chair. As you might remember from our Road Trip last summer, we get our nails done a lot on our vacations. It’s really a bit ridiculous. But so enjoyable! Just ask Dr. Ruth:

We then went for Thai food. It was both delicious AND titillating:

Besides Penetrating, there was another dish involving the word “Pulsating.” Who could resist such descriptions? We ended our day out with cookies from Macrina, and some showing off of our nails:

Duck and fish are friends! After that, we lounged around for a bit before getting ready for the Reunion/Signing. Synde joined us at our apartment, and we had to take a picture of the fabulousness:

(We’re also rehearsing for the fifties dresses we’re wearing to the wedding, which will require some major shoulder throwbacks and posing. We’re limbering up the coccyx muscles, otherwise chaos could ensue!)

Before the signing started, we all met up at the Pub at Third Place, which was awesome. I don’t have many pictures from this part of the evening, as it mostly consisted of people squealing and hugging as various members of our Edinburgh contingent wandered in. It was SO good to see everyone, and I felt so lucky to have such amazing friends.

After we’d had some beers, we all headed upstairs for the actual reading and signing at Ravenna Third Place Books. It was a great crowd and a great space!

For our readings, we swapped books. I started out reading Mark’s particularly filthy opening scene from Battle of the Network Zombies. All I’ll say is that it involves a churn, a corn cob, and a buttery snootch. Mark said he was reading my book, but actually busted out with some deliciously filthy erotic. This swap was particularly awesome considering we were stationed next to the children’s department. Sorry kiddos! It was hilarious, but I think everyone was a bit disappointed when Mark ceased reading the erotica and started reading my book, instead.

All I have to say is “rod of dominion,” people.

The questions afterward were fun, and Mark gave out Jesus bandaids for those who asked us something. He’s generous like that. He also offered a pill bottle cocktail shaker to anyone who would cup someone’s genitals, but there were no takers. Crowds are tough these days, let me tell you. But despite the lack of genital cupping, we had a great time and here we are, triumphant:

I’m not sure whether I’m giving a peace sign, throwing a gang symbol, or enacting some scissoring, but we’ll just go with it. All in all, I think everyone had fun. I do know that I got to wear my new fascinator and the Wee Dram got in some reading time with her mom, Mrs. Whisky. And I love all my friends for attending! Thanks guys!

After the signing, we headed over for Pie and Pints. There are few things on earth I like better than a meat pie, but pie is even better when it’s combined with something just as good, like pints. So I was in heaven at Pie and Pints. Not least because Jesus ended up in my cleavage. What can I say, things like that happen when Mark’s around!

We had a huge crowd taking up basically the entire middle section of the restaurant, but the place did an awesome job serving us with both speed and sass, a combination I love.

And the food was delish. Here are some full frontal food shots. Synde’s mac and cheese was to die for!

We had an awesome time at the pub, and much beer was consumed. Huge thanks to everyone for coming to the signing, and never once complaining that I hijacked Edinburgh Reunion Night. It was so lovely to see all of you, and I totally appreciated your support!

The next day kicked off the build up to Matt and Mariah’s wedding. Ruth and I met Mrs. Whisky and the Wee dram for lunch and some girlie gossip. I hadn’t seen Kristin for ages, and we’ve both been so busy we hadn’t even found time to talk since the last time I went to the UK. Which, frankly, is unacceptable on my part. But it was fabulous to see her and the baby and catch up on everything in our lives.

After lunch, Dr. Whisky himself met us at the restaurant. They’re such a gorgeous family!

They also have very exciting news: They’re moving back to London. Which makes me unbelievably excited, as it’s another awesome excuse to cross the pond as often as possible. I love Britain, with my reasons for loving her grow all the time. This time x3! ;-) Which will necessitate Much Visiting, as who will teach the Wee Dram to snark if not her Auntie Nikki? I mean, I have a duty here, people. I must learn the childrens good, like Whitney the Wise said all those years ago.

After lunch, we all went up the Space Needle (or the Spiceh Noodle, as it quickly became in our parlance). It was fun and Ruth took some gorgeous pics of Seattle you can see on my Facebook page. We were being right proper touristers!

After the Spiceh Noodle, we met up with everyone for my favorite kinda tour . . . a Duck Tour!

It was super fun, especially since we were surrounded by friends!

After the duck tour–which was a really good one, and I’d highly recommend the Seattle operation–we went to a restaurant right down the street from our apartment for a combination stag/hen night with Matt and Mariah. It was so much fun: lots of food, booze, and dancing.

Here’s my “I love Hendrick’s!” face, followed closely by my, “Don’t judge my love of Hendrick’s!” face (otherwise known as my “I’ll cut a bitch!” face):

And here are Judith and Dr. Whisky looking at me with their, “Shit, she’s already hitting the sauce,” faces:

By the end of the night, we were all bombed, danced out, and sweaty. Plus, Rootie’s hat had a mishap:

But all in all, the evening was sublime. So much laughter that my sides ache this morning. People had flown in from Brussels, Britain, and Australia, and everyone was ready to party. Which might be why we had our vuvuzelas confiscated. But all good things must come to end, and to (night)cap it off, Ruth and I went with Dr. Whisky for a quiet Old Fashioned down the street, where we talked of the Whiskys’ upcoming move and just how often I could visit.

And best of all, I got to eat the cherries! Score!

At about midnight (hey, it had been a long day!) we called it quits. But not before getting one last slice of NYC style pizza stuffed in our gobs. It was a fabulous few days, and it makes me miss my Edinburgh friends very much. But one of the things we all talked about was the Next Thing To Get Us All Together, and we came up with quite a few ideas. So this certainly isn’t the last Edinburgh reunion, and I still have until Sunday to enjoy my friends before Real Life comes a-callin’.

Today Ruth’s out bicycling around the city with some other folks, but I stayed home to do some work, laundry, and some packing. And because the last time I was on a bike, I fell into a dumpster in Granada, Spain. It was awesome.

But tonight is Pizza and Pints (seriously? I love this city) with everyone, and tomorrow morning, bright and early, we’re getting up to have our hair done in big, fifties bouffants to match our big, fifties dresses. Then we’re off to Bainbridge Island to see Matt and Mariah get hitched! Yay for them!

So see you soon! And in the meantime, hug yer friends and let them know you care. Then steal the cherries from their drinks. ;-) It’s the only way to roll.

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Published on August 6, 2010 in Appearances, Food!, My Travels, Nicole Peeler and Signings. 3 Comments Tags: .

UK Releases and More Seattle Shenanigans

First off, today’s the UK release of Tempest Rising and Tracking the Tempest. Could I be more excited? The books themselves look slightly different: The covers have been given a sort of Frank Miller-esque, gothier colouring scheme (did you enjoy that extra u, there?), and the books are also a different size than the US mass market paperbacks. They’re not as big as our trade paperbacks, but they’re significantly bigger than our mass market size.

So that’s soooo exciting! I’m hoping some of my British readers will, if they’re out and about, be so kind as to send me any reports/pictures of TR or TtT out in the wild. You can email them to iheartselkies(at)gmail(dot)com, or tweet me at NicolePeeler.

In other news, Seattle Shenanigans are still going strong, but now with added Dr. Ruth. I last left you on Sunday, after I went and hung out at Casa Henry with Mark and Caroline. That Monday, Ruth was getting in late in the evening. So, partially because I’m ridiculously domestic and partially because I knew I’d need a day of rest and quiet before everything went manic with my friend’s wedding, I had a lovely day of puttering around various local markets, delis, and gourmet shops. I wanted to have dinner waiting for Ruth, but don’t get me wrong. . .I’ll use any excuse to poke around food markets, and Seattle is an amazing foodie culture. Here are pictures of my booty (my gourmet booty, that is):

I bought donut peaches, as well as ingredients for pasta with italian chicken sausage and vodka red sauce from in and around Pike’s Place market. Then I hit up Macrina Bakery for some of their out-of-this-world granola, a loaf of sinfully delicious olive ciabatta, and a green salad.

Dinner turned out beautifully:

But even better was having dinner with Rootie!

And yes, I’m wearing a lady bug pinafore. What?

Ruth was obviously tired after her incredibly long flight to Seattle, so all we did that evening was eat dinner, drink wine, and catch up, with an early night.

The next morning, bright and early, I got up to run. This time in Seattle, I wasn’t called a “filthy fucking cocksucker,” as our local crazy homeless man was in absentia. Instead, as I was running back up 1st Ave, I saw a homeless guy with a sign that said, “I like money, fat chicks, and pot.” He did a Snoopy dance of happiness when he saw me coming, lunging through a crowd of people at the stop light to show me his sign.

I guess he thought I had some pot stashed in my sports bra.

For breakfast we had our granola with yogurt and donut peaches, then we had an elevenses of a little quiche:

Hey, if I run without eating two breakfasts, at whom will the crazies wave their signs? Hm? And speaking of crazies, we spent the rest of that Tuesday with Kat Richardson and Mark Henry, eating basically everything that wasn’t tied down.

Mark and Kat met us at our rented apartment in Belltown, and we walked down the street to where (quite handily), the Marination Mobile was parked for the day.

Those of you who have travelled with me know that there are few things I love more in life than street meat. I love food from carts, trucks, vans, satchels, or off the top of wide-brimmed hats like they do in Istanbul. So I was thrilled at the prospect of a Korean/Hawaiian taco truck, and we were not disappointed. Here’s my “STREET MEAT!” face of anticipation:

It deserved the face, and even more, as it was delicious. I had the spam slider, the Kalbi taco, and the spicy pork taco. Ruth had the same, but she went for the Aloha slider, with kalua shredded pork.

The food was phenomenal, and I was stuffed, swearing I wasn’t going to eat again. Till I did, just a few hours later. But first, we did some sightseeing around Fremont, which has all sorts of odd things. Here’s the Fremont Troll:

We also visited the statues of Waiting for the Interurban, where I practiced for our signing’s promised genital cupping and Ruthie imitated the human-faced dog:

After that, it was shenanigans ahoy. Here’s Mark, Kat and me posing as Happy Families:

And here’s a handy dandy Homer and Bart Simpson impression:

Culminating our trip to Fremont was a visit to Molly Moon’s for ice cream. What was that about not eating again?

After ice cream, we went with Kat to her boat, so she could change before her signing. That day, she launched Labyrinth, the fifth book in her Harper Blaine series. It looks awesome, and I love the first books in the series. I can’t wait to get to this one!

Anyway, we took Kat to her boat to change, and had some fun playing Pirate and Saucy Wench on the docks:

Before we went to Kat’s signing at University Bookstore, however, we managed to fit in some MORE food and drink. This time margaritas and Tex-Mex, with Richelle Mead and Psynde joining us at the restaurant. Ruth and I do love a happy hour cocktail:

After we’d had some liquid fortification, and Mark and I had sweat off about a pound each as we got the bitch seats sitting in the sun, we went to Kat’s signing. There, we saw these funky, colorful lookin’ books. Who wrote this shiz? Really?

Kat did a fantastic job at her reading. She’s very funny and charismatic, especially on stage, and I really enjoyed the excerpt. I grabbed Rootie’s cam and did some audience reaction shots. Ruth is riveted, Psynde is shocked, and Mark is . . . maybe asleep.

“Somebody poke that man, right there, with a stick!” Commanded Kat, with obvious glee!

Isn’t she perty? The day was awesome, and culminated in some drinks at some bar that wouldn’t accept Ruth’s UK Driver’s License as ID. Which is LAME! But whatever, we were exhausted, anyway. And we had a big day planned for tomorrow, what with the signing by Mark and me, alongside our Edinburgh reunion. It was raucous and ridiculous, and I’ll blog that next. But for now, the Touristing with the Laydeez commences in 3. . . 2 . . . 1. ;-)

Ciao for now!

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Published on August 5, 2010 in Appearances, Food!, My Travels, Nicole Peeler, Signings, Tempest Rising and Tracking the Tempest. 8 Comments

Seattle Part Deux

Buon giorno, folks!

I’ve been having a great time in Seattle. Last Saturday, I was able to go out with my friends who are getting married, Matt and Mariah. Matt and I met in Edinburgh, where we were both doing our PhDs. Matt’s girlfriend, Mariah, soon joined him. They were part of a very close group of friends I had in Edinburgh, and they were one of two other couples with whom my former partner and I would swing, gourmet style.

Gourmet Swingers started out as a joke between my friend Andy and me. Andy and his wife, Jenny; Matt and Mariah; and Jamal and I all love to cook. We’d have each other over for big, elaborate dinner parties, that, while very fun, were also a huge amount of work and very expensive. Keeping in mind that we were all grad students, who didn’t have tons of money or time to spare, we knew there was a better way to do things.

Plus, in groups of friends and, I think, especially with couples, there are some people you end up talking to all the time, at the expense of tightening up your relationships with others. Oftentimes the divide is by gender, sometimes by common interest, and sometimes by who you knew best, first.

So Andy and I were joking that what we needed to do was swing, but with cooking. We joked about coming in, putting our keys in a bowl, and coming away with a different partner every time. Only instead of parting ways for separate bedrooms, we’d all head into the kitchen. There, one “new” couple would cook the starter, one the main course, and one the dessert. The couple hosting “swingers” that evening would pick the recipes and buy the ingredients, then we would divvy up the cost amongst us.

It started out as a joke between Andy and me about keys in bowls, and then everybody else joined in, and it became the best idea we ever had. It was so much fun, and we made some amazing food. We also got to spend quality time with one of the other people (it wasn’t divided by gender limits) without feeling we all had to share each other equally. We could be greedy and selfish with each other, and then pig out on delicious food. Which is basically my heaven. ;-)

Usually the swinger’s night would have a theme. We did Southern, Afghani, hors d’oeuvres, Canadian, Mexican, and Japanese, amongst others. Each night would feature a cocktail, and I can guarantee that Southern night was made a lot more interesting with a vat of Georgia Artillery Punch.

So it’s very fun that now Matt and Mariah are getting married, with Andy–who is a Reverend in Canada–officiating. It was also great that I got to see them on Saturday. Because of wedding shenanigans, I’ll probably be one of the only people who got some unadulterated Matt and Mariah time. We spent the whole day together, and–needless to say–it involved a LOT of food and booze.

We started with me taking the light rail out to Columbia City, where Matt and Mariah were staying. It was also Mariah’s Dirty Thirty birthday, so we started out with a celebratory brunch at Verve. I didn’t take any pictures, as we were yakking each other’s ears off. But it was delicious, and I’d highly recommend the restaurant.

After brunch, we took the light rail back into Seattle. Then we walked alllllllll the way up to Capitol Hill, stopping at lots of furniture stores as I am in a slightly manic hunt for Ghost chairs and their knockoffs. Basically, I’m trying to determine just how cheap one can go with a Ghost chair knockoff, before they get all wobbly and sad.

So we wandered up the hill, sitting on variously priced plastic chairs. We also wandered into this AMAZING boutique that I am now officially obsessed with. It’s called the Cake Spy Shop, and it has the most amazing art. I bought Dr. Ruth and me an adorable apron each, and I also bought this amazing print for my dining room:

Pardon my bad photography. It’s a VERY cool print in person and I adore the sailor’s tattoos. Mariah also bought some very fun finger-mustache fake tattoos, so we can all have finger mustaches when we go on our group duck tour that’s part of the wedding shenanigans. I’m ridiculously excited for my ‘stache.

After we made it alllllll the way up to Capitol Hill (that’s quite a hill, people!), we first went and got ice cream at Dick’s. I had a root beer float (my favorite!) that was perfect on a hot day after a lot of walking. After Dick’s, we wandered around doing some boutique shopping, until we were more than ready to indulge in a little happy hour. For drinkiepoos, we went to Bleu Bistro, which is this awesome little pub that has all curtained off, nook seating. It was pretty much my heaven: very dark, cozy, and louche. And when the bartender discovered it was Mariah’s birthday, we were suddenly getting a lot of booze for free. So we were feeling no pain when we made our way to dinner at Kingfish Cafe, with its amazing bar:

Here are Matt and Mariah at Kingfish, where Mariah’s gone for nearly all of her adult birthdays:

For dinner, I had the gumbo, Matt had the outrageously decadent mac & cheese, and Mariah had the blackened salmon. It was perfectly blackened, with a delicious salad:

For dessert, we had their absolutely OUTRAGEOUS strawberry shortcake. It was enough for eight people, seriously:

Mariah was very excited to see it. Maybe a little too excited…. ;-)

We rolled out of the restaurant on a sea of food and pear cider. It was a fabulous day, and so good seeing my friends again!

The next morning I got up and, after puttering around a bit, I got on a bus to go visit Mark Henry. Mark picked me up at the Tacoma Dome, and then took me on what was loosely described as Mark’s “ghetto tour.” We started out at the gun shop famous for selling weapons to the DC sniper. It’s called Bull’s Eye:

See, the bull’s eye is a site? Get it? Bulls eye?

From there we drove around Tacoma, then Lakewood. Where, apparently, much of Cops is shot. I didn’t know that, did you? After the tour, we went to Mark and his wife, Caroline’s, house. It was like wild America. There was a snake:

And about four hundred humming birds, although they wouldn’t stop humming for me to get a picture.

And then there were the dogs. This was my view from where I sat on the porch:

Little faces everywhere! I also finally lived the dream and got to star in my own #Yodabreak:

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I was acting like I was going to eats the Yoda. That would never happen, though, and no Maltese were hurt in the taking of this #Yodabreak.

I had so much fun chatting and working with Mark. And here’s why I have come to love the Henrys, encapsulated for posterity in a single photo:

Mmmmm. Bacon. Mark made Caroline and me a delicious dinner of homemade potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, and wieners. Here’s what was supposed to be a funny picture of Mark preparing his wieners for his laydeez, but ended up just being gratuitous puppy torture:

The puppies are like, “Stop dangling your wieners you evil man!” Poor puppies. And yes, you can blame that picture, and many of Mark’s perverse tweets to this sweet tea vodka:

It’s delicious! And evil. Like all good things in life. After dinner, we went and signed stock at the Lakewood Barnes and Noble, so if you want some signed Tracking action, and live in the area, you’ll be in luck. ;-) Then Caroline and Mark dropped me off at the bus station, where I made my way back to Seattle to walk through about 1,400 homeless to get back to my apartment. I find that unspeakably depressing, although there was some comedy gold when, on my Saturday morning run, I was called a “filthy cocksucking whore” about 29 times by various shambling crazies.

Oh, Amanda Feral. Where were you when I needed you?

Today I’m cleaning and doing laundry (we’re staying in an apartment, not a hotel), and waiting for THE Dr. Ruth to get into town. I can’t wait to see my Rootie! She gets in late tonight, and will probably be knackered. So I’m going to have dinner and cocktails waiting. Maybe I’ll wear my new apron. ;-)

Tomorrow there will be more shenanigans with members of Team Seattle, plus added Ruth, culminating in my signing on Wednesday with Mark. We’ll also be attending Kat Richardson’s signing tomorrow night, at University Book Store here in Seattle. So much book love, people!

And with that, I’m out. Gotta go be domestic and shit. See y’all later! Hopefully with pictures of us making out with the Fremont Troll . . .

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Published on August 2, 2010 in Appearances, Food!, My Travels and Signings. 7 Comments

Seattle: The Beginning

Hello everybody! I wasn’t going to blog until after my vacay, but then I realized that was dumb. I’m here for like a week and a half, and if I don’t keep up with the blogging it’ll be ridiculous. I’ll end up with a monster blog post that NEVER ENDS, plus I’ll have forgotten everything from the beginning of the trip by the time I get to the end of the trip.

So I’m going to be a Good Blogger and blog every few days or so, depending on what I’ve done and whether or not I’m sober. There will be no drunk-blogging on this site, let me tell you! Not after that last time, with the team of oxen . . . ;-)

To tell you the truth, I couldn’t have been happier to leave Pennsylvania when I did. It’s not the state: I’m actually really enjoying my new home. It’s the BOXES and the never ending unpacking that was getting to me. Plus, I made another move from a place where I had tons of friends, love, and support to another new place where I know virtually no one. I know I’ll make friends quickly and everything will be fine, but for right now I’m a bit lonely.

So this trip to Seattle is perfect. I got into my new place, and could (mostly) unpack while ordering the things I really needed right away. Then I left as soon as I started to get bored and feeling a mite solitary, to go to a city where I already know quite a few people, and to which a load of my closest friends will shortly be descending. Which rocks! Plus, I’m here till the day before my orientation at my new job begins, where I will (hopefully) meet some people to bother incessantly with my need for human contact and social drinkiepoos. Score!

Because I was feeling a bit morose the day I left PA, I indulged myself by eating a Platter o’ Fat from the Pittsburgh airport’s TGIFridays. It was horrifying and delicious, as only a platter of American appetizers can be.

I ate about a quarter of it, and felt sick for about an hour after. But I gotta say, there is nothing more glorious than a fried stick of cheese. And then I proceeded to eat even MORE cheese, that night. Cheese baked, whipped, and/or set on fire, but I’ll get to that…..

Miraculously, especially as I was flying through O’Hare, all of my flights were on time. Which meant I got to join Kat Richardson and Mr. Kat’s anniversary dinner. They were so sweet to invite me, and I really appreciated the invitation, the kindness of their friends, and the deliciousness of the restaurant, Panos Kleftikos. The food was amazing. I’m a big fan of Greek food, and in my time I’ve done my fair share of damage to the baked feta. But this place was really, really good and the homemade pita nearly broke me with tastiness. There was also a LOT of red wine consumed from little highball glasses, my favorite way to drink it. Here’s Kat and me:

And Kat’s friend Lance, doing a fabulous impression of how everyone should leave a Greek Taverna (ie, carried out by friends):

I had such a blast, and I really appreciated how welcoming everyone was on my first night in Seattle!

This morning I woke up, showered, and immediately headed to the Starbucks downstairs to write some Jane. On the flight over to Seattle, I got my outline all sorted for what should be a very tight, very fast-paced, and pretty awesome fourth book, Eye of the Tempest. I already have fifty pages I’m fairly in love with, but had gotten stuck as I had NO IDEA what the middle of the book would contain. Luckily, my amazing Ideas Factory, Christie Ko, helped me out and after a few powwows with her, I knew I was ready. So I got the book all outlined on the plane, and this morning I did a Shit Ton of writing. I’m loving this book, so far. The “point” of this book is Jane, alone, really coming into her own, which I find such an exciting and inspiring idea. There’s also a lot of shenanigans, and an early scene that I think will make all my Anyan fans happy.

Around lunch time, the ever fabulous Psynde came to pick me up from Starbucks. For those of you unfamiliar with Psynde, she makes amazing jewelry for Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series and for Jaye Well’s Sabina Kane series. She’s also thinking of picking up Jane and doing some jewelry for my series. I loved her ideas (think a gothier, punkier Betsey Johnson look) and I think my characters (Grizzie!) could inspire some great looks.

What do you think? Do you guys like that idea? Would you buy some Tempest inspired jewelry?

I had a great time with Psynde. She took me to sign stock at the downtown Barnes and Noble and Borders, and we did some shopping (hello, Fluevogs!). We also went to the most amazing place for lunch, which I can’t recommend highly enough. It’s called Dahlia Lounge, owned by celebrity chef Tom Douglas:

I had the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in a long time while I was there: a super-posh grilled cheese with this absolutely gorgeous tomato soup. It was heavenly, as only really simple comfort foods made with the best ingredients can be. Here’s a pic:

After lunch we shopped around more, and Psynde took me to some other great places. We also had really delicious coffee at The Chocolate Box. All in all it was a fabulous day. Right now it’s early evening, however, and I am beat. Partly I’m tired from the time change, but partly because I think this is the first day I’ve been able really to relax in a while. I think I’m going into crash mode, which will probably mean watching a movie and falling asleep early. Both of which sound absolutely delightful.

Tomorrow I’m seeing my friends who are getting married next week, and Sunday I’m headed out to Mark Henry’s abode to do some writing and play with his tiny, tiny dogs. I can’t wait to meet Yoda for realz! Maybe I can star in that day’s Yoda Break.

Don’t forget that Mark and I are doing a signing next Wednesday. It will probably be very, very inappropriate and very, very fun. So don’t bring your kids, but feel free to bring your potty mouths, snark, and maybe a bottle of cheap hootch in a paper bag.

Ciao for now!

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Published on July 30, 2010 in Appearances, Eye of the Tempest, Food!, My Travels and Nicole Peeler. 6 Comments Tags: , .

We Have a Wiener!

The Contest Can has spoken! Well, that’s actually a lie. The Contest Can WOULD have spoken, but I have no idea which box it’s packed in. So, instead, the internet randomizer has spoken, and I have a wiener for my Tracking the Tempest contest!

The wiener of all this good stuff:

Is Elie N! Yay for Elie! I’m very happy she won, as she’s been a huge supporter of Jane from the beginning. So, thanks for playing to ALL of you, and huge congrats to Elie.

That said, Elie, you won’t be getting your prize for a few weeks . . . it’s probably in the same box as the Contest Can. ;-) But I’ll send it as soon as I’ve unearthed it, I promise. Just email me your address to iheartselkies(at)gmail(dot)com.

And I’ll blog soon with some more moving updates, as well as my upcoming trip to Seattle. If you’re in that area, don’t forget Mark Henry and I will be doing a signing. There’s more info under  Upcoming Appearances, at the top of the page.

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Published on July 26, 2010 in Appearances, Contests and Tracking the Tempest. 6 Comments

Pennsylvania or Bust!

So this has been a dramatic few days. I’m gonna go ahead and bullet point this week’s events:

  • Movers came and packed up my house. I am now living with a card table, one chair, my pilates ball, and a blow up mattress.
  • While I was running, someone broke into the Hippie Spaceship, smashing my rear passenger’s window.
  • I received my publication money for Tracking the Tempest. Of which, I still haven’t actually SAT DOWN AND LOOKED AT A COPY because I’ve been so flat out crazy busy.
  • I received, signed, and sent back my contracts for books #4, 5, & 6.
  • I received, edited, and sent back my final pass manuscript for book #3, Tempest’s Legacy.
  • Had about a million lunches/dinners/farewell gatherings. I HATE MOVING AND I HATE SAYING GOODBYE. So I don’t! I say, “See y’all later,” because I will. ;-)

There was some other shit, but that’s the big stuff. I’ve managed not to have a nervous breakdown, although when I waddled up to find my window broken I nearly succumbed. But the good thing about always living on my own and traveling around on my own so much is that it has made me pretty resilient. . . mostly because if I do curl up in a ball, there’s no one there to poke me with a stick until I get back up. ;-)

(For those of you who know how commitment phobic I am, that’s actually the only reason I think I might one day settle down . . . so there’s someone around to poke me with a stick if I collapse. It’s on the same imagery-continuum as Bridget Jones’s “Eaten by Alsatians.” And, yes, my friends get mad at me when I say things like this.)

All in all and despite the car drama, I’m very well and very much looking forward to getting to my new apartment. That said, I’ll basically have enough time to unpack and maybe have a meal before I’m off to Seattle to do some book stuff (including a book signing with Mark Henry that y’all should come to) and attend my friends’ wedding.

But then I’ll go back to PA, and my new life! I’ll be really busy with orientation at my new college, as well as prepping my new courses. I’m going to have to do a lot of Computer Things for them, which makes me a bit nervous. But I think it’ll actually be straightforward once I sit down to figure it out. That said, I know there will be Much Swearing and probably a few Threatening Fist Shakes. Definitely some Moments of Panic.

So that’s me for the next few weeks: move, Seattle, prep for teaching. I’ll also be fitting in some Jane time. I’ve put Eye of the Tempest on hold, for a bit, mostly because I had abso-fucking-lutely NO idea what the middle bit was going to contain. I have the beginning  fifty pages (which I think is the strongest opener I’ve ever written. Although that doesn’t say much, as my openings have always sucked and gotten cut, entirely). I also know what a couple of scenes in the middle will be, and I know my AWESOME ending. But, yeah, that was it.

Luckily, I sent forth a plea to my AMAZING Ideas Factory, Christie Ko, who is beautiful and wonderful and BRILLIANT. She gave me some great ideas that have been percolating away in the dreaded brain pan . . . and I think everything is coming together. So I’ll work on my outline on the road, and then git to writin’ again soon.

In the meantime, there’s still people sending me adorable pics of Jane in the Wild. Here’s Angie’s pic of both books being guarded over by Tofu, the Vegetarian Zombie:

Is it a zombie meerkat, or am I seeing things?

As if to combat the last post’s iPad pics, Kristy sent in Kindle pics of Jane. She looks stunning even in black and white, if I do say so myself:

I think the most dramatic story about purchasing Tracking (besides the broken-car-cord-thingie) comes from Suzanne, who actually left the dentist’s office, after having something painful done to her teeth, and walked across the parking lot to the bookstore to buy Tracking. That’s real commitment, people! Here she is, nursing her sore tooth as she holds Jane, and with it a less-sore picture of Suzanne with TR. Glad you’re feeling better, Suzanne, and I hope the book didn’t make it hurt any worse!

Finally, we have pictures from Raelena and Katia, of Jane lounging about like the strumpet she is. But she’s our strumpet, and we like her that way!

Thanks to everyone who has sent in pics, sent in kind words about the book, and sent me message about my move. I appreciate it so much . . . you guys make everything worth it!

See y’all in Pennsylvania! ROAD TRIP! ;-)

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Published on July 18, 2010 in Appearances, Contests, Eye of the Tempest, My Travels, Nicole Peeler, Tempest Rising and Tracking the Tempest. 6 Comments

RomConRiffic!

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of going to RomCon, in Denver. It was fabulous! I met loads of fans and had such a great time. When I first arrived, I immediately hooked up with the effervescent Heather Osborn, of Tor. I adore Heather, and we always have a great time together. Here’s us posing in a Romance cover . . . that inexplicably (to me, at least) involves a baby. I am the baby:

Besides Heather, loads of great peeps were at RomCon. On the shuttle bus from the airport, I ran into an editor from Grand Central’s Forever line (a sister imprint of Orbit’s), named Amy Pierpont. The first thing Amy said to me was, “Are you an author? You have romance writer hair,” which cracked me up. When I told her I wrote for Orbit, she was kind enough to invite me to dinner that night with other writers from Hachette (our parent company). The dinner was awesome. We went to this super swank place called 1515 that was rocking the nouvelle cuisine. Which is apparently French for “stick a fake syringe in that shiz.” For example, there was an appetizer of melon, prusciotto and cheese that arrived with a small syringe of balsamic vinegar stuck into it. But when I ordered my dessert–a root beer float–I was more than a little shocked to see this bad boy come at me:

That said, it was delicious. And I had a lovely time chatting with Amy and the other writers from Forever.

Mario Acevedo, my fellow Leaguer and a native of Denver, met me at the restaurant during dessert then took me on a tour. Of course, it was a Denver Tour, Mario Style, which means it involved stories of murder and mayhem, the most memorable of which was the murder of a midget crackwhore named Lil Bit, whose body was discovered shoved in a box behind some bar. Mario claims her death was investigated by a detective named Snowhite, something so entirely ridiculous it has to be the truth.

On the second day of the con, we were really busy. I met Meljean Brook, who was really sweet and interesting. I also hung out with Nalini Singh, which was super fun as I’m a HUGE fan of both of her series. At the Con, itself, I did speed dating, charades, and tons of other events that meant I got a lot of time to chat with readers and fans. We also did a huge signing, which was very fun except for a wee mix up with my name:

That Friday night I was a bit of a bore and went to bed really early. But that was partly because we had big plans for the next day.

On Saturday, Nalini was nice enough to do a signing with me, Carolyn Crane, and Jeanne C. Stein at the Broadway Book Mall. Heather Osborn came along, and she took us out for a gorgeous lunch. The signing itself was very fun, and we signed lots of stock. Heather took this fab picture of us all in action:

The ladies in action! on Twitpic

After the signing, Mario had made huge plans for us involving a restaurant called d Bar–which specializes in desserts–and the absent-but-attending-in-spirit Juliet Blackwell, who was represented by a parfait. Basically, Mario’s intentions were to get us to act out eating Juliet’s parfait, because he’s subtle and not pervy at all. Ever. Right Mario?

Here’s the action sequence, involving Carolyn Crane, Juliet’s Parfait, and moi. We go from diving into Juliet’s parfait, to a little post-parfait snuggle, to an empty parfait glass wearing a witch hat (which is obviously a metaphor for something very suggestive, and stuff).

Needless to say, there was much shenigans. After dinner, Jeanne took Nalini and Heather back to the hotel, while Carolyn and me went out with Mario. We went for a walk in this gorgeous park, then I found my ultimate dive bar, called the Satire Lounge. Yes, Satire. Amazing!

It was absolutely hilarious, with PBR on tap for only $1.75. My inner hipster came out to play. I also had the honor of sitting next to the craziest sumbitch in the bar, who was filthy and bearded and doing some serious chair dancing to Michael Jackson.

Carolyn and I stayed at the Sheraton in Downtown Denver, and it was a very, very nice hotel. Seriously swank. on Sunday morning, Mario was so sweet as to pick us up to take us to brunch, then give us a ride to the airport:

Full service Mario! Both Jeanne and Mario were unbelievably hospitable to us, and I know we all had a great time hanging out with them and attending RomCon. I loved meeting all my old and new fans, and talking with the Romance community, in general, about what they read and why.

So thanks for inviting us, RomCon! And I look forward to attending next year, hopefully. Not least because I absolutely loved Denver and would love to see some more of it.

Up next is my move to PA and my trip to Seattle. Never a dull moment… ;-)

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Published on July 14, 2010 in Appearances and Conventions. 16 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

The Day Before The Day!

Today’s June 30th, which is the day before the OFFICIAL LAUNCH of Tracking the Tempest!

I know there’s been loads of congrats and interviews posted and stuff like that, which I totally appreciate and adore, but my technical, Orbit-declared release date is July 1st, so that’s what I’m going with, people!

And no, it’s not so I get basically a three day release party. It’s really not! I promise. ;-) Okay, I wouldn’t believe me, either.

There is SO MUCH going on to celebrate my release I don’t know where to start, so I’ll start with the biggies:

Kat Richardson, one of my favorite people and writers, made me cry talking about Jane. Kat’s a writer I always use as an example of why I love writing UF. Our books are SO different, yet we can appreciate each other’s writing and we publish under the same genre. I love that! You can see a blurb for TR from Kat on Tracking, and if you haven’t read her books, do so immediately. Her series is awesome–one of the smartest, most well-developed UF series out there.

Today, I’m also over at Bitten By Books, chatting with folks and giving a way a new Kindle. Come by to chat and see how to enter, here!

Carolyn Crane, one of the sweetest Leaguers out there, is giving away a copy of Tracking. I’ll be with Carolyn at both RomCon and our Denver signing. She’s a GREAT addition to the UF community: generous, fabulous, and hilarious!

I’ve also got an interview and a giveaway for Tempest Rising up at Literary Escapism.

Tomorrow, on the official launch, I’ll also be revealing the prizes for two big contest I’ll be doing: one at the League of Reluctant Adults, and one here on my site. So come back tomorrow, y’all!

Right now I’ve gotta go do some stuff to get ready for my signing with Jaye Wells here in Shreveport. If you’re in the area, come on down! We’ll be chatting, snarking, and maybe kicking the crap out of each other. Check my appearances page for more details. ;-)

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Published on June 30, 2010 in Appearances, Coming Soon!, Contests, Nicole Peeler, Pimpage!, Tempest Rising and Tracking the Tempest. 9 Comments

Contests and Reviews and Launches, Oh My!

Hellooooo my friends! I’m writing this from a Pittsburgh airport hotel. I’m supposed to be in Chicago as of yesterday, but my flight was cancelled due to weather. Here’s hoping I make it back to IL today, so I can fly back to Shreveport tomorrow.

My stay in Greensburg has been awesome. The residency was fantastic, and I really, really like my new colleagues as well as the students in the MFA. I think this program will be really challenging and beneficial for me, both as an author and as a teacher. It’s going to be a sharp learning curve that first semester, but then I think it’ll be a great job.

As for finding an apartment, in the end and despite all my protestations about wanting to live in Pittsburgh, I went with an apartment near the school. I drove the commute a few times, and it’s one of those routes that could take 30 minutes OR it could take two and a half hours. Plus I couldn’t find an apartment I really liked that wasn’t ridiculously expensive. But I found something in Greensburg that is absolutely gorgeous and HUGE (I’m going to have to buy some more furniture). It’s an old building, right down town, with tons of character and gorgeous original features. I’ll be living in the Penthouse, which is French for “pray the ancient elevator doesn’t break down.”

But now I’m going home and my thoughts are firmly on launching Tracking the Tempest. Sightings have been thick and fast: Borders definitely has it on shelves, and I think that Amazon has shipped. So those of you who pre-ordered should be getting it right on time.

My big launch party is over at Bitten by Books, where I’m doing a contest to win a Kindle. RSVP here for the event to earn extra chances to win, and stay tuned to BbB for more info on the actual event. They’ve also posted their review, here.

I’ve also got an interview mit contest up at Tynga’s Reviews.

Melissa, from My World in Books and Pages, reviews Tracking, here, and I’ll have an interview and contest up at her site on July 1st, so stay tuned!

Finally, here’s a review of Tracking that absolutely made my day. It’s spoiler free, and she really gets what I’m doing. Thanks, lady! :-)

Don’t forget about the upcoming signings talked about on my appearances page, and I’ll have some very fun contests to announce on my site and over at the League when I get home. So see ya round, and go forth to buy Tracking over the weekend! YAY!

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Published on June 28, 2010 in Appearances, Coming Soon!, Contests, My Travels, Nicole Peeler, Pimpage!, Reviews, Signings and Tracking the Tempest. 8 Comments

Self-Pimpage Rots Your Brain!

So I’ll pimp some other people FIRST!

It’s that time of year again . . . the second book in Jackie Kessler’s and Caitlin Kittredge’s series Icarus Project, Shades of Gray, is out now! Buy it while it’s hot!

How exciting!

Also exciting is how much signing I’m going to be doing. First of all, there’s another Shreveport Smackdown, between Jaye Wells and me, scheduled for July First!

You can discover more, here. The last Shreveport Smackdown was pretty wild, so I’d suggest you come see it for yourself!

In more signing news, on July 11th in Denver, CO, I’ll be doing a gig with the absolutely fabulous Carolyn Crane, Jeanne Stein, and Nalini Singh (who I totally plan to geek out on). Here we are at our last event:

Check out our gams! The signing is in Denver, Colorado, and you can find out more information, here.

So hope to see you at an upcoming event, or at RomCon, where I’ll be the weekend before the signing in CO. In the meantime, don’t forget you can keep up with my meanderings, here. Thanks!

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Published on June 22, 2010 in Appearances and Pimpage!. 10 Comments Tags: , , , , , .