First off, we have my friend, the lovely Michele Bardsley, whose Cross Your Heart released a few days ago:

Michele is also running a contest over at the League to celebrate her release. Next up is one of my fave writers to read, and someone whose support for my own books I heartily appreciate: the absolutely gorgeous Anya Bast, with her new Cruel Enchantment. I loved the first book in this series, and can’t WAIT to read the second.

Next we have a new one in Alyssa Day’s Atlantis Series, Atlantis Betrayed. I’ve not met Alyssa, but I love this series!

And another writer whom I don’t know, but who is is quite the sexy fetishista: Joey W. Hill has released Vampire Trinity. A little bloodsucking with your D/s, anyone?

In another Para-Rom offering, I probably don’t have to tell you that Sherrilyn Kenyon’s No Mercy was released. Mmmmm. Dark-Hunters. Mmmmmm.

On a totally different note, Rob Thurman’s released her second book in her Trickster series, The Grimrose Path:

And finally, last but definitely not least, one of my all time favorite ladies, the ever fabulous Juliet Blackwell has released the latest in her and her sister’s (as Hailey Lind) art world mysteries, Arsenic and Old Paint.

So many books so little time. The pimp hand hath smacked! Get thee to shoppin’!

As for me, I’m plugging away at the day job. It’s going well, and I feel good about it and with the writing I’m getting done on Eye of the Tempest.

But today’s not about me. Today’s about MAH PIMP HAND. Which is about to wear itself out . . . so many new releases. So little time.

First off, There’s C.E. Murphy’s latest releasing today, Truth Seeker:

I love Catie’s books, and can’t wait to get my hands on this one. Looks great! And speaking of ladies I love, how about Gail Carriger’s newest, Blameless! I’ve been so busy I haven’t yet read the second, and I can’t believe the third is out already. Well done, Gail, can’t wait to read it!

Another fellow Orbiter, Jesse Petersen, is releasing her debut. While I don’t know Jesse, her book looks fabulous and really caught my attention. Can’t wait to read it!

And, finally, the last but certainly not least to receive my pimp hand of love is one of my favorite ladies in Urban Fantasy . . . Jeanne Stein. Who today releases the latest in her Anna Strong series, Chosen.

These should all be fantastic reads, and if you’ve not dipped into these series I highly suggest that you do. Next week there’s some more very exciting new releases . . . including one of my favorite para rom writer, Anyan Bast’s, latest in her Dark Magick series. Love Anya! Loved the first book! Can’t wait for the second! Am so excited I must use many exclamation points! Agh!

The lovely Jaye Wells and I are still going strong over at Border’s Babel Clash. We’ve talked about all sorts of interesting things involving heroines, humor, and urban fantasy. In my last post, I talked about why I added hedonism to the list, or why I chose to write a female character who’s so unapologetically self-indulgent.

In other news, I want to send out HUGE congrats to one of my fave UF authors, Carolyn Crane, whose sequel Double Cross just received a starred review from Romantic Times. I absolutely adored Mind Games and I can’t wait to read Double Cross. Carolyn’s created a world that’s truly unique in UF, and I find her books thrilling to read.

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Check out Carolyn’s books if you haven’t already. The first one was great, and the second looks like it’ll be even better.

All rightie, folks, with that I’m off to write more Jane. I’m at over 25.000 words on Eye of the Tempest and it’s going great.

I’m leaving you with this video about Newport, in Wales, that Dr. Ruth showed me and that I find endlessly entertaining. Ohhhhh how I love a Welsh accent.

See y’all back at the Emporium, soon.

Stacia’s release is the latest in her Downside series. I haven’t had a chance to read these, yet, with the move and all. But I’m literally itching to get my hands on them. And because I’ve been handling a lot of Lysol wipes, but that’s another story. Here are all three books in the series, in all their beauty!

Yay for Stacia! Everyone says these rock, and I LOVE Stacia’s Megan Chase series. So I can’t wait to have time to read them!

Also out is Kelly Meding’s sequel, As Lie The Dead!

Let’s hear it for Kelly!

In other news, while I was moving everyone and their mother went to ComicCon. I’m not bitter at all that I didn’t get to go. Really. Truly. *dies a little inside* Next year, however, I am TOTALLY THERE. Oh yes. I am there. In the meantime, Mario Acevedo did a great job blogging about the madness, including a little love for TR from Orbit’s Lauren Panepinto.

As far as moving is concerned, I’m just about officially done. Not with unpacking, but in terms of my mental engagement. I’m about ready to start chucking boxes out of the window. Luckily, however, I’m nearly finished. I’m just waiting on some bookshelves and I can tackle my office. I hope they get here before I leave for Seattle . . .

Which is Thursday! I’m very excited to see all my Edinburgh friends, to hang out with my fellow Leaguers, and to see Seattle. I’ve never been!

But I’m also starting to miss my Shreveport friends, very much. So I’m wearing the Zombieland shirt that Wendell gave me, in honor of them. Miss you guys!

I have been trawling furniture stores looking for dining sets, and of course I’m obsessed with two from Needless Markup. I could sell a kidney and maybe buy the chairs! Who needs two kidneys?

Before I sell any of my organs for hoity-toity furniture, however, I will be in Denver, for RomConvention 2010. I’m super excited to bond with my fellow leaguers Mario Acevedo, Jeanne Stein, and Carolyn Crane. I’m also ridiculously excited to meet Nalini Singh, because I’m a huge nerdy fan of hers.

For those of you attending RomCon, here’s my schedule:

Friday

2:00 PM 2:50 PM Q&A Author Chat – UF/RE Authors Steamboat

3:00 PM 3:50 PM Memory Lane Convention Center E

Saturday

9:00 AM 9:50 AM Speed Date an Author Steamboat

10:00 AM 10:50 AM Monsters & More Semi-Charades Breckenridge

12:00 PM 2:00 PM Book Fair

3:30 PM 4:20 PM Betwixt and Between–Paranormal Authors Tea Breckenridge

Sunday

9:00 AM 9:50 AM Author Avenue Convention Center

Denver signing with Nalini Singh, Carolyn Crane, Jeanne Stein and me. Details are here, and there’s a Facebook invite, here.

In other news, Tracking the Tempest has been out for over a week now. I think she’s doing pretty well, and it also seems like a lot more people have picked up Tempest Rising because they’ve heard of or seen Tracking. Which Nikki likey. And I trace this success to my readers. I know you guys talk about the books, lend them to friends, review them, et cetera.

So I heart you guys! And I love when you send me your photos of Jane.

Here’s Aimee’s Corgi, Wilson, with Jane. That’s an adorable dog! I love how his paws frame the books perfectly. He’s like a fluffy book stand!

In a dramatic turn of events, Amber Y. suffered a broken alternator something or other (not much of a car person!) on the way to buy Tracking. Here’s Jane with the evidence:

Becky sent a picture of her cat with Jane, and Heather C. sent one of Jane with her pup, Harley:

Dawn sent pics of Tracking from North Dakota. Here are two with the capital building, or, as Dawn called it, “The Penis on the Prairie” framed in the background. I’m still giggling.

Qwill took a picture of Tracking with two of her own sows:

Jessica S. and Zita sent in pics of their books, as did Jessica W. Hers was autographed!

Melissa already has Jane housed in her very crowded bookcase (very nice!) and Lauren B. made it look like Jane is swimming on her sheets.

Finally, here’s Jane on an iPad. She’s so fancy!

Very cool! Thanks, you guys, for all the pictures and all the support. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know you enjoyed the books.

Viva la Jane!

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.

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!

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!

But first, can I just show you something? It’s something that made me so happy I almost wet myself. Almost. Al-most. It’s me . . . as a zombie. A zombie! A ZOMBIE! (kay, I might be a little slaphappy at this moment, thanks)

Here it is! AWESOME!

I think people might be this happy when their children are born. Maybe. I’m a ZOMBIE! And a COMIC ZOMBIE! I’ve linked the pic to the awesome team that zombied me up: my friend Wendell and his brother, the brainz behind Three Quarter Comics. I would be happy to eviscerate either of them with my sharp little canines, I love them so much for making me a ZOMBIE.

I actually squealed, then did a (zombie) Snoopy dance, then shouted, then giggled for four minutes, straight. Which is a really long time to giggle maniacally in front of friends without explaining yourself, believe me.

And speaking of friends, I’ve enlisted the help of my mates Ruth, Erik, and Linda to vlog another reading of Tracking the Tempest. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing my awful, awful voice and, quite frankly, it’s not the same vlogging without being able to bounce on my enormous ball.

So here are two videos, both of which are from a relatively central section of the book. There ARE some spoilers in this section, as this wasn’t the scene I’d originally intended to vlog. But it’s too perfect for three people, and I had three willing victims . . . er . . . volunteers!

Watch out for these highlights:

- Me sniggering at my own jokes! Obnoxious!

- Linda enjoying her garlic bread. It was delicious!

- Confusion over the term “ejaculation.”

- My reaching for my wine during filming. You can hear the “plonk” as I set it back down.

- My directorial debut, in which you’re reminded why I shouldn’t talk in public. Oh, that accent! Ouch!

So here’s the final reading from Tracking the Tempest, part one:

And here’s part two:

I hope you guys enjoyed the reading! And thanks so much to Rootie, Linda, and Erik for doing it for me. Linda and Ruth I know from Edinburgh, and Erik I went to high school together. Thanks soooo much for humoring me, guys. You’re the best!

In real life news, I return to Chicago tomorrow. I’ll blog my final adventures in Britain in a few days, although pictures were thin on the ground with Ruth being out of commission with her appendectomy. Yes, for those of you not following me on Facebook or Twitter, Ruth had to have an emergency appendectomy after she left Brighton. So it was all a bit crazy, but still super fun and amazing.

In other exciting news, when I get back from England, I turn around and leave for . . . Maine! I’m visiting Eastport and the Old Sow, and will blog with tons of pics from Jane’s world. So stay tuned!

Finally, please give Ruth, Linda, and Erik a round of applause. They were convinced no one would be interested, but I thought they did an absolutely stellar job of reading from Tracking. And I, for one, appreciate it greatly. Bravo, ladies and gentleman.

I am writing this post from Elburn, Illinois, at my parent’s house. But tomorrow I am flying to London. I’m super excited to be back in the UK; I’ve missed it terribly. I will also be reunited with Dr. Ruth, with whom I travelled around the US last summer. There will, undoubtedly, be many a blog post highlighting food; spa treatments; and prisoney, tattoed men. The three things I like best in life.

So look forward to that! When I return, I’ll be going to Maine with my mom; my former high school English teacher, Mrs. Bunch; and my very good friend, Loren, on what I like to think of as a cross-generational Girls Gone Wild trip. We’ll be staying in Bar Harbor and Eastport, the latter of which is one of the settings for Tempest Rising. I’ll be sure to visit the Old Sow and take lots of pictures.

When I come back from Maine,  I do laundry then turn around a day later to fly to Pittsburgh. There, I will look for a place to live, after which I will drive out to Greensburg for Seton Hill’s June MFA residency. I won’t be teaching any modules, yet, but I’ll be introduced and I’ll also get to meet the people I’ll be mentoring, which I’m very excited about.

I will also get Bessie, my new iPad. So. Excited.

So that’s my June! I will eventually return to Shreveport, where I will definitely Do Some Stuff for Tracking. A signing. Or something. I’m working on it, now.

In the meantime, however, you’ve got some sweet stuff to distract you. Not least of all . . . some new League releases!

First off is Michelle Rowen’s Demon Princess: Reign Check. How cute is this cover?

Love the shiny!

Second up is a book I am VERY excited about. I am a total fangirl of Stacia’s, which means I love it when she publishes new books. I also love it when she grabs my boobs, something she does quite often. But that’s classified as an Official League Secret, so I will say no more. The book Stacia’s got out today is the first book in what looks to be an AMAZING, challenging series that will expand the boundaries of UF as a genre. It’s Unholy Ghosts, people, and you need to go buy it:

That’s your pimpage for the day, peeps. I’ll be seeing you soon . . . and soon I’ll have another extract from Tracking the Tempest! Because my own release date is coming up shortly. Agh! That’s all I have to say on the matter.